Future Beast World: Becoming A Pampered Beauty-Chapter 453 - 392: It’s Your Child

"Little Luo, it’s been a while."

The sea of clouds seemed to part as if blown by a gentle wind. Yan walked up to her, tall and elegant, with a cool, otherworldly air. His ink-black eyes reflected the clear, pale moonlight, yet they also seemed to hold a flicker of apprehension.

Sang Luo was dressed in a loose, lotus-pink robe, looking elegant and understated, yet exuding a gentle charm that was utterly captivating.

She tilted her head back to look at Yan, her lips curling into a faint smile. "Lord Divine Venerate, you invited me to a clandestine midnight meeting. Is there something you need? Anyone who didn’t know better might think you missed me."

"I did miss you," he murmured.

Sang Luo froze.

Yan took out a Brocade Wooden Box and handed it to her. "Regarding what happened back then, I was the one in the wrong. This is what I promised you. Please, take it as a peace offering."

Sang Luo opened the box. Inside was a Divine Lotus Fruit shimmering with a tri-colored light and emanating a rich fragrance. This fruit could cure the little spider’s underdeveloped core.

She hadn’t expected him to have taken her offhand comment from all those years ago to heart. For a moment, her emotions were a tangled mess, and she wasn’t sure how to face him. "...Thank you."

Yan shook his head. "There’s no need to thank me. I don’t like to break my word."

"Be that as it may, you’ve done me a great service, Lord Divine Venerate. This is a kindness I’ll never forget. Let’s wipe the slate clean of all our past unpleasantness. We can just pretend it never happened, how about it? And if you ever need any help in the future, milord, feel free to find me anytime!" Sang Luo composed herself, her tone turning light and cheerful.

"I don’t need your help with anything."

’Well... he has a point. He’s an Ancient Divine Beast with unfathomable Cultivation. I can’t really think of any way I could help him. It was just a polite pleasantry, after all.’

"If there’s nothing else, Lord Divine Venerate, I’ll take my leave."

"You... is there nothing else you want to say to me?"

Sang Luo paused for a moment. "No."

"..."

Yan watched her turn and walk away, his body remaining completely still.

Just as Sang Luo’s silhouette was about to vanish into the woods, Yan rushed forward and pulled her into a tight embrace from behind.

His chin rested on the crown of her head, his hurried, hoarse voice sounding by her ear. "That old robe from back then... I was going to take it out and burn it. I never expected you to see it..."

"I used a Spell to seal the underground palace. I’ve closed that door forever, sealing away the entire past to say a final goodbye."

"Little Luo, I admit that at first, I saw you as the princess of the Fire Fox Clan. But later, when I asked you to stay in Qingqiu Mansion so we could be together day and night... it wasn’t because I wanted you as a substitute. It was because I wanted to slowly learn to accept you."

"I want to be with you."

Yan had been through an immense internal struggle. He blamed himself for failing to remain faithful in body and soul, tormented by the belief that he had betrayed his deceased fiancée. At the same time, he couldn’t control his desire to be close to Sang Luo, to possess her, and he had developed an entirely different kind of passion for her.

"I promised to keep vigil for Princess Ji Wan for one hundred thousand years. That time has passed, and I have not broken my word. And my feelings for you... they are genuine."

Sang Luo turned to face him and asked earnestly, "Have you truly let go of the princess of the Fire Fox Clan?"

"I... She’s long gone. I can wait forever, but she will never come back." Yan took one of her hands and pressed it against his cheek. "But I don’t want to live with another regret."

"Another regret?" Sang Luo asked, confused.

A flicker of bewilderment crossed Yan’s eyes as well. He shook his head with a self-deprecating air. "One hundred thousand years is too long. For me, it’s half a lifetime gone. Princess Ji Wan... her face has grown blurry to me."

"Sometimes, I wonder if all those things we experienced together actually happened, or if they were just things I imagined and filled in over the long years of remembrance. All my memories of her, the little details of our time together... could I be misremembering them? There’s no way for me to know for sure anymore."

"Those scrolls I painted with my own hands were proof of my love for her, but now... they feel increasingly pale and hollow."

"She became an obsession I couldn’t release, but I can no longer remember where that obsession even began..."

Sang Luo listened quietly and intently as he said more than he ever had before.

These were things Yan had never told her before.

Only at this moment did Sang Luo feel that she was slowly stepping into his long-sealed heart.

"I haven’t dreamed in a very long time. But ever since you left, you’re the only one in my dreams... Little Luoruo, my heart has changed. I’m a faithless man, aren’t I?"

In those scrolls, Yan’s love for Princess Ji Wan had burned as intensely as fire, yet it hadn’t been eternal. After a mere one hundred thousand years, he had almost forgotten her face. His memories had faded with time, until all that remained of his feelings was a lingering, regretful obsession.

Sang Luo shook her head. "You are a deeply devoted and sentimental person, Lord Divine Venerate."

She couldn’t begin to imagine how Yan had endured a hundred thousand years of world-altering changes all alone. Even memories are bound to fade one day. He had already done more than enough, perfectly preserving every relic the princess of the Fire Fox Clan had left behind.

What she had detested was only that Yan had treated her as a substitute. She actually admired and respected the depth of his love, and she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy toward the legendary Princess Ji Wan.

To have someone keep vigil and mourn you for one hundred thousand years after your death, to have him remain chaste for you until his own demise... who in this world could do such a thing?

She knew she couldn’t.

Even Fei Yuan and the others probably couldn’t.

Sang Luo lifted her head and kissed him on the lips.

Yan’s long, ink-black eyes instantly constricted into vertical slits. His arm tightened around her waist as he lowered his head and deepened the kiss...

Their breathing grew heavy.

Sang Luo’s face grew flushed and alluring. She took one of his slender hands and placed it on her lower abdomen.

The loose robe hid the swell of her belly, but it was easily felt by touch.

"I’m pregnant. It’s yours."

Yan’s body trembled slightly, his breathing growing slow and heavy. "I know."

"When did you find out?"

"I sensed it after I returned from the Heavenly Realm." He released her, cupping her face reverently with both hands, his eyes filled with gratitude and affection. "I’m the one who should be thanking you, Luoluo, for giving me this precious child."

"I was afraid you wouldn’t want this child."

He pulled her into another fierce hug. "Never!"

He loved children.

Yan swept Sang Luo up into his arms, teleported back to their room, and gently laid her on the bed.

"Let me love you, alright?"

Sang Luo met his tender gaze and nodded shyly.

The bed curtains fell, and the two silhouettes slowly merged into one. The sounds of their lovemaking were enchanting...

The early morning sun spilled through the window. When Sang Luo woke up, Yan was gone.

There was food on the table, already a little cold.

She got up, dressed, and went out to the courtyard, but there was no sign of Yan. She checked the kitchens, but he wasn’t there either.

A knot of unease tightened in her heart.

Fei Yuan appeared and took Sang Luo’s hand. "Luo’er, come back to the Phoenix Palace with me."

...