Chapter 97: Cultivation (Complete)
The other person's hand was holding his. Qi An lowered his gaze to look at the two hands pressed closely together. He could clearly feel his hand being grasped by the other, and perhaps because of his relatively cold constitution, this hand felt warm to him.
This hand was very strong, with a strong presence.
[An'an, are you... okay?] The system's question became extremely careful.
[ Tongtong, he really is too much. Why...] Qi An's voice dropped very low, so quiet that even the system, who was extremely familiar with him, could barely hear it, [would he know me so well? Whether it was the平安福 from the last world or... this world.]
You really are good.
Qi An thought about the disgust in people's eyes from his previous life—no one was willing to get close to him. He hated the feeling of being rejected, hated bringing misfortune to others. So after growing up, he went about every day with a cold expression.
Other people's evaluations of him also changed from "jinx" to "arrogant."
When he was at the Fast Travel Bureau, although he had received many compliments, these weren't directed at him, but only at the roles he had played.
He had never heard such a评价 before.
[Did he bring me into this world just to tell me that I'm actually not unlikable?] When Qi An spoke again, his voice seemed a bit hoarse—this degree of change was subtle, but the system, who was very familiar with him, still caught it.
The system immediately froze. It suddenly didn't know how to respond to its host's words.
This was the most special world Qi An had experienced at the Fast Travel Bureau.
After countless failures they had experienced, it clearly understood the degree of coldness in its host's heart. To complete this task, it was the one who suggested sealing the host's memory to the young man. Otherwise, the task in this world would keep repeating, and this world would continuously cycle.
It thought that given its host's personality, even with his memory sealed, this task would be very difficult to complete. So when it first sealed his memory and began the task, it actually held no hope. It thought they would stagnate in this world for a long time.
But reality slapped it in the face. Qi An completed this task very successfully.
Because his memory was sealed, the system could only hide in the young man's mind. It could only silently watch its host unknowingly complete this task. It saw its host experience a life that was different from before, yet belonged to Du Ning's tragic fate.
Du Ning's family circumstances weren't good. He was just a countryside boy, but he had parents who loved him dearly. His father was a very simple and kind person who had always told Du Ning to be a good person. So under their teaching by word and example, Du Ning became a very gentle person.
A very gentle, very kind person—a person that made the system extremely surprised.
If what happened later hadn't occurred, Du Ning would have simply grown up peacefully. But at the time, to complete the task, it had performed a small trick, one that could allow this mortal named Qi An to see the cultivation world.
This matter had made the system regret countless times.
On the path of cultivation, besides cultivating spiritual power, one must also cultivate the heart. Every cultivator who wants to reach a high level must experience a tribulation. There are many types of tribulations, and among them is one called the love tribulation.
The love tribulation wounds people the deepest, so some powerful figures, in order to prevent important people from being devastated or losing their lives, found a way to break through it.
They would extract these people's love souls. Under their magical techniques, these love souls would become another type of entity—people without the original body's memories or cultivation. These people would be arranged to go to the mortal world. After they fell in love with mortals, they would retrieve these love souls and place them back into the cultivator's original body.
Because this was merely one thread of the soul, after returning, the memories of the love soul would be extremely vague. The cultivator would only think they had experienced a hazy dream.
Because the对象 was a mortal, there was fundamentally no chance for them to meet again, so this matter would simply be left unsettled.
Du Ning had encountered a person experiencing such a love tribulation back then—Kong Yue. After the two hadn't sparked anything, the system performed another trick. It gave its host a mental suggestion.
Qi An "fell in love" with Kong Yue.
After making its host unknowingly discover that the missing Kong Yue was a cultivator from the cultivation world, this simple and kind young man embarked on the path of cultivation. He went to Xuantian League, an organization that offered young people the opportunity to cultivate, and where Kong Yue was a member.
It saw Du Ning endure suffering to pass the trials.
It saw Kong Yue's coldness and disgust toward the young man. Kong Yue had completely forgotten Du Ning, thinking he was just someone trying to get ahead through him.
"Only someone worthy of me can be with me. You're not worthy."
It watched its host, a person with absolutely no cultivation talent, walk further and further on the path of cultivation.
The people of Xuantian League felt contempt because he persisted in clinging to Kong Yue. People of the cultivation world thought his gentleness was for ulterior motives. Spirit beasts didn't dare approach him because of the bloody scent of his desire to grow stronger. Even when he finally became the young master of the Dark Pavilion, the people of the Dark Pavilion also thought he lacked the strength and qualification to be their young master.
"You're this kind of vicious person. You're not worthy."
Misunderstanding and cold mockery accompanied Du Ning throughout his life. According to logic, someone like Du Ning shouldn't have survived long in the cultivation world. But the system, which had been quietly observing everything, had been secretly helping its host all along. It gathered many heavenly treasures for its host and arranged many encounters for him. So Du Ning became the number one person in the cultivation world in a rather fortunate way.
However, how could a truly kind person possibly reach such a position without any background? So things didn't progress as the system had expected them to slowly improve. The cultivators became jealous of him,厌恶 him, misunderstood him.
Without memories of his past life, without the experiences of the Fast Travel Bureau, its host's spirit grew more and more崩溃.
Du Ning died.
In a self-inflicted manner, he poured all of his spiritual power into the sudden spiritual black hole in the cultivation world.
And saved the entire world.
The system discovered for the first time that its host could be so desperate and sorrowful. So after completing the task, it immediately restored its host's memories. It saw that the seemingly fragile, despair-ridden young man seemed to freeze for a moment, then all expression drained from his face. In almost an instant, a familiar nonchalant smile appeared on the young man's face.
It heard the young man laugh lightly and say in a voice no different from usual, "...So it turns out that someone like me who would do anything to survive would also... commit suicide over these... trivial matters."
In that instant, the system began to consider its host as part of its own family.
Clearly without a heart, it suddenly developed an emotion called... heartache.
"So, were all the changes in this world because I died?" Qi An pulled his hand away from Zhang Zhaoqi.
As long as a person dies, everyone's attitude will subtly change.
"Let me think about the reasons for these changes. Kong Yue went crazy, probably remembering that period of memories. So after my death, he would feel guilt. His love tribulation wasn't truly passed, and at this turning point, it erupted like a volcano that had been hidden for a long time. The reason spirit beasts suddenly became friendly to me was because my spiritual power merged with this world's original spiritual power. They are drawn to spiritual power, composed of spiritual power, so they would therefore become friendly to me."
"The Dark Pavilion had always advocated for truth, goodness, and beauty. They detested me,嫌弃我. They never imagined that the person everyone blamed would be the one to save this world. The ideals they had been pursuing were shattered. So they would degenerate into demons. The reason they treat me this way now is only because I have, in some sense, replaced their previous faith." Qi An's voice was cold and indifferent, as if there were no emotions at all.
"The cultivation world would worship me because that spiritual black hole caused massive destruction. The people of the cultivation world were in panic, and they needed a representative who could stabilize people's hearts. So they chose me, and in spreading stories about me, they continuously deified me." Qi An seemed to furrow his brow slightly, "After generations of spreading these stories, Du Ning became a very respectable person."
"As for Lian Ruoyu..." Qi An's words suddenly stopped. Lian Ruoyu was one of the few people who had shown him kindness in his previous life. Before he became the number one in the cultivation world, that title belonged to Lian Ruoyu.
He had challenged Lian Ruoyu, but they had never truly fought. Lian Ruoyu had conceded in that match. In front of everyone, he had面无表情地 announced his concession.
"I won't fight you." Qi An still remembered how that expressionless person had said those words in a tone completely devoid of emotion, "I concede."
Even though his attitude of refusing to fight would cause others to despise and question him, that person still conceded.
Thinking about what the Sect Master had said earlier about his cultivation being unable to progress further, Qi An's brow furrowed without even he himself noticing.
"In short, there's one crucial point—all the premise for these changes happening is that I... died." Qi An's eyelashes trembled, "If I had really died, if I hadn't come to this world again. I would never have discovered these things. So... these would be completely useless to me. Du Ning already... died. Don't you think these changes all happened too late?"
Zhang Zhaoqi's hand rose again, as if wanting to take the young man's hand again, but was refused. "Just like the matter between us. Our engagement is from a previous life. If I hadn't entered the Fast Travel Bureau, if I had really died, what you're doing now would have no meaning at all."
"So..."
[An'an!] Just as Qi An was about to say what came next, a very raised voice suddenly rang out in his mind. This sentence caused the speaking young man to pause forcibly, [Think about it a little more, you need to listen to your heart!]
[You actually like him!] Although very unwilling in his heart, the system still said these words.
"An'an, do you hate this world?" There was no disappointment on Zhang Zhaoqi's face. Instead, he still asked in an unexpectedly gentle voice.
"I... of course I hate it."
"I said, you have no responsibility to save this world now. If you really hate it, then let it be destroyed." Zhang Zhaoqi smiled, his smile somewhat doting, "If you ultimately still save it, then please give me another chance, okay?"
Staring blankly at Zhang Zhaoqi, Qi An was silent for a long while before nodding.
The system immediately let out a long sigh of relief. After a long time, it finally heard its host's very, very quiet voice, [I knew I was still greedy. I also want to... give myself another chance.]
[An'an!]
[What?]
[You really are a... very good person.]
A extremely powerful surge of energy came from the side. Qi An raised his eyes to look and saw two black dots in the midair. It was Lian Ruoyu and Kong Yue—they were already fighting.
The destruction caused by their battle was enormous. Qi An had already seen several palaces collapse. All the cultivators on the ground stopped what they were doing and looked up to watch the confrontation between the two powerhouses.
However, no one dared to get too close to the midair where they were. Because even just the aftermath of their battle could easily take their lives.
[An'an, do we want to go watch?]
The black-haired, black-eyed young man watched the midair silently, [No.]
"I sensed the young master's aura!" A joyful voice came from a black-clad person.
"Me too, let's go over quickly." This was another somewhat hoarse voice.
"Mm." The leading young man frowned, "Just now, the young master disappeared because of meeting that person. The headquarters has responded to me. That person doesn't exist in our Dark Pavilion's information database. He appeared out of nowhere. He's appearing with the young master now. We need to send someone to follow that person."
"Our plan must not be destroyed. He was able to take the young master away silently right under everyone's noses. This person's strength must not be simple." The leading young man's tone grew heavier, "We need to be even more careful when protecting the young master. Don't give anyone a chance to hurt him."
Qi An returned to the palace assigned to him. The storage ring on the stone table had disappeared. Qi An glanced at the midair and turned to go inside.
Just then, he saw the ring appear again at his feet.
"..."
Lowering his head to glance at it indifferently, Qi An walked in as if nothing had happened and closed the door.
Just as he sat at the desk preparing to read, that ring appeared on the desk again.
It was as if the ring would keep appearing before him as long as Qi An didn't accept it.
Qi An stared at that ring silently for a long time before finally picking it up. No sooner had he picked up the ring than it suddenly became much quieter outside. Thinking for a moment, Qi An placed the ring in his chest.
The next morning, a knocking sound suddenly came at the door. When Qi An opened it, he saw a person in inner disciple robes that he hadn't seen before.
"Little Uncle, the Sect Master has the disciple bring you to the Affairs Hall." The young man respectfully bowed to Qi An.
"Thank you for the trouble." Qi An smiled his thanks to this young man. Looking at the red rain falling even heavier outside, he picked up his umbrella, "Is there a particular reason?"
"Mm, it's an important assembly. It's said that a great cultivator is looking for a suitable personal disciple. He gave the Sect Master one of his treasures, saying that if this treasure showed a reaction, then the person who triggered the reaction would be his destined disciple." The inner disciple's tone grew excited, "The Sect Master, at that great cultivator's request, invited outstanding disciples from various powers of this generation, hoping to find that person among them. Of course, that includes the disciples of our Xuantian League."
"Judging from how all the major powers eagerly sent their core disciples over, this great cultivator must be especially powerful. Otherwise, why would they send disciples they had worked so hard to cultivate? They must want to use this opportunity to build a relationship with that great cultivator." The inner disciple seemed to get carried away, "If one could really become that great cultivator's personal disciple, just think how smooth that lucky one's path of cultivation would be afterward."
The inner disciple wanted to say more, but when his gaze met Qi An's ink-colored eyes, he suddenly remembered that the person before him was also a well-known lucky one recently. He immediately faltered and stopped his topic, "Little Uncle, please follow me."
"Okay." Qi An nodded. As he walked, he asked as if casually, "What does that treasure look like?"
"Ah." The inner disciple touched his head, as if recalling the object, "It's a flower, a very, very beautiful flower."
"Mm." Qi An nodded.
The Xuantian League that had been full of immortal qi and mystery just moments ago was now quite dilapidated. Many magnificent buildings had turned to ruins.
The road to the Affairs Hall was unusually quiet. When Qi An and this inner disciple arrived, the hall was already filled with densely packed people. Most of these people were young men around Qi An's age, their robes of various styles representing their different sects.
Qi An glanced toward the high platform and saw elders of high status from each sect seated there.
And in the center of the main hall was that treasure—a very, very beautiful flower, half black, half white. Mist swirled around the flower, and there was a faint fragrance in the air. This fresh and elegant scent was extremely refreshing. Using spiritual power to probe, one couldn't detect any spiritual fluctuation at all. If not for knowing beforehand that it was just a treasure, anyone seeing it for the first time would think this was a flower in full bloom.
The inner disciple was about to lead Qi An to his seat when he noticed the young man's gaze had landed on another person.
"Little Uncle?"
"I'll go over in a moment." Qi An softly answered this disciple and walked toward another direction.
There stood a seemingly foolish young man. He was wearing servant's clothes and was holding a broom, cleaning the ground.
"Xu Ke, aren't you an outer disciple now? Why are you doing these things?" Xu Ke was diligently sweeping the ground with his head lowered when he heard a very light, very pleasant voice. He looked up and saw a very handsome young man standing before him. Staring at the black umbrella that covered him, Xu Ke said blankly, "Little Uncle."
"Mm."
"The sect is short on manpower, so they had me come help clean up. They said wearing the outer disciple robes would be somewhat conspicuous, so they gave me this instead." Xu Ke scratched the back of his head foolishly.
"These past few days, they often have you do these things?" Qi An continued asking. This so-called selection for the great cultivator's personal disciple had already begun. Names were being called one after another. The elders seated on the high platform appeared very attentive to this matter. This event that should have been quite boring had attracted their unblinking attention.
"Ah, not really. It's just some minor matters. I'm also happy to be able to help the sect and other disciples." Xu Ke smiled brilliantly, revealing very white teeth, "Little Uncle, are you going to participate in this selection?"
From the beginning until now, many confident core disciples from various sects had walked up, then retreated in disappointment. Qi An glanced at those watching cultivation world powerhouses and said, "No. Do you think I need to participate?"
"Right, Little Uncle, you're now Senior Lian Ruoyu's personal disciple. Even if this great cultivator is extremely powerful, he definitely can't compare to Senior Lian." Xu Ke smiled foolishly, "If there really is someone who can rival Senior Lian, it would only be Du Ning."
"Do you admire him too?" Qi An's gaze fell on Xu Ke again.
"Right, he's so powerful. I admire him the most. No, wait. That's not it." Xu Ke said midway, then suddenly started contradicting himself, "The one I admire most is my senior brother. Du Ning would be second."
"Your senior brother? Why?" Qi An's grip on the umbrella suddenly tightened, then quickly loosened to the point of being almost imperceptible.
"My master is actually a very protective person. If he found out that my most admired person wasn't my senior brother, he would definitely scold me for being disrespectful." Xu Ke smiled very brilliantly, "And my master said my senior brother is a very good person."
"My master wouldn't lie, so my senior brother must be a... very good person. My master also said maybe I would meet my senior brother this time I came out. I actually never heard my master mention my senior brother before, so I'm especially curious about him." For some reason, when standing with Qi An, Xu Ke very easily told the other person these things, "Little Uncle, do you think I can meet my senior brother?"
"...You will." After a pause, Qi An answered him in a very gentle voice.
"Next, Zhao Bo."
This familiar name attracted Qi An's attention. Qi An turned his head and saw that this person was indeed the one he had encountered on his first day in this world. In just a short few days, Zhao Bo had already been promoted from outer disciple to inner disciple.
The elegant young man gave a slight bow and walked before the treasure. The two-colored flower showed no reaction to the young man's hand touching it. Just as Qi An was about to look away, he heard exclamations ring out from those around him.
That two-colored flower lit up.
Black and white emitted extremely dazzling light. All the elders on the high platform immediately stood up from their seats. Their eyes when looking at Zhao Bo instantly changed.
"This selection is hereby concluded." The officiator immediately announced loudly.
"Zhao Bo, is it? Please follow us." The Sect Master of Xuantian League personally descended from the high platform and walked to the young man's side. A look of fondness appeared on his aged face, "We have something to discuss with you."
"I... was I selected?" Astonishment appeared in Zhao Bo's voice, along with a trembling tone.
"Yes, child, it's you." The Sect Master's voice seemed full of emotion, "We've finally found you."
Seemingly thinking of something, the Sect Master's gaze fell on Qi An, "Qi An, could you trouble yourself to find your master? Tell him we've found someone very important."
"Mm." Qi An looked at the Sect Master's face that showed undisguised joy, his gaze also sweeping past Zhao Bo beside him, and nodded lightly.
Just as Qi An was about to step out of the Affairs Hall, the blood rain falling from the sky suddenly intensified. The pattering sound became particularly obvious, accompanied by a very strong wind rising in the sky.
Almost in an instant, the accumulated water rose above everyone's ankles. Qi An looked at the crimson expanse below and frowned lightly.
The peak they were standing on suddenly shook, followed by violent trembling. The Xuantian League's protective sect array was being breached. The Sect Master's fond expression vanished. He waved his hand and a black-clad person凭空 appeared before him. The Sect Master's expression instantly became very serious, "Protect him well. Remember, he is very important. No matter the cost, you must protect him."
Having said this, he flew into the midair. When the Sect Master saw the scene at the mountain's base, his expression suddenly became very grim.
It was an uncountable, densely packed mass of people. They were climbing up the mountain, a sea of black heads constantly rising, like a black tide.
Moreover, these people acted as if they weren't afraid of death. Even as those rushing forward kept falling one after another, those behind continued rushing forward without any reaction. Their protective sect array had absolutely no effect on these people, because there were just... too many of them.
One person would just fall, and countless more would surge forward.
Even with sect disciples defending outside, the spreading of this blackness didn't decrease much. The Sect Master's expression grew grimmer and grimmer due to this dire situation, "All elders and disciples, please follow me outside to face the enemy."
Everyone gradually ran toward the mountain's base. Qi An stood in place holding his umbrella. At present, the Affairs Hall only had four people remaining—him, Xu Ke, Zhao Bo, and that black-clad person.
"Long time no see, Qi An." Zhao Bo walked toward Qi An with a smile and greeted him. The black-clad person followed closely behind him, looking at Qi An with sharp, wary eyes.
"Long time no see." Qi An gave him a slight nod, "Is there something?"
"The Sect Master said for you to help invite Senior Lian. So I came over to remind you, hoping you could move a bit faster." A very elegant smile appeared on Zhao Bo's face, "I especially want to see him now."
"Senior Lian isn't someone you can see just because you want to. Haven't you heard? Senior Lian never meets outsiders." Before Qi An could speak, Xu Ke spoke first, "And with the situation so chaotic now, if Little Uncle goes to find Senior Lian, what if he encounters danger on the road? Why not wait until this matter is resolved?"
"This is the Sect Master's order. Could it be that Qi An wishes to defy the Sect Master's order?" Zhao Bo smiled lightly, "Besides, Senior Lian will see me. If he later learns of your negligence toward me this time, he will definitely blame you. Qi An, go, okay?"
Staring at Zhao Bo's皮笑肉不笑 expression for a moment, Qi An shook his head at Xu Ke and walked outside.
[Zhao Bo! Zhao Bo!] The system's voice was full of dissatisfaction and anger, [What right does he have! According to his current status, he should also address you as Little Uncle with respect, but what about him now—he actually calls you by name! And the treatment he's currently enjoying is completely supposed to be yours.]
[Calm down a little.] Qi An's voice answering the system was calm, as if completely unconcerned about the way Zhao Bo was treating him, [It's fine this way. I can also... see some things from this.]
Walking along the route from memory, Qi An looked at the plaque reading "Yuantinge" and paused. After a moment, Qi An reached out and knocked on the door.
—The creak of a door.
The door opened almost the instant Qi An knocked.
"An'an, are you looking for me?" A young man in玄色 robes by the door asked softly, "Were you frightened by the situation outside? Come in. Don't worry, your master absolutely won't let any of these things threaten you."
As he spoke, the young man sidestepped, revealing a gap for Qi An to enter.
"The Sect Master asked me to invite you to the Affairs Hall. He said there's someone there who's very important to you." Qi An shook his head.
"Someone very important?" The man's eyes drooped slightly, "Since An'an is the one inviting me, then I'll go take a look."
The person's face was like a blank mask. Lian Ruoyu's expression didn't change in the slightest. Just standing there, he gave off a very strong pressure. He seemed indifferent to everything, his eyes also a一片 of coldness. But just this person, when walking side by side with Qi An, secretly held Qi An's hand.
Qi An turned his head to look at the young man and found the latter's expression as calm as always.
"..."
On the way back, the situation had clearly worsened several times over. The place they were currently at was on the mountain peak, and now some of those abnormal people had appeared here as well.
When Qi An and Lian Ruoyu arrived at the Affairs Hall on the mountainside, the hall was already surrounded by densely packed crowds. People wore elegant smiles on their faces, constantly trying to move closer step by step. But because many other cultivators had built a defensive array here, they had been unable to truly enter for some time.
It was also just as they arrived that the cultivators inside sensed Lian Ruoyu's presence, "Senior Lian, please help us!"
The ice-cold young man gave a slight nod and quite easily brought Qi An into the Affairs Hall. Then he said in a very gentle tone, "An'an, wait here for me. I'll handle these things very quickly. After I deal with them, I'll come find you."
Having said this, Lian Ruoyu was about to walk out of the Affairs Hall without looking at anyone.
"Senior Lian!" Zhao Bo's voice interrupted the young man's actions. Lian Ruoyu turned his head. His expression had no fluctuations, yet somehow it just made people feel he was extremely unhappy.
What he said lost the gentleness he had when facing Qi An and became an icy coldness that froze to the bone, "What do you want?"
"I..." The words Zhao Bo was about to say were forcibly swallowed down because of Lian Ruoyu's gaze, "Nothing."
The young man gave a cold nod and walked out briskly.
The situation had become very dire now, because infected disciples had also appeared inside the various sect territories. The difference between cultivators and mortals could be described as worlds apart. It was already difficult to deal with ordinary mortals alone, let alone cultivators hidden within the sects.
What was even more worrying was that the number of cultivators infected by the blood rain kept increasing.
And it was completely impossible to guard against. Just moments ago they were comrades fighting together. The next moment, one's comrade might become infected and turn around to kill you.
The rain fell heavier and heavier.
The world grew more and more chaotic.
Qi An stood there holding his umbrella, quietly watching more and more people turn into变异 people who eternally wore elegant smiles.
"It'll be fine. With Lian Ruoyu here, it will definitely be fine. Many dangerous situations have occurred before, and they were all successfully resolved by Lian Ruoyu. Today's matter can definitely be resolved too." A very beautiful woman gently patted a small boy crying beside her.
"You said many dangerous situations occurred before." Qi An walked to that woman's side, "Were all these tribulations resolved by Lian Ruoyu?"
The woman raised her head to look at Qi An and nodded lightly, "Right, him."
"Why? Isn't he cultivating the无情道?" Qi An paused before continuing to ask the woman.
"I don't know. Although most people who cultivate the无情道 are emotionally detached, indifferent to whatever happens in the world, he does always appear whenever there are tribulations." The woman shook her head and continued to comfort the small boy in her arms.
"What difference does it make if you have Lian Ruoyu? None of you can escape." Just as the Affairs Hall fell into complete silence, a person completely wrapped in black clothes suddenly appeared inside.
"You're from the Dark Pavilion!" An elderly man with white hair spoke with uncertainty and doubt, "What do you mean by that? Could the sudden mutation of people have something to do with the Dark Pavilion?"
The black-clad person seemed to smile, "That's right. This filthy world needs to be destroyed. Everyone who ever hurt him must pay the price, including... us."
"—Except for him, no one in this world is allowed to have their own thoughts, because they will misunderstand him. Everyone here needs to maintain an extremely elegant smile. Seeing such a smile, he will definitely feel joy. He can stay safely right there, no one will misunderstand him, everyone will show him the most perfect smile. He will live very happily and safely..."
"You've all gone mad! If you're going to turn people into this state, why not simply kill everyone in this world? Then he would be even safer!"
"No." The black-clad person shook his head, "If there were only him left in the world, he would be lonely. We want to give him a perfect world. How could we not consider these matters?"
"You..." The old man's finger pointing at the black-clad person began to tremble continuously. It seemed he thought of something and suddenly turned to face Zhao Bo. The old man grabbed Zhao Bo's neck with his aged hand, "If I hurt him now, wouldn't everything you're doing become meaningless?"
The black-clad person who had been following Zhao Bo immediately prepared to strike the old man, but the next second he was shaken by the old man's words, "Don't you want to live anymore? Can't you see this is our only way?"
Zhao Bo looked at the black-clad person pleadingly, his face turning bright red. It seemed he wanted to use his hands to pry the old man's hand open, but to no avail.
But contrary to what the old man expected, this person from the Dark Pavilion didn't stop his actions. Instead, he stood there watching quietly, as if watching a good show.
"That's not right, that's not right. If Zhao Bo were really Du Ning's reincarnation, you absolutely wouldn't react this way." The old man released his hand. Zhao Bo thudded to the ground, "Du Ning's reincarnation... who is it really?"
"Are you okay?" Without anyone noticing when, Lian Ruoyu had appeared at Qi An's side.
"Mm." Qi An nodded. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course." Lian Ruoyu nodded.
"Why do you... step forward when tribulations occur in this world?"
"Because someone once told me that he loves this world very much." Lian Ruoyu smiled lightly. This was the first time Qi An saw his smile.
This smile was extremely enchanting, like the melting of ice and snow, "This is the world he gave his life to protect. Of course I must... protect it well."
Qi An froze. He thought of himself when he was still Du Ning. At that time, he really had said such words.
—I like this world.
【Main Quest: Save This World (Completed)
穿越者 Numbers: 3 Survivors: 3】
【Leave this world?】
"An'an, you can try looking back. You'll find that you're actually not alone. I've been present in every one of your worlds."
Lian Ruoyu reached out and touched Qi An's head, the gesture intimate and doting beyond measure, "Please forgive my selfishness. Without your permission, I made such a choice."
"Even if you may never notice my existence, I want to walk through every world with you."
"Thank you for being willing to give me another chance."