GDK 612: Are you Bryan?
Lisa was absolutely astonished. But when Han Shuo turned around to look at her, Lisa’s expression quickly turned to pure bewilderment. Her slender eyebrows creased slightly as she examined Han Shuo.
Lisa has grown up, was the first impression that crossed Han Shuo mind when he turned around and saw her.
That crafty and unruly girl back then had now grown into a slender, graceful, and elegant lady. The tragic disaster that struck her family had made her much more mature and taught her to be strong and diligent.
When he looked at Lisa who was standing right before him, his mind automatically wandered into the past. He recalled of his failed attempt at scaring Lisa by pretending to be a corpse soon after he arrived in this world. He also thought of the incident where Lisa conducted that necromancy experiment on him. Unwittingly, the corners of his lip curled up slightly.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed from Lisa’s eyes that traced Han Shuo up and down. She asked, with a tremor in her lips, “Are you Bryan?”
“I’m not!” Han Shuo replied without thinking.
The happiness radiating from her eyes was quickly replaced by sadness. She did nothing but stare blankly at Han Shuo. Tears had filled the rims of her eyes to their very brim.
After staring at each other for a few seconds, Han Shuo gently sighed, forced a smile, and said, “How did you recognize me?”
As soon as Han Shuo said those words, the teardrops collecting in Lisa’s eyes finally rolled down her smooth cheeks. At that very moment, the strong and stalwart Lisa turned weak and fragile. She cried out like a child as she dashed ahead and fell into Han Shuo’s chest in a split second. She then tightly embraced Han Shuo with all her strength, as though fearing that Han Shuo would disappear at any moment.
“You are back… You are finally back… Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how much pain my heart felt when I heard that you were killed by the Church of Light?” Lisa was sobbing as she wrapped Han Shuo in her arms, helpless and miserable.
Han Shuo felt her body trembling as he listened to her tearful complaints. His heart gradually softened like butter. From her words, Han Shuo could tell just how deep her affection for him was. It was him or no one else – that was how staunch and unswerving her feelings were.
“Is it worth the pain?” Han Shuo softly sighed and his heart ached. He truly had no idea why had Lisa been so persistent. For all this time, Han Shuo thought that the feelings Lisa had for him was merely infatuation out of immaturity and he would gradually be forgotten with the passing of time. He truly had not anticipated that her love for him would be so deep.
“It is only when I’m with you that I can truly feel happy. Other than you, no one can give me that kind of sensation. Bryan, I beg you, please, can you not be so heartless to me?” the teary Lisa helplessly pleaded as she grabbed firmly onto Han Shuo’s shirt.
Han Shuo let out yet another sigh. His heart melted, completely forgetting what he pledged to his three ladies. As he looked at the tearful Lisa, he nodded subconsciously.
A wildness suddenly blossomed from Lisa’s cheeks that were stained with tears. She hugged Han Shuo firmly. She embraced him tighter and tighter as though wanting to fuse herself into Han Shuo’s body.
Han Shuo appeared to understand now. He leaned in and placed his mouth next to Lisa’s ear and softly said, “Alright, alright. Don’t cry. Others might think that I’m bullying you if they see this.”
“You are bullying me! And you have bullied me for many years…” This time, Lisa couldn’t seem to stop venting her feeling. She sobbed and tearfully complained with her head tucked in Han Shuo’s chest. It was as though she wanted to vent all the bitterness and grudges that had stifled her heart for many years all at once.
Han Shuo forced a smile and no longer told her to stop crying. Han Shuo knew that these words must have restrained her heart for more than a few years. A chance like this was difficult to come by and there was no way she would give up on this opportunity.
Han Shuo was aware that if she didn’t get her point across and instead bottled them inside her heart, it would affect both her body and her cultivation. It was only by unburdening herself of those words that she could completely walk out from the torment and come to possess a healthy and stable mind again.
For this reason, Han Shuo did not persuade her to stop but patiently listened to her bitter quibbles while gently stroking her shoulder. He did not interrupt her for even a second and quietly sensed Lisa’s feelings for him that were as deep as the sea.
After a long, long while, Lisa’s weeping protests slowly came to an end. And when her lovable body was no longer trembling, Han Shuo asked, baffled, “How did you identify me so easily?”
Lisa shot a resentful glare at Han Shuo, wrinkled her nose, and said “When you were looking at your statue, you did not conceal the air that drifted from your body. I know you too well. Your figure from behind, your demeanor, and the trace of vileness in your eyes – your makeup may fool others, but it can’t fool me!” Lisa said with full confidence.
Han Shuo’s heart was even more deeply moved. Even after so many years, Lisa could still recognize him from behind at first glance. This had sufficiently indicated just how deep her feelings for him ran.
However moved he was, though, Han Shuo was alarmed. He knew that as he had only recently entered the Nine Changes realm, his mastery of some of the changes was not refined enough. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Lisa to recognize him.
“What’s wrong with your face anyway? It doesn’t look good.” When Lisa saw that Han Shuo wasn’t replying, she looked panicked and interrogated him, “Were you disfigured by your enemy?”
Han Shuo laughed and shook his head. Then, as Lisa attentively watched, the skin on Han Shuo’s face started to undulate like water ripples. Before Lisa could even gasp, Han Shuo had restored his original look.
“Like magic!” Lisa finally cried out in surprise. She could not be more enthralled.
Han Shuo smiled, glanced at Lisa, who had now turned into a fine lady, and clasped her small hands. With one pulsation of his consciousness, he gained a clear measurement of Lisa’s mental strength. He complimented her in a soft voice, “Not bad, didn’t expect for you to have already advanced to be an archmage now! This kind of progress is really astonishing!”
“This is nothing. Compared to Teacher Fanny and your women, I’m still far behind!” Lisa softly giggled and couldn’t help her modesty. She indeed had became much more mature.
“They have received aid from me in one way or the other. But for you to attain your current strength with just your own hard work, is truly incredible!” Han Shuo shook his head and again gave recognition to Lisa’s great effort.
“Hehe, well I was afraid that you would look down on me for being too far behind you. But it seems that no matter how hard I try, I still have no way of catching up to you!” Lisa rubbed her little nose and blushed as she divulged her thoughts.
Suddenly, a thought popped into Han Shuo’s mind. He softly said, “Close your eyes, calm down your mind.”
Lisa had unquestioning trust in Han Shuo. Although she had no idea what Han Shuo wanted to do next, she closed her eyes as Han Shuo had instructed. However, for some reason, she couldn’t calm herself down. Her mind would automatically gravitate towards some wishful fantasy.
The two were standing very close to each other as Han Shuo held onto her delicate hands. They could smell the scent coming from each other’s bodies. Lisa was no young lady any more. Lisa’s heartrate was climbing higher and higher. She was filled with both hopeful excitement and nervousness.
When Han Shuo sensed that Lisa’s mind was in disorder, her cheeks flushed, and her breathing rate heightened, he couldn’t swallow a laugh. He gently tapped on her forehead and laughingly said, “What’s going on in your imagination? I’m only going to transfer some understanding about necromancy magic to you, not planning to take advantage of you.”
“I, I wasn’t imagining anything!” Lisa turned bashful and hastily denied. Her heart, however, felt a faint tinge of disappointment.
“Alright, alright. I don’t care what you were thinking about, just calm down for me.” Han Shuo felt as though she had returned to the past and reverted back to be that adorable, yet hateful little witch. For some reason, Han Shuo was very delighted.
At long last, Lisa gradually calmed her mind. She closed her eyes, cast all distracting thoughts from her mind, and took deep, steady breaths.
Han Shuo, who was observing Lisa closely, pressed a finger between her eyebrows when he noticed that her soul was adjusted to its most optimal state. His consciousness, akin to millions of fine threads, slowly entwined with her soul.
It wasn’t the first time that Han Shuo did things like this and he had even become more adept at it after reaching the Nine Changes realm. His consciousness was like data cables that linked up to Lisa’s soul. Some of Han Shuo’s understanding of necromancy magic before he became a sacred magus slowly flowed into Lisa’s mind.
As Lisa was merely an archmage, her soul was simply too weak, therefore the transmission process was rather slow. Han Shuo was afraid that her soul might not be able to handle too much so he was extremely careful, keeping the procedure as safe as possible for her.
Gradually, Lisa had completely relaxed, completely handing her soul to be directed by Han Shuo. This was a display of absolute trust in Han Shuo. With this, the memory transfer had obviously sped up, and Han Shuo’s heart was even more touched. This made him even more cautious and careful.
The two stood there for approximately half an hour. Passerbys walked to and fro and hadn’t the slightest idea of their presence as Han Shuo had obscured Lisa and himself using boundary.
Han Shuo gently pulled back his hand and smiled. He whispered, “Alright. You can open your eyes now!”
Lisa slowly opened her bright eyes. They were filled with pleasantly surprised emotions and amazement. After taking in a deep breath, Lisa suddenly realized, “No wonder, no wonder Teacher Fanny could become a grand magus so quickly. It was because of this. I’ve finally figured it out! Bryan! You heartless guy, you didn’t help me all this time!”
Han Shuo forced a smile and pledged, “In the future, I will definitely treat all of you equally favorably!”