Chapter 143: Here we go again
When Ethan came to, the room had already sunk into darkness.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains, leaving a faint streak of light on the wooden floor. There were no lamps in the room, only the energy lines on the Primordial Armor along his left arm still flickering very faintly with each pulse, as though confirming he had truly returned.
Ethan lay still for a few seconds, waiting for the heaviness in his head to subside. His last memory was the Limit Mystery Box, the choice he’d made, then a massive flood of information and energy pouring straight into his consciousness. After that, everything had gone dark so fast he couldn’t even tell when he’d passed out.
The moment he stirred, the sound of a wooden chair scraping against the floor came from beside him.
Laira sat in a chair pulled right up against the bed. The chair hadn’t been designed for someone her size, so her long legs had to stretch out at an angle to one side, her red hair slightly disheveled across her shoulders. One hand still gripped Ethan’s right wrist tightly, as though letting go would mean he’d vanish again.
Feeling him move, her red-orange eyes snapped open at once.
Laira stared at him for a few seconds. Then her eyes went wide.
"Ethan?"
"Yeah."
The chair toppled backward.
Laira lunged forward so fast that Ethan hadn’t even managed to sit up before she pulled him straight into her arms. His face was immediately pressed into soft warmth, both long arms locked tight behind his back, squeezing the air from his lungs almost completely.
"Laira..." Ethan struggled, one hand tapping against her waist. "I just woke up."
"I know."
"Then loosen up a little."
Laira still didn’t let go. Only after Ethan tapped several more times did she suddenly realize his face had turned red from lack of air. She hastily eased her grip, but only pulled him back far enough to breathe, her palms still holding firmly onto his shoulders.
Ethan drew a deep breath, looking at her helplessly.
"Almost passed out again."
"Sorry." Laira said very quickly, but the guilt only flashed across her face for an instant. Immediately after, her eyes reddened again. "You were out for a whole day."
"A whole day?"
Laira nodded. She sat on the edge of the bed, taking up nearly half the mattress, both hands still refusing to leave him. "QingZhu said you were fine. QingLian also said it was just your consciousness being overexerted. But you didn’t wake up. I called and you still didn’t wake up."
At that point, her voice grew quieter. After a moment, Laira suddenly pressed her lips together, her expression growing increasingly unhappy.
"Lately you’re always with QingLian."
Ethan paused slightly.
"Everywhere it’s her, training is prepared by her, the Trial Gate information also came from her." Laira looked at him, her sulking so unconcealed it was impossible to miss. "Even when you were unconscious, the first person to come check on you was her."
Ethan was silent for two seconds, then laughed.
Laira immediately glared at him. "You’re laughing?"
"No." He fought to keep his expression serious. "I just realized something."
"What?"
Ethan raised his hand and rubbed gently between her two horns. Laira’s shoulders reflexively dropped a fraction, but her eyes still tried to maintain their fierce look.
"Are you jealous?"
Laira didn’t answer right away. Her gaze quietly shifted to one side, the tips of her ears reddening slightly. After a while, she finally said in a small voice:
"Yeah."
The blunt honesty caught Ethan off guard.
Laira leaned down and buried her face in his chest. With her height, she had to hunch over considerably to manage it. Both arms wrapped around Ethan’s waist, her red hair cascading down to cover most of his body.
Ethan stopped joking. He slowly stroked her hair.
"Sorry."
Laira was silent.
"Tomorrow, I’ll take you and Ruo Yan out."
She raised her head slightly. "Where?"
"Walking around, eating something. Wherever you want to go."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
The corner of Laira’s mouth finally curved upward. She nodded so hard her red hair swayed with the motion.
"I want meat."
"I figured."
"A lot."
"Also figured."
"Then go up to the mountaintop."
"Sure."
Laira was satisfied, but the smile on her lips softened quickly. She rested her chin on Ethan’s shoulder, gazing at the black-and-white armor covering his left arm, and lowered her voice:
"QingZhu taught me a lot. I’ve gotten stronger than before, and I’ll get even stronger."
Ethan tilted his head to look at her. "Yeah."
"I’ll protect you."
This time, Laira didn’t say it with her usual bravado. In those red-orange eyes there was only a seriousness that made it impossible for Ethan to dismiss it as boasting.
He placed his hand on her cheek.
"I’m trying to get stronger too."
"I know."
"Not because I like fighting."
Ethan leaned back against the headboard, his gaze passing through the window to the dark sea of clouds beyond. He was quiet for a very long time before speaking.
"I just want to be able to live peacefully someday."
Laira didn’t interrupt.
A place to live. No need to work himself to exhaustion just to pay tuition, no need to watch out for someone suddenly deciding his life wasn’t worth saving. Having Laira, having Ruo Yan, having a home to return to. Eat when you want to eat, sleep when you want to sleep, go wherever you want to go.
That was what Ethan wanted most.
But it was still far too distant.
Ryan was still alive. The Void was still watching him from a place he couldn’t yet reach. Marcus had tried to kill him simply because he believed Ethan might become a threat in the future.
Ethan understood with perfect clarity: to hold onto peace in this world, he first had to become strong enough that no one could casually take it from him.
"I’ll keep getting stronger," he said. "Until no one can push us around anymore."
Laira looked at him for a long time. Then her eyes grew wet.
"Ethan."
"Yeah?"
"I’m scared."
He went still.
Fingers strong enough to crush stone were slowly gripping the front of his shirt. Her voice was so small it barely sounded like the girl who always loved charging headfirst into everything.
"I’m scared that one day you’ll disappear. You keep getting hurt, and the Void Flame is inside your arm. Before, you slept twelve hours in the middle of a battlefield; this time you slept an entire day. Every time you close your eyes too long, I think..."
She didn’t finish.
Ethan understood.
He took her face in both hands and gently pulled it down until their eyes were level.
"Look at me."
Laira looked at him.
"I’m not going to disappear."
She pressed her lips together. "You promise?"
"I promise."
"Even if the Void comes?"
"Yeah."
"Even if we meet someone stronger?"
Ethan gave a thin smile. "I’ll run first, get stronger, then come back and fight."
Laira laughed through her tears. Ethan wiped the dampness from the corners of her eyes, his voice softening too.
"So stop scaring yourself."
Laira watched him for a few more seconds, then leaned down.
The first kiss was just a very light touch. Then she pulled back, as though confirming Ethan was truly still here. The second time, her hand was already behind his neck, drawing him closer. Breaths grew warmer, red hair fell down on either side of Ethan’s cheeks, and her arms still held him tight as though afraid that the moment she loosened her grip, he’d vanish from sight again.
When they finally separated, Ethan had to draw a deep breath.
"Almost suffocated again."
Laira nuzzled her nose against his cheek, the corner of her mouth lifting. "You need to get stronger."
"What does that have to do with strength?"
"So you can handle me."
Ethan laughed.
...
Outside in the corridor, Ruo Yan stood leaning against the wall. She had meant to go in and check whether Ethan was awake, but after hearing the voices inside, the hand she’d placed on the door handle paused.
After a moment, the corner of her mouth curved slightly, and she slowly withdrew her hand.
"Not going in?"
Ruo Yan turned. QingZhu stood a few steps away, a small bamboo tube in her hand, her hair pinned up high with a silver hairpin. The red tassel at its end swayed gently in the corridor breeze.
"Do you not make any sound when you walk?" Ruo Yan asked.
"I do." QingZhu smiled. "You just weren’t paying attention."
She looked at the closed door, then turned to Ruo Yan. "Not jealous?"
"A little."
QingZhu raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That honest?"
"What’s there to hide?" Ruo Yan crossed her arms, her tone still calm. "But there’s no need to compete right now."
"Why not?"
"Laira is only strong on the outside." Ruo Yan looked toward the room. "She’s very sensitive. If Ethan gets even a little hurt, she can spend the whole night thinking about it. The stronger Ethan gets, the more she fears the day he’ll go somewhere she can’t follow."
"And you don’t fear that?"
Ruo Yan was quiet for a moment. Her gaze dropped to her own hand.
"I used to. But now I have things I want to do, a place I want to return to, and someone I want to stay beside." She raised her head, her expression very even. "Life right now isn’t bad."
QingZhu smiled softly. "You trust he won’t leave you behind?"
Ruo Yan answered immediately, without needing to think.
"He won’t."
"That sure?"
"Yeah." She looked straight into QingZhu’s eyes. "He’s different from the ones before. I trust him."
QingZhu studied Ruo Yan for a long time, then stepped forward and patted her shoulder lightly.
"Not bad."
Ruo Yan frowned. "What?"
"You still have a lot of room to grow."
"Meaning?"
QingZhu had already turned and was walking away. "You’ll find out later."
Ruo Yan watched her retreating back, breathing out helplessly.
"Do all of you like leaving sentences half-finished?"
QingZhu only laughed, without answering.
...
Inside the room, Ethan had just pulled away from yet another kiss when Laira suddenly pushed him down onto the bed.
He looked at her.
Laira had already climbed onto the mattress, both knees planted on either side of his hips. Red hair spilled downward, her tall frame blocking most of the moonlight above, and the expression on her face was so serious it immediately gave Ethan a bad feeling.
"Ethan."
"What?"
"I’ve thought about it carefully."
"About what?"
Laira braced both hands on either side of his shoulders.
"There are things QingLian can’t do."
Ethan closed his eyes. "Laira."
"I mean it."
"I just woke up after being unconscious for a day."
"I’ll be gentle."
Ethan opened his eyes, looked at her absurdly serious expression, and sighed.
’This dragon has really gone crazy with jealousy.’
Outside the window, the moon drifted slowly across the sea of clouds.
That night was very long.
Ethan didn’t end up getting much sleep at all.
...
Ten days later, the Energy Crystal in Ethan’s palm crumbled to dust.
He opened his eyes, drawing the aura, far stronger than before, back into his body.
Gold tier five.
Over the past ten days, aside from the first day when he’d taken Laira and Ruo Yan out as promised, most of the remaining time had been spent cultivating and familiarizing himself with his new strength. His realm had risen faster than expected, but before he could even stand up, a familiar sound rang out in his head.
[Anchor point activated.]
[Time limit away from Abyss Tower has expired.]
[Preparing forced return.]
[Time remaining: 30 minutes.]
Ethan looked at the notification for a few seconds, then slowly rose to his feet.
"Here we go again."