Chapter 2 Adoption: Just call him Morax
Morax didn't speak immediately. He looked at Qiao Xi, and after a moment, he nodded. "It's alright."
Qiao Xi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Morax.
The night wind carried the scent of the sea, damp and salty, which made Morax irritable. After a while, he spoke first: "How are you feeling?"
Qiao Xi thought Morax was getting impatient, so she stretched her legs and tried to stand up, but as soon as her body left the ground, she immediately started to fall back down uncontrollably.
She didn't fall; instead, she felt a sharp pain as her arm was gripped tightly. It was Morax reaching out and holding her arm.
Her wedding dress was layered and thick, yet you could still feel the warmth of the two of them being close together.
Morax used a little force to straighten Qiao Xi, and the sparkling decorations on her wedding dress made a crisp sound as they struck each other. Her head full of jewels swayed, her makeup was heavy, and her long, raven-feather eyelashes fluttered gently as she looked at Morax with some surprise.
Morax calmly accepted Qiao Xi's gaze, showing no expression.
Qiao Xi didn't dare to linger any longer. She sat back down, rubbing her arm, and smiled awkwardly, "It seems I'm not fully recovered yet. This is the first time I've seen this scene. I'm sorry." "Hmm." Morax looked into the distance, where the troublemaker had been suppressed. "In recent years, there have been frequent wars, and I have indeed been unable to handle everything properly. This apology shouldn't come from you."
Qiao Xi was taken aback. War? Zhou Quan?
Was it during the Warring States period?
Is the man in front of me someone like a mighty general?
Qiao Xi looked around, the salty sea breeze brushing against her nose.
However, this didn't seem like the way she had learned about warfare in her textbooks at all. Regardless of whether it was cold weapons or firearms, the last scene she saw when she came out of the bridal chamber looked more like a magical battle.
Qiao Xi asked, "Morax, where exactly is this?"
"This is the southern coastal area of Tianheng Mountain, the Liyue region," Morax explained patiently.
Qiao Xi had never heard of this mountain.
She judged that she had transmigrated into a completely new world, which was currently divided into various factions, and different factions would fight each other for resources.
She sighed and muttered to herself, "Can I go back to school?"
Qiao Xi's words to herself reached Morax's ears.
When she mentioned the word "studying", Morax paused. It turned out that she was still in school. This child was in a dangerous situation and was an orphan. She had even forgotten where she lived and where she was, yet she still cared about studying. It was clear that she loved learning very much.
He hadn't expected to meet the girl on this trip, but since they did, and he stumbled upon her current predicament, it was a kind of fate.
It's not easy to form a bond, and it's rare to have a connection with a deity. Although he didn't have a good impression of her, he didn't dislike her either, so he had the idea of adopting her and keeping her by his side.
Qiao Xi didn't actually understand, but with years of experience as a student, she had developed the good habit of subconsciously nodding and pretending that she understood. By the time she realized what was happening, Morax was no longer looking at her.
“It’s not safe to stay here any longer. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can take you away,” Morax said.
"Take...me away? How...how?"
Qiao Xi looked at Morax, blinked hesitantly, and couldn't help but imagine all sorts of melodramatic scenes.
In the many TV dramas she watched, as a time traveler unable to walk, facing such a cold, mysterious, and powerful man, he would inevitably give her a princess carry, which she was extremely unwilling but had to do. In this situation, they would inevitably fall off a cliff, roll around in each other's arms, and finally accidentally kiss.
Thinking of this, Qiao Xi silently covered her mouth. She hadn't confessed to the boy she liked yet, and she couldn't just give away her first kiss so hastily.
She looked at Morax with an innocent expression.
Morax was puzzled.
He didn't know what the child was thinking, but he met Qiao Xi's gaze, bent down, and placed one hand on Qiao Xi's waist.
Qiao Xi was stunned. Was she going to be carried in a princess carry?
She didn't have much time to think. She only felt a strong push against her lower abdomen, and then her feet were lifted off the ground, her whole body jingling with the jewels around her.
It was my first time being carried in a princess carry, and I was a little nervous.
But she was overthinking it.
It wasn't a princess carry, but rather carrying sacks.
She was the unlucky sack, carried on Morax's shoulder, head down, one sack at a time.
Qiao Xi: "..."
I feel so dizzy and lightheaded.
However, this way of carrying people, coupled with her wedding dress and the long spear that Morax carried on his back, made a striking impression.
It's more like a wedding kidnapping...
Qiao Xi's mind was in a mess, and she only had one thought in a daze: this way of carrying people uses the lever principle. What was the expression for the lever principle again? She had forgotten about it after the junior high school entrance exam.
But since they were helping her, why worry about the formalities? Let them be a little evasive. After all, leveraging the principle saves effort when done well, and she has to think about Morax.
Besides, so what if you're a burlap sack? If you're going to be a burlap sack, you should have the awareness to be one! Qiao Xi was planning to thank Morax after landing.
But simply being prepared to be a sack wasn't enough; Qiao Xi hadn't expected that she would also have to be prepared to overcome her fear of heights.
Morax placed his hand on her waist and lifted her into the air. The sudden increase in weight made Qiao Xi's eyes dazzle, wondering if the gravitational acceleration in this world was still 9.8.
Soon, they stopped at a fixed height.
Looking down from this angle, there are countless rock spears of all sizes on the ground. Morax remains upright and unhurriedly flies in the air toward his predetermined direction.
He exuded a carefree air, yet with Qiao Xi, who was teetering on the verge of fainting, hanging precariously from his shoulder.
Morax noticed that Qiao Xi was uncomfortable and asked, "Are you afraid of heights?"
"Yes, of course, congratulations." Qiao Xi's eyes gleamed, she babbled incoherently, and felt like vomiting.
Although Morax couldn't understand, he could feel the child's stomach spasming.
He had a bad feeling, and to prevent any accidents, he pointed downwards, landing on the back of Qiao Xi's knees.
Qiao Xi felt a jolt of electricity run down her thigh, and the next second, carrying the sack turned into a real princess carry.
This was the first time she had been hugged like this, and she felt light and airy.
Morax supported her knees with one hand and put his other arm around her shoulder, his expression normal, looking straight ahead without looking at her.
But his breath landed perfectly on Qiao Xi's cheek, warm and ticklish.
As her long eyelashes trembled slightly, Qiao Xi noticed that her makeup had smeared onto Morax's clothes at the chest.
There were red, white, yellow, green, purple, blue, and black colors—it was simply a riot of colors.
Besides feeling guilty for getting other people's clothes dirty, Qiao Xi even started to wonder what kind of mess she would look like with so many colors of makeup? Would her face even be presentable?
Does that mean that from Morax's perspective, she was an ugly duckling from the very beginning?
That Morax has a really strong mental fortitude.
Qiao Xi was lost in thought.
"Don't get distracted, keep your breathing steady, and concentrate." The voice came from above. Morax looked down at her without her noticing, and only for a moment.
Qiao Xi's cheek was pressed against his chest, and her lip rouge left a small, bright red stain on the left side of his clothes. The temperature of their contact was warm and cozy, and she could feel Morax's chest trembling as he spoke.
"Okay, boss." Qiao Xi obediently closed her eyes.
Morax paused: "Hmm?"
Qiao Xi opened her eyes, her gaze resolute: "Boss!"
“No need,” Morax said softly.
Qiao Xi thought that this wasn't the proper way to address someone here, so she changed her words: "Got it, boss."
"...Just call me by my given name." Morax said with a hint of helplessness.
*
There was still some distance between here and their residence. Morax was worried that Qiao Xi's fear of heights was too severe, so he gently covered her eyes with the hand that was around her shoulder.
Just then, Qiao Xi said, "I understand, Morax."
The pronunciation of "Morax" caused Qiao Xi's lips to touch Morax's palm, and her lip rouge smeared onto his glove. Morax's hand paused almost imperceptibly.
*
Upon arriving at the southern part of Tianheng Mountain, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng and True Lord Yixiao Daotian came to greet them.
One of them is the White Crane Immortal, and the other is the Divine Deer Immortal. Both are beings formed from the elemental forces of heaven and earth, and because of Morax, they possess the ability to have three eyes and five manifestations.
In their minds, Morax was always solemn, so when they saw Morax descending from the sky with a little girl in a wedding dress, his face expressionless, they almost fell over.
What's going on with Your Majesty? It's not like you'd be gone for months and then come back to tell them that things are almost settled and you want to get married.
The two were overwhelmed with information and looked completely bewildered.
Qiao Xi landed at that moment. She had just put one leg off Morax when she saw two celestial beasts bigger than a person. She was so frightened that she cried out "Wow!" and her legs went weak again. Morax was even pulled down by her.
"Stand still," Morax said.
“…Yes,” Qiao Xi said dejectedly, her head bowed, as if she had been called to the blackboard by a teacher to solve a difficult problem, glancing at the mythical beasts every now and then.
If I remember correctly, both cranes and deer are herbivores.
"Your Majesty, who is this?" Liu Yun and Yi Xiao asked Morax in unison.
“The orphan girl who was sacrificed,” Morax replied. “She is still in shock and seems to have forgotten some things, but she is still concerned about her studies.”
Qiao Xi blinked. "Focusing on studies? What's wrong? Is something wrong?" She had just finished her college entrance exams!
But Liu Yun and Yi Xiao both breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, as long as it wasn't a wedding.
But when he looked at Qiao Xi's bright face again, he began to feel sorry for this orphan girl.
Morax said, "Her name is Qiao Xi. She is all alone and I wanted to take her in, but I am currently unable to do so. Therefore, I have entrusted her to you and Yi Xiao to take care of her for the time being."
Liu Yun said, "The Emperor has entrusted us with this task, and Yi Xiao and I will certainly not fail in our duty."
"Okay, then I'll trouble you."
While they were talking, Qiao Xi listened to their conversation and wondered why these two mythical beasts called Morax "Emperor".
The fantasy dramas and historical dramas she watched during the summer vacation started running through her mind. Qiao Xi guessed that Morax was not only the leader of those people who had recently fought against him, but also the boss of this area.
At this moment, all sorts of phrases popped up, such as "the emperor personally led the expedition," "long live the emperor," and "this concubine wants to report..." This sentence is incorrect.
Qiao Xi blinked, thinking Morax was really amazing and lucky. Although her marriage at the beginning was absurd, she ended up with the protagonist-like figure.
And then there were talking cranes and deer in front of her—wait, they could actually talk? Qiao Xi's legs went weak again, but then she thought about her interactions with Morax along the way, and felt much more at ease.
Thinking this, she unconsciously stole a glance at Morax and the mythical beasts.
Morax noticed her little action but didn't take it to heart.
Liu Yun and Yi Xiao laughed.
Morax looked at Qiao Xi: "Qiao Xi, come here."
“Okay.” Qiao Xi walked to Morax’s side, glanced at the deer and the crane, and then slowly moved behind Morax.
Morax stood with his hands behind his back, not saying a word, but he thought the boy was a bit dull.
He said to Qiao Xi, "From now on, you will learn from those two immortals."
Qiao Xi was only up to Morax's shoulder. After hearing what he said, she cautiously peeked out from behind Morax and looked at the deer and crane with a little fear.
Thinking about the days to come when she would be following the crane and the deer, she brainwashed herself: they were not animals, but immortals, so it was normal for them to be able to talk.
She slowly walked out and said, "Hello, masters."
Liu Yun and Yi Xiao were taken aback at first, but quickly smiled and agreed.
The young bride in front of me was dressed in elaborate clothes, her head was covered with decorations, she had bright eyes and white teeth, and her makeup was heavy, yet she still looked romantic.
It's both endearing and heartbreaking to watch.
Liu Yun wanted to say something more, but Morax had already left, his figure slowly disappearing into the sea of clouds. The Five Yakshas had not yet returned, there must be other battles that were not yet over, so it seemed that this return was only for this girl.
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