【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Moon-Guided Red Thread Set - Handheld Component (1/4): Peach Blossom Umbrella.】
【Component Description: Open this umbrella to transform all entanglements of fate within a radius of ten zhang into red threads (Cooldown: 120 hours).】
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【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Moon-Guided Red Thread Set - Robe Component (2/4): Crimson Glow Fate-Weaver.】
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【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Moon-Guided Red Thread Set - Hair Accessory Component (3/4): Vermilion Ribbon Moon-Binder.】
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【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Moon-Guided Red Thread Set - Formation Component (4/4): Marriage-Binding Tree.】
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【Component Description: Can summon a Marriage-Binding Tree. If lovers hang a wooden plaque with both of their names on this tree, the Marriage-Binding Tree will bestow a red thread upon them. As long as the red thread remains unbroken, the lovers will live a happy and fulfilling life together (Cooldown: 120 hours).】
【...】
The little fox lay beside Yun Shu.
Seeing that she had spent nearly a million Shock Values to pull this entire new set, it asked in confusion, “Host, I feel like you're not the type of person who believes in love at all. Why are you so bent on pulling a set that only lets you play matchmaker?”
“Why wouldn't I believe in love? This world isn't just full of heartbreakers; there are also many lovers who walk hand in hand for a lifetime. Love has always been beautiful. As for whether one can have it, that depends on fate.”
The little fox pouted. “Host, stop trying to fool me. You've never even thought about dating. If you actually wanted to date, you wouldn't even need to look. Just a slight hint from you, and the men and women wanting to date you could line up all the way from Xindu to the great desert.”
“And besides, I checked a long time ago—you were single from birth until the day you died in your past life!”
Yun Shu glanced at it. “What conflict is there between me believing in love and me not dating?”
Having grown up fed on her parents' public displays of affection, it would be a miracle if she didn't believe in love.
“I don't date simply because I know I can't take responsibility for another person's feelings. In my past life, when I went undercover in the Golden Triangle to fight narcotics, I never expected to make it home alive.”
“Speaking of which, my parents were quite unlucky. They raised three unfilial children, forcing them to bury their children one after another, leaving them lonely and helpless in their old age.”
The little fox's eyes were filled with sympathy. “Host, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up your painful memories.”
“It's fine. It's already a fact, and whether I'm sad or not won't change it. One must always look forward.”
As Yun Shu spoke, she closed the prize pool, opened the set enhancement and upgrade interface, and fully leveled up the three sets: Sword Sovereign of the Nine Heavens, Thousand Machines and Myriad Crafts, and Moon-Guided Red Thread.
【Current Shock Value: 8,020,800】
Seeing her balance shrink from over a hundred million down to millions, her expression changed faster than the flipping of a page. “I take back what I said earlier. These Shock Values really don't last. I threw ten million Shock Values into it, and there are still so many outfits left in the permanent prize pool that I haven't pulled? It seems I can't afford to idle around; I need to earn more Shock Values.”
The little fox mumbled in a low voice, “At the rate you spend them, Host, no matter how much you earn, it'll be gone in a second.”
Yun Shu spouted nonsense with a straight face, “System, you don't get it. People are prone to laziness. If I don't spend my Shock Values, where would I get the motivation to earn more?”
“Host, you're right,” the little fox said. “I think you can put on the new Moon-Guided Red Thread set and do some work as a Red Thread Fairy to rake in a huge wave of Shock Values.”
Yun Shu rubbed its head.
“Not bad, System.”
“Of course.”
The little fox wagged its tail proudly. “I've learned a lot after being by your side for so long, you know!”
Yun Shu gave it a look of praise, then opened the monitor and watched Lan Yi's caravan enter the oasis.
“Host, are you going to bestow a red thread upon Lan Yi and her loyal dark guard? I actually ship them quite a bit.”
The little fox lay beside Yun Shu, propping up its face with its two paws, stars shining in its eyes.
A thoughtful look flashed in Yun Shu's eyes.
Then, as if she had thought of something, she beckoned to the system. “Come here. I have something for you to do.”
Yue Sheng followed Lan Yi and the others as they entered the oasis once more.
His heart was in his throat.
The Divine Lady had already warned him once before. He feared that a second time would not be as simple as merely being expelled from the oasis.
But he was severely injured. If he did not follow Lan Yi and her group, spending the night in the desert would mean certain death.
Lan Yi looked at the distracted Yue Sheng.
“Where did you meet the Divine Lady? Although I do not know if She is still here, now that we believers have entered the oasis, we must follow the rules and first go to the place of Her descent to pay our respects.”
Yue Sheng was snapped back to reality. He raised his hand and pointed toward the depths of the oasis, where the tree canopy was exceptionally lush. “Right ahead.”
Lan Yi looked in the direction of his finger. The twilight had dyed the oasis in a heavy shade of dark green.
An old tree with a trunk so thick it would take two people to embrace came into her view. Beside it was a crescent-shaped spring where a flock of waterbirds nested. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.
“We shall spend the night here,” she said.
The members of the caravan slid down from their camels one after another, tying the reins to the nearest tree trunks.
Then, they retrieved an altar table from the cargo boxes on the camels' backs, placed it beneath the old tree, and laid out fruits and fresh flowers.
They all knew that the Divine Lady did not consume incense offerings.
Thus, they did not set up an incense burner.
Standing at the very front, Lan Yi led the dozens of people behind her in bowing solemnly three times toward the offering altar.
No one spoke. There was only the rustling of the evening wind through the leaves and the low snorts of the camels in the distance.
Yue Sheng stared blankly at the devoutly worshiping crowd.
Initially, he had not believed Lan Yi.
But now, seeing the deep reverence for the deity in each of their eyes, his conviction wavered. Perhaps the Divine Lady who had expelled him from the oasis truly was a deity of the Central Plains.
Having finished paying their respects to the Divine Lady, everyone began to busily set up camp. Some unloaded thick felt tents from the camels' backs, while others led the camels to the spring to drink and filled their waterskins...
As night fell, the desert turned freezing cold. The group gathered around the campfire, eating dry rations and drinking warm wine.
Yue Sheng sat by the fire as well, tearing off pieces of dry flatbread to stuff into his mouth as he listened silently to their chatter and laughter.
Lan Yi emerged from a tent, a thin cloak wrapped over her purple robe to fend off the cold. In her arms, she cradled a tightly wrapped bundle that looked like an infant.
Seeing this, A'han quickly stood up. “Miss, Zhao'er is being fussy. Let me look after her.”
Yue Sheng cried out in surprise, “The desert is so windy and sandy, and the sun during the day is so scorching. Why are you traveling with a child?”
“This is my daughter,” Lan Yi said as she handed the bundled child to A'han and sat down by the fire. “We take her wherever we go. She has been on a camel's back since she was in the womb. A little wind and sand is nothing; she will get used to it.”
Back in Chaoyang City, despite all the hardships she had endured, the child in her womb had tenaciously survived. What other obstacles could possibly stop her now?
Just as Yue Sheng was about to say something more, a strange noise echoed from the nearby woods.
Rate on N.U.
