Chapter 121
When Yan Shuo opened the Mirror of Time to help Xie Xubai confirm the existence of Xie Yuchun, he discovered a force comparable to his own, trying to prevent him from examining the past.
So he handed over management to Lü Xiangcai, and under the guise of a business trip, he stepped into the time tunnel to find out for himself.
Two identical individuals cannot exist in the same spacetime, but God can obscure his own cause and effect, change the material composition of his body, and balance the chaos of time. Therefore, this conclusion is invalid for God.
Yan Shuo strolled through the time tunnel, and numerous historical traces rushed past his eyes like a torrent.
The more Yan Shuo read, the deeper his confusion became, rather than the resolution of his doubts.
It was because he discovered that the force that was stopping him was of the same origin as Him, and seemed to be... Himself?
It was at this moment that Yan Shuo suddenly felt an invisible yet powerful call. He abruptly stopped and looked back, the golden river of history splashing against his trouser legs, stirring up waves. Ling Ran's gaze leaped out like lightning, breaking through the barriers of time and space, and caught sight of a figure.
She was a woman, an ordinary-looking woman with a calm demeanor.
Yan Shuo recognized Xie Yuchun at a glance, the mother Xie Xubai had been searching for. After a brief moment of contemplation, he responded to the person's call, his figure disappearing from the river of time and appearing before Xie Yuchun.
As soon as he landed, Yan Shuo smelled the thick, sticky stench of blood.
This is a residential area, but calling it a residential area is not quite accurate, as it has been reduced to ruins in the fierce fighting.
The stench of blood that Yan Shuo smelled came from the woman's body, from the human corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, and even more so from the flesh and blood that had been smeared onto the ruins—those monsters were dead beyond any doubt, their bodies crushed by an unknown force, no longer recognizable as they were.
The woman was lying face down, her face deathly pale from exhaustion. She was panting heavily, blood mixed with sweat streaming down her face.
Her right hand gripped a jet-black longsword with thorns and spikes, the tip of which pierced the head of an S-class monster, its eyes wide with disbelief, and shattered into the ground like a spiderweb.
Her left hand was tightly wrapped around her chest, and a closer look would reveal the swaddling clothes she was desperately protecting in her arms.
Even after the monsters died, the chaos didn't end there; white mist filled the surroundings, as if drawing out their resentment and malice from their tragic deaths.
Numerous evil thoughts solidified, transforming into a thick, sticky black mist like asphalt, stirring restlessly around the woman. Her aura grew increasingly weak, and death was imminent.
When Yan Shuo appeared, they seemed to be afraid and retreated.
Yan Shuo immediately looked at the baby in the woman's arms, who was less than a year old. He was certain that the baby was Xie Xubai.
In his memory, Xie Xubai was an ordinary person from the beginning. However, he discovered an unusual power in this baby. Although it was very weak, it still startled him.
At the same time, a strong and dense aura of death permeated the baby's body. Yan Shuo looked under the skin and found that the baby's internal organs were being eroded by the black aura, and the meridians and blood vessels were blocked, as thin as hair. The baby's vital signs were rapidly declining.
If the woman hadn't used her spiritual power to maintain the baby's heartbeat, the baby would probably have died in the next second.
Yan Shuo finally understood at this moment why Xie Yuchun had the appearance of longevity, yet her brows were shrouded in an aura of death, and she was sickly and frail.
He followed the woman's gaze to Xie Xubai in the swaddling clothes, a subtle strangeness rising in his heart. Before he could ask anything, the woman suddenly coughed and choked on a mouthful of blood.
The blood was splattered on the ground, a reddish-black color, along with fragments of broken organs and blood clots.
Yan Shuo should have been unmoved by the life or death of a human, but Xie Xubai's face suddenly popped into his mind.
He still remembered the young man's trembling pupils, clear and pure, gazing at Xie Yuchun in the mirror of time, shimmering with a gentle light of longing and remembrance.
On a whim, he reached out and took the woman's arm.
The woman took a quick breath, then suddenly burst forth with great strength, grabbing Yan Shuo with her other hand and making him touch the baby in her arms.
“There’s no time left. This is the last chance, and the most hopeful one,” the woman pleaded, her tone unlike human speech, containing a kind of ancient and mysterious rhythm. “Please grant him your blessing.”
Yan Shuo's sense of unease deepened.
This is the first time that an evil god, who is in charge of bewitching, destruction, and calamity, has been asked for a blessing.
Even if Xie Xubai was the most unique human he had ever met, could the other party bear his power? Besides, this was an infant whose mind was not fully developed.
The woman did not speak again, gazing at him calmly with expectation and hope. Her breath grew weaker and weaker, but that did not mean she was gone.
Yan Shuo keenly noticed that the woman's heart had disappeared from her body, along with her internal organs, limbs, eyes, mouth, and many other organs. Her soul, along with the death of her body, broke free from cause and effect in a cruel and shocking way, forcibly transforming from a human into some kind of powerful nothingness.
What did this woman do? Did she sacrifice herself?
Yan Shuo felt a sense of astonishment at witnessing ants risking their lives to devour an elephant, and finally his breathing became unsteady.
The scene below was one of ruins, littered with mangled flesh and corpses. The dark aura, blocked by the woman's spiritual power, constantly released intense killing intent.
Just as the woman said, there was no time left. When the woman died, the baby would be dismembered and devoured. The situation was so tense that it could break out at any moment.
However, Yan Shuo still had a problem in his mind that he could not ignore. First of all, after he came here, he was inexplicably tainted by several karmas and was still connected with Xie Xubai, who was still an infant.
Secondly, the woman seemed to recognize him? He had no recollection of her, which meant his memory was impaired.
Why is this considered the last chance, and why is it said to be the most hopeful? Are they facing some kind of predicament together?
The fog was thick, and even Yan Shuo couldn't see through it directly, leaving him with no way to resolve his deep confusion. Yan Shuo particularly loathed this passive and bewildered state, which made him extremely irritable and fueled his destructive impulses.
But as if by some strange twist of fate, the moment he touched the baby's face, all the confusion and violence in Yan Shuo's heart vanished, leaving him with a sense of peace that surprised him.
The woman seemed to misunderstand Yan Shuo's focused gaze. After a moment of silence, her eyes flickered, and she calmly spoke, "I know you still resent his deception..."
Yan Shuo: "?"
Whose deception? Whom were they deceiving?
It was at this moment that the baby, as if sensing something, opened its eyes, struggled and wriggled, and used its small, soft hands to grab Yan Shuo's broad, calloused palm.
He was like a frail cat, his breathing so light it was almost nonexistent. Just opening his eyes and reaching out took all his strength; anyone could easily strangle him.
But when he opened his eyes, a blazing, bright light seemed to emanate from them, shining like the first rays of sunlight in the darkest night in this desolate wasteland devoid of life.
Yan Shuo froze on the spot as if he had been struck.
A complex and indescribable taste seemed to spread from the back of his tongue, turning into a torrent that surged through his chest and flowed through his limbs and bones.
At the same time, the already restless black energy suddenly became even more ferocious, as if it was extremely afraid of the baby's existence. It transformed into countless ferocious demonic claws, surging out from all directions, actually trying to bypass Yan Shuo and attack him recklessly!
Yan Shuo's eyes turned cold, and with a backhand swipe, an invisible wave of energy crashed down, tearing those demonic claws to shreds.
But breaking these things also made him feel a strong repulsive force.
—【Rules】The goal is to kill Xie Xubai.
—【Rules】No one is allowed to rescue Xie Xubai.
Sensing the two strong warnings coming from the void, Yan Shuo immediately sneered: "Are you ordering me around?"
The countless black demonic claws that hadn't yet rushed over suddenly paused, a sense of foreboding rising within them.
As it turned out, his premonition was correct. The next second, Yan Shuo's eyes revealed a blood-red color as hot and fierce as magma. He poured his power into the position where the baby's fingers were being grabbed.
— Xie Xubai's meridians were damaged, which was a sign of premature death, but He insisted that Xie Xubai live a long and healthy life like a normal person.
— Xie Xubai is not tolerated by the [rules] and is constantly being hunted down. He deliberately obscures Xie Xubai's existence, allowing Xie Xubai to appear openly anywhere in the world, frolicking freely under the nose of the [rules].
Blessings are not bestowed by evil gods.
But tyranny and perverse actions are His specialty.
In that instant, the power of God and the power of the Rules collided violently, and the intense shockwave, like the tolling of a great bell, surged in all directions, shaking the entire world. It also transcended the barriers of time and space, crashing down like a towering mountain from the sky, pressing down on every moment of history.
Rules changed, fate reversed!
The woman on the other side seemed to see the changes in Xie Xubai, and finally revealed a relieved smile, solemnly murmuring as if announcing a prophecy: "From now on, cause and effect are complete."
A dense, cold white mist rushed down. Pei Yuheng saw the woman being engulfed by the mist, his heart skipped a beat, and he rushed over to save her while shouting.
An invisible force erupted from the center of the white mist, and the mist, unable to withstand the force, splashed out.
The woman wielded a thorny longsword, deftly twirling it in a flourish, her ponytail billowing and dancing in the swirling air. Her back was straight, her bearing heroic and spirited; a glance to the side was like a hundred flowers blooming under a bright spring sun, radiant and captivating.
As she gazed at Pei Yuheng across the white mist, she hesitated, wanting to say countless things, but ultimately swallowed them all, revealing only a gentle smile: "Pei Yuheng, take care of our hope, take care of yourself."
The woman in Xie Xubai's spiritual world was also bidding a reluctant farewell to the child in her arms: "My dear child, it's time for Mommy to go."
Xiao Xubai's breath hitched for a moment, and he instinctively gripped the woman's clothes tightly: "...Do we really have to leave?"
The woman was overjoyed and rubbed her child's face vigorously: "Oh, my lovely baby, are you reluctant to leave Mommy?"
Xie Xubai had a premonition that this separation would likely mean he would never see the woman again, and of course he was reluctant to part with her.
But his usual rationality told him that the woman must have a reason to leave, and he couldn't expect her to stay. He tried his best to hold back, large tears welling up in his eyes, biting his lower lip tightly, afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would burst into tears.
"Bai Bai, my sweet Bai Bai." The woman took a deep breath to suppress her strong reluctance. She hugged little Xie Xubai. "You say you have to leave, but how can Mommy bear to part with you? Actually, Mommy has always been here. She is like a star in the sky. As long as Bai Bai looks up, she can see Mommy's figure."
"Although I can't be there in person, I've always been watching you, watching you get along well with your classmates, watching you go to junior high, high school and university, watching you grow up smoothly and have more and more friends around you."
As the woman uttered those words, Xie Xubai's vision suddenly flashed, as if he had traversed decades of time and seen silhouettes of the past.
He suddenly remembered.
In the orphanage, the director, Auntie, would quietly come to his bedside every night, rain or shine, to carefully tuck him in. In the elementary school cafeteria, the cafeteria lady would greet him with a kind smile and pile up almost a small mountain of food for him. In the school clinic, the female school doctor would gently coax him in a soothing tone, as if speaking to a child, whenever she was about to give him an IV or injection.
...Behind his solitary figure, in a place he never noticed, there was always a delicate figure standing there, gently and quietly watching him walk forward.
"Bai Bai, don't be afraid." The woman rubbed his head, her eyes crinkling with joy. "No matter when or where, Mom will always be watching over you from heaven."
...
The timeline shifts to twenty years later, to the Shengtian Group.
Around 2 a.m., a sudden, violent tremor erupted from the CEO's office, shaking the entire building and triggering alarms that blared incessantly. The motion-activated lights along the thirty-plus floors of the corridor switched on simultaneously, illuminating the dark downtown business district like a dazzling beacon.
Lu Xiangcai was sleeping soundly when the bed shook, and he almost rolled over and fell to the ground. He got up in a daze and became alert. He realized faster than others that the noise came from above. Without bothering to change his clothes, he rushed out of the room, kicking aside the monstrous executives blocking his way, and rushed into the president's office.
"President Yan? President Yan! You're back from your business trip? What happened... Ouch!"
Seeing the office desks and chairs reduced to rubble by the massive impact, Lü Xiangcai gasped in shock. His first thought was: My God, who dared to lay a hand on this evil star?
Yan Shuo sat cross-legged amidst the mess, seemingly attacked, but his body was unharmed, and apart from his feet, his clothes were spotless.
Hearing Lü Xiangcai's shouting, Yan Shuo, who was rubbing his fingers, stopped what he was doing, stood up and said, "It's nothing."
Seeing Yan Shuo's calm demeanor, Lü Xiangcai's heart, which had been pounding in his chest, gradually calmed down, and his lips twitched slightly.
He had to admit that a man's temperament and appearance were indeed a powerful weapon. Despite his disheveled appearance, Yan Shuo managed to sit with an air of supreme authority.
Yan Shuo rubbed his fingers together a couple more times, his eyes deep and thoughtful, as if he were pondering something or savoring something. Suddenly, he asked, "Where is Xie Xubai?"
Lu Xiangcai still felt that being favored by Yan Shuo was not a good thing. His heart tightened, and he mumbled, "He is still on field duty."
Both internally and externally, Xie Xubai always used fieldwork as an excuse to take on part-time jobs outside the company and rarely appeared at the office. Lu Xiangcai thought that Yan Shuo was completely unaware of this, after all, no boss would tolerate an employee holding multiple positions. Little did he know that the man not only knew but also turned a blind eye and sometimes even acted as Xie Xubai's assistant.
Yan Shuo glanced at Lü Xiangcai but didn't expose him. He then directly sensed Xie Xubai's location.
But they were disappointed; the young man was nowhere to be found in the entire city.
Yan Shuo frowned, changed his target, and activated his senses again. After a few seconds, he finally found traces of the small tentacles and gold-rimmed glasses on the timeline from more than twenty years ago.
Without a second thought, he raised his right hand, and a salty, fishy mist spread out. Several thick, long, slippery, black tentacles emerged from the shadows, their tips converging together. In mid-air, they once again ruthlessly tore open a spacetime tunnel!
However, this time tunnel was very unstable, constantly flashing with snowflakes and crackling with lightning.
As the tentacles forcefully pulled it apart, the snowflakes flashed faster and faster, their edges cracking open.
Finally, lightning struck out with a deafening roar, smashing the last remaining floor tile to pieces!
Lu Xiangcai was standing right next to the door on that floor tile. He quickly jumped back, looking at the charred lightning strike marks on the ground with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty: "Don't be impulsive! It might not be able to withstand your force. Continuing will only backfire!"
That's right.
Several bolts of lightning shot out simultaneously, sparking wildly. It was as if Yan Shuo dared to continue using force, and this time tunnel would collapse in an instant.
Yan Shuo frowned and withdrew his hand.
He also knew the reason for this situation. It was simply that the collision with the [rules] was too intense, and the various timelines that were caught in the crossfire were beaten up for no reason, almost exploding into a string of firecrackers. As a protection mechanism, He was not allowed to enter for a short period of time.
Lu Xiangcai didn't know why Yan Shuo would mention Xie Xubai's name. From the other's expression, he suddenly realized that Xie Xubai might be in big trouble, and he instantly felt extremely uneasy.
Yan Shuo noticed his absent-mindedness and simply sent him away. All the tentacles retracted, the time tunnel disappeared, and the damaged tables and chairs were instantly restored to their original state.
He sat at his desk, leaning back, pondering the various doubts that had arisen during this trip.
As she thought about it, Xie Xubai's face filled her mind, and her fingers unconsciously began to caress the places the baby had touched.
—Did Xie Xubai deceive him? Was there some kind of karmic connection between them? Who was the other person to him?
Suddenly, Yan Shuo's expression changed, and he thought of projecting his consciousness onto the gold-rimmed glasses.
He released the document a few months after Xie Yuchun left.
With everything settled, Xie Xubai adjusted his mindset and assisted Pei Yuheng in vaccine development. Under the leniency of the Fu Group's rules, vaccine research made breakthroughs and proceeded in an orderly manner. The First Hospital underwent significant construction, gradually gaining public attention and becoming a renowned and authoritative medical institution.
The little black octopus, who had disappeared for a long time, suddenly appeared at Xie Xubai's door that day without warning, and asked him in a serious tone: "Why did you kiss me that day?"
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