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This person was not only a divine being in the eyes of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, but also an eccentric who exuded a cold and aloof aura.

Xi Tianjian reached out his hand to me; his fingers were like withered bones, thin and bony, and his age was indiscernible.

Just then, I heard the savage call me—"Qingshan—!" So I withdrew my hand from the strange man without thinking, stood up straight, and ran out of the hall.

I have no idea what the thunder and lightning outside looks like.

"Wait a minute—" Senior Tianjian only got halfway through his sentence when a deafening roar erupted. The palace roof was struck by lightning again, sending rubble flying as the palace crumbled and collapsed. "Close your eyes!" The white-haired man grabbed my hand and took a big step, running away.

The falling rocks kicked up dust, and I was already choking and tearing up. Without hesitation, I placed my hand in a stranger's, gripping it tightly. I inhaled, held my breath, and abruptly closed my eyes—in the darkness, I felt the collapsing beams behind me as if they were alive, clinging to my bones like maggots, collapsing with every step I took… Finally, I stepped out of the palace gate, but the darkness before me didn't end. A sharp pain shot through me as I was pulled into a tight embrace. Before opening my eyes, I heard a savage's voice asking the other person who had released my hand, "What do you want?!"

"I saved her," Senior Tianjian replied in a rough, hoarse voice.

"Now is not the time for you to talk!!" Another familiar voice rang out. I opened my eyes, my mind reeling, and saw a scene that had changed dramatically in the blink of an eye—just a few minutes later... Time had passed.

The daylight of mid-autumn turned into eternal night. The royal garden was destroyed, and the palace behind it collapsed into ruins. The only thing left to shelter them was a long corridor supported by the last few beams. It stood isolated in the wind and rain, housing almost everyone who had been fighting fiercely not long ago—dozens of survivors who were terrified, half of whom had died or been injured… Because the lightning had paused, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"How could this happen..." I'm not someone who hasn't seen much of the world, but I still couldn't help feeling lingering fear and gripped the savage's hand tightly.

"It's alright..." the savage whispered comfortingly.

"It's a natural disaster..." The emperor, surrounded by the crowd, sighed from a distance, "Even the most divine beings could foresee this situation!!" He was clearly asking the Western Heaven Sword on our side.

Why did the Western Heavenly Sword end up in the Central Plains, become a deity, and become entangled with Emperor Zhenzong of Song? Why would such an unreliable natural disaster occur in this era—what kind of natural disaster is this, an earthquake? A meteorite hitting the Earth? Or is it an alien invasion attempt?

"Sun Qingshan, look at the sky!!" The familiar voice came from the alien village chief. Only then did I remember that there was such a person—how come you're still here?—if it weren't for the urgency of the situation, I would have blurted out those words.

"...The sky...?" I peeked up and exclaimed, "A crack?!" At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck my eye, but thankfully, the savage pulled me back at the last moment, disregarding his own safety.

Leaning against the savage, I gasped for breath—"What do we do now?!" I turned around abruptly, and there he was—the alien village chief! He, an alien, was asking me what to do?!

"Where will Your Majesty go after the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai?" A rough but calm voice asked Emperor Zhenzong of Song.

"After the Fengshan ceremony...?" Emperor Zhenzong murmured, "...we must...go to the Temple of Confucius to offer sacrifices..."

*Thud*—As if to coincide with the timing, the pamphlet of the Analects in my arms fell to the ground.

The savage bent down to pick it up, but Xitian Tianjian beside him beat him to it. The savage paused, frowning and pondering.

Bang--!

After a brief respite, the heavens unleashed another devastating blast, shattering even the last remaining pillar of the palace corridor. People beneath the corridor scrambled to clearings to escape the collapse, thus slowing the natural disaster for less than five minutes before unleashing a new wave of bombardment—landslides, earthquakes, torrential rain, gales, and thunder and lightning from the sky… “Why do those lightning bolts always seem to be chasing us?!”

As soon as someone asked the question, I turned around, and the person who asked the question was struck on the head with an electric shock, turning into a black shadow and disappearing without a trace.

I was trembling. If a second person had been holding my hand, I think I would have done more than just tremble!

Neither the savage nor I ran very fast, because I was looking around, while he seemed to be deep in thought.

One by one, familiar faces caught up with me: Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Minister Wang Qinruo, Empress Dowager Xiao and her entourage, the four high-ranking figures of the intact Chen Gang Palace, people from Liangshan Village, people from the Zhu Ling Sect, Mingming, Xiao Honghong, Xiao Chenchen No. 2, the alien village chief—"Where's Xu Yi?!" I suddenly shouted, "Where's the Xu Yi people?!"

The savage paused, and I focused my gaze, then saw in the distance—everyone was running forward, but he alone was walking back. He had been beside me just moments before, and now, miraculously, he was ahead of everyone else—a bronze masked, white-haired, crimson-robed deity—in the sudden downpour, like the last majestic god returning from the apocalypse, his red robes as red as blood, the night as dark as night, suddenly a flash of lightning, and in the white light, I saw him drenched in the rain—

"What's this called?" I asked the savage. "That's called showing off!!"

The savage, having been drenched in the rain, seemed to have sobered up considerably. In a moment of crisis, he was even in the mood to smile and reply, "But they saved Xu Yi."

Yes, I have no interest in studying the Western Heavenly Sword or anything like that, but ever since he first appeared, everything he has done has been exactly what I wanted. I wished someone could stop everything, and he stopped all the fighting with a single sword strike—he saved me in the instant of the natural disaster—and now I'm in a hurry to find Xu Yi. He braved the wind and rain, using the lightning that killed people as a backdrop, carrying the unconscious divine doctor on his back... It's as if... this person truly answered my prayers and appeared out of nowhere...

"The situation is urgent! What are you doing, arguing with your savage husband?! Run!" Little Red turned back and scolded me.

"Run, run, run—" the alien village chief turned back, "What's the point of just running?!"

Xi Tiantian brought Xu Yi over, and Emperor Zhenzong of Song also came to find the divine man. The Holy Maiden of Chen Gang Palace, seeing that the opportunity was not to be missed, came again to ask the savages to assassinate him. Wang Qinruo led his personal guards to protect the emperor. Xiao Mao'er, concerned about the divine doctor, came along. Empress Dowager Xiao, worried about Xiao Mao'er, also came. Righteous and foreign, they changed the location and started fighting again... Now it's all over, a white light fell down, and everyone hugged each other tightly and died...!

"Why would a spacetime rift appear here?!" I shook the alien village chief.

"You're asking me?!" The alien village chief's face turned deathly pale, and even his vampire fangs were showing. "Last time we saw the crack, our entire planet was swallowed up..." At this point, my face changed color.

This is the disaster that nearly wiped out an entire alien race...

A disaster triggered by a spacetime rift...

"Qingshan..." Xu Yi suddenly called me.

"You're awake?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

“Your eyes…” he reminded me.

"Your eyes...?" The savage turned his head as well; he had heard me talk about the incident involving the spacetime rift.

"Are you all done talking?" Senior Tianjian asked coldly in a hoarse voice, as if he disdained and found us all amusing. He reached out and threw a lump of paste at the savage. Another flash of white light appeared in the sky. "If you don't leave now, you'll die..." he threatened.

"What did he throw at you?" I asked.

"The Analects..." The savage gradually quieted down, then suddenly became very interested and recited: "The Master said:..."

"What are you spouting about Confucius for?!" I yelled at him, and the person in front of me turned around and glared at him.

The savage still said, "Confucius said: 'This is despicable, but Yao mourns it...'"

"I know!!" Little Red turned back again. "Shao Yanhe, I've put up with you for too long. If you go crazy again, I'll snatch Little Green Mountain back from you—"

The wild man, who had been being led away by me, suddenly stopped after hearing this and refused to move.

"Who told you to provoke him?!" I yelled at Xiao Honghong. "Why did you provoke him—what are you trying to do—what exactly do you want—"

"Green Mountain..." the wild man called from behind me, his voice extremely strange, uttering each word slowly and deliberately, "Confucius said: close your eyes..."

The Man Who Came at Christmas

He used to feel intense guilt about being alive, but now it has turned into resentment.

"Qingshan..." Shao Yanhe asked, "Shall I come and keep you company?"

The woman lying flat before him didn't object. He dug his thumb into one wrist, easily piercing the flesh and causing a blood vessel to rupture... Then he did the other hand...

Then it's the neck...

With four fingers hooked around the side of her neck and her thumb pressed against her Adam's apple, she gently pressed down—and the woman lying flat suddenly opened her eyes wide and woke up.

"I knew you weren't up to any good!!" Sun Qingshan jumped up, took off his shoe, and threw it at Shao Yanhe's head.

Shao Yanhe stared at her blankly—"Put your hands down right now—wipe the blood off your hands—pick up your shoes—stick your head out here—I'm going to strangle you!!"

Shao Yanhe nodded in agreement.

He chuckled awkwardly and put his hand down, unsure of what to do first—pick up the shoe? He looked down and frantically searched the ground, but the floor was clear except for one size 37 blue shoe… “Qingshan,” Shao Yanhe asked, “where did you put the shoe? How hard did you throw it…” He looked up as he asked—“Qingshan?”

"Qingshan..." The man stared blankly at the empty space before him, a fleeting look of near-desperate fear crossing his face. He quickly regained his composure and began searching with the same earnestness and focus he had shown when looking for his shoes... "Qingshan...Qingshan?...Qingshan...Qingshan...Where are you...Qingshan..."

Until the panic became uncontrollable—the man suddenly hugged himself, and as if powerless, slumped to the ground.

The next moment, an uncontrollable scream—

...

December 26, 2009.

Sun Qingshan felt puzzled all day. She went to a valley in a bizarre way and came back in a bizarre way, which made her feel uneasy all over. The more she looked at the flashing neon lights and the bustling traffic and crowds, the more real the naked, bearded man in her mind seemed to be. He was very real, at least more real than the discounts that came after Christmas.

street.

Stepping out of the store, the sky was overcast, and I just stood there blankly in the cool breeze.

"Sun Qingshan—" the woman behind her called out, "In the dead of winter, you're wearing short sleeves, trying to look cool?"

“I’m hot!” Sun Qingshan replied without turning his head.

Her girlfriend glanced at her, then at the various men's books in her hands, and sighed, "If only you were my girlfriend, you could save so much money!"

"Dream on!" Sun Qingshan poured cold water on the other party's enthusiasm. "I have plenty of women who secretly admire me, it's not your turn."

“I just love you like this…” his girlfriend lifted Sun Qingshan’s chin, “You attract all sorts of attention!”

Sun Qingshan squinted, but caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye, which made her heart skip a beat.

"What's wrong?" his girlfriend asked.

“I saw someone I know,” Sun Qingshan replied.

The figure then began to approach the two women.

"What a coincidence..." As the figure approached, Sun Qingshan called out to the man he had just met on the street, "Are you alone?"

The man wore a dark trench coat, had long, slender legs, and his glasses, framed by a trendy Tom Ford, reflected light.

He nodded. "I'm alone."

His girlfriend stared at him intently for a while, then waved her hand dismissively, "Hi~"

The man then turned his gaze to Sun Qingshan's girlfriend and said, "Hi."

"Oh," Sun Qingshan realized what was happening and introduced him to the woman, "He's my neighbor, his name is..."

She suddenly recalled the scene of the two of them leaving home together early in the morning. Sun Qingshan was rushing around, and the man greeted her politely and pressed the elevator button for her... She knew that he lived next door to her in two adjacent flats, and that he had been living in that building before Sun Qingshan moved in. But Sun Qingshan really couldn't remember how she met this man. It seemed that they had just ridden in the same elevator, left home at the same time, and sometimes entered home at the same time. They were just nodding acquaintances, nothing more.

“My name is Shao Yanhe,” the man replied to Sun Qingshan.

“Yes,” Sun Qingshan nodded, “His name is Shao Yanhe.” He then pointed to the woman, “She is my good friend.”

Shao Yanhe smiled at Sun Qingshan's good friend, exchanged pleasantries, and quickly said goodbye.

Before leaving, they turned back. Sun Qingshan was standing in the cold wind. Shao Yanhe frowned and asked, "Aren't you cold?"

...

Fifteen minutes later.

At Selfridges, which was about to close, on the first floor, the theme song of Coupling, "Perhaps," was playing.

Sun Qingshan sang along, and his girlfriend asked him, "Was that man really your neighbor? He's really nice!"

"You don't have a crush on me?" Sun Qingshan glared at his girlfriend.

"I'm bisexual," the girlfriend replied seriously.

“He’s gay,” Sun Qingshan replied.

"What?!" his girlfriend exclaimed.

"Shh—" Sun Qingshan glared at her, "Is it really that serious?"

"How did you know?" his girlfriend asked.

"I'm an expert. Look at his little butt when he walks, so serious and sanctimonious. I've never seen him bring a woman home, nor have I ever seen him leave early and come home late. I don't even know how regular his schedule is!"

"That only shows that they are serious, and that you... are too concerned about them."