ETR | Chapter 102

When he said that, Xiao Xueman had a moment of doubt, wondering if this guy really hadn't lost his memory. I mean, isn't he remembering things pretty clearly?

But after coming back to his senses, he found it a bit funny, with an indescribable feeling in his heart, so he lifted his head and kissed him again.

Isn't this basically an admission? Turns out, you really are my wife.

Qin Lou thought, not having had the chance to worry about his hazy memories, he felt a little excited first.

When Xiao Xueman came over to kiss him, he decisively pinned him down and bullied him for a while. Xiao Xueman didn't push him away, and after they finally parted, both panting, Qin Lou looked down at the person beneath him.

A mist rose in Xiao Xueman's green eyes, his cheeks slightly flushed, making him look even more beautiful.

My newly acquainted wife is really good-looking!

Qin Lou thought smugly.

He wanted to laze around in bed and continue being affectionate, but the new bed beneath them started creaking.

Xiao Xueman let him mess around, occasionally responding. He missed Qin Lou too, and only these real touches made him feel like he had truly survived a disaster.

Thank goodness, thank goodness, he finally came back.

But he couldn't let Qin Lou keep messing around like this.

"Get up," after a while, Xiao Xueman said, panting, lightly pushing Qin Lou, "Stop fooling around."

He still needed to check on Qin Lou's condition. He didn't know the extent of his memory loss, and he needed to carefully examine his body and future cultivation situation. This was important.

Qin Lou obediently retracted his limbs, sat up on the bed, and watched as Xiao Xueman moved his hands over him, staring at him as if afraid he would run away.

"What can you remember now?"

Qin Lou tried to recall, saying, "A little bit."

He had some initial memories, remembering being kicked out by the Qin family and then drifting downwards.

But these memories were also very vague, though at least Xiao Xueman didn't have to explain some basic common sense of this world to him.

"It seems like a lot happened afterwards," Qin Lou shook his head, "but I can't remember clearly."

The memories in his mind weren't blank, but it was like they were covered in a layer of fog.

In his past, there should have been a very important person.

Qin Lou looked up at Xiao Xueman in front of him and asked, "What's my name? And you... what's your name?"

Xiao Xueman looked into his eyes, and as their gazes met, he first told him his name was Qin Lou, then slowly said his own name.

"You are Qin Lou, and I am Xiao Xueman. Does it ring a bell?"

Qin Lou was visibly stunned when he heard the name, then covered his heart.

His mind was clearly blank, and he tried hard to recall, but he couldn't clear up those vague memories at all. Yet his heart started pounding fiercely at that moment, even more than when he heard his own name.

"We..."

"We are lovers," Xiao Xueman said, "we've been together for a long, long time. We were temporarily separated due to some things, and later you gave me all your spiritual power to save me, then lost your memory. You can only start cultivating again."

He briefly explained what had happened before and then asked Qin Lou, "Now that you've heard this, do you think you were foolish? Was it worth it?"

When Xiao Xueman asked this, his heart couldn't help but tremble a little.

Qin Lou smiled and asked, "Are you okay now?"

"What?"

"You said it was to save you, right? I had to give up myself to save you, so the situation must have been very critical at the time, right?"

Xiao Xueman's eyes stung, and he said, "I'm fine now."

"Although it was a bit foolish, it was very worth it," Qin Lou said, "Xiao Xueman, Xueman, I must have loved you very much."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to do that, and even though he had lost all his memories, he still wanted to be good to him and get closer at first sight.

Even if he lost his memory, love at first sight became instinct.

Xiao Xueman reached out and hugged him, burying his head in his arms.

"Then you have to cultivate well," he said muffledly, "we'll live well in the future."

Qin Lou carefully touched his hair and then nodded, "Mm!"

His current spiritual power was at Spirit Practitioner Level 1, really starting from scratch.

However, his fire attribute talent had indeed become purer, and cultivation was instinctive for Qin Lou, with an extremely fast cultivation speed. It probably wouldn't take them more than a few days to break through the Seventeenth Heaven and ascend.

Xiao Xueman had no spiritual power at all, and Qin Lou didn't ask in detail. He guessed it might be due to some changes from the previous events.

It's okay, he'll protect Xiao Xueman in the future.

During this time, they stayed in a small courtyard and rarely went out.

Qin Lou gradually discovered many of Xiao Xueman’s good qualities.

Not only was he good-looking, but he also cooked delicious food, had a great temper, took good care of people, and was soft and gentle when sleeping, often snuggling into his arms.

In the morning, the blanket would be filled with his faint fragrance.

Then Qin Lou would usually get a good morning kiss, which became his motivation to cultivate hard for the day.

The vine trellis in the courtyard had been cleared by Xiao Xueman, but the main branches were left. He didn't know what plant it was, but cultivating there made it easier to concentrate and calm down.

When Qin Lou was cultivating, Xiao Xueman would be nearby. He set up a simple vine chair to lie on, and when Qin Lou got tired of cultivating, he would open his eyes to find some food or spiritual energy supplements on the small table by the vine chair.

Xiao Xueman would also go out and gather some resources from outside. Although the spiritual resources on the Seventeenth Heaven were generally poor, it was better than nothing.

But in Qin Lou's eyes, the food and resources on the small table couldn't compare to Xiao Xueman himself in attracting his attention. The vine trellis's calming effect was nothing compared to Xiao Xueman.

My wife is really so virtuous, beautiful, and amazing!

I am the happiest person in the world!

During a break in cultivation, Qin Lou took a bite of a pastry and couldn't help but lean down to kiss Xiao Xueman on the lounge chair.

Xiao Xueman cooperated, slightly tilting his head. Qin Lou saw his slender neck, like white jade, with kiss marks inside his clothes. Qin Lou knew those were from last night.

I have to say, this person in front of him is his entire motivation for cultivating.

Qin Lou's upgrade speed was indeed fast. In about three days, he had stabilized his reborn body, quickly raising his spiritual power to the level needed to break through the boundary wall, and he could take Xiao Xueman to the next level.

The Sixteenth Heaven was not like the Seventeenth Heaven; it had changed a lot compared to before.

Xiao Xueman quickly gathered some cultivation resources by hunting in the forest here.

He wanted to send a message through the city’s arena, but the Sixteenth Heaven was too far from the First Heaven. Getting the message to Yu Zhengrong was almost impossible, so Xiao Xueman gave up on the idea after some consideration.

It’s not that he became incompetent after ascending; the restrictions of the Cosmic Tree were one aspect, but more importantly, he was in a hurry.

It usually took a year for someone who ascended for the first time to create a clone that could return to the small world, which was also a form of power enhancement and optimization.

If Xiao Xueman was willing to spend time, he could certainly create a more powerful clone and directly take Qin Lou to break through the boundary wall to the First Heaven upon returning.

But now, Xiao Xueman’s clones didn’t have time to be endowed with these abilities. The pure power they carried wasn’t suitable for the spiritual power breakthrough rules of the boundary wall.

One day on the Cosmic Tree was equivalent to a year on the Spirit Realm Continent. If he modified his clones there, who knows how long it would take.

After weighing the options, it was better to come back temporarily and find another way, which might be faster.

Fortunately, Qin Lou's new body was very useful, and his upward breakthrough speed would be very fast.

The guild didn't lie to Xiao Wan; that stone did indeed come from the center of the Secret Realm, which was indeed the place closest to the rules, or rather, the Cosmic Tree.

The stone's partial power came from the Cosmic Tree, and Xiao Xueman used a level of power higher than the Spirit Realm Continent to nurture the life force of Qin Lou stored in it, so having such an effect was only natural.

Qin Lou was originally a mixed blood, and his fire attribute talent became purer in the process, but on the other hand, some abilities were also stripped away.

For example, the prophecy talent from Dark Language Loulan.

After all, he was in a new body and no longer inherited many traits from Dark Language Loulan.

This prophecy talent, to say it was completely bad would be a lie. It did help a lot in the past, but it also complicated many things and even caused disasters. He and Qin Lou suffered a lot because of it.

It's good to be without it, not having to enjoy certain advantages of being one step ahead, and no longer being anxious from foreseeing certain disasters, ultimately becoming a catalyst.

From now on, he and Qin Lou would no longer ask about the past, not worry about the future, and just live happily in the present together.

Thinking about these things, Xiao Xueman returned to the inn where he and Qin Lou were temporarily staying, and as soon as he entered, Qin Lou hugged him tightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Baby, there's something strange here," Qin Lou said, "I went out today and heard some really... strange things outside, about someone called Wang Tian Dijun."

The city in the Sixteenth Heaven was much livelier, with a whole street outside the inn selling things. After Qin Lou finished cultivating, he wanted to go out and buy some snacks for Xiao Xueman. He knew Xueman liked dried fruits and pastries, but along the way, he heard a lot of things, and he used the word "strange" twice to describe them.

Xiao Xueman: "..."

He almost forgot about the Sixteenth Heaven's fanatical worship of Wang Tian Dijun.

But Qin Lou had been away from here for a long time, and he didn't know if the people here had changed during that time.

"What did you hear?"

“That Wang Tian Dijun has the same name as me, but there’s a statue of him in the center of the street. I took a look, and he doesn’t look like me at all,” Qin Lou said.

“There are a lot of people gathered on the street, preparing for some kind of memorial event for him in the next few days.”

Xiao Xueman: "…Ah?"