Lu Qiuchen directly exited the spiritual realm, leaving Zhang Cheng momentarily flustered.
He could only sense Lu Qiuchen’s mood through the system, but the reasons behind her low spirits were too varied to pinpoint.
Zhang Cheng gritted his teeth and followed Lu Qiuchen out of the spiritual realm.
A sigh echoed through the spiritual space: “These two… I can already guess how this will end. In the end, I’ll definitely have to clean up the mess. Such a headache.”
Back in the real world, Zhang Cheng opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of Lu Qiuchen’s figure in his peripheral vision.
The rustling sound of snow being trampled faded into the distance.
Just as Zhang Cheng was about to turn his head, he realized he couldn’t move his neck. Struggling with all his strength, he discovered that his entire body was covered in ice and snow, unable to budge.
“Kid, I was wrong! Help me get these off first, or I’ll die!” Lu Qiuchen had already vanished from sight, and Zhang Cheng hastily shouted out for mercy.
“Hmph! Reflect on yourself here!” Lu Qiuchen’s voice came from afar, quickly fading as the distance grew.
Helpless, Zhang Cheng lay in the snow. Judging from Lu Qiuchen’s attitude, his plan had completely failed.
What was Lu Qiuchen thinking now? Would she leave and never return? Even though the contract forbade her from actively killing him, leaving him out here to freeze to death probably wouldn’t trigger the contract’s punishment, right?
At this thought, a wave of unease rose in Zhang Cheng’s heart. But Lu Qiuchen probably wouldn’t do that… He had only ever touched her hand a few times and once tricked her together with Laiti; otherwise, he hadn’t done anything else to betray her.
He recalled the entire sequence of events clearly in his mind and had already made it clear with Zhang Guang about the boundaries! If there was a grievance, there was a head and a debtor. Hopefully, Lu Qiuchen wouldn’t take her anger out on him.
Lu Qiuchen’s attitude just now was hard to read, so Zhang Cheng couldn’t help but use the system to check her current mood.
Her mood was still very low, mixed with guilt and a faint thread of worry.
Was she worried about herself? Zhang Cheng’s eyes brightened as he felt reassured.
“Maybe she’s nearby, watching, and will come back to save me soon!”
Harboring this hopeful thought, Zhang Cheng found his current predicament less daunting. With his saint-tier power, this bit of cold wouldn’t threaten him too much anytime soon.
Half an hour later.
Zhang Cheng began to feel a creeping chill spreading across his body, but the snowy field around him remained silent.
During this half-hour, only a low-tier beast had crawled ashore from the sea but was driven off by the aura he emitted.
“My carefully built persona has collapsed, and my previous plans have been exposed. How will we get along in the future… No, I just need to follow my true heart. I never deliberately crafted a persona; it was only Lu Qiuchen overthinking.”
Zhang Cheng mulled over their relationship but found that these thoughts didn’t solve his immediate problem. He sighed quietly to himself.
“How much longer until she returns? This ice is too cold. I might not hold on…”
Recalling the proud vigor he had when he first entered the Eternal World and contrasting it with his miserable current state, Zhang Cheng was filled with regret. One wrong step had led to another, and he shouldn’t have let his mother push him into this.
If things had developed normally between them, their relationship wouldn’t be like this now.
Come to think of it, why was he so obsessed with Lu Qiuchen? Although she did fit his type now, and he had wanted a girlfriend before, it wasn’t like he ignored all the other pretty girls to go after his buddy.
No, Zhang Cheng wasn’t saying Lu Qiuchen lacked appeal, but based on his understanding of himself, he shouldn’t have acted so wildly infatuated.
It was as if he was ** completely caught up in his head, thinking only about romance and strategies, even dragging romance into what should have been a proper rescue plan.
Looking back, the ridiculous plan had no chance of success.
Putting aside Lu Qiuchen’s attitude towards him or whether she could accept her current female identity, his idea of “kidnapping” her with love to break her free from the dragon clan’s mindset was a typical case of a love-struck fool.
If that plan had worked, Lu Qiuchen wouldn’t have been thinking like a normal dragon.
If it succeeded, whether he did or not, Lu Qiuchen would surely be love-struck, otherwise all the troubles between their families and their way of interacting would still lie ahead.
Most importantly, how could he have been so sure that Lu Qiuchen would forgive his family?
Did he have the right to forgive for her?
Still, this impossible plan was actually something he approved and executed… Looking back, he was really brainwashed! And he hadn’t even noticed it.
Thinking this way, the only reason he could realize it now was thanks to the “physical sobriety” Lu Qiuchen had prepared for him.
Zhang Cheng was startled by his own speculation: “Was I just too stupid before, or was I really under mental control?”
*****
After Lu Qiuchen left Zhang Cheng’s spiritual realm, she saw herself lying on top of Zhang Cheng and felt anger at her own earlier naivety upon considering Zhang Cheng’s plan.
She returned alone to the Dwarven underground city and walked into the workshop where Umal Steelhammer was personally directing the artisans, sweat pouring down his brow.
Umal Steelhammer saw Lu Qiuchen arrive and immediately put down his work, leading her to a nearby weapon rack to hand over a one-handed broad sword forged from adamantine.
“Take a look! I personally oversaw this, plus three masters collaborated on it. It took one day and two nights to craft! It’s definitely no worse than those junk weapons!”
Lu Qiuchen examined the broad sword, made entirely of adamantine. The blade was a deep blue with a faint silver sheen under the firelight.
From the tip to the crossguard, it gradually widened, and at the bottom of the hilt was a lead-weighted pommel. Because adamantine was heavier, the pommel was larger than usual for a broad sword.
The sword perfectly matched the blueprint Lu Qiuchen had provided. Aside from its color, it looked plain, without any flashy decorations.
She lifted the nearly one-meter-long one-handed cross broad sword, weighed it, and swung it lightly a few times. Though she didn’t know swordsmanship, she was quite satisfied and nodded.
Which man in his youth hadn’t dreamed of wandering the world with a sword? Lu Qiuchen naturally had those dreams too.
Even without sword skills, simply gripping the hilt and swinging a few times brought a surge of heroism to her heart.
Seeing her awkward grip, Umal immediately realized this dragon lady was a sword novice and quickly stepped aside, afraid she might accidentally stab him.
Lu Qiuchen noticed the Dwarven king’s obvious distrust and thought about how this sword was meant for Zhang Cheng. Her enthusiasm instantly waned.
Thinking of Zhang Cheng stuck out in the cold snow brought a flicker of worry to her heart.
After some reflection, she had calmed down and recalled Odin’s warning: humans on Earth were in danger!
Even if not for herself, she had to consider the nearly ten billion people on Earth and expose and stop the Eternal World’s conspiracy.
Thus, obtaining the Sky Shard was essential!
But the contract with Laiti bound Zhang Cheng to her, so until the mission to collect all shards was completed, Zhang Cheng couldn’t come to harm.
Once the work here was done, she would go check on him. She couldn’t just let him die out here.
Aside from the piece Laiti held, she knew the Dwarven Kingdom and the Dragon Clan each had one.
The piece with the Dragon Clan should be easier and could be put off for now. After finishing this armor, she’d go to the Dwarven Kingdom to retrieve their Sky Shard and grab some armor while there.
“The armor made by the gray dwarves will be given to Zhang Cheng to boost his strength. As for the golden dwarves’ set, forget it. Even if I threw it to a dog, I wouldn’t let him use it!”
Lu Qiuchen seethed silently in her heart.
Glancing around, she didn’t see any sign of mithril and asked Umal about the mithril armor and shield.
“It’ll be finished soon!” Umal patted his chest to reassure her but then hurriedly added,
“However, as for the weapon enchantments… ahem, I’m afraid we’re currently powerless on that front.”
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Umal’s face.
Both adamantine and mithril were excellent metals for enchanting. If one was lucky enough to get them, no one would waste their precious attributes.
So if the employer had relevant requests, Dwarven craftsmen would enchant the weapons and armor.
As everyone knew, the dwarves had created enchantment magic that could be inscribed on magic circles to enchant equipment.
But there was a problem: dwarves’ own magical aptitude was very poor. Their enchantment magic required pre-inscribed runes, and currently, the gray dwarves couldn’t find suitable magical sources.
In plain words, the gray dwarves rarely interacted with the outside world and had no mages to inscribe magic for them.
Understanding this, Lu Qiuchen’s originally heavy heart lightened considerably. This was easy — she was now a legendary all-element mage; this was a piece of cake for her.
Once the adamantine broad sword’s enchantment was complete, she wouldn’t take it with her yet, since it still lacked a scabbard.
Checking the time, Lu Qiuchen turned and prepared to release Zhang Cheng.
Almost an hour had passed since arriving here. With Zhang Cheng’s power, he definitely couldn’t break free from her magic. He had calmed down by now, right? It was about time to let him out.
…
The snowy field was a vast white expanse; a flash of white light didn’t draw much attention.
Lu Qiuchen’s figure silently appeared before Zhang Cheng, who was still lying on the ground covered in a thin layer of snow.
She shattered the ice that had frozen him rigid and, arms crossed, stood over him with a detached expression: “I’ve lifted the magic. Get up.”
Zhang Cheng was frozen stiff, his mind foggy. Hearing Lu Qiuchen’s voice, he realized she had arrived. He trembled, trying several times to sit up, but failed.
Seeing his pitiful state, a flicker of guilt passed through Lu Qiuchen’s heart. She snapped her fingers, and a ball of fire floated before Zhang Cheng, quickly melting the snow on him and warming the surroundings.
Still unable to sit up on his own, Zhang Cheng drew a sigh from Lu Qiuchen. She knelt down and adjusted his body.
Since Zhang Cheng had opened his spiritual world to her, Lu Qiuchen knew he was truly innocent.
But in their relationship, because of the contract, she was in a very passive position.
Don’t be fooled by Zhang Cheng’s current weakness allowing her to suppress him.
Once he reached epic level, because of their contract, Zhang Cheng would automatically become a Dragon Knight and acquire dragon-riding skills, instantly changing their relationship.
Due to the contract’s powerful binding effect in the game, if Zhang Cheng wished, Lu Qiuchen might become a dragon mount who only superficially appeared to be the master’s partner.
Even if her power surpassed his by a whole rank, she would be powerless to resist, forced to submit to his dominance and become Zhang Cheng’s subordinate.
This was absolutely unacceptable to Lu Qiuchen. She wanted at least a relationship of equals.
Since entering the Eternal World, Zhang Cheng had been obsessed with leveling up, and Lu Qiuchen had no reason or means to stop him.
So, for future status and safety, the only option she could think of was a “gentleman’s agreement” to restrain Zhang Cheng.
If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t do this, but because it was Zhang Cheng, she dared.
Knowing Zhang Cheng, she was sure he would agree to this verbal agreement and would strictly follow it afterward because he was a principled and trustworthy person.
No one could predict the future, and Lu Qiuchen didn’t believe Zhang Cheng could keep it forever, but at least for now, unless Zhang Cheng **, her situation would remain safe.
Looking at Zhang Cheng, now recovered, she met his gaze and said calmly, “Let’s make three rules of agreement.”
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