The icy blade severed cleanly through Li Yun, almost too cleanly. Not a single drop of blood appeared, only the residual wisp of dust remained that slowly dissipated like an afterimage. Something was off.

“An illusion?” The Queen Mother muttered. “Could he have learned how to use an illusion in my world?”

Before she could decipher an answer, Li Yun reappeared behind her and swung a sword through her neck. Her head rolled toward the ground. It happened too quickly for her to react. How did he acquire another weapon? She had already destroyed the iron sword. How was it possible?

Li Yun, with all his energy exhausted, also fell to the ground next to her decapitated body. The body and head, which had rolled next to the pavilion, both disappeared. By the time Li Yun recovered his breath, she reappeared in front as a whole and congratulated him on his success.

“Congratulations. So you have learned to copy my ability. I thought you were sloppy in the beginning, but you were only preserving your energy until the right moment.”

Li Yun nodded.

“When did you learn my ability?” She asked.

“You have hinted it being about time and speed, so I manipulated my own dream world to see if it was possible to recreate the laws of the compass world. I reversed-engineered it to find ways to recreate your ability.” In his own dream world, it was possible to create the compass world.

“Where did you get another sword? There should only be one weapon in this world and none of the weapons from your world should be able to harm me.”

“This sword is one that I have created from my own dream world. I realized that if I could manifest real objects into this world, why couldn’t I manifest a weapon from my dream world into this world?”

The Queen Mother nodded. According to the rules of the compass world, Li Yun could only manifest objects into the compass world that he was carrying in from the real world. The weapon in Li Yun’s dream world technically existed inside of Li Yun’s mind. Li Yun changed his mindset on what was real and what was a dream, it was possible for a sword he created in his dream world to exist in the real world. Although there wasn’t a physical manifestation in the real world, as long as Li Yun believed it existed, the compass world would accept it.

"How did you create the sword logic strong enough to defeat my icy blade?" she inquired.

"The logic is simple, it's a sword that grows stronger after every defeat."

“Since you’re able to defeat me, is there any reward you would like?”

“I doubt you can give me any real gifts, but tell me more about the golden elixir.”

“I can’t tell you much since it’s not something from our realm, but it is safe for consumption.”

Li Yun didn’t know if he should trust her words blindly. Technically, it doesn’t seem like she has the ability to kill him directly. Within the compass, there were rules that even the Queen Mother couldn’t break.

“You’re afraid that I’m lying to you?” said Queen Mother.

“Well yes, there is no way to determine what you say is the truth,” said Li Yun.

“You’ve already tested the elixir, so you know it's safe for consumption.”

“That’s true, but who knows if there is a long-term effect.”

Queen Mother smiled. “You’re still as cautious as ever. If you don’t try the unknown, you may not be able to proceed.”

“If you mean by proceeding into the afterlife, then I don’t know if I want to try it.” The thought of going to another world wasn’t appealing to Li Yun at all.

“Your powers aren’t strong enough where a simple elixir can take you to another realm. I admit that I do not know what your golden elixir does, but it is not harmful.”

Li Yun thought about what the system had given him and put his concern aside. It was unlikely a system that came to him during his childhood would harm him. He was still the host and if he died, wouldn’t the system's existence become obsolete as well? Li Yun thanked the Queen Mother and left the compass.

*****

Li Yun returned to his Hanshang Inn after meeting with Tang Jiang. Rouxi was waiting for him at the entrance.

“You weren’t worried about me?” Li Yun asked. He was technically kidnapped 24 hours ago.

“No, I am in the middle of watching the series finale of Great Chef, so hurry back in.”

Li Yun ran up to her and hugged her. She tightened her arms around his waist and pulled him inside. Although she was worried, she knew there was little in the world that could harm Li Yun. She had been listening in to the bug from the compass and coordinated the event that happened in the hospital. Song Taiji wasn't even aware of what had happened, and they preferred that way.

“It’s the series finale already? Did I miss anything?” Li Yun asked as they watched the TV from bed.

“It’s the final cook-off between Mingya, Xinda, and Anthonio at Chef Pirout's restaurant,” Rouxi responded. "Don't spoil it for me."

Li Yun remembered who won the show, but it was easy for most people to guess. The winner wasn't one Li Yun had chosen as one of the judges. He chose who made the most interesting concoction and flavor profile. The winner was able to win on pure taste.

“Rouxi, let’s elope,” Li Yun suggested.

Rouxi snapped her head to look at Li Yun. “Why?”

“We can avoid all the hassle of planning the wedding, table settings, and bickering relatives,” Li Yun replied.

“But everyone in the apartment is already excited about the wedding,” Rouxi was still in the planning stage of her wedding with Lu Suyin, Wu Ling, Xuxu, and everyone in the apartment. The plan was to use the courtyard and rent out tables and decorations. At the earliest, they can have everything set up in December, but decided on January to give all the relatives time to make the trip.“I have already made reservations with the wedding planner to try out some dresses this weekend.”

“That’s great, we can marry this weekend.”

“Why are you in a hurry to get married?”

“Promise me you won’t do anything drastic if I tell you."

“I'm pregnant?” Rouxi guessed. She was normally healthy, so it didn’t make sense for her to suddenly develop an ailment.

“Right, you’re pregnant.”

Rouxi’s head was spinning faster than the speed of light. “How?” Rouxi asked after a brief moment of silence. It didn’t seem possible as she was using contraceptives.

“You know how there's a 4% chance of contraceptives not working,” Li Yun replied. "It's technically a miracle."

“How far along am I?” Rouxi quickly looked through her phone calendar.

“Just now?”

“No way will I fit in a dress if I am seven months pregnant!” Rouxi scrounged through her phone for a possible solution, still processing her pregnancy news.

There was the morning-after pill, but a slight smile hidden from Rouxi's lips suggested she was rather happy about the news. If anything, they could plan the wedding in a month.

“As I have said, let’s elope,” Li Yun suggested again. “Also, it might be a good time to discuss children's names. How about Li Mingyun and Song Rouxi?”

Rouxi glared at Li Yun. “Are you implying we are going to have twins?”

“Maybe…” Li Yun gently hugged his arms around Rouxi’s waist and smiled at his gifts.

The END