Divine Emperor of Death

Chapter 4797  A Seeping Chill

Far below, a river wound through the land, going through a village made up of lower-stage cultivators or even mortals.

The wind brushed gently across the cliff, carrying with it the fragrance of countless blossoms that bloomed in the area. Fields of radiant flowers spread like woven silk carpets, their colors blending seamlessly into the distance radiant mountains.

Davis sat upon a smooth slab of stone near the cliffʼs edge, one leg bent, the other lazily stretched forward as he looked at the wondrous scenery before him. A lovely village in the backdrop of rivers and mountains.

The weight of the world didnʼt seem to press down on her for him. There were no schemes, no enemies, no heavens watching his next step, but there were a few lookouts of Heavenʼs Warriors hidden around.

However, only the sound of wind, waterfalls, and soft laughter registered in his mind.

Behind him, closer to the mansion carved into the cliffside, soft voices and laughter drifted in the air. Several children chased one another across the open grounds, their carefree shouts echoing faintly. Nearby, the group of women sat together underneath a flowering banyan tree, chatting quietly, sometimes passionately, their expressions warm and relaxed.

Occasionally, one of them glanced in Davisʼs direction, smilingly knowingly, before returning to the conversation.

”Hehe~”

At this moment, a little girl clad in a white robe ran around the field of flowers, her laughter echoing carefree and bright. Petals stuck to her hair and sleeves as she ran towards Davis with her arms spread wide.

”Father! Catch me~”

Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, pure and innocent laughter emanating from her cute voice.

”My little fairy.”

Davis was about to lean and relax, but sat up as he saw her running towards him and suddenly dashing away. He abruptly appeared in front of her, catching her as he lifted her into the air.

”Hah~ Hahaha~”

”Ah!~ Youʼre cheating~”

The little fairy squealed in joy, kicking her legs in the air as her laughter rang out like silver bells, extremely pleasant to hear.

Davis chuckled, lowering her and tapping her cute nose lightly, ”If I didnʼt, youʼd say I was too slow. You playful child.”

Ellia was a short distance away, walking towards them.

Davis cast his gaze, momentarily taken aback, as she looked like a fairy of the field of flowers since she was adorned in a tiara of flowers. It was a messy and poorly made tiara, but it filled his heart with warmth as he turned to look at Lydia.

”Did you make that for mother?”

”Mhmn~” Lydia cutely nodded, her bright amethyst eyes shining with an innocent glint.

”Itʼs lovely.”

Davis caressed Lydiaʼs head and combed through her silky black hair with his fingers, his expression full of fondness.

Lydia cutely closed her eyes and enjoyed the caress. A while later, she wriggled free from his arms and plopped down between them, clutching a handful of flowers she had gathered with great care, and then presented them to him.

”Father, itʼs for you~”

”Really?”

Davis replicated her enthusiasm as he bent and took the flowers, inhaling their fragrance before presenting them to Ellia.

”Itʼs for you.”

”Ah, fatherʼs wrong. I gave it to him~ Itʼs not for mother~” Lydia stamped her feet.

Ellia couldnʼt help but laugh, causing Lydia to pout before she also giggled and ran around them, brightening their day.

=========

Davis had just staggered back as his gaze froze on those five words, causing him to reminiscence about a lot of scenes and the times when he basked in their heartfelt emotions using Enigmatic Heart Laws.

ʼNo way… My little Lydia is a reincarnator…?ʼ

He shook his head and then suddenly noticed Myria reaching out her hands, causing him to cloud the letter with a spatial cloak as he stepped back.

”What is it? Show it to me.” Myria demanded.

She realized the gravity of that letter when she saw his reaction.

Davis shook his head, ”Iʼll read it and then show it.”

Myria stared at him for a few seconds before lowering her hand. She gestured for him to carry on as she walked away to a corner and sat on a chair she summoned. However, she intently stared at him with her eyes narrowed.

Davisʼs heart still pounded heavily, but he forcefully calmed himself down, glancing at the letter that was a bit scrunched in his grasp.

He loosened his grasp and uncrumpled the letter properly before reading it, his pupils quivering.

[My prince, what Iʼm going to say is extremely important and needs to be kept confidential. You can reveal it to Myria utmost but I sincerely ask you to keep this locked in your heart. Please do not tell it to big sister Evelynn. Even though she will consider it in good faith, Iʼm scared. I donʼt want too many people to know.]

[Please donʼt be shocked, for our Lydia is a reincarnated being. I know you will be perplexed, perhaps even devastated, but believe me when I say she means no harm. Our Lydia has always been ours, but her previous incarnation awakened right around the time or after you left. Is it a coincidence?- might be your question and also Mingzhiʼs question.]

[Mingzhi is the one who found that Lydia is a reincarnated being and quickly informed me. Only the two of us are in the know, followed by Fiora later, since we had no choice but to speak up due to another matter. Still, we were monitoring Lydia the entire time, and she hasnʼt made any moves against others. In fact, Mingzhi stated that her emotion towards her siblings is one of playful amusement. It could be interpreted as ʼshe doesnʼt care, but we both know she is protective of her siblings, even going as far as to risk exposing herself in order to help Arc grow.]

[She…]

The rest of the paragraphs went on to explain how she continued to act and guide Arc in his cultivation, presenting him with the Astral Cultivation Manual that her family uses. Then it went on to explain her origin, which was most likely the Starshroud Family, hidden in the Upper Realms, and even had some hidden branches in the Greater Realm.

ʼA Priestess who met a bad end… ended up being poisoned…ʼ

Davis understood the gist of it, but his fingers couldnʼt stop quivering.

What he feared had finally happened and had even hidden from his senses. There was no way to figure out the difference between Lydia and the Priestess of the Starshroud Family since they were literally incarnations of the same Soul Quintessence.

It made sense as to why he didnʼt see any strangeness in Lydiaʼs soul either. Why would he and Fallen Heaven notice the difference when this was natural?

Of course, regaining previous livesʼ memories wasnʼt natural in the universe. However, it seemed like Lydia had only gained her memories of her life as a Priestess after he had left. He could understand why neither he nor Fallen Heaven had noticed it.

It made him wonder if it was coincidental or intentional.

Regardless, he knew this wasnʼt a small matter and could easily shatter the harmony of their family.

Taking a deep breath, he read the last paragraph again.

[Husband, I beg you. Please donʼt harm her. Treat her the same as you did, for she is still our Lydia. There is really no difference in her soul. I investigated her multiple times in the name of checking her Soul Forging Cultivationʼs progress. I warded off evil using talismans. Put her in situations where she would be forced to show her true self. However, her aura, soul, blood- everything is ours. Lydia is really our daughter. She has done no wrong. Please wait for me until we confront her together someday. Until then, I will pray for our familyʼs survival.]

”…”

Davis took a deep breath again and tried to clear the uncomfortable feeling in his heart.

He heaved a breath, wondering what Lydia had been doing when she got sealed in the Temporal Voidplane Ring and if he should look into it now. However, Ellia begged him to delay it until she was released.

ʼI suppose Iʼll have to wait… they seemed to have investigated and didnʼt find any malice, too…ʼ

Davis brought his hand up and rubbed his face, feeling a headache.

What he feared in the past few months had happened, but in a different way.

It was some random woman who seemingly had no fate for their family.

ʼConsidering that Priestess is an Empyrean or an Exalt-level character, she mustʼve gathered enough karmic virtue for a fated rebirth through the reincarnation cycle or arranged her reincarnation on her own. If it were the latter, why would she target us? If not, was her luck so bad enough to be was born in our family?ʼ

Davis had many questions pop up in his head as he squeezed his temple before suddenly finding this situation amusing.

ʼDamn it… now I know how father felt back then…ʼ

He felt his entire body go chill and weak. Dealing with a reincarnator in the body of oneʼs child was indeed a nightmare.

”Have you finished reading it?”

”No.” Davis blatantly lied with a straight face.

”You-” Myria stood up, her face solemn, ”You canʼt hide matters from me when it comes to Ellia.”

”I know. I know, but this is a sensitive one. We must respect Elliaʼs wishes. Iʼll tell you before we pull Ellia out of the sealed space. For now, it is better to focus. You also have your tribulation to undergo at nearly the same time as me. We canʼt afford to make a mistake here.” Davis uttered in a solemn voice.

He wanted to keep this as secretive as possible. If he ran out and checked the Temporal Void Plane Ring, they would know. He had to be calm.

”…” His answer made Myria frown, but chose not to pursue the topic anymore.

”Alright…” She said and looked away before gazing back at him, ”Do you still need help with refining your soul?”

”…” Davis pursed his lips before nodding, ”Sure. Just be careful of harming the charm seal that I need to control Fairy Thunderblaze and donʼt refine my soul into yours.”

”I wonʼt!”

Myria retorted softly, but she finally smiled a bit. Since Davis can crack a joke, she guessed the situation wasnʼt as grave as his face expressed.