Chapter 82 Want to study philosophy? No way (9)
Lu Mingran and Tao Chen did seriously consider using violence as a method.
But that won't work. First, Song Gaishui is no ordinary person, and second, Tao Chen's abilities are for dealing with ghosts, while Lu Mingran only knows how to spread his wings like a roc.
That night, Lu Mingran placed the snake wine on the table and squatted down beside it, staring intently at the concoction. Tao Chen brought over two bottles of cola and squatted down next to him to look at it together.
"By the way, I have a question for you," Tao Chen suddenly said. "If we really let Song Gaishui leave the person I used to be, will I never know about the door's existence?"
Tao Chen added, "Does that mean I wouldn't have known you?"
Indeed, if the male lead stops studying philosophy, then he and the birdman will have no further interaction. Lu Mingran looked at him curiously: "Do you think it's good to be remembered only by me?"
"No. To be honest, you were really scary at first."
The "you" Tao Chen is referring to is likely that person from a parallel universe. Tao Chen also said:
"I could see then that your heart was still soft after all."
Was he soft-hearted? At that moment, Lu Mingran suddenly thought of someone else.
Tao Chen was the first person he met.
I wonder how that person is doing now, how they are surviving under the torment of another Lu Mingran.
"Sigh." Lu Mingran was unusually worried. She sighed and turned to go back to her room.
The next moment, Lu Mingran's eyes fell on the tree stump in her room.
Let's go back and take a look.
With that thought in mind, Lu Mingran bravely climbed the tree stump and then bravely performed the great act of landing face down on the ground.
It really hurt; it felt like the floor had given her a hard kiss on the face. Lu Mingran was completely disoriented from the fall and it took her a while to shakily stand up.
He walked forward, and just as he was about to push open the door, he suddenly heard a voice from outside.
It wasn't coming from another room, not from the living room, but... from outside the door.
They were very close. Listening to the noise, Lu Mingran guessed that Tao Chen was probably leaning against the door and talking to him.
"Leaving tomorrow, right?" Tao Chen asked.
After not seeing him for many days, Tao Chen's voice sounded tired and disheveled, and he looked much more weathered than before.
"Go? Go where?" Lu Mingran asked subconsciously.
Tao Chen chuckled: "Didn't you tell me that you're the gatekeeper, and you can't stay with me forever? You have to go back and guard your gate."
That's true, but just how much does Lu Mingran dislike Tao Chen that she's already planning to leave?
Outside the door, Tao Chen remained silent for a moment, then said to him in a very soft voice, "But I have something I want to tell you."
Lu Mingran stood still, waiting for him to speak.
Tao Chen said, word by word, "I regret it."
"If I could do it all over again and go back to the past, I probably wouldn't have this obsession anymore."
Lu Mingran was taken aback. Regret? Back then, he followed Tao Chen, cared for him, and never made Tao Chen utter a single word of regret.
So... how did the other birdman manage to do it? How come Tao Chen suddenly regrets it now and is suddenly willing?
After a moment of stunned silence, Lu Mingran exerted force on his hand, wanting to push open the door and ask for clarification in person.
However, the person on the other side of the door continued speaking:
"Also, thank you for putting up with me and staying with me during this time."
After saying this, the person outside left. When Lu Mingran realized what was happening and pushed open the door, the house was empty. Across the street, Tao Chen's room door was open, but there was no one inside, only furniture covered with cloth, and a cold wind blew in through the window.
Tao Chen is gone.
Somewhat bewildered, Lu Mingran turned back and returned to the birdman's room. This time, he saw something strange.
On the table in the room, there was a pile of notes, each with the same name written on it: "Tao Chen".
Then Tao Chen's words echoed in Lu Mingran's ears. Tao Chen said that that jerk was actually soft-hearted.
——————
The dream that day left such a deep impression on Song Gaishui that the next day, as soon as he woke up, he climbed out of the coffin, took his phone and went outside the ancient tomb to find a signal, and searched for the "Run away" meme.
Song Gaishui remained silent for a long time in front of this emoji.
Unexpectedly, after my uncle died, I suddenly became much more fashionable.
Later that afternoon, a young man broke into the ancient tomb. Song Gaishui recognized him; it was Tao Chen, the leader of the Xuanku Sect. They had met before. At their first meeting, Song Gaishui had sensed that this man possessed extraordinary bearing and was no ordinary person.
However, when Tao Chen saw him this time, his gaze held a more inquisitive quality. In the original story, Tao Chen got straight to the point: "The reason you have to come back so often is because you are poisoned, right?"
However, because of what Lu Mingran and the others had done, Tao Chen didn't have a chance to speak. Upon seeing him, Song Gaishui immediately wore a look that said, "I've finally caught him!"
"Perfect timing, I'd like to move my coffin back, but I'm short one person."
As he spoke, Song Gaishui showed Tao Chen the note that Lu Mingran had left for him.
In a famous little "park" in a certain city.
It sounds like a normal place, but after learning the park's exact address, no one can believe this little park is normal.
It's called a park, but it's really just a few trees and chairs for people to relax and enjoy themselves. And all these trees and chairs are on a small, cenotaph-like mound.
That's not actually a cenotaph for some literary master; it's just an artificial memorial. But no matter what, it's still a grave, big enough to be considered a grave. To do all this on a grave? What kind of genius is this?
Few people come here to sit on ordinary days, and elderly folks certainly wouldn't bring fans or speakers; after all, nobody wants to experience dancing on a grave. This little park has only a few lonely trees year-round, and a small chair standing proudly in the very center, dominating the crowd.
Lu Mingran moved the coffin here because it was sunny and secluded.
So today, Tao Chen and Song Gaishui experienced what it felt like to climb a grave. The statue of the literary master stood in front of the grave, his gaze fixed on the cenotaph. While climbing, they both felt a chill run down their spines.
The coffin lay deep in the woods, bathed in direct sunlight. Tao Chen took his first step, hearing the crunching sound of leaves beneath his feet.
“Be careful,” Song Gaishui remembered the dream she had, “if we see other people later, we’d better run.”
“My uncle appeared to me in a dream last night and said that two bad people will come looking for me soon, and I have already prepared things.”
After saying that, Song Gaishui looked at Tao Chen and said meaningfully:
"It's good that you came alone today."
Chapter 83 Want to study philosophy? No way (10)
Judging from Song Gaishui's words, it seems that if Tao Chen brings other people, Song Gaishui will use the poisonous insects he has prepared from the ancient tomb on them.
So should I be glad that I came here alone today?
Tao Chen gave a polite smile and finally replied:
"If I had any bad thoughts about you, to be honest, I can handle it all by myself."
That's the truth; Tao Chen, as the male lead, has the ability. However, Song Gaishui said something that he had previously said to Tao Chen in the book:
"Tao Chen, being too confident in yourself can lead you astray."
As a special member of the Song family, Song Gaishui could foresee the vague connection between Tao Chen and that door, and that whoever came into contact with that door would be met with an unpredictable fate.
You can turn back, or you can't.
——————
In the previous world, the original Tao Chen had no intention of turning back.
At first, he didn't care. Even though so many people in the world had forgotten him, his closest relatives and friends, he was willing to let others have happy days without him.
Until one day he suddenly realized that the only birdman who remembered him was leaving.
He suddenly began to panic, realizing that the reason he had been so fearless before was because he vaguely understood that it was okay, at least there was someone who cared about him and was with him.
Humans are very resilient beings, but sometimes their resilience is just a misconception that they are strong enough.
The birdman who swapped worlds with Lu Mingran had actually seen through Tao Chen's hidden vulnerability long ago.
As a true gatekeeper, he had been isolated from the world for many years and truly didn't understand emotions. That day, it was just a whim; instead of going to dance in the square, he secretly followed Tao Chen to see where he went every day.
In this way, he discovered that Tao Chen, no matter where he went, always ended up at the residences of those old friends. He would spend an entire day in the neighborhood where his father lived, sitting alone in the pavilion watching his father's figure occasionally appear at the window. Because he had been forgotten by the world, no one would find it strange or chase him away, no matter how long he sat there.
Alternatively, Tao Chen might go to Ji Huan's house. Ji Huan had become some kind of sect leader and didn't come back here often. Tao Chen would wander around and take a look.
After observing these things for a long time, the birdman began to try doing something he felt was unnecessary.
He began to write Tao Chen's name. He rarely wrote human characters, so this was a bit difficult for him, but it didn't matter. After practicing dozens of times, he could at least make out that it was the name Tao Chen.
After writing these words, the birdman handed out the note with Tao Chen's name on it to those people.
He placed the note under his father's bowl of porridge, tied it to the leg of a carrier pigeon from the Xuanku Sect, and sent it into Ji Huan's room... He kept doing these things, constantly repeating the same name to those people: Tao Chen.
But those people showed expressions of confusion or indifference; no one remembered who Tao Chen was, nor did they care to investigate the meaning of the name.
Birdman noticed an emotion he had never felt before appearing within him.
Noble and aloof as he was, he remained calm and serene in the white world behind the door year after year.
So what's going on now?
He was afraid, panicked, and planned to escape back to the world behind his door. Gods shouldn't pity mortals; how could they have human emotions?
However, the birdman left behind some notes that he hadn't been able to send out, and these notes happened to be seen by Lu Mingran.
Lu Mingran asked the system to search for the memories in this world. After reading them, Lu Mingran touched the notes and suddenly chuckled.
"I was just thinking that Tao Chen regretted it, but it's no use regretting it now that he's leaving."
"But now it seems..."
Lu Mingran picked up a note and placed it under the soft light: "I think he will help him."
Lu Mingran left with this firm conclusion, got up and left, returning to his tree stump.
She landed face down again. After returning to this parallel world, Lu Mingran had just stepped out of her room to apply an ice pack to her face when she saw Tao Chen sitting on the sofa.
"Still not asleep?"