Chapter 993: A Meeting Centuries in the Making
*Bing-Bong*
We interrupt this chapter to notify the reader that the writer of this work is aware that he seems to be going on a bit of a tangent these past few chapters.
The reason for this tangent is, to quote the man himself, “Because our main character’s leg is broken, we should use this opportunity to check out the other characters, especially with the big arc coming up.”
But don’t worry too much, dear readers, because after this chapter, we’ll bring our focus back to the important stuff.
Starting with eels…again.
I don’t really get it either, but we thank our readers for sticking with us this far.
Thank you.
…
|Do you go off script to just mock me or something? You do it every time.|
Hey, I’m just sharing the thoughts of the people who support this work of fiction of ours. Let’s be honest, it has been pretty tangential these past few chapters.
|I’m aware, just…feel the need to add some breathers before the big stuff. Ya dig?|
Sure…
*Bing-Bong*
________________________________________
[Alright, I made this complaint before, but this is still bullshit.]
[The fact that our lord can integrate his human…”friends” with his clan, while we still have to play the role of possibly sentient puppets.]
[Yeah!]
[To be fair, if they became aware that we were truly sentient, we wouldn’t be able to listen in on things they’d rather keep private.]
[Such as…]
[Whether or not Cornelius there is going to tell Jin Fang who the heck he is.]
[Oh yeah…]
…
The introduction of Hakon of Echoing Valley and Cornelius to the Zhen Clan went… surprisingly well, all things considered.
The Zhen Clan were initially a little shocked due to the duo being Zhen Liu’s friends, and not a girl he accidentally charmed, but they managed to adapt rather quickly. Especially since the aformentioned duo proved to be rather friendly individuals.
Hakon, while being a man of very few words, managed to win over everyone’s trust through his actions. Granted, his main “action” consisted of challenging the Zhen Clan scions to simple contests of skill and strength, that were usually done after several rounds of drinking.
His normal speaking voice had the risk of accidentally impacting someone into a wall with the force of a concentrated blizzard, so these simple contests were the best way for him to get along with the others.
“Yeesh!,” Zhen Tai exhaled as he was locked in an arm-wrestling contest with Hakkon. “How the heck are you this strong?”
“Protein,” Hakkon replied while pushing back with the same amount of strength.
On the flip side, Cornelius showcased a level of etiquette and grace that impressed everyone due to being what was essentially the “perfect gentleman”.
Apparently, one of the less obvious benefits of being able to live a dozen or so lifetimes in a simultaneous manner, was the ability to learn the proper etiquette and manners of over a dozen or so cultures all at once.
With poise, grace and a surprisingly charming smile, Cornelius managed to make a good first impression on practically everyone.
In another lifetime, Cornelius could’ve very well been the perfect picture of the word, “prince”.
“You know, Zhen Guo, if you want to highlight your eyes, you could make use of this lovely little product I learned about from Umbral Spider called eye shadow. They mix in this herb that only give your eyes a dark surface to contrast against, but also moisturizes the eyes as well.”
“Oooh. I did hear there was a merchant caravan that just arrived from there…”
In any case, Zhen Liu’s “friends” were getting along swimmingly with Zhen Liu’s family, which was music to his ears.
However, this pleasant atmosphere wouldn’t last for too much longer.
Because, while Zhen Liu was off to the side and watching his cousins and new friends intermingle, a certain childhood friend had just wrapped up with her training for the day and had wanted to pay her boyfriend a visit.
A certain childhood friend that had an unusual connection to Cornelius no less.
And…this is something better shown than told.
…
‘Well, good to see everyone getting along so swimmingly,’ Zhen Liu mused. ‘Wonder why they’re just hanging out in my courtyard though.’
Moments after Zhen Yue and her fiancee was introduced to Cornelius and Hakon, Zhen Liu’s other cousins had come to his courtyard after hearing the sounds of socializing. As such, this led to an impromptu party happening in Zhen Liu’s courtyard.
Due to a combination of not wanting to bust his leg and not wanting to socialize for the time being, Zhen Liu sat off to the sidelines in order to watch. However, he wasn’t going to be alone for long.
As he sat, Zhen Liu soon felt the familiarly loving presence of someone appearing behind him. A presence that made herself known by wrapping an arm around his neck and kissing him on the head.
“Hey, Xiao Liu.”
“Hey, Jin Fang,” Zhen Liu said as he returned Jin Fang’s greeting with a hug and a kiss. “How was training today?”
“It was…interesting. Mother-in-law is very knowledgeable when it comes to understanding [Chaos].”
“I can imagine…wait a minute, mother-in-law? Not mistress?”
“I think Matriarch Zhen Xun Tian rubbed off on her because she insisted I call her mother-in-law because of our relationship,” Jin Fang explained. “Unless…you don’t plan on making a honest woman out of little ole me? Keep me your favored concubine until the end of time?”
Evidently, Jin Fang was influenced by both Jinju Ren and Bellona to be a touch more teasing than normal…which was a problem for Zhen Liu, since he had a weakness for such women.
Nevertheless, he could still keep his cool when it was necessary.
“Well-”
“Hey, Zhen Liu! Would you happen to know where…oh. I see you have a lady friend with you, my bad.”
However, that turned out to be completely unnecessary for his part, due to the very poorly timed arrival of one Mister Cornelius.
In retrospect, Zhen Liu probably should’ve asked if he had a family name but I guess that didn’t matter right now.
‘Oh…shit.’
Zhen Liu knew that Cornelius and Jin Fang had a very weird history together, what with a version of the former having rescued the latter from a shit situation, only to have her dumped several hundred years in the future on Zhen Liu’s doorstep.
On top of all that though, Zhen Liu had a very very strong suspicion that Cornelius, well a version of him, had once been the Storm Queen’s lover. Meaning there was a non-zero chance that Cornelius was Jin Fang’s father.
And if that wasn’t the case, there was a very real chance that this version of Cornelius had feelings for Jin Fang in more ways than one.
‘Goddammit…time related shenanigans are confusing as fuck.’
Regardless of the circumstances though, this was a meeting that was centuries in the making.
A literal time travel plot that Zhen Liu could witness in real time.
However, Zhen Liu forgot about one crucial thing about the possibility of these two having some sort of reaction.
They needed to know about each other before hand, and only Cornelius was the only one who knew who the other was.
Leading to… disappointment.
“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Cornelius. I’m a friend of Zhen Liu. Well, a new friend.”
“Wait, a friend?,” Jin Fang repeated incredulously. “Not a new fiancee or possible lover?”
“Why do people keep making that joke? Y’all make it sound like I actively go out there and find people to hook up with,” Zhen Liu muttered with mock offense. “Wait a minute, I don’t even swing that way.”
“Huh. Weird,” Cornelius commented while ignoring Zhen Liu’s muttering. “Miss Zhen Yue made that exact same joke.”
“Well that’s cause my boyfriend here is an accidental play boy,” Jin Fang teased while hugging Zhen Liu again and kissing him. “I’m fairly certain if I left him unattended, he might end up getting kidnapped and hitched by an all-female sect.”
“Hah!”
Zhen Liu couldn’t help but to roll his eyes at the comment/joke at his expense.
This surprisingly pleasant yet surface level conversation continued up until the point that Cornelius circled back to the reason why he walked over in the first place. Namely, to ask where the liquor storage was.
Apparently, Hakkon had proudly stated he could out drink all of the scions and they wanted proof.
“Oh I can take you there,” Jin Fang interrupted. “I get the feeling you’ll probably need the strong stuff.”
“Strong stuff?”
“Follow me.”
As Cornelius and Jin Fang, Zhen Liu couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed how this encounter played out.
And he wasn’t the only one.
…
<=THAT'S IT?! AFTER ALL THIS TIME, THATS IT?!=>
‘Guys, please remember I share a brain space with y’all…also, I’m fairly certain that if Cornelius has actually lived dozens of times at once, he is used to lying through his teeth.’
<=Still though. There should've been some drama...other than Jin Fang looking at him with familiarity...=>
