The women all sighed in relief, the heavy stone in their hearts quietly sinking away.
Time ticked by, second by second.
"Y... Youyue..."
Suddenly, a faint voice emerged from Li Youyue's arms.
Li Youyue started, his heart leaping with joy.
Nabu had awakened.
"Nana... It's me, I'm here..."
Li Youyue quickly gripped Nabu's hand.
"Husband..."
Nabu gazed at Li Youyue's face, her expression momentarily blank.
*So, it was all a dream...*
"I... what happened?"
Nabu struggled to recall what had happened.
She had been critically wounded by the Crimson King, and a white-haired girl had saved her.
She had rushed back here with desperate haste, but she hadn't been able to hold on.
A sudden realization struck Nabu.
"The child... the child..."
The first thing Nabu thought of upon waking was her child. She lowered her gaze to her abdomen, desperately probing with her Elemental Power.
This child was, besides Youyue, the most precious thing in her world. She couldn't bear the thought of any harm befalling it.
Of course, if forced to choose between Youyue and the child, Nabu would unhesitatingly choose Youyue.
Her love for Li Youyue had surpassed all else.
"Don't worry, the baby's fine. He's perfectly healthy," Li Youyue reassured her, a long-absent smile finally gracing his lips.
Nabu immediately sighed in relief. "You scared me to death! As long as the baby's okay, that's all that matters."
In her nightmare, it was the loss of the baby that had led Li Youyue to abandon her. The child *had* to live; his existence was crucial to her lifelong happiness.
Moreover, this pregnancy had been hard-won. Nabu and Li Youyue had struggled for a long time to conceive.
"But what about you, Nana? How are you feeling now?" Li Youyue asked, his voice filled with concern. "Are you still in any discomfort?"
Hearing his words, Nabu finally took stock of her body.
A warm, soothing sensation enveloped her, and the tearing pain in her back had completely vanished.
"Much better..." Nabu gasped, her voice still weak.
"Honey... did you save me again?"
"What do you mean 'again'? I'm your lover. Isn't it my duty to save you?" Li Youyue chided gently.
"And it wasn't just me who saved you. Buer and the others helped too. Without them, you might not have lasted until I returned to rescue you," Li Youyue added.
Nabu clicked her tongue inwardly at Li Youyue's words, then turned to the others with a bashful smile. "Ah... so that's how it was... Um... thank you, sisters."
"I'm sorry for making you worry... and thank you for all your hard work..."
"We're all family here, there's no need to thank us," Buer replied. "It was mostly our husband who saved you. If you want to thank someone, thank him properly. He expended three drops of his vital essence to save you this time."
"It's alright, Nabu-jie. This is what we should do..." Nilu said earnestly. "Nabu-jie, I was so worried about you! I was terrified you wouldn't wake up. But thankfully, Youyue managed to rush back in time..."
"Buer-jie and Nilu-meimei are right. We only contributed a small amount; it was mostly our husband who saved you," Nahida added, her voice tinged with self-reproach. "On the contrary, as the God of Sumeru, I failed to protect my own people. It's my fault..."
"It was nothing," Venus waved dismissively, unconcerned. "As long as you're alive, my husband won't die of grief, and I won't be heartbroken."
"..." The women fell silent.
*Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's words remain as blunt as ever.*
Their conversation deepened Nabu's guilt. She didn't know how to face Li Youyue.
She knew about the vital essence.
Each drop of his essence represented decades of his lifespan. In other words, Li Youyue was sacrificing his life to save hers.
He had told her not to worry about it before, but every time she thought about how each drop of vital essence he fed her cost him decades of his life, she panicked, overwhelmed with self-reproach. She lived in constant fear that one day her husband would leave her.
For such a profound debt, Nabu could only repay him with herself. She possessed nothing else; she couldn't help Li Youyue in any other way. All she could do was tend the fire, cook him delicious meals, and keep him company. That was the extent of her abilities.
But she felt it wasn't enough. That's why she had been venturing out daily, seeking help from other Immortal Spirits, hoping they might hold the answer to the curse.
"Husband... I... I..."
Nabu sobbed tears of joy, overwhelmed by both gratitude and anguish.
"I don't know how to thank you..."
"I have nothing..."
"I can't do anything..."
Li Youyue quickly comforted her, his voice soft and gentle. "Nana... there's no need to thank me..."
"For me, as long as you can live a healthy and happy life, I would gladly give up my own life..."
"All I want is for you to live well, to stay by my side forever, to see your smile every day..."
"That's all I need..."
"!!!"
Nabu's heart was deeply stirred.
*The outcome doesn't matter; what matters is the journey.*
Li Youyue's words echoed in her mind.
*Yes, that's exactly the kind of person he is—simple, genuine, and a little foolish. And that's precisely why I fell so deeply in love with him.*
*I truly adore him, I love him so much.*
*I can't bear to let him go, and I never will.*
She would stay by his side forever. Even in death, she wanted to die before him, in his arms.
"Husband... I love you... I'll always love you..."
Nabu closed her eyes, her voice thick with devotion as she spoke from his embrace. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Li Youyue leaned against her head, echoing her words, "I love you too..."
"No matter what..."
"For all eternity... I'll love you..."
Standing nearby, Venus watched Li Youyue and Nabu's heartfelt exchange and couldn't help but recall Buer's earlier words to her:
*He treats every woman the same, with equal affection, never favoring one over another...*
*If it were me lying in that bed today, he would be the same.*
*He's gentle and kind to everyone, showing extraordinary care for each.*
*That's why so many women are willing to follow him, even without any guarantee of a lasting relationship.*
*Companionship is the most enduring declaration of love.*
"Husband..." Nabu gazed at Li Youyue with rapturous devotion.
"Nana..."
At the same time, Li Youyue gazed at her with deep affection.
They shared a passionate kiss, their souls entwined.
"Ugh..." Venus blushed, embarrassed.
"..." Buer forced a wry smile.
"So embarrassing..." Nilu murmured shyly.
The other women blushed in unison.
*Such brazen behavior—they really don't see us as outsiders at all.*
*What? I want to kiss my husband too... Oh, never mind.*
After parting briefly, they gazed at each other for a moment before kissing again.
"???"
The women fell silent, speechless.
*Hey, hey, hey, enough already!*
*With so many of us here, one bowl of dog food isn't nearly enough, you know?*
"Ahem..." Finally, Buer couldn't hold back any longer. "Alright, alright... We're all watching here, Nabu. Your husband isn't just yours, you know?"
But Nabu simply snuggled deeper into Li Youyue's arms and retorted, "But right now, he's all mine. So what? You got a problem with that?"
*Huh?*
*What kind of talk is that?*
*Give her an inch and she'll take a mile!*
"Oh, come on, you're putting on an act now, aren't you?"
Buer rolled up her sleeves, ready to give Nabu a beating.
"Hubby... I'm so scared..." Nabu playfully hid in Li Youyue's arms.
Furious, Buer made a move to pull Nabu off Li Youyue.
But Li Youyue stopped her. "Alright, alright... Save the horseplay for later. I still have a few things to ask."
At his words, Buer immediately calmed down, as did Nabu.
"Nana... Who laid hands on you?" Li Youyue's tone grew rigid, his voice laced with suppressed fury. Anyone who dared touch his woman would pay with their life—no exceptions.
"..."
Nabu hesitated, then whispered, "It was... the Crimson King..."
"Ahmar..."
"Huh?" Buer immediately turned to Nabu, her expression shocked, as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard. "What did you say?"
"The Crimson King attacked you?"
"This..." Even Nahida seemed skeptical.
"The Crimson King?" Nilu looked equally shocked.
Venus and Columbia, unfamiliar with the matter, showed no reaction. However, judging by their reactions, they sensed this was no ordinary situation.
*Has someone been resurrected?*
Venus thought of the girl in the photograph.
*...*
Li Youyue also paused briefly.
"This is impossible. He's already dead. There's no way he could have come back to life."
"But he *did* come back! I saw him standing right in front of me," Nabu insisted, bewildered.
Buer pondered for a moment before asking, "Nabu, are you absolutely certain you saw him with your own eyes?"
"Could it have been someone else disguised as him?"
Nabu shook her head vehemently. "There's no way I could have mistaken him. No one knows Ahmar better than I do, and no one could possibly impersonate him... The power he wielded couldn't be mistaken..."
"If the one who attacked you was truly the Crimson King, he would never have laid a hand on you," Li Youyue pointed out. "But now... how do you explain your current state?"
"Hubby's right. Ahmar would never hurt Nabu..."
Buer was equally baffled.
"Then why would he attack Nabu?"
Nabu paused, recalling the events. "It was definitely Ahmar who attacked me, but he seemed... different. The aura he radiated made me sick."
"My body instinctively recoiled from him..."
Suddenly, Nabu remembered the black mark on Ahmar's forehead.
"Oh, right! He had a black mark on his forehead. I wonder if that's connected?"
"Even if it is, we have no idea what it means."
Buer seemed to have another idea.
"I'll check the World Tree. Wait here."
As soon as she finished speaking, she closed her eyes, her consciousness returning to the World Tree.
"From what you've said, it seems Ahmar is being controlled..." Li Youyue mused.
"Besides that, did he say anything else to you?"
"He..." Nabu hesitated, recalling the recent events. "He still loves me, still wants to possess me. When I refused him, he tried to force himself on me and said some truly disgusting things."
She wondered if telling Li Youyue this was a bad idea.
The Crimson King, Ahmar, could be considered one of her pursuers. She told the current king about him, saying, "To reject him, I told him everything about us, including my pregnancy. But he went berserk, demanding to know who you are and threatening to kill you."
"He probably meant he'd take you back from me and make me his Desert Queen..."
Li Youyue's grip on Nabu's hand tightened. "You're my woman," he said. "No one can take you from me."
"Even if he's the Crimson King?"
"Anyone who dares touch you will be the first one I kill..."
"Mmm..." Nabu murmured in response.
"I've always been yours..."
"For life... forever..."
"Always..."
Nabu leaned in and kissed Li Youyue passionately.
"Mmm..."
This time, she initiated the kiss.
She truly loved the man before her with all her heart.
........
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(End of Chapter)