Chapter 150: Heaven

Sunlight shone on the lake's surface, rippling with glints; spring breeze carried peach petals down, landing on the water, which trembled slightly as if countless tiny insects were leaping across it.

Several ducks, freely raised by farmers, chased each other across the lake, leaving curved trails in the water.

Inside a waterside pavilion by the lake, a group sat around a weathered wooden table; this traditional Chinese-style building, meant for tourists to rest and enjoy the scenery, had stood for many years.

"So that's how it is. It seems This World isn't peaceful either." Zhongli traced his finger along a blue-and-white porcelain teacup on the table, gazing toward the distance, processing the information he'd received from Su Lin.

A long willow branch by the lake dipped into the water, swaying together with its reflection.

"How could a peaceful world produce someone like Su Lin, a cheat-god?" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan bit into a piece of winter melon candy—a sweet, old-fashioned snack common before his transmigration, but rare in Su Lin's era.

After lunch, Su Lin vaguely described the current situation in the group chat, outlining the plot of his world and how future humans had replicated a time-travel event.

Su Lin: "That's it. To win the trophy in the Ultimate Multiverse Battle Royale, I'm launching the Wandering Through Realms Plan."

Weigong Shilang: "Welcome aboard."

Han Li: "The world is unpredictable—I never imagined such bizarre things could exist."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan glared at me and roared: "Didn't your diary say that before attaining the Dao, you must cut down all past versions of yourself?!"

"Dignity is precious, face is cheaper; for the sake of points, both can be cast aside."

"He's doing something…" Yi Leina hesitated, speaking obliquely: "a postmodern Renaissance?"

"And what about his future boyfriend?" Yi Leina asked.

The future Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan froze for a moment, old memories resurfacing; he said in surprise: "You've already forgotten that incident?"

My power subtly solidified, isolating myself from Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan.

"But!"

【Dental-braces girl…】

"Isn't the weather awful?" Su Yulin smiled sweetly.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan fell silent for a long while, then said: "For your sake, I'll leave you a breath."

Time and space seemed to freeze.

【Why are you yelling so loud?! If you're scared, go find the property manager!】

"What's he saying?"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan said to Su Yulin beside him: "So, you don't have an account on the internet either?"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan opened his eyes again; "I" merged with the world, relationships among all things became naturally seamless, everything utterly natural and effortless.

Han Li shut down the teleportation gate he had just summoned; at least for now, he didn't need to rush away from this place of chaos.

Still, he exhaled a sigh of relief—he disliked traveling and seeing the scenery along the way; whether girlfriend or boyfriend, he found neither interesting at all.

"?"

"Do you need him to do those things?" Hu Yu clenched her teeth and said: "Ultimately, the points earned from such acts are minimal, aren't they?"

What he couldn't understand was why his future self used his real face to film those videos, even used names vastly different from his own.

"He's not a good person, but you two aren't suited."

"The dazzling world is too alluring—less sincerity, more falsehood."

"As a modern person, is it strange that you disliked waifus?"

Crack—

"I just don't know who in this world deserves a woman like you." Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan ignored the others' gazes and canceled the livestream—he'd obtained this technique from Song Shuhang.

【Stinky tofu, sour pickled cucumber…】

Su Lin watched Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's expression, then glanced at the download dates of those videos on his phone, his face thoughtful.

As soon as Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan finished speaking, Ye Fan leaned over and poked Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's head twice with his finger, saying:

Hu Yu asked the figure in the purple robe: "Why did he create these livestreams and videos?"

【Simmering hotpot base with myself, guys, special abilities! I only do real stuff!】

"It's not about taking small steps to reach a thousand miles." I patted my immature self on the shoulder. "Some things, once done once, get done again—habit becomes easy."

"..." Su Lin felt the aura emanating from Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan and said: "Yes."

"Su Su Tuoni?" Hu Yu spoke urgently, voice hoarse: "Su?"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan didn't understand what Hu Yubin meant, his face filled with confusion.

Indeed, once upon a time, I truly had shame—on a stormy night, I stared at the system points climbing from zero to a single digit, filled with shame, and wrote this vow with all my strength.

Thunder clustered around him, lightning encircled his body.

Moreover, for me now, the cost of doing these things is not proportional to the reward.

【I dried out my silence, regretting my impulsiveness~】

"Hmm…"

All sounds seemed to vanish.

"Heh… Su Su Tuoni… Su…"

The video began playing automatically, looping back to the previous one.

—————————

No matter how the prologue of this book begins or how its ending concludes, the page for January 3, 2003, after writing the preceding content, was destined to be added with a thick frontispiece.

"His words are offensive to an unmarried pretty boy in every possible way…" Lu Mingfei's left eyelid twitched involuntarily twice.

If Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan of the Golden Core Stage were imbued with Heaven's Will, the strength granted would still have its limits.

Before he finished speaking

"???"

"One thought—darkness; the entire world sinks into ruin!"

"So he's Su Su Tuoni Su!" Lu Mingfei's eyes sparkled as if stars were emerging. "Can you give me a haircut? Design a hairstyle?! I'm your fan!"

Having spoken, Hu Yu closed his eyes.

Half-awake, half-drunk, day after day; flowers fall and bloom, year after year.

"Before we begin, you'll give him some payment."

The boundless white darkness instantly enveloped the earth, sun, moon, and stars all concealed, while Jin Yu bowed to the seven directions of Heaven and Earth; before him, specks of darkness appeared out of thin air like fireflies, the threads of emotion playing a sacred symphony.

Luo Shengying: "Strongly suggest arranging a harem shura field for him!"

"Of course, the threads of emotion are his own hobbies and interests — you also evaluate them; personally, you still rather detest his artistic creations."

The resonance of laws completed, the truth of the world clarified, the innate clear qi evolved, and a wisp of the universe's origin power ended up becoming a substitute for strength.

The figure behind blended as one with the world — clearly right before one's eyes, yet it seemed as if one saw a boundless sea of clouds.

"Darkness of the Eight Realms — all life is granted by me."

And now, the existence about to receive Heaven's blessing is…

Hu Yu closed his narrow eyes of reason, his consciousness sinking into a stretch of white darkness.

【Hi, hello, this is a courtship video from a low-quality human female…】

I wasn't very curious about the things I would originally have experienced.

【Your strictness is not the capital for his wantonness!】

"Just feels a bit awkward, hahaha…" Lu Mingfei said, a little embarrassed. "It's one thing for the threads of emotion, but having someone I know hanging my portrait in their room and all that, ugh~, I just feel it's pretty embarrassing."

——————————

When Jin Yu guards the mountains and rivers, one knows there is a true immortal in the human world.

"Immortal"

Palace lanterns light the mortal night; the ephemerally blooming flower appears for an instant, then lives again.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan really didn't want to bother with the clamoring Luo Shengying — liquor emboldens the coward, and lovestruck greenhorns always unconsciously brim with confidence; surging hormones made Luo Shengying seem drunk, as if doing so could earn her praise from the boy she disliked.

"Su Lin." Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's gaze was piercing as winter cold. "You should be able to put a shield around that planet now, right?"

"I'm looking for you to understand a few things." Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan answered a question with an unrelated one.

The little boat departed from here, entrusting the remaining years to rivers and seas; in the interconnected realm of great life, the little boat was gone, and you merged with the great sea — rise and fall alternating, prosperity and decline shifting; this is the natural principle among all things, and Hu Yu's everything returned to the world.

Substantiated light elements emerged from the earth, the sky, and the forest, different from the golden sunlight; their radiance was pure white.

There were teenagers in their early teens reading aloud on campus, and there were youths of similar age exchanging labor for pay.

The White-Robed God threw a single punch; a faint, pure radiance surged from the fist's edge, piercing through the heavenly mechanism. After a brief moment, the pillar of light burst apart in the high sky like fireworks, countless fine specks of light scattering from midair, pattering down like a rain of light across the sky, emanating a sacred aura.

Who are you, where are you, what are you doing?

The future Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, still wondering what had happened, realized it was just over that matter, and said casually: "You already knew? I thought you couldn't let go, so I was thinking of giving you a hand."

At first, I only felt the voice was a bit unfamiliar — so unfamiliar it had become taken for granted; after all, with that punk-rock hairstyle and smoky makeup, even the videographer's own mother wouldn't recognize them.

【Bring your own cement, gather at the village entrance!】

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's gaze was vacant, his mind long since wandering beyond the heavens.

"You're sure this world has no supernatural powers right now, right?" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan suddenly changed the subject.

Wind and fire flow and turn; light and darkness coexist.

People were busy at work, striving for a living or just waking, tidying their faces before the mirror; others had just fallen asleep, loosening the day's fatigue.

"You're you — the word is 'fan,' I think. That you're my fan makes me very happy, but I still have to decline being you."

"It's just that paper characters hold zero appeal for me." Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan pushed Hu Yu away and answered: "People have flaws; paper characters are perfect. The moment you break free from the two-dimensional plane, the two of us are divorced."

Except…

【I admit I really envy those guys who can stick by your side】

"Help me put a shield around Earth as a safety net." Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan nodded, turned around, and the three wings of light, having just appeared, soon dissolved into particles and merged into his body; rich divine power surged into every corner of his frame.

Water of the boundless — untouched by cause and effect.

【My name is Miss Kelaien, I'm 3 years old this year…】

You patted your own chest, straightened your back, and said: "Of course it's natural for a handsome guy like you to like me, well, that's called charm."

"So what are you planning to do next — are you really going to wander the myriad heavens?" Ye Fan asked.

Just as the 'Earth Immortal' from your past was about to reach out and grab, he sensed a fluctuation; in the blink of an eye, a thick surge of metal and earth qi swept through like a tide.

"You want to pull off something big?" Inside the temple, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan asked this smiling version of himself.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan swiped through video after video on his phone; every video had one thing in common — the little heart and the favorites count in the upper-left corner were at least eight digits.

Yi Leina gently tapped the bowl lid against the tea in her cup, which was nearly overflowing, and said: "Moderate your mental stress a bit; if it really won't work, I can introduce you to my therapist."

"Right." The future Hu Yu nodded and said decisively: "Let's go, first find a big city and pull off something big."

Platinum twin pupils, the same face with subtly altered lines and contours; the gaze was cold as ice, chill as snow — like an immortal White-Robed God, striding across the void, arriving at this place.

"You're not going to silence us, are you…" Hu Yubin said in jest. As Backlund's great detective, he had naturally noticed something off, but he didn't break the pretense, instead enjoying the show.

"Law…"

"It's fine — when the time comes, just wipe the internet records and the memories of the relevant personnel." He said it as if it were nothing.

"Can't you just disguise yourself or hide a bit?"

【Please follow my new account, Miss Kelaien!】

【All eyes on me! I hereby announce something! My name is Miss Kelaien! I'm an ox and a horse! Su the ox-horse!】

Inside Yun Mountain Grand Temple

'Well, didn't expect that I, Su, would also get to experience this kind of plot — but I just purely wanted to dig up some gossip.'

They all say every person is the protagonist of their own story; that story may be vivid and interesting, or dull and flavorless, or wretched and miserable. Some stories are bright and grand, some are dark and cold; in the boundless flow of years, using time as ink, one writes the story called life.

"That's called being stubborn — you've got her poster hanging in your room, you know."

Mountains and rivers, sun and moon — time and space shift in ten thousand ways.

——————————————

Lu Mingfei slapped both hands under the table and said, "Liar!"

【Luo Shengying has been muted by an admin for 4 hours】

In an instant, heaven's might surged vast and the clouds turned strange and treacherous; everyone present felt in their hearts that something was brewing—this was merely the omen before the storm.

At the moment light was born of itself within the white-dark chaos, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, returning to the world, descended once more; the finite Eye of Life was opened.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan nodded. Bouncing around everywhere and farming some points on the side was pretty good too.

But people, after all, always change.

————————

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan sat on the side facing the water, listlessly swept a glance at Lu Mingfei over here, who was clutching the hem of his skirt with both hands, and said, "By the way, you're so awkward—what are you being awkward about?"

"You still haven't burned the poster." Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's expression changed.

Of course, because the conversation touched on matters within the System, it was more or less muted.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan has never been a social butterfly. He could accept making an appearance at an extremely low status, but if he wasn't forced and had no choice, he really wouldn't throw away the little face he had left to doxx himself for content.

"Su, he's already so loveable." Zhongli took out his phone, searched on the app and tapped follow, "Normally I really can't tell he's so full of comedic talent. In that case I can only send him a rocket—keep it up."

【Oh baby~, your mama said you're too uncool, so you went to find Master Wang at the village entrance to learn haircuts…】

At the same moment, in some countries the morning sun was rising, while in others the bright moon hung high in the sky.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan was now splitting his attention eight ways; his main body and the two historical projections were acting in sync.

"N-no… I don't have any thoughts about him either."

Lu Mingfei: "Boring!"

"Hey…"

Ye Fan held back his laughter, his finger hovering over the video interface as he tapped to upload.

If nothing unexpected happened, it was probably related to that future self Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan had mentioned.

A startled shout pierced the four corners of the sky—surely emotion had sunk into ruin.

"You're my fan, I'm your fan. Mm, pretty good." Zhongli scrolled through the video and commented, smiling: "So this is what they call a two-way run, huh."

Purge? Relevant personnel? He freaking—

【Heaven's Favor. Dark God】

"Little Su, a girl should be more frank. Look, you're single, he's single—how about a cross-world blind date?" Zhongli fanned the flames from the side.

Why bother using divine-rank power?!

This unfamiliar face, fair and a bit handsome, wore a business suit on his body; the only thing that didn't match was the greasy hair, bangs slicked to the right at an angled cut, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan and Hu Yubin walked along the country gravel path. He hadn't expected Hu Yubin to hold back his curiosity and not ask a single question—instead, whatever Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan asked, he answered.

"That's right."

On the country path

"You didn't go and cultivate that technique into a fool, did you?" Zhongli felt Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's current state was no different from the first few times they'd met. "Have you already become too heartless?"

What Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan actually meant was for Lu Mingfei not to worry too much—he wouldn't cause him any trouble.

"??"

I'm typing, I'm typing. I really don't like cutting chapters off. Last Friday I really had no choice, there wasn't enough time to write.

I'll try to make it up next week, and update more.

Finished the exam yesterday, my mind's still blank.

End of chapter