Chapter 909: I Can Handle This

Bang!

In the next instant, a loud bang echoed as Ye Chen stepped into empty air, lost his balance, and smacked his head straight into the ground, smashing a huge crater into the stone slabs.

Ouch!

Ye Chen winced in pain, clutching his forehead as he stood up. His attempt to act cool had failed spectacularly, and now he'd made an even bigger fool of himself.

I don't believe it!

He muttered under his breath, his blood surging with frustration as he tried again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

From then on, the pavilion was filled with these repeated sounds. Ye Chen, the type who wouldn't give up until he hit the Yellow River, kept going until he'd bashed out crater after crater in the floor—but still, he couldn't take to the skies.

"Has my Dao Ze been damaged so badly that I can't even fly?" Ye Chen grumbled, rubbing his head fiercely.

"Why don't you take a break for a while?" Liu Ruyan suggested tentatively, unable to bear watching any longer.

"It's fine, this won't stump me." Ye Chen wiped away a trickle of blood from his nose. "If Yu Kong won't work, I'll just try Yu Jian instead."

"Go ahead and give it a try." Liu Ruyan stepped off the cloud platform, deciding it was safer to stay on the ground after witnessing Ye Chen's repeated falls.

"It won't even hit you." Ye Chen shrugged it off, pulling out a Ling Jian with a flip of his hand and stepping onto it.

"One flight to the heavens!" His howl echoed through the pavilion, dramatic enough to shake the earth and move the ghosts.

"Seems like... it didn't fly." Liu Ruyan and Gongnv Xiaoyue both glanced at Ye Chen.

"Hey, I refuse to believe it!" Ye Chen rolled up his sleeves and let out another booming shout. "One flight to the heavens!"

But the scene he imagined—of soaring into the sky on his sword—never happened. He remained standing solidly on the sword.

One flight to the heavens!

One flight to the heavens!

Ye Chen got more fired up with each yell, his voice growing louder and more intense, leaving the guards outside the pavilion utterly baffled.

Inside the pavilion, not just Ye Chen, but even Liu Ruyan and Gongnv Xiaoyue looked awkward, staring at him as if he were a fool. You're yelling so loud—why aren't you flying?

"Why don't you rest for a bit?" Liu Ruyan finally spoke up, eyeing Ye Chen cautiously.

"It's fine, this won't stump me." Ye Chen cleared his throat and immediately summoned a Fen Shen. Suddenly, another person appeared, startling Liu Ruyan and nearly making Gongnv Xiaoyue cry out in fear.

"See that? That's a Fen Shen. I..." Ye Chen's words caught in his throat because the Fen Shen he'd just created dissipated into a wisp of smoke in less than three seconds.

"Hey!" Ye Chen wasn't having it. He tried again, summoning another Fen Shen, but this one vanished in under two seconds.

From there, he put all his effort into it, summoning one Fen Shen after another. But each time, they faded away almost instantly, before he could even say a word.

"Why don't you have some water?" This time, it was Gongnv Xiaoyue who suggested it.

"It's fine, this won't stump him." Liu Ruyan smiled, strumming her Qin.

"Of course it won't stump me!" Ye Chen coughed awkwardly and began rummaging through his storage bag. His Yin Ming Si Jiang was long gone, so he had no choice but to call out the Kui Lei Zixuan.

Wow!

As soon as Zixuan appeared, Gongnv Xiaoyue clapped a hand over her mouth, unsure if she was stunned by Zixuan's beauty or shocked that Ye Chen had suddenly produced a woman.

"Why isn't this person moving?" Liu Ruyan asked curiously, still playing her Qin as she examined Zixuan up and down.

"This is a Kui Lei. She won't move unless I give her a command," Ye Chen explained with a smile. "She's incredibly strong in battle. With her protecting us on our journey, we'll be safe. And most importantly, she can fly—and really fast, too."

"Really? She can fly?" Not just Gongnv Xiaoyue, but even Liu Ruyan was surprised.

"Don't doubt it." Ye Chen coughed lightly and issued a command to Zixuan. "Come on, fly for us."

At once, Zixuan, who had been standing like a statue, stepped forward and shot out the window, streaking across the sky like a divine light. She vanished in the blink of an eye.

"She really flies fast." Liu Ruyan and Gongnv Xiaoyue stared at the sky, their eyes wide with astonishment.

"Impressive, right?" Ye Chen straightened his collar smugly and snapped his fingers. "Zixuan, come back."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan and Gongnv Xiaoyue both turned to the window, marveling at the sight of a person flying through the air—which was a rare wonder, even for them.

But despite Ye Chen's command, Zixuan didn't return.

Liu Ruyan and Gongnv Xiaoyue exchanged glances and looked back at Ye Chen, their expressions odd.

"Sis, this joke isn't funny at all." Ye Chen stared blankly out the window, realizing that in the previous second, his Ling Hun imprint inside Zixuan had vanished.

"You're not supposed to mess with me like that." Ye Chen's mouth twitched as he figured out that the remnant soul of Nüdi Yue Shang inside Zixuan's body was responsible. She'd erased his imprint and taken Zixuan away.

"Did she just fly off and get lost?" Gongnv Xiaoyue and Liu Ruyan whispered, still gazing out the window.

"What's everyone looking at?" Liu Qingquan had wandered in at some point and, seeing the three of them staring outside, joined them, craning his neck toward the sky. Even the little Ruoxi in his arms looked curious.

"Seems like she really did get lost." After a while, Gongnv Xiaoyue turned to the dumbfounded Ye Chen.

"This won't stump you, right?" Liu Ruyan withdrew her gaze and looked at Ye Chen. "If it's gone, you can just make another one."

"I can't make one." Ye Chen scratched his head furiously. In this remote mortal realm, where would he find materials to refine a Kui Lei? Even if he did, a mortal body turned into a Kui Lei or Yin Ming Si Jiang would be too weak to handle anything, let alone Yu Kong or Yu Jian flight.

He'd planned for everything, but he never expected the remnant soul of Nüdi Yue Shang to pull this trick on him. What a disaster!

"Why don't we go out and look for her?" Gongnv Xiaoyue suggested tentatively.

"Look for what?" Ye Chen cursed under his breath. In his current state—sometimes clear-headed, sometimes muddled—he couldn't catch up in eight lifetimes.

He sat down cross-legged on the spot, focusing his thoughts into a Shen Shi message.

Xing Chen Dao Shen, respond quickly!

He kept calling out to his only remaining Dao Shen, his last hope.

But after calling for a long time, he got no response. It wasn't until much later that he realized his Dao Shen was in a deep sleep.

"You damn thing, are you awake yet?" Ye Chen was furious, yelling out loud and startling Liu Ruyan and Gongnv Xiaoyue.

"Dropping the ball at a critical moment!"

"When I get back, I'll kick you to death."

The pavilion grew noisy with Ye Chen's shouting. The guards outside scratched their heads, peeking through the cracks in the door. "What's going on in there?"

Inside, as Ye Chen ranted alone, Liu Ruyan, Liu Qingquan, and Gongnv Xiaoyue exchanged glances, their eyes saying the same thing: He's not just confused—he's really got a problem.

Eventually, the shouting in the pavilion died down.

Ye Chen finally quieted down, squatting on the ground with his hands over his face, looking utterly dejected.

The damage to his Dao Ze was affecting everything. He couldn't Yu Kong, couldn't Yu Jian, couldn't summon a Fen Shen, couldn't contact his Dao Shen, and now Zixuan had been taken. Even with Liu Ruyan's Qin music keeping him somewhat alert, getting back to Nan Chu would be nearly impossible. Running the whole way? That would take until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.

"Why don't you stay a couple more days?" Gongnv Xiaoyue stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder.

"Fine, I'll stay a few more days." Ye Chen coughed awkwardly. As the majestic Lord of the Heavenly Court, who commanded the world, he'd never felt so embarrassed. He'd said "this won't stump me" so many times, only to slap himself in the face each time.

"You must be tired. Why don't you rest?" Liu Ruyan said.

"I'm not tired."

"But I am." Liu Ruyan coughed awkwardly. "I want to rest. My hands hurt."

"You can rest, but stop taking advantage when I'm out of it to tell me you're my wife and that you gave me a little girl."

"You... you remember all that!" Liu Ruyan's cheeks flushed red, burning hot as she wished she could sink into the floor.

"I'm not an idiot." Ye Chen had already climbed onto the bed.

"I'll be more careful next time." Liu Ruyan felt awkward and stopped playing the Qin strings. The music faded away.

As the Qin music dissipated, Ye Chen gradually slipped back into his dazed state, instantly transforming into someone else.

Who am I? Where is this? How did I get here? Who are you?

Just like before, he repeated the same questions without variation.

"You're Ye Chen. This is the Nan Zhao imperial palace." Gongnv Xiaoyue jumped in. "You're sick, and our princess brought you here. She's your wife, and she gave you a little baby. See, she's outside."

"Xiaoyue!" Liu Ruyan glared at her, her face turning bright red.

"Ye Chen... Nan Zhao imperial palace... wife... little baby." Ye Chen muttered in a daze, sounding completely scatterbrained.

Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.

This time, he slept for a long while—nine full days. During that time, he mumbled in his dreams about things like Chu Xuan, Chu Ling, Heavenly Court, Bei Chu, Tian Mo—words that Liu Ruyan couldn't make sense of.

Meanwhile, over those nine days, Liu Qingquan hadn't been idle.

He summoned all the imperial physicians from the palace and all the doctors from Nan Zhao to examine Ye Chen, one after another.

But they all entered the room fine and came out limping or worse—most had been shaken by Ye Chen's pulse, with several now bedridden and groaning.

As a result, over the past few days, those doctors had been avoiding any mention of treating patients, terrified of being called to the imperial palace to see Ye Chen.

Liu Ruyan hadn't been idle either. She'd taught the Qin melody to several quick-witted palace maids multiple times.

However, just like with Gongnv Xiaoyue, Ye Chen showed no reaction to their playing, leaving her baffled.

On the tenth night, Ye Chen woke up, stirred awake by Liu Ruyan's Qin music.

He sat on the bed for a good while before jumping down, stroking his chin and muttering to himself, "Maybe sending someone with a message is a solid plan."