Liuli was startled. However, she quickly sensed the aura of the Ocean Barrier Pearl coming from Nalan Rumeng. She recalled that this girl was the little girl who saved her from the beach that year. In the past, Aunt Bifei had implanted the Ocean Barrier Pearl within the body of her savior as a form of repayment. Moreover, Aunt Bifei erased her memory about the incident.
Liuli remembered that Long Yi once told her the identity of the girl who saved her. In the blink of an eye, that little girl in the past had already grown into such a beautiful young lady. However, her eyes were still filled with the familiar kindness and intelligence she had in the past.
“This is my first time coming to Blue Moon City. I don’t think we met before.” Liuli didn’t tell Nalan Rumeng the entire truth. However, her feelings for Nalan Rumeng became cordial all of a sudden.
“Is that so? That’s strange… I think I met big sister before.” Nalan Rumeng tilted her head to one side and she seemed to be somewhat disappointed.
“Could it be that you saw Liuli in your dreams?” Long Yi smiled and flicked Nalan Rumeng’s little nose.
Nalan Rumeng hissed in pain and wanted to protest. However, she seemed to have thought of something and she yelled in shock, “That’s right! In my dreams, I saw big sister in my dreams!”
Long Yi found this somewhat funny and humored her, “Okay, don’t stir up trouble now. We’ll go for lunch after buying Liuli some clothes.”
“Brother-in-law, I am not joking. I have dreamt of this big sister many times now. Although her appearance was somewhat fuzzy, I definitely saw her. In addition to this big sister, there seemed to be a blue haired aunt beside her.” Nalan Rumeng urgently defended herself. Although she was that it was in a dream, Long YI and Liuli knew that she wasn’t dreaming.
Long Yi and Liuli looked at each other. They finally realized that Nalan Rumeng wasn’t lying when she said she remembered. It seemed as though Bifei wasn’t thorough enough when erasing the memory of Nalan Rumeng.
“Okay, okay, I believe you. Since you dreamt of Liuli, it shows that you two were brought together by fate. Now, help Liuli buy some clothing. Come over here and give her some suggestions.” Long Yi said with a smile.
“Well, okay……” Nalan Rumeng happily exclaimed and grabbled Liuli’s hand.
First of all, it was natural for Nalan Rumeng to help Liuli choose a pair of underwear. The moment Nalan Rumeng chose something, Long Yi immediately realized that it was a bad idea for him to let Nalan Rumeng choose. This little girl’s taste was completely different from the big pervert, Long Yi. As a result, the selection process became very amusing.
After they finally managed to choose a pair of underwear, they went to other places to get some clothes. Liuli was very energetic when roaming around the streets. Although the temperature was unusually high, she was still in high spirits. There was no need to talk about Nalan Rumeng. She was a little girl who had an abundance of energy. Since this was the first time Liuli came to a human city, she felt as though everything was fresh. In addition to Nalan Rumeng who was chattering continuously beside her, Liuli forgot about being tired.
As for Dongfang Kexin, she had been following behind Long Yi without uttering a single word. She also didn’t know the reason why she listened to Long Yi. Her heart seemed to have stopped listening to her commands. She wanted to flee, however, she walked step by step into this heart-breaking and bone-corroding vortex. Currently, her heart was sinking further into the vortex and she hated herself.
In the beginning, Nalan Rumeng would still show some concern to Dongfang Kexin. She would speak to Dongfang Kexin from time to time. However, seeing as Dongfang Kexin was unwilling to answer her, she no longer talked to her. She focused on window shopping with Liuli.
When noon arrived, the temperature reached its peak. Nalan Rumeng rubbed her hand on her flat stomach and she mimicked Niur’s voice and she complained, “Brother-in-law, hungry……”
Niur who was sleeping in Long Yi’s bosom immediately woke up when she heard the word, ‘hungry’. Rubbing her eyes which were half-closed, she cried out in her immature voice, “Father, hungry……”
When they saw that Niur was awake at the mention of food, Nalan Rumeng and Liuli chuckled continuously. After that, the entire group walked towards Bright Moon Restaurant while laughing and chatting. Only Dongfang Kexin who was following behind everyone felt as though she didn’t belong here.
Fortunately, Bright Moon Restaurant had a magic air conditioning device. After entering the luxurious private room with cold air surrounding them, they drank a cup of iced herbal tea to quench their thirst. All of a sudden, they felt as though this place was like heaven.
After that, Long Yi left the private room after pointing at the menu on the table.
“Young Master, this is the latest news that came from Yatesianna. The other tube contains the news from Soaring Dragon City.” In the secret room of Bright Moon Restaurant, the manager respectfully handed over two sealed bamboo tubes to Long Yi.
Long Yi casually undid the seals and opened the content inside the bamboo tubes. After reading them, Long Yi’s expression changed. With a single thought, everything in his hand was reduced to ashes.
The first secret report wrote about the great victory against Yatesianna. The allied forces, with the help of Kobold Clan, attacked the defending army of the Proud Moon Empire from two sides. They easily broke through the third defense line. In that battle, the famous general from the Proud Moon Empire, General Qina, committed suicide and died for his country. At this moment, the allied army was sweeping through the border of Proud Moon Empire as they pressed on towards the capital city of Proud Moon Empire, Ice Wind City.
This was the best news Long Yi received in the past few months. They were finally able to obtain victory in that long-drawn-out war at the Yatesianna defense line. Although the price they paid wasn’t small, the price was worth it after considering everything. That was because the moment Yatesianna fell, the end of the Proud Moon Empire was around the corner.
On the contrary, the secret report which came from Soaring Dragon City was not good. He was not happy with the situation over there. The Ximen Clan and the imperial Long Clan had already reached the feverish level. All the pretense had been dropped and they were bitterly struggling against each other. Currently, both sides were suppressing each other with all the means available to them. It didn’t matter if they used fair or foul means against each other. The situation in Soaring Dragon City was uncertain and left Long Yi jittery.
However, the most important matter Long Yi learned from that secret report was that the Violent Dragon Empire’s Emperor, Long Zhan, had already assumed a semi-retired attitude. Long Ying had full authority to manage everything. The personnel from Skynet Intelligence already had reliable information that Long Ying wanted to forcibly recall all the troops which were fighting against the Proud Moon Empire.
Although the Violent Dragon Legion was a private army owned by the Ximen Clan, the Ximen Clan had yet to infiltrate deeply into the other major legions. In addition, many rumors that were unfavorable towards the Ximen Clan had appeared on the streets. The hired thugs were parading around censuring the Ximen Clan for wanting to seize power. If the Ximen Clan didn’t honor this decree, Long Zhan would have a reason to denounce them. When seizing power, the right time, right geographical, and social conditions were necessary. The moment they lost the trust of the people, it would be difficult to achieve great matters.
Moreover, Long Yi found it strange for Long Zhan to be lurking behind the scenes. Although he claimed that he was feeling unwell, Long Yi knew that Long Zhan had always been healthy and strong. It shouldn’t be any problem for him to live for another five to six decades. When Long Zhan decided to hide behind the scenes, Long Yi thought that there was some kind of scheme behind it.
After thinking for a long time, Long Yi shook his head and sighed. It seemed like it was time for him to leave Blue Moon City. The current situation didn’t allow him to stay here any longer.
Returning to the private room, Long Yi already had a smile on his face. Although he was anxious in his heart, he didn’t show it at all.
After drinking and eating to their heart’s content, Long Yi stood up with Liuli and Nalan Rumeng. They were about to return to the imperial palace. There was something he wanted to discuss with Nalan Ruyue as he thought of a plan while eating.
“Cou… cousin.” When they were about to leave, Dongfang Kexin gritted her teeth and called out.
Long Yi turned around and said with a smile, “What’s the matter?”
The rapidly beating heart and complex expression Dongfang Kexin had begun to gradually calm down. Taking a deep breath, she had a calm expression as she said, “No, I just wanted to prove something.”
Long Yi raised his eyebrows and asked, “Then, what is the conclusion?”
“Conclusion…… It is for me to know. You don’t need to know about it.” Dongfang Kexin seemed to be relieved. The pent-up resentment on her forehead had already dispersed. After answering Long Yi, she waved her hand and disappeared into the horizon. As for what she figured out, only she knew.
After they entered the imperial palace, Nalan Rumeng pulled Liuli as they explored every inch of the palace. As for Long Yi who was carrying Niur, he went towards the sleeping quarters of Nalan Ruyue.
Nalan Ruyue was out. She was probably in her study, doing her work. Since she assumed the position of Empress, she often stayed up late to deal with the government affairs. New policies had just been established and the chaos had just died down. As a result, she had many things to do.
Long Yi gently placed the sleeping Niur on the bed before he walked towards Nalan Ruyue’s study.
He gently pushed open the door of the study and saw Nalan Ruyue dressed in her magnificent empress attire as she went through the huge pile of reports beside her throne. She looked somewhat haggard and her eyes were also a little bloodshot. It was obvious that she hadn’t been resting properly on these few days.
Long Yi felt remorseful as he looked at Nalan Ruyue. This empire could also be considered his. However, he dumped everything to Nalan Ruyue and he became a hands-off husband [1].
[1] hands-off husband: somebody who asks other to work but does nothing himself
Long Yi’s figure flashed and he quietly stood behind Nalan Ruyue. He reached his hand out towards her head.
When his hand came into contact with Nalan Ruyue’s head, her body subconsciously tightened. However, she smelled the familiar scent coming from Long Yi’s body and she relaxed.
“Are you tired?” Long Yi softly said as he used internal force to massage her head. In the past, it was always his women who gave him massages. However, this time, he was the one massaging his woman.
Nalan Ruyue closed her eyes and leaned back onto Long Yi’s chest. She enjoyed Long Yi’s head massage. She lightly crooned in agreement as she knew that she didn’t need to hide anything from him.
“Then, do you resent your husband?” Long Yi asked as he bent over to kiss her head.
Nalan Ruyue shook her head and said, “I am most willing. The Nalan Empire is the empire where I grew up. I want to manage it well and let everyone live a prosperous life.”
Long Yi gently smiled and he lowered his hands to hug her neck. Kissing her ear, he whispered, “But, this empire is mine… Don’t you feel any resentment towards me?”
“Since it is yours, I want to manage it even more diligently. Oh, by the way, do you have something to say to me?” Nalan Ruyue was an extremely sensitive person. She quickly realized that Long Yi had something on his mind.
“I am thinking to leave Blue Moon City in next few days……” Long Yi said.
Nalan Ruyue’s body instantly stiffened and her body resembled a wooden puppet. With mechanical movements, she turned around to look at him.