Free Web NovelChapter 23: Chapter 23—Second Prophecy
Chapter 23—Second Prophecy
Lei Cheng stood up slowly and walked forward, his gaze locking onto a pair of beautiful purple eyes.
For a brief moment, it felt as though the whole world had lost its color before her.
Hua Mingyue raised her head and met his stare head-on. She stood only an inch shorter than him, her expression calm, almost playful—as though she were enjoying the silent battle between their gazes.
She broke the silence first. "Do you like this goddess’s eyes?"
Lei Cheng shook his head. "No."
"Don’t lie." Hua Mingyue’s lips curved faintly behind the paper fan.
He did not have time to be distracted by her beauty. His attention was fixed on the fox groom mark on his chest and the strange sensation it carried—the feeling that it was drawing something from him from time to time.
"Do you know about this Fox Groom mark?" he asked. "How do I make it disappear? And what is it taking from me?"
Hua Mingyue’s smile deepened. "I know many things. This eye can see many things." She pointed lightly toward the third eye on her forehead with one finger.
Lei Cheng frowned and stepped forward, gripping her shoulders, urgency sharpening his voice. "Then tell me how to break this mark."
Before he could press further, Hua Mingyue tapped his chest lightly and sent him stumbling back several meters. Her tone remained calm—but the coldness hidden beneath it was unmistakable. "Had it been anyone else, they would already be dead for daring to touch me. But since it’s you, there’s no problem." She took a breath to settle herself.
Lei Cheng ignored the danger entirely. He only cared about the answer. "What does it take?"
Hua Mingyue finally answered, waving the paper fan in front of her face and visibly holding back a laugh. "That mark drains Yang essence."
Lei Cheng froze. His mouth opened slightly.
"Don’t worry," she continued. "You can recover Yang essence with your Life Dao Intent."
Lei Cheng nodded quickly. "Okay—now how do I break it?"
Hua Mingyue paused before replying. "That mark is the carrier of a Bizarre Rule."
Lei Cheng clicked his tongue. "Another extraordinary power."
Hua Mingyue sighed and nodded. "You’ll have to fulfill the conditions of the Bizarre Rule to break the mark."
"What conditions?"
She shook her head. "It’s too costly to peek into the conditions directly. You’ll have to find out on your own."
Lei Cheng’s thoughts turned quickly. Then he recalled the Eye of Prophecy—and the second prophecy it had granted him.
’The mark denies the bride’s end. Only when the mark’s purpose is fulfilled does that denial fade.’
His fingers brushed the fox mark hidden beneath his skin. He couldn’t fully understand its purpose from the prophecy alone—but after hearing the name Fox Groom from Lin Mei, the recognition clicked into place.
His eyes widened. "Does the Bizarre Rule make the Bizarre creature immortal?"
Hua Mingyue’s smile widened. "As expected of the person chosen by this goddess. You figured it out." She folded the paper fan lightly. "The Bizarre Rule makes the Bizarre creature immortal. Only when the rule is fulfilled can the creature be killed."
Lei Cheng felt a chill run down his spine. "How? Does it have limitless energy to revive?"
"Dao," Hua Mingyue uttered—just the one word, quietly.
’The Dao bends toward the twisted and turns away from the living... The prophecy and my guess were both right.’ Lei Cheng frowned. He clenched his fists. "Then does that mean every Bizarre creature is immortal? If every creature could use this kind of rule, humans would already be finished."
Hua Mingyue shook her head. "No. The Bizarre Rule is a double-edged sword. The Bizarre creature itself must also fulfill the conditions of its own mark. It cannot ignore the rule’s requirements." She looked at him meaningfully. "Not many use this rule because of that. You’ll only understand it fully when you witness a Bizarre Rule for yourself."
Lei Cheng took a deep breath.
Fox Groom mark. Its purpose—to label a groom.
His expression darkened. "So to break this mark—I have to get married."
Hua Mingyue nodded. "Looks like you figured it out."
Lei Cheng let out a bitter breath. "I’ll have to find a bride. I definitely cannot marry that fox."
Not even death could convince him.
"Indeed," Hua Mingyue said. "If you marry that fox, you are either..."
Lei Cheng lowered his head, already thinking rapidly, her last words lost to him. ’I cannot lose my status as the Lei Clan’s young master. I have to return home, deal with the fox Xiao Ming, and settle the matter with the Mo duo.’
He changed into a fresh plain white robe from the side of the room and took out the Lei Clan emblem. He turned toward the three motionless figures in the corner and placed the emblem into Doctor Qian’s hands.
Hua Mingyue sighed. "Are you sure you want to involve them?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Lei Cheng turned his head. "What do you mean?"
"It’s best if they forget everything," she replied sharply.
Lei Cheng frowned. "No. Since they saved my life, I’ll repay them."
Hua Mingyue shook her head. "They only stabilized your condition. In fact, it slowed your recovery."
Lei Cheng blinked. "What do you mean? Aren’t they my saviors? They stabilized my life for a full year." He pointed toward the sealed golden orb still glowing within the white circle on his chest. "And this Bizarre Qi—it will be useful to me later." He had not wiped it out. He wanted to experiment with it.
Hua Mingyue looked at him calmly. "No. If you had not rushed to Doctor Qian’s pharmacy—if you had simply fainted in your own room—what do you think would have happened?"
Lei Cheng opened his mouth. She continued before he could answer.
"You would have comprehended the Life Intent on your own and healed yourself within just a few months."
"Without your help strengthening my mental power," Lei Cheng retorted immediately, "I would have kept fainting every few seconds." ’She should know my ability somehow—since she kept making my mental strength recover and hold. I can only hope she doesn’t know its full extent.’
Hua Mingyue shook her head. "No. You are overestimating the effect of my help—and underestimating your own strength."
"What do you mean?"
"From what I observed, if you had fainted in your own room, your injuries would have worsened, and the vitality in your body would have gone berserk. You would still have been near death. But with your comprehension power, you would have gradually stabilized your own condition regardless."
Lei Cheng stared at her.
She added flatly, "You witnessed it yourself just now. How long did it take you to comprehend Life Dao Intent?"
Lei Cheng thought for a moment. "Only a second for 0.001%. About a minute for 1%."
"Exactly," Hua Mingyue said. "You would have comprehended Life Dao little by little and begun stabilizing your condition on your own. And your problem was fainting, but in that life-threatening state, you would have stopped before exhausting your Soul strength. You would have cancelled the Enlightenment state in time."
’Enlightenment state.’
Lei Cheng’s face drained of color.
He hissed, "How do you know all this? And why are you helping me?"
For the first time, Hua Mingyue felt less like an ally and more like an unfathomable mystery.
