Against the Gods

Eastern Divine Region, within a vast star region, a small profound ark that shone with bright moonlight flew swiftly towards the north. 

The few days since Xia Qingyue had brought him out of the Snow Song Realm had truly felt like a dream. And what had brought about this dream-like feeling had not been the process, but the result.

Additionally, his interactions with Xia Qingyue did not shrink the distance between them, it actually… seemed to have caused that distance to grow even further.

She, the Moon God Emperor, was truly not the previous Xia Qingyue anymore.

Yun Che was not alone in the profound ark, a young maiden wearing a faint yellow moon robe stood there quietly. She looked pleasant, with her jade face and ruby lips, and she had a gentle and delicate temperament. However, she seemed to be especially nervous and her delicate head remained deeply bowed. Her hands continuously twisted the cloth band around her robes and she did not dare to lift her head to look at Yun Che.

Yun Che came back to his senses and he cast a sideways glance at the young maiden before calling out to her, “Miss Jin Yue.”

“Ah...ah!” Jin Yue trembled as she lifted her delicate head. But it dropped back down in a hurry as she asked in a flustered voice, “Young… Young Master… is there anything that you require?”

Yun Che could not help but laugh at her actions. He had met Jin Yue a few years ago and she had been especially delicate and timid back then. She, who had been born in the Moon God Realm, had actually behaved in such a nervous and timid manner when she faced Yun Che, a junior profound practitioner who had come from a middle star realm. She had not dared to look at him directly and she had not even dared to speak loudly to him.

Back then, she had been the only personal servant girl of the “God Empress”. Even if someone only thought about it with the tips of their toes, they would still realize that her power and status had to be extraordinary for her to be the only maidservant of a God Empress. However… given her soft tenderness that was like water and her respectful attitude to all people, even if one had ten brains, they still would not be able to associate her with a position like “Divine Moon Envoy”.

As gentle as a kitten and as innocent as a baby squirrel… If it were the Yun Che seven or eight years ago, he most likely would not have been able to resist the urge to bully her. 

But her true identity was actually the personal Divine Moon Envoy of the Moon God Emperor, a fifth level Divine Master… Just based on her cultivation in the profound way alone, she was even more frightening than Huo Poyun, who had gone through those three thousand years in the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm. In fact, she could kill him over a hundred times by just poking him with her pinky.

“How has Qingyue been over the past few years? Given her situation back then, it must have been very difficult for her when she succeeded the position of Moon God Emperor, right?” Yun Che asked.

Xia Qingyue had no intention of letting Yun Che know about these matters, so he could only ask Jin Yue.

Jin Yue replied in a soft voice, “Master has worked very hard over the last few years, but it was not difficult for her.” 

Yun Che, “Oh?”

“Master is the most extraordinary person in this world, and Master easily resolved any resistance that she encountered. Although it has only been three short years, everyone in the Moon God Realm has been brought over by Master’s charms and no one dares to defy her any longer.” 

Jin Yue’s voice was warm and gentle, but when she spoke, rays of moonlight were reflected in her pupils. It was a kind of pride and respect that originated from deep within her soul. 

“...” Yun Che was stunned for a long time.

When he was in the Blue Pole Star, he came into frequent contact with royalty. He was aware that even in a nation that belonged to the lower realms, a long time was needed for a new emperor to gather the hearts of the people after they succeeded the throne, and it was even more difficult for a new emperor to pacify the internal conflict within a country.

In the Illusory Demon Realm all those years ago, the Little Demon Empress had many guardian families and royal clans but they were all dispersed in the end. Meanwhile, Xia Qingyue… given her circumstances back then, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she had to face the entire Moon God Realm all by herself.

Because other than Yue Wuya, no one else would be able to accept her as the successor of the Moon God Emperor… even though it was Yue Wuya’s dying will.

As long as someone was willing to lead, the entire realm would immediately erupt in protests.

Three years… it was truly unimaginable.

“She must have killed many people, didn’t she?” Yun Che asked.

Jin Yue gently nodded her head.

“As I’d expected,” Yun Che said as very complicated emotions arose in his heart. Jin Yue did not know this but it was clear to him… that even though Xia Qingyue looked cold and indifferent on the outside, she was actually exceptionally soft on the inside. When they had still been in the lower realms, she had never actually taken anyone’s life before.

“I remember that there was a crown prince appointed by imperial order in the Moon God Realm and his name seems to have been Yue Xuange. Since he had the title of ‘crown prince’ and had accumulated ten thousand years of prestige, he must have gone against Qingyue a lot in the beginning, right?” Yun Che asked another question. Although he had never seen Yue Xuange before, he had a deep impression of him… Back then, he used his two royal brothers to issue Yun Che a warning. He was definitely not someone who was virtuous or someone he could get along with.

“Mn…” Jin Yue replied in a small voice and gently shook her head, “But, he did not put up much of a fight. When he rose up in revolt, Master publicly listed out more than thirty serious crimes that were committed by him which were all backed up by solid evidence. After that, Master… personally executed him on the spot and killed anyone who dared to defend him.”

Yun Che, “...”

Yun Che had always known that Xia Qingyue had always carried a deep sense of gratitude and guilt toward Yue Wuya. That was one of the reasons why she had agreed to succeed the position of Moon God Emperor. But, Yue Xuange was Yue Wuya’s son, and his oldest son at that. She had actually dared to…

The current her had actually already become so ruthless?

Yun Che grew silent and his expression suddenly turned serious as he said, “Has she been close to any man during these few years? Cough cough, I was officially married into her family… erm… She was officially married into my family, so it’s only natural for me to be concerned about this!” 

“This…” Jin Yue took a peek at Yun Che before lowering her head immediately, “Master always has her two servant girls, Big Sisters Yao Yue and Lian Yue, by her side, and no man has ever come close to her before. All these years, no man other than Young Master Yun has ever entered Master’s bedchambers.”

“Mn.” Yun Che nodded his head in satisfaction, “That’s more like it. In the future, if a similar thing happens, you must immediately remind her that she is already someone’s wife!” 

“...Yes.” Jin Yue replied very obediently.

Jin Yue had agreed without refuting at all and this greatly surprised Yun Che instead. He looked at the young girl, who was filled with nervousness and unease, and asked, “You seem to be a little afraid of me? Don’t tell me that you are like this in front of everyone? You are the personal Divine Moon Envoy of the Moon God Emperor and your status among the Divine Moon Envoys should be the highest, right?”

Jin Yue’s delicate head immediately lowered even more after hearing Yun Che’s words. It seemed that the cloth band that was tightly twisted around her fingers was about to tear, “This servant girl… this servant girl is not a timid person, it’s just that… that I’m too ashamed to face Young Master Yun.”

“Mn?” Yun Che had an expression of shock on his face and pondered deeply, “Why? I don’t think I have ever bullied you before, have I?”

“No, it’s not the Young Master’s fault, it’s… it’s…” Jin Yue gently bit her lip, her gentle voice contained timidness and said, “Young Master, could it be that you have forgotten, the marriage certificate that Young Master passed to this servant girl four years ago, it was… it was because of this servant girl’s carelessness that it was snatched away by someone else. As a result… as a result, it caused Master and Young Master to fall into the evil hands of the Brahma Monarch Goddess.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Everything is this servant girl’s fault. It’s a good thing that the heavens protect the good, otherwise… this servant girl would never be able to make up for this big mistake even if I were to die ten thousand times.” 

She said that while clutching both hands tightly. Her face turned pale and she was on the verge of tears.

During the grand ceremony that was being held in the Moon God Realm all those years ago, he was extremely surprised when the marriage contract was made known to the public by Xing Juekong. But after recalling this incident, he had concluded that it was most likely the doing of Qianye Ying’er. Qianye Ying’er had made use of this matter to force him and Xia Qingyue into a desperate situation. 

Meanwhile, this marriage contract had been snatched from the hands of Jin Yue. Thus, she would naturally be filled with tremendous guilt and self-recrimination.

Yun Che suddenly understood why Xia Qingyue had purposely asked Jin Yue to escort him back. It turned out that it was so he could help her undo the knot in her heart. It was obvious that this matter had weighed heavily in her heart all these years.

However, it was precisely because of her nature that she was able to be Xia Qingyue’s personal attendant.

“Miss Jin Yue,” Yun Che gave a faint smile and said, “I suddenly understand why Qingyue values you so much.”

“Ah?” Jin Yue lifted her head slightly, a faintly shocked expression on her face.

“People are always curious, especially women. So anyone else would have been extremely curious about the item that I had intentionally passed to your master back then.” Yun Che continued on, “I remember back then, the box that kept the marriage contract was but an ordinary one and there was no profound energy to sealing it away. Given your cultivation, you’d only need to sweep your spiritual perception over it to know what it was without letting anyone know about it. But you didn’t do that and didn’t even know that it had disappeared. So it goes to show that your spiritual perception did not even intrude in the slightest.”  

“This is something that very few people would truly be able to do, if it were me…” Yun Che laughed as he shook his head, “I can say that I would definitely not be able to do so. I think that your Master has definitely never blamed you over this matter. No one else would blame you for it either. Rather, they would praise and cherish you even more.”

Jin Yue finally lifted her eyes and she was stunned for a long time...

“Qingyue is really fortunate to have someone like you accompanying her, it truly puts one at ease,” Yun Che said with a smile.

“No…” Jin Yue hurriedly shook her head as she said, “It is Jin Yue’s fortune to be able to serve Master.”

“Uhhhh…” Yun Che looked at her before his expression suddenly turned serious and said, “Miss Jin Yue, if you are ever unhappy being by Qingyue’s side, you must remember to look for me. If I have someone like you by my side, I would be laughing even in my sleep.”

Those words seemed to contain some strange innuendo, causing Jin Yue’s complexion to turn red as she said softly, “This servant girl… thanks Young Master for his good intentions. But, this servant girl has already decided to serve Master for the rest of her life, and to live and die with Master, sharing both honor and disgrace. I will never leave Master, no matter that happens.”

“...” Yun Che stared at her with widened eyes before he stretched out his hand to rub his chin and said with envy, “What sort of brilliant move did Qingyue use on you for you to actually view her in this manner… Mn, it looks like I must ask her for guidance the next time I make a trip to the Moon God Realm, it will make it so much easier for me to deceive girls in the future.”

“Pffft…” Jin Yue hurriedly lifted her hand to cover her mouth, as the red clouds on her jade face swiftly spread to her neck.

“Hahahaha,” Yun Che laughed as well as he gave Jin Yue a look that was filled with admiration and said, “It’s no wonder that you hardly ever laugh. You look so beautiful when you laugh… and that is far too dangerous.” 

Jin Yue did not dare to reply. Though she was still nervous, the apprehension and guilt that had plagued her heart had silently disappeared. It was only after a long while that she softly said, “Young Master Yun, thank you.”

“Ehh? Why are you thanking me?”

Jin Yue shook her head, “Young Master, you are truly a good person, no wonder…”

At that moment, she seemed to have recalled something, so she did not continue any further.

“No wonder what?” Yun Che asked immediately.

Jin Yue shook her head again. After that, she bit her lip and gathered her courage to speak, “Actually, although Master treats Young Master very coldly, she is actually… actually very concerned for Young Master. It’s just that Master is now the Moon God Emperor and many things are out of her control.”

“Moreover, this servant girl feels that… Young Master and Master are very well matched, so… so… I will be cheering for Young Master.” 

Yun Che felt very comforted by what she said and even the air of melancholy that had been caused by Xia Qingyue had mostly dissipated. He smiled and said, “No matter what becomes of her, she can only be my woman for her entire life, unless I initiate the divorce… Oh right, that applies to you as well since you said yourself that you would serve her your entire life, hahahaha.”  

Jin Yue flushed red as she bowed her head, not daring to reply. But in her heart, she was not at all repulsed by the frivolous words he said.

Although the Moon God Realm’s honor had suffered greatly because of Yun Che back then, in Jin Yue’s eyes, he was a person who gave her many good feelings.

At least for now, that was what she honestly thought and would say.

She even looked forward to the development of the relationship between him and her Master.

But fate was always so capricious and cruel.

She would never have imagined that the next time they would meet, this man, who had helped her to put down the burden she had held in her heart for many years, who caused warm ripples in her heart, would actually already have become an unrelenting enemy...