Chapter 544 - Lilith Vs Shangguan Bing Xue (Part 1)
How would you feel if the first thing you saw after seeing a person you longed to see so much was casually chatting with a strange pink dolphin? You probably couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
After staying in the castle of Lucifer in Kram World for two days, Lilith found a way to use space magic and sneak out without anyone noticing her.
Probably by the time the lord of the Demonic Army or any other Higher Existence noticed her missing she would surely have reached her goal, and with Earth being a planet full of mysteries and irregularities that for some strange reason was out of reach of the Higher Existences, Lilith did not need to fear being found.
After arriving on Earth and reaching China, Lilith immediately felt the aura she was looking for. It was just that it was hard for her to believe that this aura belonged to the same Bai Zemin that she had not seen for a little over a month.
When she arrived at the location of the bridge, instead of immediately approaching Bai Zemin, Lilith floated in the distance as she watched him from afar with complicated eyes.
She could still remember how a little over 30 days ago, Bai Zemin was a First Order existence that could barely kill Second Order existences by launching his most powerful attack taking his enemies by surprise; she could still remember the death of two Second Order existences after being hit by the Crimson Blood Judgment of Bai Zemin as they both fought each other and another Second Order existence which ended up being wounded by the said magic attack.
Therefore, after hearing all the impressive things he had accomplished in Oblon World, she found it hard to believe even though she knew that everything she heard was the truth.
However, Lilith did not expect that when she came back to see Bai Zemin a month after leaving Earth, what she would find would be an existence whose Soul Power was so, so brilliant as that of any other Second Order existence despite being only a First Order existence. In fact, Lilith could faintly tell just from the aura surrounding Bai Zemin that a Third Order existence would possibly succumb before him if he was fully unleashed.
The ruby-colored eyes of Lilith shone like flashlights in the middle of the night even though the sky was clear. In her gaze, she could see the soul of Bai Zemin; so powerful and terrifying that even she feared for what he would end up turning into in the seemingly not-so-distant future.
What kind of things had he experienced during this short time? Why had his strength taken such a terrifying leap in such a short time? How many times had his life been in danger of ending? How strong were the winds that the flame of his soul had to endure to avoid being extinguished? Lilith could not stop her eyes from softening and a tender look appeared on her face as she stared at the young human that was innocently kicking at the edge of the bridge.
What was Bai Zemin like before the Soul Record forced him to change? What was he like before the apocalypse? For the first time, Lilith pondered such questions. She wished she could meet him before every single being went to hell, but she knew that such a wish was an impossible one.
A wish that would not be fulfilled in this life or any other.
'And to think that I, a Higher Existence honored by hundreds of thousands, feared by countless, the one who received the title of Bloody Succubus, would actually be apprehensive and worried about what to say in the presence of a First Order male.' Lilith could not help but smile bitterly as she secretly thought such a thing.
Just when she was having difficulties about how to approach Bai Zemin or announce her arrival for fear of meeting someone completely different from the one she knew a month ago, a considerably sized swordfish broke through the sea and jumped towards the bridge with its mouth wide open.
When the small pink dolphin spewed out a huge jet of water that did not match in any way with her size and the First Order swordfish's body was turned into a bloody mess, Lilith wondered at what point Bai Zemin had befriended a strange Second Order sea creature.
However, she decided that this was a golden opportunity for her to make her appearance. After all, what better way to break the ice than a slightly naughty joke that perfectly suited the way she had always teased Bai Zemin before leaving to Kram World?
Since from the back it really did look like the giant water jet was shot out of Bai Zemin's crotch, the words she would say next naturally came to Lilith's mind.
"It's been a month since I left and I expected to see something amazing at our reunion... But I didn't expect to see such a powerful spurt from your crotch as welcome. Little brother Zemin, did you miss this big sister so much?"
Nervous and anxiously waiting for the response she would receive, Lilith noticed how Bai Zemin's body froze when he heard her voice.
Although he had yet to see her, the voice of Lilith and her natural essence was something that Bai Zemin would probably have difficulty to forget in his entire life no matter how many years might pass.
For him, Lilith was by far the existence that had left the biggest impact on his life. Surely he could never forget this little succubus who loved to make naughty jokes and tease him sexually whenever the opportunity arose.
Without turning around yet, as if afraid that this was all a dirty trick played by his anxious and craving mind, Bai Zemin slowly stood up with his hands in front of his body.
Little Xiao Xiao in his embrace naturally felt the abrupt change in the settled emotions of Bai Zemin. The little pink dolphin did not struggle even though her body was being squeezed tightly without Bai Zemin noticing as she could feel his erratic heart pounding hard against his chest.
The sun was high in the sky and a beautiful rainbow accompanied the gorgeous cloudless blue sky. The choppy waters were now calm and the sea breeze carried a scent of purity and freshness that helped to calm the anxiety.
However, the anxiety Bai Zemin felt at this moment was on another level. He, who had technically slaughtered enough to annihilate 1/7 of mankind, feared that after turning around what would greet him would be an empty bridge.
But... It wasn't as if he could stand there forever, or could he?
Gathering courage and without much expectation even though the scent of roses that flooded his senses felt as real as the softness of the little dolphin's body in his embrace, Bai Zemin slowly turned to face reality.
Red eyes that sparkled like two enchanting rubies under the sun's glare, a tantalizing body capable of taking the breath away from any sentient being carefully wrapped by a midnight black dress that hugged every curve and highlighted every detail of it, a face as innocent as that of a young girl who had not seen the impurities of the world, legs as shiny as ivory that seemed to taunt every time the sea breeze stopped blowing and hid again under the dress that almost touched the ground, red lips as hot as fire, and a smile that despite looking playful could not hide the tension she felt.
No matter how much time passed, it was impossible for Bai Zemin to forget even the smallest detail about her. The woman standing a few feet away was by far the brightest existence; so much so that there was no darkness that could hide her forever as memories would always resurface.
There were so many things he wanted to tell her when they met again. There were so many jokes that Bai Zemin had carefully planned before going to sleep every night for the entire month they spent away from each other to leave her speechless.
What kind of face would she make once she knew about his current strength? What kind of reaction would she show when she found out how great and numerous were the feats he had managed to complete during the time she was not present? Bai Zemin had even planned to act as if he was angry at her sudden disappearance without even having given him time to say goodbye.
However, planning was just that; planning.
Reality was completely different and was always open to change.
When emotions took over, no matter how brief the moment, plans were bound to change. Therefore, the mind of Bai Zemin went blank when his black eyes met again with that beautiful pair of sparkling rubies.
Lilith was not much different. She felt with utter clarity how her own heart was beating so hard inside her chest that she even wondered how it was possible for her heart to beat like that after being practically dead for so many years.
Lilith felt so nervous and apprehensive that despite her experience she didn't know what to say. She was so lost on how to react when she met the face that had even appeared in her mind every time she blinked that she couldn't even notice how the heart of Bai Zemin was fluttering.
Maybe due to the situation they were in, neither Lilith nor Bai Zemin himself noticed how in his soul that rune with the engraving of a heart wrapped by a stone armor was cracking in such a way that it seemed to be hanging by a thread and made one wonder how long such a thread could endure before collapsing.
Time passed, but even after staring at each other for more than a minute, neither of them said a single word. They simply looked into the eyes of the other, perhaps trying to study each other's reaction or perhaps trying to firmly imprint the opposite's appearance deep in their souls.
In fact, Lilith was so tense and unsteady that she couldn't even bother to hide her presence from the little pink dolphin.
Little Xiao Xiao's gaze went back and forth between Bai Zemin's and Lilith's faces in confusion. Even though she was a Spirit Dolphin and could feel more about the souls of others, Xiao Xiao was actually a rather young dolphin and things like feelings were too complex for her yet.
After a long time and despite still feeling anxious, Bai Zemin at least managed to calm down enough to say something.
"Hey... It's been a while."
Far from what he had planned to say or do, all he managed to utter were words that despite being simple actually hid longing; longing which Lilith noticed despite not being able to comprehend how hard the short month they had been apart was for Bai Zemin.
Lilith forced a smile that was a bit bittersweet and said softly, "You.... You've become really strong now..."
"..." Bai Zemin looked into her eyes as hundreds of thousands of memories flashed through his head in a matter of an instant.
"... A lot of things happened after you left." He said with a smile not very different than Lilith's. His voice sounded somewhat tired after so many wars his body and soul had gone through as he sighed: "The number of things that happened during this short period of time made it seem longer than ever.... It will probably be hard for you to believe how many things have changed."
"I bet it was... I'm sure it was." Lilith nodded without doubting his word. She didn't say that she knew about Oblon World, as she expected him to tell her in detail even if it took a whole day.
Regardless of the reasons, regardless of how they felt now, Lilith knew it was inevitable that some of that special connection they had would be lost. After all, she had been away during crucial times for him; Bai Zemin's evolution had begun just over 2 months ago and she had been absent for the last half. It was very likely that during that time someone else may have taken the place she did.
"It will probably take more than-"
Bai Zemin's words got stuck in his throat as a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit him hard. His eyes got cloudy and his body staggered, the whole world seemed to spin around a million times in a second, and before he realized what was wrong, his legs lost their strength and he fell to the ground.
Lilith's face changed abruptly when she saw Bai Zemin fall. Her heart clenched as if a pair of divine chains wrapped around it and with anxiety coursing through her veins she blinked at his side even though she was at a close enough distance to be able to close it with a step.
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