Chapter: Chapter 142
“If you weren’t you, and I wasn’t me, that would be great,” Leticia sighed. “You’re quite pretty. Being my wife would be passable.”
Hearing this, Bai Ling was stunned. This seemed to be the first time Leticia had said something like this.
“Quite pretty,” and “being my wife would be passable.” For an tsundere, these words were probably equivalent to a confession.
” I thought you really disliked me.”
“Dislike? Not at all. I wouldn’t dislike pretty girls,” Leticia turned to look at Bai Ling’s face. The maiden’s exquisite features appeared even more captivating under the glow of the orange fire. “But, we can’t be together.”
Bai Ling fell into silence. Yes, they couldn’t be together.
Could Leticia abandon her demon race and live with Bai Ling?
Or would Bai Ling have to abandon humanity to be with Leticia?
Neither was possible.
“Sometimes I really envy these people in the wilderness. They don’t have to think about so many things; they just do what they need to do.” Leticia moved a little closer to Bai Ling. “By the way, why do you like girls?”
Although society now advocated free love and people’s thinking was relatively open, girls who genuinely liked girls were still a minority.
Leticia truly couldn’t understand why a naive maiden like Bai Ling would like girls.
Normally, shouldn’t such a maiden like handsome young men?
Given Bai Ling’s social circle, there should be no shortage of high-quality men, right?
“I don’t like girls,” Bai Ling shook her head. “I only like you, and you happen to be a girl.”
Bai Ling’s requirements for a partner were that they be acceptable to her, not too weak in strength, and good to her sister.
She wasn’t particularly concerned about gender.
Conveniently, on the day she retired, she met Leticia.
In terms of strength, Leticia was the only異族君主 (異族君主 -异族君主 – foreign race monarch) who had escaped from her hands. In terms of appearance, Leticia was no less inferior to herself. As for her sister, Leticia was even kinder to Bai Ya than Bai Ling was.
All three conditions were met at once, which was great.
Of course, Bai Ling didn’t initially have this thought. She didn’t make a move simply because Leticia was her sister’s friend. She couldn’t just eliminate her sister’s friend right after returning.
Later, she slowly became familiar with Leticia and found that the current Leticia had changed; she had become lazy.
A lazy demon king posed much less of a threat, didn’t she?
After spending some time together, Bai Ling inevitably fell in love. To be honest, spending time with such a cute girl every day would make even a stone fall in love.
Before Bai Ling retired, she was practically a stone. But after retiring, she slowly transformed back into a person from a stone.
And Leticia happened to be the one who accompanied her back from being a stone to being a person. Proximity breeds affection. Bai Ling naturally fell for this girl who met her criteria for a partner.
“You actually know you shouldn’t have fallen for me, right?” Leticia asked.
Bai Ling didn’t answer.
But they both knew the answer.
Bai Ling truly shouldn’t have fallen for her.
“When I go back this time, I probably won’t be coming back,” Leticia waited for a moment before bringing up another matter. “As for you, you’d best forget me and go find another pretty girl to mess with.”
“What are you going to do?” Bai Ling’s head shot up, a bad premonition filling her.
“Nothing much. I’m just afraid that if I stay by your side any longer, something unspeakable might happen between us one day.” Leticia admitted she was a little scared. To avoid such a situation, it was better for her to slip away first.
If she couldn’t afford to provoke, she could at least afford to avoid, right?
She didn’t believe that if she stayed in the demon race for one or two years, Bai Ling would still hold any other emotions for her, her enemy who had a bad temper and a body like dry firewood.
One or two years was enough time to change many things. Perhaps when they met again, Bai Ling would already have a new girl by her side.
“You, you’d best forget me. We won’t interfere with each other. You find your destined partner, and I’ll find my beautiful older sister.” Leticia narrowed her eyes and said dreamily, “I also want to open a huge harem to pass on our demon king bloodline.”
Then, she was lightly hit by Bai Ling.
“No philandering.”
“I’m the demon king, opening a harem is normal! My grandmother had several male consorts!” Leticia held her head, claiming that opening a harem was a normal thing and Bai Ling had no right to criticize.
“I said no. If I ever find out you deceive other girls’ feelings in the future, believe it or not, I’ll come straight to your demon king’s palace.” Bai Ling said in a low voice.
She believed it, of course.
But wasn’t the reason for coming over a bit too childish?
While Leticia was still thinking, Bai Ling moved closer and wrapped her arms around the girl’s petite body.
The girl’s body trembled almost imperceptibly, but she didn’t react as she usually did.
She leaned against the white-haired maiden, quiet to the point of not being herself.
“Don’t forget, I still owe you three days.”
“Actually, that bet was just me playing around. You don’t need to take it to heart,” Leticia rested her head on the white-haired maiden’s shoulder and explained softly. “Lin Qingyu is the half-elf those elves were looking for. It’s just that the elves’ methods weren’t good enough to discover she was that half-elf.”
If anything, Leticia was destined to lose that bet.
“I lost, as I said,” Bai Ling said like the domineering CEO in a novel. “I owe you three days. Don’t forget it.”
“Sigh, if you really want to say that, then so be it,” Leticia didn’t say anything more. Why wouldn’t she take advantage of a freebie that came to her? “I’m a bit hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”
The girl twitched her nose. She seemed to smell a sweet scent.
“I have a cold baked sweet potato. Do you want to eat it?” Bai Ling took out the baked sweet potato that Yi Yujun had used to bribe her earlier. “If you bake it again, it should be edible.”
“You haven’t eaten either, aren’t you hungry?” Leticia took the good-looking sweet potato, then suddenly remembered that Bai Ling should not have eaten either.
This girl had a huge appetite. She must be starving right now.
“It’s okay. If I were really hungry, this wouldn’t fill my stomach,” Bai Ling replied. “You eat it, don’t mind me.”
Leticia pouted. She held the sweet potato in her palm, summoned a bit of demonic energy, and warmed it up slightly.
Then, she broke the sweet potato in half, peeled the slightly larger half, and brought it to Bai Ling’s mouth. “I don’t want your charity. Eat quickly.”
After eating half the sweet potato, Leticia felt slightly full, a warm feeling spreading through her stomach. Surrounded by the girl’s fragrance, the demon king felt a little drowsy.
“Ha ah, I want to sleep,” she yawned and said softly.
“Sleep, I’ll stay with you,” Bai Ling hugged Leticia tighter. “I’m here.”
Bai Ling’s words were very reassuring. Although she never admitted it, Leticia had indeed developed complete trust in Bai Ling.
She was willing to trust Bai Ling, the girl who had almost killed her years ago.
Closing her eyes and leaning on Bai Ling’s shoulder, Leticia slowly drifted off to dreamland.
Bai Ling exhaled a breath of relief. She felt that today was probably a day she would never forget.
Leticia had opened her heart to her and was resting peacefully in her arms. This was something she had never dared to imagine before.
Although Leticia’s words made Bai Ling a little disappointed, that was for later. For now, she would enjoy this rare intimacy.
Yi Yujun, sitting not far away, sniffed. She was secretly watching the two girls snuggling together from the corner of her eye.
“Tch, the obnoxious scent of love.” As if venting, she took a bite of the cold sweet potato, the feeling of being force-fed high-quality dog food washing over her.
There was definitely something going on between Bai Ling and Su Qianqian. If they weren’t involved, Yi Yujun would twist her own head off.
But what could she do? They were a match made in heaven, a talented man and a beautiful woman. It wasn’t her place, a ghoul, to comment.
Besides, her current identity was more accurately defined as a captive.
Although she appeared to be able to move freely, and Bai Ling wasn’t in the mood to deal with her right now, Yi Yujun had no doubt that if she made any move, Bai Ling would make her sing a sad song.
Alas, this was fate!
What could she do? Just wait, maybe tomorrow Bai Ling would be in a good mood and let her go.
Although the possibility was quite low.
Support from the organization?
None. Non-existent.
The main force of the Divine Seat was causing trouble in other regions. Her assignment here was considered exile.
By the time the matters over there were resolved, Yi Yujun figured she’d have been imprisoned for several months.
However, she didn’t doubt that the Divine Seat would come to rescue her. The most appealing aspect of their organization was that they never abandoned any member lightly.
Even if you were imprisoned in the most heavily guarded prison in the world, the Divine Seat would do its utmost to get you out.
If only she could be imprisoned.
While the three girls on this side sat by the bonfire lost in their own thoughts, the three on the other side had already fallen into a great crisis.
Three monsters, each as large as a small mountain, were hot on the heels of the Singer. The ground-shaking roar of their charge even drowned out the Singer’s most relied-upon sound.
It was stifling, extremely stifling, was the Singer’s current thought.
She wasn’t afraid of the three monsters behind her. Given a little time, she could deal with them.
However, once she started fighting, she wouldn’t be able to protect the two girls, Lin Qingyu and Xi Mengyao.
Her mission was to ensure Lin Qingyu’s survival, but this mission was proving difficult.
“We can’t keep running like this. You two try to run in different directions. I’ll find you after I deal with these things,” the Singer stopped. The monsters were closing in, and a decisive battle had to be fought here.
Lin Qingyu was taken aback, then unhesitatingly pulled the exhausted Xi Mengyao and ran into the distance.
Staying here would be useless. Xi Mengyao’s presence would only be a burden. It would be better to take Xi Mengyao and leave, allowing the Singer to focus her efforts.
Although she was reluctant to admit it, the Singer was currently the only one who could protect her and Xi Mengyao in the wilderness. If they wanted to survive, they should follow the Singer’s instructions.
The reasons didn’t matter. Lin Qingyu just needed to know that the Singer didn’t want her to die.
“Ha, no, I can’t run anymore,” Xi Mengyao said after running for a while.
This girl, who rarely exercised, had been running on the wilderness with Lin Qingyu and the Singer for an entire afternoon, only resting a few times. Being able to hold on until now was already a miracle.
And now, she truly had no strength left to run forward.
“But if we don’t run, we might die here,” Lin Qingyu said, warily looking at the pair of red eyes appearing by their side.
They were a few gray wolves living in the wilderness. They weren’t strong, merely cannon fodder beasts that wouldn’t last a single move against the Singer.
But for the two girls, Lin Qingyu and Xi Mengyao, who had no combat ability, these wolves were undoubtedly like death itself.
The Singer was tied up by the three monsters, and it was unknown how long it would take for her to reach them.
Xi Mengyao had already knelt on the ground. She truly had no strength left to escape.
What should she do? If she abandoned Xi Mengyao, she might be able to escape.
Even if Xi Mengyao couldn’t resist, these wolves would still take some time to deal with her, which would be enough time for Lin Qingyu to escape.
If she was lucky, perhaps these wolves would get full and stop chasing.
“Qingyu, you go. You definitely can’t escape with me, this burden,” Xi Mengyao also saw the approaching wild wolves. She was terrified, but she also knew there were only two choices now.
One was for her to sacrifice herself to give Lin Qingyu hope of survival. The other was for both of them to die here together, becoming a dessert for the wolves.
Xi Mengyao was naturally afraid of death, but no matter how scared she was, she couldn’t extract even a shred of strength from her exhausted body.
She knew she couldn’t escape.
Whether one person died or two died, even if Xi Mengyao wasn’t a selfless girl, she would still want Lin Qingyu to live.
All afternoon, Lin Qingyu had been pulling her along as she fled. Many times, when she felt she couldn’t go on, Lin Qingyu had dragged her to keep running.
Without Lin Qingyu, Xi Mengyao might have already died.
“I…” Lin Qingyu fell silent.
She knew that the best course of action now was to abandon Xi Mengyao and flee alone. As long as she waited for the Singer to finish dealing with the three monsters and find her, her life would be saved.
But, was that really right?
Did she, like this, truly deserve to live?
To save her own life, watching her companion die in despair, she couldn’t do it.
Yes, she was a half-elf, it was true, but she was also a life with a kind heart!
“You’re going to die,” Flora’s voice echoed in Lin Qingyu’s ears. The world seemed to freeze, giving Flora enough time to speak to Lin Qingyu.
Lin Qingyu nodded silently. She knew that if she chose to stay, death would be her inevitable fate.
She was indeed the Empress of the elves, but she was also a half-elf who couldn’t even lift a chicken. What she inherited from her parents was probably just her decent physical fitness.
But this physical fitness was within the normal range. Moreover, the poison from the elven race within her was constantly eroding her stamina.
There was not even a sliver of a chance.
“I’ve been a coward my whole life. It’s time to be brave,” Lin Qingyu said softly.
In the past, she was cowardly, only thinking of escape when encountering problems. After gaining Flora’s approval, her choice wasn’t to take revenge on those who had harmed her, but to sneak away with Flora and another artifact.
“It’s just, I’m afraid I’ll have to break my promise with Her Majesty Leticia,” Lin Qingyu said with some regret. She had finally mustered the courage to seek Leticia’s help to take revenge on the elves, but she never expected to break her promise in less than a day after making it.
Flora’s eyes, however, flickered with a hint of satisfaction. This Lin Qingyu was the Lin Qingyu she wanted to see.
If this girl had remained as cowardly as before, always thinking of escape when encountering problems, Flora might still have helped her, but she would never have entrusted her true power to her.
The current Lin Qingyu had satisfied Flora.
Choosing between dying together or surviving alone, frankly speaking, an ordinary person would choose the latter.
After all, staying wouldn’t change anything; it would only turn the wolves’ dessert from one serving to two serving.
But Lin Qingyu chose to stay. She stayed not for any particular reason, but simply because she didn’t want to abandon this girl she had only known for a few days.
“I can’t help you defeat those beasts, but you possess the strength to defeat them,” Flora said to Lin Qingyu.
Her power could only affect intelligent beings. The wolves around Lin Qingyu clearly lacked intelligence.
Therefore, the divine being was of no use this time.
“Me?” Lin Qingyu gave a bitter smile. Her power was almost negligible in front of these beasts, wasn’t it?
“Yes, you,” Flora said very seriously to Lin Qingyu. “Although I don’t know which of my old friends is sleeping in that scepter, I can indeed feel the connection between you and her.”
“Hmm?”
“Call her. Let her see your will. Let her see what kind of person this generation’s Elf Empress is. Perhaps, she will lend a hand.” Flora gazed into the distance. If Lin Qingyu could obtain power from that deity, then these wolves should not be a problem.
If not… then there was nothing that could be done.
Flora could only try her best to control these beasts, but she didn’t think she could.
“Call her?” Lin Qingyu shook her head. She didn’t know how to call her.
“Yes, call her. I can’t explain the specific method, but I’m sure she, like me, can hear your thoughts.”
After saying this, Flora’s figure flickered a few times in the air as if her battery had run out, and then disappeared.
The previously sluggish flow of time resumed. A total of five black wolves slowly approached the two girls from the wilderness.
“Qingyu, hurry and leave!” Xi Mengyao shouted.
“I’m not leaving,” Lin Qingyu shook her head. “To be honest, I’m sick of it. I don’t want to live this life of hiding and being on edge anymore.”
“I originally planned to go back to the elven tribe and cause some trouble, but now, dying here with you doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Speaking of which, there’s something I need to apologize to you for.”
“Don’t say these things now. Hurry and leave!” Xi Mengyao really wanted to cry.
She didn’t think she could leave alive, but Lin Qingyu definitely could.
They had only known each other for a few days, not even considered ordinary friends. For a virtual stranger like Xi Mengyao, throwing herself to her death in this place was something Xi Mengyao couldn’t understand.
“If you act like this, I’ll think you have ulterior motives for me.”
Perhaps the approaching death made Xi Mengyao let go of her usual restraint. She boldly said something she would never have said before.
“If you really want to think that, then so be it,” Lin Qingyu lightly touched her necklace. “My real name is Evangeline. As for my surname, if we can live to see tomorrow, I’ll tell you then.”
“I am the Elf Empress.”
“Ah?” Xi Mengyao was stunned.
Empress?!
The Elf Empress?!
This… this news was too explosive!
She was completely unprepared.
“The attacks you encountered were all because of me. The Singer wanted to approach me through you. I should apologize to you for this,” Lin Qingyu said in a low voice. “Forget it. Since I’m going to die anyway, there’s no need to meet death with a fake face.”
Wait, what was this? Xi Mengyao rubbed her eyes fiercely. She suddenly felt that Lin Qingyu in front of her had changed.
Thanks to her parents’ excellent genes, Evangeline was actually quite beautiful. Her features combined the advantages of her parents, along with the characteristics of both elves and humans.
Her hair wasn’t pure black either, but a beautiful dark green, which complemented her emerald eyes.
“How… how did you do this?” Xi Mengyao tried hard to recall, but she found that Lin Qingyu in her memory was exactly like this.
The ordinary Lin Qingyu had disappeared from her memory. Xi Mengyao couldn’t even remember what that Lin Qingyu looked like.
In her memory, it seemed to have always been Evangeline.
“This is the power of a god. In fact, I’ve never changed my appearance,” Evangeline said with a smile. “Alright, alright, don’t think too much about it. It’s time to face these beasts.”
While they were talking, the wolves had slowly approached them. These wolves were much stronger and fiercer than the wolves Xi Mengyao had seen on TV.
“However, I still have to resist a little.” Evangeline closed her eyes and began to softly call to the artifact she had casually discarded. “Can you help me?”
Actually, Lin Qingyu didn’t hold out much hope. She just tried it with the mindset that this was the only way.
But to her surprise, she actually heard a strange voice filled with immense resentment: “What, you only remember me when you’re about to die, my little empress?”
