Ring ring ring….
Ring ring ring….
Ring ring ring….
The three rings sounded, and their direction—without a doubt—was from Chu Fan’s corpse.
The three who were still conscious all looked over.
A golden bell slowly emerged from within Chu Fan’s body, then rose into the air, continuing to ring.
Ring ring ring…
Ring ring ring….
No one knew what it was, but Qi You’s eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open.
“Is it the… Three-Life Bell!?”
“Three-Life… Bell?” Shen Yuying stared at the bell.
For some reason, the sound gave her a glimmer of hope.
“That’s a legendary saint-grade artifact where one soul has two bodies, two bells coexisting.”
“Whenever one of them faces mortal danger, the bell appears, ignoring all spatial distance, and summons the other bell’s holder. Only those recognized by the world as fated ones can bind to it.”
“Fated ones?”
For some reason, Shen Yuying felt sensitive to that term, and at the same time, she wondered, ‘What exactly does Master’s fated one mean?’
“As for the understanding of a fated one, I can’t be sure if it’s about marriage bonds or something else. But in short, only those recognized by the world’s will can bind this bell. It has nothing to do with gender.”
“It must be the time-stopping power of the divine artifact that caused a delay in the bell’s effect.”
“But Brother Chu is already this strong. His fated one… just who could it be…”
Whoosh….
Suddenly, a pillar of silver-white flame rose from the ground, forming a column of fire.
From within that pillar, a figure slowly walked out.
Her eyes were sharp, her features angular, her stature tall, and her aura immense.
The moment she appeared in sight, Qi You was captivated.
Not by her heaven-defying beauty, but by her aura of invincibility.
She had long silver hair—different from Shen Yuying’s snow-white, leaning more toward gray.
She carried no weapons on her, and wore a strange, form-fitting outfit.
Yet just by standing there, she felt undefeatable.
Stepping out of the flames, the silver-haired woman instantly spotted Chu Fan on the ground.
But the gruesome sight of him split in two did not provoke any excess expression from her.
She merely furrowed her brow, sweeping her gaze across the scene.
It was only when she saw Chu Fan’s half-burned body and the other half gradually freezing over that she imperceptibly curled her lips, as if understanding something.
She walked over to Chu Fan in two steps, first pieced his corpse together on the ground, then picked him up.
“Don’t you—”
Boom!
Just as Shen Yuying started to speak, the woman, without turning around, blasted her into the wall with a casual wave of energy.
‘Even a casual strike behind her back can suppress a nine-tailed fox demon with absolute force. So this is Brother Chu’s fated one?’ Qi You couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
The woman held Chu Fan’s barely reassembled corpse, looking at his face—a crack down the middle, one side different from the other.
She gave a bitter smile.
“Told you not to steal my stuff. Learned your lesson, huh?”
With that, a massive silver-white flame erupted, enveloping Chu Fan and her.
No one knew what happened inside the flame.
All they knew was that when the fire died out,
Chu Fan’s body had miraculously restored itself.
Soon after, he even opened his eyes.
Lying in the woman’s arms, Chu Fan slowly blinked.
When his eyes met hers, his pupils first flickered with shock, then softened with warmth, as if he understood what had happened.
“Sister Qingtian… having you… feels so good…” Chu Fan said weakly.
Hearing that, Chu Qingtian shot him a glare, then sneered.
“Don’t use your ‘love everyone I meet’ line on me. I’m not falling for that.”
Undeterred, Chu Fan gently patted Chu Qingtian’s hand and continued.
“It’s okay… Sister Qingtian… even if I love everyone I meet… you’re still the one I love most among them all…”
“The most… ahhh!!!”
Feeling the excruciating pain at his kidney being pinched, Chu Fan gritted his teeth and twisted his face.
“I’m wrong! Wrong, Sister Qingtian! Wrong!”
Chu Qingtian released her grip on his kidney, letting him fall to the ground with a loud thud.
“Mas… ter…”
Shen Yuying walked over to Chu Fan as if in a dream, staring at his restored body, wondering if she was dreaming.
“Yuying, sorry. Did I scare you?” Chu Fan smiled slightly.
“MASTER!!!!!”
Shen Yuying flung herself into Chu Fan’s arms, but held back from crying.
Because at that moment, she was making a vow to herself.
She swore she would never cry again in this life, and never again experience that kind of despair.
She would train hard—not just in cultivation, but in wisdom, strategy, business, social skills—every single aspect.
She would learn it all.
She would become the strongest person in the world—stronger than Master, stronger than anyone.
That way, she could protect Master.
That way, she would never have to feel that despair again.
From today on, she would hide her true self, or rather, transform into a different personality.
One more suited to protecting Master, one less susceptible to pain.
Meanwhile, gently patting Shen Yuying’s back, Chu Fan soon found her fast asleep from emotional exhaustion.
He laid her on the ground, stood up, and walked toward Su Xiaotang, who was also stunned but too afraid to approach him.
Chu Fan knelt on one knee before her, taking the wish list from her hands.
Su Xiaotang expected him to confiscate it, but to her surprise, Chu Fan smoothed out the list in front of her, letting the smiling face on it clearly reflect in her eyes.
With the same smile as the one on the list, Chu Fan parted his lips slightly, his voice light.
“Xiaotang, any other wishes?”
Su Xiaotang’s lips trembled.
Tears streamed down her face.
Crying out, she threw herself into Chu Fan’s arms, wailing loudly.
Later, naturally, Chu Fan took her as a disciple and brought her away from the Su Mansion.
As for her sister, she was left in the care of her biological mother, who inherited the Su Mansion.
It shouldn’t be a problem.
Though Chu Fan wanted to settle a score with Qi You, he had already taken off at some unknown time, leaving no trace behind.
It seemed he still had some tricks up his sleeve.
…
….
The past scenes flashed before her eyes.
Su Xiaotang sweetly curled her lips.
Looking at Chu Fan before her, she slowly lowered her head, aiming for those lips.
“Yes! That’s it! Come on! Attack me!”
Dongfang Qingwei’s primordial spirit cheered from the sidelines.
But things didn’t go as she expected.
Just before their lips touched, Su Xiaotang raised her hand and covered Chu Fan’s mouth.
She kissed her own hand, blocking the kiss with her palm.
Even so, tears still slid from her eyes.
Seeing this, Dongfang Qingwei wanted to say something disheartening and mocking.
But for some reason, this kiss, in her eyes…
seemed exceptionally heavy.
She didn’t know why Su Xiaotang wanted to kiss Chu Fan yet blocked his mouth with her hand.
All she knew was that Su Xiaotang’s emotions right now were blazingly intense, far surpassing her imagination.
So intense, in fact, that it made her feel a pang of guilt.