"Fellow compatriots, let us press on! We shall surely behold the towering Lord of Longevity at the end of our Path!"
Hearing the patriarch's bold words, Zhang Xiu could not muster even a sliver of spirit.
Months ago, he transmigrated into the body of a Medicine Seeker who had died of a virus, and set out with his clansmen on the road to seek Yaoshi.
The tedious journey of seeking drove Zhang Xiu to utter misery, and the crucial point was that he could not give up, for their race possessed a maximum lifespan of only thirty years, and this body of his was already twenty-two.
They became Medicine Seekers precisely to resolve their short-lived plight.
Yet the universe is so vast, can I truly see Yaoshi before I die?
At once, a sense of despair welled up in his heart. In his memories, this was already the third star system and the seventh planet they had set foot upon, yet how many star systems were there in this universe besides these?
At the mere thought that he did not have many years left to live, the notion of giving up inevitably emerged in Zhang Xiu's mind.
I might as well just live out the remaining few years peacefully right here...
Yet just as he prepared to find the leader to voice his choice, he caught sight of a figure walking upon the earth in the distance.
...Her skin was pale, hard to tell male from female, and she bore twin horns;
One arm held crimson prayer beads, while the other pinched a rice shoot, and she was draped in holy golden bracelets and pearl strings, with a pure white cloud-patterned gauze veil upon her head.
Her light-golden long hair draped down her shoulders, landing upon the earth alongside her bare feet.
The Abundance Aeon, the Compassionate Medicine King, the Lord of Longevity, Yaoshi.
"It's Yaoshi! She is really here!" Zhang Xiu's eyes widened as he pointed with a trembling finger.
His clansmen likewise looked toward the direction he pointed, and in an instant, they erupted.
The people cheered, the people leapt with joy, offering prostrations to her.
The deity walking the earth lowered her gaze, listening to their pleas.
And so, a radiance bloomed from between her fingers, and an ancient tree piercing the heavens surged into the clouds.
Countless fruits drifted down from that ancient tree, and the most beautiful one fell into the hands of the black-haired child of man.
The people embraced, the people wept, offering praises to her.
The short-lived nature of pestilence was healed, and endless longevity steadied the hearts and minds of the people.
The smile of the deity moved every existence; tree branches, weeds, and everything else plunged into a grand banquet.
Feeling the surging power within his body, Zhang Xiu did not know how to express his emotions for a moment.
On one hand, the issue of lifespan was resolved; on the other hand, being in the Honkai: Star Rail universe might actually be worse than dying early...
After all, this place specialized in abstract births and random deaths, and there was also the possibility of encountering all kinds of Path strays and Lord Ravagers.
He looked at the excited clansmen beneath the Ambrosial Arbor, and at that towering Aeon sitting high amidst the Ambrosial Arbor, an audacious thought inevitably welling up in his heart.
The core of Yaoshi's Path lies in altruism, and she won't refuse any request. Could I... make her my wife?
Zhang Xiu knew very well that if he voiced this thought, he would be chopped into minced meat by his clansmen within three steps.
Yet if it succeeded, he would surely be able to carve a stroke of his own into the history books of the universe.
And so, Zhang Xiu exhaled a breath of turbid air, harboring immense courage as he took steps toward Yaoshi.
The remaining clansmen said nothing upon seeing this, merely assuming he was in awe of that deity, and the patriarch also recognized Zhang Xiu as the one who first discovered Yaoshi, so he simply did not stop his audience.
As Zhang Xiu took each step, the soul-stirring adoration deepened a fraction further. When he arrived before her, the beautiful concept poured unstoppably into Zhang Xiu's entire body.
Beneath this surge of adoration, he slowly extended his right hand, praying to that towering existence:
"Let's get married."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire scene fell silent, and his clansmen looked in disbelief at Zhang Xiu standing before Yaoshi.
Could this fellow's brain have been fried by the virus from months ago?
Just as they wanted to step forward to seize this clansman who had offended the divine, they heard Yaoshi utter a single word:
"So be it."
At this moment, she looked with great interest at the tiny person before her, a pair of compassionate and bewitching eyes carrying a trace of curiosity.
For ten thousand years, no one had ever made such a prayer to her, and this soul hailing from beyond the heavens undoubtedly brought joy to Yaoshi.
The source of this joy was not Zhang Xiu himself, but his unusual prayer; since it was a prayer, Yaoshi would not refuse.
"True, I ought to scatter Seed Buds for all living beings, yet I cannot accompany you by your side."
Just as Zhang Xiu sighed inwardly, preparing to be swarmed and killed by his clansmen, Yaoshi made a move.
He saw her pluck a leaf from her twin horns and cast it upon the earth, and a she, identical to ordinary humans in every way, was born amidst a lotus flower.
"Since you are my wife, you shall perform the duties of a wife, and you too shall fulfill the matters of a husband. If you forsake me, you shall no longer be husband and wife."
With that, she looked toward the universe, looking toward those still tormented by plague and pestilence:
"Farewell."
Yaoshi kissed Zhang Xiu on the cheek, then stepped toward the sky, her figure gradually dissolving amidst the foil of flowers and grasses.
The little Yaoshi born within the lotus also awoke from her slumber, possessing no redundant limbs, just like an ordinary human.
Her appearance was identical to Yaoshi's; even her memories and personality were the same.
"Where shall we head next, husband?" Little Yaoshi asked with a smile, walking to Zhang Xiu's side.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Xiu chuckled softly, then raised his right hand with his index finger pointing high into the sky!
"Astral Express! Your king has returned!!"
"No need to see us off, really, everyone is so enthusiastic." At the front of the spaceship, Zhang Xiu scratched his head somewhat bashfully as he looked at the crowd of clansmen.
"It's only right... You must surely serve the Lord of Longevity well."
"Rest assured, my wife, I'll definitely take care of her." He patted his chest with a smile.
"Zhang Xiu! You are no better than an animal! Blaspheming the divine! You are bound to descend into the Avici Hell after death!"
Of course, there were also clansmen who were a tiny bit dissatisfied with his actions.
"Zhang Xiu! I only hate that I cannot devour your flesh raw! You truly are a beast!"
"Zhang Xiu! I treasure you like my baby! Meow!!"
Facing this situation, Zhang Xiu didn't care in the least. "Well then, we're off. You guys should also follow the Xianzhou well. Wife, you should say goodbye to everyone too."
Little Yaoshi nodded gently. "Thank you all for your care toward my husband, and I hope to meet you all again someday."
"Ahhh! Lord of Longevity!"
"No! Lord of Longevity! I implore you to see through the true face of that beast! He isn't human!"
"Meow! Meow!!"
Watching the two leave aboard the spaceship, the patriarch collapsed completely to the ground, beating his hands repeatedly against the earth:
"What a sin, what a sin! Hear this, all of you! Today's events must absolutely not be told to any other existence!
Otherwise... otherwise our clan will be chopped into mincemeat by the rest of the Denizens of Abundance!"
Advanced technology allowed the spaceship to operate without manual steering; as long as a destination was set, it drove automatically, and his destination was very clear: the Herta Space Station.
The current time was Amber Era 2157, the period when the Herta Space Station suffered an invasion by the Antimatter Legion and the protagonist Stelle or Caelus boarded the Astral Express to become a Nameless.
Although he didn't know the exact year, waiting at the Herta Space Station would cause no problems.
"Why does my husband wish to become a Nameless?" Yaoshi virtuously created a beverage and handed it to Zhang Xiu.
"Ah, thanks..." Zhang Xiu took the drink and drank it down without even looking, then continued, "Becoming a Nameless is more like setting out on the Trailblaze anew."
"I don't dislike a stable life; I just prefer an exciting future." He rubbed the cup with both hands, his thoughts sinking into memories.
Seeing his gentle expression, Yaoshi propped her cheek up with her right hand and quietly observed Zhang Xiu.
The only thing about the man before her that attracted her was that soul from beyond the skies, and agreeing to become husband and wife was also done to practice her own philosophy.
She could also see that Zhang Xiu held not a shred of 'love' for her either.
"Actually, I didn't propose to you because I like you...
But rest assured! Since we're married, I will definitely fulfill the responsibilities of a good husband!" Zhang Xiu wore a look of shame; after all, he was only a nineteen-year-old high school student before his transmigrations.
These words piqued Yaoshi's interest, yet the soft expression that always hung in her eyes remained unchanged as she softly said:
"That being the case, I too shall conduct myself in the capacity of your wife."
Before you continue