Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts-Chapter 5856: Promise

“Yao-er, why are you looking at me like that?” Long Chen asked, puzzled by Chu Yao’s intense gaze.

He didn’t know what he had said wrong.

“Are you joking?” asked Chu Yao anxiously, a rare expression of distress flickering across her face.

“Yao-er, can you be more clear? I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” Long Chen said, confused. “Don’t cry! We can talk this through!”

But tears were already falling from Chu Yao’s eyes, and Long Chen immediately panicked.

Sobbing, Chu Yao choked out, “H-how can you be like this? You personally agreed back then! Are you backing out now? Why can you accept my other sisters, but not Ruyan? Is it because… because she isn’t human?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t dislike Ruyan, but I have no idea what you’re referring to. When did I agree to anything with her?”

Long Chen desperately racked his memories but came up empty.

Wiping away her tears, Chu Yao said, “Then let me ask you this. Do you remember the Skywood Divine Palace?”

“Yes?” said Long Chen hastily.

That was Chu Yao’s sect on the Martial Heaven Continent. How could he forget it?

“Then let me ask you this, do you remember the Jewel Blood Orchid?” asked Chu Yao.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“Of course I do.”

“Then do you remember who drank bull milk?” asked Chu Yao, her expression finally changing a bit when she said this.

“It was Di Xin. Han Feifei squeezed it out for him,” Long Chen replied without hesitation.

In his mind, scenes from the Skywood Divine Palace resurfaced—the White Snow Spirit Cow, Meng Qi, Chu Yao, Tang Wan-er, Liu Ruyan, Yu Qingxuan… even Di Xin, Han Feifei, and Shen Bijun came back to him with startling clarity.[1]

“When Shen Bijun schemed against you back then, what did you say?” asked Chu Yao.

Long Chen’s brow furrowed as he searched his memories. Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization.

Chu Yao snapped, “Now do you remember?!”

He finally did. Back then, Shen Bijun had targeted him maliciously, trying to trigger Di Xin’s jealousy. To do so, she gave Long Chen a cup of milk but had laced it with something. Long Chen saw through that and asked for the other cup, but Shen Bijun played the victim, saying that Long Chen didn’t trust her.

At that moment, Meng Qi, Chu Yao, Tang Wan-er, and Liu Ruyan had arrived, teaching Shen Bijun a lesson. In the heat of the moment, Long Chen had declared them his wives.

Afterward, Liu Ruyan ended up teaching him a lesson because of his declaration, but she had truly called him “husband” back then. He’d thought it was just a joke to help him out, something said in passing. But it seemed Liu Ruyan had taken it to heart. And so had Chu Yao.

Seeing his shocked expression, Chu Yao took a deep breath to compose herself.

Chu Yao said, “Long Chen, let me tell you something serious. Because she was born in the mortal world and stayed close to us, Liu Ruyan has half-transformed into a true human. When the Martial Heaven Continent collapsed, some mysterious force sent us to the Undying Demon Forest. The higher-ups realized her transformation had gone too far. If she continued down that path, she’d be unable to inherit her innate divine abilities or awaken her Sovereign sprout qi. So they tried to force her to undergo the Sovereign Pool’s baptism. But she refused and would rather die than do so. Do you know why?”

Long Chen was silent.

“It’s because undergoing that baptism would fully restore her Undying race nature. She was afraid she’d no longer be herself… that she’d lose the bond she had with you. That she wouldn’t be able to keep the promise you made to her back then. To awaken her Sovereign sprout qi on her own, do you know what she had to endure?”

Chu Yao’s voice cracked slightly. “She endured unimaginable pain. She threw herself into countless life-and-death trials, again and again… all to get stronger, all so that no one could look down on her. But you…”

Her words struck Long Chen like a bolt of lightning. He had never imagined that the cold, aloof Liu Ruyan would care about him so deeply.

Chu Yao said, “She left the Undying race’s cultivation path. That’s why her aura is so different from the rest of the Undying race. Her body and soul are inching closer and closer to a true human’s. Do you understand how difficult that was? Do you understand why she did it?”

“…I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Long Chen quickly apologized. Deep down, he knew it wasn’t entirely his fault. Liu Ruyan was too proud to express herself, so he truly hadn’t known what she was thinking. But just imagining the suffering she’d endured for his sake made his heart ache with guilt. She really was a stubborn girl.

Now he understood why Liu Xihua had hesitated to save him and why Liu Ruyan had been so angry about it. It seemed he was the blind one all this time.

Chu Yao sighed. “It’s good you told me about this. If Ruyan had heard you say it…”

Long Chen shivered. With Liu Ruyan’s temperament, anything could have happened. If something had truly happened to her, not only would Chu Yao never forgive him—he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself either.

Seeing how shaken Long Chen was, Chu Yao wasn’t angry anymore. At least, this showed that Long Chen did care about Liu Ruyan. There was still a chance to fix things.

More importantly, Liu Ruyan still didn’t know what Long Chen had been thinking.

“Long Chen,” Chu Yao pleaded gently, “Ruyan loves you. And no one understands that better than me. There’s no one else in the world who understands me the way she does. I hope… you can love her like you love me.”

If Long Chen hurt Liu Ruyan, it would tear Chu Yao’s heart in two. She didn’t know how she would deal with it.

“Don’t worry,” Long Chen replied. “Leave this to me. It’s not that I dislike Ruyan or care about her race—it’s just that she’s always so cold and distant. I honestly had no idea how she felt. But now that I know… maybe our feelings can grow. Slowly.”

Chu Yao finally relaxed. Just moments ago, she’d been truly frightened.

Long Chen already had several women in his life. Fortunately, Chu Yao was born a royal, so she had long since accepted that a strong man like Long Chen would have many women. After all, even ordinary men could have multiple wives and concubines. As for emperors, they had countless women waiting on them. She wasn’t in the habit of feeling jealous over such things.

And now, Long Chen’s promise put her heart at ease.

The two of them continued walking, hand in hand, deeper into the forest. After a while, a towering mountain came into view.

Chu Yao pointed to the peak and said, “There’s a waterfall up there. That’s where we usually go to relax. She’s probably there now. You should go.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Long Chen asked hesitantly. “I’m kind of nervous to go alone.”

Seeing his uneasy expression, Chu Yao laughed. “To think that the fearless Boss Long San would be afraid of a girl. Just go. She’s not going to eat you.”

“It’s not that I’m scared of her—it’s just that we don’t usually talk. I’m afraid it’ll be awkward. How about you come with me, and we talk together?” asked Long Chen.

“No,” Chu Yao said gently. “Our hearts are too closely linked. She might sense something if I’m there. You have to handle this on your own.”

“...Fine. Then I’m going.”

Taking a deep breath, Long Chen braced himself. With a thick face and a determined heart, he started walking toward the mountain.

1. For anyone who has forgotten, this occurred in Chapter 1637 Not Differentiating Between Male and Female /novel/nine-star-hegemon/nshba-chapter-1637 ☜