"Plop!"
Suddenly, Zhi Feng, with unprecedented boldness, broke free from Rin's entanglement and grabbed Rin's shoulders, pressing her into the water as if going wild, intending to commit violence!
And then… there was no 'then'… Zhi Feng immediately shivered as if electrocuted. The image of Rin shattering the admirer with her bare fists and slaying the Wind God Winged Dragon flashed in her mind. She finally remembered who the person she was about to assault was. Zhi Feng felt herself release and take a step back.
A snow-white jade hand reached out from beneath the hot spring water. Zhi Feng immediately grasped Rin's hand and pulled her up. The stunning beauty who emerged from the water looked at Zhi Feng with a slightly regretful smile. Rin, with a hint of playfulness, said to Zhi Feng:
"Oh my, why aren't you continuing to the next step? I was quite looking forward to it. I really wanted to see how madly my dear deputy would become enchanted by my charm. I didn't expect you to sober up before it even began. Is it that my body is still a bit too green, not enough to capture your attention? Am I not your type?"
"No! Big Sister, please spare me. In my eyes, you are like a supreme goddess. Zhi Feng is already content to have earned the right to stay by your side and dares not ask for anything more! I certainly don't want to incur your displeasure because of a momentary impulsive, improper thought. Big Sister, please don't dislike me!"
Zhi Feng knelt in the hot spring, her hands clasped together, eyes closed in prayer, shouting. From her slightly trembling body, it was clear that she was truly afraid, afraid that Rin would dislike her because of what just happened and wouldn't let her stay by her side.
Strength determines the gap, and hierarchy separates distances. Rin's strength established her supreme and lofty status, but it also invisibly widened the distance between her and others. Just as a Lion cannot be friends with an ant, and a giant dragon will not associate with sparrows, an overly powerful existence makes those around her feel inferior and insignificant, afraid to approach. Zhi Feng faced Rin in this way at this moment; no matter how close Rin was to her, she would always maintain a distance between their hearts due to her inferiority complex.
Rin stood in the hot spring, her expression calming down. She said faintly:
"In that case, Zhi Feng, is everything you do just to cater to me? To cater to my wishes and my mood?"
"Big Sister, I…"
Rin's delicate hand, swift as lightning, gripped Zhi Feng's wrist and guided her hand to her own heart. Beneath the creamy white jade peaks, Zhi Feng could feel Rin's strong heartbeat.
"Do you feel it, Zhi Feng? This is my heart, beating just like yours. If this were pierced, I would also die. I am not a god, nor do I aspire to be one. I have desires, and I have emotions. I don't want you to treat me as a god."
Rin gently pressed Zhi Feng into her own snow-white peaks. Although not large, they were soft enough.
"Zhi Feng, do you understand? I left my homeland and came to another world, so far away. I have no family or friends by my side. Everything here is so new yet so strange. Although these were all my own choices and no one ever forced me, I still feel an infinite loneliness. That's why I poured all my effort into moving towards my goal, to forget this loneliness. I'm not afraid of anything; I just hope someone can be with me."
When she first arrived in this world, Rin truly felt an unprecedented loneliness. Separated from all the people she missed by an entire world, everything was so unfamiliar. For the first year, Rin wandered this world like a lost spirit, seemingly out of place with everything. She could only desperately push towards the goal that brought her to this world, hoping to achieve her purpose soon and return to her homeland.
"In this state, I am very isolated and very pained, because I don't feel any real existence in this world. It's as if I stand on a different dimension from the entire world. If everything continues like this, perhaps I really will become the kind of goddess-like existence you believe me to be."
Rin gently stroked Zhi Feng's hair, feeling her body tremble slightly. Zhi Feng's arms were also wrapped tightly around Rin's slender waist, as if afraid Rin would suddenly disappear.
"But on the eve of the assessment, when Zhi Feng, regardless of the risk of being discovered, unconditionally gave me the demons extract Imperial Arm key, that was the first time I felt that someone in this world recognized me and worried about me. Even without this Imperial Arm, I had enough strength to easily defeat Budo. No matter what reason you use to explain it, I felt your sincerity within that armor. That's when I felt that I was alive in this world, not an independent existence outside of it."
Rin released the pressure on Zhi Feng, and their eyes met. Rin's green pupils shimmered with a soft, watery glow, rippling Zhi Feng's heart.
"Zhi Feng, it was you who pulled me down from the high position of a goddess into this world. If you say such things to me now, I'm really going to get angry. Even if you want to run or slip away now, I will firmly tie you to my side. Don't even dream of that happy life of meeting that man, marrying, and having children. You won't take a single step away from me. My future world doesn't allow you not to be in it."
"Yes, I understand, Big Sister. Zhi Feng swears to always follow by your side, as a friend, sister, subordinate, retainer, and in any capacity, always behind and beside you, never leaving. If one day in the future I die in battle due to my weakness, please take me into yatsufusa and continue to follow by your side…"
"I will do my best to prevent that day from coming. If such a thing happens because of my incompetence, I will do as you say."
"Mm."
Then Rin leaned down, her eyes, soft with light and a smile, gazed at Zhi Feng. Their faces were inches apart, their breaths mingling. Their breathing quickened. Rin, already experienced, was fine, but Zhi Feng, new to romance, was gradually losing control of her surging emotions.
"Big Sister, I…"
"Heh heh, Zhi Feng, finally couldn't hold back?"
...A pure field of lilies bloomed... Rin and Zhi Feng lingered in the hot spring until after noon. Only then did Rin and a deeply shy Zhi Feng get dressed and walk down the small mountain. Rin waved her hand towards the sparkling ice wall, and the ice shield covering the entire mountain shattered with a roar into a sky full of ice dust, scattering into nothingness.
"Big Sister, what do we do next…?"
Zhi Feng was still a bit shy, twisting as she asked, not daring to look at Rin. After all, while she liked girls, this was Zhi Feng's first time doing such a thing, and she couldn't quite let go yet.
Rin giggled and leaned close to Zhi Feng, reaching out to pinch Zhi Feng's smooth, pretty face, which was even taller than her own. She said:
"Since it's a rare day off, let's have a date here. We're dating now, aren't we?"
"A date? What can we do here?"
Zhi Feng couldn't help but ask, puzzled. After all, as a girl, she wouldn't be uninterested in a date, but what could be done in the Forest of Dangerous Species, which was full of Danger Beasts?
"There are so many fun things to do! Flying and strolling, soaking in hot springs, hunting and fishing, outdoor barbecues—they're all very interesting. Don't underestimate a girl who grew up in the borderland snow mountains and forests."
Rin said with full confidence, then took Zhi Feng's hand and ran in one direction.
"We've already done strolling and hot springs. In the camp, we eat various land-based Danger Beasts every day. Today, we finally have time to freely play deep in the Forest of Dangerous Species. I remember there's a large lake ahead with many black-spined fish. Let's go catch a few for lunch."
"I understand. Then I'll follow your arrangements, Big Sister."
Lin, holding Zhi Feng's hand, swiftly darted through the jungle, their joyous laughter echoing through the vast, boundless forest, lingering for a long time… PS: It is said that the complete version is recorded on the penguin's belly.
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