Chapter 16: Cracks

Fortunately, it was just a leak and it didn't really "fall off the bone" in front of them.

Otherwise, the two little tails hanging behind Qing Bai would probably faint on the spot.

The man standing on the other side, who looked no ordinary man, seemed to have new plans. He was not in a hurry to leave, nor did he have any intention of taking the initiative.

I don’t know what I’m waiting for, or what I want to see…

Qing Bai sighed again. He seemed to have been sighing all day. Qing Bai ignored Qi Xiaopang's words and asked the little girl who had suddenly become gloomy, "So how do you want to play?"

Qing Bai's words seemed to have magic, and the little girl instantly turned from over-soaked rotten white fungus back into white dough... at least it no longer leaked.

She seemed to have some obsession with playing house. When she mentioned those three words, her eyes, which had not previously been bright, lit up. She pinched the corner of her clothes and said seriously, "Of course, playing house requires assigning roles first!"

...This involves a blind spot in knowledge. Qing Bai, who has never had similar experience since childhood, said he would obey all arrangements.

Qi Xiaopang, whose life experience can be said to be rich and colorful to a certain extent, already had a bad feeling in his heart.

The next second, the premonition came true.

"A family should have a father, a mother, and a pet!" The little girl's voice was cheerful and certain.

Unfortunately, Qi Xiaopang was that pet.

Although he knew that the situation was critical and it was not the time to bargain, Qi Xiaopang still wanted to fight for it. At least, at least he wanted a human being!

But Qi Xiaopang didn't dare to talk to the little girl directly. Who knew which of his words would hurt her, and then she would suddenly change her expression.

Qi Xiaopang poked Qing Bai on the back, thinking that although his brother Qing was assigned the role of a person, it was not an ordinary person, that was a mother! Which man could be a mother smoothly and painlessly without any psychological barriers? Especially when it was a handsome man like his brother Qing who was so strong and proud! As long as his brother Qing made an opinion, he could follow suit.

"Okay, so what's your role?"

Qi Xiaopang: "..." Brother, you don't have to get into character so quickly! Okay! You're okay! You're okay!!!

Isn't that too much proficiency?

It seemed that Brother Qing could not be relied upon, so Fat Qi had no choice but to cast his expectant gaze on the strange man in black who had remained silent... He only cast his gaze for two seconds before retracting it.

Never mind... this guy is a 'dad'! Who doesn't want to be a dad?

The little girl didn't know that in this short time, her dream of becoming a human being had been shattered. She spun around happily and said in a crisp voice, "I am a princess!"

Okay, the dead are the most important. You are the boss and you have the final say. Let alone being a princess, even if you want to be a king, we will help you ascend the throne on the spot.

"Well...um, what about me?"

Li Canglan didn't really want to say anything. If possible, she hoped to be treated like air, transparent and without a sense of existence. But seeing that everyone else had been assigned roles, and she alone hadn't, this feeling of being forgotten was even more unsettling... Being forgotten meant being ignored, and those who were ignored were always the first to be eliminated.

Someone will always be eliminated first in the game, but what does it mean to be eliminated in this game?

The little girl who was happily spinning in circles the last second stopped in a stiff posture like a doll with a stuck spring. She tilted her head and stared at Li Canglan, as if she finally realized that she had missed someone.

Li Canglan subconsciously took a step back under the gaze of those large eyes with almost no white in them. He was afraid that his reaction would anger the moody little princess in front of him, so he took a step forward and mustered up the courage to ask again: "Well, what about me? What should I play?"

The voice was surprisingly steady, without any trembling.

The little girl suddenly smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, and her dark pupils disappeared, making her look soft and cute.

"We girls are all princesses!"

"But if there are two princesses, how will mom, dad and pets be divided?" The little girl was very distressed.

Dad·Nine Years of Qingbai·Mom: "..."

Pet·Qi Xiaopang·Things: As long as it’s not half-hearted, everything is fine.

"Yes, yes!" The little girl puffed out her hands like firecrackers and suggested excitedly, "Sisters! I'm Elsa and you're Anna!"

"You are Elsa, and I am... Anna?" You are the older sister and I am the younger sister? Li Canglan looked at the child in front of her who was only as tall as her waist, with a complicated expression.

Is it true that little girls all over the world love Elsa? Even the underworld is no exception... This prosperous world is just as you wished.

When you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. A sister is a sister... It's better than being Teacher Xiaopang's pet.

Li Canglan was about to nod and acknowledge her sister, but the little girl sighed first: "Okay, okay, you be Elsa and I'll be Anna. Who told you to be taller than me now... and wearing a blue dress."

The little girl lowered her head to look at her old sweater that didn't fit her well, and sighed helplessly.

Li Canglan: "...Thank you."

Qing Bai, who not only had a daughter but was also promoted to queen, subconsciously turned her head to look at the person next to her with some amusement, and her eyes happened to meet Jiu Nian's. Jiu Nian tilted his head, and his smooth eyes showed a bit of strangeness and doubt, as if asking him what was the matter.

Qing Bai's heart instantly sank. He put away his smile and turned his head away from him.

Jiu Nian never thought that he would receive such treatment now. It was quite fresh, but it also confirmed once again that this guy really didn't seem to like him.

Qing Bai patiently passed the message to the little girl: "Shall we start now, Princess?"

The little girl glanced at Qing Bai with her eyes slanted... The diameter of her two black eyeballs was too big, so even so, not much white could be seen in them. However, her disappointment in Qing Bai was fully revealed.

"Princesses live in castles! How can we play here?"

There is no castle, but there are plenty of tombs. How about we just make do with this?

Qing Bai didn't say anything for fear of upsetting the children.

Fortunately, Qing Bai didn't say anything. The little girl had her own ideas and never gave in: "I'll take you to my big house to play!"

After saying that, he skipped and led the way out of the woods, not at all worried that others would not follow.

...Luckily, she didn't go to the small round tomb, otherwise the game might have ended early.

The little girl walked in front, followed closely by Qing Baijiunian. Qi Xiaopang and Li Canglan wanted to take the opportunity to slip away, but the rustling of leaves on the ground reminded them of the cold breeze that had blown across their necks before. All their desires were strangled deep in their hearts. Instead of being forced to "float" along, they decided to just move their legs honestly.

Unfortunately, his feet were still, but his mouth couldn't stay idle. Fatty Qi took advantage of the two tall guys in front to secretly gossip with his companions to relieve the pressure: "I didn't expect that little classmate was so brave. He actually dared to bargain with that guy... How disrespectful!"

Li Canglan himself was even more surprised than Qi Xiaopang. He was not only surprised at his sudden boldness, but also surprised at how easy it was for this ghost to talk to.

"I don't know... Originally I just wanted to be a maid." Who knew that she would be crowned a princess with just a wave of her hand, and then she hesitated for a moment... and then she was promoted to queen.

Qi Xiaopang regretted his decision and secretly hated himself for compromising too early. It turned out that his bicycle had turned into a motorcycle. He didn't know if he could still compete for a job now...maid is fine too!

The forest was not big, and they walked out quickly, but... the outside was not the Weiming New Village they were familiar with.

The wasteland I came here from has changed a lot. It has been divided into many square "tofu blocks", each of which is densely planted with crops, radishes and sweet potatoes are intertwined, rapeseed and corn are inseparable... Except for the small path left in the middle, not an inch of land is wasted. It is so much that an old farmer who has been working in the industry for fifty years would shout that it is the reincarnation of Shennong when he sees it.

Fat Qi, who had never seen the world, opened his mouth, trying to find a word to praise the scene before him that could only be explained by magic. But to no avail, he could only utter a dry sentence: "Fuck, is this real?"

A classic example of four years of college wasted.

Qing Bai: "No."

Nine years: “No.”

The two spoke in unison and looked at each other. Qing Bai was the first to look away again, and instead became extremely interested in the golden rapeseed flowers next to him. His eyes were fixed on them, as if he wanted to stare the flowers until they faded.

Having prepared himself mentally for the fact that the man before him seemed to dislike him, Jiu Nian seemed to be much more at ease, and even had the leisure to answer the questions of Qi Xiaopang and Li Canglan who were staring at him eagerly.

"This should be the one from before..." Jiu Nian paused, deciding to leave the name vague, and simply explained, "The Yin-Yang gap created by the Yin-Yang resentment is independent of the Yang world and the underworld. The people, things, and objects that appear here do not really exist."

Qing Bai's eyes moved slightly, and he thought of the eaves in the heavy rain.

"That means everything here belongs to the little princess..." Qi Xiaopang understood it simply and roughly, "Is it a fantasy? It's too realistic." There are even dewdrops on the rape flowers!

"Not exactly..." Jiu Nian took a look around. He was tall, and across the vibrant rapeseed fields, he could barely see a path submerged in various crops. The path they were taking didn't seem to be the shortest route through this land... On the other side, there was a faint sound of rushing river.

"Some...are memories from before my death."

"Oh..." Qi Xiaopang seemed to understand, "Does this mean that the little princess is really a princess here? No, she's definitely the queen!"

It's more than just a castle, it can be considered the creation of the world, even though it's just a 'crack'.

Jiu Nian didn't quite understand the criteria for judging a princess and a queen that Qi Xiaopang mentioned, so he could only nod politely: "She can dominate everything in the cracks."

Qi Xiaopang took a deep breath and said, "Aren't we in great danger then? Aren't we just the fish on the chopping board?"

His expression remained unchanged for nine years: "Intruders do not belong in the Rift, they are not dominated..." They will only be 'cleaned'.

The second half of the sentence has not been said for nine years.

Qing Bai, who had been listening quietly, realized that Qi Xiaopang didn't, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"How did we become invaders? She clearly invited us..."

Li Canglan couldn't help but whispered: "Haven't we always been the prey?"

What they entered was not a cemetery, but a chopping board, and they were "floating" in.

"...You're right." As another piece of fatty fish 'floating' onto the chopping board, Fat Qi couldn't refute and could only admire, "You have a pretty good attitude, little classmate. Keep it up, keep it up."

Li Canglan was stunned. She seemed to be in a really good mood today. She didn't even collapse after visiting the graves and seeing ghosts. She even had the energy to complain...

Maybe it's because the teacher is there? Teacher Qing Bai's handsome face, still calm in this situation, looks really reliable. And there's also an adult who seems to know what's going on. As for Teacher Xiao Pang... well, when things get tough, at least the two of them can still stand together and scream and comfort each other. Even when they're cooking fish, they're not alone...

"Hurry up! We'll be there soon!"

The girl who had already walked a long way began to urge them, so the few of them stopped talking and quickened their pace.

Qi Xiaopang, relying on his position at the back, poked Qing Bai's arm and asked in a low voice, "Brother Qing, how did you know this?"

"Know what?"

"Just...know that this place isn't real."

Jiu Nian also turned his head curiously, wanting to hear what Qing Bai had to say.

The corners of Qing Bai's mouth curled up in a smile, but there was a hint of mockery between the lines: "Different seasons... wrong time of year."

“…” Jiu Nian frowned, feeling that this person had some hidden meaning in his mind, but he couldn’t think of anything for the moment, so he could only silently review in his mind whether he had done anything offensive since they met.

"Wrong season?"

Even city kid Qi Xiaopang couldn't figure it out, but Li Canglan, who often went back to the countryside for winter and summer vacations, understood: "Oh, right! It's the wrong season. Radishes and sweet potatoes are in different seasons, so how could rapeseed and corn bloom at the same time!"

Qi Xiaopang: “???”

Got it. I’ll go back and study the detailed explanation of the 24 solar terms and the complete guide to crop planting!

Metaphysical knowledge cannot make up for it, but agricultural common sense must be kept up!