Against the Gods (Web Novel)

What is the heaviest thing in this world?

To Yun Che, it was a love debt that could never be paid back in full.

Xia Qingyue had given him her whole life and left behind only infinite regret, guilt, sorrow, infamy, and an old bronze mirror for herself.

Yun Che held the bronze mirror gently as his tears splattered against its surface. Realistically, palming the bronze mirror was the most intimate he could be with her now. If he still wished to hold her in his arms, he could only do so in his dreams, now and forever.

She used to treasure the bronze mirror so much that she wore it around her neck day and night. However, it later became a constant reminder of her essence and the cruel truth behind it…

Even still, she probably hoped that Jin Yue would disobey her order when she entrusted the object to her to destroy. She was an intelligent woman, and she knew Jin Yue like the back of her hand after all.

Her fate pained her and filled her with resentment, but it was still her only memento of her late mother. That was why she ultimately gave up the choice to her most trusted aide, Jin Yue.

Later on, she forbad Jin Yue from getting close to her to the point where she wouldn't even speak to her unless they were separated by a curtain. It was because she was afraid that she would bring calamity upon her aide. The fact that she chased her away instead of making her leave with Yue Wuji and the Moon Gods was proof of her love for Jin Yue.

However, he had nearly…

He slowly flexed his stiffened joints and rose to his feet. The scene before him was exactly the same as it had been, but the world in his eyes was no longer the same as before.

It was a world without the Ancestral Will, Xia Qingyue, and the Chain of Fate.

"You don't have the right to lead a bad life."

If it wasn't for the Ancestral Will's rebuke, he would've taken much, much longer to step out of his dark, dark mental prison.

He pressed the bronze mirror against his chest and whispered, "From the Xiao Che whom everyone could scorn, to the Emperor Yun whom everyone had to look up to. Once, I believed that my journey had begun with the Heretic God's inheritance. It is only now that I have realized that it was your whole life as well."

"Meiyin once asked me to treat the world with kindness and compassion… I now know that that was your wish. Despite everything you suffered at the hands of fate, you would still repay it with the greatest good."

"Watch me, Qingyue… I promise I will live my life the best way I can, live better than everyone else in this universe, and most of all… protect the world who once joined our fates together and made us husband and wife."

Many years later, when "Emperor Yun" became worshipped as every living being's eternal faith, when no one from the lowest lower realms to the highest king realms would allow even the slightest slander on his person… no one knew that his actions were spurred by this, his eternal promise to Xia Qingyue.

Space shifted, and Yun Che appeared in front of Chi Wuyao, Qianye Ying'er, Shui Meiyin, and Mu Xuanyin. He stared at the surprised women who had been watching over him all this time, shot them a faint smile and spoke in a raspy but warm voice, "Sorry for worrying you all again."

"I had a long dream. I think I understand why my dreams have been so dark now. It's because someone stole all the light in the dreams and reflected them all into my reality. They continued to do so even after their world had succumbed to eternal darkness."

"That is why," he opened his arms wide, "I no longer have the right to disappoint any ray of light that exists in this world."

His soft words struck their hearts like a hammer and slowly melted the heavy pressure and worry they had been holding until now.

"Big Brother Yun Che!" Shui Meiyin jumped into Yun Che's embrace and cried her heart out. She had already cried too many times in the past couple days, and they only worsened the weight and pain in her heart each time she gave in to the impulse. But no more. Finally, she could cry in relief instead of pain.

Yun Che held Meiyin tightly. She had already endured too much for his sake over the past couple years. From now on, he wouldn't allow her to hide a soul-wrenching pain behind her smile any longer.

He suddenly looked at Chi Wuyao and asked, "Can an emperor have two empresses, Wuyao?"

Surprised flashed across Chi Wuyao's features, but she quickly broke into a smile and answered, "If you were any other emperor, then there are many things you must consider before making such a decision. But you aren't any other emperor, are you? Whatever your wish may be, you simply need to will it to see it done!"

Yun Che could've made the decision without asking her opinion, but he still did it because he respected her and cared for her feelings. She understood that.

"You wish to make Xia Qingyue your queen?" Mu Xuanyin cut to the chase in the most direct manner possible.

"Yes." Yun Che nodded. "What I owe her can never… ever… ever be repaid. I can only… only…"

Although he had returned to a state of calm a while ago, a light poke at the wound still pained him to the point of suffocation. He shook his head to steady himself before continuing, "When she and I were married in Floating Cloud City, we had had a feast, a ceremony, the blessing of the elders, and half the city as our witnesses. Every step of the wedding ceremony—escorting the bride, crossing the brazier, ritual kneeling to heaven and earth, and binding our hair together [1]—was also carried out properly. We were without a doubt husband and wife in every way."

"My declaration of divorce back then… was just me spilling my blood to vent my emotions. It neither followed the customs nor obeyed the law, so it is completely ineffective!"

"Moreover, our names are still written in the marriage records of Floating Cloud City. Therefore, we have always been husband and wife."

Even before he realized the truth, he never asked anyone to remove his and Xia Qingyue's name from Floating Cloud City's marriage records… it was almost as if he had completely forgotten about it until just now.

"So yes… I wish to posthumously confer her as my empress."

"Understood," Chi Wuyao said only one word, but there was no hesitation whatsoever.

"Also…" He continued, "I wish to rename our future emperor realm as…"

"Does 'Cloud Moon Realm' sound okay to you?" A smiling Chi Wuyao voiced his thoughts like she could read his mind.

Yun Che was clearly doing everything in his power to make up for past mistakes. One might even say that his decisions were made thoughtlessly. However… Xia Qingyue was gone forever. No matter how much he tried to make it up to her, it was all empty and meaningless.

Suddenly, the silent Qianye Ying'er turned away and fell soundlessly toward the ground.

A hand caught her wrist firmly before she could do so, however.

Her eyes trembled against her will. The only person who could grab her without triggering her defensive instinct at all… was Yun Che.

"Where are you going?" Yun Che's voice rang behind her. There wasn't enough emotion in his voice for her to identify his current feelings.

She replied without turning back, "You probably don't want to see me right now. Come find me in the Brahma Monarch God Realm when you're ready."

Qianye Ying'er was an extremely prideful woman. She had tried to keep her voice perfectly indifferent and dignified. However, a slight tremor still managed to slip into her voice.

.

The grip around her wrist loosened a little, but Yun Che didn't let go of her. Instead, he spoke in an extraordinarily warm and gentle voice,

"If she was the moon who gave me light when I was sunk in darkness…"

"Then you are the shadow who never left my side even during my darkest moments… after everything we went through together, do you really think I would let you escape from my side?"

"..." Qianye Ying'er froze, and her eyes suddenly turned terribly blurry.

"Remember what I said about the 'future' back when we were still in the Northern Divine Region?" He said softly while staring at one side of her face and golden hair. "I've never forgotten about it, and you shouldn't either."

Chi Wuyao: "..."

Mu Xuanyin: "..."

"..." Qianye Ying'er didn't give him an answer. A breeze that was in no way chilly brushed against their bodies, but she started trembling harder, and harder, and harder… it just wouldn't stop no matter what.

Still not letting go of Qianye Ying'er, Yun Che patted Shui Meiyin once on the back before whispering, "Take me to… that place, Meiyin."

"Qianying, you should come with us as well."

Qianye Ying'er didn't listen to him, however. She abruptly flung his hand aside before shooting toward the horizon at high speed. She never turned back because she didn't want Yun Che to see her face.

Shui Meiyin was an intelligent girl. She immediately knew where Yun Che was referring to even though he had been vague about it.

"Mn!" She responded softly before summoning the World Piercer.

A faint crimson flash later, both of them vanished into thin air.

Mu Xuanyin and Chi Wuyao exchanged a glance with each other.

"He has changed," Mu Xuanyin said with a sigh, but it was clearly tinged with relief.

"No, it's the world in his eyes that's changed completely," Chi Wuyao replied smilingly.

"Mn." Mu Xuanyin nodded in agreement.

"Say, do you think we should tell him about 'Yun Xi'?" Chi Wuyao asked suddenly.

It was rare to see Chi Wuyao consult anyone on anything since she was usually so intelligent and decisive. This was one thing she really couldn't decide, however. Was this a suitable time to tell him the other secret… or would there never be such a time?

"..." Mu Xuanyin shook her head. "It's best we forget about this. Also, you're the empress. You should worry about yourself first."

Chi Wuyao bloomed into a smile. "I wouldn't mind making your child the crown prince though?"

"..." Mu Xuanyin turned away and said, "I leave his requests to you. Wuxin must be worried after her father suddenly went missing for so many days."

Mu Xuanyin went away, but Chi Wuyao didn't leave immediately. She watched the sky for a very long time.

"Xia Qingyue, I… wasn't wrong about you after all," She whispered with a smile and finally put down the puzzlement that had rooted itself in her mind for too long… or did she?

"What was the reason behind your final departure though… you wouldn't say it, he won't say it…"

"Secret. What a wonderful yet annoying word." She continued smiling. "I suppose I may never be able to let go of you."

…………

In a distant corner of the Southern Divine Region.

Yun Che and Shui Meiyin appeared before a barrier that was forged using the World Piercer's spatial divine power as the base, and the Moon God Realm's unique Hidden Moon power as the support. Although it was only a thin layer, it was rough to conceal the auras hidden behind the barrier to a great extent.

This special barrier was the main reason Chi Wuyao was ultimately unable to find the vanished Moon Gods despite mobilizing the forces of all four divine regions to find them.

Now that he was close enough, Yun Che could sense eight different Moon God auras residing inside the barrier.

There were also the auras of twenty seven Moon God Divine Envoys.

"Sister Qingyue found this planet and laid down this barrier almost from the very beginning," Shui Meiyin said softly. "She told me that she was going to hide the core of the Moon God Realm at this place after Big Brother Yun Che returned. She also asked me to ask you to pardon them and return the Moon God Realm to them after you became the lord and master of the God Realm."

……

"Meiyin, you are the one who saved his family and his life. Therefore, I'm sure he'll agree to your request no matter what. I'm sure that someone as intelligent as you will come up with a better way than me to explain things; a better method that will lead to a better outcome."

……

Shui Meiyin could never forget anything Xia Qingyue had told her.

But…

Yun Che didn't say anything. As he began walking, Shui Meiyin made a slicing motion with the World Piercer and followed behind Yun Che into the barrier. No one detected their entry at all.

The Moon Gods' auras immediately became clear after they entered the barrier. Surprisingly, all eight Moon Gods and twenty seven Moon God Divine Envoys were present at the scene.

Moreover, it sounded like a fierce argument was going on between the Moon Gods; so much so that some of their auras were going out of control.

1. (T/N: yeah, there are a shit load of steps in a traditional Chinese wedding) ?