Chapter 963: Anniversary: Falling in love for thesecond time

When the records of the earring were put before Bai Zemin, he doubted his eyes a little to the point where he rechecked it just in case.

It wasn't until after the second time that he finally accepted the truth along with Kali's words.

"To be honest, when you gave me that Rank 5 pendant and asked me to help you draw the best runes I could do I thought this might happen." She said before falling silent for a couple of seconds and continuing with a sigh, "But, seeing it in person is really... How can I put it... I admit I'm feeling a little good right now. Probably the same way you felt when you finished the earring forging."

After a long silence, Bai Zemin slowly closed his eyes and sighed, "I understand you perfectly. When I finished the forging process last week I felt incredibly happy and proud not because my Blacksmithing skill jumped straight to the Fourth Order but because I, who was a nobody not long ago, managed to craft something like that."

Even if a big part of the reason Bai Zemin had managed to forge a Rank 5 earring was because he had used a Legend grade treasure capable of attaching to a piece of equipment on the item, this didn't make him feel any less proud.

It was he who spent over 200 days hammering like crazy.

It was he who sweated lakes and spent entire nights without sleep.

It was he who used Overlap Regeneration to the maximum acceptable limit every day to progress a little more.

It was he who gritted his teeth and held back all the frustration and powerlessness he felt every time a piece of the earring broke, pushing him to make a new one practically from scratch.

It was he who stuck to his initial determination to the bitter end and did not allow himself to be seduced by other earrings, melting them down again until he reached the optimum records he was looking for.

Therefore, he understood how Kali felt.

Because it was she who spent days inside the Collector's Pocket Watch helping him to draw extremely complex runes with great care on the body of the earring. Thanks to his younger sister Meng Qi, Bai Zemin was aware that Kali had definitely spent a great deal of mental energy on this to the point where he wouldn't be surprised if she slept for 2 days straight.

It was pride that came not only from having created such an amazing object but it was pride that came from having overcome all obstacles without ever giving up despite countless failures along the trail!

"Besides..." Kali opened her palm and extended it outward as she calmly said, "Something interesting happened when I was done with the earring."

Seeing what Kali held in her palm, Bai Zemin couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air at the same time as his eyes flashed with disbelief.

"That... That's..." He stammered, failing in the process of trying to express his thoughts and feelings with words.

"This is only Rank 4 though." Kali said with a sigh, "Looks like a Legend grade treasure couldn't be duplicated after all... Nevertheless, its stats are lower but not bad at all. You should think about what to do with it now since it clearly doesn't suit your combat style nor skills."

Bai Zemin closed his eyes and two people came to his mind. This was going to be a somewhat complicated decision for which he would take a bit of time to decide what to do. Before that, however, he had to give away the main gift after all.

He stretched his tired body and said in a cheerful voice, "Still, we really made it on time."

Kali nodded, "Indeed, just in time. Deadline."

...

"So... You have to go?"

After leaving the Collector's Pocket World, Bai Zemin immediately started looking for Lilith... but he didn't have to look too hard since she was waiting for him right where he had disappeared before.

However, what he did not expect was to find Lilith looking at him with such a serious expression on her face; an expression he had rarely seen on her.

At first, what Bai Zemin thought was that she was mad at him. After all, he had been keeping her out of the Collector's Pocket World for the entire last month and hiding things from her so she might as well be angry at this fact.

Little did he expect that the motive was completely different.

"I'm afraid so." Lilith nodded with a serious expression on her beautiful face. She frowned and a flash of confusion shone in her ruby eyes as she slowly explained her motives, "About 2 hours ago, the Leader of my faction, Lucifer, contacted me and told me to head to the main world of the Demonic Army as soon as possible... Zemin, this is the first time I heard the ever lazy and carefree Lucifer being so serious about something."

Lucifer had remained relatively calm even when all the factions were attacked by the ghost of the Heavenly Wolf Sirius back then even though that day could have meant the end for him and everyone else. Therefore, Lilith was really puzzled as to what was happening.

"Whatever is happening, I'm afraid it's going to be something big." She added as she looked directly into his eyes sadly. "Hopefully, I'll be able to come back soon..."

"I... see..." Bai Zemin nodded slowly as he tried to accept the undeniable.

This news was really affecting him in a negative way... Not only because Lilith would leave for an unknown period of time but also because of the date she had to leave.

However, he knew he could not let her see his sadness. If this was such an important matter then Bai Zemin hoped that his beloved would be in optimal condition to face and overcome whatever came her way.

Therefore, when he raised his head to look at her, Bai Zemin had a mysterious smile on his face.

"Hey, Lilith... Do you know what day it is today?"

"Today?" She blinked in surprise at his sudden question. However, not even a second later something clicked in her and her pupils trembled fiercely as she realized something she had inadvertently overlooked.

Bai Zemin realized that she was finally remembering it... No, she hadn't forgotten it to begin with.

"S- Sorry!" Lilith apologized in panic and said quickly, "I swear I didn't forget! It's just that I-"

"It's just that you are used to ignoring the passage of time, and because of your past you now ignore certain events that are actually of great importance." Bai Zemin interrupted her.

Lilith opened her eyes wide for a moment and subconsciously nodded in surprise, "Y- Yeah..."

"I know." Bai Zemin reached out his right hand and caressed her silky smooth cheek affectionately. "We'll gradually work together on this, don't worry too much."

Right, today was a very special day.

Today was a special day for all living beings on Earth, but for Bai Zemin and Lilith it could be said to be even more special.

Today could be considered either good or bad depending on each individual's point of view, as well as specific events.

"Actually, I just finished forging it not long ago and Kali finished drawing the runes I asked for just today so it's quite an interesting coincidence." Bai Zemin scratched his head and extended his closed palm forward as he said in a mysterious voice, "Lilith, aren't you curious to know the reason why I didn't let you come with me to the Collector's Pocket World all this time?"

Lilith looked at his large hand closed in front of her before looking at him with a faint smile, "Could it be that you were making a gift for me?"

Bai Zemin nodded and said softly, "It took me a while to forge it. I hope you'll like it."

"I will definitely like it." Lilith smiled back with eyes filled with affection and opened her palm just below his closed hand.

However, both Lilith's smile and expression froze and her pupils contracted to the size of needles a second after Bai Zemin opened his hand and gently placed the earring on her small white hand.

"I thought I wouldn't make it in time. Even though there were good results before this one, none of them managed to satisfy me so I destroyed them and forged again and again." Bai Zemin explained with a slight smile as he looked at Lilith's ruby colored eyes trembling more and more intensely.

"Today marks 1 year since we first met... well, even though it hasn't been a year since we both acknowledged our feelings for each other I think it's not so bad to consider this day as a kind of anniversary." Bai Zemin smiled warmly at her and said gently, "Happy first year, and thank you for everything you've done for me so far."

Lilith looked at him with the intention of saying something, but this was a mistake on her part... because when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a small, delicate sound similar to the whimpering of a newborn before the dam broke.

Bai Zemin was surprised to see two clear lines of crystalline tears sliding silently down Lilith's face, but he quickly knew that these were tears of happiness in the midst of the shock she was probably feeling.

But... he would probably be much more surprised if he knew that the last time Lilith cried was when she lost everything many years ago.

She had thought that her tears had run out and dried up completely after crying so much in those days, but life sometimes gave truly unexpected surprises.

When she felt Bai Zemin's arms around her, Lilith finally couldn't help but start sobbing like a little girl.

"Hey... What will those Higher Existences say if they saw you crying like a baby?" Bai Zemin kissed the top of her head as he enjoyed the moment with a warm smile.

At the end of the day, even God didn't know when he would feel the warmth of the woman in his arms again.

After a long, long time, Lilith was finally able to stop crying. However, the chest area of Bai Zemin's shirt was soaked with her tears; it wasn't as if he was complaining, of course.

Perhaps not wanting him to see her face at this moment, Lilith whispered softly with her face still buried in his chest, "Stupid Zemin, do you have any idea how valuable this gift is?"

"If you talk about physical value and not emotional I'll get really mad at you." Said Bai Zemin half joking half serious while caressing her back tenderly: "In this kind of situation you have to accept the gift even if it is a pretty stone but without any real value or use... That's how it works."

A few seconds later, Lilith nodded obediently like a little wife: "Okay."

Two or three minutes later, she slowly raised her head to look him in the eyes... and when Bai Zemin saw her expression, he could do nothing against his heart as it began to beat louder and louder.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her ruby eyes moist, a few teardrops glistened like precious crystals hanging from her long eyelashes, and the look in her eyes would be noted by even the most inexperienced in the field as the look of a woman madly in love.

This was the first time Bai Zemin had seen this kind of expression on her, and somehow he couldn't help but think that this was the meaning of innocence itself even though the one who had such an innocent and pure expression was a succubus whose charm could arouse the lust of any living being in the universe.

Could someone fall in love twice at the same time with the same person?

If anyone ever asked Bai Zemin such a question before, he would probably have said no. After all, love was the ultimate form of affection. After all, love was the strongest romantic emotion... how could one feel love twice at the same time for the same living being?

However, if someone were to ask him this very question at this very moment, his answer would be that yes, someone could fall in love with another someone two times in such a way that said love would grow to a whole new magnitude in which even the life of that first someone would be firmly tied to the fate of their loved one.

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