Chapter 174 - 3.70 [END]

Xie Yongrui's pitiful gaze as he waited upon Xu Jiaqi's response made the corner of Xu Jiaqi's lips curve up.

"Actually, no. It's probably for the best that you woke me up.." Xu Jiaqi scoffed as she sat upright, a glare present on her face.

Her dream was.. interesting. Interstellar realms. She hadn't even been in one yet. She had seen those types of settings in her past life, in sci fi movies that boasted a high technology standard.

How far ago was the memory in that dream? Why couldn't she recall it? What was the relation it had with Xie Yongrui's soul? These same questions. Left unanswered every time it came up on her mind. And yet, it kept popping up. For obvious reasons- being that of her worries about the unknown.

She looked towards the man, who was deeply worried about her. He was also an anomaly. Upon encountering her for the first time in this world, he recognized her and took a rather extreme interest in her for someone who they had just met.

"...We're in a huge pickle. We're together, just like this, but we don't even know what's going on between the two of us. Tell me, if that isn't stupid, then what is?" Xu Jiaqi smiled, but there was no happiness in the gesture.

"What..?" Xie Yongrui didn't grasp her meaning at all. He was the type of man who would unconditionally say yes to everything that Xu Jiaqi said, except for things that would hurt her. He found it hard to respond to Xu Jiaqi like he always did.

There was too much pain in her eyes, almost making her seem distant and estranged.

"Nothing. Let's go back to sleep.. Come, I want to hug you until I pass out." Xu Jiaqi encircled his large body in a tight hug as she once again closed her eyes and forced herself into sleep.

The dream did not replay again. God forbid her have the same scene play out twice. So many dreams had already been experienced by her, but not one of them was continuous. It was always a different topic each time she went into the dream land.

How many lives did she live through? How was she in the past? Was the current her similar to the past she harbored, or was it completely different?

She wanted to be patient. Go through her missions one by one until she was powerful enough to know what was happening with her. But how could she? Each day, she had to be tortured with the view of a gruesome end 'she' met.

It wouldn't be long before her dreams assimilated with her own senses, would it? Xie Yongrui said that she was crying while she dreamt. It confirmed the fact that she was slowly approaching the perfect unity.

It stressed her, but she could only continue forward.

She woke up, did her best in the world she was currently in.

But the influx of memories changed her so much from the beginning when she thought about it. Where was Xu Jiaqi? Who was Xu Jiaqi?

The original her, from the planet Earth, working as a powerful businesswoman who held authority over many regions. Was that Xu Jiaqi.. still her?

She changed. Just like everybody else, she naturally could also change.

But her change was something that scared her. She was so used to her principles as the 'first' Xu Jiaqi. She thought that she knew herself well. Knew what suited her. Knew what she wanted.

But did she truly know any of that?

Or.. was everything just a big lie after all?

The answer was still far from being discovered by her that it pained her. As she gradually approached the ending of her mission in this world, she wailed.

'Who am I?'

_____

That question continued to show up every now and then, whenever she was faced with an existential crisis one more time. However, she continued to move on, knowing that her mission had the highest priority out of everything that she had to do.

She worked with the other bigshots to fight off the control the Empire tried to enforce over its land. Xian Ruo, now having the connection with all these prosperous regions grew stronger and stronger, to the point where it was finally worthy to stand beside the other legitimate powerhouses.

Of course, the process wasn't instant. Although they received a lot of boosts, it still took time to solidify their presences while being careful at the same time. Just to establish Xian Ruo's proper foundation, it took them almost three years or pure hard work and commitment.

There was a time when Xu Jiaqi was interested in this world's 'son and daughter of the heavens'- the 'main characters' of this world. However, never once did she encounter them. At least, that was what she thought, because her brilliance would outshine anybody who comes close to her path anyway.

Time kept rolling. With each day, Xian Ruo grew further and further, eventually becoming a land that was welcome to people and did not need to hide and be secretive all the time to not garner any attention. They were finally able to grow.

Leaving traces of their work everywhere, Xian Ruo's power kept rising until one day, the fateful event approached.

Xie Yongrui's coronation as the Emperor of the new Qi Empire.

Unlike what the media shows about geniuses taking over a country with ease, the real deal was way different. You had to consider each working part of the country. Those who wrote about a male lead being able to work to the peak and date all day were also lying.

This was why, the fact that they were able to relax and hang their shoulder lowly in their private space right now was somehow much more gratifying than anything else that went on in the refurbished Empire. In total, it took around a whole decade to finally be able to demolish the last Empire.

Not to mention, gathering the required credibility for an Empire. The Kingdoms that held their offensive stances up at first, had to be appeased and convinced of their worth before the plan succeeded.

During this period of time, since they truly wanted to realize their goal, they were immersed in their work and didn't have much chances to actually bond as lovers. It was quite funny. Sometimes, they even acted like they were strangers so that they wouldn't be distracted.

Working, working, and working.

Though, many clandestine meetings were still formed, albeit being seldomly done throughout the years.

In the end, they were past their prime age, but their love still stayed intact.

The formation of the Qi Empire marked the downfall of the one and only Empire that the world had ever known for all these years. A new power, a fresh start for the world.

Controlling the damages that happened to the world in total took a toll on them, but they persevered and managed to calm everything down, garnering acceptance for their capable rule.

In this world, Xu Jiaqi continued to live with Xie Yongrui until she died of a natural cause. Xu Jiaqi's body was weak in the first place since her childhood was nothing close to a decent one. She contracted a terrible disease from an outbreak. She did not live past forty years old, but the memories that she left would be etched in the world's history forever.

Everyone knew that the Empress was anything but a trophy wife. She was brave, valiant, and stood as the Emperor's equal. Even a blind man could tell how much Emperor Xie loved the woman that he held close to his heart. Her achievements were unlike anybody else, and the ones who were truly close to the couple perfectly knew that Xu Jiaqi was the one who had the final say in everything.

When the Empress lost her life, there was a grand mourning ceremony, but the participant that everyone had been waiting for did not show up.

-Where was the Emperor?

As soon as Xu Jiaqi left, it was as if Xie Yongrui lost all will to continue and began to daydream of a new life. He was completely thrown off the balance of life. He died inside, and what was left of him was just an empty shell that longed for his departed love.

Before he left for good, he met up with the Empress' personal maid that she had kept for decades until she faced her death. Her name was Lin. After the Empire was built, her position was further raised since she was

"Lin, love is like a poison. Qiqi's death killed me. Like a deadly substance, it eroded me from the inside. I may be talking to you right now, breathing and all.. But am I really alive?" Xie Yongrui asked.

Lin was just as lost as Xie Yongrui, not being able to answer him.

Xie Yongrui then turned to disappear into God knows where. At that time, Lin knew deep down that the man would never come back. But she didn't stop him.

Because there would be no use.

A poisoned man, who no longer had any traces of the bright figure titled Qi's wise Emperor.

Even if she stopped him, the man would never be the same as the one in the past.

Thankfully, the couple had adopted a child that they raised together, and that same child was written to be the next Crown Prince should the two Rulers die. The child was capable, and had all the right morals and values after being taught by two of the greatest people in the world.

He upheld the rank that he suddenly obtained, being crowned as the next Emperor and continuing the legacy with great respect for the ones who raised him to be this way.

And such, that was the final outcome that Xu Jiaqi, our treasured agent Host, managed to obtain.

The curtains were drawn, and with a timely save from the System, Xu Jiaqi's soul returned to the System Space to await her next target.