Chapter 001: Existence

This was the most luxurious room in the inn, with a scarlet carpet on the floor. In the center of the room stood a round bed made of camphor wood, covered with layers of soft velvet. On one side of the room was a semicircular window, which was now open, allowing cool breezes to flow in. Though a bit brisk, they felt refreshing.
Du Fan stared blankly at the figure standing by the bed, his long hair fluttering, unsure of his feelings.
Tasia watched Du Fan from the side of the room. She too wasn’t sure what to feel. With a soft sigh, she quickly left, leaving only Du Fan standing by the door.
After a while, Chenchen turned to look at Du Fan and said gently, “What? Stunned? Won’t you come in and sit?”
Du Fan grunted, his expression returning to normal instantly. He closed the door, pulled up a chair, and sat down, then sized Chenchen up from head to toe.
Chenchen had now put on a nightgown. In the breeze, her perfect curves were subtly visible, stirring hearts. Her stunning beauty, though somewhat pale, did nothing to diminish her charm.
After staring for a while, Du Fan sighed and said softly, “I didn’t expect you to recover so quickly. I was thinking that if you didn’t get better, I’d have to find a place to bury you.”
Chenchen laughed softly. She walked over to Du Fan, bent down, and lifted his chin with her index finger, saying gently, “What is it… my little master? Are you worried about me? Or do you just want to get rid of this burden as soon as possible?”
Du Fan’s gaze fell on that breathtakingly pale skin and the curves beneath it, which made his blood boil. Though it was just a glimpse, it still disturbed him. He took a few deep breaths, smelling a faint fragrance that made his nose itch, almost making him reach out.
But Du Fan was still Du Fan. After all, it wasn’t so easy to take advantage of this little fox.
It took him great effort to stop staring at those curves and instead glared at Chenchen, saying, “Stop talking nonsense. How are you now? Will you faint at any moment, or have you fully recovered?”

“Well… who knows?” Chenchen smiled faintly. “I remember telling you a long time ago that my existence in this realm isn’t stable—I might disappear any day. This sudden sleep is just a side effect of overusing my power, so you don’t need to worry too much. But lately, I’ve remembered many things again, and my mind is a bit chaotic… I know you have many questions now, but now isn’t the time… When the time comes… I’ll tell you everything… Okay?”
Du Fan thought for a moment and said, “All these mysterious things of yours—there are so many of them. Since you don’t want to explain, I won’t ask further. But there’s one last thing I want to ask you. I really… hope you can answer it properly.”
Chenchen smiled faintly. “Go ahead…”
A hint of hesitation flashed in Du Fan’s eyes. After a while, he spoke in a low voice, “That day, in that divine palace, I faintly sensed your power—it seemed you had already broken through some kind of limit… Could it be… you’ve reached the Saint rank?”
“The Saint rank?” Chenchen suddenly let out a light laugh. “I… am far from it already… Du Fan, my little master… This world is far bigger than you can imagine. Whether it’s power or rules, what you’ve encountered so far is just the surface. Why rush now?”
Du Fan gave a bitter smile but said nothing.
Chenchen looked at him for a long time before suddenly sighing and saying, “I understand what you mean… You just want to know my strength… I can only tell you this… In my current state, facing a Saint might not guarantee victory, but it’s not easy to lose either… My fragmented memories tell me that my power isn’t yet mature… After each overuse, there’s a period of exhaustion… So for the long term, it’s better if you don’t rely too much on me. The Divine Origin you’ve obtained is by no means something simple. As long as you’re willing to work hard, what’s the Saint rank compared to that?”
Du Fan nodded slightly. After thinking for a while, he roughly understood Chenchen’s situation.
If explained, Chenchen’s current state was similar to some kind of machine from Du Fan’s past life—each use required charging, and Chenchen’s way of charging was by falling into a coma.
So, although Chenchen was powerful, she would fall into a coma for ten days or half a month after each battle, which wasn’t good news at all for Du Fan.

Even though this little demon has no real power, she is still indispensable to Du Fan. Not to mention that he needs her help when practicing various spells—her ability to effortlessly create numerous magic potions and scrolls would likely make most alchemists in this world feel ashamed and furious. After thinking for a moment, Du Fan made up his mind. He slowly stood up and said, “Chenchen, you should keep resting. Recover your strength quickly so we can return to the capital faster… I just realized I still have so many things to do in the capital, and each one requires your help. You must not get into trouble.” Chenchen’s eyes sparkled as she suddenly smiled and said, “You’re in such a hurry to leave. Is there something interesting happening again?” “Interesting?” Du Fan smiled faintly. “I just need to discuss a deal with Saint Nicholas and give that reckless city lord a lesson. There’s no need to trouble you, Miss Chenchen. If you’ll just rest properly and stop playing tricks like disappearing or fainting, I’ll be grateful.” Chenchen nodded, closed her eyes slightly, and after a moment, said softly, “Du Fan, I can sense a faint murderous intent everywhere in this town. No matter what you do, you need to be careful.” “Murderous intent?” Du Fan snorted. “Where there are people, how could there be no murderous intent?” With that, he stood up and said, “I’m going to a ball tonight. I might return late, or something unexpected might happen. I’ll order the cavalry from the Northern Legion to stay here, and I’ll ask Tasia to help guard us… If anything really happens to me… remember to come save me…” Before he finished speaking, Du Fan had already left the room. Chenchen watched his retreating figure and suddenly smiled, saying, “Hold on… hold on… I wonder how long you can hold on…” As soon as Du Fan stepped out of the room, his figure twisted strangely. He inwardly cursed, “That little demon, damn Chenchen! Doesn’t she know I’m a normal man? Wearing clothes like that and moving around like this—what on earth is going on?” A cavalryman nearby saw Du Fan’s strange appearance and couldn’t help asking, “Young Master Du Fan, what’s wrong with you?” Du Fan waved his hand and bent over, saying, “It’s nothing… nothing… I’m fine… By the way, where did that woman who just left go?” The cavalryman looked puzzled and said, “Those ladies went into that room.”

Du Fan took a look and saw it was indeed Nicholas’s room. The mere thought of that Nicholas made a part of Du Fan’s body shrink back instantly; he lost all interest. He nodded at the knight and strode over quickly, puzzled in his heart: Tasia had been obedient these past days and had cooperated fully with him. So why did she suddenly go to Nicholas’s place?

Du Fan rushed to Nicholas’s door and kicked it open. Inside, Nicholas and Tasia were sitting face to face, with several Temple Knights standing in the corners with cold expressions.

Hearing the noise at the door, Tasia and Nicholas instinctively glanced over. Seeing it was Du Fan, Nicholas’s expression became even more strange. He lowered his head without saying a word.

Tasia, on the other hand, nodded and said, “Young Master Du Fan… I guessed you would be coming soon…”

Du Fan gave a slight nod. He signaled the Temple Knights to leave. Once they were all gone, he casually found a seat and said, “Ah, my dear Saint Nicholas. After all these days, you’ve finally woken up… How are you feeling? Still wanting to die? Or… have you come to your senses?”

Tasia replied, “Young Master Du Fan… Your words are too harsh, aren’t they?”

But unexpectedly, Nicholas stretched out his pale hand and waved it slightly, saying, “Miss Tasia, Young Master Du Fan is right… I have indeed come to my senses… So… I’ve decided to avenge Lord Alfred…”

As soon as the word “vengeance” left his lips, a hint of color appeared on Nicholas’s pale face. Waving his right hand, a beam of holy light shot out from his fingertips.

Tasia cried out, “Nicholas! Stop…!”

But before she could finish speaking, the holy light already engulfed Du Fan’s body.

Nicholas’s face lit up with joy. Bending his hands slightly, he sent out several more beams of holy light, seemingly determined to purify Du Fan completely.

Ignoring everything else, Tasia turned her palm and sent an ice shard toward the holy light beside Du Fan. But unexpectedly, Nicholas suddenly flashed forward and blocked in front of Du Fan.

Tasia’s expression changed. She tried to pull back, but it was already too late. The ice shard pierced Nicholas’s chest and melted instantly. He seemed unharmed, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a mouthful of blood sprayed out.