Chapter 030: Me and My Enemy Father and Brother (Thirty)

Chen Qiaoyun did not agree with Chen Wenjian's proposal, and of course did not explain to Qian Yuejiu the dangers behind this method, but it is not entirely true to say that he completely gave up this method.

If it comes to the last moment and there really is no other possibility, Chen Yunli thought that Chen Qiaoyun would do as Chen Wenjian wished.

This is also closely related to his second-stage review task.

Chen Qiaoyun and Qian Yuejiu went to arrange new tasks for the disciples of Tianzong. Chen Wenjian seemed to be quite interested in the deep Demon Abyss and wanted to take a walk beside it.

Chen Yunli consciously followed the latter, walking slowly half a step behind him, staring at his back in a daze.

"System," he called out in his mind, "Chen Qiaoyun will definitely release Chen Wenjian's body in the end. As long as Chen Wenjian gives up destroying the world because of me and chooses to absorb the power of the Demon Abyss, the review mission will be completed, right?"

"Yes."

"If you don't pass...what will happen?"

"The protagonist of the plot will destroy the entire virtual world. This paper will be rejected or approved with a low rating, depending on the preliminary review results. Since the reviewer completed the first stage of the task well, the paper's result is likely to be the latter."

Chen Yunli nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly heard someone's casual question from above his head: "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Yunli raised his eyes and saw that Chen Wenjian had slowed down his pace and was walking side by side with him.

The man's gaze was lazy and calm. Although it was a question, it seemed as if he had already received the answer from the brief eye contact.

In front of Chen Wenjian, concealment is futile.

Chen Yunli said, "I'm worried. If I can't find another way to deal with the Demonic Abyss, I'll definitely remove your body. If your soul returns, the demon will return, and this world will be doomed."

"Well, I guess that's what you're thinking." Chen Wenjian smiled. "What do you think the probability is that I'll do that?"

"It's only big, not small anyway." Chen Yunli shook his head. "You have no attachment to the world, so you don't cherish it. Whether you want to save it or destroy it depends entirely on your mood. My intuition tells me that you are not in a good mood right now."

Chen Wenjian lifted a lock of hair from the side of his ear and said, "Why don't you try to win? I like you very much. You are the only one I like in this world."

Chen Yunli looked into his eyes and saw a vast emptiness and loneliness. All emotions were on the surface, like masks that were replaced on demand. Even though he said he liked her in an exaggerated tone, his eyes were cold.

He was completely different from the equally deep but still human Chen Wenjian in the dream timeline, so much so that Chen Yunli couldn't even tell whether he really had no emotions or had forgotten how to express them.

Thinking of this, Chen Yunli stopped and asked seriously, "How do you want me to fight for it?"

"I hope so?" Chen Wenjian raised an eyebrow and whispered meaningfully into his ear, "Do you really want to leave the decision to me?"

Warm breath brushed past the tip of his ear, and Chen Yunli resisted the urge to dodge away: "Yeah. Only when you know what you want and give you what you want, it's called fighting for it. Otherwise, it's just bargaining."

"That's quite reasonable. What do I want..."

Chen Wenjian thought seriously for a while, but his smiling eyes gradually revealed confusion, until he couldn't help frowning, as if he was stumped.

What did he want? No one had asked him this question for a long time, and he had never thought about it.

Life is short, so seeking power, fame and fortune is often insatiable.

Practitioners are detached, but they cannot escape from this world, nor can they give up their pursuit of a higher realm.

Chen Wenjian had no shortage of these mundane things. But what else could he ask for? Love, companionship, warmth?

He was lost in thought for a long time and was surprised to find that he was stumped by the question. He always felt that he wanted something, but he couldn't tell what it was specifically. There was only a vague outline in his mind.

In order to find the answer to this question, perhaps he could allow this world to exist for a while longer.

"Chen Wenjian?" After not hearing an answer for a long time, Chen Yunli tugged at his sleeve curiously.

"Hmm? Oh, I... can't answer that for now. I guess there's nothing I want."

Chen Wenjian loosened the hair wrapped around his fingertips. Perhaps because he was distracted for a moment, coupled with being too close to the Demon Abyss, he looked at Chen Yunli's face and playfully touched his pale lips: "Although I don't know what I want yet, I would be very happy if you kissed me. I don't mind agreeing to some small requests of yours."

Chen Yunli widened his eyes and stomped on his instep without thinking.

"You're not done yet, are you?"

Chen Wenjian chuckled and let him step on her feet twice. Even though she didn't get a kiss, she seemed to be in a good mood.

Suddenly, both of them had a thought at the same time, as if their gaze and attention were forcibly drawn by some force, and they looked towards the low slope ten meters away, which was very close to the Demon Abyss.

At some point, a figure appeared silently from above. He was wearing a green shirt and black hair, with a black scarf covering his eyes. He had an otherworldly temperament, as if he was about to ascend to heaven in the next moment.

He stood facing Chen Yunli and Chen Wenjian, his face both familiar and unfamiliar to the former. Chen Yunli had seen him in his playful, angry, and animated state, but even if his features remained unchanged, it would be hard to imagine him looking like he was now.

He is Lou Zhixi, a divine fortune teller who had seen omens related to Chen Wenjian many times in the dream timeline and had predicted the appearance of Demon Abyss in reality.

They had only met once, but it seemed as if they had experienced many changes together.

Chen Yunli took a deep breath and took the initiative to walk forward and greet him: "You must be Mr. Lou, right? Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you." Lou Zhixi returned the greeting. Although they were blindfolded, the two could still feel his gaze.

His eyes lingered on Chen Wenjian for a moment, and finally fixed on Chen Yunli for a long time. His gentle and elegant temperament was completely different from Chen Yunli's impression of him.

Chen Yunli felt a little nervous being looked at. Just as he was about to ask, he heard him say, "Mr. Yunli looks very kind. I have a feeling... there should be a... bet between us."

Chen Yunli's heart trembled violently: "What did you say?"

Aren’t he, Chen Wenjian, Ning Bufan, and Ming Shaotu the only ones who retain memories of what happened in the dream timeline?

"Oh, it's just a feeling." Lou Zhixi smiled. "When I was young, I was arrogant and reckless, often making bets with others. I thought I had never lost a bet, and I certainly didn't lose a bet in my memory. But I think I once made a bet with someone that I have forgotten, and I lost. I used to think it was just an illusion, but it wasn't until I saw Mr. Yun Li that I felt a faint sense of reality."

He paused, then shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry. I study divination, and occasionally I get glimpses of secrets that have nothing to do with me. Perhaps this illusion is one of them."

Chen Yunli curled his lips: "Maybe."

Unfortunately, Lou Zhixi in that timeline could never repay the apology he owed Chen Wenjian.

"I heard from Sect Master Qian that Mr. Wenjian proposed a solution to the Demonic Abyss, but it was rejected by Mr. Qiaoyun on the grounds that it was too dangerous. Is it true?" Lou Zhixi changed the subject.

"Yeah." Chen Yunli nodded. "It's indeed quite dangerous. If we're not careful, the world, which has just been stabilized, will be dragged into an irretrievable disaster."

"Oh, no. Although I don't know what the method is, the future I see is bright and glorious, not a hopeless one." Lou Zhixi took a half step back and bowed to Chen Yunli. "I'll leave everything to Mr. Yunli."

"……ah?"

"The time will come, and then you will understand."

Lou Zhixi left a prophecy without a beginning or an end, and without waiting for Chen Yunli to react, he turned around and left.

When Chen Yunli came back to his senses, he saw the corner of his clothes disappear among a group of busy Yuyang Tianzong disciples.

"...Fuck." Chen Yunli's face darkened. "Can the Riddler crawl out of the universe?"

…

The three members of the Chen family stayed at the former site of Zhangjimen for three days.

During these three days, the other four places where the Demon Abyss was causing chaos came here one after another to ask for help. Chen Qiaoyun had to search for methods to seal and eliminate the Demon Abyss from obscure ancient books, and rushed to various places to curb the extension of the Demon Vein. He was very busy.

After all, Yousui Demon Abyss was transformed from the body of the Heavenly Demon. Even though he had the cultivation level of the third level of Xinxuan, which had already touched the ceiling of the entire cultivation world, he was still one level lower than the Heavenly Demon. He could not withstand this kind of consumption like cutting flesh with a blunt knife, and soon he became exhausted and could not recover even by regulating his breathing.

Chen Yunli wanted to help, but his strength was limited, so Chen Qiaoyun just asked him to keep a close eye on Chen Wenjian and not let this rebellious old father treat the Demon Abyss as a firework for fun.

After Chen Yunli agreed, he inexplicably felt like walking a cat. He followed Chen Wenjian everywhere all day long, and in a matter of days he traveled all over Nanzhou.

Nanzhou, formerly Huangzhou, is no longer a barren forbidden zone for living things after a catastrophe, but it is not actually very prosperous either.

After hundreds of years, the landscape of Huangzhou has changed, the mountains and rivers have changed, and the old scenes are no longer available. Chen Wenjian didn't seem to want to reminisce about anything, so Chen Yunli assumed that he was just wandering around out of boredom.

At dusk on the third day after arriving in Nanzhou, Chen Wenjian took Chen Yunli to climb a low mountain.

There is sparse vegetation on the mountain, mostly fluffy, withered yellow grass, mixed with a few unknown wild flowers, swaying gently in the mountain breeze and melting in the golden afterglow like the sea.

Chen Yunli sat on the top of the hill and looked west, facing the setting sun. In front of the sun were thin floating clouds, and occasionally a wild goose flew slowly by. The moment it was reflected in the sun, it was simply a wonderful painting.

Seeing such a magnificent and tranquil scene, Chen Yunli's heart also calmed down, and the impetuous anxiety caused by the matter of the Demon Abyss slowly settled and dissipated.

"Does it look good?" Chen Wenjian broke off a few blades of grass. The leaves were slender and flexible, winding and weaving through his fingers.

"It's beautiful." Chen Yunli leaned on his shoulder and relaxed. "Why did you suddenly think of taking me to see the sunset?"

"On a whim, and since I happened to be nearby, I brought you up here." Chen Wenjian made a grasshopper and placed it on his head with a smile. "Nanzhou is still so desolate. The only redeeming feature in my memory is the sun, moon, and stars bestowed by nature."

Chen Yunli looked up, fumbled to remove the grasshopper, and held it in his palm. Honestly, it wasn't very well woven, and the legs were crooked.

He smiled, but did not mock, instead he carefully put it into his sleeve pocket.

"Your inscription is not good. Let me make one for you."

Chen Yunli rolled up his sleeves and picked up a handful of grass leaves from the side. In a short while, he had woven the outline of a cat with extremely skillful movements.

The grass was yellow, and from his fingers a plump, round orange cat was born. The grass branches were tightly connected and smooth to the touch, and its tail and ears were made of tassels of grass, which were furry.

Soon, Chen Yunli made a lying orange cat and placed it in Chen Wenjian's hand.

"Hmm..." Chen Wenjian held it up to the sun, "What a fat raccoon. It must be a big eater."

"What's wrong with being fat? As long as it's cute, that's all." Chen Yunli gave him a blank look, supported his arms behind his back, and looked up at the sunset. "I really want to have a fat orange cat like this. I can hold it in the sun and chat with it every day, and I can use it to warm my hands in the winter. I don't mind its appetite, and it doesn't mind my noise. It won't be lonely, and it's very comfortable."

"Is this all you want in life?" Chen Wenjian narrowed his eyes and suddenly approached, his tone slightly gloomy and overbearing. "What about me? I'm not in your imagination?"

"You are about to destroy the world, and you still care about these things?" Chen Yunli was amused and was not afraid of his cold face. After taking back the orange cat, he pushed him away.

Chen Wenjian persevered and kept sticking to it, glancing between the orange cat and Chen Yunli several times. When Chen Yunli wasn't paying attention, he pinched the cat's ears and picked up the straw cat again.

He lay on the grass, holding the orange cat against his chest: "Your brother can't hold on any longer."

Chen Yunli was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head. "I know. When I came out this morning, I saw that his face was very ugly. Sect Master Qian said that maintaining five seals at the same time would consume too much energy, and he could only hold on for two more days at most."

"So, he's going to make a decision tonight, and put it into practice tomorrow." Chen Wenjian stroked the cat's tail, the fur brushing against his fingertips, making him feel itchy. "Do you think he'll take out my body?"

Chen Yunli sighed and lay down beside him, using his hand as a pillow: "Of course he will. And he will also be prepared to die with you."

"Yes. He's the leader of the righteous sect. He seems smart, but he's actually simple-minded. If you know him a little better, you'll understand his thoughts clearly." Chen Wenjian chuckled. "Single-handedly training the only person capable of killing me was once what I thought was the most interesting thing in the world."

"Before?" Chen Yunli tilted his head to look at him, "What about now?"

“…”

Chen Wenjian did not answer, and the sound of the wind echoed in the vast surroundings.

Suddenly, he turned over and sat up, supporting himself with one arm beside Chen Yunli, and leaned over to put his face in front of him.

Chen Yunli was caught off guard and met his deep eyes, which were still filled with emptiness and coldness, with no true or false feelings to be found. The face was so shocking when he looked at it up close that Chen Yunli did not dare to stare at him, and he could not explore the deeper things hidden in his eyes.

He only heard Chen Wenjian say, "Kiss me once, and I'll promise you one thing."

"I'm serious this time."