Chapter 92
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Chapter 92:
Li Chunzhou watched her walk away and then picked up Jian Hou who had been walking along the ground for a long time, before disappearing around the corner at the end of the alley.
Jian Hou was a little surprised by her actions, so he looked up at her while she smiled and asked, "What are you looking at?"
[Are you still angry?]
Li Chunzhou gently shook her head.
Jian Hou paused for a moment and continued, "I think it’s better to make a decision early. Once the Dungeon ends, if I disappear or get taken back by Them, they will definitely notice what happened during this time. Not only will you have to face being pursued, but the Main God will probably also try to eradicate you all from this time and space."
Li Chunzhou’s gaze was calm like a pool of water, with sharpness hidden beneath the surface. She lowered her eyes and calmly said, "So, according to you, we won’t have any way out?"
[It’s not that there is no way out. The Time Beast has high learning and imitation abilities. By integrating information and using incomprehensible computing abilities, its abilities will increase exponentially. It can then upgrade itself using existing information, reach a limit in a very short time using information available on Earth, which could possibly be a god-like form. And with my understanding of the Main God System, escaping Their surveillance and getting out together shouldn’t be difficult.]
"But what about the others? Once your disappearance is exposed, the Main God System will surely find this place. Won’t the people living in this Dungeon World have no way to resist?"
[If we manage to escape, the Dungeon World might not be erased. But you might never be able to return to this time because there could be traps waiting for you here.]
Li Chunzhou stayed silent, lost in her thoughts.
Jian Hou continued speaking, "Humans cannot break free from the constraints of time. They are merely species living on temporary ripples. Even without the Main God System, humans will eventually perish. But you, with the heart of the Time Beast, are different. With destiny restarting, sacrifices are inevitable. You can’t waste your life in this small Dungeon World just because you can’t bear to leave."
Li Chunzhou pursed her lips and said, "I want to go outside not to escape this world or the people I care about, but to break free from the cycle of reincarnation."
Jian Hou looked at her, but Li Chunzhou remained silent, marching forward in silence.
The setting sun cast a colorful canvas of clouds in the sky. A lone bird flew across the horizon above them. Li Chunzhou had to tread on a path, facing the challenges ahead before accepting the twists of fate.
[Can I ask you another question?]
"Hmm?" Li Chunzhou looked down, "What is it?"
[When was the barrier surrounding this Dungeon World placed? I checked the timeline over a hundred years, and the barrier has always been there.]
"The barrier was not set up by me and A’xuan, it was set up by the Time Beast before."
Jian Hou understood that the adult Time Beast could foresee the future and also travel back in time. However, it required much more energy to interfere with the future than the past. Before the adult Time Beast disappeared, it must have seen the future, known that Jian Hou would come to this world, and known everything that was about to happen. That’s why it set up the barrier in advance for Li Zhexuan and Li Chunzhou. The time period covered by this barrier probably dates back thousands of years, which is why Jian Hou couldn’t find the starting point of the barrier.
After understanding this, Jian Hou felt completely relieved. Since the Time Beast had already seen the future but only made this one preparation, it meant that Li Zhexuan and Li Chunzhou would surely escape the pursuit of the Main God System. Jian Hou didn’t need to worry anymore.
When Li Chunzhou returned to the palace, Liang Yongyuan had been eagerly waiting for her. As soon as he saw Li Chunzhou, he burst into tears.
Li Chunzhou was puzzled by his crying. She walked over to him, wiped his tears, while Gu Chenxin, feeling helpless, leaned down beside Liang Yongyuan and said, "Your Highness, didn’t I tell you not to act too strangely in front of others?"
Liang Yongyuan often felt like he was incredibly lucky to have met Li Chunzhou. So, every time he couldn’t see Li Chunzhou, he felt anxious about her disappearance, appearing to be ambivalent.
Although Li Chunzhou had initially disliked Liang Yongyuan for what he would become in the future, after spending so much time together, she softened. She found herself both criticizing and planning many things for Liang Yongyuan.
Liang Yongyuan looked up earnestly and said, "Lady Chun, I will always like you the most and not anyone else!"
Li Zhexuan looked up with a blank expression, staring at Liang Yongyuan.
Li Chunzhou stopped smiling when she heard this. She had met many men in her earlier life who claimed to like her, but to Li Chunzhou, this kind of calculated affection seemed insincere.
She squatted down, pinched Liang Yongyuan’s slightly chubby cheeks and said, "No, I don’t need you to like me, and I don’t need you to give me anything. Don’t make everything about relationships between men and women."
Jian Hou looked at her in surprise. Li Chunzhou’s long black eyelashes, red cheeks glowing in the sunset, made her look warm and soft. He felt a sense of divinity in her, not because of her understanding of human nature, but because of her compassion for the weak. "Compassion" is the true difference between higher and lower beings.
Gu Chenxin, who had been standing silently aside, watched Li Chunzhou with a complex expression. Li Chunzhou always treated others kindly and gently, rooted in her lack of expectations towards others. This calmness made her unaffected by others’ reactions and behaviors, showing no curiosity.
She seemed to have her own "way". Gu Chenxin couldn’t see any greed or resentment in her, this calm coldness creating a sense of distance. Yet her protection was compassionate and fair, reaching out equally to everyone seeking refuge.
Gu Chenxin couldn’t understand her but didn’t dislike her either.
At night, Li Chunzhou sat on a quiet oak tree, cradling a dark cat. Moonlight bathed them, highlighting Li Chunzhou’s glowing face and her flowing hair cascading over her shoulders. She affectionately stroked the cat’s fur while Li Zhexuan occasionally twitched his ears, resting his head on Li Chunzhou’s shoulder.
Li Chunzhou chattered on, saying a lot. Every time she spoke, Li Zhexuan would meow. She paused for a moment and said, "I still can’t let go of how Fan Nuo and them are doing. But if we continue to avoid, we’ll only put ourselves in a disadvantageous position… You must regret it now, trading your life for someone so cowardly."
Before she could finish speaking, Li Zhexuan interrupted her, gently covering Li Chunzhou’s mouth with his soft paw and looking into her eyes, saying, "No, I never thought that way. If you don’t want to face it, we can stay here longer and not end the Dungeon so soon."
Then Li Zhexuan gently touched her forehead with his mouth. Li Chunzhou was surprised but slowly embraced Li Zhexuan, softly saying, "I need to think more… a little more…"
***
Spring came and went, three years passed by in the blink of an eye.
Many things happened inside and outside the palace. The princes fought fiercely, involving the influence of the previous dynasty and the harem, but Li Chunzhou didn’t pay much attention to all of this.
Li Zhexuan was like a king in the Imperial Garden. Many young princes and princesses knew about a mysterious black cat in the garden. Rumors spread that Li Zhexuan had turned into a magical cat that could go anywhere. Catching this black cat became the obsession of some young princes.
Li Zhexuan didn’t have the patience to play with the children. Every time he ate the bait they offered, he not only refused to let them touch him but also didn’t wait for them to bring out the net. He would turn and leave, angering the children who threw stones at him. Dodging the flying pebbles, Li Zhexuan jumped up expressionless and charged towards the child, saying, "I’ll show you what naughty really means!"
He didn’t feel bad about bullying the weaker ones because these children were actually his nephews or cousins in terms of their family hierarchy.
Li Chunzhou spent most of her time lying on the tree, sleeping. Li Zhexuan became more clingy, spending his days wandering around Li Chunzhou. He would sway back and forth in front of her while she slept on the tree. After doing this over a dozen times in an hour, Li Chunzhou would impatiently scoop him up and Li Zhexuan would obediently fall asleep in her arms.
Liang Yongyuan was growing taller, shedding his childish appearance and starting to look more like a young man. Whenever he approached Li Chunzhou, Li Zhexuan would silently watch him and had scratched him a few times.
Li Chunzhou could only hold Li Zhexuan tightly when Liang Yongyuan appeared, whispering, "He is not your father or uncle, why are you treating him like this?"
Li Zhexuan sadly said, "Our relationship is the best in the world! You can only love me!"
Li Chunzhou smiled, sensing some jealousy from Mi Hongbao in his silent words.
Jian Hou, surprised, said, "But didn’t Lady Chun have good relationships with many men other than you before? You also…"
Li Zhexuan couldn’t change reality, so he angrily hit Jian Hou on the head with his paws. Jian Hou dodged, puzzled about where he went wrong.
Li Chunzhou, helpless, said, "I’m going to bed. A’xuan, stop hitting. Do you want to sleep together?"
Li Zhexuan stopped hitting, reluctantly returned to Li Chunzhou’s side, jumped onto her shoulder, and wagged his tail, saying, "Okay."
Li Chunzhou woke up to a dimly lit sky with light rain falling around her. The raindrops passing through her body and dripping on the trees made her feel peaceful as she gazed at the misty grey sky in the distance.
Before gathering enough energy to return, they experienced the changing seasons together in the unchanging palace, witnessing the new and old faces, the fresh greenery and deep reds, the silver decorations and the white snow.
The palace looked more majestic and solemn in its winter attire, with warm fires lit inside, enjoying the snow, sipping tea, or hosting winter feasts with flickering candles, filling the palace with a strong festive atmosphere.
Li Chunzhou breathed out white vapor, which quickly dissipated in the air. She was now able to stay tangible for longer periods, indicating that Li Zhexuan was gaining more energy.
Gu Chenxin gradually accepted Li Chunzhou’s presence and no longer tried to drive her away. Whenever he came to the palace, he would casually bring her an orange.
One day, as Gu Chenxin handed Li Chunzhou an orange again, she suddenly spoke to him.
"I don’t want to eat oranges anymore."
Gu Chenxin paused, "Then I’ll bring you something else next time."
Li Chunzhou fell silent. Though she originally wanted Gu Chenxin to stop bringing these things, she couldn’t refuse when she saw his earnest expression.
Since then, Gu Chenxin occasionally left new treats under the oak tree. Sometimes Li Chunzhou would come down to eat, sometimes nothing happened. He gradually learned what she liked to eat. Their relationship was neither close nor distant, always one giving fruit and the other receiving, seldom talking, politely keeping a thin veil between them because they both felt the other was aloof yet deep down warm.
One day, as Gu Chenxin placed a pomegranate under the tree as usual and turned to leave, he heard Li Chunzhou’s voice from above, "You’ve brought this fruit before."
"Really?" Gu Chenxin smiled rarely, as if feeding a stray cat every day, expecting no response, but one day being stopped by the cat. He tilted his head up, eyes filled with a smile, and said lightly, "I’ll bring you something different tomorrow."