FIGHTING THE GODS, VOLUME 2 SEASON 12 - SEASON 12 EPISODE 1

In a black colored world, his consciousness was slow returning to him.

When Yun Che opened his eyes, he saw a small-statured red colored silhouette standing before him, silently gazing at him.

That matchless beautiful little face carried a tinge of pride and coldness. She was still wearing her favourite Smoky Red Fairy Dress. Her scarlet hair reached her hips, making her look both gentle and delicate.

“Jas…mine…” Yun Che whispered. He knew he was in a dream but his soul couldn’t stop trembling with excitement.

“You’ve gotten yourself badly injured again. Don’t tell me it’s because of that woman?” Jasmine stared at him, that familiar gaze and tone, and that forcefulness of posture, the demeanor of a master.

“Hehe…” Yun Che chuckled. “Yes. She’s called Little Jasmine.”

“Hmph!” Jasmine was angered. “When will you learn to properly your life!? Over those years with you, I’ve made many misjudgements but one thing I’m certain of is that if one day you are absolutely and totally dead, the cause will be a woman!”

“If it’s for you…” Yun Che looked at her and replied resolutely, “I won’t hesitate.”

“…Idiot!” She scolded him once more and then turned around, her gaze also leaving him. “Before we parted, I already said everything. We’re no longer fated and have no more ties to one another. Our paths will no longer cross.”

“Live well, don’t have any more senseless hopes… even if it is for me.”

As her voice trailed off, that dreamlike figure of hers gradually turned blurry.

“Jasmine… Jasmine! Don’t go, I have a lot more to talk with you about… Jasmine!!”

Yun Che sat up, the pain all over his body jolting him completely awake, his vision also slowly started to clear up.

This place seemed like a naturally formed cave. There was a small campfire made of broken pieces of wood. A young girl dressed in a colorful dress was seated in front of him. Her cheeks and chin rested on both her palms as she stared at him without blinking.

“Awake so soon, I thought you would sleep longer.” Little Jasmine’s hands still stayed in their positions holding her cute face in the middle. She softly continued, “Your injuries are very serious.”

“How long was I asleep for?”

He had a splitting headache, he put his hand on his head for quite a while before slowly easing his grip.

The loss of my mental energy is greater than the injuries I’ve suffered physically. I’ll probably only be able to recover after a long period of time.

Little Jasmine tilted her head, recalling, “Probably around two to three hours. Oh yeah, Brother-in-law, you were constantly shouting out Big Sister Jasmine’s name just now.”

“…” Yun Che paused a while to breathe and slowly sat up, his back leaning against the stone wall. The darkness outside had some faint light shining through it. It was probably way past midnight. “Where is this place? Was it you who brought me here?”

“Of course it was me. You think it’s those bad guys?” Little Jasmine pouted. “Anyways, I don’t know where this place is but it’s very safe. There’s nothing notable within the surroundings. You really really really need to thank me, Brother-in-law, if I hadn’t done such back breaking work dragging Brother-in-law to this safe place, you’d most likely have been eaten by profound beasts by now.”

“…” Yun Che didn’t speak further. He slowly and steadily tried to regain consciousness It was just that he couldn’t get rid of the floating red figure he saw in his dreams out of his vision.

“Jasmine…” his consciousness began to fade once more.

Little Jasmine opened her lips slightly, a little startled at his dazed like state and hurriedly asked, “Brother-in-law, are you very angry with me right now?”

“…” Yun Che started to wake once more and glared at Little Jasmine. “What do you think!? Forget about the last time. This time I almost got killed because of you!”

“Hehehe.” Little Jasmine stuck her tongue out cheekily, “Actually… Actually be it this time or the last, I let those bad people discover me on purpose. It’s because I knew that brother-in-law was by my side, if not they would never have been able to find me.”

“You!” Yun Che violently turned his head, staring daggers at her, “You really are not as simple as you look. Who the hell are you… and why are you trying to harm me!?”

“I don’t want to harm Brother-in-law. I just…” both of Little Jasmine’s eye brows started to curve as she giggled, “I just wanted to see if Brother-in-law was willing to brave every danger to come and save me.”

“Hmph!” Yun Che scowled as he spat out the following words, “We have no ties to each other. Where does your confidence that I’ll save you time and again come from!?”

“It’s definitely because I’m so pretty and so lovable. Brother-in-law would never bear to even let me suffer a hair’s worth of harm.”

Yun Che, “…”

“Oh and there’s this other… very very little reason.” Little Jasmine started to speak in a hushed tone, “I wanted to know if it’s because I have the same name as Big Sister Jasmine that Brother-in-law didn’t abandon me… I never would have thought that Brother-in-law was actually this stupid!”

It was as if every word of Little Jasmine’s was piercing Yun Che’s fatal weakness.

The reason why he threw caution to the wind each and every time to risk his life to save this little girl whom he had no ties with… the biggest reason… no… the only reason was because her name was “Little Jasmine”.

Perhaps it was a coincidence and perhaps she was spouting nonsense back then, but to Yun Che, who had come to the God Realm alone, whose entire being was preoccupied with Jasmine, “Little Jasmine” was indeed a name that touched the depths of his heart. He wanted to reject her for having the same name. He was disgusted that she obstinately called Jasmine “Big Sister Jasmine” while also calling him Brother-in-law…

However… unknowingly, she had left her mark on his heart.

He couldn’t ignore those weighty feelings that kept coming to him whenever Little Jasmine seemed to be in danger.

“…There won’t be a next time. And don’t call me brother-in-law. Sss…”.

His tone was grave and speaking opened some wounds. Yun Che winced in pain, his body slightly convulsing.

Unexpectedly, after this lecture from Yun Che, Little Jasmine didn’t behave in her usual obstinate and unruly manner. She slightly pouted, looking extremely guilty and hurt. “Brother-in-law, I already know I’m in the wrong. At that time, I thought it was fun, I didn’t know that you would suffer to this extent.”

She reached out her hand, gently hovering close to Yun Che’s chest wound, seemingly wanting to touch it yet not daring to. “Does it hurt a lot? I promise I won’t do it again. I definitely won’t.”

Looking at her pitiful look and contrite manner, Yun Che could no longer vent his bellyful of indignance and anger. He casually and helplessly shook his head. “Forget it, as long as you know you were in the wrong…”

Before he had even finished speaking, Little Jasmine’s eyes brightened as she replied cheerfully, “I knew Brother-in-law wouldn’t stay angry at me. Hehehehe! Brother-in-law, when you were sleeping, you shouted Big Sister Jasmine’s name dozens of times. Risking danger to save me was also because of Big Sister Jasmine. You treat Big Sister Jasmine so well, no wonder she was willing to marry you!”

“…” Yun Che gently took in a breath, “Since you’ve been honest with me, I’ll also be honest with you about this. Jasmine… She’s actually not my wife, she’s my teacher.”

“Eh?” Little Jasmine’s mouth went wide “Teacher? Ah… Eh… Then Brother-in-law should be extremely respectful of her am I right?”

“Respectful?” Yun Che lifted his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what my feelings for her are. She’s my teacher but she’s much more than just a teacher to me.”

Little Jasmine didn’t interrupt and silently looked at him, not blinking.

“She’s taught me many things but I’ve never felt the sort of gratitude or respect that one has towards a benefactor. She’s saved me countless times. If not for her, I would have been a dead body lying around somewhere but I’ve never had the sort of thankfulness one has towards a savior… She’s the one in this world that has scolded me the most… she’s the fiercest… yet I’ve never been mad at her… in fact… When I dream… I hope to see and hear her scolding me again, a thousand times… no… ten thousand times.”

Without realizing it, all these feelings started pouring out. Because of Jasmine, he came to the God Realm. He had met countless people, yet he was still constantly lonely. He had to bury his plans for Jasmine deep within his heart. Her name was the worst kind of taboo imaginable here. He couldn’t speak of her, he couldn’t talk about her to anyone.

Right now, he could not help but confide in this girl called “Little Jasmine” who constantly shouted the term “brother-in-law, brother-in-law” at him. Without knowing why, he poured his heart out and confided in her.

“I’ve always known that she and I were from different worlds but I never would have imagined that our parting would be so abrupt, so decisive.”

“After she left, I felt as if half of me was suddenly missing. I initially thought that it was because I was used to relying on her strength and the sense of security that she gave me but later on I slowly realized that it was her that I was used to, everything about her. Without her, my life will always have an unfillable vacancy.

Little Jasmine opened her mouth. “Then are… you looking for her now?”

“Mn.” Yun Che was so focused on his emotions that he didn’t realize the strangeness of Little Jasmine’s question. He half murmured, “I was born in the lower realms. I came to the God Realm just to see her again… No matter what, I have to find her, even if it’s just to properly say goodbye.

Yun Che closed his eyes… If I can find Jasmine… and if it’s only just to say goodbye, will I really truly be satisfied?

“You came to the God Realm, to look for Big Sister Jasmine… Is that the one and only reason?” Little Jasmine continued.

“Mn,” Yun Che replied without hesitation.

“…” Little Jasmine’s gaze started to turn restless. “Then where is she now and how are you going to look for her?”

“I know where she is… it’s just that it’s a place that I can never reach.” Yun Che gave a self-deprecating cold laugh. “But, I’ve found a way to see her again. It’s just that I have to find two items. If I find them, I will definitely be able to see her in two years.”

“Oh? What items?”

A small hand rested on Yun Che’s shoulder and started to gently shake him, “Tell me, tell me! I might have heard of them before.”

Yun Che chuckled, “Of these two items, one is called Divine Nine Star Buddha Jade, the other is called Immortal Emperor Grass.”

“Divine Nine Star Buddha Jade… Immortal Emperor Grass…” Little Jasmine started to repeat these names to herself, her eyes constantly blinking… I feel like I’ve heard of them before but it also feel like I haven’t?

“They are exceedingly rare items, not knowing of them is normal.” Yun Che wasn’t surprised at the puzzled look on Little Jasmine’s face and slowly stopped speaking. Yun Che’ consciousness then became even heavier. He glanced at the weather outside and started concentrating. He began to channel the Great Way of The Buddha, “I’m going to start my recovery, it’s best you don’t disturb me again. Go have a nice rest, I’ll bring you out of here at dawn.”

“Oh,” Little Jasmine replied looking somewhat distracted.

After activating the Great Way of the Buddha, Yun Che swiftly settled down, his physical body and mental state started to swiftly recover.

“Such strange names. It feels like I don’t have those stuff at home.” Little Jasmine was deep in thought. Finally, after much time and putting much effort into thinking about this matter, her eyes lit up.

“That’s right! I can ask those few grandpas from the Heavenly Mystery Realm!”

After she felt certain, the little girl started to become lively again. She immediately started flying into the air and within the blink of an eye, she disappeared.