Chen Yue Zhi Yao Volume 3 Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4: FRAGMENTS OF MEMORIES

“Congratulations, part of your memory will be unsealed for the first time. Are you excited?” – Luo s.h.i.+

“I’ve always thought that, in light of the general trend of my life, I would only be able to remember the last meal I ate and other such things…” – Fan Tong

The exhausting chicken-killing campaign finally came to an end. Originally, Fan Tong had thought they could all eat together afterwards, allowing him to get a free meal. Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to his wishes.

“It’s almost time for Ying to bathe, so I must return and make preparations” was what Ling s.h.i.+ said. Being the Queen’s valet… should it really be considered an exhausting job?

“Ah, there’s still time. Xiao Rou, let’s find a place to go sightseeing” was what Yin s.h.i.+ said. Maybe he had finally come to a realization and wanted a one-on-one date.

“All right~ anywhere is good~”

I don’t even need to tell you who said that. Of course, it was Bi Rou.

The people with the money went off to do their own things, so Fan Tong, Yue Tui, and Zhu Sha could only bid farewell to the two remaining cute girls and return to the dorm to eat public rations.

However, the first thing Fan Tong did when they returned to the dorm was not to eat, since he was never interested in eating public rations anyway. For him, the first thing he wanted to sort out was the matter with Zhu Sha.

“Yue Tui, what’s going on with Zhu Sha?” Even though the other person was right beside him and the person he ought to ask was the person the question involved, Fan Tong never quite had the courage to talk to Zhu Sha, so he chose to ask Yue Tui instead.

Before Yue Tui could answer, Zhu Sha spoke up. “That’s what I should ask. What’s going on with you guys? Why are you both so strange?”

“Zhu Sha, was that woman from before really not you? Are you a guy or a girl?”

Since Zhu Sha had spoken up, Fan Tong was forced to talk to him instead. Fortunately, his first sentence was understandable.

“Where did this separation between girls and boys come from, all people have a male appearance and a female appearance from birth!”

Hearing Zhu Sha’s way of speaking, Fan Tong suddenly broke out in cold sweat. Because Zhu Sha was a serious person who never joked around, did this mean that the girl Yue Tui had said was Zhu Sha was actually Zhu Sha?

“Yue Tui said I’m the only one who can do this, the rest of you guys can’t, and it would be better not to let everyone know… why can’t you guys change genders?” Zhu Sha seemed unable to comprehend that there could be such a huge difference between members of the human race. Since such a long time had pa.s.sed, Yue Tui had already had time to calm down and reflect on this matter, so he was able to explain his thoughts on it.

“Zhu Sha, New Residents originally came from various worlds, after all, and every world has its own distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristics. The people of your world all have two genders, but that is probably  a phenomenon found only in your world. None of us have that kind of ability.”

This sounded somewhat reasonable. Zhu Sha was silent, looking like he was trying to digest the theory, but Fan Tong still felt curious about his strange physiology.

“Can you change genders once so I can see? Without seeing it with my own eyes, it’s easy for me to doubt you.”

“It’s difficult for me to believe you” changed into “it’s easy for me to doubt you”… Forget it, the meaning stayed the same.

“Piece of cake. I am not like you, who always likes telling lies.”

It seemed that Zhu Sha was still deeply prejudiced against him, but Zhu Sha changed genders as soon as he’d answered. After a “peng” sound, he became shrouded in mist, as if by magic. After the mist dissipated, a beautiful young woman appeared before their eyes.

Wah! This isn’t a dream, right? He really changed into a woman! Upon closer inspection, “she” even has a great figure! Is it really appropriate for us to continue living with this roommate? Aren’t Yue Tui and I upstanding young men in our primes? Though, if a man actually tried to force himself on her, there’s the danger of her suddenly changing into a man and causing quite a shock… though, she really does have the kind of curvy figure that people would drool over…

“Why isn’t everyone like this? How do other people deal with this?” After Zhu Sha had changed genders, Fan Tong noted that his voice and way of speaking had also changed a little.

“Deal with what?”

“The problem of choosing a spouse!”

Hearing that, the other two were puzzled, unable to tell what the problem was.

“In my original world, everyone has a male appearance and a female appearance. When choosing a spouse, two people must find each other’s male and female appearances attractive. During courts.h.i.+p, they can become good friends with their spouse when they’re the same gender… But you people only have one gender! Then I can’t… I can’t…”

Then you can’t kill two birds with one stone, shoot two problems with one arrow, or accomplish two tasks at once, right? I understand. Ah, please don’t pay attention to the idioms I just used, that was just me saying whatever nonsense came to my mind. That being said, a man and a woman finding each other attractive is already difficult enough, but in your world you must approve of each other’s male and female appearances. Aren’t the odds of finding a spouse in this case a tad too low?

“Even if Fan Tong can’t change into a woman, it doesn’t matter. I don’t like him anyways, so I have no interest in his female appearance, but Yue Tui, why can’t you change genders…”

Hey hey hey, enough is enough. Why are you picking on my body for no reason? I also don’t want to fantasize about what I would look like as a woman at all, okay?… Eh? The sentence you said after that, what did it mean…?

“M-me?” Yue Tui tensed up. It seemed like he was unaccustomed to speaking with women.

“That’s right, I think you are the ideal spouse. Your female appearance should also be great, but you unexpectedly only have one gender…”

Whoa, is this a confession? Took her long enough to get around to it. So Zhu Sha, are you interested in Yue Tui?

From an objective standpoint, it should be, “you unexpectedly have two genders,” not “Yue Tui unexpectedly only has one gender,” right?

“I-ideal p-p-partner?”

Yue Tui’s frantic face was a sight to behold, and he even stuttered when he spoke. Fan Tong, the observer, thought it made a great scene, as this matter had nothing to do with him.

“That’s right! I just thought that, after I saw your female appearance, I would ask if you wanted to date me, but it turned into this kind of situation…”

It didn’t turn into this kind of situation – it was like this originally. Since things turned out this way, wouldn’t it be fine if you just tried to fall in love with Yue Tui in both genders? I’m open-minded; even if you guys want to discuss this unconventional love, I won’t look down on you.

“I…” It seemed that Yue Tui had never faced this kind of situation before. Most likely, no one of the opposite gender had ever so directly confessed that they wanted to date him, so he was completely out of his depth. He could only look at Fan Tong with pleading eyes.

Ahem, Yue Tui, even if you look at me like that, I can’t help you. You’re not going to say that you have never received any training for this kind of situation, so you don’t know how to handle it, right? This isn’t something a teacher can teach you, you have to learn and grow through experience. I believe you have the potential to.

Even if the first person to confess to you is a little unusual, I believe you can be strong and pull yourself together.

“Don’t tell me I have to act like two separate people? That’s too complicated…” Zhu Sha began grumbling to herself. It seemed that her thoughts were going in the direction of “finding a male lover for my female appearance, then finding a female lover for my male appearance.” Fan Tong didn’t think this was such a great idea.

In general, that’s called cheating, isn’t it? Plus it could also be mistaken for bis.e.xuality. This kind of sandwich relations.h.i.+p… it already sounds outrageous in my head; it would be better if you don’t pursue it. It’s possible that your girlfriend would run up and slap Yue Tui, saying something like, “What a shameless man, you had the nerve to seduce my boyfriend”… Forget it, it’s better not to think about that too much.

“You can put off this kind of thing until later. New Residents can live for a long time. Isn’t it more important to study now…” Yue Tui chose to persuade her to drop the subject. He seemed to have a tendency to escape facing things down.

“Yeah… It’s not wrong to say that this isn’t an urgent matter, studying is also important…” It seemed that Yue Tui had aroused Zhu Sha’s earnest pa.s.sion for knowledge, and at long last, she decided to set aside her search for a spouse for now.

After that, they vowed to keep silent about the subject for Zhu Sha’s sake. After all, it was possible that Zhu Sha would no longer be able to room with them if her female appearance was discovered. As they got along decently and didn’t want to switch her out for another roommate, this matter ended up becoming their mutual secret.

Fuzhou communication charms were incredibly useful things. Although Fan Tong had lost his own the day before, they could still use Yue Tui’s.

Using the Fuzhou communication charm, they easily contacted Luo s.h.i.+ and agreed to meet with him before school the next morning to turn in their chicken feathers and skins. If not for the Fuzhou communication charm, they really didn’t know how they would find him. After all, Shen w.a.n.g Dian wasn’t a place they could walk into as they pleased to casually look for their friend.

Luo s.h.i.+ brought the materials he had been keeping safe for them as well as the replacement Fuzhou communication charm Ling s.h.i.+ had made anew for Fan Tong. When he met them again at the dormitory gate, people once again cast them sidelong glances. However, Fan Tong did not feel uncomfortable like before; at most, he felt his back p.r.i.c.kle from the stares.

“Yesterday, you all went together to kill chickens and pluck their feathers? That seems amusing…”

En route to the office, naturally Fan Tong couldn’t avoid conversation. When Luo s.h.i.+ spoke, his face unconsciously revealed a slightly envious expression. It seemed he regretted not being able to partic.i.p.ate in their group activity.

It wasn’t fun at all. Continuously chasing after Lord Yin s.h.i.+, who was running around killing animals, and bending over to pluck feathers completely tired me out. Furthermore, we even met people from Luo Yue, and because of your complete hatred for Luo Yue, you would have definitely caused a lot of trouble.

“Next time we get the chance, you can go with us,” Yue Tui said in a friendly manner. Hearing that, Luo s.h.i.+ avoided their eyes, revealing how thin-skinned he was.

“I don’t necessarily have time for that! Anyway… anyway, if you want me to help, let me know beforehand, and if I have the time, I’ll consider it.”

I think that even if you did have something to do, you would put it off and come with us. No need to be so shy, really now.

“Is that so… What a pity. Luo s.h.i.+, you’re very busy, right? If you could do something with us, it would be a lot of fun…” Yue Tui wasn’t even the slightest bit aware that Luo s.h.i.+’s words hadn’t been sincere and continued the conversation like this. Luo s.h.i.+ stiffened up as he was confronted with a face that resembled Hui s.h.i.+’s. After many seconds pa.s.sed, he finally relented.

“Actually, I’m really not that busy… If you just let me know first, there won’t be a problem… I also, I also want to go…” His last few words were barely audible. Fan Tong really didn’t know why he was being so shy and reserved.

“That’s great!” Yue Tui smiled brilliantly. In contrast, Luo s.h.i.+ didn’t know where to look and quickly turned his head away.

Obliviousness is truly a terrifying weakness as well as a terrifying natural weapon, Yue Tui.

“Fan Tong, did you not get enough sleep? You’re staring into s.p.a.ce…” Yue Tui asked, concerned.

Fan Tong forced a laugh. “Nothing’s wrong, something’s wrong.”

“Is there something wrong or not…”

I also want to know. This G.o.dd.a.m.n curse.

The office where they would turn in their materials was located near Shen w.a.n.g Dian and seemed like a tranquil place. There was no one going in or out.

I get the feeling that they’re not getting much business… Oh, comparing it to a business isn’t fitting. In reality, they probably don’t even get one person a week coming to raise their rank, so naturally it’s pretty empty.

“You guys go in; I’ll wait out here. Ling s.h.i.+ should be waiting in there; I told him you were coming.” Luo s.h.i.+’s second sentence made them pause in confusion.

“…You didn’t forget that a small part of your memory will be unsealed when you go up a rank, right?”

“Oh.” Fan Tong’s expression clearly showed that he had forgotten, while Yue Tui looked slightly surprised.

“Fan Tong, what’s up with your expression, do you think forgetting isn’t a big deal?”

Well, what’s up with your resentful tone? Must I display an astonished expression? Or say something like, “Oooooh! That’s right! There’s something like this? I actually forgot”? This is not in line with my cool and intellectual image.

“Because I don’t know what I remember anyways, it doesn’t matter if I forget.”

Don’t take my words and reverse them so that it seems like I’m in a drunken stupor, okay?

“You wanted to say… even if you remembered, you’d just forget again, so it doesn’t matter?” Luo s.h.i.+ frowned as he tried to translate, already a little confused.

No! That’s not it! You got it wrong!

“I’m saying I don’t know what I didn’t forget anyways, so of course I care!”

“I don’t want to talk to you, it’s so tiring.”

Hey! Don’t do this, all right? People with language problems also have the right to speak!

“Forget it, it’ll be fine no matter what happens. Let’s leave, Yue Tui.”

“Oh, okay.” Yue Tui seemed like he had just come back to his senses after being lost in thought, so he gave a one-word response.

…Were you daydreaming? I said “let’s leave” instead of “let’s go,” and you still agreed?

Fortunately, his sentence was comparatively easy to understand, so after Luo s.h.i.+ explained it to him, Yue Tui obediently followed him in.

Turning in their chicken feathers and chicken skins was a simple process. The person in charge identified them using the marks New Residents possessed and counted up the materials they’d brought. Afterwards, they were finally able to trade in their white ta.s.sels for brand-new gra.s.s-green ta.s.sels. This signified that they had reached a rank where they would earn a salary and that they were no longer cla.s.sified as worthless people.

“Lord Ling s.h.i.+ is waiting inside to lift the seal on your memories. You can go in now.”

Ling s.h.i.+ was already their waiting for them, making Fan Tong feel like an honored guest.

Lifting the curtain that led to the inner room, they saw Ling s.h.i.+’s beautiful figure sitting quietly in the middle of the room. He gave them a formal explanation after seeing them enter.

“I am responsible for sealing and unsealing people’s memories, as you should already know. In other words, every time you rise in rank, you will come here to see me. However, you two saw me yesterday as well as today, so this shouldn’t be a novel experience for you.”

Indeed. We are already used to seeing important people now, uh, except for the Queen.

If Mi Zhong had all those chicken feathers and chicken skins, he would definitely take two trips to bring them in in order to see Ling s.h.i.+ twice…

“Let’s get this over with. Who’s first?”

Fan Tong didn’t really care who went first. When he looked towards Yue Tui to find out his opinion, Yue Tui somewhat hesitantly opened his mouth to speak.

“That is… Fan Tong can do it by himself. I don’t want to go through with this.”

Hearing such a direct refusal, Ling s.h.i.+ and Fan Tong were both a little surprised.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of someone who doesn’t want their memories unsealed… Why don’t you want to?”

“Yeah, Yue Tui, why? I feel that giving up on this is profitable, and getting your memory back is still worse than not getting it back.”

I’m saying that you’ll lose out if you give up on recovering your memory, and getting your memory back is still better than not getting it back…

“I am satisfied with my life right now. I don’t want things to change,” Yue Tui answered, eyes half-lidded. This reason sounded rational, though a little conservative.

“I will respect everyone’s choice. Since you don’t want me to unseal your memory, I won’t force you.” Ling s.h.i.+ agreed to his request, then looked towards Fan Tong. “How about you? If you also don’t want to, that will save me some trouble, and I can just go home now.”

…How come it sounds like you hope I’ll also give up on recovering my memory? What, because my memory must be worthless, lifting the seal on it is wasting your time? Even though I feel that memories are the type of thing where forgetting them won’t bother you at all, it’s not like that, all right?

“You have to do it!”

Wah! What is this? This mistake is the kind that could make someone want to beat me to death!

After the curse twisted the words he had blurted out, Fan Tong felt far from good. Sure enough, Ling s.h.i.+’s gaze immediately became several degrees cooler.

“Contrary to expectations, you’re actually talking big. You’re trying to order me around?”

“I, I, you were just too laid-back and spoke wrong…”

I’m saying that I was too nervous! Too nervous! Even though that’s not the true reason… Is it necessary to explain my language barrier to Lord Ling s.h.i.+, whom I rarely encounter? Perhaps he wouldn’t believe me either, like Zhu Sha…

“Fan Tong’s mouth is sometimes disobedient. I think he only wants to express that he does want to recover his memory…” Yue Tui kindly helped him explain. Fan Tong looked at him with grateful eyes.

“This time, I won’t bicker with you about it. If you run into Wei s.h.i.+, you’ll want to drop this kind of bad habit.”

Even if I don’t run into Lord Wei s.h.i.+, I also want to drop this bad habit. However, this isn’t something I can change even though I want to… Auntie from back then, can’t you remove your curse! It hasn’t disappeared, even after all these years!

“Come over here, I’ll remove part of the spell on your memory.”

Fan Tong complied and walked over to stand in front of Ling s.h.i.+, a little nervous as his imagination ran wild.

I don’t know what technique is used to unseal memories. Is it Fuzhou or Shufa?

In fact, it doesn’t matter if it’s Fuzhou or Shufa. Although Lord Ling s.h.i.+ is the rector of Fuzhou Xuan, that doesn’t mean his Shufa isn’t strong. It’s not necessary to have the person with the strongest Shufa abilities do this kind of thing, right?

Furthermore, suppose Yin s.h.i.+, Shufa Xuan’s rector, has the strongest Shufa abilities. Letting him deal with matters related to people’s memories would only make people feel even more uneasy. Perhaps he would throw memories into disarray while unsealing people’s memories, causing utter chaos…

The procedure to unseal his memories was more or less the same as the procedure to seal them. Ling s.h.i.+ gracefully moved his hand in a circle, causing a watermark-like seal to invade Fan Tong’s mind. The spell immediately started to take effect.

It was as if the originally shut-off memories flowed out of an open gate. The entire process felt subtle; because he had originally forgotten those few things, he had to remember them once again, but he didn’t know whether to let them batter his mind or to naturally accept them. All in all, these memories were originally his, and welcoming them as they returned wasn’t something difficult.

Those memories slowly flowed out and emerged in his mind, trivial matters jumping around. Some were trifling matters about his daily life, some were things he had learned in the past; basically, his recovered memories were as he had thought they would be – insignificant matters. It seemed that whether he remembered them or not didn’t make that much of a difference.

However, when he recalled his fortune-telling abilities, Fan Tong was startled for a moment. He’d remembered what his job was the entire time but hadn’t remembered how to do it, yet he hadn’t noticed at all that something was wrong. He’d lived like this for such a long time… This was just too tragic.

Ling s.h.i.+ didn’t restore his full memory, only the memories obtainable from rising two ranks. Because that amount wasn’t very much, the memories were able to circle around his brain during the process, allowing him to thoroughly understand them. The unsealing process had almost reached its conclusion; afterwards, it would be his job to organize the incoherent memories that were a bit of a mess.

The light emitted by the spell gradually faded from his body, and just before it faded completely, a final phrase flowed out from the nearly sealed memory gate, causing his eyes to widen.

That phrase echoed from some portion of his memory, but at that moment, the spell to unseal his memory lost effectiveness. The entire process ended there, but he found himself confused and puzzled. With no relevant memories to a.s.sist him, he was unable to a.n.a.lyze that final piece of memory that was so striking it caused him to ignore the voices of the other memories. What did it mean?

That phrase was actually quite short, just three words.

“Seal Chen Yue”… 

Fan Tong couldn’t understand it.

Why did that phrase appear in his mind?

What was its meaning? Its purpose?

“Fan Tong, what happened? Did you lose your soul when you went in there?”

Waiting outside, Luo s.h.i.+ thought that Fan Tong seemed very strange as soon as he saw them come out. “Other people have their memories unsealed, but was your soul stolen instead? Hurry and wake up!”

Seeing that Fan Tong didn’t respond, Luo s.h.i.+ simply slapped him on the back of the head, making him sorrowfully cry out on the spot.

“That feels great! Why did you hit me?”

“…If I didn’t know about your problematic mouth, I would truly believe you were a pervert.”

Eh? That’s too excessive, your hateful mindset can hurt people!

“Just now, after the seal on Fan Tong’s memory was lifted, he became a little absent-minded… I wonder, did he remember something important?” To date, the extent of Yue Tui’s knowledge of Fan Tong’s language barrier was that it was only to the degree of “he often speaks incorrectly.” After he finished speaking, Luo s.h.i.+ looked disapprovingly at Fan Tong.

“Was it because your mouth made several girls reject you? Or did you suddenly remember that you have a fiancée from an arranged marriage?”

Hey! Why are you so fixated on male-female relations in this situation! Don’t tell me that you think I consider this the only important thing in life!

Despite being a little annoyed at the misunderstanding, he didn’t intend to explain what was upsetting him; after all, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it himself.

Perhaps he could discuss it with Yue Tui when they returned home? Two heads were always better than one, and Yue Tui should be quite good at keeping secrets, right? As he thought that, Fan Tong’s head subconsciously turned towards Yue Tui, and he was startled by what he saw.

“Yue Tui! Today, your yintang is white. Your luck is very good, and many good things are possible!”

S-slow down, I’m saying his yintang is black… Ah! How hateful! How can he avoid calamity? Will the seal on my memory not let me recall it?

“Nn? So it’s like this?…” Yue Tui didn’t seem to pay much attention to Fan Tong’s words; after all, the definition of “good things” was far too vague, so he had no idea what it really meant.

“Yue Tui, Fan Tong, after cla.s.s today, let’s meet again at the school’s gate.”

“To celebrate your promotion, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Oooh! So there’s this kind of “good thing”!

Oh no… This won’t do. When I heard there would be good food, I got all worked up. Generally speaking, I’m very cool and intellectual, cough, cough cough cough cough.

“All right, thank you for your kindness.” Yue Tui agreed for both of them. In any case, anyone could tell Fan Tong really wanted to go just by looking at his expression.

“Then you guys should go to cla.s.s. I’ll leave first.”

Naturally they knew the way to school, so they parted ways with Luo s.h.i.+ there and began walking to their destination.

After they returned to the lively main road, people all around them cast unfriendly gazes towards Yue Tui’s Western appearance. Like usual, Fan Tong and Yue Tui pretended not to see them; normally, people only glared and talked about them behind their backs. Today, however, the situation was different.

When they were midway to their destination, many people suddenly showed up to block their path. From their expressions, Fan Tong and Yue Tui could tell these people harbored malicious intent.

W-what is this fuss about? Ordinarily, aren’t their actions only as bad as purposely b.u.mping into us on the road? Except last time’s robbery was more serious… But right now, we don’t have anything worth stealing?

Furthermore, and it’s not me who said this, the faces of you gents make you look like the type who’ll never become anyone important. I get the feeling that you’ll be n.o.bodies for your entire lives, so even if you have some impressive-sounding name, other people won’t remember it… But even if that’s the case, don’t give in to despair and abandon your lives! Turning into third-rate bullies is unlikely to help your futures! Go take a look at your reflections in the mirror right now and realize how unattractive you would look on camera!

“Excuse me… Is there something wrong?” The people in front of them clearly would not let them pa.s.s, so Yue Tui hesitantly spoke to them, maintaining a tone of basic courtesy.

Have you guys truly not realized that by standing here, you’re only serving as plain scenery to enhance Yue Tui’s handsomeness? Even if you successfully gang up on someone, no girls would blush and squeal for you, so I’d like to trouble you to move. We have to get to school.

Hearing Yue Tui’s question, the person who stood at the very front of the five or six people, seeming quite determined, held his ta.s.sel out towards Yue Tui.

“I request a duel.”

After hearing those words, Yue Tui widened his eyes slightly. Fan Tong’s eyes widened even more, both of them skeptical about whether they had heard wrong.

Upon closer inspection, all of these people hold either white ta.s.sels or pale green ta.s.sels… So they’re planning to beat Yue Tui, then “fairly” s.n.a.t.c.h away the results of his efforts, making him drop back down to a white ta.s.sel?

However, isn’t there an error in your scheme? Did you think that we could only ascend a rank because Lord Yin s.h.i.+ took care of us and brought us out to kill chickens and pluck their feathers, and that in reality we have no strength of our own? …All right, maybe I don’t have any strength, but have you talked to the people who are Yue Tui’s cla.s.smates in Wushu Xuan and asked them if they know how they were defeated? You are only members of the two lowest ranks, after all, what reason do you have to believe that you have any odds of success? Don’t tell me it’s because Yue Tui looks like he’s too weak to stand up to the wind?

“Duel? Me?” Yue Tui seemed to think that this was inconceivable. In other words, he simply had never antic.i.p.ated that his kind of thing would happen in his lifetime, so he couldn’t help asking for confirmation.

Right, it’s you, hurry up! Show them what you’re made of! How do you say it in English… “Give they some color see see?” But I don’t know if Yue Tui understands English… However, regardless of whether or not he understands it, my low level of English is useless…

“That’s right. Too scared to accept? If you refuse, you’ll directly drop down a rank.”

“…” Yue Tui’s brows furrowed. He wasn’t too fond of the current situation.

“If you’re afraid, then refuse. It will save you the hundred strings of another rebirth!”

As that person spoke, the group started laughing. Seeing this kind of arrogant manner, Fan Tong could not help whispering in Yue Tui’s ear.

“Yue Tui, slowly deal with him. We’ll be early for school!”

I’m trying to tell you to immediately make him look bad and just kill him quickly… It will conveniently give the crowds a show of your strength.

“I know.”

You know? W-what do you know? Are you certain you understood what I said?

“I accept your challenge. We’ll begin the moment your ta.s.sel comes into contact with my hand.” Yue Tui looked serenely at the hunk in front of him and extended his hand, fair-skinned palm facing upward.

The other person casually placed his ta.s.sel in the outstretched hand. A split second later, before he could even make a move or a.s.sume a fighting stance, there was a sudden “whoosh” sound followed by a m.u.f.fled thump. Practically no one had seen anything, but the challenger had fallen over with his eyes wide open, unconscious.

This situation naturally caused an uproar. Fan Tong had seen a vague flash of shadow earlier, which should have been Yue Tui’s hand moving at an abnormally high speed as he struck his opponent on the head, knocking him down. This kind of rapid dispatch was indeed at an unmatchable speed.

“Who’s next?” Yue Tui tossed the ta.s.sel in his hand onto the person’s body, then looked at the others obstructing the road with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Because their comrade had been knocked down too quickly, they had yet to react. After they had finally made sense of what had happened, another person, enraged by Yue Tui’s leisurely manner, walked up to stand in front of him.

“That was nothing more than you catching him off guard! What’s so extraordinary about it?”

“There’s nothing extraordinary about it.” Yue Tui responded indifferently, extending his hand. “You also want to try?”

That person angrily seized his ta.s.sel and, seeming to find a greater distance between them more advantageous, tossed it to Yue Tui from afar. The distance did not prevent Yue Tui from catching it, and he reached out his left hand to grab the ta.s.sel that was flying through the air. A split second after the ta.s.sel met his hand, his shadow flickered again, and the challenger fell to the ground once more with a thump.

Yue Tui was still standing in his original place, as if he hadn’t moved at all.

“Anyone else?”

The remaining few people displayed fear and incredulousness, and the watching crowd began discussing the situation profusely.

Oh, Yue Tui, this is all wrong, you don’t know how to play around. If you want to stir up the atmosphere, you need to make timely concessions: for example, announcing that you’ll allow the next challenger to attack first, that you’ll give the one after that ten seconds to attack, or that you won’t move your hands. Only if you create more and more disadvantageous situations for yourself will you be able to entice people to continue challenging you. Isn’t there no show to watch like this? If you use this method that is too fast to be seen to dispose of them, no one will be able to see what really happened, so they won’t be deeply convinced of your strength…

Seems like it was me who wanted you to quickly dispose of them, but compared to this kind of fun, what does it matter if we’re late to cla.s.s–

“Tsk! We won’t forget this!” Even though the villains were about to depart, they still had to leave behind some fierce words in order to demonstrate that they hadn’t lost too badly. In any case, their public provocation ended like this. Fan Tong was a little disappointed; after all, an opportunity to hide behind his friend and watch that friend teach people a lesson was hard to come by. He didn’t need to exert himself and could just happily watch the show.

“How come no one came to duel you? That group of people must be blind…”

The sudden sentence caused Fan Tong, puzzled, to look for its source. He then realized that it was his mop causing mischief… no, speaking.

No one coming to duel me is a bad thing? Don’t tell me you want to show off your abilities that much? Do you really believe that I know how to wield a mop under ordinary circ.u.mstances?

There were people nearby, so Fan Tong didn’t want to answer Puhahaha, since it would look like he was talking to a mop. That scene would be all too embarra.s.sing.

“How boring, I’m going back to sleep…”

No one asked you to wake up, mister. Such a self-important weapon, where did you get this arrogance from…

After getting through the morning’s flavorless Shufa cla.s.s, at Yue Tui’s suggestion, Fan Tong finally decided that he would attend the Wushu hands-on combat cla.s.s again with Yue Tui.

In fact, if not for his own small desire to go, Yue Tui couldn’t have persuaded Fan Tong to, even if Yue Tui talked until his mouth bled. The reason he wanted to try Wushu again was that, in addition to the matter where he’d previously used Puhahaha to kill people, he had also experienced a setback with Fuzhou.

That being said, he truly had no other option. He was completely hopeless in Shufa, and his mouth kept him from using Fuzhou. Because of these reasons, he had no choice but to carefully consider whether to pick up Wushu again, a subject he had previously dropped. Honestly, he still didn’t think he possessed any natural talent with regards to Wushu, but for his future, he had to force himself to try a subject he didn’t like. No matter how he thought about it, he still felt miserable.

The experiences from the last two days already made him wonder whether or not his memory had issues. Although it wasn’t a very deep feeling, this lack of trust in his memory felt wrong. It would be best if he could get all his memories back at once.

Of course, that was impossible. Ling s.h.i.+ could not make an exception for him and let him cheat the system. It was said that, if a New Resident wanted to unseal all of their memories, they had to ascend to the rank of a pure black ta.s.sel – simply put, no matter what they did, they would never completely recover their memories. In the Eastern City, the only two people with pure black ta.s.sels were the Queen and Yin s.h.i.+, so it seemed that, for an ordinary citizen like him, ascending to the rank of a pure black ta.s.sel was just wishful thinking.

Even though he had no hope of ascending to the rank of a pure black ta.s.sel in his lifetime, looking for ways to increase his strength was still important.

The main reason Yue Tui hadn’t dragged him to Wushu hands-on combat cla.s.s until today was that Tractor Teacher had taken a leave of absence for quite a while, only starting to teach again today. Furthermore, Tractor Teacher clearly did not welcome Fan Tong and Yue Tui, who had come to join on the first day cla.s.s started, and made a face as soon as he saw them.

“Student, you are in the wrong cla.s.s. Switch to a different one, okay?” He directed his words at Yue Tui. He evidently didn’t fancy having this troublesome student whom he couldn’t control in his cla.s.s.

After all, this teacher’s hobby is bullying students, especially new ones, so it’s inevitable that he would consider Yue Tui a thorn in his side.

However, every time Fan Tong saw him, he really wanted to ask, “Teacher, while on the road, how come you’ve never been hacked to death by a former student who’s become strong? Or do none of your students have any future prospects?”

When Tractor Teacher showed an unwelcoming manner towards him, Yue Tui looked at Fan Tong, then shook his head. “Teacher, I want to attend cla.s.s with Fan Tong.”

He probably wanted to go to cla.s.s with Fan Tong because he wouldn’t feel at ease

if Fan Tong went to Wushu hands-on combat cla.s.s by himself.

After Yue Tui spoke, Fan Tong felt the nearby students look over with somewhat contemptuous gazes. It was probably a look that meant, “you found someone to support you, hmm? Shameless.”

“Oh, student Fan Tong, you need another person to protect you that much? You don’t have the courage to come to Wushu hands-on combat cla.s.s on your own?” Tractor Teacher immediately ridiculed him, and, completely lacking any sense of shame, Fan Tong shook his head.

“I don’t.” This time, the curse didn’t act up, but he didn’t know if he should tell it “good work.”

Of course I don’t have the courage to come to this cla.s.s on my own. I don’t want to increase my debt again; Teacher, you simply don’t understand the problem. All right, being afraid of pain and death is part of human nature, so even if there’s no need to worry about money, I still wouldn’t enjoy dying. Although it’s impossible to become a bigwig without going through pain and suffering, I think that you, Tractor Teacher, will inflict unreasonable and unnecessary suffering on us purely for your own joy.

“You unexpectedly admitted it. Don’t you have any of the courage a man should possess?”

Oh… This is a serious question. Once you bring up the courage a man should possess, the situation seems to become much more serious. Let me carefully think about my reply for a bit.

“Unbelievable, you still need time to think about your answer?”

What’s up with this, you won’t even allow me some quiet to decide on the general direction of my life? Not everyone’s path is that clear-cut, okay?

“Fan Tong’s virtuous character should not be squandered on enduring unreasonable treatment,” Yue Tui said unhappily, seeming dissatisfied with Tractor Teacher’s aggressive question. “Thank you, Teacher, for your recommendation. I believe there really is nothing that I could learn in your cla.s.s. Fan Tong, let’s go.”

Hmm? Huh? What? Go? This soon?

Fan Tong meekly followed Yue Tui and left, unable to make heads or tails of the situation.

“Yue Tui, you didn’t say, are we going to cla.s.s?”

Let me translate: Yue Tui, I say, are we not going to cla.s.s?

“I’m sorry, it was me who urged you to come, but in the end…” Yue Tui apologized with a regretful look on his face. Fan Tong wanted to say that he didn’t blame Yue Tui at all, but he honestly didn’t know how to say it so that the other person would understand.

“Fan Tong, I think there must be many other ways for you to strengthen your Wushu skills, so let’s not go to that teacher’s cla.s.s again. If there’s really no way, I also know a little about the subject, so perhaps I could teach you.”

You’re calling that “only knowing a little”? Aren’t you being excessively modest? I would be satisfied to have one tenth of your skill!

Having Yue Tui teach him Wushu actually seemed like a pretty good suggestion; it was just that he didn’t know if Yue Tui had any teaching skills. Last time, Yue Tui could not explain pure imagination clearly…

The most important thing is, does Yue Tui know how my mop should be used?

“Since you have a self-aware weapon, nurturing a good relations.h.i.+p and mutual understanding is important, as doing so can greatly increase your battle strength. Try to interact with your weapon more, at least until you can use your thoughts to communicate with each other. It’s a good weapon.”

Yue Tui told him this with good intentions, but when he heard Yue Tui praising Puhahaha, Fan Tong felt out of sorts. How would you know whether it’s a good weapon? Do you know that it sleeps all day long, and when its master encounters danger, it tells him to commit suicide? What are your criteria for good weapons? High price?

“I don’t think it has any bad points…” d.a.m.n it, the curse changed my words into praise for Puhahaha once again.

“You also like your weapon? That’s good.”

I have no idea how to reply to that.

“Yue Tui, can I try out your weapon?” He finally managed to put forward a normal-sounding request. Yue Tui was equipped with what Yin s.h.i.+ had traded for his “broken knife” – a similarly broken weapon, but to Fan Tong its design was much more attractive. At least it was normal.

“You want to try it out? There’s no reason you can’t, but I don’t think you’ll like it…” As Yue Tui spoke, he took the knife out and handed it to Fan Tong.

Fan Tong happily extended his hand to grab it, but when Yue Tui released the knife, Fan Tong’s expression immediately became ashen. The knife fell to the ground with a clattering sound, as Fan Tong was unable to hold it.

How much does this weigh? People are supposed to hold this? Yue Tui, you ordinarily carry such a heavy thing with you and can even brandish it in battle? Are you even human?

“Broken weapons are all heavy, so I said you wouldn’t like it.” Yue Tui picked the sword up from the ground, slowly explaining, and Fan Tong’s mood became even gloomier.

It seemed that, aside from the mop that had reluctantly formed a contract with him, he really had no other options…

Once school was dismissed, they met up with Luo s.h.i.+ in front of the gate as planned, then followed him towards their destination… However, the direction they were going in was a little strange. Midway there, Fan Tong couldn’t help speaking up.

“Luo s.h.i.+, is the restaurant not near Shen w.a.n.g Dian?”

“I’m too lazy to figure out what you originally wanted to say. We’re currently going to Shen w.a.n.g Dian.”

After Luo s.h.i.+ answered, Fan Tong and Yue Tui both exclaimed, “Eh?”

“There’s no need to go to Shen w.a.n.g Dian to treat us to food, right…” Yue Tui seemed to be of the same mind as Fan Tong – neither wanted to go near that establishment, which was too far above their social status.

“That’s right! Although eating at home will waste more money, what will we do if we run into Lord Wei s.h.i.+?”

Fan Tong felt that if his own home provided food, then eating out was wasting money, but it seemed that it wasn’t the same for princes.

“This isn’t my idea! Originally, I also wanted to go to a restaurant, but Yin s.h.i.+ found out and absolutely insisted on b.u.t.ting in. How could I take him out to make a disgrace of himself! We talked and talked, and finally I just said that we’ll go eat at Yin s.h.i.+’s pavilion,” Luo s.h.i.+ answered, sounding fl.u.s.tered. It seemed that he also felt quite angry over things turning out like this.

A disgrace, huh… This is truly a big problem. If we got a private room, no one would be able to watch him make a fool of himself, right? Or is he the kind of awful customer who will look at the menu and then tell the server, “Give me the minced pork rice, but without minced pork”?

“You listen to Lord Ling s.h.i.+ that much, huh? It’s not like he’s Lord Yin s.h.i.+…”

…Wait a moment, what did I say? What on earth is going on with this curse? Is Lord Yin s.h.i.+ the antonym of Lord Ling s.h.i.+? Just how are those terms related? Why not Lord Wei s.h.i.+?

“I still don’t understand what you’re saying.” Luo s.h.i.+ had become impatient with Fan Tong’s incoherent words, so Luo s.h.i.+ simply explained himself. “In any case, whenever that senseless guy Yin s.h.i.+ doesn’t have anything to do, he loves to b.u.t.t into other people’s business, so he nagged at me for two hours. I was truly pestered beyond endurance and was forced to go along with his idea.”

Two hours… Wow, a full two hours, Lord Yin s.h.i.+ is truly senseless… I mean, persistent!

“He also insisted that I tell you to remember to bring your mop.” Luo s.h.i.+ looked at Fan Tong’s waist. “You brought your mop with you? That’s good.”

Fan Tong was not happy. Whether it’s a mop or a horsetail whisk, it’s clearly unremarkable and unworthy of mention, so why was it more important than its master…

After arriving at Shen w.a.n.g Dian, they directly walked over to the third palace. This time, they didn’t encounter any obstructions on the way there, so before they knew it, the entrance to Yin s.h.i.+’s pavilion was right in front of them.

Ah, ah, everyone says that the first time you go somewhere, it’s new, but the second time you go, it has already become familiar. Sure enough, I don’t feel as nervous coming here the second time. However, even though the palace feels familiar, that doesn’t mean I’ve become a mighty person who has anything to do with the palace, so my feelings are really complicated…

I remember when I practiced Feng Shui for people in the past. However, I currently can’t remember how to practice it, so even though I was thinking of appraising the palace, I can’t. Having my memories locked away feels so horrible…

“Xiao Luo s.h.i.+, you’re here – ” Yin s.h.i.+ greeted them from the entrance with a brilliant smile. It looked like he had already waited there for a long time.

With so much free time, why didn’t you go find your Xiao Rou to play?

“Yin s.h.i.+, don’t wear that armor again, okay?” Luo s.h.i.+ looked as if he had the urge to roll his eyes when he saw Yin s.h.i.+. The latter adopted an innocent expression, touching the armor he was wearing.

“It doesn’t look good? Xiao Rou says I look handsome in it…”

Stop mentioning Xiao Rou every three sentences. Xiao Rou said you look handsome, Xiao Luo s.h.i.+ thinks you look idiotic, whose opinion will you listen to?

“Forget it, forget it, it’s not important at all. Lead the way.”

“Okay, okay, come with me.”

Leading them in, Yin s.h.i.+ walked in front of them, probably intending to bring them to the same hall as last time. He opened the door, crossed the doorway, and very naturally walked in, but as soon as Yue Tui tried to follow him in, the situation unexpectedly changed.

A flash of gold light coming from all sides pa.s.sed through Yue Tui’s body, so quickly no one had time to react. Before everyone else had time to cry out or shriek, Yue Tui had already limply collapsed, not breathing.

Aaaaah! Yue Tui! Yue Tui! Wake up! It’s murder –

Fan Tong, alarmed, wanted to crouch down to examine Yue Tui, but Luo s.h.i.+ deftly pulled him away.

“Idiot! The defensive mechanism hasn’t been removed yet. Do you want to go over there and die together with him!”

What? Defensive mechanism? No wonder this scene is so familiar, isn’t this the same thing that I lost my life to last time? I just wasn’t paying attention, that’s all, of course I don’t want to die together with him. I don’t have the money, reasons, or pa.s.sion to be that sentimental…

That’s not the important thing! Lord Yin s.h.i.+, what kind of murderous haunted house do you have here! You better compensate Yue Tui for his life!

I was just saying that his black yin tang couldn’t lead to anything good! However, not every person with a black yin tang will encounter a disaster and die, right? Yue Tui, why are you particularly unlucky? Could it be that you’ve spent too much time with me and thus became unfortunate?

“Yin s.h.i.+! Why can you never be careful! Don’t forget the defensive mechanism’s existence just because you are this house’s owner and aren’t affected by it!”

Luo s.h.i.+’s anger was apparent from his roar. Yin s.h.i.+ actually wore a fearful expression for once, as if he knew he’d done something wrong, and he seemed not to know what to do.

“Ah, I forgot…”

Can you return a human to life just by saying “I forgot”?!

…All right, maybe you can with New Residents. Think carefully and you’ll find that, even though Yue Tui encountered an unimaginable disaster, when all is said and done, he can still be reborn. This is truly great fortune in the midst of misfortune. Yin s.h.i.+, with your forgetful habits, you better not invite your Xiao Rou here to play, in order to avoid an irreversible tragedy.

“Fan Tong, come on, let’s go to the pond to retrieve him.”

“Okay.”

“Ah, I’ll also go with you…”

In the end, they hadn’t even started eating their celebratory meal before the atmosphere was ruined, and they even had to do before-meal labor.

Should I say, sure enough, this is Lord Yin s.h.i.+’s style?

“You must remunerate him! This time it’s your fault, you must remunerate him!”

They were on the boat, and Yue Tui still hadn’t appeared yet, so Luo s.h.i.+ firstly quarreled with Yin s.h.i.+ about the problem of remuneration.

“I know, I’ll take responsibility…”

Take what responsibility? This phrasing is misleading. Do you want to take responsibility by looking after him for the rest of his life?

“How are you going to take responsibility?”

 

Luo s.h.i.+ didn’t suggest a remuneration plan. He was waiting for Yin s.h.i.+ to say it himself as a test of his sincerity.

“I can cover the cost of a new body for him. Afterwards, if he’s still angry, I think… I should let him stab me once with a knife, but no more than that.  I am unable to trade a life for a life, since I wouldn’t be reborn…”

Tsk tsk tsk. When compensating someone, isn’t money the most important thing? If you have money, it’s easy to negotiate, and that nonsense about stabbing would be unnecessary. Paying him three thousand strings of money should be enough, don’t you think?

“Who wants to stab you! Use something tangible as compensation!”

Sigh – When I accidentally died, you probably weren’t this proactive about getting Lord Yin s.h.i.+ to compensate me, right, Luo s.h.i.+? Humans would die if they constantly compared themselves with one another…

“Ah, Xiao Luo s.h.i.+, you’re saying I should just compensate him with money? But if I use money to resolve the matter, it seems very, very, very, that’s, wouldn’t it give people the wrong impression? That’s what I’ve heard recently.”

Who told you that? Although using money to resolve everything is rude and even makes you seem rich and overbearing, money is exactly what we need, so you don’t need to mind that nonsense!

“I better wait until we pick up Yue Tui and get his opinion, but we don’t know where he’ll regenerate…”

Actually, Yue Tui’s swimming abilities were pretty good, so there was no need to worry about being too late to save him from drowning. They brought the small boat to a stop in the middle of the pond, watching the surrounding water for signs of activity. When New Residents were reborn, they more or less took the same amount of time to regenerate, so Fan Tong knew from experience about how much time it would take for Yue Tui to appear.

They’d already prepared a net and clothes, two essential items that they knew to have ready from last time’s experience. When it was almost time for Yue Tui to revive, they searched the water’s surface with increased vigilance. However, it seemed that Yue Tui had seen the boat’s shadow first from underwater. When they noticed the boat shaking, they looked over and saw Yue Tui’s hands grabbing the side of the boat, his head sticking out of the water.

“Ah! Xiao Yue! You’re okay, aren’t you!”

It’d be good to directly pull him onto the boat, which will omit the ha.s.sle of fis.h.i.+ng for him with the net.

“I’m fine…” Yue Tui held onto the side of the boat and decided that the weight of the three people on the boat was enough to counterbalance him. He exerted strength to pull himself up.

“Yue Tui, clothes…” Fan Tong was originally about to hand the clothes to Yue Tui, but after he saw the condition of Yue Tui’s body, his voice caught in his throat. It wasn’t only Fan Tong; Luo s.h.i.+ and Ling s.h.i.+ were also dumbfounded.

Noticing their gazes, Yue Tui looked down to see what was wrong with his body. After one glance, his face became deathly pale, and he pulled on the clothes as quickly as possible to cover up his body, not even paying attention to whether he was putting them on right.

“What was that? Why do you have…” The first to recover his voice was Luo s.h.i.+, who was clearly unable to understand why the recently reborn Yue Tui had those injuries.

“It seems that every once in a while, the pond makes a mistake, and after rebirth, New Residents will bear the marks of their first death…” Yin s.h.i.+ explained. Yue Tui pursed his lips tightly.

Fan Tong recalled the wounds he had seen, and in his mind Yue Tui’s description of his first death surfaced:

‘The first blade, cut me from here, to the side of my stomach.

‘The second blade, stabbed through here.

‘The third sliced off my two legs. He then used the sword and pierced the palm of my right hand, nailing me to the floor.

“He then clenched my neck with his two hands, squeezing it tighter, inch by inch…”

At that time, just hearing a description had already caused him to feel the cruelty and the terror. However, he had seen the evidence of the marks left behind just now: the huge, slanted cut across Yue Tui’s body, the holes where his chest and right hand had been run through, the cuts from where his hamstrings had been severed, and the imprints on his neck… The remaining marks might have been the results of struggling. Seeing these wounds with his own eyes, Fan Tong truly didn’t know what to say, or if seeing these marks again would make Yue Tui recall the scene of his death. What would Yue Tui be feeling now?

At least to Fan Tong, Yue Tui looked like he was about to cry.

It was just like a time of vulnerability from Yue Tui’s past that he was unwilling to disclose had inadvertently been seen by others – like the memories he had, with great difficulty, set aside had been unearthed without warning, causing a shock… In short, he didn’t look good, neither his body nor his soul.

“Yue Tui, are you in pain? W-with your injuries like this…”

If the pond occasionally made a mistake, did that mean that this time’s rebirth was a failure? That being the case, wouldn’t it be better to be reborn again for a normal body?

“…” Yue Tui looked towards Fan Tong after hearing his name, but he didn’t seem to have clearly heard what the latter had said. He appeared to have no desire to speak at all.

“Ah, this kind of abnormal situation should disappear after about a day. After that, your body will go back to normal. It’s possible that this problem arose because of psychological factors. Although the wounds exist, they won’t cause you any pain or affect you, so you can still move around normally…” Yin s.h.i.+ explained again.

It looked like the injuries wouldn’t make Yue Tui die again, but this fact still couldn’t make Fan Tong feel happy. Yin s.h.i.+ said that these wounds wouldn’t hurt Yue Tui or affect him, but Fan Tong believed that Yue Tui was in a lot of pain. These wounds didn’t have to trigger a nerve response. Their very existence was enough to trigger pain.

Because Yue Tui hadn’t spoken, no one knew what to say. This didn’t seem like the right time to discuss who was to blame, but they couldn’t find a way to comfort him. Blood from the wounds had already seeped through the clothes draped haphazardly over him. The bloodstains kept spreading, as if the memories were suffusing him with more and more darkness.

“Yue Tui, I’m sorry you had to experience this kind of thing…” Although it was Yin s.h.i.+’s carelessness that was at fault, Luo s.h.i.+ still couldn’t help apologizing. He always felt that he shared some of the blame.

“…” Yue Tui remained silent again, but this time, he heard Luo s.h.i.+’s words. He forced his stiff face into a smile with much difficulty but said words that still made them feel sad. “It’s fine. I’m perfectly fine. You didn’t go in first, which is truly a good thing.”

Luo s.h.i.+ was a Natural Resident. If he had gone in first today, a life would really have been lost. The surprising fact that Yue Tui was still thinking about this kind of thing in this situation, however, caused Luo s.h.i.+ to lapse into silence as well.

“Should we go back and eat? Or… Xiao Yue, do you want to go back to the dorm to rest? If you sleep uneasily in the dormitory, coming to stay at my place is also fine…”

Aaaaaah – although I really want to eat a lavish meal, in this kind of situation, the mood isn’t right! Lord Yin s.h.i.+ –

“I want to calm down a bit. If I return now, I might scare Zhu Sha. Lord Yin s.h.i.+, could I trouble you to accommodate me for the night?”

…Yue Tui, you unexpectedly picked the option that I feel is the most unlikely; you’re really strange… Furthermore, don’t adopt this calm appearance again that’s so calm it’s like no one’s inside. You seem very difficult to get close to like this, really difficult…

“Isn’t going to Yin s.h.i.+’s place too dangerous? He can’t even remember whether the defense mechanism has been removed or not! Wouldn’t it be better to stay at my place?”

What’s this? Are you fighting over him? Can I also stay over? After all, I’ve never stayed at a palace before; it’d be a novel experience…

“Both are fine; I’ll have to trouble you.” Yue Tui didn’t have an opinion. That pair of previously clear sky-blue eyes now looked considerably dull.

In the end, they returned together to Shen w.a.n.g Dian, ate a haphazard meal, and decided to stay over at Luo s.h.i.+’s pavilion.

As he’d just gone through unexpected psychological torment, Yue Tui looked as if he wanted to retire early. He dimmed the lights and lay down in bed. When asked why he didn’t just put out the lights, he shook his head and only said that he didn’t like the dark.

“Yue Tui, are you not going to sleep?” Because he was worried about Yue Tui, Fan Tong also stayed over. In any case, there was no shortage of rooms in Luo s.h.i.+’s pavilion, and Luo s.h.i.+ didn’t mind an additional person.

“…I’m worried about dreaming.” After a long pause, Yue Tui gave that answer, astonis.h.i.+ng Fan Tong.

How come? On the whole, I quite look forward to dreaming. Normally, dreamland is very fascinating! Although there’s a chance I’ll have nightmares, it’s not a very high chance… If I have a lot of interesting dreams, but you only have nightmares, then why do I completely fail at pure imagination?

“It’s not okay; if you scream in the middle of the night, roll out of bed, or talk in your sleep, I will definitely ridicule you.”

I was saying that I… bah, this curse has no conscience; it won’t even let me comfort a traumatized person.

“…Last time when you snored, giggled, and fell out of the top bunk, I didn’t ridicule you,” Yue Tui said morosely. When reminded of past disgrace, Fan Tong immediately wanted to dig a hole in the ground to hide.

“Anyway, sleep and everything will be over; resting properly is also better for your body. We can go back tomorrow.” This time, the curse finally didn’t prank him, allowing him to finish speaking properly, which was truly gratifying.

“Go back?… Which place is the one I should go back to?” Yue Tui suddenly said. Fan Tong was unable to understand what he was thinking.

“Wherever is fine; anyway, I’ll accompany you.”

So, you don’t need to be afraid of Zhu Sha, although I certainly am.

“You’ll accompany me?” From Yue Tui’s tone, it sounded like he was trying to confirm a different matter entirely. Although Fan Tong didn’t really understand, he still nodded his head.

“Is that so? That’s really great…”

Fan Tong still didn’t understand what was his “great” actually meant, but Yue Tui had finally smiled, and it looked like he was in a better mood. Since this really was something to be happy about, Fan Tong cheered up as well.

Thus, they said good night to each other and let the night pa.s.s them by, along with the sleep that came after their eyes closed.

◎ Fan Tong’s Afterword

It feels like my life has become a huge, jumbled mess, and everything has become complicated.

First, there’s the gap in my memory. The fact that I’ve begun to recall my money-making ability is pretty good, but that “seal Chen Yue,” what’s that about? What seal? Chen Yue is that highly revered place, and it’s the mechanism that maintains the New Residents’ lives, right? This is telling me to commit suicide, isn’t it?

Then, there’s the matter with Yue Tui. Who on earth could be that cruel, to use such a heavy-handed method to deal with such a kindhearted child? Exactly what happened to him? I’m getting more and more worried; I wonder if I could ask about it?

After I left Yue Tui’s room, Luo s.h.i.+ came to find me, asking about Yue Tui’s wounds. I wrote down everything that I had heard about the cause of Yue Tui’s death for him; he looked quite sad, but basically, anyone with even a little bit of empathy would feel sad, right?

Anyway, Yue Tui has rebuilt his mental state before… This time, maybe there won’t be any problems?

Before we said good night, at least he revealed a happy smile, making me feel relieved. I think I probably said something that he wanted to hear…

As a result of this accident, I didn’t have an opportunity to discuss the gap in my memory with Yue Tui. I originally wanted to ask him if he had any views or insights on the phrase “seal Chen Yue.”

Also, I suddenly became afraid of finding out how I originally died.

What if I die once and, because my rebirth is a failure, I accidentally find out from my body’s condition why I died in my original world? What would I do then?

By all means, don’t let me have died in a stupid way! That will leave a shadow over my heart! If I died in a stupid way, I don’t want to know! I’m begging you!

I hope that tomorrow morning, when I wake up, everything will be restored to normal.

And… I also hope that, after we didn’t return for the night, Zhu Sha won’t think I stole his sweeth