Chapter 48: Dreams of Revitalizing the Cultivation World (48% complete)
"How could this be..."
Su Xiaoyao sat cross-legged on the bed, lost in thought, propping her chin up with her hand.
The sight of the phantom was so shocking that when she first heard that she was to be sent back to her hometown, she didn't have time to think much or doubt the truth of the words. She only thought about missing the convenient and comfortable technological life of the past, and at the same time, she was reluctant to leave her friends with whom she had formed a deep friendship. In her dilemma, she was sent away without having a chance to refuse.
Everything happened so suddenly that she didn't immediately remember that her physical body in the original world had already died.
"I died in a plane crash."
She murmured to herself.
Su Xiaoyao touched her face uncertainly, then groped around, feeling all over the blankets and pillows, to make sure the texture was real.
She suddenly remembered something and quickly shook her head, looking around for something.
Finally, upon seeing the long-lost and familiar object pressed beside her pillow, she took a deep breath.
My hands trembled as I picked up the phone; even the crack in the corner of the screen protector felt so familiar.
She had used this phone for four years without changing it, so she knew it all too well.
She examined it thoroughly, turning it over and over, noticing the scratches and dents... She was absolutely certain that this was indeed her phone.
"Am I trapped in a hallucination, or have I really been sent back?"
Su Xiaoyao was confused. It all felt too real. Could an illusion really be this realistic?
"And I'm sure I'm already dead."
She was certain that she died in a plane crash. Because she was certain that she died in this world, after being reborn in the mortal realm, she let go of her memories and obsessions from her previous life and became another "Su Xiaoyao".
But what if she were really sent back to her original world? Between the world where she had lived for twenty years and where life was comfortable and convenient, and the dangerous world of cultivation, she would find it hard to choose the latter.
While she has friends in the cultivation world, the ties she formed with people in the original world over the past twenty years will only deepen.
Su Xiaoyao unconsciously stroked the edge of her phone.
Perhaps it was an accidental touch, but the phone screen lit up briefly.
She glanced over instinctively, and the next second her eyes widened in disbelief.
What did she see?
Su Xiaoyao brought the phone closer, and the facial recognition unlocked it. She could clearly see the date on the phone's homepage.
That's not right!
She was twenty years old when she died, but now she has returned to the time when she was eighteen and still in high school!
She was indeed alive at eighteen, but just how powerful was the Heavenly Dao Ancestor to be able to turn back time?
Illusion? Reality? Rebirth? Dream?
"Heavenly Dao Ancestor... Is this an illusionary trial or something real? Have I really returned? Or can you extract my deepest memories? Or... have these five years, no, seven years, been nothing but a dream?"
Everything that happened was beyond her comprehension, and Su Xiaoyao almost began to doubt which was real and which was fake.
After thinking for a long time, she felt that there was nothing wrong with her memory.
The two years in the mortal realm and the three years in the cultivation realm are definitely real. Since the Heavenly Dao Ancestor has the ability to recognize her origins at a glance, he might really be able to send her back to the original world's timeline where she was still alive.
Subconsciously, she was more inclined to believe that she had been sent back, because the power of Tianyan Daozu's last glance was too strong, and she couldn't doubt his words.
The scene, which seemed like the descent of a true god, was so vivid that who would question the actions of a god?
Su Xiaoyao was having a brainstorming session, sitting there blankly, unable to think about why the alarm clock was ringing or what she was supposed to do after setting the alarm.
A noisy knocking on the door pulled her back to reality.
"Su! Xiao! Yao! When are you going to stop sleeping in? I've already squeezed the toothpaste for you and you're still dawdling and refusing to get up!"
A woman's voice came from outside the door.
Su Xiaoyao recognized the voice all too well, because it was something frozen deep within her memory.
Hearing it again after five years, she felt an urge to cry.
Seeing that the people inside had not reacted, the people outside couldn't wait any longer and pushed the door open.
A girl with a high ponytail, wearing a blue and white school uniform, rushed over aggressively, glaring at him.
"Su Xiaoyao! I called you and you pretended not to hear me? You've lost all love, haven't you?"
Su Xiaoyao's bewildered face visibly brightened with joy.
"Xiaoyu!" she called out.
Gong Yu stormed in, now looking at her with suspicion.
"What's with that expression? It's the same as last time we didn't see each other for a whole summer. We've only been apart for one night." Gong Yu keenly noticed that there was something wrong with her emotional fluctuations.
Su Xiaoyao choked for a moment, not knowing where to begin, and only mumbled, "The collar of my pajamas was uncomfortable, I didn't sleep well."
Gong Yu looked at him with an expression of exasperation: "Do you even know that today is Monday? Optimus Prime is personally catching those who are late?"
"Optimus Prime?" Su Xiaoyao was a little dazed, feeling that the name was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Gong Yu stood by the bed with his arms crossed, squinting as he looked down at her: "Aren't you most afraid of him? Why aren't you in a hurry at all today? Something's wrong with you. Did the Labor Day holiday make you all bolder?"
In an instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Su Xiaoyao's brain.
She remembered!
Optimus Prime is her high school's dean of students. The dean's name is Lu Tianzhu, and he always has a stern face like a robot. When students complain about him in private, they affectionately call him Optimus Prime.
What an affectionate way to address someone.
Su Xiaoyao, fighting back tears welling up in her eyes, said, "Actually, Optimus Prime was a good guy. I miss him very much."
Gong Yu was stunned when she heard this. She reached out a hand to check her temperature on her forehead, and her voice softened involuntarily: "You don't have a fever, why are you talking nonsense?"
“I’m not talking nonsense. These are all my sincere and heartfelt words,” Su Xiaoyao said sincerely.
Gong Yu leaned back slightly, her gaze towards her indescribable: "Still missing you? It's only been one Labor Day holiday, and your Chinese language skills have regressed to elementary school level after just one night's sleep? The college entrance exam is in a month, what are you going to do?"
“Yes, it’s May now, and the college entrance exam is in June,” Su Xiaoyao repeated her words.
She really came back, back to when she was eighteen, back to before the accident happened, back to her friends.
"Don't scare me. If you're not feeling well, it's okay to take a day off today. I'll go to the hospital with you. Be sure to tell me where you feel unwell. Don't force yourself just because the college entrance exam is coming up." Gong Yu was a little worried about her.
"I'm fine, I'm doing well now, and I'm so happy to see you!" Su Xiaoyao's voice was loud and clear.
To show that she was in good health, she threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, and performed a set of boxing moves.
A fleeting smile crossed Gong Yu's eyes, but more than that, there was deep confusion: "When did you learn martial arts? Did the orphanage teach you that?"
Su Xiaoyao didn't know how to explain for a moment, so she just made up an excuse: "I taught myself during the summer vacation when you didn't see me."
Gong Yu's skeptical expression clearly showed she didn't believe her nonsense, but there was no time to wait, so she didn't press the matter further.
"Okay, okay, let's stop arguing. Hurry up and wash up, or we'll be late."
"Okay, okay."
Su Xiaoyao was a little confused but also a little clear-headed. Her friend pushed her out the door to the guest room bathroom to wash up.
She stood in front of the mirror, picked up her mouthwash cup and toothbrush after a long time, and stared blankly at her reflection.
She was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. She was admitted to the Red Flag Class of the First Middle School, which was set up for poor but hardworking students. Gong Yu was her good friend whom she met in junior high school, and their friendship lasted until high school and even college.
School was closed for Labor Day, so she went home with Gong Yu, and the two spent three days together.
After washing up, she hurried back to her room to change her clothes. Everything felt natural, as if she had never left this world.
It wasn't until she took off her pajamas that she saw something peeking out of the pocket of her pink clothes.
The pajamas had shallow pockets, barely big enough to fit even a folded piece of yellow paper.
Su Xiaoyao was taken aback when she saw the familiar color. Over the years, she had used talismans frequently while traveling, so she was very familiar with them.
She pinched a folded corner and pulled out the yellow paper; she had seen the runes on it not long ago.
It was the one Shen Suqi gave her, saying it might have the power to break through illusions.
Finally, something appeared that could prove the authenticity of her memories, and even Su Xiaoyao herself didn't notice the corner of her mouth curving slightly.
Everything she experienced was real, and she did make some very good friends.
Shen Suqi is a straightforward girl who is sincere to her friends. Jiang Yun and Xiao Tingyuan, needless to say, have a three-year friendship that cannot be easily severed.
The other people are fine too.
In fact, she didn't dislike Helian Yi. This guy was a fake but had a decent character. Shui Fan was proud and righteous, Xu Lingyou was reserved and upright, Wu Ji was smart and decisive, Huangfu Mian and Dai Kui were inseparable and supported each other, which was enviable. Even the mission participants who didn't know each other would often share their experiences on the forum when they weren't at odds with each other, and various exchanges helped and promoted each other.
Less than an hour after returning to her original world, she found herself missing her days in the cultivation world.
It's a real shame there wasn't a proper farewell.
She was feeling a little down.
However, she always manages to control her emotions well and quickly cheers herself up.
Holding the talisman, an idea popped into her head, and her hands began to stir restlessly.
"Heaven and earth are boundless, and the universe borrows their power!"
With a thought, she tossed out a talisman, wanting to see if Shen Suqi's talisman would work and help her confirm whether this was an illusion or reality.
However, things didn't go as planned. The talisman circled in mid-air and floated lightly to the ground.
Unconsciously, Su Xiaoyao touched her upper dantian, where the accumulated spiritual energy had vanished.
Countless faces flashed through her mind, and she felt inexplicably empty inside. She didn't know what she was expecting or what she was reluctant to let go of.
“Su Xiaoyao, you can’t have it all. Face reality. You should live your life wherever you are. Cherishing the present has always been your life motto, hasn’t it?” she said to the mirror.
"Su! Xiao! Yao! I'm saying it again, we're going to be late!" Gong Yu banged on the door.
"They're here! They're here!"
Su Xiaoyao casually stuffed the talisman into her school uniform pocket, rubbed her face, put on a smile, and walked out.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Xiaoyu."
"Ugh—don't laugh so disgustingly."
"Hehe, come here for a hug! Didn't you just ask me if I didn't love you anymore? I want to tell you, I love you to death!"
"Don't put on any more stickers, it's hot. Go eat your steamed buns!"
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Author's Note: Gave the cat a bath, it felt so good! I played with it all day (slapping my fingers). I'll try harder to finish the chapter I owe tomorrow.
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