Chapter 89 - The Empress Gets Sick

“Cough, cough…”

The day after getting caught in the rain, Long Yue came down with a cold and a fever, lying in bed, weak with sickness.

When Lin Fan saw that she hadn't gotten up, he initially thought she was just sleeping in again and didn't disturb her. But when she still wasn't up by lunchtime, he knew she must be sick.

He went back to the bedroom and, sure enough, saw her lying in bed wrapped in her quilt, her face weak and her head covered in a cold sweat.

“Honestly, why didn't you say anything when you got sick.”

Lin Fan brought a towel to help her wipe the sweat from her forehead, then placed the back of his hand against it.

“So hot…”

Feeling the temperature from the back of his hand, he couldn't help but frown.

“So this is what it feels like for a mortal to be sick? It really doesn't feel good…”

Long Yue responded in a weak voice.

Since birth, she had never been sick and didn't even know what sickness was. This was the first time she had ever experienced the feeling of being ill.

In the morning, she had only felt a bit cold, her limbs weak, and her head groggy, as if she had been poisoned. Although she had keenly sensed that something was wrong with her body, she couldn't say what it was, nor had it occurred to her that she was sick.

It was only after Lin Fan's reminder that she realized that she, the Empress, was sick for the first time.

A mortal's body is truly so fragile; it can't even handle a little rain…

“What about that Celestine stone of yours? Wasn't it supposed to be impervious to all poisons?”

Lin Fan brought over the small first-aid kit and asked with confusion as he rummaged through it for a thermometer.

He remembered that she always carried her Celestine stone, a treasure said to be impervious to all poisons and able to prolong life. Logically, she shouldn't have caught a cold from the rain.

Long Yue took out the Celestine stone that hung from her chest. The stone, which should have been overflowing with spiritual light and have a beautiful luster, was now dull and dim, without the slightest aura of spiritual energy.

“The spiritual energy This Empress sealed within the Celestine stone seems to have all dissipated…”

Logically, the spiritual energy she had sealed in the magical treasure should have lasted for a thousand years without dissipating, as long as it wasn't intentionally damaged.

But in this world, in less than three short months, the spiritual energy she had sealed within the stone had completely dissipated.

“Is that so? Then there's nothing to be done.”

Lin Fan took out the thermometer, shook it down, and then handed it to Long Yue.

“Here, tuck this under your armpit.”

“What is this?”

Long Yue asked with confusion.

“A thermometer. It measures your body temperature.”

“Oh…”

“The mortals of this world really have everything.”

Long Yue sighed in admiration, took the thermometer, and tucked it under her armpit.

“Hold it tight and don't move. You have to wait at least five minutes.”

While Long Yue was holding the thermometer, Lin Fan got up, boiled some water, and mixed a cup of cold remedy powder, which he brought back to the bedside.

“It's about time. Take the thermometer out, I'll take a look for you.”

After waiting a few minutes, Long Yue took the thermometer from under her arm and handed it to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan took the thermometer and looked at it, his brow furrowing slightly.

“38.9 degrees. That's not a low temperature; it's almost a high fever.”

“Take today off and get some proper rest. I'll help you post a leave notice on your streaming account in a bit. Don't stream until you're better.”

“Here, drink the medicine first.”

As he spoke, Lin Fan gently helped Long Yue sit up and lean against the headboard, and handed her the mixed cold remedy.

Long Yue took the cup. She could feel the warmth of the medicine through it, a pleasant heat spreading through her palm. She took a light sip and felt a sweet aftertaste on her tongue as a warm current flowed through her body.

The medicine was clearly sweet, but a wave of bitterness washed over her heart…

“Demon Sovereign, This Empress can't go back…”

The hands with which Long Yue held the cup suddenly felt heavy. She silently put down the half-finished medicine, her head bowed, her expression heavy with sorrow.

Now, she was no longer just worried about the situation in the Immortal Realm; she was filled with a deep fear that she herself could not return to it.

If she could never go back, it would mean she would have to stay here forever, as a mortal…

To fall from being the omnipotent Empress, revered by thousands, to a mere mortal who couldn't even be immune to illness—this vast difference was truly difficult for her to bear.

As the Empress of the Immortal Realm, she felt an unprecedented fear in her heart. In an instant, she felt as if she had lost all motivation and all hope to carry on.

“Waaaaah…”

At this thought, she could no longer suppress her emotions. Tears streamed from her eyes, and clear snot ran from her nose. She looked as pitiful as could be…

Lin Fan: “…”

Seeing Long Yue cry so sorrowfully like a child for the first time, Lin Fan couldn't help but be moved.

She had cried sadly before, but never so miserably…

“Empress, your snot is about to drip…”

“This is damaging to your image as the Empress. You should blow your nose first.”

Lin Fan pulled out a few tissues and handed them to Long Yue.

Sobbing, Long Yue took the tissues, covered her nose, and forcefully blew it with a loud honk. She then handed the used tissue back to Lin Fan and continued to cry.

Helpless, Lin Fan threw the tissue in his hand into the trash can and comforted her in a soft voice:

“Empress, if you can't go back, then just don't go back.”

“Although this world has no spiritual energy, it has all kinds of delicious food, many fun games, and many things you have yet to experience. Staying here isn't a bad choice.”

“Stay here…?”

Hearing this, Long Yue was taken aback for a moment. Her loud wailing gradually subsided into quiet sobs.

After thinking for a moment, she lowered her head dejectedly. She stared with a forlorn expression at the half-finished medicine in her hands, its still surface reflecting her red, swollen eyes.

“But in this world, This Empress is just a passerby, a stranger who doesn't belong. This Empress has no sense of belonging here…”

“Empress, a sense of belonging is also something that is created bit by bit over time. Since you don't have one, you just need to create one,” Lin Fan said.

He could actually empathize with Long Yue's current despair and confusion. When he had inexplicably transmigrated to the Immortal-Demon Continent back then, he had also been as lost and helpless as she was, able to do nothing but struggle bitterly in the wilderness, seeking a slim chance of survival.

But in the end, he had found his sense of belonging in the Demon Realm and became a member of the Demon Race, to the point where he had never even planned on coming back.

“Create a sense of belonging?”

Long Yue had a puzzled expression, not quite understanding Lin Fan's meaning.

“Yes!”

Lin Fan nodded solemnly. He got up and sat on the edge of the bed, gazing quietly at her, and asked:

“Empress, do you want to create a sense of belonging here with This One, one that belongs to just the two of us?”

“Create a sense of belonging... with you, Demon Sovereign…?”

Long Yue was taken aback. After belatedly coming to her senses, a look of astonishment gradually spread across her face.

“D-Demon Sovereign, This Empress wants to confirm something... y-you're not... confessing to This Empress, are you...?!”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.