Chapter 701: Ever Thought About It?

Fear, grief, and sighs.

One moment he was a madman charging wildly onto the stage, the next he was in the Arctic Ocean, toasting with doom and demons, then jolted awake again in a confinement cell, strapped into a restraint suit, with only that pale-gold-haired paper-doll girl beside him.

The ball of rage trapped in his chest, unable to be released.

It was burning the last remnants of faded memories lingering within the individual known as “Lu Mingfei” or “Zero,” stories that had already happened and those that never had the chance to.

In the end, the icy throne stood empty.

Lu Mingfei, emerging from the cocoon, instinctively opened his mouth, and ancient Dragon Script spilled from his dry throat, waves of sound rippling through the laws of the world.

The manga, stored in his inventory and used just yesterday, turned into streams of light along with the cocoon and was absorbed by Lu Mingfei.

In a daze, spiritual visions filled every eye.

Golden tree shadows were etched onto the youth’s body, the canopy buried deep within glaciers, roots piercing the heavens; the Father of the Gods, deep within the Golden Palace, lifted his half-dragon-faced visage, gazing at the boy growing dragon-bone wings.

“Just one step left,” Lu Mingze cradled Lu Mingfei’s face and smiled brightly: “Eat me, brother.”

The Dao Fruit came from Lu Mingfei, whom Lu Mingze had personally placed upon the Supreme Throne.

The two fused all that was within their lives; their essence had already returned to “Zero.” Now, to perfectly contain the accumulated power of a million years, they must also overlap with the future.

“You won’t be sad—I’ll take all your sadness away.”

“You won’t miss me, anyway.”

“You already have more now—you won’t be lonely anymore.”

Lu Mingze sat atop Lu Mingfei, behind them a vast sunset, its light bathing the palace where black tree roots hung from the ceiling.

“.” Lu Mingfei fell silent briefly, then lifted his gaze to the boy: “I don’t do that shit—fuck off!”

He kicked Lu Mingze off the throne, and everything collapsed rapidly; as Lu Mingze fell, he smiled.

Petals from century-old cherry branches around the shrine were blown away by the wind.

Lu Mingze brushed the dirt off his clothes as if nothing had happened and said coolly: “Compared to me, your little brother, do you prefer your sister?”

“If you don’t want this gift, I wouldn’t mind dressing up in Lolita style and packaging myself in a Christmas bow.”

Lu Mingfei, also fallen to the ground, leapt up, grabbed Lu Mingze by the collar, and pulled Hui Liyi toward the crowd beyond.

“Didn’t succeed?” The First Emperor mused.

“The remnants of the old and the newborn soul—only through fusion with decay can the sole path emerge at the moment of destruction. So that’s how it is. Indeed, Your Majesty has witnessed quite a spectacle,” Gilgamesh crossed his arms and nodded.

Wait a minute—what the hell are you all explaining here?

Su Lin turned to look at these people, but even Fujimaru Ritsuka wore a solemn, heavy expression.

“Being invited to attend the Sword Sect’s wedding is only one part.” The First Emperor said:

“Li Jiatu asked us to witness his return to the Supreme Realm. That’s why we’ve united from afar, bringing him here in advance.”

“The residual souls left behind during the Cataclysm of Destruction wander outside; the main soul, after reincarnation, refuses to accept the past, and thus remains incomplete.”

“But what we just saw—did Nidhogg, even after fusion, still lack something?”

“That’s what he told you?” Su Lin tilted his head.

Don’t you all realize this setup is full of holes? Didn’t Loki even object in your group chat?

Aha leaned in and whispered in his ear: “Lord Bishop, I report—‘Mystery’ had a hand in this too.”

“.” Su Lin understood.

In this group chat of sadistic fools, the others had all participated in constructing this history.

Sensing Su Lin’s gaze, Loki spread his hands, looking slightly innocent:

“I’ve known him for ages on another timeline—even though he entered illegally and his goal was to seduce Nico Minoru, I still owed him this small favor.”

So you didn’t just send him off on his way—you helped him use his life to perfect the fucking Devourer’s lore?!

No wonder this bunch ended up together.

Su Lin really wanted to drag Old Lu up and beat him, then shove a witch’s potion into him and toss him into Su Tuoni’s hellish mess—but he glanced over at Lu Mingfei, standing on the rooftop like he was starring in a teen angst drama, and silently shook his head.

That guy’s self-destructive tendencies weren’t new.

When he sent out [Nancy’s River], Su Lin had anticipated this day—but never imagined it would come at this moment.

The bill now falls on Lu Mingfei.

He turned around and signaled Li Huowang to stop beating “Zhao Lei.”

The Moon People soldier had long since shed his parasitic state and was now barely humanoid.

“So what’s the situation over at your Moon Capital?” Su Lin asked, puzzled.

“.”

After regaining composure, Fengji paused, glanced over at Bayi Yonglin, and said: “Huiye must return to the Moon with us.”

As for the matter of this “Heavenly Emperor,” it’s too complex—we must first report to the Moon King.

[It’s fine. Playing outside with Su Lin-sama was so joyful—I’m willing to do anything. This is the freest time of my life—never before, never again.]

Huiye of Penglai stepped forward timidly, holding a small notebook.

Tears welled in her eyes as she smiled silently, slipped eye drops into her sleeve, waved goodbye to Su Lin, and turned the page:

[To see the outside world, one must pay a great price—Hui Liye has always known that.]

Logically, Huiye bears one-third of the blame for Old Lu’s death today.

That guy probably planned to use his life to set up a few jokes, then pick a good day to reveal them—but seeing Hui Liye’s antics, his Dao heart shattered, thought it was pointless, and decided to just end the play right here.

“A friend has already left us today. It’s a rare joyous occasion—let’s not spoil it with more tragedy,” Su Lin said calmly.

“This is not Heaven. Please do not interfere in Moon Capital affairs,” Fengji said, clearly exasperated.

She knew that in Heaven, where immortals and celestial beings dwell, there was a Heavenly Emperor—but this deity’s image was too mysterious, and he hadn’t appeared in many years, so the Moon Capital had no detailed intelligence on him.

But why would he be connected to Huiye…

“Didn’t you just say you wanted to drag this filthy Earthling back?”

Su Lin chuckled and raised his hands.

The First Emperor’s gaze turned cold: “If the Heavenly Emperor seeks war, we are willing to join the campaign.”

This has nothing to do with loyalty or flattery. After the previous campaign against the Abyssal Remnants, the Heroic Spirits had internally accepted Su Lin’s identity as the “Root God”—the “Reversed” status meant nothing.

To publicly insult our own Creator God is to trample the dignity of all living beings underfoot.

Immediately, the waiting warships, at the First Emperor’s signal, entered charging mode; golden ripples surged behind Gilgamesh.

Mianyue Yiji on the Moon Capital’s vessel showed no fear, but frowned—she couldn’t understand where this force had come from, given Earth and the Fantasy Realm had been under constant surveillance.

“Angels?” Fengji blinked.

Joan of Arc and other Church Saints had already transformed into their Holy Spirit forms and charged out—had they not been riding a tailwind unaware of the outside situation, they should have appeared first during the audience.

“Fengji, stop and listen to me,” Bayi Yonglin stepped forward, sighing: “Princess, please stop playing.”

“Mm.” Huiye closed her notebook. “I merely hadn’t seen my two sisters in so long—I was just joking.”

Hearing the word “sisters,” Fengji’s expression shifted noticeably, slightly awkward.

“Could you all please calm down a bit—for my sake?”

With the attending physician speaking, there was no objection—especially since Bayi Yonglin was the teacher of both Princess Fengji and Princess Yiji.

Su Lin noticed the city patrolman tossing his Yin-Yang Jade, eager to act. He told the First Emperor to relocate himself and the entire “Caliburn Fleet” to the new world just built on Sunday.

Whether to host or repatriate these “Caliburn Servants” was now Wang Gong Shilang and Lu Mingfei’s problem—and he

“Your Majesty, didn’t you promise there wouldn’t be many people?”

A golden-haired old woman with a fake smile poked her head out of the gap.

“Don’t you think calling a young girl such a rude term is beneath your dignity?”

“Did I say it out loud?”

“You did~”

Kagami Shizu opened her folding fan, squinting in reply.

If you looked past her well-proportioned upper body, you could see a “Blue Blue Lu” tied to a railway track, crushed under a passing train.

Yes—this is exactly the problem Su Lin must now handle: how to cover this up.

“Forget it. No major issues will arise in the short term,” Kagami Shizu suddenly slumped. “I’ll overlook this breach of contract. Consider it a gift to the newlyweds.”

Is Shizu actually being reasonable today?

“Oh, don’t call me ‘Shizu’ like that~” Kagami Shizu’s demeanor shifted, smiling sweetly: “Since the wedding is held at the Hakkai Shrine, wouldn’t it be fine to have more guests from the Fantasy Realm?”

“Your side got too lively—everyone got curious.”

“Fine,” Su Lin nodded.

Kagami Shizu called back: “Yuyuko~ you can go eat now!”

A pink-haired ghost girl peeked out, eyes sparkling like stars, followed by a white-haired girl.

Sorry, Wang Gong—turns out it’s still your problem.

By the way, Caliburn’s current “King’s Stomach” must have multiplied geometrically.

“Please be careful not to cause any more incidents. By the way,” Kagami Shizu paused, “will the number increase this extravagantly again?”

“Unlikely,” Su Lin said.

After exchanging polite words, Kagami Shizu and Su Lin turned and vanished into the gap, leaving only Seireiji Yuyuko, standing in place, mechanically swallowing, her posture still dignified.

“Su Lin, when’s dinner?”

“Soon.”

Su Lin turned his gaze to the white-haired swordswoman beside her; she flinched, eyes wary.

“H’s dream soul?”

“I’m Yaomeng.”

She instinctively stepped back half a step.

Su Lin guessed the situation and reassured her: “Don’t worry—I’m not interested in boys.”

“You!?” Hakugyokurou heard this, her face flushing red, yet she still trembled as she stepped in front of Yuyuko.

Well, someone this cute must be a boy.

“Have the others from White Jade Tower arrived too?” Kaguya walked over.

Su Lin relayed what Yagokoro Shikieiki had just said.

“That BBA,” Kaguya’s lip twitched; she pulled out a newspaper: “This appeared in the Lunar Capital. The Crow Tengu’s newspaper coverage doesn’t extend that far—who do you think did it?”

Is it still possible to launch the third Lunar War on behalf of Gensokyo and then run away?

Su Lin turned to look at the two sisters standing before Yagokoro Eirin—their expressions shifting from stunned to twisted, their killing intent growing.

“This is what they call picking up a stone only to drop it on your own foot,” Kaguya mocked Yagokoro Shikieiki.

“Even Shikieiki didn’t expect an entire civilization’s spirits could suddenly appear in Gensokyo. Even if they had ulterior motives, the current situation has gone far beyond her expectations.”

“She was scheming against Eternity Pavilion was within Eirin’s expectations—but she never imagined this twist. Probably during the last Lunar War, she dug up rumors that the Lunar King is a sister complex.”

“Seeing this about to be exposed, she’s looking for a face-saving exit.”

That old hag Shikieiki.

Su Lin spotted a blind spot: “What does the Lunar King being a sister complex have to do with this?”

“Hmm, this brings us to why, as a Lunar Princess, I’m not called Watanuki Kaguya,” Kaguya shrugged.

“Are you alright?” Su Lin noticed the Watanuki sisters’ faces twisted with obvious hesitation—they were clearly debating whether to take Kaguya back.

After all, according to what’s known, the Lunar Capital had previously turned a blind eye to Kaguya’s behavior out of respect for Eirin, pretending not to know she was here.

Now, they’ve dragged this matter from the shadows into the open.

“Will you take me on a grand escape beneath the moonlight?”

“No.”

Su Lin didn’t need to think to answer.

“Heartless man,” Kaguya waved her hand, then paused, narrowed her eyes, and leaned close to Su Lin’s ear, whispering with a half-covered face:

“I got some special aphrodisiac from Xiao Yan.”

“If I secretly capture evidence of their secrets, then my return to the Lunar Capital…”

“They’re both married women—rare traits for the Gensokyo Paradise Project. Think about it?”

The Watanuki sisters’ faces visibly flushed red and green.

After all, Kaguya’s volume was practically a public announcement.

“Just a joke—I’ll leave it to Eirin. Let them stay in Gensokyo for a few days.”

Kaguya chuckled twice. At that moment, Lu Mingfei passed by nearby; she gave him a long, piercing look.

“Have you ever thought about it?” she asked Su Lin curiously, sending a message through the chat group: “About us.”

“What?” Su Lin felt no misunderstanding.

“Why are some people in this group not protagonists? In Gensokyo, the real protagonists are that red-and-white pair, not me.”

“Why?”

“Perhaps only we survived.”