My Host Only Marries the Strong

Phoenix Perch Terrace.

Seraphine held incense sticks as she bowed to the portrait on the wall, lowering her eyes to insert the incense into the burner. “Mother,” she whispered.

The portrait hanging on the wall looked much younger than the one in the Phoenix Roost Palace, but still radiated spirit and ambition.

After Lanzhi bowed to Yunong Velka’s portrait, she explained: “Originally, Elder Velka’s portrait hung in the Insight Academy Palace’s main hall where disciples paid daily respects. After the name announcement, Venerable immediately returned to the academy and moved the portrait back to Phoenix Perch Terrace.”

“Thank you, Elder Uncle.” Seraphine turned and asked, “Where might Elder Uncle’s palace be? I have important matters to report.”

Lanzhi looked surprised. “Venerable has always lived in the academy buildings. He’s likely to retreat after the entrance ceremony. However, Venerable instructed me to find him once you were settled.”

Seraphine nodded.

Though Phoenix Perch Terrace had been empty for a century, its furnishings remained pristine. After removing the barriers, it was ready to inhabit.

Siyi had originally brought people to help her organize the rooms, but after surveying the situation and brewing a pot of tea, they left the way they came.

After sending Lanzhi away, Seraphine sat alone in the vast palace, silently lighting sandalwood incense.

The view outside was magnificent—mountains were mountains, water was water, cloud shadows drifted, and everything wore the rosy colors gifted by the sunset.

The Profound Turtle moved toward the setting sun.

After Seraphine finished one cup of tea, the sunset had become afterglow, but the person occupying her thoughts remained absent.

She lowered her lashes and splashed her tea onto the ground while gripping the cup.

If she doesn’t come soon, she shouldn’t come at all.

Before her petulant thoughts could fade, a distant voice called out:

“Seraphine, are you here?”

Echo politely knocked on the window. Hearing no response, she flew to another closed hall and knocked again.

“Seraphine?”

In the bedroom, Seraphine instinctively sat up straight and furtively lifted the teapot to pour water into her cup.

Echo’s head suddenly popped up at the window corner with a “haha” laugh.

Oh, so this is Seraphine’s bedroom!

She curved her lips upward and walked to the open doorway with her hands behind her back, asking gently: “Seraphine, I’m back! I just returned and haven’t found a place to sleep yet. May I sleep with you tonight?”

Wisps of steam hazed the air, obscuring Seraphine’s features. Without looking up, she said coldly: “There are so many rooms outside. Pick any one.”

Seraphine rejected Echo.

Echo cheered herself on internally. She was a trained system now. She knew how to be charming.

She had to earn Seraphine’s forgiveness and make her stop being angry.

“Ahem.”

She tilted her head and cleared her throat.

When she looked up to meet Seraphine’s wary gaze, she frowned and suddenly pressed her hand to her chest. “Aiya, it hurts a little here.”

What’s she up to now?

Seraphine looked at Echo with confusion. “Yu Xuefei treated you for ten days and it still hurts?”

It hurts!

She slowly crouched down, staring at her toes.

Echo silently recited: Charm—to make Seraphine stop being angry by showing weakness to earn forgiveness.

Show weakness: expose vulnerabilities; display fragility.

To prove she was currently fragile, she said quietly: “I feel like I’m going to cough up blood.”

Seraphine: “……”

“Get in here!” How could Seraphine not see through Echo’s act? But this foolish thing had already forced out her heart’s blood—Seraphine truly feared she might actually cough up blood for demonstration purposes next. Her anger flared instantly.

Huh?

That wasn’t the effect she wanted.

Echo observed Seraphine’s expression and thought: No matter. She has other techniques!

She clutched her chest and inched closer, sitting beside Seraphine.

“Seraphine, I came to apologize again. Please stop being angry.” She raised both hands. In her palm’s air bubble, a sphere system prostrated itself on the ground.

“Please forgive me!” She held up the apologizing system with one hand while tugging Seraphine’s sleeve with the other, saying softly: “You’re the world’s best Seraphine. Please forgive me. Pretty please~~~”

Hah, where were you before? Seraphine thought disapprovingly, though her mood improved considerably from earlier. She pulled her sleeve from Echo’s fingers and asked sternly: “Then tell me why I’m angry.”

Echo replied promptly: “Because I didn’t tell you my plan and got injured.”

Crystal clear understanding.

Seraphine’s momentarily comforted heart immediately turned into a barren wasteland. Echo had dropped a spark on it, and that spark instantly blazed into a towering inferno.

“Let me ask you—if given another chance, would you do the same thing?” Seraphine suppressed her fury.

Echo blinked.

Seraphine slapped Echo’s palm, making the floating bubble and its ellipsis quickly relocate to her head. Shesneered: “No thinking. Answer.”

Echo grabbed Seraphine’s hand and replied: “Seraphine, for humans, many things don’t have second chances. Even I don’t currently have the ability to reverse time, so your question is invalid.” ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveIＦire.net

“Hah.” Seraphine’s face darkened completely. “So you’d still go?”

But it really was the perfect plan, requiring only a small cost. “I would tell you the plan first.”

Seraphine tried to pull her hand from Echo’s grip, but Echo didn’t let go, pleading: “Please forgive me~~~”

Unrepentant thing, and she wants forgiveness?

Seraphine gritted her teeth and sneered: “Then why did you give up on attacking the Crimson Thunder Sword Sect when I stopped you—wait.”

Seraphine sat up suspiciously, looking at Echo. “You didn’t secretly destroy the Crimson Thunder Sword Sect too, did you?”

“No.” Echo answered honestly. “The Crimson Thunder Sword Sect is in the Eastern Continent. Their sect master XuZhuoli’s cultivation can’t compare to Siyue’s. With Siyue present, the Crimson Thunder Sword Sect is constrained, but the Jade Cauldron Sect was different.”

“Their sect master is only one step from the Void Refinement stage, and they have disciples like Nie Xiu whose cultivation far exceeds yours. If I gave up this opportunity, I’d have to wait longer next time. They posed too great a threat to you—I couldn’t rest easy.”

Seraphine froze, then forcefully extracted her hand from Echo’s grip. She rubbed her fingers and said expressionlessly: “So my cultivation is too low, dragging you down.”

“Seraphine isn’t my burden. I said I’d protect you, and I keep my word.”

Seraphine turned away, silently staring at the teacup on the table. The tea had gone cold.

She gazed at the tea leaves and said slowly: “If you consider my life so important, do you think I can just watch you get so severely injured protecting me? If you had lost your life—”

“I won’t die.”

This is the source of their argument—they have a persistent gap in thinking that can’t currently be changed.

Seraphine suddenly reached out and poked Echo’s chest. Echo inhaled sharply and covered the painful spot.

“Hah. Won’t die—doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, does it? Don’t you dislike pain?” Seraphine looked up at Echo.

Her eyes had somehow turned red, moisture gathering at the corners. The world had darkened without notice, and spirit pearls embedded in the walls cast gentle light on her face.

The red at her eye corners resembled the recent sunset in the sky—languid like overblown flowers, beautiful yet tinged with melancholy.

Echo immediately froze, staring at Seraphine in shock.

Seraphine was crying.

“I don’t want to see you. Get out.” Seraphine turned away irritably.

She didn’t move, staring at her profile. “I know I was wrong. Please don’t be sad, Seraphine.”

“I’m sad?” Seraphine said coldly. “You actually know I can be sad?”

“I’ll never do it again.” She said quickly. “I can swear to the Heavenly Dao and the God of Data!”

Seraphine didn’t respond, standing and walking toward the inner room. Echo hurriedly followed.

“Don’t come over.”

Echo thought internally: Show weakness, show weakness.

Seeing Seraphine cry for the first time left Echo at a complete loss.

She said frantically: “Seraphine, can’t I come inside and sit? I’ll play music for you.” She pulled out a jade flute from her storage ring and gave it two experimental toot-toots.

Not very melodious.

She quickly tossed the flute aside. Looking at Seraphine’s back, she clutched her chest again and repeated: “Seraphine, I’m in so much pain.”

Seraphine glanced back with a glare.

From her expression, Echo’s about to be kicked out. Her heart raced frantically. She looked at Seraphine, blinked gently, and tears whooshed down her face.

“Seraphine, it really hurts. Can I sleep with you?”

“……” Seraphine stared in shock. She had only moistened her eyes earlier, but now Echo was crying right in front of her. Despite Echo’s calm expression, large tears rolled down her face, following her pale skin to soak her chest.

“Echo, did you hurt yourself behind my back again?” Seraphine rushed forward in panic, checking Echo’s spiritual veins.

She said quietly: “No.”

“It’s just that Seraphine doesn’t want to take me in, so I’m very sad.”

You dare to be sad?

Seraphine felt both angry and amused, speechless. She examined Echo’s spiritual veins and found them stable, with the internal injuries much improved from the beginning, though Echo still needed time to recover fully.

After checking Echo’s condition, Seraphine’s heart softened. She said coldly: “Just for tonight.”

Really?

Echo immediately looked up. A tear fell from her lashes as her crying expression instantly transformed into a bright smile. She clapped her hands: “Wonderful!”

“Thank you, Seraphine!”

Seraphine: “……”

Hah.

Red silk curtains surrounded them in subtle fragrance.

One person lay flat, another on her side, each covered by separate blankets.

“Seraphine, this is our first time sleeping together.” She smiled at the woman with her back turned to her. “I feel very good.”

Seraphine ignored her.

Echo turned over, looking at her back, and suddenly reached out, slipping into her blanket and draping her arm over her waist.

Seraphine startled and scolded: “Can’t you sleep properly?”

“I won’t do things like this without your permission anymore.” Echo promised. “I can live with you—please supervise me!”

She tightened her arm around Seraphine’s waist, leaning closer and whispering: “Okay?”

Seraphine’s body went rigid, a flush creeping up her neck—thankfully concealed by the darkness. She shut her eyes, wanting to peel Echo’s arm away, but instead, Echo leaned in even closer.

Her forehead pressed gently against Seraphine’s, and her soft voice brushed past her ear, sending Seraphine’s heart into a wild, uncontrollable rhythm.

“Don’t be angry anymore. I’m sorry. I don’t want to see your angry face. As long as you’re not angry, I’ll do anything.” Echo spoke with heartfelt emotion in her soft, cool voice.

“Shut up.” Seraphine snorted coldly. “I’m letting you stay one night. There won’t be a next time.”

She still had fire in her heart.

“Really no next time?” She asked softly. “Seraphine, you smell so nice, and you’re so soft to hold. I want to sleep with you again in the future.”

“I really need to sleep with you. Please~~~ grant my request—just show a little love for the world’s only system.”

Seraphine closed her eyes, fumbling to pry Echo’s fingers off with her own. Flustered, she muttered, “Where did you even learn all this nonsense? You’re so annoying!”

“Really annoying?” Echo tightened her hold on Seraphine’s waist and rocked her gently. “Please, Seraphine, save Echo! I’ll die if I can’t sleep with you.”

Seraphine’s ears filled with Echo’s voice. Unable to bear it anymore, she slapped her arm hard. “Really annoying! Shut up!”

Echo withdrew her arm and sighed deeply, lying flat and staring at the bed canopy above. Her hands began clutching her chest and rubbing her stomach while she said: “Ah! My chest hurts, my stomach hurts too—I’m really going to die!”

Afraid she might lose control and send Echo to the afterlife herself, Seraphine said irritably: “Fine! I’ll tolerate you until your body heals. Once you’re better, immediately get out of my room! Do you hear me?”

She heard!

Mission accomplished! The skill training was incredibly useful. She didn’t forget to add: “Thank you, Seraphine! You’re so wonderful! How can there be such a kind Seraphine in this world? Sending you a heart—love you!”

Seraphine’s mind went boom. Her face turned completely red, brilliant as sunset clouds. Her mouth went dry and her heart pounded as the last of her anger evaporated. She covered her face with her hands as her lips slowly curved upward.

“Idiot.”

[Author’s Note]:

Work Log…

Main System, please convey to everyone that charm combined with tears is more effective.

Main System Response: ???

My host got a little teary-eyed, and I learned a brand new skill. This is just the beginning of my genius-level chaos. See my next brilliant plan, 20 chapters ahead at Pxtreon➡️LoveisLove520!