Chapter 2811 I"m Leaving the Radiant Moon Palace to You!
Night Leaning Moon"s head snapped up.
Night Leaning Moon could not be more familiar with this voice. It belonged to the Moon Empress! She was able to identify the Moon Empress" voice at any time and in any situation.
Night Leaning Moon was not surprised that the Moon Empress had come to see her.
She had to say goodbye to Night Leaning Moon before she left.
Night Leaning Moon did not have the courage to go and see the Moon Empress herself.
Now that she was here, it meant that her departure was imminent.
Night Leaning Moon could not stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.
Just as Night Leaning Moon was about to rise to open the door for the Moon Empress, she saw the latter push the door open and step in.
It had been fine when they were not in each other"s presence. But now that they were face to face, the emotions bottled up, and Night Leaning Moon lost her iron grip on her composure.
"Ye Lin. That"s your original name. But I prefer your current name to your old one. The name I gave you. Leaning Moon, we spent our youths together and dedicated our lives to protecting the Radiance Federation once we became experts.
"We have always shared the same goals. But now, our goals have diverged, and we"ve made our own choices. Even if we"re apart, we"ll continue excelling in our chosen fields. You have formed a contract with the Lifespan Mouse and gained an endless lifespan! It"s not impossible we"ll be able to meet again in the future!"
The Moon Empress knew that Night Leaning Moon was not the type to beat around the bush. She had her own dreams and opinions. Otherwise, she would definitely have chosen to go with the Moon Empress to the Sky Beyond the Clouds when she invited her!
Night Leaning Moon"s emotions had erupted because she could not bear for the Moon Empress to leave.
The Moon Empress felt the same!
The Moon Empress had an icy personality, which was undoubtedly related to her childhood.
Night Leaning Moon was the direct descendant of an elite family, while the Moon Empress was an orphan who did not even know who her parents were. Had that mysterious beggar not taken her in, she would never have been able to step foot on the path to becoming a Creation Master, much less contract her feys.
The Moon Empress had locked up her heart long ago. She had seen too much of the ugly side of the world. As a result, she no longer craved warmth and sincerity.
Before the mysterious beggar took her in, she had once scrounged for food sc.r.a.ps in garbage bins to keep her skinny body alive.
At that time, the Radiance Federation had not been as prosperous or abundant as it was now.
This was why the Moon Empress had been able to connect with Lin Yuan when she took him in as her disciple. Only those who had experienced such a life could understand how tough it was.
With such a mindset, the Moon Empress preferred to keep to herself. She had been a far cry from the person she was now, resolute in her dream of giving her everything for the sake of the Radiance Federation.
The Moon Empress" change had begun from Night Leaning Moon—she only started to slowly open up her heart after meeting her.
Without Night Leaning Moon, the Moon Empress would never have accepted the feelings of her companions.
The Moon Empress had never told Night Leaning Moon any of this. She did not think that it was necessary to do so.
When she saw Night Leaning Moon"s expression, in a rare occurrence, the Moon Empress revealed her true emotions.
She stepped forward and hugged Night Leaning Moon before saying softly into her ear, "Leaning Moon, since you aren"t intending to go to the Sky Beyond the Clouds, you can stay in the main world and help with its evolution!
"These are the resources I"m leaving for you to use. It should be able to last you almost 1,000 years! Since you"ve decided to stay in the main world, you can become the main world"s protector! You can protect the main world from any anomalies that take place. I don"t trust anyone else but you!"
The Moon Empress actually hoped that Night Leaning Moon would go with her to the Sky Beyond the Clouds.
But when Night Leaning Moon turned her down, the Moon Empress was reluctant but also relieved.
Lin Yuan had made a lot of preparations to keep the main world safe.
The Moon Empress had not had the chance to get to know the people Lin Yuan relied on.
But she knew that regardless of what happened, Night Leaning Moon would never endanger the main world and the Radiance Federation.
This was not just trust between friends. It could be said that the Moon Empress and Night Leaning Moon were soulmates! It was a bond that went beyond that of friends.h.i.+p and romance. Only those who possessed such a bond could understand it.
Night Leaning Moon forcefully scrunched her nose twice before saying with a smile, "Xiyue, with me around, there"s nothing that you need to worry about!
"Little Yuan allowed me to contract the Lifespan Mouse and enabled me to gain an endless lifespan. Once the main world evolves, I might have the chance to head to the Sky Beyond the Clouds! We will be reunited then!"
Night Leaning Moon"s lips trembled while she said that. She still could not bear for the Moon Empress to leave. But she knew that this separation was unavoidable. If that were the case, it would be better for her to send the Moon Empress off with a smile.
"Xiyue, the date for the departure to the Sky Beyond the Clouds must have been decided on. When are you leaving? I"ll send you off personally."
The Moon Empress looked at Night Leaning Moon calmly and paused for a moment before saying softly, "I will leave the Radiance Federation with Little Yuan five days later. Why don"t I stay here in the Midnight Palace for the next few days?
"Given the circ.u.mstances, it"s the best time to drink the Moon Night Wine you buried in the Endless Pond. Let"s drink and make merry! Now that I"m thinking about it, we haven"t had a proper talk since becoming members of royalty!"
At that point, Night Leaning Moon could no longer hold back, and tears began flowing down her cheeks. The image of the Moon Empress became blurry.
Since the Moon Empress was going to spend her last five days before leaving in the Midnight Palace, it meant that Night Leaning Moon was the person the Moon Empress cared the most about. This alone was enough!
"Xiyue, I"ve been burying the Moon Night Wine for you. I bury 30 bottles every year. The snow from the plum blossoms falls onto the Endless Pond every winter. I will go and fetch the oldest bottle now for us to drink.
"Why don"t you take the remaining Moon Night Wine with you so you can have a gla.s.s every time you think of me? Without you here, I wouldn"t be in the mood to drink our namesake wine."
The Moon Empress chuckled softly. "If you bury 30 new bottles annually, there must only be more than 1,000 bottles. If I have a gla.s.s every time I think of you, I"ll finish all of the Moon Night Wine in no time!
"Once I"m gone, no one will be living in the Radiant Moon Palace. Why don"t I leave it to you? The Radiant Moon Palace is much more beautiful than your Midnight Palace!"
Night Leaning Moon gently wiped the snot from her nose and pushed down all of her feelings of bitter sadness and reluctance. She adjusted the veil across her face and said with a smile, "Xiyue, even if you didn"t leave the Radiant Moon Palace to me, I would take it for myself after you left. I won"t allow the place in the main world with the most traces of you to be handed over to anyone else!"
Night Leaning Moon retrieved the Night Moon Wine before placing it in front of the Moon Empress.
That night, the two of them drank until they were utterly intoxicated. They had never been this unrestrained since becoming members of royalty.
…
On the third night, Night Leaning Moon downed a full cup of the Moon Night Wine before saying, "Xiyue, Ji Changdeng"s feelings for you are real. Have you gone to see him now that you"re leaving?"
The Moon Empress shook her head. "There"s no need for me to see Ji Changdeng! It"ll be better for him this way."
The Moon Empress knew how Ji Changdeng felt about her. He had confessed his feelings to her more than once. Each time, she would firmly turn him down so he would not have any misunderstandings about how she felt.
Ji Changdeng had been persistent in the past few years.
If the Moon Empress went to see him now, she would be giving him empty hope.
In the main world, there was no one aside from Night Leaning Moon, whom the Moon Empress felt reluctant to leave behind.
The person who she cared about the most was Lin Yuan, and he would be going with her to the Sky Beyond the Clouds.
…
During the time that the Moon Empress was in the Midnight Palace, Lin Yuan brought Chu Ci to Kitchen Fragrance Palace.
Chu Ci did not have many memories of their parents but had many fond memories of Uncle Li and Auntie Zhang. She did not see them as her parents but as seniors who were very important to her.
In the past few years, Chu Ci had visited Kitchen Fragrance Palace to meet Uncle Li and Auntie Zhang more times than Lin Yuan had.
"Big Brother, when we get to the Sky Beyond the Clouds, will we be unable to see Uncle Li and Auntie Zhang ever again?"
Lin Yuan raised his hand and touched Chu Ci"s head, pressing down the stray hairs on the top of her head as he said seriously,
"I can"t say that we won"t be able to meet ever again, but we won"t be able to see them anytime soon. Uncle Li and Auntie Zhang made their choice. We need to respect them! They have both contracted the Lifespan Mice. If we ever get the chance to return to the main world, we will be able to see them again!"
It took a very long time for a newly promoted Cla.s.s 2 world to be promoted to Cla.s.s 3.
Objectively, Lin Yuan did not want the main world to be promoted to Cla.s.s 3 because of him. Once it did, it would no longer be under any safeguards.
Cla.s.s 3 worlds often clashed against each other.
A Cla.s.s 3 world that was held up by a powerful force was completely different from one that had developed and built up its strength slowly!
Currently, it was difficult for the main world to compete with other Cla.s.s 3 worlds.
Unless the main world was promoted to Cla.s.s 3, Uncle Li, Auntie Zhang, and the rest would never be able to depart from the main world to enter the Sky Beyond the Clouds.
According to Winter, it was not easy to visit a Cla.s.s 2 world.
Firstly, a strong enough mountable Abyssal Beast was needed. The experts also needed to be strong enough to withstand the world wills of the Cla.s.s 2 world. The trip to the Cla.s.s 2 world would only be successful once these two requirements were met.
Moreover, it was difficult to escape the detection of the major factions in the East Universe when one rode an Abyssal Beast to a Cla.s.s 2 world.
The main world currently had a spotlight on it in the Sky Beyond the Clouds.
For the sake of its safety, the main world could not continue to receive so much attention from the Sky Beyond the Clouds" factions.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Lin Yuan would not return even if he did gain an Abyssal Beast that could travel between the main world and Sky Beyond the Clouds.
…
Lin Yuan was not dropping in unexpectedly. He had given advance notice before coming. It was a sign of respect to greet elders before visiting them.
Uncle Li knew that Lin Yuan was bringing Chu Ci to bid farewell and had prepared a table full of dishes.
Li Changlin had always been open-minded and did not get hung up over goodbyes.
When Lin Yuan went to the Sky Beyond the Clouds, he would have access to a larger platform and receive even more extensive development. As such, there was not only no reason for him to be sad, but he should be congratulating Lin Yuan instead.
Chef Supreme was devastated that his youngest disciple was also going to leave with Lin Yuan. That old fogey sure was resistant to change!
His wife was just like her father. Not only was she reluctant to see Zong Ze leave, but she also could bear for Chu Ci and Lin Yuan to go.
When he left Kitchen Fragrance Palace with his wife, Chef Supreme had yet to take in Zong Ze as a disciple. His wife only began seeing Zong Ze as her junior brother when they returned to Kitchen Fragrance Palace.
In truth, his wife had a much deeper link to Lin Yuan and Chu Ci.
Chef Supreme made a personal appearance to greet Lin Yuan.
Although Chef Supreme felt reluctant to see Zong Ze leave with Lin Yuan, he knew that the Sky Beyond the Clouds would be better for Zong Ze"s development.
The Moon Empress would accompany Lin Yuan and would be able to help look after Zong Ze.
Chef Supreme left soon after welcoming Lin Yuan. He left the s.p.a.ce to his daughter and first disciple.
Zong Ze also wanted to stay behind, but Chef Supreme dragged him away.
He had high hopes for Zong Ze and saw him as his grandson.
Chef Supreme would be giving Zong Ze his final teachings and lectures in the next few days. Once Zong Ze went to the Sky Beyond the Clouds, Chef Supreme would not be able to reach him to teach him anything.
…
When Lin Yuan saw the usually bold and brash lady staring at him and Chu Ci with tears in her eyes, he hurriedly placed a golden-red pork rib onto her plate.
"Auntie Zhang, I remember that this dish is a favorite of yours and Uncle Li."
Zhang Yingying rolled her eyes before placing two pieces of red-braised meat on Lin Yuan"s plate and scooping out a bowl of fish head soup for Chu Ci.
"Little Yuan, you still remember what I like to eat. Once you leave, you won"t be able to eat Uncle Li"s cooking anymore! You and Little Ci have to eat more this time. Uncle Li and I will be there to send you off. I can"t stop you and Little Ci from leaving, but you can"t stop us from sending you off either!"
Lin Yuan mixed red braised meat around with the rice in his bowl. There was no better fragrance than that of red braised meat mixed with rice.
Lin Yuan truly enjoyed his time with Zhang Yingying and Li Changlin.
In spite of Chu Ci"s young age, she could also understand the significance of separation. She also did her best to savor her final moments with Zhang Yingying and Li Changlin.
After the meal, Lin Yuan and Chu Ci chatted with Zhang Yingying and Li Changlin deep into the night before returning to the Return from Faraway Mansion.
Lin Yuan needed to use the next few days to confirm the exact number of people that would head to the Sky Beyond the Clouds.
As the leader of Sky City, Lin Yuan would communicate with every white-clothed follower using the Thoughts Letter Paper so he could ask if they needed any help.
Some of the white-clothed followers had family in the main world.
Lin Yuan had given them these five days so they could make their arrangements for their family.