Against the Gods (Web Novel)

“Eh? Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace? H… how?”

Xia Yuanba stared at the Snow Region of Extreme Ice in front of him in shock before looking at Shui Meiyin.

Oh my god, this girl is amazing!

Wait a second, it took me four months to get to the God Realm! I haven’t even stood on its soil for three days, and now I’m all the way back already!? Come on!

Xia Yuanba complained a bit in his head before facing toward Yun Che again, shouting, “See, brother-in-law!? This is the Snow Region of Extreme Ice! Not only is the Blue Pole Star fine, it’s way more stable than it was several years ago. And you wonder why I’m surprised when you said that it was de… de…”

“...” Yun Che didn’t react in the slightest. He looked like his soul wasn’t present in his body.

“Palace Master Murong and Fairy Yuechan should be inside the building right now. Wuxin frequents here daily as well… ah! That’s right!” Xia Yuanba abruptly grabbed Yun Che’s arm and pulled. “Come on! Let’s go meet them already so they can rest easy—”

Shui Meiyin’s eyes flashed before he could finish his sentence, and Xia Yuanba abruptly froze like a statue. His eyes widened when he realized that he could neither move nor speak. From an outsider’s point of view, the only thing that proved that he was still conscious was his moving eyeballs.

“Big brother Yun Che,” whispered Shui Meiyin while moving closer to Yun Che and feeling the tremors in his soul, “Don’t doubt that this is the Blue Pole Star. You are without a doubt in the home planet you miss so, so much right now. This is neither an illusion nor a dream.”

“Your relatives, your family, your best friends, your lovers, your daughter… they are all alive. They have always been alive and well.”

“... Ugh…” Yun Che’s fingers shook in Shui Meiyin’s palm. His teeth were chattering visibly as well.

Shui Meiyin continued, “It’s because the planet the Moon God Emperor destroyed was a planet called Sky Water Star. You mistook it for the Blue Pole Star because they are similar in terms of size and color. It is even harder to differentiate them from space.”

“The position we’re at right now is where the Sky Water Star used to be.”

“Blue Pole Star and Sky Water Star had switched places before that destruction. The Blue Pole Star was teleported to the south of the Southern Divine Region, and the Sky Water Star was teleported to the east of the Eastern Divine Region.”

“...???” Xia Yuanba’s eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets. He felt like he was listening to some impossible myth.

Shui Meiyin raised the World Piercer and said quietly, “Moving planets sounds like the kind of miracle only an ancient True God can pull off, right?”

“But there is still one item in the world that can do this… it was a one-time miracle that may never happen again, but it happened perfectly because of you.”

Her voice brushed his soul again and again like a gentle wind.

Yun Che’s fingers twitched as he slowly, very slowly, stretched his arms forward. He looked like he was trying to touch the world before him.

A world he thought he had lost forever in his life.

The shivering in his arms wasn’t a conscious action. It was a kind of desire born from the bottom of his heart.

At the same time, he released his soul perception in an attempt to reach out to the people and souls he thought he had lost forever.

A surprised Shui Meiyin tried to stop him, but Yun Che himself shivered as if realizing something and withdrew it in a panic. He even stopped breathing as if the action was enough to reveal his presence to the world.

“Big brother… Yun Che.” Shui Meiyin felt a twinge in her nose and hugged him gently.

Yun Che hadn’t stopped shivering since the beginning. He clenched his teeth tightly and forced down something primal that was threatening to escape his throat.

Shui Meiyin’s voice caused a tear to fall off, however. It fell toward the infinite snow beneath his feet and vanished from sight.

Ten breaths… twenty breaths…

It was so quiet that only the wind, the snow, and the occasional sound that escaped Yun Che’s throat could be heard.

“Big brother Yun Che.”

Shui Meiyin tugged at his sleeve once, and the silence was finally broken. Yun Che slowly turned around to face Yuanba.

His eyes were closed, and he was doing his utmost to control his expression, his emotions and his aura… but his facial muscles were still twitching uncontrollably against his will.

When he finally spoke, his voice sounded hoarse and distant, “Go home, Yuanba. Don’t… tell anyone that you’ve seen me.”

To regain what he lost…

But to have to conceal his presence from his loved ones, much less meet them...

Right now, his soul felt like a lone boat braving the biggest storm he had ever seen in his life.

Shui Meiyin released her soul shackle on Yuanba, and the latter regained control of his body and his senses after a shiver.

A sudden pressure pressed against his heart when he looked at Yun Che again. He felt so heavy that he almost couldn’t breathe.

Xia Yuanba had far too many questions he wanted to shoot at Yun Che, but he wasn’t the innocent, foolish youth he used to be anymore. He knew that this was not the time.

He simply asked, “When… will you come back, brother-in-law?”

A short silence later.

“When I have killed… everyone… who deserves to die.”

He said the darkest things in the shakiest voice.

“Got it.” Xia Yuanba nodded before sucking in a small breath. “I haven’t forgotten the day you risked your life to save me, brother-in-law. Later on, you saved Blue Wind, Illusory Demon Realm, Profound Sky Continent, and even the entire Blue Pole Star…”

“Although I’ve not truly seen the broader world with my eyes, you will always be the greatest hero in my heart. I know that you are bearing something I can’t understand again, and it’s something heavier than anything you’ve ever borne in the past. But no matter what happens, you must come back safe and sound.”

“There are countless people who are worried about you and waiting for you to return. You are far more important to them than you can ever imagine. That is why… you must come back safe and sound, okay?”

“...” Yun Che didn’t reply or turn away. The only visible reaction Yuanba could see was Yun Che’s fingers whitening from the sheer amount of force he was exerting on them.

A long time later, after Yun Che finally looked away from Yuanba, the brawny man exhaled a little and got ready to jump down to the snowy region below him. That was when he saw something that caused his eyes to shrink, and his mouth to blurt out, “Wuxin!?”

Yun Che’s shivering abruptly ceased completely.

One breath… two breath…

Yun Che’s already shaky reason was instantly torn apart by burning desire. He abruptly turned around and stared at the direction Yuanba was facing toward. Shui Meiyin tightened her grip around his hand, but didn’t stop him.

He saw a woman walking slowly across the snow.

The snowy region should’ve been a scenery nothing in the human world could top, and yet they all turned into mere decorations when she showed up. It was as if every light in the world was focused on the woman.

When Yun Che left, Yun Wuxin was less than fifteen years old.

Today, she was almost twenty.

This period was the most beautiful period of a girl’s life. Every year was a beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime transformation.

The childishness and naivety Yun Wuxin freely displayed in front of him was no longer present in Yun Wuxin. She had become an extraordinarily pure and beautiful woman just like her mother.

Her footsteps were slow and light. It was almost as if she wasn’t willing to disturb this eternal world of ice with her presence.

Her hair had grown past her waist. It swayed in the same rhythm as her skirt. Her eyes looked like stars surrounded by nebulae… unfortunately, the nebula cloud was made up of heart-aching sorrow.

The snow she was stepping on was pure white, and yet she seemed to shine even holier and whiter than it was. Her beauty was so pure and ethereal that it was as if she was the most perfect creation of the heavens. One look was enough to drown anyone in her beauty.

She… was his daughter.

Warmth threatened to burst out of his heart. His blood felt boiling hot in his veins. Yun Che gripped Shui Meiyin’s hand tightly for fear that he would lose control and hug Wuxin.

She had grown up… his daughter had grown up…

Not only had he missed every day; every year of her miraculous growth…

It was a period he could never regain.

“We should leave, big brother Yun Che.”

Shui Meiyin called out quietly and broke him out of his reverie.

“...”

Wrenching his eyes away from Wuxin with willpower that bordered on cruelty, he closed his eyes and remained that way.

“Yuanba,” he said quietly, “I promise you that I will return safe and sound… not only that, I will return… faster than you can imagine!”

Xia Yuanba couldn’t say a word.

Yun Che had stopped himself from approaching Yun Wuxin after seeing her with his own eyes. He couldn’t even imagine how heavy the burden Yun Che was carrying on his back was.

He did the only thing he could, nodding to Yun Che and hitting his chest once as solemnly as possible. “Very well, brother-in-law. I’ll be waiting! Until you return, I promise that no one will touch Blue Pole Star unless I’m dead!”

After that, Xia Yuanba attempted to jump off the cliff again. However...

“Wait.” Yun Che called out to him again. “Can you… ask Wuxin something for me?”

Xia Yuanba looked back at him and listened seriously.

“Can you ask her if she… hates me?” He never opened his eyes as he said this.

“Er…” Xia Yuanba looked conflicted, but he could hardly turn Yun Che down especially in a situation like this. In the end, he forced himself to nod and say, “Okay.”

“Speaking of which, there’s one thing I would like to ask you as well,” Xia Yuanba said, “How is my sister doing?”

Shui Meiyin: “...”

“...” Yun Che didn’t react much to that question. He replied in a low tone, “I promise I’ll tell you everything after I’ve returned.”

It wasn’t a real answer, but Xia Yuanba didn’t push further. He nodded strongly again before saying, “Got it! Don’t forget your promise, brother-in-law! You must return to us safe and sound, okay!?”

“Oh, and sister too! You must bring her home safe and sound as well! I’m still looking forward to seeing how your children will look, you know? Hehe!”

Xia Yuanba gave him a bright smile and withdrew his aura. He then walked off the cliff and dropped down to the snowy region below.

Yun Che remained where he was like a statue, and Shui Meiyin stayed by his side quietly. She didn’t speak or urge him to move. She indulged him just like he always indulged her.

After he judged that he had dropped enough distance, Xia Yuanba abruptly released his profound energy and sped up. He landed right in front of Yun Wuxin.

The girl halted and stared at Xia Yuanba in surprise. “Uncle Xia, you’re… back?”

“Er…” Xia Yuanba scratched his head with a regretful look on his face. “I ran into a couple spatial turbulences I couldn’t overcome as I approached the God Realm, so I had to come back to prepare. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll succeed on the next trip.”

Wuxin’s lips curled into a small smile. Her complexion looked whiter than even a snow sparkle. “Thank you, Uncle Xia, and rest well. I’m sure the journey to that world was a difficult one.”

After that, he gave him a small nod, passed by him, and continued toward the nearby Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace.

The years had made her as dispassionate as her mother was.

“Wuxin,” Xia Yuanba hurriedly stopped her before she could vanish, “I have… a question I would like to ask you about.”

Yun Wuxin stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. “Please ask, Uncle Xia.”

His heart rate quickened for no real reason. He was fully aware that Yun Che was watching them from the sky.

“You… do you hate your father… just a tiny bit?”

Xia Yuanba squeezed the voice out of his throat. Despite his best attempts, his voice sounded a little dry even to himself.