Chapter 160: I am willing

Chen Yi He held Dongfang Xing as he stood up, then bowed deeply toward the Palace Master and remained bowed for a long time. Dongfang Xing's body was light, barely enough to grasp in one hand.

The Palace Master felt puzzled; today in the Five Absolutes Hall, Chen Yi He and the Young Palace Master formed a stark contrast.

How deeply Chen Yi He values affection and righteousness.

How utterly the Young Palace Master lacks affection and righteousness.

After raising her for many years, why has she become like this? Twenty years ago, she made a choice full of affection and righteousness.

"Thank you." Chen Yi He finally spoke.

The Palace Master said to Chen Yi He, "You may go."

The thousand-year ginseng could not ultimately be kept; twenty years ago it was a fortunate coincidence, but twenty years later such luck was gone.

Chen Yi He carried Dongfang Xing out of the Five Absolutes Hall.

Suddenly, a faint sound, almost nonexistent, echoed in the corridor and vanished at the dark end: "Chen Yi He... save me..."

Chen Yi He stopped his steps, at first thinking his ears had deceived him. Because the sound had completely faded, no matter how intently he listened, he could not hear it.

Chen Yi He tried to probe with his divine sense, but the Palace Master blocked it.

The Palace Master also came out, standing on the corridor, and asked Chen Yi He, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

"I'm leaving now." Chen Yi He paused, then walked out of the corridor and out of the Five Absolutes Palace.

The Palace Master followed Chen Yi He all the way to the edge of the Five Absolutes Palace, standing on the city wall, just as she had watched him arrive, she watched him depart.

"Dongfang... I'll take you away..." Chen Yi He gazed affectionately at Dongfang Xing; a deep happiness from the heart filled his scar-ridden body, healing his pain.

"Okay..." Dongfang Xing blushed, nodded slightly, then buried her head in Chen Yi He's embrace, enjoying the feeling of being held.

"Clang!" The Heavenly Mechanism Sword swept past Chen Yi He's shoulder and plunged into the ground at his feet.

That sword reached its limit; even Chen Yi He could not react in time—if the Palace Master intended to kill him, that sword would surely pierce his body.

Chen Yi He turned his head in doubt, only hearing the Palace Master say, "Take your sword with you."

"I promised to exchange it with you." Chen Yi He raised his head and said to the Palace Master.

The Palace Master said nothing more, turned and left; the red dot on the Five Absolutes Palace's city wall vanished, restoring it to a pure white expanse.

As Chen Yi He drew the Heavenly Mechanism Sword, a question suddenly occurred to him.

"What about Qiu Yichen? He wasn't the one who arrived at the Five Absolutes Palace before me? Why haven't I seen him?" Chen Yi He wondered; by the time he wanted to ask, the city wall was already empty, and the gate had closed.

"Do you have something on your mind?" Dongfang Xing suddenly asked Chen Yi He.

Chen Yi He was startled, then quickly smiled indulgently, he stroked Dongfang Xing's head and replied, "Nothing. Let's go."

Chen Yi He could never have guessed that ten li south of the Five Absolutes Palace, a group of people was waiting for him.

……

Returning to the Five Absolutes Palace, the Palace Master and Ruan Shu walked together in the dark corridor.

"Palace Master, why did you give the thousand-year ginseng to Chen Yi He?" Ruan Shu asked the Palace Master.

The Palace Master stopped, saying, "Because it is what this palace owes."

"But that is a thousand-year ginseng..."

"Even if it were ten thousand years, what of it?" the Palace Master sneered, "Heh, destroy all of the Young Palace Master's clothes and belongings; in this Five Absolutes Palace, let there be no trace of her."

"Palace Master! Please reconsider!"

"She is the one who wishes to leave; what does this palace have to hold onto?" The Palace Master said, then walked toward the dark depths.

……

"Here he comes!" It was Duan Sheng with sharp eyes who first spotted Chen Yi He.

Chen Yi He carried Dongfang Xing on his back, walking slowly across the flat grassland; along the way, he was reluctant to quicken his pace, only wanting to talk more with Dongfang Xing.

Dongfang Xing was weak in body and breath, her words slow and soft, yet Chen Yi He was not in a hurry; he simply wanted to listen to her speak, and to him, every sentence, every word, was moving.

"Will you marry me?" she asked Chen Yi He as they talked.

Chen Yi He froze, standing in place, letting the wind blow the grass, which brushed his legs and waist, making him itch. He did not know whether the itch was from his body or his heart. He felt that what he carried on his back was not Dongfang Xing, but a wisp of air that could dissipate in the wind at any moment.

In this boundless grassland, if it were to scatter, how could he hold onto it?

"What did you say?" Chen Yi He asked again, fearing he had misheard or not heard clearly.

"Will you marry me?" Dongfang Xing clung tighter.

Not the slightest reluctance to part.

Having entered the book "Marvelous Martial Arts Great Melee," Chen Yi He had always thought about how to make himself stronger, how to survive. Although he had never considered returning to the real world, he also did not intend to live here forever, to marry and have children—something even harder to imagine.

Dongfang Xing, she is his beloved.

Brilliant stars, he takes only this one.

A sky full of stars, none compare to this one of hers.

When all the glitter fades, man is lonelier than the multitude of stars.

"I am willing."

Hearing Chen Yi He's answer, Dongfang Xing rubbed her little head against his back, like a mischievous kitten seeking its master's pampering. She said no more.

Waiting for this one answer was enough.

Chen Yi He brought his beloved little kitten to his front and lifted her up.

She lowered her head and gave him his deepest kiss.

……

"Hey hey, what are these two doing?" Duan Sheng saw such a warm scene and got goosebumps. "So corny..."

"He really saved Miss Dongfang." Hong Liang exclaimed in amazement. He had not expected Chen Yi He could truly rescue Dongfang Xing and still walk out alive from the Five Absolutes Palace, "It seems that on this kid, everything is utterly unbelievable."

Hong Liang arrived with the newly merged Hong Gate just an hour ago; the Hong Gate disciples numbered ten thousand.

Tiger and Leopard also arrived. They brought twenty-five thousand brothers from the Five Tiger Gate.

Luo Qing Kui also arrived. He brought ten thousand brothers of the Qing Shan Sect.

Adding Yan Shan Hai, the four supporters have all arrived, and Duan Sheng and the Western Desert Sword Demon, these two Dharma Protectors, have also arrived.

Yan Shan Hai brought ten thousand disciples of the Song Shan Sect; the remaining four sects of the Five Peaks each have ten thousand disciples still on the road.

A total of eighty thousand troops.

If we add the ten thousand monks of the Shaolin Temple, this great Jianghu alliance will have a total of one hundred thousand troops.

One hundred thousand troops is neither more nor less, but it is not enough to face the Western Depot's fifty thousand Embroidered Uniform Guard; they must rely on their influence to recruit troops and horses to counter the Western Depot.

What they face is not only the Western Depot, but also the imperial family of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The Western Depot is the shield of the Great Zhou Dynasty; how could Emperor Wen of Zhou stand by and watch his shield shatter?

Now the Great Jianghu Alliance is lacking its Chief Alliance Leader, who has not yet arrived.

The Chief Alliance Leader is still in the sweet midst of love.

"Shouldn't we interrupt them?" Duan Sheng asked the crowd. Chen Yi He and Dongfang Xing had been kissing for a full half an hour, making him anxiously impatient.