Chapter 180

Water and foam overflowed from the bathtub, cascading down the porcelain-white walls and onto the floor.

Chu Yuanqing was both ashamed and flustered. She had no idea where to look, and her arm was being held by the clingy Golden Haired Doggy. Forced to sit back in the bathtub, she hugged her knees to cover part of her skin, lowered her eyes to avoid looking at the other person, and said earnestly:

"Qingxuan, I'm all washed up."

The Golden Haired Doggy buried its head in the tub and quickly popped it out, its platinum blonde hair now wet and looking quite adorable. Then it placed a plastic crab, which it had somehow acquired, into the tub. As background music played, the toy began spinning and blowing bubbles, looking utterly silly.

Yes, she was clearly prepared. This toy crab was like a ring taken from a rose during a candlelight dinner. Combined with the steaming water in the bathroom and the constantly emerging dazzling bubbles, it created a kind of whimsical ritual that was hard to resist.

Especially...

After Xie Qingxuan displayed the toy, she looked at the other person expectantly, blinking her eyes, like a child grabbing a kindergarten teacher to ask to play, and said, turning her head:

"Xiao Qing, let's wash together."

Chu Yuanqing felt a surge of tenderness, like playing house with a child, and immediately felt no awkwardness. She simply added another instant bath soap to the tub, creating a bubbling mass of white foam that obscured most of the view beneath the surface, and said:

"It's possible, but... but that... that has to be done in bed!"

"Uh-huh."

Xie Qingxuan nodded in agreement. She understood perfectly. Just as surgery cannot be performed outside the operating room, a clumsy person with poor skills cannot mend Qing Bao's Magic Replenishment outside the bed.

Chu Yuanqing, unaware of the dog's exceptional comprehension abilities, continued:

"Also, don't move around in the bath! We'll soak for a while and then leave. When we leave, you go out first and then wait for me obediently on the bed."

Xie Qingxuan agreed without hesitation. She deliberately arrived a little early today, making sure it coincided with Chu Yuanqing's bath time, just so they could bathe together!

As for the reason, Liuli said that in the short films she watched, couples would take a bath together before doing important things, so it must be a very important ritual that they couldn't resist.

At this moment, the Green Eyed Cat is still lying on the Living room sofa playing games on its PS5, immersed in false happiness, unaware that its precious knowledge has already been used and put to practical use by the clever Golden Haired Doggy.

Chu Yuanqing poked the plastic crab with her fingertip, watching it wobble and crash into the obstacle. The bubbles it exhaled hit Xie Qingxuan's pretty and innocent face, popping with a soft patter, making the child look a little clumsy, but also... cute.

Chu Yuanqing was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. She harbored emotions she didn't understand, wondering to herself, could Qingxuan really be her old friend?

If so, would the other person from the old era still have this kind of personality?

If... that dazzling spectacle on stage was true history, what would I have felt at that moment, having personally killed Xie Qingxuan with Laevateinn?

Chu Yuanqing suddenly didn't want to think about these things anymore. The old history had been swallowed up by the tides of time and space, and there was no way to retrieve it. Even if she could remember everything about the other person, Xie Qingxuan would not be the Xie Qingxuan of the past.

Chu Yuanqing would naturally be happy about this, because it meant that the reversed and corrected timeline had successfully changed the tragic fate of these friends. But she would also feel melancholy, because the past cannot be retrieved, and the old friends are no longer the same.

Xie Qingxuan broke the silence, poking the toy crab back and saying softly:

"Xiao Qing, I've been having strange dreams again lately."

Chu Yuanqing snapped out of his daze and immediately asked:

"What dream?"

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and said:

"In my dream, I lived in a magical Sky City, below which was a dark, frighteningly deep sea. I don't remember much else, but it felt like I was experiencing someone else's childhood. Everything was blurry and chaotic."

These words stimulate fragments of memory in the brain.

Chu Yuanqing processed the fragmented memories, closed his eyes, and whispered in his heart:

"The City of Doomsday, and... the Black Tide?"

The City of Doomsday, a city that houses millions of people, was originally a growing structure forged by a forerunner with a blessing.

In fact, there are quite a few people who possess similar blessings.

This is also why, even when continental plates split, cold waves and black rain descend, various Disaster God forbidden zones are established, and even the planetary environment gradually deteriorates, humanity can still maintain major cities.

These main cities were built using the cutting-edge technology left over from the remnants of civilizations, combined with the blessed authority of a large number of lucky individuals. Those that can be called main cities all possess the capability to fight against the Supreme Calamity Beast.

The City of Doomsday is one of the best among them. Before their deaths, Chu Yuanqing's predecessors infused the city's central hub with blessings. In terms of the amount of blessings consumed, the City of Doomsday is only slightly inferior to the later, most prosperous Laevateinn. It is the last sanctuary of humanity that struggled to survive in the old era.

This city can not only ignore the various severe weather conditions in the late post-apocalyptic world, but it can even withstand the erosion of the Disaster God's rules.

Therefore, it wasn't until Chu Yuanqing finished defeating the thirteen Disaster God and watched Charlotte initiate the [Funeral Procession] by committing suicide that it fell from the sky with a roar, sinking into the sea with this Doomsday Diva as if buried alive.

As for the Kuroshio...

This is a peculiar phenomenon formed by the interweaving of numerous Soul Remnants.

In my memory, after I killed Ymir with the authority of the [King of Salt], the Kuroshio evaporated in the global atmospheric corridors, giving birth to an extremely beautiful aurora, and with the Soul Remnants, it forged the final Disaster God.

Chu Yuanqing had forgotten His name and could only record Him as the code name Thirteen for now.

As for how he defeated the opponent, his memory was hazy and vague. Even the origin of His birth began to slowly fade from his mind after he could recall it for a short time.

Chu Yuanqing didn't try to hold onto this memory, and simply continued to ask:

Is there anything else?

Xie Qingxuan shook his head and said:

"I can't remember."

"Xiao Qing, are you interested in my dream?"

Chu Yuanqing poked the toy crab back and replied:

"It's alright, I was just curious."

"Didn't you show me a glimpse of a dream through the stage? I want to know if there are any similar scenes."

Xie Qingxuan seemed to be deep in thought. She had a strange premonition that... as long as she updated her Magic Replenishment method today, she would be able to dream of more similar scenes, successfully satisfying Xiao Qing's curiosity!

So the Golden Haired Doggy said seriously:

"I will try my best."

Chu Yuanqing shifted her hips, moving a little closer, and reached out to touch the other person's wet head. Then, as if rewarding them, she moved back. Relying on her keen intuition, she inexplicably felt something was amiss. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered:

"Actually... there's no need to try so hard. Dreams are something we should just let happen naturally, right?"

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and said:

"No, I can't just let things take their course. I must work hard."

Chu Yuanqing found it a little strange, but since she didn't want to dampen the Golden Haired Doggy's enthusiasm, she didn't say anything more, lowered her eyelashes, and continued poking the crab with her fingers.

"Xiao Qing, when does the second Public Performance start?"

Chu Yuanqing looked up at this usually extremely dedicated Great Demon King, and was momentarily surprised, unable to help but ask:

Weren't you listening when Dream Weaver Rabbit was speaking?

The Golden Haired Doggy answered confidently:

"No, I was thinking about tonight."

Chu Yuanqing wisely avoided the topic and replied:

"Dream Weaver Rabbit said it would be in three weeks. Because of the competition format, we'll have to learn another dance song."

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment. Learning another dance song seemed to be to prevent the audience from getting tired of it. Did that mean the 33 teams would have to fight four or five Stage Battle to determine the strongest one before it would end?

That's not quite right. If you're unlucky and lose in the first round, you're out.

Chu Yuanqing could tell at a glance that she hadn't listened to the later rules either, so he simply continued:

"According to the competition rules, we can only play a maximum of two matches."

"Initially, there will be one PK round. If you win, you can PK again. After two rounds of performances, the 33 teams will be ranked according to their group votes. The top three teams will receive rewards: the first place team will receive an additional 5,000 votes, the second place team will receive an additional 3,000 votes, and the third place team will receive an additional 2,000 votes."

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and said:

"Wouldn't those who get a bye be at a huge disadvantage? What if they get a bye for both games? They won't have any tickets left."

Chu Yuanqing explained:

"There are pros and cons. A bye just means there are no opponents, but you can still perform on stage. Although you don't get the bonus votes for winning the PK, the audience will be more forgiving in their votes when there are no opponents, and you can still ensure advancement. It's relatively fair, though."

That being said, when Dream Weaver Rabbit announced this rule, many contestants felt they had been tricked again, because if those eight people were eliminated directly in the voting stage, then the 32 teams wouldn't need to make up for the bye rule at all.

Especially for strong teams that are confident in themselves, if they get a bye in the first round, they can comfort themselves that they will definitely advance and it's not a loss. But if they get a bye in the second round, it means they will be out of the running for victory and won't even have a chance to fight. No matter how you look at it, it's a loss.

Leaving aside the other teams, Chu Yuanqing and Chen Yining, two teams with extremely high win rates, would suffer a huge loss if they were to receive a bye. If they were to be defeated or even eliminated because of this, it would be an epic Waterloo.

However, from the perspective of the Program Group, this rule does indeed easily create dramatic effects, adding a lot of suspense to the final outcome and firmly capturing the attention of viewers who follow variety shows.

Ten minutes later,

Chu Yuanqing used magic to evaporate the water droplets from her body, changed into her pajamas, and walked out of the bathroom.

It has to be said that the Golden Haired Doggy was indeed very well-behaved. It didn't touch or look at anything inappropriately throughout the whole time. We simply took a bath together for a while, played around and blew bubbles, and chatted for a bit. This made the Pure White Witch, who was not used to being completely open with people, breathe a sigh of relief.

Inside, Xie Qingxuan was already lying obediently in bed, showing a strong sense of responsibility for warming the bed.

Well, compared to this quiet way of warming the bed, a certain Green Eyed Cat that likes to roll around in the blankets and quickly iron the entire bed is more efficient.

--Even though that looks really stupid.

Chu Yuanqing crawled into bed, poked the Golden Haired Doggy's soft waist with her small hand, and then pretended to be dead, closing her eyes and letting the other dog treat her.

Yes, that's the legendary flower kiss therapy!

Unfortunately, Xie Qingxuan, who had gleaned astonishing wisdom from the Green Eyed Cat, no longer found this appealing. She decided to bring a small, albeit serious, shock to the medical community today regarding neodymium copper, stating earnestly:

"Xiao Qing, let's develop a new way to Magic Replenishment!"

Chu Yuanqing had a bad feeling.

A new way to Magic Replenishment? Wait, besides that, isn't that the only thing left?!

"No, no, no... No!"

For the first time, Chu Yuanqing was so flustered that she stammered. She felt a terrifying sense of something about to be shattered, so she quickly opened her golden eyes, gripped the lantern in front of her chest with her small hands, and cautiously shrank back, trying to avoid the radical attending physician.

Xie Qingxuan blinked, and in an innocent tone, uttered the soul-searching question:

"Doesn't Xiao Qing want her injury to heal quickly?"

Chu Yuanqing was stumped by the question.

Indeed, she had long suspected that a higher level of Magic Replenishment would bring a higher level of healing effect, but because it was impossible for her to make such a request to her Little Idol, and because she felt it was too shameful and excessive, she had kept it firmly in the depths of her mind.

After all...

This kind of thing is like that first kiss; once it happens, it will happen again, and once it happens, it's like the bottom line has been widened, and there's no going back to the past.

The Golden Haired Doggy looked serious as she continued:

"Liuli said that Xiao Qing might be fighting a very dangerous and evil enemy. If she continues to maintain this weak state, what if she encounters the enemy before her injuries have healed?"

Chu Yuanqing regained his composure and fell silent.

The curse of the Sea of Truth intensifies, and she has once again quietly endured an illusion today.

Although this time he didn't encounter a vision so outrageous that it would require repeating the act of killing a god, his soul subsequently became like a sieve, uncontrollably letting his magic drain away, and the lantern continued to weaken.

If I hadn't started the live stream this evening, which gave me more exposure and converted more magic power, I might have fallen from the [Pool] level back to the [Lamp] level in just a few days.

As she approaches her limit, this situation will only worsen; she might... never be able to reach [Full Bloom].

Xie Qingxuan continued:

"Liuli also said that Xiao Qing fights with the power of Magical Girl because she wants to protect something. I don't know if she guessed right, but if she did, Xiao Qing would definitely want to get better as soon as possible more than anyone else."

"I think Liuli is right, because if it weren't for that, Xiao Qing definitely wouldn't have been able to say something like 'I need' to Yayoi."

The girl's platinum eyelashes drooped, and her angelic face, with its delicate pink lips pursed, revealed her courage as she whispered:

"It's the same now. I know Xiao Qing's difficulties, and I know that Xiao Qing would definitely not suggest such a method on her own initiative, but... I want to help Xiao Qing, even if it makes you feel annoyed, it doesn't matter."

Xie Qingxuan spoke her true feelings.

This was the optimal solution she arrived at after several days of repeated consideration.

Chu Yuanqing was too far removed from her world. Magical Girl were far beyond her comprehension, even for her. No matter how hard she tried to think, she could only come up with such an absurd and outrageous solution.

Therefore, this is not a collection of lust and delusion, but rather her sincere concern and blessing.

Chu Yuanqing was in a state of turmoil. What she cared about was not whether she would be taken advantage of, but whether she could bear Xie Qingxuan's burning, sincere, and undisguised affection.

For a long, long time.

The Pure White Witch lowered her eyes and sighed, giving her answer:

"Thank you, Qingxuan."