Chapter 256: She may be cruel to the whole world, but as long as she

Warmth… pulsing…

Time flowed endlessly; just as Jia Ji's hazy consciousness was about to awaken, a sudden tingling and strange sensation made his hairs stand on end.

Wrong!

What is this feeling…?

Recovering from the shock of waking from a dream, when he realized what had happened, Jia Ji's body had already gone completely stiff.

If his senses weren't deceiving him, his current posture must have been lying on his side, with something soft, warm, and elastic serving as his pillow…

He could even detect a faint, lingering fragrance… With his gradually sharpening senses and spiritual power, he could easily identify the scent as belonging to someone he knew intimately…

"Azi?"

After a moment of silence, Jia Ji uttered that name despite knowing full well.

"Correct."

The Yokai Sage answered slowly, but showed no intention of moving.

Even without opening his eyes, the subtle sensations above and below his head, along with the smooth, silken texture, told him his current position was none other than the legendary—"knee pillow"!

Yun Zi truly understood Jia Ji well; before he could voice his question, she spoke first:

"Stop! When I'm giving you a knee pillow and caring for you while you're unconscious, the moment you wake up, you should say 'thank you,' not 'Why are you doing something like this? This isn't the Yun Zi I know!'"

"But it wasn't necessary…"

"What's that? Leaving you lying there alone—I couldn't possibly do something like that…"

"This is a one-time only! Don't expect it again!"

Ohhh, so that's how it is.

Jia Ji fully understood… it was that thing—everyone knew about it—

The classic post-victory reward scene every protagonist gets.

"Hehe, so Azi, you can sometimes act and say things like a real seventeen-year-old girl…"

"Go die!"

Unfortunately, Yun Zi lacked the ability of Xishen Tan Nü to make words become law, so she merely muttered softly—and still didn't move from her position.

This scene, somehow, had happened before.

Straining to recall, it seemed that in his past life, Yuuyuuko had done this to Yun Zi—and now the Yokai Sage was doing the same to him.

Could it be that, by yokai morals, this was perfectly normal?

Of course not.

But if it were "the Sage's repayment of a debt," that made sense—he fought desperately in the Lunar War; a little reward wasn't too much.

He tugged at his lips, unsure what expression to wear, torn inside as he thought: "This female yokai, Yun Zi, is truly wicked—but even if she's cruel to the whole world, as long as she's kind to me, that's enough."

Eventually, he gave up struggling, closed his eyes, and shamelessly rubbed his head against the soft, ample, perfectly shaped bosom tightly wrapped beneath the once-familiar yin-yang robe above him.

What a huge heart!

……

"So, what did you dream about… no, who did you dream about?"

To be fair, women and female yokai were terrifyingly perceptive; though she knew nothing, Yun Zi still sensed intuitively that he'd had some strange encounter in his dream.

As she spoke, she glanced at Jia Ji—or rather, glared—and lightly tapped the back of his head with her folding fan, the one she'd been holding for half an hour while he lay there lazily.

"To be specific… uh, I can't remember. Once I woke up, everything vanished."

Forgotten the beginning, forgotten the middle, forgotten the end—all gone. But…

Jia Ji rubbed his stomach. There was a faint impression that it had taken a blow powerful enough to explode his internal organs. Yet strangely, he felt no anger or pain—only as if it had been childish play, devoid of any malice.

"Still, regarding the reason for dreaming, entering dreams—I think I've begun to grasp something—"

Here, Jia Ji paused slightly, a rare flicker of self-doubt and hesitation in his eyes.

"I think… when I face certain trials, dead ends, or near-death moments and lose conscious control, I might reconnect to that dream… but…"

Yun Zi frowned slightly: "You mean, only when you're on the verge of death can you uncover the reason…"

That's dangerously risky. One misstep and you're truly dead. This time, Chuanhu was there to pull you back—next time, luck won't be so kind.

And if Jia Ji really dies, there's a ninety percent chance it'll happen in one of the group members' worlds. Whether there's even hell then is uncertain—souls aren't guaranteed to exist.

So far, thanks to someone's efforts, the group has maintained a perfect survival record. But if the group leader dies, no one knows what will become of this chat group that connects "dimensions."

Of course, Yun Zi had always trusted Jia Ji's stubborn vitality—but years of habit made her default to the worst-case scenario.

"Don't worry…"

Jia Ji raised a thumb toward Yun Zi, whose face showed concern. "I won't die until I've seen the Fantasy Realm built."

"Wait!"

Yun Zi gripped her folding fan, her face clouded with worry and confusion. Even the Yokai Sage didn't know her purpose after the Lunar War—but a term Jia Ji had just spoken made her eyes suddenly sharpen.

"What is… 'Fantasy Realm'…"

She felt, inexplicably, that it was of utmost importance—intimately tied to her future.

"Ahahaha, I guess it's time I told you everything—if you've got the courage to keep listening." Jia Ji gave a forced laugh, then turned his head away, feeling a twinge of unease.

The Lunar War was over. There was no point hiding his next move from Yun Zi anymore.

In short, it was time for Jia Ji to deploy his traditional skill—laying it all out!

"Let me show you the path!"

……

"You mean… I will one day establish a place called 'Fantasy Realm'—a place denied, forgotten, reduced to myth—where all things deemed 'irrational' by the outside world—yokai, gods, spirits, magic—will be perfectly normal, the final refuge for non-humans…"

As expected, Yun Zi's expression turned complex upon hearing of her future greatness.

"But… everyone in there is lesbian?!"

"Hahahaha, you set the tone, didn't you…"

(End of Chapter)