Xue Chenjing was thoroughly cleansed by her spiritual energy, feeling much more comfortable and even more inclined to stay in the warm bed.
Yu Yi didn't refuse him, after all, Xue Chenjing, now clean and soft, was indeed very comfortable to hold. She drifted off to sleep again in her drowsiness.
The child in her arms heard her long and steady breathing, his eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes again. His eyes seemed to absorb the moonlight coming through the window, glowing with an eerie silver light.
Xue Chenjing held his breath and carefully wriggled, taking a long time to turn around and rest his head on her arm. By the moonlight, he gazed closely at her face, meticulously observing her eyebrows, small nose, and full lips.
The warmth of her breath lingered on his cheek, leaving a faint itch. Xue Chenjing wriggled closer to her, so close that he could only smell the scent that he was so attached to with just the tip of his nose.
A name was on the verge of emerging from his mind, but Xue Chenjing furrowed his brows, unable to recall it.
The system, seeing his brain almost overheating, kindly whispered a reminder, "Master, her name is Yu Yi."
Xue Chenjing was startled by the voice in his mind, his body trembling involuntarily. Yu Yi, still in her sleep, let out a soft hum and gently patted him to comfort him.
Seeing that she hadn't woken up, Xue Chenjing breathed a sigh of relief, angrily pressing his hand to his head, wanting to transform it into Earth Impurity and scratch away the intrusive voice in his mind. He roared in his heart, "What are you, to dare call me master? Get out of my body right now, or I'll kill you sooner or later."
The system: "..." Ah, what a familiar and nostalgic scene. Was it going to take years to rebuild trust with him again?
No, it seemed they had never had any trust to begin with. Xue Chenjing had been threatening to kill it from the start.
The system looked at the completed task tree and the large fruit hanging on it. The mission was complete, and this was the final reward. Whether the host chose to accept or reject it, a decision had to be made. Only then could they successfully unbind, and the system could leave this world.
If the host remained in this confused state and never claimed the final reward, would it have to stay in this world indefinitely?
The system had also considered taking advantage of Xue Chenjing's young age and lack of memories to trick him into making a decision. But it was, after all, a very ethical system and couldn't bring itself to do such a despicable thing to a child.
The system sighed. Staying a bit longer wasn't a problem; it could be considered a vacation. But if only the host could never speak, at least he wouldn't curse at it.
Xue Chenjing continued to curse in his heart, but his movements were cautious, afraid of waking Yu Yi. After the voice in his mind disappeared, he also calmed down, continuing to stare at the person beside him, as if he could never get enough of her.
His gaze deepened under this constant observation, the naivety fading from his eyes, replaced by a strong desire to possess. This desire was engraved in his blood, awakening at an astonishing speed.
Xue Chenjing began to feel dissatisfied with his current state, with his weak body and short limbs. He wanted to grow taller, stronger, to be able to wrap her completely in his arms, to mark and possess her.
Instead of being held by her now.
Perhaps influenced by his current state of mind, Xue Chenjing's appearance began to change again under the covers.
His stature stretched, and the sound of bones growing came from beneath his skin, his limbs losing their childish plumpness, and even his face showing a few clear contours.
Xue Chenjing buried his head in the blanket, enduring the pain of rapid growth in silence.
Yu Yi was awakened by the trembling in her arms, anxiously asking, "Ah Qiu? What's wrong?"
She snapped her fingers, and the candle in the room lit up, filling the room with warm orange light.
Yu Yi lifted a corner of the blanket, wanting to pull out the person buried underneath, but was instead tightly grasped by a long, slender hand.
She was surprised to see that hand, with its slender, strong fingers and prominent veins on the back of the hand, showing a sense of bone under the thin skin.
If she remembered correctly, before closing her eyes, she had seen Xue Chenjing with short arms and legs, looking like a four or five-year-old. How could she close her eyes and open them to find him grown again!
Yu Yi pulled the blanket open and took a full look at his current height, correcting her previous thought. No, not just a circle, he now looked like a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, and even his hair had grown a lot, messy on the pillow.
It was no surprise that such rapid growth must be accompanied by unimaginable pain. Yu Yi brushed aside the messy hair on his head with her other hand, first feeling a layer of fine sweat on his forehead.
Xue Chenjing's cheeks were flushed, his eyebrows tightly knitted, his thick eyelashes wet with tears, biting his lips and letting out a low painful hum from his nose.
Yu Yi gently wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes with her fingertips, feeling heartache, "Why are you growing so fast?" There was nothing she could do to ease his pain of growth, she could only gently stroke his face, helping him wipe away the sweat and tears.
After about an hour, Xue Chenjing let out a long breath and opened his eyes.
His eye shape had also lost its childish roundness, the tail of his eyes lengthening, like ink strokes, smoothly lifting upwards at the end, showing the outline of his adult appearance.
Witnessing him transform into his familiar form was a strangely wonderful experience. Yu Yi couldn't help but reach out, her fingertips landing on the unhealed red marks at the tail of his eyes, sliding from his eyes to his nose, and then down to his lips.
Xue Chenjing obediently let her touch him, only his black eyes staring at her without blinking. His body had grown, and his soul seemed to have grown with it. Now, his eyes had lost their childish naivety, becoming deep and filled with aggression.
Yu Yi's breathing became heavy under such a gaze, and before her inner desires overflowed, she barely maintained a thread of reason, asking in a low voice, "Ah Qiu, how old are you now?"
Xue Chenjing blinked, his gaze moving from her speaking lips to her eyes, and then uncontrollably back to her lips. He swallowed, his slightly protruding Adam's apple moving up and down, revealing his current throat's desire.
He had grown in a muddled state, his mind full of the thought of growing taller, stronger, to completely wrap her in his arms. How could he think about his age?
Xue Chenjing let go of her wrist, his fingers sliding down to wrap her hand completely in his palm. His eyes were filled with suspicion and confusion, his voice hoarse as he uttered a question, "Ah Qiu? Who is Ah Qiu? Why do you keep calling me Ah Qiu?"
Yu Yi: "..." Well, he had even forgotten himself.
But hearing his croaky voice, was he going through puberty now?
Tsk, no good.
Yu Yi restrained herself from withdrawing her hand, using conversation to divert her attention, curiously asking, "Then if I don't call you Ah Qiu, what should I call you?"
Xue Chenjing felt his hand empty, wanting to reach out and hold her again, but being rejected, he felt even more that this "Ah Qiu" held a special place in her heart.
Before he even knew what jealousy was, this emotion had already filled his heart, sourly huffing, "Anyway, don't call me Ah Qiu! I am me, I'm not anyone else."
He would kill that Ah Qiu one day!
The system detected the murderous intent in the host's thoughts, hesitating to speak.
Yu Yi heard the jealousy in his words and barely managed not to laugh out loud. Her lively eyes scanned the young man in front of her, suddenly feeling a desire to tease him, deliberately saying, "Alright, if you don't want me to call you that, then I won't. After all, you don't resemble him."
Xue Chenjing sat up straight, angrily saying, "I don't need to resemble him! You're in my nest, you're mine, you can only look at me and think of me, not anyone else."
Yu Yi turned her eyes to glance at him, the corners of her eyes curling with lazy laughter, speaking slowly, "That's not possible, I like him, so I can't help but always think of him, think of his eyes, his nose, his lips, the way he looks when he's aggrieved, the way he looks when he's flustered."
As she spoke each word, her gaze would follow her words to land on Xue Chenjing's eyes and brows, watching him frown and pout in grievance, his frustration evident.
Yu Yi innocently said, "I can't help but think of him. What should I do? Are you going to kick me out?"
Xue Chenjing pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned around, leaning over Yu Yi with one hand propped above her. He lowered his head and took a deep sniff, trying to discern the scent of the so-called "A Jiu" from her fragrant aroma. Indeed, he detected a foreign trace of scent within her, one that was even more powerful than his own.
This discovery stirred a fierce competitive spirit within him. His eyes, flickering in the swaying candlelight, gleamed like those of a wolf intent on overthrowing its alpha. He growled fiercely, "No, I won't kick you out. I will grow strong quickly, strong enough to completely erase that guy's mark on you."
With that bold declaration, his figure dissipated into thin air, vanishing without a trace.
Yu Yi stared at the empty space for a long time before turning around and hugging her blanket. Her shoulders trembled slightly as she finally burst out laughing.
From that night on, Xue Chenjing began to frequently step out of this realm. It seemed he was going out to fight demons and monsters. Each time he returned, his body was covered in fresh wounds.
At the same time, his physique was rapidly growing. His height increased once more, his bones became tougher, his shoulders broadened, his waist slimmed, and his chest and arms developed muscular, flowing lines. His body exuded vitality and strength.
In the world of demons and monsters, power was everything. To rule over them, one must first defeat them. Xue Chenjing aimed to become the lord of this demonic domain, and he was no exception. He held a summoning decree in his hand, and the names of the demons he defeated were inscribed upon it.
Yu Yi witnessed the names on the decree grow from Earth Impurity onwards, increasing daily, until the decree was opened, and the names of the demons surrounded them like stars in the sky.
When Xue Chenjing returned, he would bring back many spoils of war—the teeth, bones, and fur of monsters, or strange flowers, fruits, and vibrant feathers.
Each time he returned with these treasures, he would proudly display them before Yu Yi, showcasing his growing strength. He would select the most beautiful items to craft into a feathered fan, a soft blanket, or a snow-white bone hairpin for her.
At the end of each display, he would always ask, "Did A Jiu ever give you anything like this?"
Yu Yi, eating the fish he had grilled and deboned for her, her eyes twinkling, would shake her head and say, "I don't think so."
Xue Chenjing's jealousy was almost palpable, his sourness like vinegar that had soaked into his very being. Every time "A Jiu" was mentioned, a wave of acidity would emanate from him. Yet, he was particularly fond of inquiring about their past, determined to overshadow the man in her heart.
Yu Yi, wanting to help him regain his memories sooner, did not hesitate to recount their former experiences.
Xue Chenjing listened with a furrowed brow, snorting coldly, "He treated you so poorly, why do you still like him?"
He leaned down, grabbing Yu Yi's hand and placing it over his heart, letting her feel its rapid and powerful beat. He stared intently into her eyes, pleading, "I'm better than him. Can you like me instead?"
