Another World Trip: Journey with My Cat and an Otaku Loli Goddess Chapter 398 - Plum Flame Alchemist Duan Meilin

As soon as it fully opened, everyone’s eyes widened in shock and awe. No one was an exception to this, except once again, Long Di who proceeded to ruin the moment by uttering.

“You see that? That’s someone qualified to be in my harem.”

****

Inside the room was a massive statue depicting a woman. She wore an ancient set of alchemist robes and her long hair was tied up in a bun, setting her off as dignified and graceful.

Yet, despite the grace contained in the dignified realm she resided in, her beauty still stroked the venereal fire.

Fire was more than apt here as her figure, hidden beneath the folds and coverings as it was, was fiery in more ways than one. Her robes sat seductively on the curves of her hips before they snugly embraced her sylphlike waist.

Her eyes were just as fiery as long luscious lashes added an extra allure to them.

Furious blushes covered the faces of all who saw her as very few could compare to this woman in beauty.

In fact, Long Di would reckon that only Qin Ling and Heavenly Sun Noble could compare. Of course, this woman surpassed them due to her graceful and mature bearing alone.

Long Di saw as everyone took slow and dazed steps into the room. Not only that, he quickly realised that as everyone stepped into the room, a ripple appeared to mark their passage, as if they stepped through a film of water.

Then, they simply disappeared, as if they didn’t go into the room but somewhere else entirely.

Long Di was about to stop Qin Ling, Xiannu Liang and the others from entering when a voice suddenly echoed in his head.

‘Welcome, keyholder. You needn’t stop your companions from entering. They will be rewarded, you needn’t worry.’

He looked around and saw no one who would talk to him in this way when the image of the statue popped up in his head.

“Yeah, that checks out,” he said, not at all surprised. He then saw that Pebbles and Mina were the only ones who didn’t make a move to enter the room.

He figured it was due to either their strength or the trace of true divinity that existed between the two of them that spared them from this effect

“Well, c’mon you two. Might as well get this over with.”

To this, Pebbles leapt up and landed on his shoulder while Mina just followed behind them both.

Long Di noticed that as he stepped into the room, there were no ripples to speak of. It seemed that he entered the true room. As there was no one else in here, despite the sea of people that came in before him.

“Oh wow. Perspective is a hell of a thing.”

He quickly came to find that the statue he saw from outside was far bigger than he’d thought.

It was as big as any three-story building since Long Di had to look up at a neck-creaking 90-degree angle to take it all in.

“She’s really beautiful!” It was Mina who said this. “I daresay she’s almost as beautiful as me.”

Long Di and Pebbles looked at Mina at the same time when she said this.

“What!?”

“Too easy,” the both of them said simultaneously.

“Screw—”

‘Keyholder, it is the honour of several lifetimes to meet you,’ a dignified and graceful voice flowed like honey-water through this space.

Though the sound was in his head, Long Di saw how Pebbles and Mina piped up to take in what this voice was saying.

‘It seems the voice has decided to communicate with everyone I decided to take in with me. That’s good,’ he thought to himself.

‘That’s correct,’ the voice responded.

“Oh, you can read my mind. That’s creepy, but I’m not saying nothing. Please go on.”

‘…’

The voice didn’t know how to respond to this. Wasn’t this supposed to be an august and distinguished meeting?

Where was the augustness? Where was the distinguishness? Did they drop off a cliff and die after being kicked by a Super Donkey!?

“Goddamn it Long Di! You broke it!” Mina yelled.

“Don’t yell at him!” Pebbled shot back. “What are you even contributing to this situation!?”

“That’s neither here nor there!” Mina sneered. “You and Long Di together are natural disasters for which there is no cure, no remedy and no shelter!”

“Oh yeah!? Well, if we’re natural disasters, you are a disease spawned by the pestilence of all that is wrong in this world and blighted upon me and Long Di to dim our light but ultimately fails due to your loli-looking, five-out-ten-looking, otaku-4-life-looking, sugarless-baby-looking-ass!”

“Screw you!”

“Screw you!”

“Screw you!”

Without warning, a rolled-up manga flew through the air and whacked Pebbles upside the head!

Whap!

“Reeaarrhg!”

A cat’s shriek crackled through the room before all hell broke loose as Mina and Pebbles descended into what could only be described as a cartoon fight cloud that traversed the length of the room from now till the proverbial heat death of the universe.

Long Di let his eyes drift from that for a moment and said, “I don’t mean to brag, but if you don’t start talking soon, the situation will only escalate since it’s me, Pebbles and Mina, in a room.”

‘I-I am Duan Meilin, Keyholder,’ said the voice in a hurry not wanting whatever all this was to get any worse.

“Hello, disembodied voice. Am I right in assuming you’re the statue or are you an actual Remnant Will as opposed to a Spiritual Intent?” asked Long Di. He didn’t want to be confused about the actual state of the Plum Flame Alchemist.

As he asked this, the statue glowed a deep purplish colour before a flame of the same hue engulfed it.

Soon the statue could no longer be seen, and it began to shrink until it was the same size as a regular human.

It crackled gently, even over the sounds of the chaos wrought by Pebbles and Mina.

Long Di couldn’t even feel the heat of an overbearing flame like he had expected. Instead, it felt like the loving caress of a mother’s touch.

Before long, the flames receded to reveal arms and legs of supple flesh. Next, ebony hair flowing like a soft waterfall emerged from the flames before the head and face came into full view.

The remaining flames exploded into motes of light to reveal a woman of nearly unparalleled beauty in the flesh.

Long Di looked upon the figure that floated before him. She wore an apathetic expression, just like Long Di, and though her hair was let down in this state, unlike said statue, her carriage was as severe as ever.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance Plum Blossom Alchemist Duan Meilin. My Name is Long Di, how are you doing today?”

Duan Meilin’s expression evinced mild confusion before a gentle smile made its way across her face. Instantly, that severe bearing she held melted away before it was replaced by that of a mature woman beset with gentle grace.

“Hello Long Di,” she said, her voice just as sweet sounding as it was when she spoke in his mind.

“So are you a Remnant Will or Spiritual Intent?” Long Di asked her.

Keeping that same warm smile, she answered, “I am a Remnant Will.”

Long Di nodded. “See, when I asked the Peach Blossom Sage’s Spiritual Intent that question, he went through his mid-life crisis in record time. So I’m glad we got over that pretty quickly.”

“You spoke to the Peach Blossom Sage’s Remnant Will!?” Duan Meilin’s Remnant Will was shocked to hear this.

“It was his Spiritual Intent, try to keep up.” Long Di then took the time to explain the difference between Remnant Will and Spiritual Intent to her.

“I see, so that is the difference between the two. Then, in that case, I would still qualify as a Remnant Will,” stated Duan Meilin with a touch of sadness.

“I see,” Long Di cocked his head to the side. He came to realise that Remnant Wills were more than their attachments to this world. They embodied the consciousness they had when they were alive as well. In a sense, this Remnant Will could be thought of as Duan Meilin herself.

“I’m surprised that you met the Spiritual Intent of the Peach Blossom Sage all the same. That place was more or less meant to be a shrine of memories,” stated Duan Meilin.

“A shrine of memories?” Long Di cocked his head to the side, a bit confused. He wasn’t lost on what that was, the name kinda gave it away. He was lost on why such a thing was made.

“At that same time, the Peach Blossom Sage created something that would embody the history of his time with… her.”

That last word was said with a mix of bitterness and something else.

She then went on, “This is why the memories of that time and the Spiritual Intent you saw back then, were all isolated to his time as a True Star Sage. In essence, that was his happiest time. I can sense his aura from you, albeit faded.”

“Could you tell me more about the mission he gave me?” Long Di finally asked. “He charged me with finding out more about his wife’s death, and the disappearance of her body.”

{Author Notes: I won’t be explaining the difference between the two here (since I did that already). That’s unnecessary word count and I hate those. If you really wanna know the difference, you can check my glossary. It’s in my discord AND Patreon. If you wanna find em, hit up either one of them and ask me.}