Chapter 1: The Three Husbands (4)
==============================
Lin Nan huffed and puffed a couple of times, but when she got no response, she slammed the window shut with a loud “bang,” realizing that maybe she had been a bit too loud.
After all, the issue with Good Shiyuan was still unresolved, and she didn’t want others to think she was just a person addicted to… well, you know, private matters.
d*mn that Luo Ying, I’ll settle scores with you later!
With a dark expression, Lin Nan looked at the three flustered boys fumbling to put on their clothes.
“Heh, why aren’t you three fighting anymore? Somehow, you guys were able to come to an unexpected agreement on this matter!”
Her sarcastic tone made even the dimmest Shiyuan blush with embarrassment, turning away to avoid eye contact.
Evil Shiyuan scratched his head and chuckled, “Sis, you really don’t know how tempting you just were. We couldn’t help but…”
“Like fish sinking and birds startled, flowers blushing and moons hiding, you really think that kind of poetry is going to work on me?”
Good Shiyuan gazed at Lin Nan with deep affection. “Sis, no words in this world can describe your beauty. Really, we were just unable to control ourselves. No one can resist your charm. Even the Demon King of yore, our actual form, would be captivated by you, and there’s not another woman in this world that could compare.”
“I believe you, sure!” Lin Nan shot back coldly. “Don’t think that just because you recited a couple of poems, I’ll give you a second look. In my eyes, you three perverted hungry ghosts are nothing but bad news. If it weren’t for…”
As she spoke, an unintentional blush crept onto her cheeks.
Huh? Why hasn’t this medicine worn off yet?
Suddenly, a man’s figure floated into her mind.
Compared to the three Shiyuans, he appeared more mature and handsome, shedding the youthful recklessness of boyhood.
He was also taller, making Lin Nan, who was about 1.7 meters tall, seem petite in front of him—she’d practically have to stand on her tiptoes to reach his lips.
Lin Nan was instantly dazed.
Who is he, and why does she feel so familiar with him yet can’t recall his name?
“Xue’er…”
Is he calling me?
Who’s Xue’er, and why does hearing that name make me want to cry?
Lin Nan strained her eyes to look at the ethereal figure,
Her eyes suddenly felt sour, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
A distant voice echoed in her ears, yet Lin Nan clearly knew it came from her own throat.
“Is that you? A-Yuan.”
“It’s me.”
The phantom smiled.
“Where have you been? All these years, I’ve been searching for you… Waaa, why do you always avoid me?”
Lin Nan cried as if her heart was broken.
At that moment, she was far from the aloof goddess she usually appeared to be; she was just a woman heartbroken from searching for her lost husband for many years.
The phantom sighed.
“At that time, the Small Thousand World stopped my self-detonation but maliciously split me into three parts, intending to sever my will and spirit.
My main consciousness is actually within Shiyuan, while the Good and Evil avatars have different proportions of my memories.
Remember the Battle of Thousand Bird City? At that time, my physical body was locked in the forbidden area, daily drained of power to sustain the Floating City’s operation.
Meanwhile, my Good and Evil avatars were imprisoned in the Heavenly Sword Sect and Black Stone City. However, Good Shiyuan thought he inherited most of my memories—especially courage—and was adept at both righteous and wicked techniques.
You’re roughly aware of the Small Thousand World’s affairs, so I won’t elaborate.
The prisoners in Thousand Bird City, those Exiles, seem like human captives,
but they are actually the Divine Clans’ harvesters every 400 years.
Their bodies are infused with the Divine Clans’ overwhelming power. Killing them would be akin to violating the immortality promise made to them long ago.
So, the Divine Clans ordered me to build the Floating City in Thousand Bird City and used the Exiles’ strength to keep the city afloat, consuming their power until their natural deaths.
Who would’ve thought one day my physical body would end up locked in there.
What’s worse is that Exiles continuously attacked each other through connected pipelines, plundering weak powers to strengthen themselves, dreaming of breaking free from the shackles of the forbidden area to return to Asking Dao Continent and make a name for themselves.
Exile Number 1 is the top contender among them.
So ever since I was trapped in the forbidden zone, I’ve tried to maintain order among the Exiles, but Exile Number 1 can’t help but bear a deep grudge against me.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Nan recalled the events at Thousand Bird City.
No wonder Shiyuan fell from the sky all charred—he must have fought that Exile Number 1.
“But which of you is the real body— the invincible Shiyuan or… or am I getting confused here?”
“To be precise, when I was imprisoned in the Small Thousand World, my form was that of the Demon King. The Shiyuan you know is a second consciousness that condensed during my long slumber. He took away most of my power, so that’s why I was shattered during the battle with Exile Number 1.
He found out about your existence and, knowing that even if he blew up my body, he couldn’t do anything to me, he aimed for you instead.”
Lin Nan finally understood, “So that’s how it is.”
“My shattered main consciousness is now dispersed across Shiyuan and Evil Shiyuan, while a small part lingers in Good Shiyuan as well.
So when the three of them group together for a sufficient amount of time, my main consciousness starts to recondense.
That is my origin.”
The Demon King’s phantom stood silently in front of her, as if everything had returned to the past.
It was just too bad that the current Demon King wasn’t physical; his appearance was but a fleeting moment.
“A-Yuan, will you ever have a chance to return to your original form?”
“Perhaps there’s a chance, perhaps not. I don’t know.”
Lin Nan could not accept this answer at all. She reached forward, wanting to embrace that broad figure, but her fingers passed right through the phantom, making her even sadder and somewhat disheartened.
“Just remember this: the longer those three are together, the greater the chance of my revival.
Especially just now, when they were united in wanting the same thing, I got this chance to revive.
Time alone doesn’t mean everything; as long as their hearts are aligned, I’ll have hope for recovery.”
Lin Nan’s face flushed,
“You mean, just now they wanted to…
The Demon King smiled slightly. “Yep, though they are my avatars and only inherit part of my memories, they still can’t forget Xue’er’s charm.”
“I get it.”
Lin Nan nodded.
Those three guys probably only reach some sort of consensus on this matter, the jerks!
“Xue’er, I will always love you.”
As those passionate words echoed, the Demon King’s figure gradually faded away.
Lin Nan stood completely stunned, the tear stains on her cheeks still glistening.
