Reminder from the front row — Before reading this interlude, it is recommended to observe Chapter 43 · "Matters of the Previous Loop (Fuli, Yunli, and the Herrscher of Sentience)" of this volume. This chapter is the follow-up to that chapter in the previous loop. Reading it in combination will yield better results!
...
The moon hung low in the sky, bright white but without warmth, reflecting the ground into a cold pale white; crickets chirped tirelessly in the dark, adding a bit of desolation to the sound.
On the Qixi Festival (Double Seventh Festival) of 2017 AD, in the dead of night, the door of the temporary rental house was roughly pushed open from the outside. A thin figure leaned in the doorway like a broken piece of wood snapped by wind and rain.
The boy supported himself against the cold wall, staggering into the room, his steps unsteady as if treading on quicksand.
The smell of alcohol, strong enough to be substantial, fluttered around him like a banner declaring defeat.
The powerful constitution brought by being an A-Rank Breaker should have been immune to the erosion of conventional alcohol, yet at this moment, it succumbed to the crude paralysis of cheap beer, as if the person involved just wanted to use this cheap burning sensation to fill a sudden, bone-chilling void in his body.
After a few steps, the strength supporting his body finally collapsed. Fuli crashed forward like a puppet with cut strings, hitting the hard floor with a heavy thud.
The dull impact echoed in the silent room, like the muffled sound of a heart falling to the ground.
He muttered a few vague sentences, struggled to get up, fell again, got up again... repeating the futile and wretched cycle, exhausting the last bit of strength to throw himself into that soft bed, like sinking into a bottomless quagmire.
The back of his hand covered his burning forehead weakly. Between his fingers, those once-brilliant crimson eyes were now just a slit, gazing mistily out the window, watching the moonlight cut the boundless desolate night like a blade.
"This is the man my unruly and rebellious granddaughter fell for?"
A sudden old voice cut into the moonlight like a steel knife, carrying a rusty sighing texture.
Fuli on the bed remained unaware. The room was filled with emptiness and dead silence, save for the boy's own heavy breathing.
"...Sigh."
The hunched old man at the door let out a breath of turbid air, as if sighing out years of accumulated wind and snow.
He was Huaiyan, the (former) General of the Zhuming Xianzhou of the Taixuan Front.
A sacrifice pushed out to bear the responsibility of burning for the out-of-control fire of the times.
Shuhu's death thoroughly detonated the Mara curse buried deep in the six massive World Bubbles of the Xianzhou, like a powder keg. No matter how comprehensive the plan was, when the gift named immortality was suddenly withdrawn, mundane anger could swallow reason in an instant.
The eternal youth of a Jiazi (60 years), when possessed, might be calmly weighed on a scale and commanded from on high; but once lost, it became a poison that pierced all defenses.
And this massive anger with nowhere to vent needed a target of sufficient weight to carry it.
So Huaiyan stepped forward, sucking away the hysterical rage like a giant magnet, bearing the spit and curses of the Xianzhou people, and handing over the General's seal symbolizing Zhuming's supreme authority.
Those in the know wrung their hands and sighed. The earth-shattering battle between Shuhu and Yunli was merely the prelude to the final curtain call. It was the Herrscher of Sentience, occupying the Celestial body of Empyrea, who drew the bow and arrow, piercing Shuhu's fate with the burning Taixuan Sword God.
Letting an old man like Huaiyan, with a lifetime of distinguished service, use his reputation to appease public anger only made one feel cold and disheartened.
And at this moment, this disheartened, solitary old man, burdened with a mountain-like weight and stigma, stepped in here.
He wanted to take a look. Take a look at Fuli, who stayed by his precious granddaughter's side until the end of her life.
Look at the boy star praised in intelligence reports as bold yet careful, who had the courage to step into the tiger's den of the Sequence Rank; whose usual style left no gap for criticism.
But now?
Huaiyan's cloudy old eyes swept over the unguarded, wide-open door, then fell onto the figure on the messy bed who had completely lost consciousness.
Doors wide open, dead to the world.
This was the "watertight" Fuli.
...
Moonlight probed in from the window cracks like withered fingers, cutting the room into a cage of light and shadow.
There were two prisoners in the cage: a grandfather who lost his granddaughter, and a boy who lost his companion (?).
Dead silence congealed in the rusted air.
After a long time, Huaiyan finally took a step, raised his hand, and placed a device with a recording function on the table.
"This thing is not for me, it's for you."
The old voice rolled over the solidified night, sweeping toward the unconscious shell on the bed.
"Before fighting Shuhu, that girl Yunli teleported this item to the Zhuming Xianzhou where this old man was, with a note to send it in her name to the boy she called 'Li-Bao' after everything was over."
The person has passed.
Huaiyan's withered knuckles hovered over the cold diamond-shaped metal device, as if touching an invisible epitaph.
He finally let go, letting it fall onto the wooden tabletop. The gesture was like covering the coffin with the last handful of soil.
The door hinges groaned like breaking rotten wood. The old man's hunched shadow lingered at the threshold for a moment, like a broken stele pinned by the corridor light, before being swallowed by the gradually closing door.
Click.
The sound of the lock was the final echo of sealing the coffin.
Continuous short electronic beeps pierced the dead silence.
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Sound waves bounced on the ice surface formed by moonlight, drilling precisely deep into the boy's cochlea, like four poison-dipped ice needles swimming along the nerves, piercing one by one into the pain center paralyzed by inferior alcohol.
"AHHH!!!"
Finally awakened, Fuli roared a beast-like low growl. With red eyes, he grabbed the recording device that appeared in the room at some point and threw it hard without thinking.
Bang! But the back of the hand holding the device hit a solid scabbard first.
[Gift Box · Sender · Super King Yunli]
The boy recognized the source of the thing and panic-adjusted the angle in mid-air, letting the back of his hand take the heavy hit first.
"Li-Bao...?"
Fuli subconsciously wanted to press the button with his bloodstained right hand, but realizing something midway, he hurriedly switched to his left hand.
Trembling, he pressed the button. Light flooded the entire room.
"Haven't seen you for a while, Li-Bao!"
A proud, tender shout surrounded his ears. The boy's pupils almost shattered into two pieces in an instant.
"First of all, Happy Qixi Festival!"
The girl (projection), unaware of anything, crossed her arms, her chin raised high as always.
"Heh heh, this Great King went to great lengths to get Grandpa to send this thing on time! Although I'm not sure if the old man got the date right, after all, he always mistakes 'message read' for 'express delivery signed'."
"But that's not the point. If this young lady were still alive, I would definitely bombard his terminal three days in advance! But if, I mean if! If I really got hacked by that fellow Shuhu, and this thing just happened to reach your hands... Hey, no crying! This Great King hates seeing people cry the most!"
"Can't be helped. Who told me to prepare Plan B long ago—that's right, knock you out with a hand chop before the decisive battle and throw you aside! Trying to play hero and die with me? No way! Who allowed you, a mere battle-five scum of an A-Rank Breaker, to block in front of me every time?!"
"From the Luofu to the Fanghu, when everyone in the Taixuan Front was calling the contemporary Master Artisan who wanted to challenge a Sequence Rank a lunatic, only you, fool, stuck your neck out shouting 'Li-Bao is right'; when those old fogies in the Artisanship Commission cut off my materials, you actually overturned their warehouse! Now you still want to break into a dead-end with me? Li-Bao, you idiot... could it be you like me to death?"
Taking a deep breath, the girl revealed a big, somewhat shy, and naive smile:
"———Fine! Since that's the case, this Great King will like you too!"
"What? Atmosphere not right, a bit abrupt? Who cares! King Yunli's confession is always a direct strike for victory! Do I have to cry and make twists and turns like in those novels? That kind of development is annoying to death!"
In the projection, Yunli had her hands on her hips, her smooth forehead held high. Her crimson cheeks looked like ripe peaches in the light and shadow, and her bright eyes were full of pride and a trace of feigned calm.
"But! Listen carefully, Li-Bao!"
She suddenly leaned close to the camera, as if she wanted to pierce through countless times to grab Fuli's ear directly. Her voice intentionally rose, carrying unreasonable dominance.
"This 'like' is bestowed upon you by this Great King condescendingly! Got it? From the South Heavenly Gate to Chenghua Avenue, it's the only one in heaven and earth! So..."
Her tone suddenly softened a bit, like a feather brushing gently across the tip of the heart.
"Cherish it well, don't lose it. If, when this Great King returns in triumph—when I chop off that old boy Shuhu's head and kick it back like a ball, I find out you fool dared to reject my confession, then... Hmph hmph!"
"Eh? Seems there's quite a bit of time left. Since it's the rare Qixi Festival, this Great King will sing a song. Actually, I'm quite confident in my singing voice."
"What to sing? Hmm, I'll sing that one."
Yunli cleared her throat, carrying a hint of her characteristic nasal tone:
The dark, dark sky hangs low
Bright, bright stars in tow
Insects fly, insects fly
Who are you missing~
Stars in the sky shed tears
Roses on the ground wither
Cold wind blows, cold wind blows
As long as you are with me~
...
The projection shook again, more violently than before.
The muffled echo of a violent explosion came faintly from the distance, and the entire background seemed to be trembling.
Yunli, who was singing a cappella, swayed violently. She quickly steadied herself, but that trace of naive shyness was instantly replaced by a cold hardness unique to the battlefield.
She glanced quickly in the direction of the shaking, her eyes sharp as knives, the corners of her mouth raising a smile hotter than raging fire, carrying absolute confidence and a hint of mockery.
"Just right, saves me the trouble of finding it!"
The girl's gaze refocused on the camera, as if looking into the depths of Fuli's eyes.
This time, all the laughter and scolding settled down, leaving only the purest, scalding heart. Her voice wasn't loud but abnormally clear and firm.
"Hey! Li-Bao! Remember this Great King's words!"
"I like you! More real than those knives you stupidly blocked for me, more real than the Artisanship Commission warehouse you overturned! Higher than the highest Starskiff tower on the Luofu! More... more eternal than the universe collapsing! Did you hear me?!"
"And—"
Rapid energy alarms suddenly shrieked piercingly!
Blinding red light lit up the edge of the screen, reflecting on half of Yunli's cheek like blood.
She looked up sharply into the distance, then extremely quickly, almost for the last time, stared fiercely at the camera, as if she wanted to brand Fuli's face firmly through it.
"—Wait for me to come back. This Great King will definitely win for you to see! At that time, the Sword Soul upgrade plan you've been longing for, this Great King will do it for you personally! It's a promise! Whoever goes back on their word is a puppy!"
Her voice was drowned in the ear-piercing sound of tearing metal and an even louder explosion roar, as if a violent energy turbulence instantly swallowed the surrounding space.
The projection flickered and twisted violently. Yunli's figure stood straight at the last moment. The flame of Lihu (fire) seemed to bloom in her hands. One could only catch a glimpse of the corners of her mouth curving into a determined, incomparably flamboyant, and incomparably gentle arc under the illumination of the explosion's strong light.
Zzz—Click—!
The projection extinguished instantly.
The narrow dark room returned to dead silence, only the floating dust settling slowly in the starlight cast from the window.
"...So, cherish it well, don't lose it."
"After all, our Li-Li Combo is invincible!"
Silent water droplets smashed onto Fuli's cold shoulder, instantly soaking a patch.
That final confession, carrying the roar of explosion, scorching hot yet abruptly stopped, became the only scalding residue in this dead silence.
Moments later, amidst the static noise of the device, the boy's voice rang out, carrying violent gasps and a cappella singing while holding back sobs:
"The dark, dark... (gasp) sky... hangs low..."
"Bright, bright... st... ars... (sudden choking) in... tow..."
"Insects... fly... insects... fly——!"
"Who... are... you... missing..."
"Stars... in the sky!! Shed... tears..."
"Roses... on the ground... wi... ther..."
"Cold wind blows——! Cold... wind... blows——"
"As long... as... you..."
"...Are with me....."
"Wuwuwu..."
"WUWUWU AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
Can't go back,
Never... can go back.