Chapter 168: Beauty Fades with Time (Five-Chapter Burst: Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!!)

Nie Li nodded. That was a beast tide of hundreds of millions — they had to start preparing right now.

Yang Xin's expression grew serious. "I understand. I'll see to it that arrangements are made."

"Then I'll head out first," Nie Li said after a moment's thought. It was enough that Yang Xin understood.

"Does little brother Nie Li have some urgent business? Leaving so soon?" Yang Xin gazed at Nie Li with a flirtatious smile.

"Not particularly urgent," Nie Li replied, shaking his head.

"Then why not stay and have a drink with big sister?" Yang Xin's lips curved into a smile. Seeing Nie Li hesitate, she added, "Could little brother Nie Li be worried that big sister will eat you up?"

Ever since returning from Ye Ziyun's place, Nie Li had been in a foul mood. He wasn't actually worried that Yang Xin would devour him — the woman seemed alluring on the surface, but deep down she was only teasing him. Yang Xin hadn't risen to the position of Overseer in the Alchemist Association because of her looks. She genuinely knew how to run things, keeping the entire Association in perfect order. In the future, there would likely be many matters where he'd need her help.

"All right then. I'll have a drink with Sister Yang," Nie Li decided after thinking it over.

As dusk settled in, Nie Li and Yang Xin sat by the stone table in the courtyard.

"What's the world outside the City of Radiance really like?" Yang Xin took a sip, slightly tipsy, and sighed wistfully. "I, Yang Xin, have lived in this city since the day I was born. The farthest I've ever been is a few dozen li to some ruins. It's like being a bird locked in a cage. Life sure is dull!"

Nie Li glanced at her, then let his gaze drift toward the distant stars. "Beyond the City of Radiance lies the Holy Ancestor Mountain Range, stretching thousands of li. A couple of human tribes have managed to survive there. Go further beyond the mountains, and to the east is an endless desert, to the west vast swamplands, as well as plains and a Toxic Demon Forest. There are still humans scattered in all those places. The entire Sacred Spirit Continent is overrun with Demon Beasts, and beyond the continent lie dozens more. These continents exist within the Main World, and the Main World contains numerous subordinate dimensional worlds. Beyond those lies yet another realm..."

By the time he reached the end, Yang Xin had lost track entirely — she had no idea what a "Main World" was, or what "dimensional worlds" meant, or what "another realm" could be. She could only guess that the world Nie Li described must be impossibly vast, so large that she would never be able to see even a fraction of it in her lifetime.

Yang Xin couldn't help but feel how small humans truly were — trapped in this tiny City of Radiance within such an immense world, struggling just to survive.

"Here's to the vastness of that world," she said, raising her cup and draining it in one gulp. "I, Yang Xin, am an orphan. I've endured scorn and mockery since childhood, and I clawed my way up to where I am step by step. Do you know how I did it? Because of my looks? Wrong — this old lady did it through sheer ability! And now, every man who once fought against me, not one of them dares to challenge me anymore!"

Yang Xin was getting drunk. Nie Li thought of Ye Ziyun, and a wave of melancholy washed over him. He raised his cup and drained it too.

"Here's to Sister Yang's ability! Cheers!"

"I've taken the seat of Director in the Alchemist Association — a seat so many have coveted. Yet here I sit, firm and unshaken. But so what?" Yang Xin laughed bitterly and took another drink. "I've made acquaintances across the world, but I don't have a single true confidant. I've fought my whole life, only to realize it's all been meaningless."

"Sister Yang, you still have me, don't you?" Nie Li laughed. In that moment, he began to understand her loneliness. In his previous life, hadn't he been the same? Though his footsteps had touched every corner of the world and he had known countless people, the ones closest to him — friends and lovers — had all perished.

"Haha, little brother Nie Li — with you saying that, Sister Yang is satisfied," Yang Xin smiled seductively. "I just have one request. If the Wind Snow Demon Beasts really breach the City of Radiance, little brother Nie Li, just give Sister Yang a quick end, then burn my body. Just don't let the beasts get to it."

"That won't happen. As long as I'm here, I won't let the beast tide destroy the City of Radiance," Nie Li said with a solemn expression.

"Fine. Big sister believes you!" Yang Xin nodded.

They drank late into the night. Nie Li told Yang Xin everything about his goals. He intended to become the supreme powerhouse of the Infinite Realms, so that within those boundless domains, no one would ever threaten his family, friends, or loved ones again.

In Yang Xin's room, she laid the somewhat intoxicated Nie Li on the bed. Watching him sleep soundly, she found herself momentarily lost in a trance. She had drunk quite a lot herself, but she'd realized Nie Li had drunk even more. Her constitution was extraordinary, and she sobered up quickly. In the darkness, her eyes were strikingly clear.

Yang Xin leaned down until her face was just inches from Nie Li's. The deep valley visible at her collar was faintly glimpsed — utterly captivating.

Staring at Nie Li's face for a long, long time, Yang Xin felt her cheeks flush. She couldn't believe she had developed feelings for a boy. She let out a soft sigh.

"I was born when you had not yet been born; you were born when I had already grown old. If only I were ten years younger, perhaps I would have pursued you without hesitation, just like that little girl Xiao Ning'er. Little brother Nie Li is warm and sincere toward everyone — you'd surely make a wonderful man. It's a pity that fate has brought us together only to keep us apart. In the end, you are a divine dragon meant to soar through the heavens, and I, Sister Yang, am destined to grow old in this forgotten corner, my beauty fading forever. But having met you, little brother Nie Li, I have no regrets." Gazing at Nie Li's face, Yang Xin slowly leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. A faintly bittersweet smile crossed her lips. She rose to her feet and swayed unsteadily toward the door.