Chapter 61 Tearing Through the Sky: I Only Love You

"After we leave the Sword Immortal's Tomb, shall I take you to see my home?"

The lantern rested on his chest, and he spoke with great interest.

“My family is very nice, and since you are good-looking, they will like you too.”

Shen Zhou stroked her hair and said with interest, "You like it just because it looks good?"

Hua Deng retorted confidently, "Otherwise what? Do you prefer something that's not pretty?"

Shen Zhou said in a neither too light nor too heavy tone, "There are many good-looking people in the world."

Hua Deng responded with an "oh".

I just wanted her to say something like "You'd better like me the most," but she wouldn't say it!

She said, "I like other pretty ones too."

Shen Zhou said, "I don't like it."

"It doesn't have to be what you like..."

"I only like you."

"?!"

The lights suddenly shot up from him.

"What are you saying all of a sudden?!"

Although she has so many good qualities, it's only natural that he likes her, but she still blushed when she first heard it.

Hua Deng stared at Chen Zhou with wide-eyed surprise and suspicion, as if he suspected that Chen Zhou had been possessed.

Shen Zhou acted as if he were not the one who had just spoken.

He only happened to recall that day when Yin Zejing, dissatisfied with his always silent attitude, patted his shoulder hard and shook his head, saying:

"Oh, Shen Zhou, if you ever fall for a girl, you must tell her! Don't keep it to yourself!"

Does that count as telling me?

Actually, telling her wouldn't have made any difference; she still wouldn't remember. He just felt he should say it.

Judging from Hua Deng's expression, he didn't seem to believe it.

So he changed his wording and repeated, "No one else matters, I only like you."

Hua Deng stood there stunned for a moment, his ears practically burning.

"Huh?...Oh."

She slowly lay down, burrowed into the blankets, pinched her earlobe with her fingertips, unsure how to respond.

Saying "I like you too"? That's so cliché!

Saying "I accept your affection"? But they were originally a couple.

"Thank you...?" came a soft voice from under the covers.

Shen Zhou was amused and simply lay down in the blanket, pressing his nose close to hers in the darkness.

"That's all?" he asked, pressing on the back of her neck.

His breath was so close, Hua Deng's face felt even hotter, and she could only be thankful that he couldn't see it.

"Actually, I... I quite like you too," she said hesitantly.

Shen Zhou kissed her eyes and said with a smile, "Then I should also say thank you."

For some reason, although he spoke casually, Hua Deng felt that he wasn't joking.

Just like she isn't either.

Since she came into this world, she has always felt lonely and often feels out of place with her surroundings.

Fighting and killing are commonplace here, and it takes her a long time to accept it.

Her parents and sister are all mortals, but she possesses spiritual roots, destined to walk a different path.

Every time I went out, I would encounter danger, so I spent most of my time at home growing up and had almost no friends.

However, looking back now, that feeling of loneliness seems like it happened a long time ago.

She has traveled to many places and made many friends. Her bracelet contains the strongest sword energy in the world, and her ring is the strongest defensive magic weapon in the world.

Hua Deng couldn't be sure if she would remain in this world after her parents and sister passed away, but that didn't stop her from feeling good about being here at this moment.

She held Chen Zhou in her arms, neither of them speaking, and the tranquility seemed especially beautiful in the night.

After a while, she casually remarked, "So your sister and Yin Zejing are Daoist partners."

"Yes, they got married a long time ago."

Hua Deng then asked, "I've heard that Yin Zejing is very powerful, is that true?"

Not knowing what was wrong with that statement, Shen Zhou said, "Do you really have to mention him?"

Hua Deng smiled and said, "Didn't you say I could ask you anything? What, are you going back on your word so quickly?"

Shen Zhou chuckled and said casually, "He is very powerful, a Heavenly Spiritual Root, the chief disciple, and the head of the Yin family."

“You sound completely different from yourself, Fellow Daoist Shen,” Hua Deng said.

I felt a pinch on my waist, like a form of punishment.

However, Hua Deng only felt itchy. She dodged and begged for mercy, changing the subject: "He and your sister have a good relationship, right?"

Shen Zhou pulled her back into his arms and said, "It's probably not good."

"ah?"

"Chen Xi is with him, most likely to obtain the resources of the Yin family behind him."

Hua Deng rebuked, "How can you not believe in love at all!"

Shen Zhou only said, "If you saw her, you wouldn't believe that she could fall in love with someone."

Hua Deng blurted out, "That's not necessarily true! When I first met you, I didn't think you would—"

Her words stopped abruptly as she realized what she had said.

She actually...!

Isn't that just being presumptuous?

She quickly pulled the blanket over herself, turned over, and pretended nothing had happened.

There was no sound behind her for a moment, and she dared not imagine what Shen Zhou was thinking.

But soon after, she was grabbed by the shoulders and turned over.

The streetlights are pretending to be asleep with their eyes closed.

Suddenly she heard Shen Zhou say, "You're right."

He held her hand, feeling the warmth of his palm.

Hua Deng only realized later that his body temperature should have been cold, but he maintained it at her favorite temperature so as not to make her uncomfortable.

Unaware of her absent-mindedness, Shen Zhou said calmly, "She must have loved that person to be willing to stay by his side."

"Perhaps that period was not long, but it was all she had."

Hua Deng suddenly felt that she shouldn't be angry with him, after all, seven days was a long time.

She squeezed his hand back and said, "I also have a younger sister."

"She's seven years old this year, and in another ten years or so, she might be getting married."

She joked, "When that day comes and I see her getting married, I'm sure I'll cry."

Shen Zhou smiled faintly.

Hua Deng, intrigued, scrutinized his face and asked, "Did you cry when your sister got married?"

Shen Zhou said, "No. I'm happy for them, why should I cry?"

Hua Deng retorted, "People cry even when they're happy."

Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow and asked cryptically, "So when you cried, were you crying because you were happy?"

Hua Deng: "..."

She was dirty, and she immediately recognized what he was asking!

She said angrily, "I cried because you made me angry!"

Shen Zhou laughed heartily.

Hua Deng fell asleep in his arms after only fifteen minutes.

He put his arm around her and closed his eyes.

When he was with her, sleeping became a natural thing for him. Sometimes he would put his soul into her consciousness and do nothing but rest quietly.

There are no stars or moon tonight.

Perhaps because of the previous conversation, he recalled the day he attended the wedding banquet, a memory he hadn't had in a long time.

He used disguise to blend in with the guests.

It was a very lively day; everyone was laughing and praising the newlyweds.

They praised Chen Xi and Yin Zejing as a perfect match, both in talent and appearance.

Shen Zhou, standing at the back of the crowd, could hear Yin Zejing talking to the guests, and Chen Xi would occasionally chime in with a few indifferent words.

He looked in her direction and imagined what she looked like.

As a child, she loved wearing yellow clothes. After joining her master's sect, she mostly wore a blue robe. The blue robe was loose, and the girl was slender, like a green bamboo or a crane's shadow.

She would look stunning in her wedding dress, standing beside Yin Zejing.

Unfortunately, he can't see it.

*

Early the next morning, Hua Deng and Shen Zhou set off for the Sword Immortal's Tomb.

Inside the carriage, Crescent Moon and Full Moon sat upright, their faces serious.

As they placed tea and snacks on the table, they struggled with their professionalism, resisting the urge to steal glances at those around them.

Even without looking, they can hear these sounds.

"This hairstyle is not bad... Not bad, I didn't expect you to learn it so quickly." That was the young lady's voice.

"Really? This one's a bit too easy. Try something different next time." That was the stinky man's voice.

The tea and snacks had just been laid out when a hand took them away.

"This is delicious, do you want to try some?... Don't just feed me, you should try a bite too."

"good."

Crescent Moon and Full Moon looked grave.

This is their job!

They left the carriage dejectedly.

Hua Deng was completely oblivious to anything amiss. With a pastry in his mouth, he took out his communication disc and glanced at the message.

It was a group chat between her, Su Yiqing, and Pei Jianming.

They had previously agreed to go to the Sword Immortal's Tomb together, because the three of them coincidentally received the same mission.

As for the "fellow disciples of the Yaoqing Sect" mentioned in her mission requirements, thankfully Shen Zhou is there, so there's no need to worry at all.

The carriage stopped midway and picked up Su Yiqing and Pei Jianming.

Pei Jianming was very uneasy.

He feared being slapped to death by Shen Zhou, and thus his entrepreneurial venture was cut short.

Hua Deng made a solemn promise that he would definitely guarantee his personal safety, but the Sword Immortal Tomb was extremely dangerous, and it would indeed be safer with Shen Zhou there.

So he came.

He sat in the corner like a quail, his light extinguished. While Hua Deng and Su Yiqing chatted and laughed, he kept eating and drinking, suppressing the urge to speak.

But to his despair, he discovered that the situation was becoming even more bizarre.

Because only he and Shen Zhou were silent, sitting face to face, one with his eyes closed to rest, the other engrossed in eating, Pei Jianming felt suffocated for the first time while eating.

Hua Deng would glance at them every now and then, and seeing that they were getting along well, he continued chatting with Su Yiqing.

"Where's your boyfriend?" she asked.

Su Yi waved her hand lightly, with a "don't even mention it" expression: "He's really annoying. He follows me everywhere I go, and he even cares if I say something to someone else. It was so hard to finally get rid of him."

Hua Deng pondered for a moment and felt that Shen Zhou might also have this tendency, but he never showed it.

For example, right now, he seems indifferent to their conversation, but his hand is still holding hers.

Sometimes, she even sensed a fleeting murderous intent in his eyes towards Su Yiqing and Pei Jianming.

However, she knew he wouldn't do that, so she pretended not to have noticed.

Compared to her composure, Pei Jianming was going crazy.

"System, what on earth is he trying to do?!" he screamed frantically in his mind.

"Host, be careful." The mechanical voice was unusually serious. "He seems to have discovered me."

"What? No way! What do we do then?!"

"Don't worry, host," the mechanical voice said calmly. "I don't have a physical body, so he can't do anything to me."

"So it's a freak without a physical form." A cold voice suddenly rang in his mind.

Pei Jianming was startled and almost jumped up, but he lost control of his body and could only watch helplessly as his opponent slaughtered him.

He looked at Shen Zhou, who had opened his eyes at some point, his extremely dark eyes gazing at him indifferently.

Shen Zhou seemed unwilling to pay attention to him, and simply asked the system, "What are you?"

The system's voice was no longer calm; it couldn't understand why this person could control it as well!

"I am system number N203, I come from..."

It listened in horror as it spilled everything out.

"What would he do if he killed you?" Shen Zhou asked.

The system said, "You can't kill me; I don't exist in this world."

Pei Jianming has broken down.

He wanted to ask Hua Deng for help, but he couldn't open his mouth. Meanwhile, the man took the chestnut cake that Hua Deng offered him, took a bite, and chatted and laughed with her as if nothing had happened.

That's terrifying, that man is terrifying!

He shouldn't have come today!

Shen Zhou asked, "Why have you appeared?"

"In order to open up the passage between Kyushu and the outside world," the system replied, "the Heavenly Dao of this world has closed the connection between Kyushu and the outside world. I need to obtain the energy of the Heavenly Dao to return Kyushu to its original position."

Pei Jianming was stunned.

"Wait, you've never told me any of this!"

He quickly lost his shock.

Because Shen Zhou made a move.

"Buzz...system...impact...data...disconnection...buzz..."

Pei Jianming's eyes widened.

The system has disappeared!

However, the mechanical sound reappeared shortly afterward.

"System N203 has re-established contact with you... *snap*"

The second time.

"System N203...buzz..."

The third time.

"system……"

Don't come again!

Pei Jianming, in a state of mental derangement, looked at the streetlights with his last glimmer of hope.

[Fellow villager, please help!]

Hua Deng was taken aback by his gaze and handed him a piece of pastry: "You want to eat this?"

Under Shen Zhou's watchful gaze, Pei Jianming accepted the pastries with tears in his eyes and was forced to say thank you.

His gaze was too strange. Hua Deng vaguely sensed something was wrong and asked Chen Zhou, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Shen Zhou said that when she saw that she had fed him another piece of chestnut flour cake, she simply withdrew the power that had forcibly entered Pei Jianming's mind and lowered her eyes to focus on eating the cake.

Pei Jianming had just breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down to wipe away his cold sweat when suddenly that eerie voice appeared again: "What special meaning does the middle finger have?"

"ah?"

Shen Zhou asked indifferently, "What does it mean to wear a ring on your middle finger?"

Pei Jianming's lips twitched: "It means...boyfriend and girlfriend, right?"

“Hmm,” Shen Zhou said.

It seems Hua Deng was right; giving him the middle finger means you like him.

Looking back, it seems like she first used this gesture not long after they met. He opened her spiritual channels, and she used this gesture to express her gratitude.

Later in bed, although she bit and scratched him, she made so many gestures to him, which means she must really like him.

Shen Zhou's expression softened slightly, and he ordered Pei Jianming and the system, "Forget what just happened."

He reached out and grabbed a piece of chestnut flour cake.

Hua Deng looked completely bewildered.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Zhou's lips curled up three pixels, and he seemed to be in a good mood.

Could it be that he really likes chestnut flour cake?

Hua Deng secretly moved the chestnut flour cake closer to himself to prevent him from eating it all later.

The journey to the Sword Immortal's Tomb should have taken about three days, but with Shen Zhou's magical assistance, we arrived two days ahead of schedule.

When Hua Deng got off the bus, a group of people were standing at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the towering mountain.

"What are they doing?" Hua Deng asked curiously.

She didn't recognize most of the people here, but she had seen a few of them during the Immortal Sect Competition. It seemed that everyone was quite interested in the matter of the Ascension Ladder.

“They probably can’t find the real entrance,” Pei Jianming said. “Several sects couldn’t wait and went in early, but they all ended up in an illusion and haven’t come out yet. Fortunately, their soul lamps haven’t gone out, so there’s a chance they can survive.”

Su Yiqing interjected, "This sword immortal is indeed powerful; no wonder he needed the three of us to come out."

"That goes without saying." Pei Jianming had completely forgotten what had just happened. Although his brain was inexplicably throbbing, he was already eager to try again.

“I’ve also heard a rumor, but it’s just a rumor and has never been confirmed,” he said, pointing to the high mountains ahead.

"rumor--"

"He once tore the heavens apart and forged the strongest sword in the world."

"It was with this sword that he destroyed the lightning tribulation and saved all living beings from fire and water."