Chapter 85

【Pei Xi, you are finished. You will never forget Zhao Mei for the rest of your life.】

【 Teacher, how did my child enter one aberrant realm and disappear?】

【Here it comes, the male-frequency protagonist’s essential white-moonlight second male lead has arrived.】

Hot posts related to Zhao Mei nearly took over the entire forum. Every reader who finished the latest chapter had only one image left in their mind.

The youth smiling amid the flames as he bid farewell to his companions. His quiet face seemed prepared for calm death, yet his brows and eyes carried an unmistakable melancholy. The subdued black figure shone even brighter than the firelight.

【1L: Who could have thought the “glorious oath” would be fulfilled so soon? Sure enough, do not raise flags before battle.】

“Glorious oath” refers to the line Zhao Mei said to Pei Xi: “Even if you let me bear all the glory and responsibilities that have become too heavy for you, that would be fine too.” This line has since become a famous quote among the Xi-Zhao CP.

【2L: Oh my god, if it were not for Zhao Mei, given Pei Xi’s sense of responsibility, he would very likely have chosen the traitor’s position and stayed behind. Zhao Mei knew this, so he concealed it from everyone and chose to sacrifice himself instead...】

【3L: Mama, I’m scared. Xi-Zhao is being pushed this hard. I really have to suspect this is a last meal!】

【4L: He is submissive, he is anxious, he is devoted, he is destructive. I forgot the middle part. Anyway, all the qualities that have been considered beautiful in Eastern O women for thousands of years have been arranged on him. Ravishingly beautiful. The role most suited to this meme has appeared!】

【5L: Do not attribute all of Zhao Mei’s choices to the CP. He clearly did it for everyone in the Cloud Soarers team.】

【6L: Upstairs nailed it. Sick of Zhao Mei mamas and Xi-Zhao sisters. The reason Zhao Mei did this is because he is a very charming little boy, not because of love, okay?】

【7L: Uncle is already selling it this hard. Not taking a bite would be impolite, right?】

【8L: Is no one discussing whether Zhao Mei will actually die or not? Ever since the glorious oath, I always feel like Zhao Mei is raising a flag. Something feels off. The kind that will definitely lead to something bad sooner or later.】

【9L: Xi-Zhao really makes me hallucinate some classic male-male beauty empire tropes. The second male lead who dedicates his whole life to the like-minded male protagonist. I would genuinely feel pity and love.】

【10L: I dare not say about the future, but at least this time it should be fine. Zhao Mei has such high popularity, and there are still many secrets about him that have not been revealed. Uncle absolutely cannot bear to kill him off right now, although the possibility of going crazy in the future cannot be ruled out.】

【11L: Sacrificing himself for his companions in the identity of a “traitor.” If I were Pei Xi, I would never forget those gentle and melancholic green eyes of Zhao Mei for the rest of my life. Your aberrant realm’s one and only designated white moonlight!】

【12L: By the way, shouldn’t Zhao Mei’s identity be revealed soon? He has already become an inseparable part of the Cloud Soarers. I guess when Zhao Mei appears again, he will tell Pei Xi his true identity, and the two of them will completely open their hearts to each other.】

【13L: Waiting eagerly for Zhao Mei’s return. I am a dirt dog. I just love watching plots where the lover dies and comes back to life, and the widower goes wild with joy.】

【14L: Waiting eagerly +1. Waiting for Zhao Mei’s return to stun everyone!】

Li Yixin watched Zhao Mei disappear into the sea of flames, and she was so anxious that tears were about to fall. The lively discussions on the forum reassured her somewhat. No matter how crazy Uncle became, it was impossible for him to suddenly kill off such a high-popularity character. The official side was even planning to sell Zhao Mei merchandise. Rumors said the art previews would be released this week.

As for those Xi-Zhao shippers opening their meals, Li Yixin had already adjusted her mindset. Being a single stan of one side in a massively popular CP was simply this miserable. You got face-slapped everywhere you went.

For her, as long as Zhao Mei stayed alive and well, and did not go OOC, she would continue stanning this character.

Li Yixin originally maintained a good mindset, until she brushed past another post on the forum. Then she switched to the manga app to confirm it, and she was completely speechless.

Sometimes having an overly popular character was not a good thing, because it easily attracted strange fellow stans.

The manga platform where 《Throne of the Aberrant Realm》 was serialized had launched an event: voting for the most popular female character. The first place would receive opening screen promotional rewards across multiple platforms.

Currently, the highest vote in this female character voting event actually belonged to Zhao Mei!

When Li Yixin saw the black-haired, green-eyed youth ranked among a group of female characters, her vision went black. She could not understand this world.

Please, everyone, accept the gender of the character you stan, okay!

If you love males, please stan male characters. If you love females, please stan female characters. Do not arbitrarily change the gender of the character you stan!

This manga platform mainly featured big-male-lead shonen manga. In most popular works, female characters had relatively low popularity and not-so-diehard fans. Although 《Throne of the Aberrant Realm》 was not the platform’s hottest manga, Zhao Mei’s popularity quickly stood out among the female characters, with vote numbers clearly leading in first place.

This voting event was soon reposted to the forums and immediately turned into a heated thread.

【1L: Laughed for ten minutes before posting. Mei Bao has truly become Mei Bao, little sister, this time!】

【2L: Mama’s great victory!】

【3L: Where do I vote? I want to join the fun too.】

【4L: Is this okay? It was originally a female character vote, but suddenly voting for a male character?】

【5L: The official side thinks it's fine, so people in the comments should not make a big deal out of it.】

【6L: Zhao Mei in the fire execution sending off his companions. Witch archetype acquired again! Why can’t he participate in female character voting?】

【7L: I tried it. Other male characters cannot be nominated, only Zhao Mei passed hahaha. The chosen little sister has appeared!】

This thread quickly flooded with a large number of people. Many who originally came just to watch the drama joined the battlefield as the arguments involved more and more characters.

【56L: Those with gender identity disorders please seek treatment soon. What you stan is a male! Males are prohibited from participating in any women’s activities!】

【57L: Upstairs Ye Zheng stans seem to have run out of tricks and strength. Cannot win so you resort to moral policing?】

【58L: Female baby mamas’ old routine again. Use this energy to vote for your female instead? Do not attack three-dimensional women.】

【59L: I am a Zhao Mei stan and I cannot accept this either. Are you willing to have Zhao Mei labeled as a female character and appear on big screens?】

【60L: Stop arguing. Gong says gong is right, mama says mama is right.】

【61L: 58L really said it. Ye Zheng’s vote count is rising fast now, already fifth place. Looks like she will soon overtake your cross-gender male baby.】

【62L: Our Ye Zheng stans are just more grounded in real life and do not pay much attention to these events, not dead...】

【63L: Our Bai Muqing stans are just few in number, not dead... Sick of some male baby mamas who love bringing male babies into the women’s bathroom.】

【64L: In the corner no one cares about, our Lu Qi baby has also reached fifteenth place.】

Tang Mingxi only learned about this voting event after Li Yixin complained to her about it.

She heard there was no Ye Zheng in this update, so she hadn't even opened the latest chapter yet.

As a hardcore entertainment stan, she was far more familiar with voting events than two-dimensional ones. She quickly rallied her fellow stans across platforms to vote. The small opening screen reward did not matter. She was already planning Ye Zheng’s birthday group fundraising to buy big screens for celebration.

But she could not swallow this anger. Damn it, did they really think Ye Zheng stans were easy to bully?

Tang Mingxi quickly finished reading the latest chapter, trying to find ugly art of Zhao Mei and plot flaws. She ended up discovering that this chapter was completely Zhao Mei’s highlight moment. For a moment she could not find any weakness in the rival!

She admitted the rival male baby had some looks, but just by being male, he had already lost completely to Ye Zheng!

【589L: Hilarious. After reading the update I thought your son disappeared in the aberrant realm for his companions. Turns out after seeing the vote, your son disappeared to secretly change gender?】

【590L: Upstairs mouth is so foul. Twisting Zhao Mei’s character arc is fun? Your female is flat as a skin suit. Even if she underwent gender reassignment to become male, I still would not like her.】

【591L: Listening to Ye Zheng mamas breaking down. Zhao Mei is the divine daughter, saintess, witch girl. What about it?】

【592L: Clicked. Female baby mamas do not moral police. Even if Zhao Mei really were female, I would still like him, just because he has far more charm than your stan.】

Tang Mingxi gritted her teeth. The current voting situation was indeed unfavorable for them. This week’s Zhao Mei highlight plot had stimulated a huge number of people. Vote numbers were still rising, and next week’s update was the last day of voting. Even if Zheng Zheng had a highlight, it would be difficult to overtake Zhao Mei for first place in the most popular female character ranking.

Sorry, baby, mama cannot carry this against-the-wind round... Tang Mingxi sighed inwardly, left one last sarcastic comment, and exited the forum. She would wait for the next favorable round. She would take everything back!

【623L: Wishing your son successful gender change. Keep going!】

Sensing the system hesitating to speak in her mind, Ye Zheng also became curious. “Is there something you want to ask?”

At this moment, the youth was inside a grand palace. There were no long tables or flames, only stone walls engraved with intricate patterns overlooking her, and twelve doors surrounding her.

After passing the fire execution trial, Ye Zheng had been teleported by the maze back to the first palace. There were traces she had carved on the stone wall before. No mistake.

『Cough, nothing. The manga just updated again, and the forums stirred up a bit of a storm.』

It could not exactly tell her that everyone was having a fierce argument about her gender change issue.

Even it felt a chill when seeing that vote, afraid Ye Zheng would have her cover blown so lightly by the platform officials. Luckily, Zhao Mei stans and Ye Zheng stans had long-standing grudges. How could they possibly believe the rival they were cursing was actually the same person?

The system sighed. Good, good. It looked like the Zhao Mei cover could be maintained for a long time. She could stay optimistic for a while longer.

“Any new manga spoilers?”

『Not this time. Last time I already spoiled a big one for you. Spoiling more would be rude to the protagonist.』

“I see.”

Ye Zheng lost interest in checking her phone. Given the current situation, time was especially precious to her.

Her black robe had burned away in the fire execution. Now she wore sleek black tight clothing under silver light armor, like a loyal knight from an ancient temple.

After noticing the large pool and fountain in the palace, Ye Zheng had already planned to separate from the team. Abundant water sources were also her confidence in choosing to be the “traitor.”

However, she had miscalculated one thing: this maze suppressed abilities. After barely surviving the fire execution in a miserable state, what disappointed her even more was being teleported back to the starting point.

Ye Zheng pressed her hand against the door they had originally chosen to enter. It was sealed shut, completely immovable. It seemed the maze would not allow her to take shortcuts.

“I thought that as long as I endured the fire execution, it would count as passing the trial. I never expected it to send me back to the starting line?”

Ye Zheng laughed once, her expression cold.

“In the original plot, was it also like this?”

“System, speak. Your reaction tells me that everything I just did is exactly what I would have done in the original plot.”

The system did not try to stop her. Action points were not deducted either. The empty and silent palace was filled with spreading stillness.

『In the original plot, this was one of the few highlight moments for Saintess Ye Zheng. She sacrificed herself for her companions. You have always been positioned as this type of character.』

『You will be trapped here until Pei Xi draws the divine sword and the maze collapses.』

The system said with reluctance.

This was Pei Xi’s crucial plot. The laws of the manga would not allow anyone to interfere with it or destroy it. Not only Ye Zheng, but even the other members of the Cloud Soarers team would be trapped one after another in different palaces, all to use friendship and bonds to lift Pei Xi to the place of his destiny.

『The divine sword belongs to Pei Xi. This is an unchangeable fact, just like hair that you cannot cut off.』

『Ye Zheng, you are not competing with Pei Xi for the divine sword. You are competing with the laws that keep this world running, with the decisive will from the higher dimension! Do you understand?!』

『If you exceed the limits allowed by the laws, you will be erased!』

The system shouted in a rare loss of composure. This kind of crucial plot could not be overstepped.

“Is it this world that does not allow it, or is it the ‘company’ that does not allow it?”

The silent girl suddenly asked.

The system choked. For a moment it did not know how to answer.

『We are not your enemies trying to hinder you, but we are also not here to help you.』

The system finally admitted.

『The danger of overstepping is yours alone to bear. Whether you succeed or fail, it's all valuable data for the company.』

After saying this sentence, the system went completely silent.

Ye Zheng quietly leaned against the cold floor. In the grand and wide palace, the twelve doors engraved with compassionate deities seemed to be watching this lost child.

Her black short hair was slightly scorched. Ye Zheng had a premonition that the magical wig she bought from the black market would not last much longer. That was fine, she would not need it soon anyway.

Suddenly, she took out a silver coin from her sleeve. This was common currency in the empire. Usually, its front was engraved with two crossed swords symbolizing glory and progress, and the back was engraved with an exquisite shield.

『You are going to flip a coin?』

The system appeared again.

Ye Zheng laughed once. This time her smile carried a trace of warmth. “I thought you had been muted again.”

“When people are caught between advance and retreat, they often borrow external forces to seek peace of mind. This is very common.”

『Leaving an important decision to luck does not seem like a good choice.』

“However, the final blow that decides victory is often luck.”

Ye Zheng said calmly.

『Alright then. How are you going to decide?』

The system’s voice sounded slightly nervous.

“If the side with the crossed swords lands face up, I will continue my plan.”

The system understood. Then the other side would mean abandoning the plan. But it still asked uneasily, “Then what about the other side?”

“The other side? If the shield comes up, I abandon the plan.”

Ye Zheng laughed once again, as though the system had asked a very foolish question.

『By the way, what if it lands on its edge!』

“If it lands on its edge, I flip again.”

Ye Zheng pressed a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound.

“Alright. I am starting.”

The girl sat cross-legged on the ground. One hand supported her from behind, while the other toyed with the silver coin.

The Saintess rarely adopted such a casual posture. Under the gaze of the twelve statues, she tossed the silver coin in her hand. Silver light traced a beautiful arc in the air and landed in the girl’s palm.

The system almost held its breath. As a non-living being, it understood the meaning of this phrase for the first time.

The moment it saw the result, it felt no surprise at all. There was a sense of predestined dust settling.

『Go ahead.』

『Since this is fate, the direction of the divine sword, judging from the original plot, should be in your southeast.』

The system said calmly.

“Thank you.”

Ye Zheng replied just as calmly. She stood up from the ground and put the silver coin back into her sleeve.

The metallic luster of the silver coin concealed itself again. Except for Ye Zheng, no one would know that both sides of this silver coin were engraved with the crossed swords symbolizing glory and progress.

She would never hand herself over to fate.

Whether good luck or bad luck, both would lead to the inevitable road.

Forward, toward the fate she had personally tailored for herself, keep moving forward!

Ye Zheng stood before one door, gazing at the statue engraved upon it, a deity holding a sword with both hands.

Sela setting fire to Sieg Square, and her Order of Sacred Conduct being the first to enter Sieg Square for rescue, none of it was coincidence.

She had buried two things inside that grand statue in Sieg Square. Dragon Bone, and a carefully crafted golden sword.

“I don't need you to choose me.”

Ye Zheng gazed silently at the statue on the stone door. Then, she pushed the door open.

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Authors Note

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These days I am working hard to write more. I also want to quickly reach that scene I have been thinking about for a long time...