…After sleeping for two thousand years, her first words upon waking were “tea and refreshments.”

Regarding her behavior of waking up and not asking about herself or her father and brother, but first filling her stomach, Fucang had nothing to say. He truly didn’t know whether to pinch her or what to do.

Yet he heard her stomach make a “gurgle” sound, producing a particularly loud and particularly prolonged noise.

So she was truly hungry.

He hooked his finger, and the plate of Peach Blossom Hundred Fruits Cake and pot of Sea Sand Tea that the Yi River goddess had brought earlier fell onto the bed.

Having not eaten for two thousand years, she was probably starving. In just a few swift motions she finished the plate of refreshments, then pressed down a yawn with her sleeve. Turning her head, she rolled into his embrace in one motion, curling up like a cat, trying to hide her head inside as she said: “It’s so glaring.”

Fucang looked around this guest room. There were no lamps lit inside the room. Within the water god’s residence, a dim light flowed, and the illumination wasn’t much brighter than moonlight. Glaring?

He swept his long sleeve, and the curtains fell one after another. The guest room plunged into complete darkness. This kind of dimness seemed to make the Dragon Princess feel comfortable, and she exhaled a breath contentedly.

A cold, fragrant scent filled his mouth and nose in the darkness. Fucang couldn’t help but gently cup her face and examine her closely.

These distinct black and white eyes could move, and her full, beautiful lips were also moving. She had awakened. After two thousand years, from a fallen celestial deity covered in turbid energy who could kill several main generals with a raise of her hand, she had become like a newborn Zhuyin Dragon God with only a thread of weak divine power, without dragon scales, unable to tolerate light in her eyes.

His fingertips traced her cold, soft cheek. He truly didn’t dare use even a bit of force, afraid he would break her.

Those soft arms embraced him just as in his dreams. Wisp after wisp of the Zhuyin Dragon God’s aura twined around him. Although extremely weak, it was still truly the power of a dragon god.

Fucang tightened his arms, wishing he could merge her into his chest.

The slender body in his embrace gradually went limp. Her voice became low and faint: “I’m tired.”

Don’t sleep. Don’t sleep for another two thousand years. Don’t make him lonely for another two thousand years. If she never woke, he could wait forever. But once she gave him hope only to plunge him back into waiting, that endless time would become a giant python, coiling around him circle by circle until he suffocated. Heartless Dragon Princess, always leaving him behind alone time and again.

Fucang gently shook her and said in a low voice: “Hold on a bit.”

Xuan Yi only felt endless exhaustion and weakness surge over her like a tide. She tried her best not to let herself sink, but the sound she made was like sleep-talking: “Who was that goddess covered in starlight just now?”

So sparkly it nearly blinded her. Seeing such a scene upon waking seemed to make her quite displeased.

Fucang kissed her face. This question made him rather pleased.

His enchantingly low voice was like feathers brushing through her heart, ticklish, making her want to sleep even more. She could only try hard to keep her eyes wide open to listen, but his words came to her ears intermittently: “…two thousand years…father and brother are well…Sea of Bitter Regrets…announced to the world…”

So two thousand years had already passed. No wonder she was so ravenously hungry. After returning, she would eat back all the refreshments from these two thousand years.

Mm, Qing Yan and Father were fine—that was wonderful. That bastard Shao Yi had finally done something conscientious.

As for announcing to the world and such, she didn’t care at all. Whether the deities of the heavens hated her, resented her, worshipped her, or spurned her—since they weren’t the ones she cared about, she simply treated them as nonexistent.

The rest could be told to her slowly when she woke again next time. This time she definitely wouldn’t sleep too long.

Xuan Yi could no longer keep her eyes wide open and slowly sank back into the familiar darkness.

*

The savior princess of the Zhuyin Clan who had resolved the calamity of the Sea of Bitter Regrets had awakened! This was none other than the most popular gossip circulating in the upper realm recently.

Back when Tian Di had announced the matter of the Sea of Bitter Regrets completely and in detail to the world, the already red-hot names of the Zhuyin Clan and Qingyang Clan had once again become popular to the point of purple.

They heard that the young princess of the Zhuyin Clan, only thirty-three thousand years old, had single-handedly turned the tide and saved all creatures of heaven and earth from fire and water. Afterward, however, she was hunted by the upper realm who didn’t understand the situation because she had been infected with turbid energy, and finally fell into slumber from exhaustion. This matter earned countless tears from goddesses and also caused countless young, ignorant divine lords to develop improper yearnings for this princess.

They heard that the young Phoenix Lord of the Qingyang Clan was the reincarnation through nirvana of the supreme previous generation Qingyang Dijun, one of the chief culprits who created the Sea of Bitter Regrets. His methods were brutal and vicious. He used the phoenix heart feather to coerce the Zhuyin family into doing things, and afterward still wanted to deeply conceal his accomplishments and fame. This matter earned countless divine lords’ secret admiration and also caused countless young, ignorant goddesses to develop improper yearnings for this seemingly incredibly formidable young ancient emperor.

In short, the deities’ attitudes toward these two clans were quite conflicted.

But regardless, it was good that the princess had awakened.

At this moment, this princess revered by ten thousand deities was sitting in a chair with an extremely elegant posture, her hands moving like lightning as she ate the refreshments on the white jade plate completely clean. Lightly sipping a mouthful of Radiant Flying Scenery Tea, her eyes hidden behind black gauze gazed affectionately toward the female immortal attendant standing behind her, speaking in a delicate, soft voice: “…Another plate, please.”

She still wanted another plate? This was already the fourth plate. Truly worthy of being the savior—even her appetite was different from others. The female immortal continued to fetch refreshments for her with a reverent expression.

“A’Yi, is it alright to eat so much?” Zhongshan Dijun looked at her with concern, raising his hand wanting to touch his daughter’s face.

Xuan Yi turned her head to avoid him. She didn’t want to be touched by him anymore. Once he touched her, he would start rambling on and on, and as he rambled his eyes would turn red. Very annoying.

Qing Yan, who had made a special trip from the Northern Heaven, gave a low, mocking laugh from the side: “Not eating for two thousand years—look how starved she is.”

They also knew she hadn’t eaten for two thousand years. This wasn’t like sleeping for a thousand years with pure energy swirling and oscillating around her. Why didn’t they bring her tea and refreshments earlier? Otherwise, she might have woken up long ago.

Another hand pressed against her cheek. Xuan Yi turned her head. Fucang was sitting beside her, his dark eyes gazing at her with considerable concern. Clearly, he also couldn’t feel at ease about her bold appetite.

She smiled slightly, contentedly enjoying his caress. This starkly different treatment made Zhongshan Dijun involuntarily draw in a breath.

The door of Yanhe Palace suddenly opened. It was Baize Dijun bringing Gu Ting, Tai Yao, Yan Xia, and several others in. The already somewhat noisy Yanhe Palace instantly became incomparably clamorous. This one asked a question about “how are things,” that one said a sentence about “who could have imagined such courage.” Xuan Yi was so annoyed her head ached, so she simply ignored them all.

Baize Dijun came over. Just as he approached, he sensed the thread of extremely weak divine power of the Zhuyin Dragon God within her body. He rarely made a pleased “oh” sound and breathed a sigh of relief: “So placing her inside Chun Jun really was useful.”

These words made Zhongshan Dijun’s complexion change immediately, and even Fucang couldn’t help but glance at him. He knew the gentleman’s words had been nonsense.

“Her current divine power is probably the same as a newborn Zhuyin Dragon God.” Baize Dijun pulled over a chair and sat down. Just then, the female immortal brought up refreshments, and he unceremoniously grabbed a piece of Agate White Jade Cake. “You can’t use any spells, right?”

Xuan Yi nodded silently. It wasn’t just that she couldn’t use spells—she couldn’t even manifest White Snow.

She actually somewhat missed the version of herself who could release one hundred and eight black dragons at once.

Baize Dijun pondered: “That contaminated Darkness of Zhuyin that you swallowed in the Sea of Bitter Regrets should have later been completely transformed into the blizzard and black dragons at the Divine Mulberry Tree and used up. That you didn’t perish was probably because of the regenerative divine power seeping in. Moreover, the Zhuyin Dragon God’s breath is long and enduring, and vital force is extremely abundant. To wake after sleeping only two thousand years is already considered extremely fast.”

His words seemed quite authoritative, but unfortunately, he spoke while eating, which made what he said seem completely unreliable.

“So I’ll just stay this weak forever?” Xuan Yi touched her own hand. No dragon scales, no spells—she was simply a block of tofu.

Baize Dijun thought for a moment and turned his head to look at Fucang: “Since placing her in Chun Jun is useful, then continue keeping her there. Wait until her dragon scales grow out before reassessing.”

How many years would that take! Zhongshan Dijun’s complexion became even uglier. A’Yi’s scales would only fully grow at thirty thousand years old. Could it be that from now on he would let that boy from the Huaxu Clan confine A’Yi in his sword for thirty thousand years?

“In the end, it was only because she slept for two thousand years in Chun Jun that she could wake.”

With one sentence from Baize Dijun, Zhongshan Dijun’s eyes reddened. He silently walked to the side and said nothing.

Seeing several empty refreshment plates piled on the table and that little demon Xuan Yi still occasionally putting refreshments in her mouth, Gu Ting couldn’t help but smile with a frown: “After sleeping for two thousand years, it looks like your appetite has been well-rested too.”

Speaking thus, he also came over and pulled up a chair to sit, then said again: “You woke at an opportune time. In a few more months, the Whirling Peonies will bloom again. At that time, you must come to Flower Emperor’s Immortal Island for the ceremony.”

Ceremony? Xuan Yi widened her eyes. When she saw Yan Xia beside him blushing and lowering her head, she immediately understood. This Senior Apprentice Brother Gu Ting was still so impatient. Once he met someone who suited his heart, he couldn’t wait to bind them to his side with an official status. Getting married at only around fifty thousand years old—wasn’t that too early?

This time Gu Ting could finally figure out her thoughts and immediately said: “Do you think everyone in the upper realm is like an emperor? Those with emperor titles are all divine races with rare and noble bloodlines. They all must wait until assuming the position of emperor to marry. Someone like me doesn’t need to, and Yan Xia also has an elder brother assuming the position of Chi Di.”

So that’s how it was.

Xuan Yi smiled. She quite liked Gu Ting, so her blessing was given sincerely: “Senior Apprentice Brother Gu Ting and Senior Apprentice Sister Yan Xia truly are a match made in heaven.”

This made Yan Xia hastily turn her face away, and even her ears turned red. Gu Ting smiled: “You still speak sweet words so smoothly. Since you’ve awakened, quickly get Senior Apprentice Sister Zhi Xi out. She’s been alone in the Heavenly Prison for two thousand years already.”

Tai Yao behind them quietly kicked his chair. Xuan Yi didn’t know anything about Zhi Xi’s situation—why did he bring this up?

Sure enough, Xuan Yi asked in surprise: “What happened to Senior Apprentice Sister Zhi Xi?”

Gu Ting sighed. When Senior Apprentice Sister Zhi Xi became stubborn, it was also quite fatal. She said she would wait until Xuan Yi woke before leaving the Heavenly Prison, and truly never came out again. After the War Department was withdrawn, the Justice Ministry invited her to leave the Heavenly Prison and take a position in the Justice Ministry three times over, but she never agreed. The head of the Justice Ministry who understood the course of events actually valued her highly because of this.

Having malicious thoughts was perfectly normal. But to be so intolerant and even harsh toward one’s own malicious thoughts—this was something ordinary divine beings couldn’t do. Precisely because of this strictness toward herself, she would definitely be able to become an extremely perfect and fair arbiter of good and evil in the Justice Ministry.