Agares gazed at her smile, momentarily captivated, and then firmly assured her, "No, no one will lock you in a glass dome. You are free, and you will always be free."
Whether he is alive or not, as long as the Troia Empire exists, and as long as the royal family is her family, she will not be locked in a glass dome. She will be as free as the wind and as unrestrained as the rain.
People fear death and aging. Before they die, they always feel that there are so many things they haven't done. Immortality is everyone's dream.
Because people have never lived forever, they only think about the benefits of longevity, but they don't know that longevity is imprisonment and punishment, while ginger is longevity.
She lived for thousands of years, but that was only by chance, it was forced. She paid too high a price for immortality. People who did the same experiments as her, who were injected with the same substances as her, did not achieve immortality. Only she could live forever, so... God is fair.
She endured hardships that others could not bear and experienced things that others could not go through, thus achieving immortality and maintaining her youthful appearance. The researchers in the laboratory considered her immortality to be a stroke of luck and an honor.
They envied her, were jealous of her, hurt her; they wanted to be like her, but they couldn't bear her suffering or the aftereffects of it all.
Jiang Si smiled and said, "Since you said that no one has locked me in a glass dome and that I am free, you shouldn't be afraid of aging. You should face aging. After all, with me as a cautionary tale in front of you, you are just a little kid."
"Little friend, look at me. I'm an old antique, thousands of years old, but I only look young because I have a young body."
She just looks young.
Her heart is thousands of years old.
Her people are thousands of years old.
Even if she woke up in the Abel Galaxy.
Even if she woke up to find herself locked in a laboratory.
But she has truly lived through thousands of years, truly witnessed the vicissitudes of life, the passage of time, the death of wave after wave of humans, and the evolution of various creatures time and time again.
Agares knew she was comforting him, and he also knew it was her true feeling; she had lived for thousands of years, and the gap between them was thousands of years.
This chasm is insurmountable and cannot be crossed. He should be as composed as he was hundreds of years ago, instead of being afraid, apprehensive, and panicked about becoming a wretched old man while she remains young. He should walk with her under the bright sunshine and enjoy every day together.
In that instant, Agares understood and was healed. He stepped forward, took Jiang Si's hand, and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "My dear princess, you are right. I shouldn't worry, I shouldn't trouble myself. Come, let me take you to the deep sea to eat seafood."
Jiang Si stepped out of his embrace, took his hand in return, and intertwined her fingers with his. As she pulled him along, she said, "After eating seafood in the deep sea, we'll head to the Federation to mine for ore. After we've mined the Federation's ore, we'll take a stroll around the Fourth Civilization. After that, we'll go to the Zerg to eat fried insects."
Thanks to Jiang Yihe, a plant expert, many planets of the Zerg have become covered in grass and trees, making them suitable for planting.
Unless they are specific insects, they all like green, like to nibble on green grass, eat leaves, burrow into tree trunks, and eat fruits and vegetables.
Jiang Yihe, the queen of the insect race, is far more popular than their emperor. In the past, the insects of the insect race clamored to overthrow their emperor and replace Princess Jiang with queen, promising to be loyal to her and go through fire and water for her.
Now the Zerg have changed course, killing their emperor, making their queen queen, and sending countless male Zerglings to their queen as pets.
Today, the Zerg have achieved equality among female Zerg, and their population has reached 200 billion. What these Zerg love to do most is to go to Jiang Yihe's account and urge her every day to kill their Emperor He Yan and become Queen herself, or rather, Empress. As long as you give the order, the Zerg, big and small, even the eggs, will not go to the battlefield to rebel against Your Majesty.
However, all they could do was howl at their queen's account, and on top of that, they had to endure the arrogant shouts from their emperor.
Their emperor's arrogant and boastful manner resembled that of a petty person who had gained power, smug and despicable. The words he said most often were, "Hey, I love how you all can't stand me and can't get rid of me. Hehehe, la la la, waaaaah, come on, let's hurt each other."
He was as childish as a three-year-old insect, which really annoyed the insectoids, but they genuinely disliked him and couldn't get rid of him.
Not only does he have an empress spoiling him, but he also has a marshal and prime minister spoiling him. He is like a mascot, like a little good-for-nothing, living a life of self-satisfaction and arrogance every day. Can you believe how infuriating that is?
As Agares followed Jiang Si, he exclaimed in surprise, "Going to the Zerg to eat insects? The Zerg's insects can all transform into humans. Are you going to eat people?"
Jiang Si chuckled: "The Zerg are all green now, and there are always some insects that can't be transformed, like cicadas, danqing, and grasshoppers that have just crawled out of the ground. They can be deep-fried, grilled on a hot plate, or stir-fried."
"Hahaha, of course, the most important thing is that I am an omnivore with no taboos. I can also roast and eat insects that transform into humans. They are big and meaty."
Agares: "..."
Should we inform his cheap son-in-law, He Yan, and have him and his insectoid subjects warn him that when his princess arrives, they should give way to avoid being eaten?
In fact, Agares was overthinking it. According to the savage insects' simple and brutal theory, if they knew that their own bodies could be eaten by their idol goddess, they wouldn't need ginger to catch them. They could jump into the oil pot themselves, lie on the hot plate, and wave to their goddess, "Come on, come on, goddess, goddess, eat me, eat me first."
Jiang Si was unaware of the insects' thoughts, and neither was Agares. They began their journey again through the Abel Galaxy, the Milky Way, the Elliptical Galaxy, the Amba Galaxy, the Meteor Galaxy, the Glory Galaxy…
Go back to places you've been before, and places you haven't been before, to see them again, and to rediscover the memories of those past experiences.
They explored every star system and planet in the history of various countries, including seafood, minerals, barren planets, agricultural planets, and gold-producing planets, spending three to five months there.
There are space jumps, like the Milky Way in the Abel Galaxy, which no longer take days and nights, but only 8 to 12 hours. If there is an accident, it will take only 24 or 36 hours.
Between nations in the Abel system, it's even faster. It takes about 5 hours to reach the Zerg, 3 hours to the Orcs, 4 hours to the Federation, and 5 hours to the Fourth Civilization.
Distance is no longer a problem, but time really flies by. Day after day, month after month, year after year, it's all over in the blink of an eye.
Even though Agares longed for time to slow down, to spend more time with Jiang Si, he couldn't control it. From waking up in his arms in the morning to finishing three meals a day and falling asleep in his arms, a day would pass in the blink of an eye.
Spring had just passed, but in the blink of an eye, winter had arrived. In his view, time flew by like a dam bursting, gone in a flash.
His figure remains as upright as a pine tree. Even at the age of 468, he still maintains broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and eight-pack abs, and remains as self-disciplined as ever. However, his hair is completely white, wrinkles cover the corners of his eyes, and neck wrinkles cover his neck.
Jiang Si still looks like she's 18 years old, with bright eyebrows and white teeth, fair and delicate skin as rosy as jade, and clear, gentle, and steady eyes.
She stayed by Agares' side, watching him grow old and his health decline day by day. She used her healing spiritual power to alleviate his physical pain.
She would smile at him and play around with him, even though he was old and frail and would be out of breath after walking a few steps. He would still try his best to play with her, hoping to make her happy and hoping that she would be happy and content during the limited time they had together.
The generation of Red Eyebrow Fleet members who knew Bo Jichen have long since passed away. Yuan Yigun, who played with Jiang Si in the younger generation, is now over 400 years old and has become the true ruling bear of the panda family, an old panda.
The cub he raised transformed into a human and became his wife, giving birth to four panda cubs, thus becoming the wealthiest member of the new generation of pandas.
Xia Pu, who helped her with her business, has been dead for over 40 years. Now, Xia Pu's son, along with the manager of the Troya Empire's royal family, is managing the Dafa Mall business.
After Fu Huan's death, the former Queen of the Deep Sea, Quanjian, chose to die with her mother and father, and be buried in the Ruins of Return, so that no fish would remain in the world.
Yan Qi also died after everyone in the Red Eyebrows Fleet perished. He married and had children, who followed in his footsteps and became a teacher at a military academy.
His wife is young, beautiful, virtuous and lovely. She is younger than him and is now a grandmother. She stays at home taking care of her granddaughter and occasionally has a relationship that is not aimed at marriage.
Agares, 469 years old, sat in a rocking chair, gazing at the ginkgo tree that pierced the clouds. When he was alone and lucid, he began to mutter to the ginkgo tree: "Spirit Eye, you love Jiang Jiang the most. You have waited for her for nearly 3,000 years. I am so glad that you are alive again."
"Even if you can't become human yet, you can stay with her for 1000 years, 2000 years, 3000 years, 5000 years..."
"She is wonderful, exceptionally wonderful. I wish her a long life, happiness, and bliss..."
The ginkgo tree, whose branches could be encircled by one person, swayed its leaves as if promising Agares that it would stay with her, and would stay with her forever, until she perished.
A green ginkgo leaf fell and landed right in Agares's old hand. He picked up the leaf, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "You promised me. I knew then that compared to you, my love for her was too shallow. Only your love for her is so profound."
Even if your love isn't romantic love, but transcends romantic love and familial love, she's the only one in your eyes and in your heart.
"Spiritual Eye, thank you, thank you..."
The leaves of the ginkgo tree rustled in the still air, as if responding to Agares once again, telling him that no matter what, it would stay by Jiang Si's side.
"Agares, come and try this soup I made." Jiang Si carried a bowl of soup, her smile bright. Her voice arrived even before she did.
Agares placed the ginkgo leaves aside, pulled the blanket over his lap, and spoke in a low, weak voice, "What kind of soup are you making today? I've been smelling the aroma for ages..."
He can't smell the fragrance; his sense of smell had been impaired for six months.
He didn't want to hurt her; he wanted to make her happy.
He even considered whether he should bomb Shu Xubai out before he died.
With him by her side, she could leave with peace of mind and without any worries.
But he didn't. Shu Xubai was sad and heartbroken; he was asleep.
His princess, his wife, was unwilling to get him out; she thought he would come out on his own once he had slept well.
Jiang Si ran up to him, the soup in her hand not spilling any, and the temperature was just right. "You can smell the aroma, right? I simmered it for two hours. Come on, have a taste, have a taste."
He was old and his hair was white, his face scarred and worn.
She was as vibrant and beautiful as a young girl.
In recent years, his health has been poor, and when he occasionally goes out with her, he goes to places with few people.
But even in less crowded places, you'll still run into people. Those who see them will sigh, "Prince Agares is so old, while Princess Jiang Jiang is still so young."
Some might say that this is definitely not Princess Jiang Jiang, as she couldn't possibly remain unchanged for four or five hundred years; it must be a result of her fervent fans having plastic surgery to resemble her.
No matter what others said, did, or sighed about, Jiang Si held his hand openly and never let go. Even when others thought he was old and a decrepit old man, she never let go of his hand and always held it tightly.
Agares opened his mouth, took a bite, and swallowed it with difficulty.
Jiang Si looked at him expectantly: "Is it delicious? Is it delicious?"
Agares's eyes crinkled: "Delicious, very delicious."
He lost his sense of smell six months ago, and his sense of taste three months ago.
Whatever she makes, it always tastes delicious and smells wonderful.
Jiang Si smiled brightly and said, "It's good that it's delicious. Come on, eat more, eat more. After we finish eating, I'll take you for a walk."
Agares eats very little now, but if she makes him eat, he will try his best to eat all the food she painstakingly prepares.
But this time, he couldn't finish the soup. After a few bites, he felt very full.
Jiang Si noticed: "It's okay if you can't finish it, I'll eat the rest."
As soon as she finished speaking, she ate the soup that Agares had left behind.
Agares looked at her tenderly, his eyes filled with reluctance and deep affection: "Jiang Jiang, go change your clothes, shall we go for a walk?"
He wanted to be with her, he wanted to stay with her forever, but, there was no buts, he couldn't be with her anymore, he felt he didn't have time left.
Jiang Si, holding the empty soup bowl, asked, "Okay, do you prefer a red dress, a green dress, or a floral dress?"
"Red, I like red. It's flamboyant, festive, bright, and beautiful."
Agares gazed at her, his eyes fixed on her, wanting to imprint her face in his heart and etch it into his soul, so that if there were an afterlife, he would seek her out.
"Okay, then the red dress it is. Wait for me a moment, I'll change right away and come over to take you for a walk!"
Jiang Si not only returned his brightest smile, but also kissed him, kissing his lips.
"Jiang Jiang!" Agares called out to her as she turned to change her dress and had already taken two steps.
Jiang Si stopped and turned around: "What?"
Agares stopped her, saying, "Jiang Jiang, don't turn around, listen to me."
Jiang Si stopped abruptly as she turned around, her back to him. Her fingertips, holding the empty soup bowl, were slightly white. She tried her best to raise her voice and be cheerful: "Go on!"
Agares gazed at her retreating figure with a greedy yet lingering affection, his low, aged voice filled with reluctance: "Jiang Jiang, if I die, you can grieve for a few days, feel sad for a few days, and miss me for a few days. Find a place where a hundred flowers bloom, a place with a bright spring breeze, a place with a wide view, a place you like the most, and just forget about me!"
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he can't be with her until the end. He can't bear to part with her, but he has to leave her. Her whole life is something he can't overcome or pursue.
Jiang Si's eyes reddened and became wet. With her back to him, she replied, "Little Agares, if you were to die, I would forget about you in a few days, at most two."
"Don't forget, I've lived for thousands of years, and everything I've experienced is fleeting and won't leave any impression on me. The same goes for you."
A bittersweet look flashed across Agares's eyes upon hearing this, followed by a hint of joy in her voice: "That's good. Go change your dress, I'll wait for you..."
Jiang Si didn't turn around, but responded with a muffled "okay," picked up the empty soup bowl, and hurried to her room to change her dress.
Agares kept staring at her, staring at her until she was out of sight. He took out a green ginkgo leaf, held it in his hand, and looked at the ginkgo tree in front of him: "Spirit Eye, take good care of her, protect her well, and so will my share..."
He stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.
The green leaves of the ginkgo tree, too large for one person to encircle, rustled down, landing on his head, on his shoulders, on his legs...
Jiang Si changed into a bright red dress and arrived at the courtyard gate. There she saw countless green ginkgo leaves fluttering in the wind. Under these green leaves, Agares was tilting her head, her eyes slightly closed, and a smile on her lips, as if she were asleep.
She stood at the gate of the courtyard, stopped moving forward, and just looked at him, quietly looking at him. As she looked, her mind echoed with the memories of her arrival in the Abel Galaxy more than 400 years ago and her marriage to him more than 400 years ago.
The images from over 400 years flashed through her mind like watching a movie—so clear, yet so blurry.
The wind lifted Jiang Si's red skirt. Her eyes were red, and she tried to force a smile, revealing a faint, bitter smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Immortality!
Everyone wants to live forever, and everyone envies longevity.
People only think about living forever, so they can do everything they never had the chance to do before, so that their lives will be without any regrets and so that they can shine brightly.
People only think about immortality, eternal youth, accumulating endless wealth, and enjoying everything that others cannot.
People never imagined that immortality would be a punishment, a world-destroying punishment.
Lovers, friends, and everything you know will fade with time, their faces will grow old, their bodies will age, and they will die before your eyes, separated from you by life and death, never to be seen again.
Even if you find someone similar, there are no two identical leaves in the world, and no matter how similar they are, they are still not the same person.
Replacement, substitute, how could there be a replacement, how could a substitute be a complete substitute? All of this will be clearly imprinted in my mind as time goes by, and I will never be able to let go of it.
When there are no familiar people left in this world, I will curl up in a corner and watch the clouds drift by, watch the wind, watch the snow, watch the rain.
I am like a mountain, spring comes and summer goes, autumn goes and winter goes, I see all the green covering my body die again and again, and grow back again and again, but it is not the original grass, not the original tree.
Jiang Si is like that mountain; she is immortal, her appearance remains unchanged, she is stuck in the same place, watching the people around her die one by one, personally sending off those she is close to and familiar with.
Her adopted parents, her friends, her business partners, her teachers and senior classmates, her husband, and her children—they could not live as long as she did, and she personally sent them off.
100 years, 200 years, 300 years, 500 years, 700 years, 1000 years, the Abel Galaxy, the Milky Way, everything Jiang Si knew was dead.
Everyone in the Red Eyebrows Fleet died: Quanjian died, Yuan Yigun died, the Roc couple died, Agares died, Xiao Huawen died, and Jiang Dandan died.
The hunt is back.
The earth is thriving, and former capitals and palaces have become forbidden zones.
Jiang Si lay back in the rocking chair, the ginkgo tree behind her had grown so thick that two people couldn't wrap their arms around it, and it had become the tallest tree on the entire earth.
Beside the ginkgo tree was a willow. She transformed into a tree, a willow with emerald green branches that hung down like a canopy, gilded with gold, sheltering Jiang Si from the wind and rain. Even if she sat there day after day without moving, the willow would not let her get wet.
She is her tree, she is her weapon, she is her companion. Everyone will abandon her, everyone will die, but she will not.
She was there for her in times of prosperity, in times of loneliness, and in times of solitude. She talked to her when she wanted to talk, and she played with her when she wanted to play.
Returning from the hunt, his black hair was tied up in a crown, cascading down his back like ink. He wore a wide-sleeved black robe embroidered with a black dragon in gold thread, and his dark eyes were filled with a deathly stillness.
Jiang Si stopped rocking in the recliner, sat up, and waved to him like an old friend she hadn't seen in years. Her voice was clear and crisp, yet tinged with a hint of vicissitude: "Hunter, you're back!"
Hunting walked to her side, lifted his robe, sat down on the ground, leaned against Jiang Si's legs, and said in a low, steady, yet hoarse voice, "Master, I'm back."
Jiang Si touched his head, then opened her mouth again, like an adult welcoming their child home: "Welcome home, Hunt!"
Jiang Dandan died, and the hunter didn't cry.
Jiang Dandan said she would stay with him forever, and that after her death, he could eat her, just as Yan Liu ate Cangying, so that she could stay with him forever, protect his immortality, and accompany him through his immortality.
He followed her wishes, transforming himself into a blade, and used her blood to stain himself red, without crying.
His owner, Jiang Si, said "Welcome home," and he cried.
Tears streamed down his face silently. He stretched out his long arms, hugged Jiang Si's legs, and cried.
His face was streaked with tears, and his voice choked with grief: "Master, Xihe is dead, Xihe is dead..."
"Her blood stained my body. I am immortal, but she is only a thousand years old. I don't want her to die, but I have no choice."
“Every day I spend with her feels like it’s been stolen. I count every single day I’m with her. I want to be with her forever, for all eternity…”
"And I know clearly that there is no such thing as forever for two people, only for me, only for me, forever and ever..."
“Master, I wanted to keep her, but I couldn’t control her aging, I couldn’t control the passage of time. She died, Xihe died. I thought I was a sword, a sword that had lived for thousands of years, and that I would quickly forget her…”
“I can’t forget her. She’s dead. I can’t forget her. I start to remember, to remember everything about her. I walk the paths we walked together and go to the places we were together.”
"I was like a madman, a completely irrational madman. Those places no longer had her presence, no longer had her scent, but when I turned around I saw her, I went to hug her, but my arms went empty..."
Jiang Si didn't say anything, she just touched his head, gently touching his head, again and again, softly, softly and softly.
The willow branches drooped even lower, sprouting even more branches, like a huge, denser, greener, and golden canopy, firmly covering the ginger and the hunted animals beneath their branches.
The ginkgo trees shed their green leaves like rain, landing on the willows and on the ground. If someone were to look at it from afar, they would sigh, for the ginkgo trees, which reach into the clouds, seem to have fallen from the clouds to the mortal world as their leaves fall.
As time goes by, day after day, year after year, the zombies on Earth can reproduce, and the offspring are people who are slightly stronger than ordinary people. Their age of death is no longer four or five hundred years old, but one or two hundred years old.
The prosperous Earth is led by the children of the little patterned children. They are dragons, and also humans. Gradually, the people living on Earth, and all kinds of creatures, began to form factions and divisions.
As the human population grew, the number of other creatures capable of transforming into humans dwindled, and Earth became a paradise for humans. Other creatures, such as orcs, either died or returned to the Abel system.
The descendants of Xiaohuawen have always followed the promise left by their ancestors, to be the dragon of China, to protect the old city and palace of China, and to protect the ancestor under the towering ginkgo tree in the old palace.
The age of later generations, over 100 years old is considered old, normal age is seventy or eighty, eighty or ninety years old, and the descendants of Xiaohuawen are no longer the leaders of the earth.
The descendants of the small-patterned creatures are a secret family on Earth, closely connected to the deep-sea mermaids who re-cut off the Earth's landmass. They guard the old cities and palaces of China and have become the legendary dragons of China.
History has become a circle, a cycle; all history repeats itself, and all life goes on and on.
The Chinese people are descendants of the dragon. The Chinese people have seen the dragon before, and the Chinese people were once led by the dragon.
Over time, these things faded into legend. The descendants of those with the small patterns, and their descendants after that, erased all written and technologically advanced records about dragons.
Humans can only speculate about the Earth's past glory through whispered stories and fragments of historical records. It was a place where humans and dragons lived together, with creatures that had human heads and tiger tails, flying snakes, enormous werewolves, and all sorts of other species.
The ginkgo tree is still the same ginkgo tree, and the palace is still the same palace, only now it has been concealed by Jiang Si's illusion, becoming a legend among humans, a place that treasure hunters cannot find.
As time passed, the humans in the Abel system bombarded the space jump technology between the Abel system and the Milky Way, severing communication between the two systems.
Everything about the Abel Galaxy, under the long river of history, under the deliberate concealment and destruction by the people of the Abel Galaxy, became unattainable and turned into myth.
The legends surrounding the palace where Jiang Si resides are becoming increasingly fantastical. They say that there was once a piece of land in China that could connect to an outer galaxy, a galaxy with a highly advanced civilization that we do not have.
Don't be fooled by how advanced our civilization is here; the civilization in that connected galaxy is even more advanced, and the human race there lives for much longer, sometimes two or three hundred years, sometimes three or four hundred years, sometimes even a thousand years.
That highly advanced civilization had hundreds of billions of people and possessed immense wealth; gems and gold were readily available to them.
Once that connection point is found, we can find civilizations beyond Earth and reach galaxies beyond Earth.
The Earth's oceans and deep seas have become mysterious and unexplorable places. Legends say that there are mermaids and merfolk in the water, but these are just legends, and no one has ever seen them.
As time passed, the deep-sea mermaids returned to their former state, only traveling from the deep sea to the Abel Galaxy and interacting with the shallow-sea mermaids of the Abel Galaxy, as if the co-development of the deep sea and the land had never existed.
The Hunt returned to its original form: a sharp, ancient-looking knife with auspicious cloud patterns, black and translucent, gleaming with a cold light.
The willow branches entwined around him, becoming a scabbard that enveloped him, standing beside Jiang Si like a qualified guard, like a lifeless, soulless knife, like a knife that had lost all its sharpness and bloodshed, an ordinary knife that was about to rust.
Ginger slices, willow branches, a ginkgo tree, a knife—they stand here, lying across a recliner, undisturbed by the world, indifferent to its affairs, unmoving, confined to their own little world…
Countless years have passed, countless changes have occurred, the seas have dried up and the rocks have crumbled, but the willow branches have become the strongest fortress, covering the ginger shreds tightly and impenetrably.
The ginkgo tree next to her was so thick that more than a dozen people could not encircle it. The leaves of the ginkgo tree fell every day and every year, covering the willow tree with its leaves.
Like... the Hunting Tree protects the Ginger Silk, the Willow Tree shrouds the Hunting Tree, the Ginkgo Tree shrouds the Ginger Silk, the Hunting Tree and the Willow Tree protect them, becoming the tallest tree on Earth, the oldest tree.
The Earth has too many people and dwindling resources. Wars and plunder are constant. What was once high-tech weaponry and high standards have become self-destructive.
All civilizations and all buildings are nothing but dust in the eyes of politicians.
Politicians no longer respect nature, no longer consider others; they only see and think about their own interests.
The blue planet Earth is divided into many countries, with constant small and large wars. There is no safe haven anywhere in the world; it is all in chaos, with cries and shouts echoing endlessly through the mountains like a song.
Jiang Si awoke to the turmoil of the bombardment. Surrounded by darkness, she sat up and was about to call for Yan Liu to hunt her down when a crack appeared in the willow branch that was enveloping her.
Light pierced through the cracks, stinging her eyes. She raised her hand to shield them, momentarily blocking the light. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw the cracks in the willow branches growing wider and wider…
More and more light streamed in, and Jiang Si squinted as she saw Shu Xubai, dressed in a white robe, his face, which had been dead for who knows how many years, walking in with the light behind him.
When Jiang Si saw him, her mouth opened slightly. She hadn't spoken for so long that she was stammering and her speech was not fluent: "Old...Bai...the old, immortal vampire."
Shu Xubai walked up to her, his face as before, except that his eyes were slightly red, and there were a few red rose petals stuck to his white robe.
He stopped in front of Jiang Si, and the willow branches that had enveloped her vanished in an instant, leaving only bright, scorching sunlight that filtered through the ginkgo tree's branches and leaves in a dappled pattern.
When Jiang Si was exposed to the light, it took her eyes and her whole body a long time to adjust before she felt normal again.
A commotion, the sound of gunfire, and roars came from afar. Shu Xubai braced himself on the armrests of her rocking chair, bent down, leaned closer to her, looked at her, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Long time no see, you stinky zombie!"
The familiar address made Jiang Si smile slightly, and she asked, "What's going on outside?"
Shu Xubai looked at her with reddened eyes: "What's going on outside? The Earth you rebuilt, the civilization you rebuilt, has been engulfed in war for hundreds of years."
“Now, war rages all over the world, and no place is spared. Your place has become the last piece of pure land, the last place to be plundered.”
"They said that finding your location would activate the code to connect with extraterrestrial civilizations, and you would have highly civilized people to guide you to a more advanced civilization."
"Stinky zombie, isn't it laughable? This is the Earth you rebuilt, the civilization you rebuilt!"
"You travel from Earth to the Abel Galaxy and return from the Abel Galaxy, bringing with you the most advanced civilization and the most advanced technology. However, this technology has ceased to exist due to human greed."
Jiang Si looked into his eyes and met his gaze: "It's not laughable. I don't regret it. Humanity will pay the price for its greed. Civilization will be destroyed and restarted. History will repeat itself and life will continue to repeat itself."
"I only did what I thought was right. I did it, and I have no regrets. Whether it's destruction or restart, humans and other living beings are nothing in the face of time."
"On such a large planet, with so many parasites called humans, it's normal for them to take a break and reboot occasionally."
Shu Xubai chuckled, raising his right hand from beside the rocking chair to grasp Jiang Si's chin: "Do you know how many years you've slept? Do you know how many years I've slept?"
Jiang Si was taken aback, "I don't know..."
Shu Xubai's smile remained unchanged. He loosened his grip on her chin, grabbed her hand, and helped her up from the rocking chair: "Come on, I'll take you to see what kind of monstrosity your rebuilt Earth has become."
Jiang Si, dressed in a red dress with her long black hair cascading down to her ankles, moved her lips but didn't say anything before Shu Xubai pulled her along and they ran off.
Yan Liu transformed into a human, wearing a dark black dress and long, half-gold hair that reached her waist. She picked up the hunting rifle that stood next to the rocking chair and followed it.
The city that Jiang Si once built, through the years, went from prosperity to ruin, and then from ruin to prosperity again, and was rebuilt around that ginkgo tree from beginning to end.
The palace where she was located, because of the powerful spiritual energy she possessed, was like a non-existent space. Others could not see or find her; they could only see the ginkgo tree.
The high technology she brought from the Abel system, including warships and spacecraft, is long gone; only the most primitive missiles and artillery fire remain, bombarding the area haphazardly.
Shu Xubai led her to stand at the highest point of the palace. She removed the palace's shield, exposing the original palace architecture to the satellites of both armies and to the screens of their commanders.
The battlefield was engulfed in flames, filled with smoke and chaos, ruins and cries of anguish.
These sounds filled Jiang Si's ears, and she saw these things rushing towards the distance.
Shu Xubai was tall, handsome, and effeminate. He wore a white robe, had long hair, and skin as white as snow. His reddish eyes were neither sad nor happy, neither surprised nor deceitful, like an ancient god.
Jiang Si wore a flowing red dress, followed by a stunningly beautiful woman with an indescribable beauty wielding a knife. She was more like a god, a god who had awakened from an ancient slumber.
The smog before her blocked her view of the surrounding area. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, instantly silencing the continuous barrage of artillery fire that had been echoing across the sky.
The raging winds didn't stir up dust from the ground, but rather stirred up smoke and flames of war, leaving the sky a clear blue with white clouds.
The commanders of the two armies, the leaders of the two countries, saw their pictures, saw their images, and saw the place where they were located, and saw the continuous palaces around them suddenly appearing as if they were new.
They thought of legends existing on Earth, at 30 degrees north latitude, the ancient site of China, with palaces, gods, and entrances connecting to highly advanced civilizations.
"Zero Zone, Zero Zone, all our guns are silent, all the barrels are shattered, no casualties, no casualties."
"Minglang War Zone, Minglang War Zone, our artillery, our bullets, all misfired, all were blown away by the gale, no casualties."
"Command center, command center, what's the next step?"
"Command post, command post! No fire, no artillery, shall we withdraw?"
Faced with this event that could be described as supernatural and ghostly, the commanders of both armies were unable to make a decision and could only consult their superiors and truthfully report the scene before them.
They carefully chose their words, and as soon as the report was submitted, a bolt from the blue struck, thunder roared, and dark clouds appeared in the sky, followed by a torrential downpour.
The heavy rain washed away the smoke and the ruins, but it didn't fall on Jiang Sishu, Xu Baiyanliu, and the others. It was as if they were covered by a sliding cover, or a transparent umbrella. All the rainwater slid off and scattered above their heads.
The strong winds that had previously silenced the artillery fire, coupled with the current torrential rain, led the commanders of both armies, as well as the combatants, to regard this scene as a miracle and believe in the legend that at 30 degrees north latitude, in China, there exists an ancient palace guarded by a dragon family, inhabited by gods, and capable of connecting to advanced civilizations.
With the smoke of battle gone and a heavy rain falling, the people cheered. Their joy was palpable; the endless war had left them struggling to make ends meet and lacking clothing. Now that the fighting had ceased, they had a brief respite and a moment of happiness.
Shu Xubai reached out to catch the rain, and the rain fell on his hand, while raindrops splashed onto Jiang Si's face.
A sneer appeared on his lips: "You stinking zombie, humans are really disgusting. They are extremely greedy, wanting both!"
"They have superpowers and can live to be three to five hundred years old. They want to live to be 1,000 years old. They want to live to be 10,000 years old."
"When they don't live to be four or five hundred years old, they think that living to be two or three hundred years old is not bad either."
"When they don't live to be two or three hundred years old, they think living to be one or two hundred years old is not bad. When they don't live to be one or two hundred years old, they think living to be seventy or eighty years old is not bad."
"They were originally a highly advanced civilization, starting from a highly advanced civilization. With such a high level of civilization, they could pilot spaceships and warships, travel through the stars, and traverse the cosmos."
“They were originally one big family, people of the same country, all connected by one rope, but they didn’t know how to cherish it, and they never will.”
"They are never satisfied; they want more and want to control everything..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Si gently interrupted him: "Shu Xubai, I know you feel sorry for me. You think they don't deserve my efforts and my rebuilding."
"But sunrise and sunset, spring, summer, autumn and winter, the cycle of time, the recurrence of history, the cycle of life, this is inevitable. If you don't like it, that's fine, I can destroy it."
Shu Xubai's sarcastic smile faltered slightly. "Destroy it? You mean you want to destroy this world that has existed for thousands of years, constantly restarting itself..."
Jiang Si opened her mouth to correct Shu Xubai: "It's not that I want to destroy it, it's that I'm listening to you and wanting to destroy it. You... don't beat around the bush with me. Immortality is not what I want, nor is it what you want."
"In this world, all I have left are willows and hunting, and all I have left is you."
“You know, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. You don’t need to show me this ravaged earth, and you don’t need to tell me that people are inherently bad. The wickedness, the wickedness, the darkness of the human heart—we’ve already experienced that, haven’t we?”
Shu Xubai's pupils constricted, then he flung Yu Shui's hand away, stepped forward, grabbed the back of Jiang Si's head with his hand, lowered his head, and pressed his forehead against Jiang Si's.
Their intimacy wasn't romantic, but it surpassed love and even kinship. He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and full of apology: "I'm sorry, zombie, I slept for far too long. I didn't expect to sleep for so long, it felt like I was back before we fought that great battle and went to the Abel Galaxy."
Jiang Si touched his cold forehead with her own: "So... whatever you want to do, destroy Earth's civilization, detonate the Earth, I'll do it."
"Immortality is lonely, and the beauty of mountains and rivers is nothing more than this. We made a promise long ago that we would take each other's lives and give each other our lives. If you want to die, I can grant your wish."
"The hunters are skilled, and Yanliu is also very skilled..."
Shu Xubai's eyes turned bloodshot, his vertical pupils transforming into beastly eyes, flashing with madness, longing, and contradiction.
He looked into Jiang Si's eyes, seeing himself reflected in hers.
After a long, long time, he slowly opened his mouth and said, word by word, "Jiang Si, I thought that after I took a nap, I would forget Little Phoenix and everything that happened between him."
"Heh... I tried. I tried sleeping for thousands of years. When I woke up and saw the little phoenix's corpse in my arms, I was still overjoyed and my heart was racing."
"But as soon as I opened the coffin, he rapidly oxidized, turning into bones and then powder, disappearing into my arms. I was devastated. It was as if I were back in the instant he died, and my heart died again. I couldn't accept his death, I couldn't accept his death, so..."
Shu Xubai spoke slowly at the beginning, then quickly in the middle, and then slowed down again towards the end, pausing before opening his mouth extremely slowly: "So, Jiang Si, Hui Su, I want to ask you to use your time reversal ability to take me back, to take me back to the past."
"I want to reconnect with him, I want to get to know him again, I want to see him smile, I want to give him a happy ending, and I want to erase all the regrets in my heart!"
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