NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1 - My Childhood Sweetheart is the Future Empress?
Chapter 1 – My Childhood Sweetheart is the Future Empress?
In the Eastern Desolate region, Ziyang Prefecture.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the official road was bustling with carriages and horses. A procession of over a hundred people and more than ten carriages sped along the path.
A young man dressed in silk robes lifted the carriage curtain, his face pale as he tried to breathe some fresh air.
“Huff…”
“Long-distance travel in ancient times is really exhausting, cough.”
As the young man lifted the curtain, he was choked by the rising dust and coughed twice.
“Young Master, we still have two days’ journey to reach Qingyuan Sect,” the coachman said with a smile.
He then added carefully, “Our family’s carriage is already the most comfortable for traveling.”
“Alright,” Li Mo replied, sighing inwardly.
Still not as comfortable as high-speed rail and airplanes though.
Two days ago, he had solved the mystery of his birth and awakened memories of his past life.
In his previous life, he had lived in a place called Blue Star, where advanced modern technology was the norm.
The Great Yu Dynasty, however, was different.
This was a world where everyone revered martial arts, and great power belonged to individuals.
Now at sixteen, before he could fully enjoy the leisurely life of an ancient wealthy family, his father had put him on a carriage headed for Qingyuan Sect, one of the three major sects in Ziyang Prefecture, to take the entrance exam.
“Practicing martial arts…” Li Mo’s eyes revealed a look of longing as he gazed at the three suns hanging high in the sky.
On the way, he had heard from other youths also going to Qingyuan Sect that in this world’s martial arts, people like his father, who were like giant humanoid robots, were only considered low-level warriors.
Legend had it that the three suns in the sky were transformed from two emperors of the Great Yu Dynasty.
This wasn’t just mythology, but clearly recorded history.
An hour later, as dusk fell, the convoy, escorted by a security bureau, slowly stopped at an inn.
Li Mo had just jumped down from the carriage when the curtain of the carriage behind him was also lifted.
A girl wearing indigo clothes emerged, her skin as delicate as white porcelain in the moonlight.
Her adolescent figure was just beginning to show graceful curves, and she was almost as tall as Li Mo.
Days of travel and illness had taken their toll. Though her face still showed stunning beauty, there was a hint of fragility in her refined and noble features.
She was tired and weak, dressed plainly, yet at first glance one could believe that “the beauty of six palaces pales in comparison” was not just a figure of speech.
Li Mo’s mind recalled the girl’s name.
Ying Bing.
The Li family and Ying family were old friends, with close ties going back to their grandparents’ generation.
In their generation, the elders of both families had intentions of arranging a marriage between the younger ones, to strengthen family ties.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat? I can ask the kitchen to prepare it,” Li Mo said casually.
The girl ignored him completely. Her eyes, like icy mirrors, didn’t even glance at Li Mo as she walked past him into the inn, leaving only a faint fragrance behind.
“Miss Ying has just suffered a family tragedy, so…”
“No need to explain for her. I was too unruly in the past,” Li Mo said helplessly.
What a mess, he thought. How did he end up being such a troublemaker in this new world?
Coming from a wealthy background and being spoiled by the whole family, he had done plenty of mischievous things.
Like peeping at maids bathing, or hiding firecrackers in the firewood pile…
A few years ago, when monster beasts invaded the city, the entire Ying family tragically perished, leaving only Ying Bing. His father had her stay at the Li residence for the time being.
He had often bullied her intentionally, though he actually liked her.
It was a bit like a middle school boy who likes a girl and then purposely pulls her hair to get her attention…
“As is well known, people whose entire family is sacrificed to the heavens are usually not ordinary,” Li Mo thought, drawing on his knowledge from his past life as a novel enthusiast.
“Your soup is here!” The inn boy came over with a tray, smiling broadly.
Li Mo’s mouth twitched slightly as he muttered:
“I’ve lived two lives now, how come I don’t have a golden finger or something…”
「Hello, you do have one.」
“Who’s speaking?”
Li Mo jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Young master?” The steward looked at him in confusion. What was the young master going on about now?
“It’s nothing, probably just ringing in my ears.”
Li Mo frowned. Just as he was wondering if he was hearing things, that voice echoed in his mind again:
「Since you’ve asked sincerely, this system shall properly reveal itself.」
Li Mo: “…?”
You mean if I hadn’t asked, you weren’t planning to show up in this lifetime?
Well, that’s not the point.
“System, what can you do?”
「This system is an investment rebate system.」
「The host can invest in any target. The stronger the ‘destiny’ of the investment target, the better the rewards will be.」
「If the investment target has a major breakthrough, you can receive additional rewards.」
Li Mo raised an eyebrow slightly.
Any target?
“So can I invest in myself?”
「The Heavenly Fate Divine Eye has been granted to the host. Please judge for yourself whether you have investment value.」
So, it’s possible.
As Li Mo was thinking this, he suddenly felt that there was something inexplicable in his mind. He couldn’t see it or touch it, but it definitely existed.
He didn’t understand its mysteriousness, but found that he could use it.
However, that inexplicable information was obscure and difficult to understand. It was neither sound nor text.
Heavenly Fate Divine Eye?
Li Mo frowned. He couldn’t understand this either.
The next moment, a panel suddenly appeared in front of him, seemingly making a user-friendly adjustment.
[Name: Li Mo]
[Age: 16]
[Constitution: None.]
[Realm: Mortal.]
[Destiny: Gray (Congenitally deficient, ill-fated)]
[Evaluation: Congenital deficiency has led to physical weakness. Not suitable for martial arts. Apart from being somewhat handsome and having a good father, what else do you have? What else are you?]
[Recent encounter: Met this system.]
Li Mo: “……”
Too real.
Not very polite, but he had to admit there really wasn’t any investment value.
“There must be a few good seedlings among those from the county going to Qingyuan Sect together,” Li Mo thought.
He wasn’t in the mood to eat anymore. He raised his head, his eyes flashing with something obscure as he looked towards his fellow townspeople resting and eating in the hall.
…
[Name: He Yong]
[Age: 16]
[Constitution: None]
[Realm: Blood Qi Realm, First Meridian.]
[Destiny: White]
[Evaluation: One among the masses, unremarkable.]
[Encounter: Born a woodcutter, worried about repaying borrowed travel expenses.]…
…
[Name: Chen Xiaoyan]
[Age: 16]
[Constitution: None]
…
After looking at several people, most had white destiny, with green at most.
It wasn’t until Li Mo’s gaze turned to the corner that a cyan color finally appeared before his eyes.
….
[Name: Wang Hu]
[Age: 16]
[Constitution: Tiger arms and leopard waist.]
[Realm: Blood Qi Realm, Third Meridian.]
[Destiny: blue(Slightly talented)]
[Evaluation: Some talent. With diligent study and practice, may achieve some accomplishments in the future. However, he’s narrow-minded and vengeful, arrogant and domineering, easily prone to taking extreme paths.]
[Recent encounter: Reached a bottleneck in fist techniques, urgently needs to spar to break through.]
…
All in all, there were no particularly worthwhile investment targets.
The only one who looked decent, Wang Hu, even had conflicts with him.
At this moment.
“Sir, the chicken soup you ordered, with 10-year-old ginseng as requested.”
“I’ll take it up to the second floor for you.”
The inn’s waiter gave a greeting and was about to take the food box upstairs.
“Wait,” Li Mo had a sudden thought and called out to him:
“I’ll take it up myself.”
Under the inn boy’s puzzled gaze, Li Mo took the food box.
His gaze turned towards the room at the end of the second floor.
What kind of destiny would she have?
Knock knock—
After knocking for a moment, a soft voice came from inside:
“Come in.”
The girl sat quietly by the window. Moonlight filtered through the gauze window, falling on her flowing black hair, reflecting a faint glow in her eyes.
Seeing it was Li Mo who entered, she frowned slightly.
But Li Mo had no time to observe her expression. He was already completely stunned.
Before his eyes, her information suddenly appeared:
[Name: Ying Bing]
[Age: 16]
[Constitution: Taiyin Moon Phoenix Body.]
[Realm: None.]
[Destiny: ….]
At this point, the Heavenly Fate Divine Eye showed some hesitation, as if the karma she carried was too great, causing a glitch.
After a few seconds, the subsequent information slowly appeared.
[Destiny: Red (Possesses imperial bones, destiny of mystic ice, spirit of autumn waters, has the potential of a phoenix ruling the heavens)]
[Evaluation: Destined for many trials, but always able to turn misfortune into blessings. Now, her wings are not yet fully grown, but when the time comes, she will soar across the heavens and earth.]
[Recent encounter: Before the Taiyin Moon Phoenix Body opens its meridians, it manifests externally as a body with blocked meridians. Before fully mastering the power of Tai Yin, she must endure extreme cold every day.]
Li Mo: “?”
Well, what did I say?
There wasn’t even a color anymore, it was directly calculated based on phenomena.
According to the Heavenly Fate Divine Eye’s judgment, destinies from low to high were classified as:
Black, gray, white, green, blue, purple, gold.
Above gold, there was still the red destiny.
Such a destiny could no longer be classified by mere colors, but was accompanied by various phenomena.
The Martial Emperor who founded the Great Yu Dynasty and established human rule over the nine heavens and ten earths was clearly recorded in history books as having the sun and moon appear simultaneously at his birth, with the North Star moving, and a divine turtle carrying a stone tablet to bestow his name.
Thinking of it this way, this must also be a so-called destiny phenomenon.
His soon-to-be wife was destined to be comparable to the Founding Emperor in the future?
That’s quite… surprising.
Young Li fell into deep thought, doubting his own existence.
“Um… the chicken soup. Drink it while it’s hot.”
Slam—
The door closed.
“So it has come to this day.”
“Rebirth through nirvana, so that’s what it meant.”
Ying Bing picked up a piece of chicken and tossed it out the second-floor window into the backyard.
The guard dog ate it all up, showing no abnormalities moments later.
Just ordinary chicken soup?
It wasn’t that she held a grudge. Apart from her closest family, those distant loves and hatreds were already fleeting memories to her.
It was just that in her memory, Li Mo liked to play childish pranks on her.
Today, why did he suddenly bring chicken soup?
“Ding dong—”
Suddenly a crisp sound suddenly rang in her ears.
“Who’s there?”
Ying Bing narrowed her eyes instantly.
That voice seemed to ignore her alertness and sounded again on its own:
「System binding successful.」
「The victor becomes king, the loser eats dust. Are you… ready?」
…
T/N: [1] “The beauty of six palaces pales in comparison”
This is a reference to an ancient Chinese idiom, “六宫粉黛无颜色” (liù gōng fěn dài wú yán sè). It literally means “the powdered and painted ladies of the six palaces lose their color.”
In ancient China, the emperor’s palace was divided into six main areas where his consorts and concubines lived. These women were considered the most beautiful in the land. The phrase suggests that someone’s beauty is so extraordinary that even these famously beautiful women would pale in comparison.
In the context of the story, it’s used to emphasize Ying Bing’s exceptional beauty, suggesting that her appearance is so striking that it would outshine even the most renowned beauties of the imperial court.