yournovel Chapter 198: Dire Present
Chapter 198: Dire Present
Headache. Immense headache. That’s what Ye Jun experienced as he tried to wake up. It felt as if someone had hammered his soul a thousand times, gave it rest for a few seconds before hammering it thousands of times again.
’Aghh!’
Still, he forced himself to pass through the chasm of pain and wake up on the other side. Pain was nothing new to him, in fact, it was the one thing that had accompanied him the longest.
His eyes fluttered open as he found himself staring at the beautiful, familiar embroideries of Song Liangxue’s carriage. For a moment, he stayed still, trying to come back to his senses.
"He’s awake!"
Rubbing his forehead, Ye Jun sat up and muttered, "I am..."
"Here, drink this. You’ll feel much better."
After around five minutes, Ye Jun sat comfortably with his head on Meihui’s lap as she softly caressed his long black hair. He smiled, "Thanks."
"Feeling better?" she asked with a sweet smile.
"After this treatment, I can wake up even from the dead," Ye Jun chuckled and earned a pinch on his cheeks for his comment.
"Stop talking nonsense."
"Yes, My Lady."
"So, what happened?"
He shifted slightly to look at Song Liangxue, who was massaging his legs, and said, "Long story short, they beat the shit out of me."
"I highly doubt it’s that simple," she rolled her eyes.
"It isn’t," he hummed in response. "They detected my connection with the Convergence and swarmed toward me. That isn’t even the worst part. They used some kind of Soul attack which made me lose consciousness."
"So, we were right," Meihui said. "The Heaven Opening Chasm reacted to you. It’s opening to let you in and give you the second clue. Maybe the same kind of dream or something else related to the Convergence."
"Yup," Ye Jun nodded. "But who saved me?"
"That isn’t important," Song Liangxue said in a strange tone, which made Ye Jun a bit suspicious, but he didn’t pursue the matter. "We left after you lost consciousness since we’d already stalled the monsters long enough. The commanders were able to activate the Array Formations."
"But it traps everyone inside, so we left first," Meihui added. "It’s a good thing."
"Wait! What do you mean?" Ye Jun tried to sit up, but Meihui pushed his head back down onto her thighs. He relaxed and asked, "I don’t understand. Don’t we need to enter it? So why are we leaving?"
"You really should study more about the world once we reach my home," Song Liangxue sighed. "It takes some time for it to open after it shows signs of opening. It might take a few months before the Chasm stabilizes and we can enter."
"I see. That’s good." Ye Jun was happy with that. "I can train more in that timeframe and solidify my foundation."
"That’s for the best."
As Ye Jun enjoyed being massaged by his wives, he thought of something and said, "Oh yeah, they said something in the end. What was it again?... The Last Cycle has started."
Meihui froze and looked down. "The Last Cycle?"
"I’m guessing the Convergence," Ye Jun replied. "It happened nine times already, but there were Monarchs to stop them, not this time....wait!"
"The Oath is affecting us again," Song Liangxue pointed out, suddenly remembering too. "We do have Monarchs, but two less than previous times."
"Is that why it’s the last time?" Ye Jun mumbled. "This time, there is no one to defend against it, so the Convergence will be completed and this world will face its end."
Silence reigned in the carriage for a few seconds before Ye Jun asked, "Do you know anything about the Monarchs that you can tell us?"
Meihui shook her head instantly. "I’ll die right before your eyes and you won’t even understand the reason for it."
He clicked his tongue in frustration. "We’re too weak for this kind of information. The hell are we supposed to do when those giant inferno creatures descend?"
"You’re surprisingly not optimistic this time," Song Liangxue noted. "What happened?"
He didn’t answer her as he himself had no answer for it.
He didn’t even understand why he was so annoyed by it.
Rubbing his eyes, Ye Jun asked Meihui, "What will happen if I tell everything about the Convergence to your Clan?"
She took her time forming the answer, as if she was afraid to even think about it. "Likely they will kill you to snatch your opportunities. What you’ve got is something they won’t let anyone outside the Monarch Clans have."
"So much for uniting them," Ye Jun scoffed. "They might as well kill us for knowing about this."
"They’re also very arrogant," Meihui sighed. "They’ve ruled over these lands for as long as mankind can remember, so they think of themselves as invincible rulers. They won’t even prepare for it, thinking that since their Ancestors succeeded, they can do the same."
"Can they?"
Meihui let out a dry laugh. "Think about it, why does the Convergence come again and again?"
Ye Jun closed his eyes.
"It’s unbeatable," Song Liangxue voiced his thoughts. "Even with all Seven Monarchs present, with all life on this land united, they couldn’t defeat the Convergence. They could only stall it, hence why it happened nine times."
"Indeed," Meihui nodded. "And one thing I’m sure of is that the current Monarchs aren’t the same as those who faced the Nine Convergences. Don’t ask me how I know."
"So what happened to the old Monarchs?" Ye Jun asked.
"That... even I don’t know," Meihui’s shoulders slumped. "I doubt anyone aside from the Monarchs knows about it. And there’s also the mystery of the other two Clans."
"The worst thing is that we don’t know how long we have," Song Liangxue said. "Are you sure they said that it has started?"
"I wouldn’t mistake something like that, dear," Ye Jun said.
"Then it must mean it’s a gradual process," she pointed out. "We still haven’t seen any signs of things going according to your dreams, meaning we can still prepare for it. We can still warn others."
"Guess we’re going to the North at the perfect time," Ye Jun said, glancing at his passive skills on the status page. "I don’t like how things are swirling with coincidences. So many of them, don’t you think?"
"Perhaps the world is trying to help us," Meihui said before hurriedly covering her mouth. "Actually, don’t think about it."
Ye Jun narrowed his eyes at her. "I feel like you just said something, but I didn’t hear it. Can you repeat that?"
’Of course, they won’t remember,’ Meihui sighed.
"It doesn’t matter how coincidental things are, as we still need to do them. For now, we should hurry toward the North and tell Liangxue’s grandfather everything."
"Is it safe?" Ye Jun asked, glancing at Song Liangxue. "I don’t mean to doubt your family, but you know..."
"It’s fine." Song Liangxue smiled lightly. "But you can trust him. He can also help us a lot in this since he’s the only one likely to believe in this absurdity. Who else will?"
"That’s also true." Ye Jun closed his eyes. "I’m sleeping a bit longer, so wake me up when we’re there."
...
Ye Jun slid open the window curtain, revealing a beautiful landscape outside covered in a white blanket of snow. In the distance, which they had already passed, he could even see a massive blizzard sweeping everything beneath it.
"Can’t believe we casually passed through that thing," Ye Jun mumbled in disbelief. "I want these horses."
"Really? I can give you some as a betrothal gift," Song Liangxue smiled at him. "How many do you want?"
"Shouldn’t it be the opposite?"
"What’s mine is yours, hubby," she grinned. "So don’t mind the details. Just tell me later how many you want. I’ll have someone arrange the best quality ones for you."
"Forget it," Ye Jun closed the curtain. "Don’t think I can manage them. Too much work."
"That’s true." Meihui nodded from his side. "They’re very demanding and hard to keep."
Song Liangxue shook her head and took out a coat lined with thick white fur. "Don’t underestimate the North’s cold."
Ye Jun took it and wore it over his robes, feeling warm within only a few seconds. "Wait! Are these enchanted?"
"Obviously. You think I’ll give you something mundane?"
Ye Jun was speechless. ’Why do I feel like you’re offended?’
Ignoring her, he opened the window, letting freezing cold air inside as a few snowflakes also entered the carriage. Meihui picked them up and smiled widely.
"They’re so soft and fluffy."
"Oh yeah. It’s your first time seeing snow?" Ye Jun had the sudden realization.
Meihui blushed slightly but nodded.
"Then we can play in the snow afterward," Ye Jun suggested, then turned toward Song Liangxue. "You don’t mind it, right?"
"Why are you asking?"
"I mean, we’re in your territory and I’m supposed to be your husband," Ye Jun scratched his cheek and said. "Wouldn’t people spread rumors if we played in the snow like kids?"
Song Liangxue was silent for a few seconds before she burst out laughing. And Ye Jun had to say her laugh was the most melodious sound he had ever heard.