251: Chapter 251 Your Majesty, Dance with Daji

"My King, let us go."

Su Chen followed her.

The sky outside the Star-Gazing Platform, though faintly tinged with a dark red, appeared exceptionally clear.

This was because the sun had not yet fully risen.

The vast majority of the sky was still shrouded in night.

As Su Chen observed his surroundings, he realized something.

At some unknown point, several towering peaks that pierced the clouds had appeared around the Hall of Valor, which originally sat in the middle of a plain.

From the direction where prosperous towns should have been on the horizon, billowing clouds of thick smoke rose into the air.

The world outside had actually turned into this.

The world was like an oil painting being arbitrarily smeared by an invisible hand,

moving toward collapse.

Su Chen's heart suddenly sank to the bottom.

He didn't even need to use the detection of his Human Emperor Fate to see it.

The situation on Blue Star was far worse than he had imagined.

What was going on?

How could such a massive change occur in his familiar world

in just a few short days?

Jinyu and the others... might really be in danger!

"The Star-Plucking Tower I built, the sea of camellias I planted."

"They are beautiful, aren't they?"

Su Daji's voice rang out beside him.

She led Su Chen by the hand, walking step by step across the suspended bridge connecting the observatory to the Star-Plucking Tower.

The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning the cataclysm, their gazes fixed on the sky above, which was still mostly dark.

They acted as if the soaring flames and thick smoke did not exist.

"Back then, those people invited me to establish the Hall of Valor in a major city. Large cities in Central China like Hanchang, Zheng Prefecture, and Luzhou all sent me olive branches."

"I refused them all."

"I chose the original site of Zhaoge instead."

"There is no jungle of steel here, no noisy vanity; it is most similar to the time of the Great Yin."

She turned her head and gave Su Chen a slight smile.

"The sky here is high, the nights are dark, and the stars are bright."

"The hearts of the people aren't as complex and filthy as those in the big cities."

Su Chen stared blankly at her smiling face.

The urgency in his heart dissipated slightly.

Indeed, this wilderness sky was so similar to that time.

What was even more similar was that

the era in which they met was almost identical to the original Great Yin.

The traces of civilization were so fragile in the face of absolute power.

At this moment, he suddenly understood why Su Daji was so obsessed with keeping him locked by her side.

In this same collapsing world, that cage-like land of gentle dreams

was the last bit of reality she could grasp.

With the same script repeating, she perhaps... just didn't want to lose him again.

The two of them walked side by side into a high tower at the top of the Star-Plucking Tower.

They spiraled upward along the wooden stairs.

Su Daji didn't say which floor they were going to, and Su Chen followed in silence.

Eventually, they stopped at the roof.

There was only a ring of white marble railings surrounding an open platform.

The sun had not yet fully risen, and the cities without electricity could not block the natural light.

The night sky was clearer than ever before.

The dark red at the zenith of the firmament had claimed a bit more space.

But patch after patch of stubborn stars still flickered.

Like embers that refused to be extinguished.

Su Daji let go of Su Chen's hand and walked to the railing, gazing into the distance.

The night wind blew her gorgeous skirt, making it sway gracefully.

"My King,"

"do you still remember the words you and I spoke on this tower back in Zhaoge?"

Su Chen walked to her side, took her slender arm, and gazed at her perfect profile.

"I remember some."

"You said that a mortal's life is like a mayfly or the morning dew—brief and insignificant."

Su Daji continued the thought.

"But it is precisely because it is brief that one must burn with all their might, leaving behind their own mark within their limited time."

"Even if it is like a meteor streaking across the sky, brilliant for only a moment."

"It is still better than ten thousand years of mediocrity, dim and without light."

Su Chen remained silent.

He hadn't expected Su Daji to remember that entire passage.

He himself had almost forgotten it.

One must realize that from the time he spoke those words in the investment world until now, only a few years had passed for him.

But for Su Daji,

it had been more than a thousand years.

"Back then, Demon Concubine Su Daji didn't understand and couldn't hear My King's hint."

"I only felt that My King had the world in his heart and cared for all living beings, which was truly captivating."

She slowly turned around to face Su Chen.

"Later, Demon Concubine Su Daji personally lit that fire and watched My King fall like a meteor..."

"Only then did I truly understand the weight of those words."

She took a step forward, closing in on Su Chen, and looked up at him.

They were so close their lips almost touched.

Emotions surged in her eyes.

Was it love, pain, or reluctance?

It was too complex to distinguish.

"My King, dance with Demon Concubine Su Daji."

She suddenly said.

She bowed slightly and extended both hands, palms upward.

It was a gesture of invitation.

"In the very beginning, Demon Concubine Su Daji learned to dance at the Hehuan Sect."

"But later, during the years I was with you, I actually forgot to invite you to dance with me."

"No music, no audience. We shall dance for these stars filling the sky."

The corners of her red lips curled up slightly, tracing an extremely enchanting arc.

"My King, are you willing?"

Su Chen looked at the plea in her eyes.

As if possessed, he nodded.

He reached out and took her slightly cool, soft hands, while his other hand gently rested on her slender waist.

Beneath the fabric, he felt her softness and thinness.

The waist of the girl in his arms was unbelievably thin.

It was as if beneath those magnificent clothes, only a hollow frame remained.

Without any music as a background,

they slowly spun on the empty Star-Gazing Platform, Su Chen following Su Daji's lead.

Su Daji's dance was exquisite; her waist was as flexible as a willow, her skirt fluttered, and it was as if lotuses bloomed with every step.

However,

Su Chen could feel it.

Her delicate body seemed to be trembling slightly.

He didn't know if it was due to excitement or some other reason.

When the dance ended, Su Daji panted slightly and leaned into Su Chen's embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest, remaining still for a long time.

Su Chen could feel it.

For some reason,

her delicate body was trembling gently.

The snow-white skin pressed against him was also somewhat cold.

"Demon Concubine Su Daji."

He couldn't help but whisper, raising a hand to stroke her cheek.

The makeup on her pretty face today was exceptionally heavy.

"Your body... why is it so soft?"

"And why is your makeup so thick today?"

"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Hearing his questions, Su Daji's expression remained unchanged.

She then lifted her head from his chest, a charming and mischievous smile blooming on her face.

"Is My King worried about Demon Concubine Su Daji?"

She tilted her head, her fingertip touching the heavy rouge on her cheek.

"The cold is from the night wind."

"As for my face... I applied heavier makeup today specifically to seduce My King."

"What, does My King not like it?"

As she spoke, she even winked intentionally, striking a seductive pose.

She reached out to wrap her arms around Su Chen's neck, pressing herself even tighter against him.

(Bonus chapter progress 79/99. Keep it up, brothers! I'll try to get another chapter out before the May Day holiday ends.)

(Also, this story will have a happy ending for everyone; no female leads will be lost or killed, so please enjoy the read with peace of mind.)