Xyrin Empire-Chapter 686: X Ao Tian and the Awakened Girl

Yakumo Lan’s awakening was definitely an unexpected surprise—yes, an absolute unexpected surprise.

Of course, this surprise had nothing to do with Kemonomimi settings, but entirely because:

With Yakumo Lan awake, I now had an excuse to skip the upcoming New Eden military parade, Vedis military parade, Civilization Community military parade, Cross Sect military parade, Heroic Spirit inspection, one grand parade, three ribbon-cuttings, two government reports, two official meetings, three public audiences, and a whole heap of other official activities like these!

Could someone tell me what the heck is with this tear-inducing schedule! Why must I, a die-hard homebody itching for an easy life, be subjected to nearly the same number of these crappy events as the whole fourteen days of celebrations? National leaders’ schedules are no joke, people!

Alright, alright, I know it’s my fault for taking my sister out to eat, drink, and be merry for the first five days, leaving all the work to pile up...

"There’s no helping it, we carry responsibilities," Sandora murmured softly while leaning on my shoulder as we waited for the teleportation. "The Empire’s territory is small now and it’s already this troublesome. When the borders expand again... well, perhaps we’ll need to find a more relaxed way to handle it. Back in the Old Empire Era, I never worried about these vassal races like this. It was Ah Jun who agreed to attend all these events in the first place."

I silently envisaged the terrifying ordeal I would face later while Lili, giddy with excitement, start broadcasting next to me:

"Hello, dear listeners, today is the XXXXth year of the Imperial Calendar, Day 1. On this universally celebrated day, the world of Azeroth welcomes its Winter’s Veil festival, the Vedis Empire will hold Divine Grace Day, Dan Tuyin Star will welcome its second Harvest Festival of the year, the Kempt Kingdom is starting New Year celebrations, the Sado Republic is holding a military parade, and tomorrow, the Xinsa Federation celebrates its National Day, New Eden Federation will have its Creation Celebration, Bamor Star System welcomes its annual grand union, Akenda Empire starts preparing for Holy Soul Day, the chimes of the New Year will ring on Titan, the Little Elves of Darsen begin to decorate their Christmas trees, and the day after tomorrow..."

I suddenly ORT’D: "Lilina, take a break, will you?"

The little girl just kept on going, with a face full of cheer, bobbing her head: "Ah, how delightful the coming year will be, with over thirteen hundred festivals awaiting us... It is truly regrettable that the only day without a celebration will now be host to the Goddess Festival, as announced by the great and wise, brawny and beautiful High Priestess Lilina. Let everyone party hard every day, and also let’s observe a moment of silence for our Emperor, who might just drop dead en route..."

This was the first time I realized that even celebrating the New Year could be so terrifying. But the problem was that Qianqian was already getting excited: "Eh? Celebrating every day? That sounds fun! Ah Jun, Ah Jun, when the Empire’s territory grows, does that mean there will be some world celebrating New Year every day, and then we can celebrate daily?"

Doesn’t she know her husband is going to die halfway through!

"It’s indeed possible," Big Sister muttered with a troubled frown. "I’ve looked at some files from the Time-Space Administration, and basically, there are at least double-digit numbers of registered worlds having some festival every single day of the year. When the Imperial Dominions truly expand to that extent..."

"Haha!" Qianqian burst into joy: "Ah Jun, Ah Jun, let’s go conquer the world!"

At this moment, I was so busy cramping that I couldn’t even intercept Qianqian’s exciting thoughts.

"And there’s an even more ridiculous situation," Lin Xue, who had been daydreaming since earlier, suddenly piped up without looking back, proving she was still paying attention here. "There’s a TV station in the New Eden Federation now, whose daily prime time show is about the local customs of various parallel worlds. At this rate, one day they’ll have to set aside a separate channel just to recite the list of worlds celebrating that day..."

"Let’s worry about future problems in the future," I mumbled, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, never imagining that having such immense territory could lead to these issues. Whatever happens, I can’t just casually attend official events in vassal worlds anymore: It’s a death sentence, a real death sentence. "If it comes to that, we’ll just have to find time to set up an Integration Department—how does Culture Department sound?"

No sooner had the words left my mouth than Big Sister landed a punch on me...

In the midst of all the noise and commotion, the teleportation back to Shadow City was initiated, and in a flash of white light and a fleeting sense of weightlessness, we were back in Shadow Fortress.

The first thing that caught my eye was Yukari Yakumo waiting for us in Dimension Hub Square. The golden-haired girl stood just ten meters ahead, holding her beautiful sun parasol, calmly staring at a dimensional portal in idle operation, not blinking an eye. I came up behind her and followed her gaze for a while before I couldn’t help but give voice to my curiosity, "What are you looking at?"

"Some guy with a screw loose just ran out, made a racket for a while, and then scampered back in..."

I looked at Yukari Yakumo with a blank expression: "?"

But my confusion only lasted for a few seconds, and before Yukari Yakumo could even start to explain, a flash of white light suddenly pierced the dimensional portal, and a young man leaped out.

This man was dressed in green with an upright and defiant figure. Although built like a bear, his eyes and brows were fair and handsome. He wore a purple gold treasure sword at his waist, and the sword was engraved with intertwining dragons and phoenixes, exuding an air of supreme elegance. At a glance, he looked like the kind that would cause quite the stir among bandits, an object of group ridicule.

This stranger had just emerged from the dimensional portal and stood casually in the square, looking straight ahead without focus, as if indifferent to everything going on around him. The more I watched him, the stranger he seemed, until I had a sudden realization: that must be a gaze practiced in front of a mirror during idle moments, intended to convey a nature that was above worldly concerns and untamed, but sadly, without a mirror at hand to focus, his performance turned into a dead fish eye...

"That’s the guy," Yukari Yakumo whispered to me with a fan covering her mouth, "Calling himself Nangong Aotian, styled as Long Lingtian, also known as Ximen Nitian, with another alias Ouyang Batian, and claiming to be known as Huntian Dragon King in the pugilistic world, along with a whole lot of other gibberish. Anyway, I didn’t hear it all..."

Hearing Yukari Yakumo’s introduction, my mind went utterly blank for a moment. Then, looking at the man in front of us—who had aimed for a transcendental demeanor but unfortunately ended up with dead fish eyes—I thought, how naive can one be to give himself such a pile of names...

The man with the pompous titles stood sword in hand for a while as if expecting some reaction from the surrounding crowd, probably hoping a few patrol officers would pop up or do some household checking. But regrettably, in a place like Dimension Hub, where there’s a large daily throughput of weird and wonderful characters, just having an impressive name doesn’t cut it—who even knows who you are?

So our mighty young man just stood there, airing out for five minutes until he could stand it no longer. Maintaining an attitude like he was above everyone else, he suddenly scoffed and declared, "Half a year ago at this very place, I was merely interested in an item, and you people gave me all sorts of trouble and kicked me out. Today, having mastered the Ba Tian Nine Skills to the Ninety-Ninth Layer, I shall turn this bizarre place into a river of blood to show what happens to those who follow me and those who oppose me!"

After murmuring his piece, we still paid him no mind—a loony with a hunk of high-carbon steel, what’s the deal?

Perhaps realizing that the atmosphere wasn’t playing out as he was accustomed to, the young man appeared bewildered. He quickly noticed us—the most attention-grabbing group with the largest number and, more importantly, the most beautiful women. His eyes lit up, and he made his way towards us, striding with effort to exude an air of grace and elegance. Ah, he started off quite successfully, but halfway there...

"Zzzzt"—the sound of energy flowing. A few crystal prisms on the dimensional portal lit up with white light grids, blocking his path.

Without pondering further, the young man drew his high-carbon steel sword and swung it about, saying, "Hmm! All the better. If I’ve come in search of vengeance, I may as well start by taking these ancient treasures, whose purpose I don’t even know, and add murder to robbery!" With that, he flung his head our way, casting smoldering looks at Yukari Yakumo.

"Should we call the medical center?" Yukari Yakumo muttered in my ear, her voice filled with confusion and disgust, still thinking the newcomer was a lunatic whose brain got pinched during his travels.

I didn’t respond, just watching the broad-shouldered, handsome young man who called himself... well, an assortment of characters, swing his piece of high-carbon steel and charge at the white-light-emitting crystal columns. Then there was a cacophony of sparks and lively flashes—by the time Ling Meng and her City Management Team arrived, that unfortunate guy was already half charred.

Well, he’s pretty resilient; he didn’t die even after being knocked to the ground by a barrage of talismans from the Red and White Witch who suddenly fell from the sky. He kept ranting about "heaven not siding with me" while flailing his arms and legs about, but as soon as he saw Ling Meng, he immediately switched to a dead fish-eye look, striking an aloof demeanor as if by conditioned reflex.

"Unauthorized traversing, destruction of public property, wanton use of force, insolence, likely severe mental disorder, with tendencies toward obsessive-compulsive disorder," the Red and White Witch poked the face of the half-cooked young man, who suddenly looked amused, with the Sacred Coin in her hand (though I would prefer to call it a stick), mumbling, "Are you crazy? Using a metal weapon to hack at the card swiper at the door! Do you have any idea how much that thing is worth! If something here gets accidentally damaged, it comes out of my bonus!"

The half-baked person on the ground was dumbfounded: "Card swiper? That’s clearly the ancient treasure that guards the teleportation point!"

Ling Meng was stunned for a moment and then hopped up to me: "Chen! Are these things antiques? Can they be exchanged for money?"

I: "..."

"Cough cough, how do we deal with this guy?" Sandora coughed twice, interrupting the amoral, money-grubbing witch and the soy sauce Emperor, pointing at the young man who continued to mumble about stealing treasures, "I’ve found his brain waves to be extremely chaotic, and apart from greed, his emotional fluctuations are all about murder; he’s basically been severely brainwashed, beyond saving."

Without a second thought, I said: "If he’s a menace then just feminize him and throw him into the Red Blood!"

Both Yukari Yakumo and Ling Meng asked curiously at the same time: "What’s Red Blood?"

Sweat broke out on me: "Girls shouldn’t ask about such things!"

"Cough cough!" Sandora coughed loudly and gave me a piercing look, then instructed the other City Management Team members who had arrived, "The usual protocol, send him to the research institute for brainwashing, then hand him over to the biotech center; if he’s useless afterward, send him to the Fourth District for new recruits to undertake adaptability shooting training."

A chilling current swept by everyone following Sandora’s placid words, causing Boli Lingmeng to shiver instinctively, although she completely didn’t understand, while Yukari just covered her face lightly with her fan, her eyes calm, clearly not thinking anything good.

"Anyway, let’s forget about this nutcase, I heard Yakumo Lan has awakened?"

My remark reminded everyone of the important matter at hand, and Yukari nodded quickly: "Yes, she just woke up, but she’s still a bit confused, should be better now, I suppose."

Thus, the vast and mighty team of Imperial Leaders collectively headed for the medical center—we really had nothing better to do, and teasing a kemonomimi seemed like fun too.

Inside the spacious and pristine intensive care room, the medical cabin that had been sealed for several days was now opened by someone, empty, and on the small bed next to the medical cabin, a girl with fluffy golden fox tails and ears was awkwardly lying on her side, struggling...

Struggling to untie her nine tails which had been tied up into braids.

This was the scene we saw when we entered, and just to mention, she wasn’t wearing any clothes...

When the fox girl, who for some unknown reason had taken off all her clothes and thrown them on the floor, looked towards the doorway with puzzled eyes, before I had a chance to see any substantive content, I felt a spasm-like pain on my major artery and reacted with a loud outburst: "Oh oh oh—this isn’t my fault! Don’t bite, don’t bite! I really didn’t see anything!"

Then I went out with Qianqian hanging around my neck, receiving a five-minute lecture from my girlfriend on the doorstep, feeling utterly disheartened.

"You can come in now," Yukari Yakumo said as she pushed open the door to the hospital room, a playful smile on her face as she looked at my neck, which now resembled freshly grafted skin...

Just five minutes ago, the demon fox girl who was troubled by her tail issue had put her clothes back on and was now sitting uncomfortably on the floor. According to Yukari, the streaking episode had been merely a convenient way to free her tails. So, I took a close look at the pile of fox tails behind her, but I couldn’t help bursting into laughter. Perhaps because they’d been braided for too long, her once fluffy and silky tails were now twisted, the fur standing on end, looking like a complete mess alongside the girl’s kneeling, reminiscent of a big explosion—such a waste of fine fur...

Seemingly distressed about the state of her tails as well, Yakumo Lan became restless under everyone’s gaze and shifted her body uneasily, which caused her numb tails to cramp up one by one. The girl’s body shivered as if electrocuted, prompting the kindhearted Qianqian to sympathize and hand her something, "Um, maybe this will help? It’s for steaming...

I took a good look and—damn—an iron!

Yakumo Lan, who had just awakened from days-long unconsciousness, her mind still foggy, realized what Qianqian was holding and immediately shook her head fiercely in horror, making the already spiky tails look even worse. She wobbled to her feet and ran to Yukari Yakumo, the demon fox girl nervously said, "Lord Zi, this...

Yukari Yakumo looked at Qianqian, who was poised with the iron with a troubled expression and whispered something reluctantly to her own Shishen, who finally relaxed a bit. The pair of fox ears on her head fluttered as she bowed to us and sweetly said, "Then, thank you all for your help."

Eh? Is Lan really such a polite kid? I always thought those who hang out with Zi and Ling Meng would be the type to cause trouble three days if not spanked!

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing," I waved my hands, and although I wasn’t sure if Yukari Yakumo had already briefed the fox girl, I still took the time to introduce everyone. She pricked up her ears, listening and memorizing attentively, and her big fuzzy ears fluctuated with her movements—it was just too cute. "Well, that’s that. Now, tell us about yourself. How did you get here? What happened to your injuries?"

The demon fox girl shook her head in distress, "I have no idea. A big chunk of land fell from the sky, and when I came to, I found myself in this strange room. Lord Zi, who had been missing for many days, was also here. She told me this is a safe otherworld, but we haven’t found a way home yet..."

"A chunk of land falling from the sky?"

My face went blank as I instinctively grabbed Bubbles, who had sneaked into the room and was about to frolic on Lan’s bushy tails, "Bubbles, is there anything like that in the history of Fantasy Country?" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel-com

"Let me go, let me go, how would I know~~ Ahh, the tails,~~" complained the geeky girl dancing in mid-air while being lifted by the waistband, flailing her limbs trying to land, "The fur is even better in real life than on the screen, even though it’s a bit knotted... slurp, hehe, I’ve already let the kid’s dad spoil several, but I will definitely make this one my collectible no matter what... slurp... I must turn it into a hug pillow, a warm hug pillow, even better than using my daughter as a hug pillow... slurp."

Hey! Judging by your size, aren’t you more like a hug pillow yourself?

"Lord Zi," said the demon fox girl, clearly bewildered by the long black-haired and drooling loli’s behavior, unconsciously moved closer to her master. Her animal instincts made her feel like she was on the verge of losing both her pride and purity, "Is this world... really that safe?"

"Well, if you blend in with them, it becomes safe," said Mother Zi with a troubled smile.

All you need to do is... to throw away your pride.

(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, donate monthly, and show your support, which is my greatest motivation.)

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel