"What is this?" Liu Erlong came over to Deng Tianxin, asking curiously.
She looked at the fragment in Deng Tianxin's hand and was drawn into it before she knew it.
In Liu Erlong's fantasy, she was running hand in hand through a sea of flowers with a man.
They were both laughing happily, but the man's face was impossibly blurry.
As Liu Erlong looked at the man, his face began to grow clear.
It was... Deng Tianxin?!
Liu Erlong snapped back to her senses.
Liu Erlong abruptly stepped back half a pace, her heel crushing a loose roof tile with a crisp crack.
She shook her head hard. Her black hair, tied back, swung from side to side with the movement, and the red ribbon nearly came loose.
She even raised a hand and smacked herself on the forehead. The blow was no light tap, and a faint red mark immediately appeared on her fair skin.
What was going on?
What had she just been thinking?
Deng Tianxin?
That seven-year-old brat?
That little boy who spouted nonsense nonstop?
How could she have imagined running hand in hand with him through a sea of flowers?
That was ten thousand times more outrageous than the Sea God and Asura God being a couple!
Deng Tianxin hadn't noticed Liu Erlong's state of mind. He absorbed the God of Love Fragment.
Since the fragment was so small, Deng Tianxin refined it in an instant.
The moment it was refined, a memory surfaced in Deng Tianxin's mind.
The abandoned village before his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by an endless void.
Deep within the void floated a majestic throne formed from pink-gold light. A woman lounged upon it.
Her face was shrouded in a flowing halo, making her features impossible to discern. But the six wings of light feathers cascading from the throne and the scepter in her hand, wrapped in countless red threads, unmistakably revealed her identity.
The aura surrounding the woman was gentle to the utmost, yet powerful to the utmost. It was the aura of a deity, a realm no mortal could reach in an entire lifetime.
She was the God of Love, the supreme ruler of all emotional bonds.
Deng Tianxin's consciousness floated in the void, watching everything from the perspective of an observer.
When he saw what the God of Love looked like, Deng Tianxin thought she was quite beautiful—more so than Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong.
Thinking that she was dead, Deng Tianxin felt it was a real pity.
A crack soundlessly split open in the void, and a mysterious man stepped through it.
Looking at the God of Love, the man said, "God of Love, you've crossed the line. You've touched something you shouldn't have. Even the Dragon God wouldn't dare touch that thing."
The God of Love replied disdainfully, "What of it? As long as I don't touch the core, He won't interfere. If I can advance further, any sacrifice is worthwhile."
After the God of Love finished speaking, Deng Tianxin felt the whole world tremble. The next moment, it shattered.
Deng Tianxin's eyes flew open. His back was already soaked with cold sweat.
He panted heavily, his little chest heaving, while the dragon horns on his forehead were still faintly warm.
The scene before him had returned to the same dilapidated village. The overgrown weeds swayed beneath the afternoon sun, and wisteria cast dappled shadows on the old walls. Everything was exactly as it had been before he entered the illusion.
But the final scene in his mind burned into his consciousness like a branding iron. The mysterious man had said, "God of Love, you've crossed the line," and the God of Love had disdainfully replied, "If I can advance further, any sacrifice is worthwhile." Then the whole world had split into pieces like a mirror smashed to bits.
He hadn't even had time to see the mysterious man's face clearly. All he remembered was his deep, imposing voice.
And that line: "Even the Dragon God wouldn't dare touch that thing."
Something even the Dragon God wouldn't dare touch?
Deng Tianxin grew curious. What exactly could it be?
At the top of the Douluo Continent stood the Creator God twins, followed by the Dragon God.
If even the Dragon God wouldn't dare touch it, Deng Tianxin felt it must have something to do with the Creator God.
"What's wrong?" Liu Erlong asked Deng Tianxin with concern.
Deng Tianxin came back to himself and shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's go."
He naturally wasn't going to tell her about this.
More importantly, there was no point in telling her. Liu Erlong couldn't help him with it.
This time, he hadn't gained a great deal, but neither had he gained little. The memory contained in the fragment held an astonishing amount of information.
The God of Love had most likely touched some kind of taboo, then been punished by a mysterious being,
her Godhood had collapsed, and the fragments had scattered across the Douluo Continent.
This meant that he would not only have to collect the fragments, but might also have to face the being who had once punished the God of Love one day in the future.
"Are you really okay?" Liu Erlong bent down, pinched Deng Tianxin's chin, and turned his little face toward the sunlight to examine it closely.
Deng Tianxin's face was a little paler than before, and his damp bangs were stuck to his forehead, but his eyes were still darting about. He seemed to have plenty of energy left.
Liu Erlong watched him for several seconds. Once she was sure he wasn't just forcing himself to act fine, she let go and gave him a pat on the head. "Next time you feel unwell, tell me sooner. Don't tough it out alone. Got that?"
"Got it, got it." Deng Tianxin rubbed the spot she'd patted, answering perfunctorily. Yet a subtle warmth stirred in his heart.
Whether it was Bibi Dong or Liu Erlong, although one loved spanking him and the other loved kissing his face, when they noticed something was wrong with him, they reacted in exactly the same way.
First, they made sure he was okay, then they showed their concern in their own way.
Deng Tianxin shook his head, brushing away those jumbled thoughts, then kissed Liu Erlong.
"Consider it your reward."
Liu Erlong froze.
She instinctively reached up to touch her cheek. When her fingertips brushed her skin, she could still feel the lingering sensation.
Liu Erlong looked down at Deng Tianxin. The little guy had already climbed onto the back of the One-Eyed Violent Bear as if nothing had happened, his short legs swinging as he kicked at the bear's belly.
"What's wrong?" Deng Tianxin sat on the bear's back and tilted his head at her. His big, round eyes were as innocent as two peeled longans. "You kiss me all the time. What's wrong with me kissing you once? Fair's fair."
"...Who taught you to be fair like that?" Liu Erlong finally found her voice.
Her tone was edged with gritted teeth, but the faint blush spread uncontrollably from her ears to her neck.
Liu Erlong strode forward, taking three steps for every two, and reached out to grab Deng Tianxin by the ear.
Deng Tianxin had been ready for her. He flattened himself against the Violent Bear's broad back, grabbed handfuls of its fur, and gave a crisp command: "Big Dragon, move out!"
The One-Eyed Violent Bear immediately sprang forward on all fours. Liu Erlong's fingers barely brushed the back of Deng Tianxin's collar before she missed.
She stood where she was, watching the person and bear race away into the distance. She gritted her teeth, both annoyed and amused, then finally chased after them.
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