Yun Che slowly opened his eyes.
An endless expanse of golden light stretched in every direction.
There was no ground.
No sky.
Only countless streams of luminous particles drifting through an infinite realm that existed somewhere beyond reality.
He immediately recognized it.
"...The Nexus."
It looked almost identical to the place Huan Xuyi had once brought him and Jasmine. The same timeless space where memories became tangible and the past could be experienced as though one were truly present.
"So..." Yun Che muttered to himself. "He really brought me here."
"What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?"
A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.
A tiny figure appeared upon his shoulder, crossing her arms with an expression that mixed annoyance and curiosity.
Jasmine.
Even in her doll-sized soul form, she radiated the same regal presence as always.
Yun Che chuckled weakly.
"Believe it or not..."
He pointed toward the endless golden horizon.
"Another Piece of Eden."
Jasmine raised an eyebrow.
"Another?"
"Yeah."
He nodded.
"An Apple of Eden."
He held his hands apart to indicate its size.
"Much smaller than the one Huan Xuyi carried. About the size of a golf ball."
Jasmine looked at him blankly.
"I don't even know what golf is."
Yun Che laughed.
"Fair enough."
He rubbed the back of his head.
"The point is... touching it brought me here."
He slowly looked around the familiar golden realm.
"Back to the Nexus."
"Nexus?"
Jasmine tilted her head.
Yun Che paused for a moment.
"...I suppose I never properly explained it."
His gaze wandered across the sea of light surrounding them.
"When Huan Xuyi showed us her memories..."
"...this was where she brought us."
Jasmine quietly listened.
"The Nexus isn't a physical location."
"It's... difficult to explain."
He searched for the right words.
"It's more like a space that exists outside normal time."
"A place where memories, possibilities, and information can be projected directly into another person's consciousness."
He smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry."
"I should've told you about it earlier."
Jasmine shook her head.
"You've had more urgent things to worry about."
Yun Che nodded gratefully before continuing.
"In the civilization that created the Pieces of Eden..."
"...the Nexus was used to calculate countless possible futures."
He slowly looked upward.
"They could observe probabilities."
"Predict outcomes."
"And even communicate across different points in time."
Jasmine's expression gradually became serious.
"So..."
"Xuyi used this place..."
"...to show us her past."
"Exactly."
Yun Che nodded.
"She wasn't simply telling us her story."
"She projected her memories directly into the Nexus so we could experience everything ourselves."
He looked around once more.
"Now..."
"...someone else has done the same."
Jasmine immediately understood.
"Mu Che."
"Yeah."
Yun Che folded his arms.
"But here's the strange part."
He looked down thoughtfully.
"The Apple I found..."
"...isn't one of the nine Pieces of Eden that fell during Huan Xuyi's era."
"I asked the System."
"It confirmed that."
Jasmine frowned.
"Then where did it come from?"
Yun Che slowly exhaled.
"I have a theory."
His expression became increasingly thoughtful.
"I think..."
"...Mu Che brought it with him."
Jasmine blinked.
"...From another world?"
"From Earth."
Yun Che nodded.
"The System couldn't classify it."
"It called it an unknown Piece of Eden."
"There was no Isu consciousness inside."
"No stored personality."
"No guardian."
"Just the artifact itself."
He paused.
"If Mu Che truly came from Earth..."
"...then perhaps he discovered it there."
"Whether it was in the twenty-first century..."
"...or sometime even later..."
"I don't know."
"But if that's true..."
He looked around the golden Nexus once more.
"...then he crossed worlds carrying it."
Silence settled between them.
Jasmine slowly crossed her arms again.
"...Every answer you uncover only creates three more questions."
Yun Che couldn't help smiling.
"Pretty much."
She let out a long sigh.
"This situation just became much more complicated."
"Yeah."
He nodded.
"It really did."
Before either of them could speak again...
The golden particles surrounding them began to converge.
Countless streams of light flowed toward a single point somewhere in the distance.
The Nexus was responding.
Whatever message Mu Che had left behind...
It was finally about to begin.
The converging streams of golden light gradually took shape.
First came a silhouette.
Then clothing.
A long dark coat from a modern era unfamiliar to the Profound Sky Continent.
Long black hair flowed down to the figure's waist, swaying gently despite the absence of any wind.
Finally...
The face became clear.
Yun Che's eyes widened.
"...What?"
Standing before him was a man who looked almost identical to himself.
The same facial features.
The same height.
Even their expressions bore an uncanny resemblance.
Only the hairstyle and clothing differed.
The man smiled warmly.
"Ah..."
He spoke fluent English.
"We finally meet, Yuuki."
Yun Che instinctively replied in the same language.
"...You know who I am?"
"I do."
The man nodded.
"My System predicted that one day you would arrive."
His smile broadened slightly.
"The only person capable of safely activating this Apple of Eden."
Yun Che immediately caught one particular word.
"...System?"
The man chuckled.
"Looks like I don't need to explain everything from the beginning."
He casually placed both hands inside his coat pockets.
"Yes."
"I possess a System as well."
He shrugged.
"Although..."
"It isn't nearly as capable as yours."
Yun Che couldn't help letting out a relieved laugh.
"So I don't have to keep it a secret."
"No."
The man smiled knowingly.
"Between fellow System users..."
"...there's little point in pretending."
He extended a hand.
"My name is Mu Che."
He paused before adding with an amused grin,
"Funny, isn't it?"
"We even look alike."
"Our names are almost identical."
"Mu Che."
"And Yun Che."
Yun Che shook the offered hand.
"Actually..."
"My real name isn't Yun Che."
The man blinked.
"Oh?"
"Yuuki."
He smiled.
"Yukihira Yuuki."
"My Japanese name."
Mu Che raised an eyebrow before laughing.
"Well..."
"I suppose it's only fair that I'm honest as well."
His expression softened.
"My real name..."
"...is Li Xiaolang."
Yun Che froze.
"...Li Xiaolang?"
"Hong Kong."
Mu Che scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well..."
"It's a little complicated."
"I was ethnically Japanese."
"Born in mainland China."
Eventually my family settled in Hong Kong."
"So that's the place I always considered home."
For a brief moment...
Neither of them spoke.
Then Yun Che suddenly laughed.
"No way..."
"A fellow Earthling?"
Mu Che grinned.
"So..."
"We really came from the same world?"
Yun Che nodded.
"When you mentioned Hong Kong..."
"I immediately had a suspicion."
Mu Che tilted his head.
"...How?"
Yun Che folded his arms.
"I came from the twenty-second century."
There was a brief silence.
"About a hundred years after your time."
Mu Che's smile slowly disappeared.
"...Seriously?"
"Hong Kong..."
Yun Che's voice became quieter.
"...doesn't really exist anymore."
"It was devastated during the wars."
"Most of it became abandoned."
"So..."
"When you spoke about it as though it were still full of life..."
"I realized you couldn't have come from my era."
Mu Che stared blankly for several seconds.
Then he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"You figured me out that quickly."
He shook his head with genuine admiration.
"You're right."
"I came from the twenty-first century."
"So we're separated by roughly a century."
"Yet somehow..."
"...we both ended up here."
The absurdity of it made both of them smile.
Mu Che's attention then shifted toward Yun Che's shoulder.
"...By the way."
"Who's the little lady?"
He pointed curiously.
"The one sitting on your shoulder."
Yun Che blinked.
"...Wait."
"You can see her?"
"Of course."
Mu Che answered as though it were obvious.
"Clear as day."
Jasmine crossed her arms. She wasn't surprised at all since Xuyi can see her back then.
"...At least someone notices me."
Yun Che carefully lifted her from his shoulder.
"This is Jasmine."
He smiled faintly.
"My master."
Mu Che studied the tiny soul for a moment.
"A cultivator from this world?"
"I assume so."
He tilted his head.
"But..."
"Can she understand English?"
Yun Che shook his head.
"No."
"Modern English is completely foreign to this world."
"So far..."
"I'm one of the few who can speak it fluently."
"My other fiancée has also learned it."
"The rest are still studying."
He smiled.
"So at the moment..."
"It's only you..."
"...and me."
Mu Che let out a nostalgic sigh.
"...After all these years..."
"It feels good to speak my own language again."
For the first time since arriving in the Profound Sky Continent...
Neither of them was Yun Che.
Neither of them was Mu Che.
For just a brief moment...
They were simply two men from Earth, speaking the language of home in a world where no one else could understand them.
Mu Che folded his arms with an amused smile.
"You have fiancées, huh?"
Yun Che laughed.
"Yeah."
"Retsu..."
"Nemu..."
He scratched his cheek.
"And just like you..."
"I also ended up with a wife in this world."
"Well..."
"More accurately..."
"I was forced into marriage the moment I arrived."
Mu Che nodded knowingly.
"Sounds about right for cultivation worlds."
Then his smile suddenly froze.
"...Wait."
His eyes slowly widened.
"...Retsu?"
He stared at Yun Che in disbelief.
"Unohana Retsu?"
"The Unohana Retsu from Bleach?!"
Yun Che grinned.
"Yep."
Mu Che pointed at him.
"No way."
"No freaking way."
"The System summoned her?"
"Hmm."
Yun Che nodded.
"According to her, she died and ended up in Hell. That's true, I read the manga."
"Then..."
"God gave her another chance."
"So she was summoned here."
Mu Che blinked several times.
"...Seriously?"
"And she came after I did."
Yun Che nodded again.
"Then her sister."
"...Kon."
Mu Che's face became completely blank.
"...Her sister?"
He burst out laughing.
"Hold on."
"Unohana Retsu doesn't have a sister."
Yun Che couldn't help smiling.
"Not originally."
"But here..."
"It's Nemu."
"..."
"..."
"Kurotsuchi Nemu?"
"Yep."
"Born as a completely as a new ascended shinigami."
"Eventually she became Retsu's younger sister."
Mu Che slowly covered his face.
"...Dude."
"...I'm jealous."
Yun Che laughed.
"Retsu refuses to let Nemu out of her sight."
"When Kon was summoned..."
"The System rewarded me as part of my achievement."
"Nemu arrived shortly afterwards."
"Originally she was still a Modified Soul."
"But after awakening as a full-fledged Shinigami..."
"...she became easy to level up and Retsu training her quite well."
Mu Che lowered his hands.
"...That actually sounds wholesome."
"It is."
Yun Che nodded.
"She still has Mayuri's intellect."
"She's terrifyingly smart."
"But she's much kinder and calmer, even if she still keeps that stoic expression most of the time."
Mu Che sighed dramatically.
"...I'm really jealous."
He pointed accusingly.
"Don't tell me your wife is another gorgeous woman from Bleach."
Yun Che laughed.
"No."
"Xia Qingyue."
Mu Che frowned.
"...That name..."
He looked upward in thought.
"I've heard it somewhere."
Yun Che smiled knowingly.
"ATG."
Mu Che stared.
"...Wait."
"What?"
Yun Che folded his arms.
"This world."
"The Profound Sky Continent."
"Ring any bells?"
For several seconds...
Mu Che simply stared.
Then both hands grabbed his own head.
"...No way."
"I KNOW THIS!"
His eyes grew wider and wider.
"Against the Gods?!"
Yun Che nodded.
"Bingo."
Mu Che suddenly pointed at him.
"That's why your name sounded familiar!"
"You literally became Yun Che!"
"Pretty much."
Yun Che shrugged.
"More like..."
"I got shoved into his life."
"So I just rolled with it."
"But..."
A smile crossed his face.
"I changed the story."
"A lot."
Mu Che folded his arms with interest.
"Oh?"
"Qingyue isn't cold anymore."
"We're still husband and wife."
He chuckled.
"Though..."
"Her jealousy is on another level."
Mu Che laughed loudly.
"I bet."
Yun Che continued counting on his fingers.
"I also met Little Fairy and Chu Yueli."
"Cang Yue."
"Some characters I never read or seen before. Like..."
"Xue Ling."
"Xue Yin."
"Lin Yueru."
"And..."
He smiled.
"A spider girl named Mio."
Mu Che blinked.
"...Spider girl?"
"I based her on Misumi Mio."
"The one from Tsukimichi."
Mu Che slapped his forehead.
"...Man!"
"You really threw every universe together!"
Yun Che laughed.
"I know."
"And somehow..."
"It's working."
Mu Che shook his head while laughing.
"...You've completely rewritten Against the Gods."
"The original story was depressing enough."
"You turned it into an entirely different timeline."
"I figured..."
Yun Che shrugged.
"If I already knew the future..."
"I might as well make everyone's lives better."
Mu Che looked at him for a long moment.
Then smiled.
"...Good."
"I'm glad someone did."
Behind them, Jasmine floated in the air with an increasingly suspicious expression.
She looked at one.
Then the other.
Neither of them had stopped talking for several minutes.
Both were smiling like old friends despite having only just met.
She folded her arms.
"...What exactly are you two talking about?"
Neither answered.
Jasmine pouted.
"I really wish I understood this English language right now."
She glanced between them again.
"You two seem awfully happy."
Yun Che looked towards her and smiled innocently.
"...Just guy talk."
Jasmine narrowed her eyes.
"...I don't believe that for a second."
Mu Che couldn't hold back any longer.
He burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
Yun Che joined him.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Li Xiaolang wasn't speaking as Mu Che, the lonely genius who had carried the weight of another world by himself.
And Yukihira Yuuki wasn't speaking as Yun Che, the man burdened by fate and destiny.
For a few precious moments inside the timeless Nexus...
They were simply two Earthlings enthusiastically discussing anime, novels, and the impossible twists that had brought them both into a cultivation world.
The laughter gradually subsided.
Mu Che folded his arms and smiled.
"...Still."
"Enough about me."
Yun Che looked at him curiously.
"How did you even end up here?"
Mu Che's smile became nostalgic.
"...Believe it or not..."
"I was a doctor."
"A medical researcher working for Abstergo Industries."
Yun Che blinked.
"...Abstergo?"
"In the year 2024."
Mu Che nodded.
"I spent my days saving lives."
"At least..."
"That's what I believed."
Yun Che narrowed his eyes.
"I've heard of them."
"They're secretly run by the Templars."
Mu Che stopped.
He slowly looked at Yun Che.
"...Wait."
His eyes widened.
"You're an Assassin?"
Yun Che shrugged.
"Part of it."
"Well..."
"In my future."
Mu Che's eyes immediately lit up.
"That's awesome!"
He laughed before his expression gradually became more serious.
"The longer I worked inside Abstergo..."
"...the more classified projects I gained access to."
"They trusted me."
"I was a doctor."
"No one suspected someone like me."
"So I kept digging."
"Research files."
"Recovered Isu artifacts."
"Project reports."
His smile disappeared.
"The deeper I went..."
"...the more disturbing everything became."
Silence lingered between them.
"So..."
"I secretly began feeding information to the Assassins."
Yun Che slowly nodded.
"You became a mole."
"Exactly."
Mu Che chuckled bitterly.
"Unfortunately..."
"They eventually discovered me."
"My access logs."
"My communications."
"They knew."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"I ran."
"But before escaping..."
"I stole something."
Yun Che already knew the answer.
"...The Apple."
Mu Che nodded.
"I grabbed the Apple of Eden. The one you found."
"And another artifact."
"I barely made it out of the facility."
His voice became quieter.
"They cornered me."
"Guns."
"Dozens of them."
"I was shot..."
"...again and again."
He looked down at his own hands.
"I knew I wasn't surviving."
"So..."
"I activated the Apple."
"The next thing I knew..."
"I woke up as Mu Che."
Silence.
Then Yun Che frowned.
"...Wait."
"You said another artifact."
Mu Che nodded.
"I actually brought three."
Yun Che stared.
"...Three?"
"Yeah."
"The small Apple wasn't meant to be used alone."
"It attached directly to a Sword of Eden."
Yun Che's expression froze.
"...A Sword of Eden?"
"I used it to defend myself."
"I actually managed to fight back for a short while."
Mu Che laughed awkwardly.
"Not that it mattered."
"I'd already been shot too many times."
"Before I disappeared..."
"I grabbed one more artifact."
Yun Che almost didn't want to ask.
"...Which one?"
Mu Che answered casually.
"The Papal Staff of Eden."
"..."
"..."
"...You WHAT?!"
Yun Che couldn't stop himself.
"You stole the Papal Staff too?!"
Mu Che scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"I sort of..."
"...yanked it."
Yun Che covered his face.
"You absolute madman."
"I wasn't exactly thinking clearly."
"I was dying."
"So..."
"I grabbed whatever I could reach."
Yun Che laughed despite himself.
"I can't believe it."
Mu Che shrugged.
"Neither can I."
Yun Che thought for a moment.
"Back here..."
"We've only ever found an Apple."
He folded his arms.
"About three thousand years ago..."
"The Isu sent nine Pieces of Eden into this world."
"My System detected seven after we recovered the first."
"But two remain missing."
"I originally thought the Apple in your laboratory belonged to those missing pieces."
"But the System rejected that theory."
Mu Che nodded.
"That makes sense."
"My artifacts never originated from this world."
"They came with me."
"So..."
"The count would never change."
Yun Che slowly exhaled.
"...That explains everything."
"But..."
He looked back at Mu Che.
"What happened to the Sword?"
"And the Staff?"
Mu Che pointed somewhere behind Yun Che.
"I separated the Apple from the Sword shortly after arriving."
"It consumed far too much energy."
"So I hid them."
"The Staff too."
"They're still inside my room."
"I concealed them where no one from this world would ever think to search."
Yun Che looked surprised.
"They never found them?"
Mu Che laughed.
"They're hidden."
"Very well hidden."
"Honestly..."
"Without my memories..."
"Even I doubt anyone could."
He looked around the Nexus.
"I mostly relied on the Apple."
"It helped me understand engineering."
"Calculate designs."
"Plan this laboratory."
"But..."
His smile gradually faded.
"The Mu Che body I inherited..."
"...was far too weak."
He slowly clenched his fist.
"Every time I activated one of those artifacts..."
"...it nearly killed me."
"The energy consumption was simply too great."
"I couldn't maintain synchronization for long."
"So I only used them in short bursts."
Yun Che nodded thoughtfully.
"So..."
"I'll have to be careful."
"A little at a time."
"Exactly."
Mu Che smiled.
"This entire underground complex..."
He looked into the distance, as though seeing the laboratory once more.
"...wasn't built overnight."
"It took five years."
"Five years of pretending to be weak."
"Five years of acting like nothing more than a harmless inventor."
"Five years of quietly moving money, gathering materials, hiring workers who never saw the complete picture..."
"And every night..."
"I came here alone."
He smiled with quiet satisfaction.
"Brick by brick."
"Until the laboratory finally became real."
Yun Che looked at him silently.
For the first time, he truly understood the scale of Mu Che's perseverance.
No cheats.
No omnipotent System.
Only a weaker System, an exhausted body, a handful of impossible artifacts, and five years of relentless determination to build a fortress of science beneath the feet of a cultivation world that never even realized it was there.
Yun Che remained silent for a moment before another thought crossed his mind.
"So..."
He looked at Mu Che.
"Your System..."
"Did it come from the Apple?"
Mu Che nodded.
"Yeah."
"It wasn't something I was born with."
"The Apple awakened it."
"It wasn't nearly as versatile as yours..."
"But it was enough."
"It analyzed technology."
"Stored information."
"Helped me optimize designs."
He smiled.
"Everything you saw in that laboratory..."
"My System helped me develop it."
"Even the gauntlet I built for Mulan... I didn't have enough power to fully complete it back then."
Mu Che exhaled slowly, a hint of regret in his voice.
Yun Che tilted his head slightly.
"...But I finished it."
He smiled faintly.
"With Nemu's help."
Mu Che's eyes widened a little.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Yun Che nodded.
"Though..."
He scratched his cheek.
"Mulan ended up destroying the first one."
"It got stolen by the Zhu Family Patriarch during the chaos."
Mu Che let out a low whistle.
"...That sounds like a mess."
"It was."
Yun Che sighed, then continued.
"But I didn't leave it at that."
"I rebuilt it."
"From scratch."
A faint pride entered his tone.
"And this time..."
"I made it better."
Mu Che raised a brow.
"Better how?"
Yun Che smiled.
"Nemu refined the entire structure. Made it working."
"She improved the energy circulation channels, reinforced the spirit conduits, and optimized the activation timing."
"Eventually, it made Mulan transformed into Fire Booster Moonglare Mulan."
He shrugged lightly.
"Honestly, she did most of the real engineering work."
Mu Che stared at him for a moment... then slowly smiled.
"...Wow."
He leaned back slightly.
"Nemu really is an incredible addition to your side."
Yun Che nodded without hesitation.
"Yeah."
"She is."
Yun Che nodded thoughtfully.
"So that's how you managed to recreate twentieth-century engineering with almost no industrial base."
"Exactly."
Mu Che laughed.
"I still had to build everything myself."
"The System only pointed me in the right direction."
Yun Che suddenly remembered something.
"...When you first woke up..."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Don't tell me..."
"...you were married to Xu Qian."
Mu Che's face immediately darkened.
"...Unfortunately."
"I was."
He shrugged with a bitter smile.
"Didn't last very long."
"She divorced me."
"Threw me out onto the streets."
Yun Che blinked.
"...Just like that?"
"Pretty much."
Mu Che sighed.
"She already had Zhang Jin."
"Cheated on you?"
"The marriage with Mu Che had only ever been political."
"Once she found someone she considered more useful..."
"...I became disposable."
Yun Che folded his arms.
"...The artifacts?"
"My System stored them."
Mu Che tapped his temple.
"They stayed hidden the entire time."
"No one ever knew I possessed them."
He chuckled.
"So while everyone thought I'd lost everything..."
"I was secretly carrying three Pieces of Eden."
Yun Che couldn't help smiling.
"That's one hell of a hidden card."
Mu Che laughed.
"It kept me alive."
He leaned casually against nothing, as though recalling an old memory.
"The original Mu Che's family had been buried under enormous debts."
"Tian Heng kept demanding repayment."
"So..."
"I convinced him to give me a little more time."
Yun Che smiled knowingly.
"You tricked him."
"I negotiated."
Mu Che corrected with a grin.
"...Using carefully selected truths."
Both of them laughed.
"After buying myself time..."
"I used the Apple."
"It helped me search through countless dye formulas."
"I experimented."
"Improved them."
"Eventually..."
"I created a beautiful and unique dye."
Yun Che nodded.
"I heard."
"Xu Qian tried stealing the formula. Claim it as a family secret. Since Mu Che was basically a homeless beggar. She tried squeezing it out of you."
Mu Che couldn't hide his smug smile.
"And failed."
"I fed her exactly what I wanted her to steal."
"So even when she thought she'd won..."
"...she was dancing in the palm of my hand."
Yun Che gave an approving whistle.
"...Cunning."
"I had to be."
Mu Che shrugged.
"But even after paying my debts..."
"Tian Heng wasn't planning to leave me alone."
"He wanted everything."
"The dye."
"My life."
"So..."
"I came up with another plan."
He smiled.
"I married into the Jin Family."
Yun Che nodded.
"Mulan told me."
"You married her."
Then he suddenly pointed at Mu Che.
"...Dude."
Mu Che blinked.
"What?"
"She mistook me for you."
There was a brief silence.
Then Mu Che burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Sorry!"
He pointed between the two of them.
"I mean..."
"We do have almost the same face."
"What was I supposed to do?"
Yun Che rubbed his forehead.
"It was awkward."
"I can imagine."
Mu Che tried to suppress another laugh but failed.
"Hahaha..."
"Poor Mulan."
Yun Che's smile gradually faded.
"...Soon..."
"...she's going to find your skeleton."
Mu Che's laughter slowly disappeared.
His expression became quiet.
"...She won't know it's me."
Silence settled over the Nexus.
Yun Che looked directly into his eyes.
"Maybe not."
"But..."
He took a slow breath.
"She deserves closure."
Mu Che remained silent.
"I'm not going to let her spend the rest of her life searching for someone who's already gone."
Yun Che's voice softened.
"And I'm definitely not letting her mistake me for you forever."
For the first time since they met...
The smile vanished completely from Mu Che's face.
His eyes drifted somewhere into the distance.
"...I know."
He whispered quietly.
"I owe her that much."
Yun Che studied Mu Che for a long moment.
Then he asked quietly,
"...You never trusted her with any of this?"
He gestured toward the endless golden Nexus surrounding them.
"The laboratory."
"The artifacts."
"Your real identity."
"Any of it?"
Mu Che slowly shook his head.
"I couldn't."
"It wasn't that I didn't trust Mulan."
He let out a slow breath.
"Our marriage..."
"...was never built on love."
Yun Che remained silent.
"I married her to escape Tian Heng."
"And she married me..."
"...to escape Zhu Lin."
He smiled bitterly.
"It was a marriage of convenience."
"A mutually beneficial arrangement."
"But..."
He quickly added,
"I never treated her like a pawn."
His voice carried conviction.
"I genuinely wanted her family to prosper."
"I helped the Jin Family rise."
"My mother-in-law practically adopted me."
A nostalgic smile appeared on his face.
"And my brother-in-law..."
"I helped him write his... rather smut novels."
Yun Che couldn't help laughing.
"Oh..."
"That's about to change."
Mu Che blinked.
"...What?"
"He's getting married."
Mu Che nodded.
"That's good."
"To Princess Aluna."
There was a brief pause.
"...Aluna?"
"The Princess of Qiang?"
Yun Che grinned.
"Yep."
Mu Che stared at him.
"...Seriously?"
Yun Che nodded.
"And she's going to straighten him out."
Mu Che suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"That walking mountain of muscles?"
He wiped a tear from his eye.
"I remember helping the Qiang State."
"Alongside Princess Aluna."
"And King Alugang."
"What happened to him?"
Yun Che folded his arms.
"Dead."
Mu Che's laughter stopped.
"...Dead?"
"Buried beneath an entire mountain basin. He tried to invade the Jin Province but met with resistance. Eventually, he was buried when someone blew up the mountainside, triggering avalanches that buried his forces."
Yun Che answered matter-of-factly.
"The Wu Clan later assassinated his son and used it as an excuse to attack the Jin Province."
"So..."
"Aluna inherited the throne."
Mu Che slowly blinked.
"...That's..."
"...unexpected."
Then Yun Che smiled mischievously.
"Oh."
"And one more thing."
Mu Che looked at him curiously.
"She's gorgeous now."
Mu Che frowned.
"...Wait."
"What?"
"You remember her enormous physique?"
"I do."
"Not anymore."
Yun Che chuckled.
"Her body slimmed down."
"She's genuinely beautiful now."
Mu Che looked utterly stunned.
"...No way."
"Oh yes."
Yun Che nodded proudly.
"Xue Yin trained her."
"Helped her rebuild herself."
"Inside and out."
Mu Che smiled warmly.
"...Xue Yin."
He quietly repeated the name.
"...It's been a long time."
Yun Che nodded.
"She's healed."
"Completely."
Mu Che closed his eyes.
A quiet smile appeared.
"...Thank you."
He whispered.
"I'm glad."
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Then Mu Che looked around the golden Nexus again.
"You know..."
"Through Mulan..."
"I finally had room to breathe."
"I turned the Jin Family from an ordinary noble house..."
"...into the strongest family in the entire province."
He laughed quietly.
"This region used to be called Zhang Province."
"By the time I was finished..."
"...people called it Jin Province."
Yun Che nodded.
"I know."
"I've seen it."
Mu Che grinned proudly.
"I conned."
"I negotiated."
"I manipulated."
"I outsmarted."
"I even tricked Tian Heng more than once."
"And every coin I squeezed from those arrogant noble families..."
"...went straight into strengthening the Jin Family."
Yun Che looked at him thoughtfully.
"...Do you really not love Mulan?"
The question hung quietly between them.
Mu Che didn't answer immediately.
Instead...
He smiled.
A small, gentle smile filled with regret.
"...I do."
His answer was barely above a whisper.
"I just never said it."
Yun Che remained silent.
"At first..."
"She was simply my way out."
"But..."
"The longer we lived together..."
"The more I appreciated her."
"We became friends."
"Real friends."
"She protected me on the battlefield."
"I protected her family with my mind."
"I fought wars with strategies."
"Negotiations."
"Business."
"Politics."
"I outsmarted noble houses."
"Tricked Tian Heng."
"Built industries."
"And watched the Jin Family slowly become powerful enough that no one dared threaten them anymore."
He laughed softly.
"I suppose..."
"That was my way of loving her."
Yun Che smiled.
"Jin Yuelian told me the same thing."
"She believes I was the one who accomplished all of that."
Mu Che chuckled.
"Well..."
"Her real name is Shu Pei Pei, after all."
Yun Che nodded.
"I know."
"She's Cang Yue's aunt."
"And Shu Ying's younger sister."
"They escaped the fall of the Shu State together."
He looked at Mu Che.
"Now..."
"Shu Pei Pei is Cang Yue's only surviving blood relative after her mother."
"And Mulan..."
"...is Cang Yue's cousin."
Mu Che smiled quietly.
"So..."
"The family stayed together."
Yun Che nodded.
"They did."
"And because of everything you left behind..."
"They're no longer merely surviving."
"They're finally living."
Yun Che looked at Mu Che with a puzzled expression.
"...So."
"You had three Pieces of Eden."
"An Apple."
"A Sword."
"And the Papal Staff."
He frowned.
"How did you die?"
"Someone carrying artifacts like those shouldn't have gone down so easily."
Mu Che became quiet.
His eyes slowly drifted across the endless golden Nexus.
"...The Wu Clan."
Yun Che's expression hardened.
"They found me."
"They approached me before the invasion."
"They wanted to recruit me."
Mu Che let out a cold laugh.
"They promised wealth."
"Power."
"A noble title."
"They said all I had to do..."
"...was help them destroy the Jin Family from within."
Yun Che already knew the answer.
"You refused."
"I refused."
Mu Che answered without hesitation.
"I wasn't going to betray Mulan."
He smiled faintly.
"Or my new family."
Silence followed.
"My intelligence network..."
"...had already uncovered their plans."
"The Wu Clan wasn't simply planning a border conflict."
"They intended a full-scale invasion of Jin Province."
He drew an invisible map in the air.
"Their landing point..."
"...was the eastern coastline."
"The beaches."
Yun Che nodded.
"Exactly where your laboratory is."
"Exactly."
Mu Che continued.
"So I prepared."
"I fortified Wangya Island."
"Then Lishan Island."
"They weren't merely islands."
"They were the gateway into the province."
"As long as we held them..."
"...the Wu Clan couldn't establish a beachhead."
"They tested our defences first."
"Sending pirates."
"Mercenaries."
"Small raiding parties."
"I drove every one of them back using the Jin Family's forces."
His smile gradually disappeared.
"But..."
"It didn't take them long to reach a conclusion."
Yun Che quietly finished the sentence.
"...As long as you lived..."
"...they could never take those islands."
Mu Che nodded.
"And as long as the Jin Family remained strong..."
"...they couldn't destabilize the province."
"The invasion would never succeed."
Silence settled between them.
Then Yun Che spoke quietly.
"I've seen what happened after you died."
Mu Che slowly turned toward him.
"The entire region collapsed."
"The Jin Family lost its influence."
"Wangya Island fell."
"Lishan Island fell shortly afterwards."
"The Wu Clan installed the Cang Outer Family to control the region."
"They severed every reliable route to the Imperial City."
"Trade stopped."
"Support disappeared."
"The province slowly bled."
He clenched his fist.
"The Jin Family..."
"...went from the strongest noble family..."
"...to the weakest."
Mu Che lowered his head.
"So..."
"They succeeded."
"They did."
Yun Che nodded solemnly.
"But not completely."
Mu Che looked back up.
"Mulan survived."
His eyes widened slightly.
"...She did?"
"She escaped."
"Against all odds."
"She reached the Imperial City."
"She sought out Cang Yue."
Yun Che smiled faintly.
"She asked for help."
"And we answered."
He looked directly into Mu Che's eyes.
"That's why we're here."
"That's why we discovered your laboratory."
"That's why we found your skeleton."
For a long while...
Mu Che said nothing.
His shoulders trembled ever so slightly.
"...Mulan..."
He whispered her name almost inaudibly.
There was no pride left.
No strategist.
No genius.
Only a man learning that, even after his death, the woman he had quietly come to love had never stopped fighting.
She had carried the burden he left behind alone.
And even then...
She hadn't given up.
Mu Che slowly closed his eyes.
A bittersweet smile appeared on his face.
"...That's exactly like her."
A thought suddenly crossed Yun Che's mind.
"...So that's why."
Mu Che looked up.
"Why what?"
"The Domain Expansion manual."
Yun Che folded his arms.
"You left it with Mulan."
"You wanted her to guard it."
Mu Che smiled knowingly.
"So you found it."
"I did."
Yun Che nodded.
"It was written entirely in English."
"I wondered why."
Mu Che chuckled.
"I've visited the Nexus more than once."
"You can do that?"
"The Apple occasionally allowed it."
He looked into the golden distance.
"Not often."
"But enough."
"I saw fragments."
"Possible futures."
"Possible timelines."
"And eventually..."
"...I saw you."
Yun Che blinked.
"...Me?"
"You."
"The man who would eventually find my laboratory."
"The one carrying a stronger System."
"The one capable of succeeding where I couldn't."
He smiled.
"So I prepared something."
"The Domain Expansion manual."
Yun Che slowly nodded.
"So it really was meant for me."
"Exactly. For you, Mulan and your followers."
Mu Che spread his hands.
Domain Expansion is far too dangerous—a technique of this world, mastered by only one percent of monarch cultivators.
"If someone from this world obtained it without understanding what it truly was..."
"...it would become a catastrophe."
"So I translated everything into modern English."
He grinned.
"Even if someone stole it..."
"They'd only see meaningless symbols."
"They wouldn't be able to understand a single sentence."
He looked directly at Yun Che.
"Except you."
Yun Che smiled.
"So..."
"If I found it..."
"That means Mulan protected it until the very end."
Mu Che's expression softened.
"I knew she would."
"She never broke a promise."
Yun Che remembered the countless years Mulan had spent safeguarding the hidden manual.
He couldn't help smiling.
"...She really did."
After a brief silence, Yun Che asked,
"But..."
"Why Domain Expansion?"
"That's supposed to be an extinct technique of this continent."
Mu Che laughed quietly.
"It is."
"But having an Apple of Eden..."
"And the Staff of Eden..."
He shrugged.
"Reverse-engineering ancient concepts wasn't nearly as impossible as people would think."
"The Apple analysed countless possibilities."
"The Staff amplified my perception."
"I simply connected the dots."
Yun Che looked at him with a mixture of admiration and disbelief.
"...Bastard."
"You actually mastered using the artifacts."
Mu Che laughed.
"I had years."
"What else was I supposed to do?"
His smile gradually faded.
"The only problem..."
"...was this body."
He looked down at his own hands.
"The Mu Che I inherited was weak."
"Painfully weak."
"Every time I activated the apple, sword or stave..."
"...it pushed my body to its limit."
He clenched his fist.
"My meridians would rupture."
"My profound veins would overload."
"I'd be bedridden afterwards."
He chuckled bitterly.
"Using it once..."
"Usually meant waiting weeks before I could safely use it again."
Yun Che nodded slowly.
"So it wasn't your understanding that held you back."
"It was your body."
"Exactly."
Mu Che looked at Yun Che.
"But you..."
He smiled.
"You don't have that problem."
"You possess a body that can continue evolving."
"A stronger System."
"Companions far more capable than I ever had."
He folded his arms.
"Which means..."
"If anyone can perfect Domain Expansion..."
"It's probably you."
Yun Che rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.
"...No pressure, huh?"
Mu Che grinned.
"I've already spent one lifetime proving it's possible."
"You just have to take it the rest of the way."
Yun Che suddenly frowned.
"...Hold on."
Mu Che tilted his head.
"What?"
"You still haven't told me."
"...How did you actually die?"
The smile on Mu Che's face slowly disappeared.
He was silent for several moments before speaking.
"...Tian Heng."
"And the Wu Clan."
"They cornered me."
His voice became calm, almost detached.
"My intelligence network delayed them as long as it could."
"My men..."
He closed his eyes.
"...were slaughtered buying me time."
"I watched them die."
Yun Che's expression darkened.
"I was eventually surrounded."
"There was nowhere left to run."
Mu Che looked down at his chest.
"I was stabbed."
"A fatal wound."
"I knew immediately."
"...That was the end."
Yun Che quietly listened.
"I used the Apple one last time."
"If I am going to die... might as well go to the very end."
Mu Che's voice was calm, almost detached, as he activated the Apple of Eden for the final time.
A pulse of invisible authority rippled outward.
In an instant, the battlefield twisted.
To Tian Heng's men and the Wu Clan warriors, the world darkened unnaturally—shadows stretching, air thickening, reality itself bending at the edges of perception.
Then they saw it.
Bats.
Thousands upon thousands of them.
They poured in from every direction—above, below, from the broken walls and shattered rooftops—swarming the sky in a suffocating tide of black wings and screeching chaos.
Panic erupted instantly.
Blades were drawn.
Spiritual energy flared.
Men shouted, striking wildly at the air, cutting through nothing but illusion.
Because there were no bats.
None of them were real.
It was a perfect hallucination—an Isu-crafted cognitive override projected directly into their perception, turning fear into reality inside their minds while the physical world remained untouched.
The battlefield collapsed into disorder.
All coordination broke.
All formation dissolved.
And in that chaos—Mu Che moved.
His body, already failing, dragged itself until he reached his hidden facility. Each step was heavier than the last, blood loss and exhaustion pulling him toward collapse.
But he did not stop.
Not yet.
Not until he reached the place he had built for this exact moment.
His sanctuary.
His final refuge.
"…To the laboratory."
He smiled bitterly.
"But by then..."
"...it didn't matter anymore."
Yun Che frowned.
"The wound?"
Mu Che slowly shook his head.
"Partly."
"But the real reason..."
He looked at his trembling hands.
"...was the Pieces of Eden."
"I'd used them for years."
"The Apple."
"The Sword."
"The Staff."
"They weren't powered by profound energy."
"They consumed my own life."
"My vitality."
"My lifespan."
He let out a slow breath.
"Even if Tian Heng hadn't wounded me..."
"...I probably only had weeks left."
"Maybe days."
He laughed quietly.
"Without radiant energy to replenish them..."
"I was already running on fumes."
Silence filled the Nexus.
"...I didn't even get the chance..."
"...to say goodbye to Mulan."
Yun Che lowered his eyes.
"...She blamed herself."
Mu Che looked up.
"Retsu blamed her too."
Yun Che nodded.
"She told Mulan she possessed the strength to protect you..."
"...but never got the opportunity."
"Or perhaps..."
"...never realised how much danger you were truly in."
Mu Che closed his eyes.
"That wasn't her fault."
"I left without telling anyone."
"I couldn't."
He smiled sadly.
"If I'd stayed..."
"The Wu Clan would've followed."
"They would've destroyed the Jin Family simply to get to me."
"So..."
"I disappeared that very night."
"As long as I lived..."
"...they would never stop hunting."
Yun Che understood.
"So you sacrificed yourself..."
"...to draw them away."
Mu Che simply nodded.
Then he laughed softly.
"...Shame, though."
Yun Che looked at him.
"What?"
"I never got to use my missiles."
He rubbed the back of his head.
"They were still incomplete."
He looked directly at Yun Che.
"You finished my gauntlet."
"I heard that."
"So..."
A hopeful smile appeared.
"...Would you finish my missiles too?"
Yun Che smiled.
"We were already planning to."
Relief washed across Mu Che's face.
"...Thank you."
Then his expression became serious.
"Oh."
"One more thing."
He raised his hand.
Golden light gathered between his fingers.
Rows of glowing numbers appeared in the air.
Latitude.
Longitude.
Grid references.
Several sets of coordinates floated before Yun Che.
Yun Che memorized them immediately.
"...These are?"
"My final project."
Mu Che answered quietly.
"The strongest missile I ever designed."
"It carries considerably more punch than the V-2s."
Yun Che immediately raised both hands.
"...Please tell me it isn't a nuclear weapon."
Mu Che looked horrified.
"What?!"
"No!"
He laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.
"You think I could build a nuke in that body?"
"I would've died long before finishing the calculations!"
Yun Che couldn't help laughing as well.
"Fair point."
Mu Che pointed toward the floating coordinates.
"It's conventional."
"But far more advanced."
"I hid every component separately."
"No one would ever connect them."
"Recover them."
"Finish what I couldn't."
Yun Che nodded solemnly.
"I will."
Mu Che looked into the endless golden horizon.
"The night I escaped..."
"...I sealed the laboratory."
"I locked every entrance."
"I sealed my own room from the inside."
He slowly lowered his head.
"I was bleeding."
"Every breath hurt."
"I still carried the Apple."
"The Sword."
"And the Staff."
Yun Che quietly asked,
"You could've healed yourself."
"I could."
Mu Che smiled faintly.
"The Apple still had enough power."
"But activating it one more time..."
"...would've killed me anyway."
"So I had a choice."
"Die somewhere outside..."
"...and let someone discover the artifacts."
"Or..."
"...crawl back into my laboratory."
He looked at Yun Che.
"I chose the second."
"I stored the Sword."
"The Staff."
"And finally..."
"The Apple."
"I made sure every Piece of Eden was hidden in my room."
"So even if my body was found someday..."
"...those artifacts would remain beyond the reach of anyone unworthy."
He let out one final breath.
"After that..."
"There wasn't anything left."
"I sat down at my desk."
"Closed the door."
"And waited."
No fear.
No panic.
Just quiet acceptance.
"I simply..."
"...succumbed to my wounds."
Silence returned to the Nexus.
For a long while, neither of them spoke.
Yun Che finally looked at the man before him—not as the legendary Mu Che, nor as the mysterious genius who had reshaped an entire province, but as Li Xiaolang.
A doctor.
An Earthling.
Someone who had carried an impossible burden alone until the very end.
"...You did well."
Yun Che said quietly.
"I'll take it from here."
Mu Che looked at Yun Che quietly.
Then, with a gentle smile, he asked,
"...Hey."
"You wouldn't mind..."
"...taking care of Mulan for me?"
Yun Che stared at him.
Then immediately pointed a finger.
"...Dude."
"You're seriously trying to hand your wife over to me?"
Mu Che blinked.
"What?"
"We already have the same face."
Yun Che sighed.
"Don't push her onto me."
Mu Che couldn't help laughing.
"Hahaha..."
"I suppose that does sound awful."
The laughter gradually faded.
Then his expression became peaceful.
"...I'm dead, Yuuki."
The words were simple.
Without regret.
Without fear.
"I'm not really Mu Che anymore."
Yun Che frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Mu Che looked down at his own hands.
"They're not real."
"This body."
"This consciousness."
"This conversation."
He slowly closed his fingers.
"...I'm a construct."
"A copy."
"My System recorded my memories..."
"My thoughts..."
"My personality..."
"...and my final will."
"It stored everything inside the Apple of Eden before I died."
He smiled faintly.
"What you're speaking to now..."
"...is only that recording."
Silence.
"The real Li Xiaolang..."
"...is gone."
"The real Mu Che..."
"...is gone too."
"Their souls have already passed on."
"They've gone wherever souls are meant to go."
"You're a shinigami. You understand that, right?"
He looked back at Yun Che.
"I'm simply their final message."
Yun Che lowered his head.
"...Xiaolang..."
Mu Che chuckled.
"Funny, isn't it?"
"I spent years pretending to be Mu Che."
"And now..."
"I'm not even Li Xiaolang anymore."
"Just..."
"...their lingering thoughts."
Golden particles slowly drifted from his sleeves.
His body was beginning to lose its form.
"My time is almost over."
"When this projection ends..."
"My System will transfer itself to yours."
"It will become one with your System."
"The Apple..."
"The Sword..."
"And the Papal Staff..."
"...will all recognize you as their rightful owner."
Yun Che looked at him silently.
"So..."
"The burden becomes yours."
"...Again."
Mu Che smiled.
"But before I disappear..."
"I have one selfish request."
He looked directly into Yun Che's eyes.
"Please."
"Take care of Mulan."
Yun Che remained quiet.
"And the Jin Family."
"Jin Yuelian."
"Mu Cong."
"Jin Zhuo."
His voice trembled ever so slightly.
"...Are they..."
"...still alive?"
Yun Che smiled.
"They are."
"They're all alive."
"And stronger than ever."
Mu Che slowly closed his eyes.
"...Really?"
"You restored everything."
Yun Che nodded.
"The Jin Family has reclaimed its former strength."
"The province respects them again."
A tear slowly rolled down Mu Che's cheek.
"...You actually did it."
"You restored..."
"...everything I spent my life trying to build."
Yun Che shook his head.
"No."
"You built it."
"I just inherited it."
Mu Che laughed softly.
"...You're too humble."
Yun Che folded his arms.
"And it doesn't stop there."
"Soon..."
"The Jin Province."
"The Qiang State."
"And what's left of the Shu State..."
"...will all stand together."
Mu Che looked surprised.
"...Together?"
Yun Che nodded.
"Cang Yue intends to bring them under the Blue Wind Empire."
He smiled.
"With Mulan as her cousin."
"And Shu Pei Pei as her aunt..."
"...there's already a bond between them."
"The alliance is natural."
"The foundation is solid."
Mu Che looked into the endless golden sky.
A quiet sense of relief spread across his face.
"So..."
"It really happened."
"The future I wanted..."
"...finally arrived."
His body continued dissolving into countless golden motes.
The light around him grew increasingly transparent.
Yun Che stepped forward.
"...Xiaolang."
Mu Che smiled one last time.
"No."
He gently shook his head.
"...Just call me friend."
Another wave of golden particles scattered into the Nexus.
"I carried this world..."
"...for as long as I could."
He looked at Yun Che with complete trust.
"Now..."
"...it's your turn."
"...I've done my part..."
Mu Che's fading voice echoed gently through the endless golden Nexus.
"Please..."
"...don't let Mulan find out that I..."
His sentence never finished.
A ripple spread across the golden expanse.
Yun Che's eyes widened.
"...What?"
The sealed space trembled.
The golden door that should have remained closed slowly dissolved into countless particles.
Footsteps.
Someone was running.
Yun Che immediately remembered.
The password...
He had closed the hidden room before entering the Nexus.
"...She figured it out?"
Jasmine instantly darted behind Yun Che's head.
Unlike before, her tiny soul could be seen clearly within the Nexus.
She peeked cautiously from behind his hair.
"...Another person entered?"
A familiar voice echoed through the endless light.
"Che'er..."
Both Yun Che and Mu Che froze.
"...Mulan."
They spoke her name at the same time.
Mulan stood several metres away, breathing heavily.
Her eyes were already overflowing with tears.
She looked around in confusion.
At the endless golden world.
At Yun Che.
Then...
Her trembling gaze stopped on Mu Che.
"...Che'er..."
Her voice broke.
"...Is it really you?"
For a heartbeat...
Neither of them moved.
Then—
"Che'er!!"
She ran.
Without hesitation.
Without caring where she was.
She threw herself into Mu Che's arms.
Her body shook violently as she clung to him.
"You're here..."
She buried her face against his chest.
"Why are you here?"
"What is this place?"
"Why didn't you come home?"
Her voice cracked again.
"Don't you love me anymore?"
"How did you end up here?"
She looked up through tear-filled eyes.
"Why is Yun Che here?"
Question after question poured from her heart.
Years of grief.
Years of regret.
Years of waiting.
All erupted at once.
Mu Che slowly wrapped his fading arms around her.
"...Mulan."
His voice was gentle.
"...That's enough."
She shook her head desperately.
"No..."
"No..."
"You..."
Her fingers tightened around his clothes.
"...You're right here."
"You can't be dead."
"This place..."
"I don't care what this place is."
"If you're here..."
"...then let me stay."
"I'll stay here forever."
"I won't leave you again."
Mu Che closed his eyes.
"...Mulan."
"I'm already dead."
He slowly lifted one hand and gently stroked her hair.
"What you're holding..."
"...isn't really me."
She immediately shook her head.
"No!"
"It is!"
"You've been talking to me!"
"You're warm!"
"I can feel you!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"You are my Che'er!"
Mu Che smiled sadly.
"...I'm only a construct."
"My memories."
"My thoughts."
"My final will."
"They were preserved inside this place."
"The real Mu Che..."
"...died years ago."
Mulan stared blankly.
"...Dead..."
She whispered the word as if she couldn't understand it.
"No..."
"No..."
"You're right here..."
She clung to him even tighter.
"...Please."
"Don't disappear."
"I'll stay here with you."
"We'll never leave."
Mu Che slowly shook his head.
"...When my message ends..."
"...I'll disappear."
"...Forever."
"...Che'er!!"
Her cry echoed throughout the Nexus.
Yun Che lowered his head.
Even Jasmine silently looked away.
Mu Che gently wiped away Mulan's tears.
"Listen to me."
"Please."
"For once..."
"...don't interrupt."
Mulan bit her lip.
She nodded weakly.
"...The five years he spent with you..."
"...were the happiest years of Mu Che's life."
"I wasn't born into this world."
"I lost everything."
"My family."
"My home."
"My future."
"But..."
"I found another."
"I found you."
"I found the Jin Family."
"I found a place where I belonged."
His smile became warm.
"I wasn't a perfect husband."
"We didn't marry because of love."
"But..."
"I came to see you as my wife."
"And..."
"...I was happy."
Mulan completely broke down.
"...I'm sorry..."
She sobbed uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry..."
"If this is Heaven punishing me..."
Mu Che gently shook his head.
"No."
"There is no punishment."
"I forgave you..."
"...a long time ago."
He slowly lifted her chin.
"So don't keep punishing yourself."
He looked at Yun Che.
"...Now that you're here..."
"I have one last request."
Mulan followed his gaze.
Her tear-filled eyes met Yun Che's.
Mu Che spoke softly.
"...Bury him."
Mulan blinked.
"...What?"
"My body."
"My remains."
"They've suffered long enough."
"They've waited years without a proper burial."
He smiled sadly.
"Please..."
"Clean my bones."
"Bathe them."
"Wrap them in white."
"And bury me."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"Don't scatter my ashes."
"Don't burn me."
"...Don't make him suffer anymore."
Mulan covered her mouth.
Her entire body trembled.
"...Why..."
"Why can't you stay?"
She clung desperately to him.
"I..."
"I finally wanted to become your wife again..."
"I wanted to make everything right..."
Mu Che gently placed a finger against her forehead.
"...Mulan."
"...Accept that he's dead."
The words hurt more than any blade.
"Accept it."
"It wasn't your fault."
"He gave his life..."
"...so you could live."
"So your family could live."
"So this province could survive."
"Don't waste what he sacrificed."
Mulan silently cried against his chest.
Mu Che continued.
"I know what you're thinking."
"You want to remain unmarried forever."
"You want to spend the rest of your life repaying a debt."
He smiled gently.
"...Don't."
"He didn't save you..."
"...so you could stop living."
"He didn't protect your future..."
"...for you to throw it away."
"If you truly wish to honour him..."
"...live."
"Smile."
"Have children."
"Grow old."
"Be happy."
"That..."
"...is the atonement he wanted."
Mulan cried harder than ever before.
Then Mu Che looked toward Yun Che.
"And once I'm gone..."
"...Yun Che will inherit everything."
"My memories."
"My knowledge."
"My unfinished inventions."
"My dreams."
Yun Che immediately sighed.
"...Bastard."
"You're dumping everything on me."
Mu Che laughed softly.
"You're the perfect successor."
He looked back at Mulan.
"So..."
"Take good care of Yun Che."
"He now carries Mu Che's will."
"Protect what he left behind."
"Stand beside him."
"Then..."
"...He can finally leave without regrets."
Mulan slowly nodded through her tears.
"...I promise."
Mu Che smiled one final time.
Then he turned toward Yun Che.
"We came from different centuries."
"Different lives."
"Different worlds."
"And yet..."
"...we still met."
He looked around the endless sea of golden light.
"...Here."
"In the Nexus."
"I suppose..."
"...that alone makes us brothers."
He slowly extended his fading hand toward Yun Che.
"From one Earthling..."
"...to another."
"...The future is yours now."
Mu Che looked at Yun Che and smiled.
"...I'm jealous."
Yun Che raised an eyebrow.
"Jealous?"
"You were blessed."
Mu Che laughed softly.
"You were given companions."
"A family."
"A powerful body."
"A System greater than mine."
"You were chosen to change this world's future."
He shook his head.
"But..."
"I'm also grateful."
His smile became sincere.
"Grateful that I got to meet you."
"Grateful that I wasn't the last Earthling."
"Grateful that I could pass everything on."
"My will."
"My treasures."
"My research."
"The Pieces of Eden."
He looked directly into Yun Che's eyes.
"Use them."
"Stand atop this world."
"Finish what I couldn't."
Yun Che nodded silently.
Mu Che continued.
"You..."
"...have your fate carved out by God."
"You were meant to live here."
"You were meant to change history."
"As for me..."
He glanced around the golden Nexus.
"I was only allowed to borrow this world."
"For a little while."
"Long enough..."
"...to fulfil Mu Che's life."
"To protect the Jin Family."
"To build a future."
"To meet you one last time."
"To pass on the Pieces of Eden."
"My family..."
"My province..."
"My dreams..."
"And finally..."
He smiled warmly.
"...my will."
His gaze slowly shifted toward Mulan.
"And now..."
"...I'll entrust Mulan to you."
Yun Che immediately pinched the bridge of his nose.
"...Oi."
Mu Che blinked.
"What?"
"Try asking for consent."
He pointed at Mulan.
"From her."
Then pointed at himself.
"And from me."
"I already have a wife."
"And several fiancées."
Mu Che laughed.
"I know."
"Knowing you..."
He looked between them.
"...you'll protect her."
"Not because she's mine."
"But because that's the kind of person you are."
He smiled knowingly.
"Whatever future awaits..."
"...I'm certain Mulan will find her own place in it."
Yun Che sighed.
"...That sounds a lot better."
Mu Che nodded once.
Then he turned completely toward Mulan.
His expression softened more than it ever had.
"...Mulan."
She looked up through tear-filled eyes.
"...Che'er..."
"...Thank you."
"For marrying me."
She immediately shook her head.
"No..."
"I should be thanking you."
Mu Che gently smiled.
"...Don't cry."
He brushed away another tear.
"If you're going to miss me..."
"...keep me here."
He gently tapped over her heart.
"That's enough."
He looked into her eyes.
"Live your life."
"When the time comes..."
"...find love again."
She bit her lip until it trembled.
"No..."
"I can't..."
"You can."
He answered softly.
"And when you do..."
"...cherish it."
"Don't make the same mistakes again."
"Don't spend your life chained to the dead."
"I never wanted that."
Mulan buried her face against him once more.
"...Che'er..."
Mu Che slowly looked toward Yun Che.
"The message..."
"...has now been delivered."
"My purpose..."
"...is fulfilled."
He smiled peacefully.
"He..."
"...is already gone from this world."
"The rest..."
"...belongs to the living."
His body began dissolving much faster now.
Golden particles drifted upward like countless fireflies.
"The rest..."
"...is up to you."
He looked at Yun Che one last time.
"...Yuuki."
Yun Che smiled.
"...Yeah?"
"Take care."
"Back then, the Assassins fought for a greater cause. I sacrificed my life so that their will could carry on. Now, I hope the Assassins of this world will carry a similar cause."
His final smile carried no sadness.
Only relief.
Then...
His body completely scattered into golden light.
The Nexus fell silent.
"...Wait..."
Mulan reached out desperately.
"No..."
"Please..."
"Don't leave me!"
Her fingers grasped only drifting motes of light.
"...Che'er!!"
The last golden particles slipped through her hands and vanished into the endless sky.
There was nothing left.
Only silence.
Mulan fell to her knees.
Tears streamed endlessly down her face.
"...Who..."
She looked toward Yun Che with trembling eyes.
"...Who is Yuuki?"
Her voice broke.
"I still have..."
"So many questions..."
But no one answered.
The only response was the quiet glow of the Nexus, gently carrying away the last traces of Li Xiaolang's farewell, as though the world itself had accepted that his journey had finally reached its end.
Mulan remained on her knees.
Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
The tears she had held back for years finally poured out without restraint.
"...Che'er..."
She whispered his name over and over again, as if saying it enough times would bring him back.
Yun Che said nothing.
There were no words that could lessen this kind of grief.
He simply walked over and rested a hand gently upon her shoulder.
"...He's at peace now."
His voice was quiet.
"He left behind everything that burdened him."
"He fulfilled the promise he made to himself."
"He protected the Jin Family."
"He protected the province."
"And in the end..."
"...he found someone worthy to entrust it all to."
Mulan lowered her head even further.
"...I know..."
"But..."
Her voice broke again.
"...it still hurts."
Yun Che nodded.
"I know."
"There isn't a shortcut."
"There isn't a medicine that can heal this."
"It'll take time."
As he turned to leave, Mulan suddenly reached out.
Her fingers clutched the back of his robes.
"...Don't..."
Yun Che stopped.
"Don't leave me..."
For just this moment...
"...please."
Without another word, she buried her face against him.
Her hands clung tightly to his clothes as though she were afraid that if she let go again, someone else would disappear.
Yun Che silently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
He gently patted her back.
Neither of them spoke.
He simply allowed her to cry.
Cry for the husband she never truly got to say goodbye to.
Cry for the years she had spent waiting.
Cry for the future that would never come.
After a long while, Yun Che quietly spoke.
"...Live."
Mulan didn't answer.
"He gave everything..."
"...so you could."
"Don't let his sacrifice become meaningless."
"...His last request..."
"...was for you to live."
Mulan slowly closed her eyes.
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"...I will..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"It..."
"...may take me some time..."
"...to heal."
Yun Che gently nodded.
"I know."
"I'll wait."
At that exact moment—
The golden world suddenly trembled.
Countless streams of radiant light gathered before Yun Che.
The familiar blue interface appeared once more.
═══════════════════════════════
[Quest Complete]
Investigate the mysterious signal.
Rewards Obtained
Experience: 500,000 XP
System Points: 100,000 SP
Artifacts Acquired:
Apple of Eden
Sword of Eden
Staff of Eden
Ownership Transfer Complete
All registered ownership has been successfully transferred.
The Pieces of Eden now recognise Host: Yun Che (Yukihira Yuuki) as their sole master.
Additional Function Unlocked
Using the Apple of Eden, the Host may now safely review Mu Che's preserved memories, including his life with Mulan.
System Upgrade Initiated
System Version 1.5
New Feature unlocked:
Pseudo Piece of Eden Creation
By analysing existing Isu technology, the System can now manufacture simplified replicas with limited functions.
New Compendium Unlocked
═══════════════════════════════
Golden streams of data flowed into Yun Che's consciousness.
Entire lifetimes of knowledge.
Simple memories.
Mulan laughing while burning breakfast.
Mulan falling asleep against his shoulder after working through the night.
Their awkward wedding.
Their quiet walks through the Jin Estate.
Arguments.
Smiles.
Ordinary moments that no invention or treasure could ever replace.
Yun Che instinctively closed the memory stream.
"...Not yet."
Those memories weren't his to intrude upon while Mulan was still grieving.
The System quietly complied.
The golden Nexus began collapsing.
The endless sky dissolved into countless fragments of light.
The floor beneath them slowly disappeared.
Yun Che tightened his embrace slightly as Mulan continued crying against his chest.
"I'm here."
He said softly.
"You don't have to stand up today."
"We'll go home together."
The final fragment of the Nexus shattered into golden stardust.
Light enveloped them both.
Then—
The Nexus disappeared.