159: Chen Yuanmeng

Another calm and breezy day at Chen Jun Manor.

Chen Jun was sprawled on a lounge chair, working on a serious research project—testing whether holding a black hole chocolate and a "white hole milk candy" in his mouth at the same time would trigger a "taste singularity effect."

The experimental result: his tongue was temporarily numb, so it is recommended not to imitate lightly.

Just as he was trying to savor the chaotic taste on his taste buds, which felt like a cosmic big bang...

A slightly hurried and shy figure appeared at the entrance of the side hall.

"Great-Grandfather..."

Her voice was crisp and carried a girlish innocence, yet there was a hint of undetectable nervousness.

Chen Jun tried to shift his attention away from the taste singularity and looked up.

The person who arrived was one of his first great-granddaughters, Chen Yuanmeng.

Among Chen Jun's countless great-grandchildren, Chen Yuanmeng was neither the most talented nor the most lively, but she possessed a unique temperament.

She was unlike other female descendants who were either obsessed with Cultivating or making a name for themselves in various fields of the Federation...

She was more like a... classic young lady?

She liked to read quietly, play some ancient musical instruments, or stare blankly at the starry sky, her eyes always filled with a dreamy, hazy gentleness.

In Chen Jun's private words: "This girl has a bit of a Lin Daiyu vibe, but her body is super strong, and she can punch a small starship to pieces..."

At this moment, Chen Yuanmeng was wearing a light purple flowing fairy dress and had a delicate hair bun.

Her face was slightly flushed, her fingers were nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, and she looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing her girlish demeanor, Chen Jun's heart skipped a beat, and a certain intuition belonging to an Old Ancestor emerged.

"Oh, it's Yuanmeng." Chen Jun spat out the numb chocolate residue from his mouth and put on a kindly smile:

"What's the matter, looking for Great-Grandfather? Did you encounter any difficulties in your Cultivating? Or do you lack some resources?"

Chen Yuanmeng shook her head gently, walked to Chen Jun with small steps, bowed properly, and then raised her big, watery eyes, mustering her courage to say:

"Great-Grandfather... Yuanmeng... Yuanmeng wants to ask you for something."

"Hmm, go ahead, as long as Great-Grandfather can do it." Chen Jun waved his hand, fully displaying the magnanimity of an Old Ancestor...

Chen Yuanmeng took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed even redder, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito, yet carried incomparable firmness:

"Yuanmeng... Yuanmeng wants to get married."

Chen Jun: "?!?"

The half-eaten white hole milk candy in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter."

Get married?!

His Chen Family's girl, actually wanting to get married?!

Back then, there were so many seasons of If You Are the One, just to recruit a son-in-law to achieve a Breakthrough for the grandchildren...

Countless young talents racked their brains wanting to marry into the Chen Family!

None of them succeeded...

In the end, it was he who skillfully used life regrets and a "sincere dialogue" with a fortune teller to let his eldest daughter, Chen Xi, give birth to his precious grandson, Chen Zhaojing.

Since Chen Zhaojing was born...

Chen Jun had always adhered to the principle of "non-interference, no coercion, and free love" regarding the marriages of his daughters and great-granddaughters.

Anyway, the reproductive ability of girls cannot be compared with boys, and he couldn't be bothered to include girls in the Family's core value education, so he was happy to be idle.

But he didn't expect that the first one to run over and suggest "wanting to get married" to him would be this great-granddaughter, Chen Yuanmeng, who looked the most quiet and unworldly.

And looking at this posture... she already had someone in her heart?

Chen Jun was suddenly interested, sat up straight, and his soul of gossip began to burn:

"Oh? Want to get married? That's a good thing! Quickly tell Great-Grandfather, which brat is so lucky to be chosen by our Yuanmeng?"

Seeing that Great-Grandfather did not oppose but was full of interest, Chen Yuanmeng felt slightly relieved... but the flush on her face deepened. She fidgeted for a moment before saying in a weak but clear voice:

"It's... it's the Blaze Army Lord, Luo Mie... Uncle Luo."

The smile on Chen Jun's face froze instantly.

He picked at his ear, thinking his taste singularity effect hadn't passed yet, causing auditory hallucinations.

"Who?! Who did you say?! Luo Mie?! That Luo Mie who is poker-faced all day, like a piece of ten-thousand-year black ice, only has the army and Cultivating in his eyes, and supposedly even bathes in magma?! The Blazing Flame Legion's Luo Mie?!"

Chen Yuanmeng was a bit confused by her Great-Grandfather's series of adjectives, but she still nodded obediently: "Yes, it's him."

Luo Mie?!

Chen Jun was a bit surprised!

That "Iron-Blooded Asura," "War Machine," and "Women Insulator" famous in the Federation military?!

That ruthless man who climbed to the position of Blaze Army Lord through glorious military exploits and absolute strength, and whose current cultivation has reached Stellar Level Peak?!

That steel-straight man who allegedly had a princess from a subsidiary civilization try to seduce him, only for him to directly use a military order to punish her by cleaning toilets for three months?!

How did his own picturesque, gentle-as-water great-granddaughter fall for this smelly and hard stone?!

This style... completely mismatched!

One is the lingering spring rain of the Jiangnan water towns, and the other is the fierce gale on the Gobi Desert!

Can this be put together?!

In Chen Jun's mind, the following scene instantly appeared:

Under the moon, in front of flowers...

Chen Yuanmeng playing the zither, while Luo Mie... polishes his flame saber?

Chen Yuanmeng reciting poetry, while Luo Mie reports... the military achievements of the legion in annihilating Star Pirates and star beasts this week?

Chen Yuanmeng acting spoiled, and Luo Mie standing at attention and saluting: "Please instruct!"?

"Hiss—" Chen Jun gasped, feeling this combination was even more outrageous than black hole chocolate paired with white hole milk candy!

He looked at his great-granddaughter cautiously and asked tentatively:

"Yuanmeng... you... you don't have a fever, do you? Or... did that brat Luo Mie use his military power to force you?! Tell Great-Grandfather, Great-Grandfather will back you up!"

As he spoke, his eyes turned sharp, and an invisible pressure of someone who had long been in a high position permeated the air...

Although he didn't have much strength himself, his daughters were powerful!

Chen Yuanmeng was startled and quickly waved her hands:

"No, no! Great-Grandfather, you misunderstood! Uncle Luo... Luo Mie is very good to me! It's me... I liked him first!"

Chen Jun was even more puzzled: "You liked him first? How could you like him? How... how did you meet?"

Seeing Great-Grandfather pursuing the question, Chen Yuanmeng knew she couldn't avoid explaining.

She composed herself, a soft light of memory appeared in her eyes, and she began to recount that encounter which, for her, was as gorgeous and unforgettable as a nebula...

...

Time traced back to six years ago...

At that time, Chen Yuanmeng had just turned eighteen, the age when a young girl's heart is full of romance and fantasies about the starry sky.

Unlike other brothers and sisters who liked to adventure in the virtual universe or travel through various prosperous Star Domains of the Federation.

She preferred to go to some remote, quiet, and even marked as "undeveloped" Star Domains to sketch.

She felt that those places preserved the most primitive and pure beauty of the Universe.

That day, she was driving a small "Star Painting Boat" alone, and arrived at the edge of the Federation territory, a zone called "Nirvana Nebula."

This place was not truly nirvana, but rather because of the material ejected in the late stages of stars intertwining with dark nebulae, it formed an extremely magnificent and ever-changing landscape.

The colorful nebula was like spilled oil painting, and broken star remains floated in between, containing breathtaking beauty in the silence.

Chen Yuanmeng was deeply attracted by this scenery, stopped the painting boat, set up the drawing board, and began to use special starlight pigments to depict this magnificent dance of death.

However, she did not know that this seemingly quiet Star Domain was not ownerless land, nor was it absolutely safe.

Just as she was immersed in creation, a sudden change occurred!

"Buzz—!"

A violent, chaotic, and destructive spatial fluctuation erupted without warning!

Immediately after, deep in the nebula, a huge spatial crack was forcibly torn open!

Tens of thousands of creatures with hideous shapes, exuding chaotic and evil energy, swarmed out from the crack like locusts!

Their forms were indescribable, like a mixture of twisted arthropods, wriggling tentacles, and broken bone armor...

The energy Rank had reached Planet-level Peak, and there were even a few terrifying auras of Stellar Level initial mixed in!

"Void Realm Predator Beasts!" Chen Yuanmeng's face turned pale instantly!

This is a terrifying race that lives in the folds of space, feeding on stellar energy and life, extremely cruel!

They evidently regarded this energy-rich Nirvana Nebula as a hunting ground, and the life and energy fluctuations emitted by Chen Yuanmeng's "Star Painting Boat" were no different from a lighthouse in the dark to them!

"Roar!!"

The leading Stellar Level predator beast let out a roar that tore through mental perception, and its huge compound eyes instantly locked onto the tiny painting boat and the even smaller Chen Yuanmeng!

The will of greed and destruction surged like a tide!

Although Chen Yuanmeng, as the fourth generation of the Chen Family, had reached War God Level initial...

But surrounded by Stellar Level predator beasts and thousands of Planet-level peers, she had no power to resist at all!

The painting boat's shield flickered violently under the first wave of mental shock from the predator beasts and was in jeopardy!

She tried to activate the painting boat's emergency jump System, but found that the surrounding space had been completely disrupted and sealed by the predator beasts' force field!

Despair instantly grabbed her heart!

She could even smell the nauseating scent of stardust and rotting flesh in the predator beasts' mouths!

Just at this critical moment—

"Buzz—!!!"

Another more domineering, hotter, and terrifying aura that seemed to burn the star sea descended violently from the end of the distant starry sky like a supernova explosion!

It was a... crimson stream of light!

No! That wasn't a stream of light!

That was a fleet!

A fleet burning with crimson energy flames, like a torrent composed of billions of miniature stars!

They tore through space and crashed into the Nirvana Nebula with an extremely arrogant posture!

The flagship at the front was shaped like a flame greatsword that cut through the star sea, and the bow of the ship was branded with a burning emblem—the Blazing Flame Legion!

"Federation territory, no star beasts allowed!"

A cold, murderous, emotionless voice, yet seemingly containing endless majesty and power, echoed through the entire Star Domain via the public channel!

The moment the voice fell, the main cannon at the bow of the flame flagship had already lit up with a brilliant light that could make stars pale!

"Purify!"

No warning, no negotiation.

Only a thick, incredibly condensed crimson energy beam, like a spear of judgment, crossed the Void Realm and hit the spatial crack precisely!

"Boom—!!!"

The light comparable to a supernova explosion instantly swallowed everything!

That huge spatial crack, along with the tens of thousands of Void Realm predator beasts that had just swarmed out, including those Stellar Level existences...

Before this absolute power, they couldn't even struggle and were completely vaporized and annihilated!

As if they had never existed!

Just one shot!

Cleared the field!

Chen Yuanmeng stared blankly at this scene, her mind blank.

Outside the painting boat, there was only the subsiding energy turbulence and scattered cosmic dust.

Inside the painting boat, there was only the sound of her rapid heartbeat and the lingering echo of that cold voice on the public channel.

Was... was she saved?

Before she had recovered from the trance of surviving a disaster, she saw the flagship, which looked like a flame greatsword, turn around and slowly approach her tiny painting boat.

A tractor beam fell and enveloped the painting boat.

The next moment, the cabin door of the painting boat was forcibly opened.

A figure walked in, against the crimson light cast by the flagship.

He was tall and straight, wearing a crisp, wrinkle-free Federation Blazing Flame Legion officer uniform, and the four stars surrounded by flames on his epaulets represented his identity and power—Blaze Army Lord! Stellar Level Peak!

His face was like it had been carved by a knife and axe, with distinct edges and corners, revealing an iron-blooded and cold hardness.

With sword-like brows and star-like eyes, he should have been handsome, but those eyes were like ten-thousand-year ice, deep and bottomless, without any emotional fluctuations.

His hair was crimson like a flame, combed back meticulously, adding a bit more majesty and murderous intent.

He just stood there, without any movement, and an invisible aura of Evil Qi and oppression, honed from a sea of corpses and blood, filled the entire space of the painting boat.

Chen Yuanmeng felt her breathing stop for a moment.

She recognized him.

Blaze Army Lord, Luo Mie.

One of the top powerhouses in the Federation military, with glorious military exploits, widespread fame, and also... acknowledged within the Federation as one of the most unromantic and difficult-to-approach men.

Luo Mie's gaze swept across the interior of the painting boat and finally landed on Chen Yuanmeng, his eyes as cold and objective as the most precise scanner.

"Chen Yuanmeng?" he spoke, his voice the same as in the public channel, without any fluctuations: "Registered with the Federation Academy of Sciences, a direct member of the Chen Clan, War God Level primary cultivation. Why did you enter the undeveloped, high-risk area of the 'Nirvana Nebula' without authorization?"

His tone was entirely that of a military interrogation, with not a shred of awareness that he was a savior, or perhaps any comfort for a frightened young girl.

Chen Yuanmeng was somewhat flustered by his business-like attitude, subconsciously hugging the drawing board in her arms tighter, and answered in a low voice: "I... I came to sketch..."

"Sketching?" Luo Mie's brows furrowed imperceptibly, seemingly unable to understand this "meaningless" behavior: "This place has been marked as a Level 3 danger zone, where Void Predator Beasts are frequently active. Your actions are irresponsible toward your own safety, and also a potential waste of Federation resources."

Chen Yuanmeng lowered her head as he lectured her, her cheeks burning, feeling both aggrieved and a little unconvinced.

This person... why is he like this?!

He just saved her, couldn't he say something nice?

However, Luo Mie's next sentence made her freeze.

"Your painting," Luo Mie's gaze landed on the drawing board in her arms, on which was her unfinished Nirvana Nebula painting, "is drawn well."

His tone remained flat, but Chen Yuanmeng keenly caught that deep within those ice-sealed eyes, there seemed to be a flash of something extremely fast and faint... appreciation?

He... he complimented my painting?

This iron-blooded Blaze Army Lord actually understands art?

Chen Yuanmeng looked up in surprise at Luo Mie.

Luo Mie had already shifted his gaze away, returning to that cold and stern appearance: "This place is not suitable for a long stay. I will dispatch a frigate to escort you back to the safe area of the Pillar of Leaders. In the future, do not venture into such dangerous Star Domains again."

After speaking, he said no more and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Chen Yuanmeng, not knowing where the courage came from, called out to him.

Luo Mie paused, turned his head to look at her, his eyes questioning.

Chen Yuanmeng took a deep breath, took down the unfinished painting from her arms, and handed it over with both hands, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Luo... Blaze Army Lord, thank you for saving me. This painting... is for you, as a... token of my gratitude."

She knew her gift was a bit shabby, insignificant compared to the debt of saving her life. But this painting poured out all her feelings for this nebula; it was the only thing she could offer at this moment.

Luo Mie looked at the colorful, yet slightly naive and dreamy nebula painting, and was silent for a moment.

Just when Chen Yuanmeng thought he would refuse, he reached out and took the painting.

His fingers were long and powerful, with distinct knuckles, bearing thin calluses from years of holding weapons, forming a sharp contrast with the delicate drawing paper.

"Hmm." He responded, rolling up the painting. His movements were not exactly gentle, yet he didn't damage it in the slightest. "The frigate is already waiting outside."

After speaking, he stopped lingering and strode away from the pleasure boat.

Chen Yuanmeng watched his back, as tall and straight as a pine, as if it could carry the entire starry sky, disappear into the tractor beam. A certain emotion in her heart, like a lake surface into which a stone had been thrown, rippled outward...

That unfinished painting became the initial connection between her and him.

...

After returning to the Pillar of Leaders, Chen Yuanmeng's life seemed to have returned to calm.

But her heart could no longer be peaceful.

That tall figure, cold as iron yet silently accepting the painting when she handed it over, often appeared in her mind.

She began to involuntarily pay attention to everything about Luo Mie.

She learned that he was an orphan, raised by the Federation military, and had spent his whole life fighting for the Federation.

She learned that he had illustrious military achievements, rising from the lowest-ranking private, relying on military merit and strength, step by step to become the Blaze Army Lord in charge of the Blazing Flame Legion.

She learned that he had a solitary personality and disliked socializing; apart from military affairs, he seemed to lack interest in everything else.

She also learned that he was still... all alone.

An emotion called "heartache" and "curiosity" sprouted in her heart.

She wanted to know, beneath that cold and hard shell, was there also a... soft heart hidden?

So, she did a bold thing.

Through internal Federation authorization, she looked up Luo Mie's official communication code—as a member of the Chen Clan, this was not difficult—and then... sent him a message.

The content was simple: just asking if he still kept that painting.

After the message was sent, she waited anxiously for a long time.

Just when she thought it had disappeared without a trace, her communicator lit up.

The reply had only two words, plus an attachment.

【Keeping it.】

The attachment was an image.

Opening the image, Chen Yuanmeng froze.

In the image was her unfinished Nirvana Nebula painting.

But the difference was that the painting had been carefully framed in a simple and heavy alloy frame, hanging on a wall that looked like an office.

Next to the painting was a cold metal wall, hung with star charts and weapon racks, full of military atmosphere.

And that colorful, dreamy nebula painting hanging there, although somewhat out of place, strangely... blended into it.

It was as if iron-bloodedness and tenderness had found a subtle balance point.

Chen Yuanmeng looked at the image, her heart beating faster for no reason.

He... not only kept it, but also framed it and hung it in his office?

This discovery made her jubilant and gave her the courage to continue contacting him.

So, she began to send messages to Luo Mie every few days.

Sometimes it was sharing her newly painted starry sky, sometimes it was finding excuses to ask questions about the scenery of Star Domains, and sometimes it was even just a simple greeting.

Luo Mie's replies were always concise and sparing with words.

【Hmm.】

【Okay.】

【Stay safe.】

【Read.】

...

Cold as if he were reviewing military reports.

But Chen Yuanmeng was tireless in her efforts.

Because she discovered that no matter what she sent, Luo Mie would reply.

Even if it was just a "." period, it meant he had seen it.

Moreover, regarding the star paintings she sent, Luo Mie would occasionally ask one or two details; although the questions all revolved around "hardcore" angles like stellar structure and energy distribution, at least... he had looked at them and thought about them.

This clumsy and subtle response, in Chen Yuanmeng's eyes, was more precious than any sweet talk.

She felt as if she were knocking on a piece of ten-thousand-year-old ice; every small response made her ecstatic.

The turning point occurred after a military exercise within the Federation...

During the exercise, in order to cover friendly forces, Luo Mie forcibly activated the Blazing Flame Legion's combined Formation, leading to energy backlash on himself, causing non-trivial internal injuries that required him to recuperate in a military sanatorium for a period of time.

After learning the news, Chen Yuanmeng was heartbroken. Summoning her courage, she brought the "Star Dew" she had carefully prepared, which was said to have miraculous effects on treating energy trauma, and went to visit him.

She had expected to be shut out or stopped by guards.

Unexpectedly, after being announced, she was actually allowed to enter his hospital room.

Inside the room, Luo Mie was sitting propped up in bed, still wearing his military shirt, with the buttons meticulously fastened to the very top one.

His complexion was somewhat pale, but his back was still straight, and his eyes were still as sharp as knives.

Seeing Chen Yuanmeng enter, a faint flash of surprise crossed his eyes, then he immediately returned to calm.

"Miss Chen." He nodded slightly, acknowledging her.

Chen Yuanmeng placed the Star Dew on the bedside table, looking at his pale complexion, and said with heartache: "Blaze Army Lord, are... are you okay?"

"It's nothing, a minor injury." Luo Mie's tone was flat, as if it wasn't he who was injured.

Chen Yuanmeng knew his personality and didn't ask further, just silently poured the Star Dew into a cup and handed it to him: "This is Star Dew; it's good for energy trauma. Would you like to try some?"

Luo Mie looked at the cup of liquid, which emitted a soft starlight and fragrance, was silent for a moment, took it, and drank it in one gulp.

The action was crisp and neat, just like drinking water.

Chen Yuanmeng watched him drink it, feeling sweet in her heart.

The room fell into a brief silence.

Chen Yuanmeng was a bit restless and looked for a topic: "Blaze Army Lord, do... do you like the starry sky?"

She regretted it as soon as she asked; the question was too childish.

How could an Army Lord who spent his days fighting in the sea of stars not like the starry sky?

However, Luo Mie's answer exceeded her expectations.

He looked at the simulated starry sky outside the window, his gaze seeming distant for a moment, his voice still flat but with a little less coldness: "The starry sky is a battlefield, and also... a final destination."

Chen Yuanmeng's heart stirred.

A final destination?

This word, spoken from the mouth of an iron-blooded Army Lord, carried an unspeakable sense of vicissitudes and... loneliness.

She looked at his cold, stern profile and for the first time clearly felt that beneath that indestructible exterior, there might also be a tired and lonely heart hidden.

"I... I think the starry sky is beautiful." Chen Yuanmeng said softly, as if talking to herself, and as if confiding in him: "Every nebula, every star, has its own story. They are silent, yet full of the power of life. I like to paint them; it feels... like I am having a conversation with them."

Luo Mie turned his head and looked at her.

This time, his gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and deep in his ice-sealed eyes, something seemed to be slowly melting.

"Your painting," he spoke, his voice a few degrees lower, "has a lot of... vitality."

Chen Yuanmeng's heart jumped violently.

Has a lot of vitality?

This was the most beautiful compliment she had ever heard.

From that day on, the number of times Chen Yuanmeng went to visit Luo Mie increased.

She no longer just brought Star Dew, but also brought some small snacks she made herself that didn't look so "military-grade." She would tell him about interesting things she encountered while sketching and share her various fantasies about the starry sky with him.

Luo Mie's words were still few, but the time he spent listening grew longer.

Occasionally, he would also talk about some things he had seen in the military. Although his tone was still flat, Chen Yuanmeng could hear the magnificent epic of the sea of stars from them, and hear the responsibility and perseverance behind the iron blood.

She discovered that this seemingly cold man had the deepest love for the Federation and the heaviest responsibility for his soldiers in his heart.

His world might be monotonous, perhaps cruel, but it was incomparably pure and... warm.

Yes, warm.

Like the molten lava surging deep in the earth's core, cold and hard on the outside, but containing enough heat on the inside to melt everything.

And she seemed to be touching that deeply hidden heat, little by little.

Feelings, in this day-after-day companionship and communication, silently took root, sprouted, and finally grew into a towering tree.

After Luo Mie recovered from his injuries, the connection between them did not break.

He was still busy with military affairs, and she was still immersed in her starry sky and paintings.

But they would meet occasionally, sometimes in Star Domains permitted by the military—he patrolling, she sketching—not disturbing each other, yet tacitly existing in each other's field of vision.

Sometimes it was at the Pillar of Leaders, where she would "run into" him just after he finished reporting for duty, and then they would walk a segment of the way together, saying a few brief words.

There was no earth-shattering confession, no romance under the moon and flowers.

Everything was brewing in silence and details.

Until not long ago, it was Chen Yuanmeng's birthday.

Luo Mie gave her a gift.

It wasn't some rare mineral, nor was it some powerful divine weapon.

It was a set of paintbrushes.

A set of paintbrushes made with "Eternal Stardust" as the main ingredient, fused with various rare elements, handcrafted by a Great Master from the Academy of Sciences, with excellent energy conductivity and an incredibly tough tip, enough to paint on a star core...

On the attached card, there was only one line of vigorous, knife-carved-like words: 【May your pen be able to paint all the gentleness of the sea of stars, painting the beauty even more beautifully...】

The moment she saw this line of words, Chen Yuanmeng's tears instantly gushed out...

She knew that this man of few words had responded to her feelings in his most clumsy, yet most sincere way.

He understood her.

He understood her love for the starry sky, and understood the world under her paintbrush.

So, she summoned the greatest courage of her life and came before her Great-Grandfather, Chen Jun.