Chapter 87

"Su Lin is still alive."

"Of course I'm still alive."

Luo Shengying turned her head and saw a transparent figure standing before her.

"..."

"Why are you silent? Speak!" Su Lin asked curiously, glancing around the room as he spoke: "Hohoho, so this was your past cute style."

"Why are you here?"

"How would I know?"

Su Lin wore an expression of utter certainty.

"Didn't you return to your past body?"

"No... Your parents came, so I hid..."

Su Lin slipped into the body of the blue fat doll.

Knock knock knock—

"Can Mom and Dad come in?"

"The door isn't locked, come in..."

Luo Shengying's parents, worried about their daughter, had come to check on her.

After repeatedly confirming their daughter was unharmed, Luo Chenglin took his wife back to the living room to watch the soccer match.

"If anything comes up, tell Mom and Dad."

"Mm-hmm."

Luo Shengying nodded obediently.

Once the sound of the soccer match resumed, Luo Shengying shook the doll in front of her.

"Hey, talk!"

"What should I say?" Su Lin emerged from the blue fat doll. "Say why I'm here?"

"Didn't you say you could return to your past self?"

"I think I got bounced out," Su Lin said uncertainly.

Most astonishing of all, his past and future had both been utterly transcended along with the system points—so why did his past self still exist at this moment?

"Let me see the pocket watch."

Luo Shengying handed Su Lin the pocket watch on the bedside table.

"In my current state, I probably can't understand this thing."

Zuo Kete... he had met Fa La, seen other figures tied to artifacts—what was Zuo Kete's origin?

While his Dao transformation was incomplete and still in the state of transcendence, he felt that the moment he pressed the pocket watch, reversal began.

Though only for an instant, he saw himself sitting in a valley.

Why was I in a valley six hundred years ago, camping and cooking? I don't remember.

Wait—I burned away my own past! There should be no trace of me left on the timeline—why does my past self still exist?!

To shatter the ambition of that group of Cosmic Emperors and reduce unnecessary casualties, it was the best choice he could conceive. Since 223 years ago, since acquiring the skill of Ultimate Transcendence, he had been planning it.

He burned himself—and with him, the imprints those Cosmic Emperors left at every point in time.

Others no longer needed to fear the return of those Cosmic Emperors, for he would become the dam of the river of time, dragging them all into eternity's Dao.

Everyone could live, without risk, without fighting to the death.

Then, just as he was about to fuse with his past self, for an instant he had even planned the script.

Fuse with this past version of himself, alter the future of this timeline, then use the pocket watch to return to his original worldline and face his own ending.

He hoped to persuade Luo Shengying to return and take the Hermit Daoist's Zhong Miao Ling Dan, so she wouldn't have to accompany him in Dao transformation.

He didn't want to usurp another version of his own life path, nor did he wish for Luo Shengying to vanish.

Carrying this grand, tyrannical mindset, he Duang—was bounced out, and woke up again in Luo Shengying's room.

"But I seem to have stopped Dao transformation," Su Lin said.

"Come," Luo Shengying grabbed Su Lin. "Let's find your past self."

"Why find him?" Su Lin was confused.

"Fuse with him."

Sorry, Fa La—this woman is even crazier than you.

"You don't want to keep living with me, do you?" Luo Shengying noticed Su Lin's hesitation. "I already took over my past self's body—why keep him?"

"But that's still me..."

"Isn't that perfect?" Luo Shengying looked utterly reasonable.

"I'm sixteen, you're twenty-three—this is the prime age. A romantic comedy can start filming again."

"Oh, this time it's single heroine."

"Affection level is maxed out."

Su Lin froze, then shook his head violently: "No way, no way!"

"Xiao Ying, listen to me—this isn't our worldline after all..."

Crack—

Zuo Kete's linear pocket watch ceased its counterclockwise rotation, for someone had crushed it.

Tick tock—

Blood dripped down fingers like jade.

"What did you just say?"

「……」

Su Lin felt he had never truly understood Luo Shengying; in some ways, she was even more absurd than Falali.

「N-nothing. 」

I need to find a way to stall—past me, just slip off to the construction site to mix concrete and film videos. This New Year, don't go back.

Su Lin pondered how to remind his past self of this moment.

He certainly wouldn't take over my past body—it felt too weird—but how do I get future Luo Shengying out of my past body? Fine, I'll just stay in the past.

With my current state, it's impossible. I need a way to recover.

Su Lin thought for a moment, then it's only left to you, the System of Manifesting Divinity Before the World.

—————————

「Good wine! 」

Su Lin roared, smashing a wine cup forged from earth element onto the table, his face flushed, eyes glazed, a faint smile slipping unconsciously onto his lips.

「Lin, hic. 」Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan slung an arm around Su Lin's neck, drunk: 「I… hic… reached Stage Three of Dou Qi. 」

「You're too generous… hic… giving away something this good… hic…」

「That stuff from the earth's core—take it… don't be polite with your brothers. 」Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan fumbled a vial of Snake Lust Fruit-derived aphrodisiac from his storage ring and shoved it into Su Lin's hand. 「Come on, one more. 」

Yao Lao covered his face nearby, thinking: Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's just drunk, this is just drunkenness, a bit undignified.

「Don't want to project anymore… head hurts…」Weigong Shilang lay sprawled on the ground, mumbling incessantly: 「Holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday, holiday holiday holiday holiday holiday…」

「No! I must grow stronger! Make everyone happy! 」He suddenly perked up like he'd been injected with stimulants—but the effect lasted less than a second: 「But I really just want a holiday…」

「I am the one who crushes all enemies for the Hun Tian Di! 」Ye Fan roared to the heavens: 「Even if you're my future self, you'll still bow under my suppression! 」

No sooner had he spoken than his left hand involuntarily slapped himself, and his entire body spiraled into the lake of Water Mirror Peak.

Thud!

Shattering the moon in the water, splashes sprayed through the moonlight, and the spiritual grasses on the shore received a light rain.

「I actually want to open a harem… really. 」Lu Mingfei, face crimson, clung to Kleen as he poured out his heart: 「But I really don't deserve it. Why does anyone still force others to open harems these days? 」

「Waaah, coach, I wanna play esports! 」

Kleen ignored what Lu Mingfei was babbling—he knew his Faceless One was drunk beyond control; transparent growths on his face wriggled, shifting between Zhongli, Lu Mingfei, and a two-and-a-half-year trainee.

His alcohol tolerance was just… a little… better than these guys.

Clunk…

His head crashed onto the table.

「Wake up! 」Lu Mingfei shook Kleen. 「Oh right… remember to give me the potion…」

「Nan Gong Wan, you're here again. 」Han Li leaned against a tree, his hand wavering as he groped at empty air.

Zhongli glanced at the man munching grass, muttering about the Pirate King and "meat meat meat" as the Straw Hat Kid, and sighed helplessly.

The liquor's strength had risen—he too felt his body grow limp.

Ye Fan had just crawled out of the lake, slightly sobered, but sensing his body's enhancement and the accumulation of spiritual energy, he eagerly poured himself another cup from a jade vial.

「Pang Bo, come on, let's eat dog meat! 」Ye Fan dragged the sighing Zhongli to his feet, walked up to Su Lin, and said: 「Old Su, open a teleport gate to Yulin! 」

Su Lin casually opened a teleport gate; Ye Fan stepped in—and immediately stepped out the other side.

「Xun'er, I miss you so much. 」Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan hugged the limp Su Lin and cried: 「Listen to me, hic, let me explain… I didn't mean it with Yun Yun, Ya Fei, Xiao Yixian…」

「This scene is pure psychological torture. 」Yao Lao sighed.

「By universal reason, indeed. 」