Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1375: Together with the Tomboy

This is the Bingdisi family home, and the Obsidian Palace has already left the real space, now drifting in a twisted Otherworld.

Ice Dad and Ice Mother prepared a lavish family feast, first to welcome their daughter home and second to welcome the guests from the Xyrin Empire. Though it feels rude to think so, eating at the Bingdisi home without facing leek pockets and egg pancakes is truly wonderful—of course, not to say leek pockets and egg pancakes are bad, but imagine if Elder Tang had crossed mountains and rivers, endured eighty-one hardships, and arrived in Tianzhu only for Buddha to hand him a cheaply priced "Quick Start to Buddhism - Published by Tang Books"...

You should understand how I feel dining at Father God’s place.

Because it is a family dinner, there was no one else at the table except the Kuwayin couple, me, and the separate-souled version of Bingdisi. The female housekeeper Mo was not present this time, only two shadow servants resembling mist swirling around, acting as attendants to serve tea and water. In theory, the atmosphere should be very relaxed, but the goosebumps and cold sweat on me are like waves on the Yangtze River crashing continuously, making the ambiance almost nostalgic for Father God’s leek pockets. I put a spoonful of beans, which tasted a bit like corn kernels, into my mouth and couldn’t help but look up at the source of this uncanny atmosphere: Uncle Kuwayin and Aunt Aisali’s piercing gazes were indeed fixed on this side.

The two had been staring for almost ten minutes since the start of the meal, Ice Mother was a bit better, at least she maintained her ladylike demeanor when lowering her head to eat, but Ice Dad was more peculiar. Like now, Uncle Kuwayin ingested food entirely by feel while keeping his eyeballs straight ahead in a fixed position, all with a bizarre smile on his face. To break it down: above the Old Master’s nose had fused with the surrounding space. A fine aristocratic old handsome guy was made to look like he was in the late stages of senility; I even suspected that if you pulled his chair away, he could stay suspended with his face as a pivot...

"Uh..." I was horrified by Ice Dad and Ice Mother’s eerie gaze, and even Bingdisi herself, trapped inside me, was so overwhelmed by her parents’ stare that she didn’t dare to breathe (she shared my perspective). Eventually, I couldn’t help but speak up.

"You say you say—" Uncle Kuwayin maintained his upper face’s fixed state and smilingly looked over with his lower face, sounding warmly, "Oh, are you satisfied with the food? Aisali made it herself. She’s a master chef, one of my main goals in chasing her back then was so I wouldn’t have to cook ever again..."

Ice Mother smiled while struggling to maintain her High Order Dark Goddess dignity, inserting a dining knife into Ice Dad’s arm: the latter acted as if he felt nothing at all. Uh, he really seemed to feel nothing...

"The food is pretty good," I felt my face stiff as if it had three layers of glue dried for three days, every smile threatened to crumble, "You keep staring at me... is there something you want to say?"

"No, no, it’s just a habit," Ice Dad chuckled, not minding the alarming dining knife in his arm, Aunt Aisali stared blankly at the knife she’d embedded in her husband’s arm, seeming to be lost in thought before pulling it out nonchalantly, and I even heard a pop...

Dining at the Bingdisi’s unexpectedly brought such pressure, what kind of extraordinary parents are these, last time I was here it wasn’t this intense— I can only attribute it to Sister Bing’s millions of years lacking a partner, it’s nearly given her parents a psychological disorder now, so anytime a male within ten meters of Bingdisi shows up, the parents might see them as a son-in-law, someone like me would obviously be even higher risk.

Yet there’s no solution to the two’s worries— I turned to look at Bingdisi sitting next to me (the body), the latter also darted me a look with fish-dead eyes, which was a reflex. With this Master Level Boss, whose usual behavior was almost fully sinicized, drinks, gambles, brawls, has her legs crossed on the sofa munching on a biscuit watching boxing, holds a beer bottle on the curb whistling at the opposing team— these things she’s done, my feeling with her has always been like with a sibling. They say women are made of water, men are made of mud, and female tough guys are made of cement, with Bingdisi, I suspect she’s made of titanium alloy mixed with granite, spending more than three days with her absolutely leaves no romantic illusions: Ice Dad and Ice Mother, you’ve overthought it...

But of course, I couldn’t directly say it, directly saying it could lead to two outcomes: Ice Dad and Ice Mother suffer immense shock, become disillusioned with the world and life, and step onto the path of falling to Evil God from where no retrieval is possible, or Bingdisi gets angry and sings "Conquer" out of tune in my mind, neither is bearable.

So I could only give an awkward smile, lower my head to eat, while also pondering over this matter: it seems I’m not the only one who doubts I’m in a relationship with Bingdisi, Ice Dad and Ice Mother aside, Father God occasionally jokes about it, Yelsen also often congratulates the boss on the prospect of marriage— every time getting knocked away by a Brick, even Sandora now and then recites about Bingdisi, "Don’t touch what isn’t yours." It feels like everyone around us believes it’s real, except for Bingdisi and me.

Does the scene of doing tasks with this female hooligan really resemble a romantic couple?

Such nonsensical thoughts lingered for a few seconds, but I felt this issue might need to be elevated to the height of worldview; in terms of each of our characters, agonizing over it doesn’t fit our habits—so let it be as it is. Anyway, choosing the most suitable way of getting along works, being buddies isn’t bad. I need to remember I have a family waiting, better handle Sandora and them first.

Thinking like this, I continued busying myself with the second task besides eating: picking food specified by Bingdisi from the table and delivering it into the mouth of the dead-fish-eyed OL next to me: "Open your mouth, bite, slowly chew, swallow when it’s chewed enough. Open your mouth! It’s a fork!"

Ice Dad and Ice Mother continued to stare with gaze intensity equal to six plus signs, but now I had managed to achieve a still mind, undisturbed, treating the two seated wax figures opposite me as ordinary. Bingdisi’s body instinctively ate while occasionally licking its lips, glancing back towards the table: still hungry. It reminded me of when caring for Little Baobao, the little girl wouldn’t stop staring at the table till she was fed without uttering a word (not like anyone could understand her even if she did), till someone fed her continuously, here I was, treating the grand Sister Bing as if she was a baby, the thought made the corners of my mouth curl involuntarily.

"Why are you smiling?" Bingdisi’s soul sounded somewhat displeased, looking at the world through the same lens as I did, probably felt her (the body’s) current appearance was a bit silly, thinking I was mocking her.

Wiping her face while feeding her, I said "Nothing—speaking of which, does feeding you food hold any meaning? Your main self is stuck inside me, unable to taste anything, and your body won’t starve."

"I’m just doing it for psychological satisfaction, mind your business?" Bingdisi’s soul remarked candidly, I could vividly imagine her flamboyant gestures, "Middle of the table, that roast meat-like dish, then on the opposite side of the table, that plate of green cold dish, and then beside my dad..."

I feel I would soon fully grasp this female hooligan’s menu.

Braving Ice Dad and Ice Mother’s gazes, I finally finished my meal, planning to wander around afterward: it’s not my first time at Sister Bing’s place, considered a familiar guest here, wouldn’t get lost like on my first visit. But just as I stood up intending to speak, Uncle Kuwayin spoke first: "Chen, you’re going to be taking care of my girl for the next few days, right?"

I regarded Ice Dad with wary eyes, fearing his next words would be: Have you thought of a name for the child yet—it was entirely possible after all. Seeing he didn’t follow up with such words, I nodded, "Yes, I did agree to take care of Bingdisi’s body when I came. But now that she’s home, likely there’s nothing for me to do these days in the Divine Realm, isn’t she staying at home?"

"Her most important part is with you, how can she stay home?" Kuwayin chuckled pointing at me, I talked of Bingdisi’s body, he referred to her soul in me, "So I’m asking you to take care of my girl’s body along with her soul with you, anyway with her soul at hand, a body wouldn’t be troublesome."

Is this truly Sister Bing’s biological father? You entrusted your daughter to a man as if there was no pressure, especially when your daughter’s body is entirely unguarded now.

But I dared not say this aloud because when Bingdisi freaks out, she is simply insufferable: right now, no way of getting away from her.

"Actually, it’s like this," Kuwayin stated as the shadow servants cleared the table, seemingly just remembering to explain, "We consulted with Father God, Bingdisi requires one to two weeks to be relieved, and how easily she’s relieved depends on the connection with her original body. That’s why we hope you spend as much time with her body, allowing her soul to resonate sooner with it. In terms of Soul Studies, I have a little bit of know-"

Kuwayin hadn’t finished speaking when Bingdisi interrupted without missing a beat: "Dad, aren’t you academically challenged?"

Ice Dad was taken aback by his daughter’s words, gritting his teeth and saying: "You girl... can’t your dad be self-taught? Anyway, now you shut up—where was I? Oh right, I actually have some insight into Soul Studies too, so you follow my advice and stick close to my girl, you two will be back to normal soon enough."

I suspiciously gazed at Ice Dad, the more I looked, the more nervous he became. The more nervous he was, the more I couldn’t help staring at him, and then I watched as a cold sweat started beading down his temple. The Old Master even thumped his chest saying to me: "Look at my clear eyes and sincere expression..."

"No worries, leave it to me," I quickly waved my hand. It didn’t matter if Uncle Kuwayin truly wanted to help his daughter "return" or was eager to resolve the son-in-law issue, his request was no problem at all. Just by coming to the Divine Realm, I had already promised the family I’d take good care of Bingdisi, "You might want to wipe your sweat, it’s trickling down to your neck..."

Finally away from these wolf-like parents, leaving the dining hall, both Bingdisi deep in my soul and I couldn’t help but exhale a long breath, checking back to confirm, the dead-fish-eyed Ice Sister was well following behind me. She even matched the scene with a burp when I turned around to look at her...

"You say you want to calm down, isn’t this pretty good looking too." I strolled through the long hallway of the Obsidian Palace with this dead-fish-eyed, dullard auto-follow pet-type Ice Sister, chatting with Bingdisi’s soul in my mind, it’s such a peculiar feeling.

"Are you looking for trouble? When have I ever been not good looking—slow down a bit, my body can’t keep up. Turn left ahead, at the end of the little corridor, there’s a small door, go check it out," Bingdisi muttered, giving directions as we moved forward, "I’ve witnessed my parents’ power, so I don’t dare stay home too long. They almost had me tied in a box, delivering door-to-door..."

A bear daughter being forced to marry probably has similar troubles, Bingdisi got forced to marry right after returning home after millions of years, doubling the extent of trouble. I recalled my previous random thoughts: "Bingdisi, do you think our usual interactions genuinely resemble a romantic relationship?"

The mind was silent for half a minute before Bingdisi abruptly reacted: "Wow, this question is high energy, gave me a fright... Wait, you won’t... really have a little... just a little, a tiny bit of affection for me, do you?"

"I don’t think so, but you know that the mind is the most complicated thing," I didn’t intend to dodge this topic anyway, since we already broached it, "I feel quite relaxed with you, but more like hanging out with a buddy. But in retrospect, doesn’t this habituating to each other’s presence count as... ’living life’?"

My thoughts traced back to spending time with Qianqian, playing together since the age of rompers, not even realizing the gender difference during primary school, yet amidst the day-to-day atmosphere, it turned into a romantic relationship. The major similarity with my situation with Bingdisi is: most of the time, I can’t perceive Ice Grandpa as a woman either...

This time, Bingdisi fell silent for even longer, knowing this fierce female hooligan actually has an unexpectedly pure heart—though Sandora often strikes at her weak point by saying Bingdisi hasn’t ever developed a relationship, so her unpracticed hands won’t even hold hands with the opposite sex, she genuinely lacks strength on this topic. Awhile later, I heard her meek reply: "Damn, so conflicted... I lack complete experience, don’t even know what it’s like to be in love! You’ve experienced it, can you tell me?"

"That’s something that can’t be explained," I laughed and cried, "and you notice any normal romances between me and Sandora?"

"Oh, I almost forgot until you pointed it out," Bingdisi suddenly said softly, "you’re her exclusive dry food... discussing these, aren’t you afraid of going back and Sandora swallowing you whole?"

I stopped, looking up at those high gothic arches, Bingdisi’s body walked quite far before suddenly realizing, quickly running back to catch up with me.

"Yeah, I have Sandora, we’re indeed a responsible good men—looks like your parents managed to make me quite neurotic," I shook my head, gazing at the corridor finally leading to its end, "by the way, where exactly are you taking me?"

"You’ll see once we’re outside, see that little side door ahead?"

I saw that gray little door, its pattern almost blending with the sculpted reliefs around, initially didn’t notice the presence of a door. I stepped forward to gently push it, it wasn’t locked, so I pushed it open.

"Holy crap!" I almost stumbled into emptiness, yelled out abruptly, this door is treacherous!

Across from the door was a tens of meters radius circular atrium, bottomless, the door essentially opened at the inner wall of the atrium, upon pushing, only a roughly one meter squared small platform stood for footing, a step forward and you would fall down. Cautiously standing at this platform’s edge, I looked at the bottomless pit below, then looked up, realizing the atrium top was open: near above could see the exit of the atrium, a blood-red moon hanging right in the center of that sliver of circular sky, its thin red light brightening the atrium’s top. Blood-red usually dampens one’s mood, but under this peculiar moon, I felt a strange sense of peace, as though the moon calms the heart. I paused, remembering the Divine Realm has no moon, normally the Obsidian Palace drifting in Other Space also lacks a moon...

"This is within the Holy Spirit Tower, independent from outside, Red Moon is exclusive here too," Bingdisi softly commented, "residents and civilizations reside upon that moon, even my dad doesn’t know when they originated, but they’ve claimed to be the Holy Spirit Guardian Clan, consciously manage the Red Moon for millions of years already... creations from Gods often come like this, sometimes causing small worlds unexpectedly. I rarely bother them, unaware if the guardians on the Red Moon remain the same as those past... ah, it’s not important."

For Gods, it’s probably akin to growing potted flowers, suddenly a small nook of ants appears in the Flower Pot, then that little nook of ants develops into a civilization, self-proclaiming as flower pot guardians—I mulled over it, curiously examining this atrium. Its style differed from other parts of the temple, the inner wall made of a dark-hued crystalline substance, shifting in purple and blue alternating gleams, the inner wall without the elaborate carvings seen elsewhere in the temple, merely straight score lines ran from top to bottom. This place was shrouded with a deep solemn atmosphere, even Bingdisi seemed affected by it, her mood quieting down with the ambience: she had been silent for five minutes.

"Jump."

At last, Ice Sister broke the silence, casually uttering two words.

"Huh?" I didn’t catch it at first.

"Jump down!" Bingdisi now spoke clearly, leaving no room for doubt, "I’m heading down below, just jump without worry, you won’t die from the fall."

I looked at the abyssal pit below, helplessly smacked my lips, and leaped off. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast a recommendation vote or monthly vote, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)