Light spilled across the earth, and the dewdrops clinging to the lush grass refracted dazzling rainbow halos. Flowers bloomed like brocade, and towering ancient trees were everywhere; the valley that contained all of this could truly be called a paradise on earth.
Amidst this earthly paradise, a woman was dancing gracefully. Her enchanting dance shone in harmony with the hundreds of flowers, making it impossible to tell whether the woman was more delicate than the flowers, or the flowers more radiant than the woman. The woman appeared to be in her twenties, and her pale yellow dress perfectly accentuated her figure, making her look incredibly captivating.
Every move she made evoked dazzling rainbow light. Nine-colored radiance shimmered, flowers danced, and tree branches swayed, as if they had taken on human form to partner her in the dance—a truly prosperous scene of song and dance.
Seemingly tired from dancing, the woman in the yellow dress stopped. "How's the dance I choreographed? Give me an evaluation!" Her tone was triumphant, carrying an innate self-confidence.
"How was it?" Just then, a languid voice rang out.
Following the voice and the yellow-dressed woman's gaze, one could see a man lying lazily on a lounge chair amidst the flowers. He gazed intoxicatingly at the woman who had stopped dancing and clapped his hands in celebration. "Naturally, it was wonderful! I could watch it for over twenty years and never grow tired. How about we dance a waltz together, hmm?"
"A waltz? Give me a break." Upon hearing the first half of his sentence, the woman's face was clearly filled with delight and pride. But upon hearing the second half, that delight and pride morphed into sheer disdain. "If I danced a waltz with you, I'd be the one suffering."
She stomped her shoes as she spoke. "Besides, I just had these shoes made today, and I absolutely adore them. If I dance with you, my shoes will probably be done for."
The man wasn't annoyed in the slightest. He chuckled and said, "So what? If they get ruined, just replace them. You change your shoes every three days anyway, and never wear the old ones again. Those Divine Officers have certainly racked their brains designing outfits for you."
"What else can I do?" The woman in the yellow dress pouted, still acting like a child. "The Divine Realm is so boring; I have to find some way to amuse myself. Back when we were in the lower realm, we used to go shopping all the time. Now that we're in the Divine Realm, everything stays exactly the same. So, I can only change my outfits to change my mood."
"Hey—changing your mood isn't the only method!" As he spoke, he stood up, assuming the pose of a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, and lunged at the woman in the yellow dress. "Dancing a waltz together counts as changing your mood too."
"Hehe—I'm not falling for that." The woman in the yellow dress giggled, her delicate body executing a nimble turn to dodge him. The two of them chased and teased each other amidst the flowers. Yet, no matter how much they frolicked, not a single flower or blade of grass was trampled or broken.
"Alright, alright, stop fooling around." The woman in the yellow dress grabbed the man's hand and said, "Didn't we agree to go see Fatty with Boss Dai and the others today? It's almost time, aren't you going to get ready? After all, when brothers and sisters get together, we can't not drink and eat, right?"
"We definitely have to drink." The man chuckled, but then fell silent. "There are more and more matters in the Divine Realm now, and Xiao San is getting busier and busier, so the chances for us to gather are becoming increasingly rare. Fatty's condition is also getting worse. I originally thought time would dilute everything, but who knew that time would only brew it thicker instead."
"Pah, pah, pah! What kind of talk is that?" The woman in the yellow dress—or rather, the Nine-Color Goddess, Ning Rongrong—viciously poked the man, the God of Food, Oscar, right in the glabella, snapping crossly, "Xiangxiang was such a wonderful girl. Not only was she deeply in love with Fatty, but she also bore him a son. If I were Fatty, I would miss Xiangxiang more and more for the rest of my life too."
"Hmm?" At this point, Ning Rongrong suddenly shifted her tone. Her current demeanor even gave Oscar a chilling, spine-tingling sensation. "If you were Fatty, and I were Xiangxiang, after more than twenty years, would you stop missing me and just live it up on your own? Right!?"
"I've been wronged!" Without a moment's hesitation, Oscar practically dropped to his knees. Experience since their marriage told him that when a woman was like this, you didn't argue or explain; you just admitted fault immediately. Otherwise, after a bout of unreasonable arguing, it would somehow end up being his fault no matter what. Besides, wasn't this also just a little bit of fun between the two of them?
"Alright, you big faker, get up." Seeing this, Ning Rongrong laughed and hauled Oscar back up, nestling into his embrace. "Honestly, after mentioning Xiangxiang, I kind of miss our lives in the lower realm too."
Was she simply missing life in the lower realm? No, not just that. Actually, Oscar knew very well that Ning Rongrong was missing her father, as well as the two seniors, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo. After all, they were her closest kin. Even though they had been gone for a long time, who wouldn't yearn for the doting love of their family from their childhood? Even Oscar himself missed Dean Flender and the others a little. Unfortunately, they were now separated by life and death.
It was just that during their days in the Divine Realm, they both kept this longing buried in their hearts. In truth, among the Shrek Seven Devils, aside from Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong felt this longing the most. Oscar didn't need to be mentioned; he was an orphan, and apart from the teachers at Shrek Academy back then, he had no one else. As for Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, because of the cruelty of their families, even if they had feelings, those ties were completely severed while they were still in the lower realm. After arriving in the Divine Realm, it was at most a memorial reflection; there was no real longing left. And as for Tang San and Xiao Wu... what did the two of them have to miss?
"Alright." She was a 2nd-Class deity, after all. After a brief moment of recollection and longing, it was time to detach herself from those emotions. Moreover, they were about to have a gathering with their brothers and sisters; they couldn't show up with long faces. So, Ning Rongrong pushed Oscar away with one hand and asked, "Have you decided what dishes to bring over today?"
"Naturally, it depends on what Her Highness the Princess wishes to eat." Oscar gave a cheeky grin and rubbed his hands together. "I've got my Big Sausage, Small Sausage, and Mushroom Sausage—a complete collection, if you will."
"Get lost!" Without a shred of ladylike grace, Ning Rongrong launched a flying kick at him. "Boss Dai and Zhuqing will be bringing good wine, and you're only bringing this stuff? Aren't you afraid Fatty and the others will team up and castrate you?" As she spoke, she viciously made a slicing motion with her hand.
Oscar played along, shivering dramatically. Furthermore, Ning Rongrong added another sentence. "If you don't make proper food, I'll just go bother Rong Nianbing. From what I can tell, his cooking is way better than yours, Mr. God of Food."
A provocation! This was absolutely a provocation! Facing Ning Rongrong's teasing gaze, Oscar felt a wave of frustration in his heart. What kind of man could stand watching his wife praise another man, especially in the area where he himself excelled the most? Not to mention... his wife was actually stating a fact. So, as far as provocation went... Fine! You win!
"Alright, alright, if you want good food to go with the wine, that's easy. I am the magnificent God of Food, after all. Just watch the God of Food at work!" As he spoke, he transformed into a streak of white light and dashed to the side. In a flash, he was beside a small hut not far away. Entering the kitchen, the clinking and clanking of utensils immediately rang out.
Cooking was a piece of cake for the God of Food. Any ingredient that fell into Oscar's hands could be turned from something ordinary into something magical. Seeing this, Ning Rongrong walked up to the front of the house and sat down at a stone table. She rested her chin in her hands; though a smile lingered on her face, a trace of melancholy still remained deep within her eyes.
Clearly, her mind was still on other things. Of course, what she was thinking about now was perhaps mostly the boredom born from staying in the Divine Realm for too long, rather than just longing. Because the past was the past; only her current life was real. However, even though she found the Divine Realm boring, she still didn't dare to take that one step: passing down her divine throne and following the example of the previous Nine-Color Goddess and God of Food by traveling the universe. The universe—how dangerous that would be!
It wasn't long before the door pushed open, and Oscar walked out carrying a large platter in his hands. It was a plate filled to the brim with...
"Peanuts!?" Ning Rongrong quickly dropped her hands from her chin, staring at Oscar in sheer bewilderment. No matter that the moment this plate of peanuts appeared, its aroma completely overwhelmed the rich floral scent in the air; no matter that each peanut looked like a red agate, dotted with salt like white jade, making one's mouth water with just a single glance... no matter how extravagantly one described it or how mouth-watering it looked, it couldn't change the fact that this was merely a plate of peanuts.
"Oscar! You're bringing just this one plate to the party!?" When a loved one calls out a person's full name, it means the offender has absolutely done something to make them furious!
Who knew that Oscar would seem completely indifferent. "Rongrong, when it comes to drinking, the main focus is the alcohol. Bringing this plate of peanuts is absolutely spot on."
"So what!?" Ning Rongrong put her hands on her hips, looking visibly dissatisfied. "For you big macho men, drinking might be enough with just this, but what about Zhuqing and me? The two of us want to eat delicious food too. Besides, Fatty hasn't touched meat in ages, and you're only bringing this little bit? Who doesn't know that he's actually the biggest glutton among the seven... er, eight of us."
"Fine, fine, fine." Being told off like that, Oscar naturally complied. But just as he was about to turn around and head back into the house to cook...
"Wait!" Suddenly, Ning Rongrong called out to stop Oscar.
"What is it?" The moment he turned around, he saw a look on Ning Rongrong's face that was both slightly playful and serious—though the playfulness far outweighed the seriousness. With just one glance, Oscar could tell: the little witch was about to "return to the martial world." Still, thinking was one thing; asking was another. "What exactly happened?"
"It's a good thing." A hint of excitement flashed through Ning Rongrong's eyes, and she even clapped her hands in delight. "I was just complaining about how boring my days in the Divine Realm have been. Now, perfect timing—I can find some amusement."
Find amusement? Oscar's mind worked quickly, and he guessed the reason immediately. "Is it the Qiankun Wenqing Valley that Xiao San put you in charge of?"
Ning Rongrong nodded. "That's right."
The God of Love was a 1st-Class Deity of the Divine Realm, a god who governed the marriages and desires of the subordinate planes under the Divine Realm. However, between the two primary functions, the latter was naturally and conveniently ignored. Ever since the God of Love died for love, the position of this 1st-Class Deity had been vacant. In reality, as a 1st-Class God, the God of Love had subordinate deities, and the Nine-Color Goddess was one of them.
However, after Tang San arrived in the Divine Realm and successfully became a God King, he used the excuse that the Nine-Color Goddess was a subordinate deity of the God of Love to place the God of Love's inheritance grounds in the lower realm under Ning Rongrong's control. And that inheritance ground was naturally the Qiankun Wenqing Valley.
"Want to take a look?"
"Might as well watch together." Oscar shrugged; he naturally didn't mind.
With that, rings of light instantly superimposed behind Ning Rongrong's back. A brilliantly dazzling nine-colored light rose up, transforming into a five-ring halo that manifested behind her head, and an imposing aura emerged. Not only that, but as she raised her right hand, a nine-story pagoda rose within her palm, flickering with a misty, precious radiance.
Whoosh—
A streak of pink flowing light flashed by, and nine-colored divine power formed a screen of light, presenting itself before the two deities. The peculiar scenery of the Qiankun Wenqing Valley, along with Chen Junting and Ning Tian at the bottom of the lake, appeared right before their eyes.
"Oh? It's a man and a woman, and they look like a couple." Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes gleamed brightly, clearly intrigued. "In that case, let the Qiankun Inquiry of Love, the Adventure of True Hearts, begin."
...
Meanwhile, at the Qiankun Wenqing Valley.
Just as Chen Junting and Ning Tian noticed the rings on their hands go silent, the golden circular platform beneath their feet emitted a hazy mist of light. Suddenly, a narrow beam of golden light shot out from the center of the circular platform and rapidly began to spin around it. The end of the light beam pointed toward the two smaller circular platforms they were standing on.
"Qiankun Inquiry of Love, the Adventure of True Hearts begins."
A voice that sounded extremely peaceful, yet was impossible to distinguish as male or female, simultaneously rang in their ears.
Hearing this, Chen Junting and Ning Tian immediately quieted down. The moment the voice rang out, their vision was replaced by a gold-and-silver screen of light; aside from this, they could see nothing else.
Immediately after, the beam of light in the center of the platform began to spin rapidly. With a fifty-fifty probability, it finally stopped right in front of Chen Junting. Following that, the bubble around him vanished. A golden light rose from the circular platform beneath his feet, enveloping his body. Shrouded in the golden light, his body slowly ascended, stopping only when he was three feet off the ground.
Facing all of this, Chen Junting remained completely composed. As if nothing had happened at all.
Then, a voice echoed: "Do you have a lover?"
"I do." Chen Junting's expression remained as usual, without the slightest hesitation.
"Does she love you?"
"She does."
His decisive answer caused the peaceful voice to pause slightly.
Meanwhile, without Chen Junting's knowledge, Ning Rongrong and Oscar were staring at the screen, conversing and even clicking their tongues in wonder. One had to know, whether the answers given in the Qiankun Wenqing Valley were true or false, no one could hide it from them. It was precisely because of this that they knew this young man wasn't lying; he was completely loyal and devoted to his feelings, without a single flaw. Among all the people who had intruded into the Qiankun Wenqing Valley in the past, this could be said to be a one-of-a-kind case! Otherwise, from ancient times to the present, there wouldn't have been only a handful of people who managed to walk out of here alive.
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