Chapter 461: Each Star Hangs on Branches from Both Shores

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It couldn’t always be Li Qingran taking the initiative.

Since the barrier had already been broken, naturally it was time to bravely strike.

Chen Huaian directly took Li Qingran’s hand. Their fingertips touched—that was the only part he could truly feel. Li Qingran’s fingers were slightly cool, trembling gently in his palm.

“Th-then, since Master agrees... we, we should sleep.”

Li Qingran blushed, lowering her eyes, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

The two silently walked to the bedside. Li Qingran carefully lifted the edge of the quilt, her movements so light it seemed as if she feared disturbing the surrounding air.

“Master, would you like to sleep inside or outside first?”

She asked softly, her eyes not daring to meet Chen Huaian’s gaze, even though she had been the one to lay out the bed.

Chen Huaian smiled teasingly. “Which side does the disciple prefer?”

“I... I don’t mind either.” Li Qingran bit her lower lip, eyes flickering. “Then I’ll sleep inside.”

She carefully climbed onto the bed, curling tightly against the wall and wrapping herself in the quilt, leaving Chen Huaian the larger half of the bed.

Seeing her so reserved, Chen Huaian couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“W-what’s so funny?” Li Qingran poked out half her head from under the quilt, turning to glare at Chen Huaian in mock anger.

“Disciple, are you planning to become one with the wall as your Dao Companion?” Chen Huaian joked.

Only then did Li Qingran realize how close she was pressed against the wall. Her face immediately flushed red like fire. She lightly “hmph”-ed but still shifted her body slightly toward the center. Chen Huaian got into bed too. The two still kept some distance between them, only their fingers lightly intertwined as they looked into each other’s eyes.

“Master...” Li Qingran suddenly spoke.

“Hmm?”

“Can you... blow out the candle?”

Chen Huaian chuckled. “Disciple feeling shy?”

“I’m not!” Li Qingran immediately denied, then quietly added, “It’s just... the light is too bright to sleep.”

Chen Huaian stopped teasing her and gently blew out the candle. The room plunged into darkness.

He lay down again. In the dark, Li Qingran’s breathing became especially clear.

“Master,” Li Qingran whispered in the darkness, “it seems like you need to return to Earth Star often~ it feels like there’s always urgent matters over there every day.” Chen Huaian did not reply. Li Qingran paused, then took a deep breath and said, “That fortune-telling girl said your age was only half a year... I was thinking, actually you’re not from the Cangyun Realm, are you?”

Chen Huaian’s body stiffened slightly.

Even in the dark, he could clearly feel Li Qingran’s gaze fixed on him.

“Why do you suddenly think that?”

“Well... because you didn’t deny what the girl said, right? And she was indeed very accurate. At first, I didn’t believe it, but after thinking carefully, wasn’t the first time I met Master just half a year ago? Back then, you seemed like an immortal who descended from the heavens, coming and going out of thin air, with many strange things. Now everything makes sense.”

Chen Huaian sighed quietly in his heart upon hearing this.

Li Qingran was naturally gifted and highly perceptive. How could she not notice the abnormalities? It was just a matter of opening one eye and closing the other.

“That’s right.” He admitted frankly. “I am indeed not from the Cangyun Realm.”

“But I’m not trying to fool you. At that time, I couldn’t leave because I was fighting a great demon called cancer.”

Cancer cells had indeed turned into monsters, no mistake there.

And Earth Star was now full of Ascenders; saying demons and monsters ran rampant wasn’t wrong.

So rounding up, what he told Li Qingran was all true.

“Disciple doesn’t think Master intends to deceive.”

Li Qingran smiled, squeezing Chen Huaian’s hand gently and softly said:

“Everyone has their secrets. Master came alone into the Cangyun Realm, so you must be cautious to avoid being targeted by others. What I’m thinking is that since you have to return to Earth Star every day, is it because something important is happening there? If there’s nothing or no one worth your attachment there, you could leave Earth Star and stay in the Cangyun Realm forever. Or... is it that Master carries some mission that prevents you from completely severing ties with that world?”

Chen Huaian couldn’t help but silently admire Li Qingran’s intelligence and sensitivity.

He had originally wanted to keep the Ascender matter secret.

Now it was completely impossible to hide.

Li Qingran already saw through everything; any lie from him would be immediately exposed.

“As Dao Companions, we should share joys and hardships.” Li Qingran tightened her grip on Chen Huaian’s hand, her warm concern steadily flowing into his heart. “Please Master, be frank.”

“The world I come from is facing a crisis.” Chen Huaian looked directly into Li Qingran’s eyes, no longer hiding. “The entire world is caught in an endless cycle of reincarnation, and I am deeply trapped in it.

If I don’t eliminate those behind the scenes, I too will eventually be drawn into the cycle. Even if I take a form to stay in the Cangyun Realm, it’s useless—I will still be pulled into the cycle and disappear. What I am doing now is trying every possible way to end this cycle!”

Li Qingran was silent for a moment and sighed. “So it really is a dangerous matter. Master kept it hidden from me so painfully.”

“I just feel...”

“You feel that since my cultivation is low, I can’t help you anyway, right?”

A trace of grievance appeared in her eyes in the darkness.

“That’s not what I meant...”

“Master.” Li Qingran suddenly sat up. Moonlight outlined her determined profile. “I want to become stronger!”

“It’s already hard enough for you to travel between the two worlds, and yet you can only come in an avatar form. It must be because the threat over there doesn’t allow you to be distracted for too long.”

Li Qingran looked Chen Huaian square in the eyes, her voice resolute. “And you said even in the Cangyun Realm, you will eventually be pulled into the cycle and disappear... This means there must be some connection between the two worlds. Also, the fact that I can enter your world through Divine Wandering in the Void proves a channel between the worlds has already formed.”

“I want to go to Master’s world!”

“I want to stand by Master’s side!”

“I want to protect Master, even if it’s just to share a little of the danger!”

With each word spoken, her burning gaze became more unwavering.

Chen Huaian was dazed. That timid little disciple who had always been by his side had somehow grown strong enough to have her own beliefs and persistence, strong enough to want to stand in front of him and hold up a sky for him.

Facing the crisis was the same.

He couldn’t help but recall how, when the cancer diagnosis came, his predecessor’s first reaction was to cut it out. But Li Qingran’s first reaction to the life-and-death crisis of being drawn into the cycle was to do everything possible to stand with him.

He found no words to refuse.

He could not avoid Li Qingran’s love.

“I underestimated you.” Chen Huaian said softly, tightening the hand that gave him warmth. “If anyone can cross worlds, it will surely be you.”

“Hmph~” Li Qingran lay back down contentedly, naturally resting her head on Chen Huaian’s arm with a bright smile.

“Before, it was Master crossing worlds to save disciple. Now it’s reversed—it’s disciple crossing worlds to save Master!”

...

Moonlight was like water, casting a silver glow over the entwined figures.

Li Qingran lay on her side, one hand interlocked with Chen Huaian’s, their palms pressed together.

Her black hair spread like silk, a few strands gently draped over Chen Huaian’s arm.

In deep sleep, she curled slightly, fitting perfectly into Master’s embrace, like a fish peacefully resting in a warm harbor.

The Milky Way hung down in countless threads, each star suspended from branches on both shores.

In the quiet night, the tightly clasped hands were like a bridge, firmly connecting the two worlds.

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