Chapter 627 - Face to face with the past after many years: I love you vs. I loved you (Part3)
Bai Zemin"s and Lilith"s hearts were beating strongly. Now that they had both made their feelings for each other clear in one way or another, shyness and joy naturally took over.
Neither was the other"s first love, but if it could be said without prejudice that Lilith was the first woman Bai Zemin could call girlfriend and at the same time Bai Zemin was the first man Lilith could call boyfriend. Being first-timers in this kind of relations.h.i.+p, the two were almost like blank canvases even though they were both properly grown adults.
Without impurities, just like a newborn who had not yet been stained by the wickedness of the world, the love they both felt was rosy and bright as a rainbow. As to whether that love remained like that or not, it would depend on whether the two people involved were able to maintain the characteristics that gave that beautiful color and brightness.
After several minutes of silence during which the two simply hugged each other, Bai Zemin finally broke the pleasant silence that had formed.
"Lilith, I want you to know that to me you are the only woman. I haven"t fallen in love in a long time and were it not for the fact that you and I went through so much together, as well as the fact that we know we are bound by a long destiny, it is unlikely that this love could have taken root in me." Bai Zemin paused slightly after these words before calmly continuing, "I admit that Bing Xue is a breathtaking woman in every way you look at her. Appearance, body, aura, knowledge, charm… We could say that if we leave you completely out of the equation, the woman known as Shangguan Bing Xue is undoubtedly the most perfect woman I have ever met in my life."
Lilith said nothing and her face did not change at all even though Bai Zemin was showered with praise for another woman. Lilith was a mature woman, not a child; she knew perfectly well that Shangguan Bing Xue was an incredible woman, to say the least, and there was nothing wrong in admitting it.
Seeing that she did not react badly to his words, Bai Zemin smiled in satisfaction at his taste for mature women and continued slowly, "But regardless of how perfect she may be, regardless of whether she is my best helper, Bing Xue is a good and dear friend whom I cherish very much. Nothing more and nothing less than a good and dear friend. She, just as I was until recently, is completely focused on evolving as fast as possible without wandering off her path and trying to find her mother so I doubt she has time to think about things like romance or else she would have fixed things with Chen He by now."
Lilith said nothing for a good couple of seconds before raising her face to look at Bai Zemin. She narrowed her eyes mischievously and her lips pursed into a somewhat disdainful smile as she calmly said, "You little pervert, don"t you realize that she"s interested in you?"
Bai Zemin raised an eyebrow and naturally did not believe Lilith"s words at all. Instead, he let his hands that were around Lilith"s slender waist slowly lower until his palms rested comfortably on her high and tempting b.u.t.t.
"… What are you doing?"
"No, well… Since you called me a "little pervert" I thought it best to live up to the t.i.tle." Bai Zemin gently slapped her right cheek and felt it quiver smoothly before saying with apparent calmness, "Now, let"s get moving and stop talking nonsense."
Lilith watched as his back disappeared into the distance before her body swayed elegantly and appeared beside him. She didn"t continue with the Shangguan Bing Xue matter as it was pointless in the first place, instead, she looked at Bai Zemin with weird eyes.
A couple of minutes pa.s.sed and feeling that she was still looking at him, Bai Zemin finally couldn"t help but look at her and asked in confusion, "Do I have something on my face?"
"You… Don"t you feel l.u.s.t for me?" Lilith asked somewhat hesitantly.
Bai Zemin stumbled over his own feet and almost fell to the ground upon hearing this question. Fortunately he recovered immediately and seeing that Lilith looked serious about it he answered honestly, "Of course I do, are you dummy? Your body and spirit tempt my whole existence. It"s very hard for me to restrain myself right now… In fact, just before when I spanked you the reason I immediately pulled away is because my reasoning was getting away."
"Weird…" Lilith muttered to herself before looking back at him and saying in confusion, "Except for the first few days, my charm in my normal form is suppressed in such a way that a Second Order existence would have no trouble bearing. But when you and I do minor naughty things such as earlier or in that moment in bed, my charm to the opposite gender immediately grows exponentially so nothing below Third Order should be able to maintain sanity."
"Well… Even if you ask me I don"t know anything about that." Bai Zemin frowned and shook his head softly.
Lilith also shook her head and did not pursue the matter further.
Bai Zemin was popular among women, it was an undeniable fact. However, Lilith was wors.h.i.+pped as the heart G.o.ddess of countless men.
Lilith had seen with her own eyes how a pair of brothers and a pair of father and son slaughtered each other just because she smiled weakly. It was no exaggeration to say that a mere smile from her was enough to cause the collapse of a kingdom.
However, Bai Zemin being a First Order existence was enduring a level of charm that a Third Order existence could barely withstand. He didn"t know it but Lilith was clear that untraceable statistics such as Charm and Critical had nothing to do with the difference in the quality of Soul Power or the level of an existence.
In other words, if a level 1 existence hypothetically reached 100% Critical, every one of its attacks would be a critical hit even against a Higher Existence but of course the damage would be practically 0 due to the abysmal difference in stats, skills, treasures, equipment, magic runes, etc. The same applied to Charm, Charm was something that couldn"t be avoided just because.
"Forget it." Lilith decided not to think about the matter anymore as she remembered that everything involving Bai Zemin was a mystery.
…
Not long after, Bai Zemin finally arrived at his destination and as he saw the high walls slowly beginning to appear in the distance a glint of pride shone in his eyes.
Standing beside him, Evangeline asked with her usual indifference, "What do you think?"
"Not bad. Not bad at all!" Bai Zemin nodded in satisfaction. "Things are progressing smoothly and at this rate, the walls will be completely built in a matter of a day or two at most. How about the internal construction and the fossa?"
"The internal construction is going well. Although it would have been easier with the help of Shangguan Bing Xue and her ice skill or Wu Yijun and her water skill, the fossa construction is also progressing smoothly." Evangeline calmly revealed. "I dare say that unless no unforeseen events happen the construction of the city should reach 70-80% within a week and 100% within about ten days. The biggest problem is the fossa as we have to bring water from the sea."
Bai Zemin planned to surround the whole city with a huge fossa and inside the fossa, he would put sea mutant beasts with no jumping ability but strong enough to tear apart anything that fell in there. The survivors would have to go over the lift bridges to get in and out while the attackers would be in for major headaches once the lift bridges were raised.
It was undoubtedly an extremely effective defensive means of repelling hordes of enemies. The zombies would be powerless even if they arrived in millions unless a Second Order existence personally took a step forward.
"Don"t worry about it, I"ll ask Xian Mei"er to control the sea beasts to make it easier." Bai Zemin said confidently as he stroked the little pink dolphin who very comfortably leaned back in his arms and looked at him with bright eyes after not seeing him for several days.
"Xiao Xiao, sweetheart. Hang in there for a few more days, okay? Then I can bring you with me." He said softly, to which the little dolphin responded with a small nod and excited sparks danced in her big pink eyes.
It was impossible for Bai Zemin to take Xiao Xiao with him to the base, therefore, the little pink dolphin had been being cared for by Xiang Feng and the Wen twins. The little creature didn"t seem to reject children as much as she did with adults, according to Lilith this was because children still had relatively purer and healthier minds compared to the sinister minds that adults hid with smiling masks.
"I guess you already heard what happened?" Evangeline said suddenly.
"Yeah," Bai Zemin nodded clearly with knowledge of what Evangeline was emphasizing despite the fact that she didn"t clarify. "What about the soul evolvers the China Renaissance sent out to scout?"
"All of them alive. They"re currently locked up and tied up with tendons from a First Order mutant bear so they can forget about breaking out." She calmly revealed.
Bai Zemin nodded in satisfaction at Evangeline"s execution before calmly saying, "It is likely that at least for the next few days Wu Keqian will not send troops to disturb us as a large operation is being planned to take place within two days. However, be careful and do not let your guard down. Reinforce the defenses, especially at night."
"Sure."
"I will take control of the other side in less than a week unless something big and unexpected happens." Bai Zemin announced with complete confidence. "Be careful until then. Wu Keqian is a Second Order soul evolver and apparently, there is an additional Second Order warrior so they can"t be underestimated."
"Don"t worry." Evangeline revealed a rare but very beautiful smile as she slowly said, "If it was before, a Second Order existence could kill me in a matter of minutes. But with the subcla.s.s you granted me before you left I"m confident that even a Second Order existence will have to watch its neck if it doesn"t want to lose its head."
Bai Zemin also smiled slightly upon hearing this and nodded. He closed one eye and looked sideways at her as he said in a soft but firm voice, "Don"t kill them."
"I"ll do my best." Evangeline said with amus.e.m.e.nt before walking away and saying without looking back, "You should go too or you might arouse suspicion if you disappear for too long."
Bai Zemin chuckled and shook his head. He stayed a couple of minutes longer and visited with his closest subordinates, as well as Xiang Feng, Luo Ning, and the Wen sisters before finally leaving under the teary eyes of the little pink dolphin.
Approximately two to three hours later, Bai Zemin re-entered the Chinese Renaissance realm so he slowed his advance speed considerably, and not long after that, the great walls built with giant trees filled with mana appeared in his line of sight.
"Time to get ready for that party." Bai Zemin said as he pa.s.sed through the gate after identifying himself to the soldiers standing guard.
Bai Zemin really wasn"t a fan of parties and even less so when it came to late-night parties intended for members of high society. While he had never been to such high-end parties, he had seen movies and read many novels that served as partial experience.
"You really base everything that happens in this world depending on the novels you read don"t you?"
"… Stop reading my mind, Lilipedia."