Chapter 471: Meeting Again, Little Qingqing

Under the moonlight, the sea of clouds billowed.

Tonight, the moonlight held a touch more golden light than usual.

Chen Shu sat on the peak of a high mountain; the golden light in the distance was still shining, contending with the power of the other world. Nanzhou had ushered in a brief moment of tranquility, but looking at this light and power that seemed to permeate the entire world, it felt as if the whole world had become unfamiliar, carrying a premonition of the coming apocalypse that was suffocating.

Three years ago, when he was in Nanzhou, on the night before he was about to leave, he, Qingqing, and Zhang Suannai had also sat here.

Time seemed to have been compressed into a single instant; revisiting an old place always left one feeling dazed.

"What are you worried about?"

A familiar voice came from beside him.

"I'm a bit dazed..."

Chen Shu shook his head and said.

Having felt the power of Cao Ci, that oppressive force brought by the number one person of the previous era, a strength that even when terminally ill was still something they could not shake, it was all the more difficult to believe that in just the blink of an eye, he was already dead.

It felt both illusory and helpless.

Today, Zhang Suannai had a sudden whim and even guessed that this wasn't real at all, but an illusion after they had been eroded by the power of the other world.

It was quite interesting.

Ning Qing seemed to be able to guess his thoughts and said in a low voice, "Cao Ci's matter is only a small thing; if it cannot be solved easily, that would be the problem."

"What is a big thing, then?"

"The survival of the world."

"How so?"

"It's a long story."

"You seem to have a lot to tell me."

"I can't hide anything from you."

"Go ahead."

Chen Shu assumed a listening posture.

Ning Qing looked at him, her eyes reflecting the moonlight, but then she suddenly avoided his gaze: "I don't know how to start."

"Hm?"

"I can't say it."

"Why?"

"I am about to break through to the Eighth Stage; I'll tell you after the Eighth Stage."

"When?"

"In a few days."

"Alright."

Chen Shu continued to sit, watching the distance in a trance.

In the dark, he seemed to feel the helplessness of an era.

A seemingly peaceful world, a victory seemingly won, was actually, like many years in the past, hiding a fatal crisis. Some people were carrying the burden forward, allowing for not a single mistake. If not for this, someone like Cao Ci, even with greater flaws, might truly have been the protagonist of an era.

"Roar..."

In the distance, a strange beast rushed onto the sea of clouds, spread its huge wings, instantly turned its body, and dove back down.

The moon moved toward the edge of the sky.

The morning sun rose above the sea of clouds.

Ning Qing sat quietly by his side.

"Sigh..."

Chen Shu stretched, feeling that dew had already formed on his body: "Enjoy the wine today while we have it, worry about tomorrow's sorrows tomorrow..."

Ning Qing sat quietly to the side, not speaking.

After watching the sunrise, the two left the mountain and returned to the Beast Ancestral Court, the Temple Ruins where the original Nanzhou civilization was built.

Here, Chen Shu met Lord Huang, whom he had not seen for three years.

He also saw the Group Leader popularizing the Rest and Recovery Cycle Great Method to the young geniuses of the Western Continent and Northern Continent, listening to a group of young people who were stunned, plus a few silly group members acting out different roles on the side, eventually causing the young geniuses of the Western Continent and Northern Continent to fall silent one after another.

These group members also had a good mindset.

Chen Shu shook his head repeatedly.

Immediately after, he and Ning Qing found the temple cave where they had lived a few years ago, set up an Array Restriction, took out daily necessities from their Storage Artifact again, and continued to live a life similar to the one they had three years ago—Chen Shu had a good mindset and adjusted quickly; except for the golden light suppressing the power of the other world in this world, and except for the Responding Tribulation Buddha still contending with the power of the other world in the distant Forbidden Land, it seemed much the same as three years ago.

A few worries and trivial matters were also temporarily cast to the back of his mind.

Since he really couldn't figure it out and there were no leads, he wouldn't think about it; meaningless worry had never been something he liked.

Do what he ought to do.

A few days later, inside the temple.

Ning Qing sat cross-legged and took out the Beast Pill and Restoration Pill.

Chen Shu kept watch by her side quietly.

Qingqing's cultivation speed was also unusually fast, seemingly no slower than them who possessed marks, and even faster than them, which was highly unusual.

No matter how good one's talent was, it was impossible to achieve this.

Ten-odd hours later.

Ning Qing opened her eyes again.

Chen Shu fed her the Restoration Pill and then watched over her as she fell asleep.

Yet, he couldn't help but think about what she would be like when she woke up this time, or what exactly she was going to tell him.

Another ten-odd hours later.

The person on the bed stirred.

Chen Shu turned his head to look, only to see Qingqing's eyelashes trembling as she slowly opened her eyes.

She turned her head and looked at the person by the bed.

Her eyes widened noticeably.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Shu looked at her with curiosity.

"Chen... Chen Shu..."

"Why are you so surprised?" Chen Shu rarely saw her unable to speak clearly; even when she was a child, he had almost never seen it.

"Why did I wake up again?"

Ning Qing on the bed suddenly sat up.

"Are you..." Chen Shu was stunned, "the thirteen or fourteen-year-old Qingqing?"

"Didn't I fall asleep? Didn't I go back?" Ning Qing turned her head to look at the person beside her; compared to her future self, she was much more youthful now, but she still quickly observed the environment and realized this was no longer that day, "Is it another time again?"

"Yes."

"Didn't you say I wouldn't come back again?" Ning Qing asked, then fell silent for a moment, "I thought I had already died and wouldn't be able to see you."

"I don't know either."

"What time is it now?"

"Less than a year has passed."

"I was..."

"Advancing to the Eighth Stage."

"So fast."

"Yes."

"Will I only stay for that long this time too?"

"Just about."

"Where is this place now?"

"It's Nanzhou, a dilapidated Temple Ruins, but it's actually quite interesting." Chen Shu acted very relaxed in front of the young Qingqing, "If you want, I can take you to see this Temple Ruins; there are many strange beasts in the surrounding area."

"Okay."

"Do you still remember the promise from last time?"

"..."

Ning Qing was silent for a moment; for her, that had just happened, so how could she forget?

"I'll tell you when I leave."

"Alright."

Looking at the young Ning Qing, Chen Shu temporarily set everything else aside; at this moment, in his eyes and his heart, there was only her. Even if the world were to be destroyed, there would still only be her.

At the same time, he had a faint premonition in his heart that this was truly the last time he would see her.

Half a day of life...

Chen Shu smiled: "Shall I take you out for a stroll?"

"Mm."

"You've never flown before, have you?"

"No."

"Do you want to fly?"

"I can."

"Take my hand."

The touch of Ning Qing's hand was the same as before, but because of her slight contraction at that instant and her faint nervousness, it felt somewhat different.

Chen Shu pulled her out of the temple. The sunlight outside happened to be spilling down, carrying the faint gold of Buddha Light. Even though it was noon, it looked like dusk. That golden sunlight caused the broken pillars of the temple to cast shadows, one after another.

"Let's go."

Chen Shu pulled her and flew up.

He wasn't dragging her into the air, but rather extending his Spirit Repulsion force onto her, bringing her up together.

The two flew into the sky, greeting the wind.

Ning Qing pursed her lips tightly, her gaze subconsciously looking at Chen Shu first, then toward the distance.

Then she looked back at the place where they had taken off.

This entire mountain range had vibrant, complex colors and patterns. The temple was a structure carved into the mountain, stone caves embedded into the mountain body. Each cave contained a huge statue of a deity, though some were severely weathered and others were broken beyond recognition, their original forms no longer visible.

Looking at it this way, it was full of the vicissitudes of history and time.

"There was a glorious civilization here once, but war destroyed it, and many years have passed since then."

"..."

Ning Qing peeked at him quietly but did not speak.

The distance was far, and the scenery was beautiful.

There were huge strange beasts leaping on the high mountains or walking on the clouds, and on the ground, people were looking up at them.

Chen Shu took her for a flight, flew very far, picked bananas, gathered mushrooms, caught some small animals, picked berries, and finally flew back to the temple.

Senior Sister Jin stood on the ground and exclaimed: "I didn't expect your girlfriend to be the Secret Sect Shengnyu, and that your relationship is actually so intimate..."

Chen Shu felt a bit of Surprise when he saw her.

He only heard Senior Sister Jin continue: "With your looks, Fellow Daoist Chen, it seems your abilities are even greater than I imagined. I truly admire you, truly."

"Senior Sister Jin, please return."

"Why?"

"Please return."

"Alright."

Senior Sister Jin remembered the scorching sun that had melted the earth a few days ago, so she left obediently, her figure disappearing around the corner.

"This is a member of the Demon Race from Dongzhou, an eagle demon, her brain is a bit problematic."

"Daoist Chen..."

Senior Sister Jin's figure returned from around the corner, and she frowned as she looked at Chen Shu: "It is wrong to speak ill of others behind their backs. My race has not only a pair of sharp eyes but also a pair of sensitive ears."

"Please return."

"Alright."

Senior Sister Jin turned and left once again.

Ning Qing pursed her lips, saying nothing.

Zhang Suannai lived right next door to them, and hearing the commotion, she also came out of her cave: "Oh! Qingqing, where did you go? I didn't see you all day yesterday. I even thought Chen Shu had taken you to explore over by the Square Body."

Ning Qing glanced at her silently, not speaking.

"Hehe..."

Zhang Suannai grinned, not yet noticing anything unusual, and walked over to look at their harvest. She unceremoniously picked up a red bubble that wasn't very red, and as soon as she put it in her mouth, her eyes squinted.

"So sour!!"

"Take some to eat?" Chen Shu said.

"No need, that mouse spirit over there also picked some. The ones he picked are sweet, so I just took some of his. I'll bring some over for you guys later."

"That won't be necessary."

"Forget it if you don't want any."

"Go back."

"Wait!" Zhang Suannai glanced at Qingqing and frowned, "Why do I feel like Qingqing is acting strange today?"

"Which day is she not strange?"

"That's true..."

"Don't disturb our time together."

"Oh..."

Zhang Suannai scratched her head and walked back to her own cave.

She still felt that something was wrong in her heart.

The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

But for a moment, she couldn't figure out where the wrongness lay.

The sun gradually set, dyeing the horizon golden.

Ning Qing and Chen Shu sat on the top of the temple, watching the sun set and the waning moon rise. As night fell, she gradually felt a bit sleepy, and she couldn't help but lean her whole body against Chen Shu's shoulder, just like when they sat on the swing last time, struggling to keep her eyes open.

Chen Shu put his arm around her shoulder, saying nothing, nor did he ask about her secret.

A half-day of life was truly too short, so short that every minute and every second should be chosen by her.

A very, very small voice came from beside him:

"I'm a little scared."

"Don't be scared."

"You don't know what I'm scared of yet."

"Don't be scared of anything."

"Will you forgive me?"

"Certainly."

"You don't even know..."

"I will."

"I have been lying all along..."

"What?"

"I knew I would fall in love with you, I knew about Zhang Suannai, I knew about Senior Sister Jin..." Ning Qing's voice grew smaller and smaller, "You think I never lie, but in fact, it was only the original me who never lied. The current me has been lying all along."

"Why is that?"

"You are not the only transmigrator..."

"Then you hid it really deep."

"When she wakes up, she will tell you everything."

"Perhaps."

"I'm so sleepy..."

"It's okay, sleep, sleep." Chen Shu's voice remained gentle as he held her shoulder, "Sleep."

"Will we be able to see each other again?"

"Perhaps..."

"Can you kiss me one more time?"

"I can."

Chen Shu agreed more readily this time than the last, quickly pressing his lips to her face to smooth out the anxiety in her heart, then watched as she gradually succumbed to sleepiness and closed her eyes.