A Wandering Youth

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“Mengmeng is my junior brother, and also a hunter. It seems they’re in love!” Ling’er said with a slight smile.

"What??? You said Tingting is in love??" Hades exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, is there something wrong with it?"

"That's utter nonsense! Article 261 of the 'Rules of the Underworld' clearly states that underworld messengers must never develop feelings for humans!"

"Why?" Teardrop asked, puzzled.

"There's no reason why! It's the rule!" Hades said.

"Rules, rules! Rules are like a turtle's ass!" Eighteen muttered under his breath.

"You!" Hades glared fiercely at Eighteen.

Just as Chang Xiao was about to say something, a white light flashed by, and a sword stopped in front of him. Then a black light appeared, and a knife stopped beside the sword, floating in mid-air.

"Eternal?" Ling'er exclaimed in surprise!

"A robbery?" Chang Xiao exclaimed in surprise!

“Old friend, this game should end!” Yong’s sword trembled and made a sound, which surprised everyone present.

"Yes, this game should end. They actually dared to challenge our authority!" Jie said. Chang Xiao and Ling'er's minds suddenly exploded!

"What...what did you say?" Ling'er asked, trembling.

Yong chuckled and said, "You are our toys. The stories between you are nothing more than pastimes for Jie and me to pass the time! You always believe that you are cursed, but it was all just a joint arrangement between us! Aren't you curious why Blue Tears can save lives, but there are three types that it cannot save? And why you always end up among these three types of people in every reincarnation? Do you think this is just a coincidence? Hahaha!"

This answer shattered everyone, especially Chang Xiao and Ling'er. The answer they had been searching for for a thousand years was now laid bare before them, cruel and bloody. They would rather curse the God Lord, the Dark Queen, or even Mr. Divine Mechanism than be treated as a plaything by the divine artifact they had respected since childhood.

"Why?" Chang Xiao's entire body exuded a murderous aura.

"We possess the power of immortality, and having lived for too long, we need some fun! Everything about you was arranged by me and Yong, but now a slight change has occurred, forcing us to come out and destroy you with our own hands!" Jie said.

"Ah————!" Chang Xiao roared madly. The love and hate, the pain and suffering of a thousand years, the cycle of reincarnation for a thousand years, were all just a game. They were just two playthings for others to amuse themselves!

"I'll fight you to the death!" Hu Yi attacked Yonghe Jie like a madman, and then everyone else attacked as well. However, such attacks were like scratching an itch on Yonghe Jie, having no effect whatsoever.

"Hehe, old friend, let's end this game and start the next one!"

The Eternal Calamity was indeed an ancient artifact, instantly knocking everyone to the ground, spitting blood. Ling'er, on the verge of death, gazed at Chang Xiao not far away. The mere few meters separated her and him forever.

Chang Xiao suddenly burst into laughter, spitting blood as he laughed. He slowly stood up, towering like a god, and roared, "Haha, I, Chang Xiao, who thought myself invincible and could look down upon the Five Realms, have turned out to be nothing more than a plaything for you two so-called divine artifacts! How laughable! How laughable!"

Ling'er gazed at Chang Xiao's face, two streams of bloody tears tracing a stark crimson line down his pale cheeks. Chang Xiao, panting, looked at Ling'er, and in his eyes she saw reluctance, lingering affection, and deep tenderness. Ling'er suddenly felt utterly hopeless; her heart ached terribly. She knew what was about to happen…

"Wolf! I'm sorry, but let's be brothers again in the next life! If we have a next life!"

Chang Xiao looked at the wolf king and said.

"Laugh, no matter if there is an afterlife, we will always be good brothers!" The wolf king struggled to his feet and said. The two stood side by side, covered in wounds, but their soaring arrogance chilled everyone's hearts.

"Ling'er, live well, for the Light Realm and for the Dark Realm..." Suddenly, Chang Xiao leaped up, and Yonghe Jie pierced his body from both ends. Chang Xiao laughed wildly, "Hahaha! Even if you control the will of heaven, you've still fallen into my trap!" Before Yonghe Jie could burst out of his body, he tightly grasped Yonghe Jie with both hands. A bright red beam of light shot out from between Chang Xiao's eyebrows, wrapping around Yonghe Jie, and the Wolf King's whole body also glowed red.

"No--!" Ling'er screamed in anguish. She knew that the red light was the fusion of Chang Xiao's three souls and seven spirits with all his power. This was Chang Xiao's final move.

Perhaps so. As everyone says, Changxiao's birth represents destruction. This earth-shattering power, this domineering aura of ruling the world, this spirit of preferring to shatter like jade rather than survive like a broken tile, even someone as strong as Yonghe Jie dares not face it head-on.

Ling'er clearly remembered the name of this move—Eternal Calamity. In an instant, Eternal Calamity vanished without warning, just like a gentle breeze brushing past her face. Chang Xiao's body fell from mid-air like a falling kite. Ling'er, drawing strength from who-knows-where, rushed over, leaped up, and caught Chang Xiao steadily, catching the man who had entered her heart like a shooting star a thousand years ago, and who had vanished like a shooting star a thousand years later.

Chang Xiao's eyes were slightly closed, his tears of blood still wet, and the smile on his lips remained warm and familiar. Ling'er didn't cry or scream; the tears of blood dripped onto her snow-white arm. Chang Xiao's body grew colder and colder, and with each passing minute, Ling'er hugged him tighter. She desperately wanted Chang Xiao to miraculously wake up and say to her, "Ling'er, you're holding me too tight, I can't breathe!" But he didn't; he continued to grow cold...

Ling'er whispered in his ear, kissing him gently, "Are you still going to be so willful? You scared me to death! If you wake up, I'll make you eat five carrots! No, no, I'll make you eat ten! Go to sleep! I'll stay with you, I'll hold you! You little sleepyhead! But don't sleep too long, or no one will talk to me..."

"Wolf..." Tears murmured softly. The Wolf King's body had transformed back into a real wolf, a wolf with fiery red fur. Tears clung tightly to the Wolf King, unable to believe that it had reverted to its true form, that it had been reduced to its original state, that its soul had been scattered. Tears dared not ask; she simply stared blankly at the Wolf King. She recalled a legend from the Realm of Light: When calamity befell the Five Realms, a boy and his friend were born to avert it, driving away the disaster and leaving behind happiness. In the end, the boy's soul was scattered, and his friend transformed into a fire wolf.

Ling'er glanced at the teardrops and whispered, "Laughing and Wolf are sleeping so soundly! I couldn't wake them up even if I splashed water on them!"

"Ling'er!" Xue'er threw herself behind Ling'er, sobbing uncontrollably. Ling'er turned around and said, "Xue'er, don't cry! I know Xiao won't wake up, I know, I know everything! But look! He looks just like he's sleeping! He's still smiling! Don't cry!"

Hu Yi, eighteen, arrogant, knelt beside Ling'er and Leizhu'er, weeping bitterly. The God Lord and the Dark Queen also arrived at this time. The Dark Queen was not as heartbroken as expected. She walked up to Chang Xiao, pressed her right hand against his chest, and closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Ling'er's heart ignited with hope: "Sister, laugh at him..."

When the Dark Queen heard the word "sister," she trembled, but then said, "Sister, I'll go check on the wolves first."

"Queen, please!" Teardrop cried out, clutching the Dark Queen's hand.

The Dark Queen took out a small golden pill, put it in his mouth, and said to Teardrop, "This is a Beast Immortal Pill. Wolf is fine."

"And what about laughing? How about laughing at him?" Ku Zhu asked softly.

The Dark Queen walked silently to Chang Xiao's side, tears falling one by one...

Ling'er felt Chang Xiao's body slowly becoming lighter. She looked down and saw that Chang Xiao's body was becoming transparent. Ling'er lowered her head and frantically kissed his lips, his eyes, and his forehead, but Chang Xiao's body still slowly, slowly disappeared...

Just then, a strong wind arose, and a familiar laugh echoed through the air. Everyone looked up, and Chang Xiao's face appeared in the gray sky, smiling faintly before disappearing into the northeast in an instant. The Wolf King stirred, opened his eyes, and weakly uttered, "Chase!"

"Xiao! Don't go!" Ling'er's tears finally fell. She knew Xiao was about to leave her; he wouldn't stay with her for another thousand years! Tears streamed down her face like broken beads, scattering behind her. Ling'er, clutching the wolf king, chased after him, and the others desperately followed. Was it an illusion? A dream? Ling'er didn't want to think about it. She only wanted to catch up with Chang Xiao, throw herself into his arms, and whisper in his ear how much she loved him. Surely heaven had ears, heard her words, and a miracle had occurred. Ling'er felt like Kuafu, chasing and rushing, all for just one sentence. But what after saying those words? Would Chang Xiao stay?

To the northeast, Chang Xiao's image had disappeared from the sky. Ling'er knelt on the ground, her tears dried by the wind. She sat on the ground without crying or making a fuss, tightly clutching the small jade pendant that Xiao had given her.

"That direction is...!" Hades gasped, "That direction is...!"

"The Gate of Reincarnation!" the crowd exclaimed in surprise!

"Hades, open the gate of reincarnation!" Ling'er stood up abruptly upon hearing this, wiping away her tears.

Hades clasped his hands together, and a beam of white light shot out, revealing a vermilion gate before everyone.

Ling'er stood before this door, an end point where all of this life and everything from the past would fade away. She turned to look at her friends and family, and smiled, "I will definitely find him!" Ling'er closed her eyes, and Chang Xiao's face appeared in her mind—his smoking, his smiling, his anger, his every move. She tried hard to remember everything; she was afraid she would miss him, afraid she would forget. Did he still have his power? Did he still remember her? Would he be in danger without his power? What if he didn't remember her? Ling'er shook her head, banishing these thoughts. Yes, so what if he wasn't the Dark General? So what if he didn't remember her? As long as he smiled slightly, as long as he gently kissed her, did anything else matter?

Ling'er entered the gate of reincarnation, and scenes from the past reappeared one after another. She laughed as she watched, then cried. She laughed again and again, but each time she saw him, her heart ached, and the pain intensified with each repetition. Ling'er saw her mother, though her memory of her mother was vague. Her mother was holding her as an infant, saying, "Ling'er, Ling'er, my poor child, when you grow up, you must have a heart of stone, so you won't be hurt by love!..." A heart of stone? Ling'er smiled. Before meeting Chang Xiao, she truly was like that. But then she met Chang Xiao, and he so brazenly entered her heart. His smile melted the stone in her heart, transforming it into countless forms: her tears, her laughter, her joy, her anger, her sorrow, her grief, her happiness. All her emotions were controlled by him. Was this love? The long road came to an end, and behind the white light lay her rebirth. She looked back again; everyone was weeping, but she smiled sweetly. "Laugh, you wait for me, I will definitely find you!" Ling'er closed her eyes and passed through the white light that symbolized new life...

In an elementary school in City S, a teacher is looking at an essay that makes her both laugh and cry.

My family

My name is Chang Tian. In my family, I have a father, a mother, a younger sister, an uncle, an older uncle, a younger uncle, an aunt, a cousin, a younger cousin's wife, three cousins, and two cousins' wives. I don't like my family because it's too noisy. My three cousins are always running around wildly, and my cousin's mother and I often join in. My mother is very beautiful but lazy; I've never eaten her breakfast. My poor sister and I are constantly disturbed at such a young age. My father is always laughing, I don't know what he's laughing about. I want to ask him if he's sick, but I've never had the courage. My uncle rarely speaks, only smiling at my cousin's wife. But when my sister and I were very young, she abused us every day, saying she would teach us kung fu. My cousin's wife is actually very beautiful, but she beats us every day. My second cousin's wife cooks very well. My third cousin's wife is always cold and always wears purple clothes. My eldest cousin is a pervert. My third cousin says he's a narcissist. My second cousin has a huge appetite, and my third cousin always tries to commit suicide. Everyone must be wondering why he's still alive after all these years! That's because he uses nail clippers every time he tries to kill himself. My eldest uncle, youngest uncle, and aunt don't visit often. My eldest cousin says my uncle and aunt are both high-ranking officials! He even said that if my sister and I are capable enough in the future, we can replace them! My eldest cousin also said my youngest uncle is a hunter, and my youngest aunt is a female ghost! Does he think I'm a child? What kind of beautiful female ghost and handsome hunter are they? Although there are many people in my family, I always feel like my sister and I are the only ones who depend on each other. My sister is eight years old this year, and her name is Changye. Every time I take her out to play, the neighbors praise her cuteness and say she'll definitely be a great beauty when she grows up. Every time I hear this, I'm very happy! Every time my report card needs a parent's signature, I always get my older cousin to sign it because I feel like only his name makes the house seem like a proper home. If the house could be a little quieter, I would love my family even more! The teacher, after reading Chang Tian's homework, felt it necessary to make a home visit. When she arrived at Chang Tian's door, she heard him yelling, "Waaaaaaah! Why didn't you take me with you when you went out to play? I might as well die!!"

"No way! Brother, this has been how we servants have been for so many years, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah! Ah Yi's right! No way, brother!"

"Don't pull him away, I'm not taking you, I'm not taking you! Go to hell!!"

"Alright, stop arguing! Don't make your master angry! Or I'll whip you with my tail!"

...

The teacher stood there for a while, and after much deliberation, finally decided not to knock on the door, shook her head, and left.

Story Four: Never Apart - When the Wind Rises Again, the Tiger Walks (The End)

I. Discharge

The sun hung high in the sky, and a gentle breeze carried the fragrance of wildflowers from afar. I slowly walked out the gate, turning back to see Dean Wang and Dr. Zhang smiling and waving. I turned my head back and continued walking slowly, clutching the card tightly in my hand.

Stepping out of the hospital gate, I saw the surrounding scenery. The hospital was actually on a mountain, with only a paved road leading downhill from the various trees. I slowly turned back and saw a sign hanging on the hospital gate: Yan

Zishan Mental Hospital.

"Xiao Ming." A deep male voice rang out, and I then noticed a white van parked by the asphalt road, with a young man standing beside it. He smiled and walked towards me. "Xiao Ming, do you still recognize me?"

I slowly shook my head, then nodded. "You're Chen Yuan, right? I've heard Dean Wang mention you."

He smiled and said, "It seems you still don't recognize me. I'm your best friend!" I nodded, still looking at him somewhat blankly.

When I was discharged from the hospital, Dean Wang told me that because I had no relatives, the hospital had contacted my best friend Chen Yuan, who would pick me up and take me home. But I couldn't remember any of my friends. Not just friends, I couldn't remember anything before I was admitted to the hospital, including why I ended up there.

I asked Dean Wang and Dr. Zhang, who had been treating me for three years, why I was hospitalized and what illness I had. They just smiled and said, "You really don't remember? It seems you're really cured."

Chen Yuan took the travel bag from my hand, patted my shoulder, and said, "Let's go, let's go eat first, and then I'll take you home."

I stared blankly out the car window at the trees rushing past. The scenery gradually changed to rice paddies, then to rows of buildings. The buildings grew taller and taller as we entered the city.

Chen Yuan drove straight to a restaurant. "Remember, Xiaoming? This is a place we used to frequent. You loved their braised pork." I nodded blankly. Did I really like braised pork? I don't think I'd ever had it in the hospital.

I put the card in my pocket and got off the bus with Chen Yuan. The card was given to me by Dean Wang. It had my address, the phone number of my former company, Chen Yuan's phone number, and a bank account number, which he said was my savings from before I was admitted to the hospital.

I followed Chen Yuan into the restaurant, found a seat, and was about to sit down when I suddenly heard a scream. The sharp sound pierced my eardrums and made me ache. I had never heard such a loud noise in the hospital. My room was far from the other patients' rooms, and apart from Director Wang, Dr. Zhang, and a few nurses, I had never seen anyone else.

I turned around and found the source of the sound. I saw a middle-aged, overweight woman panting as she looked at me, and I could feel fear and dread in her eyes.

At this moment, Chen Yuan had already walked over. I heard him call out "Sister Xu" and then lead the fat woman aside. Chen Yuan and the fat woman were talking in hushed tones. I only heard a few words like "the illness is cured." Then the fat woman, still glancing at me with a frightened look every now and then, turned and ran upstairs to the second floor.

Chen Yuan walked back to our table, sat down opposite me, and said, "That person is our former colleague. Nobody in the company knows you've been discharged from the hospital yet."

I lowered my head, hesitated for a moment, and said softly, "Chen Yuan, I want to ask you something."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "Of course, we're best friends!"

I looked up and stared into Chen Yuan's eyes. "I want to know why I'm in the hospital? I have a mental illness, right? Why was that woman afraid of me just now?"

Chen Yuan looked into my eyes, then gently patted my shoulder and slowly said, "Xiao Ming, you did have a mental illness, but you're completely cured now. Forget about the past and don't think about it anymore. Just let things take their course, and you'll live a good life."

Chen Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled. "Besides, you still have me as a friend. Although you don't remember me now, I think our friendship hasn't disappeared."

I saw concern in Chen Yuan's eyes, and something else that felt unfamiliar to me—perhaps this was the friendship he spoke of. A familiar feeling suddenly welled up inside me, warm and comforting, making me feel less alone.

After we finished our meal, it was already getting dark. I got into Chen Yuan's car again, and he said he would take me home.

I don't know why, but Chen Yuan didn't order the braised pork that I supposedly love. But I still ate to my heart's content... and even drank some beer. The hospital food is always the same few dishes, and I'm already tired of it.

Chen Yuan took me to a cluster of apartment buildings. It seems my previous life was quite comfortable; the buildings here looked very upscale. We entered one of the 10-story residential buildings, and the elevator stopped on the 7th floor. We opened one of the apartment doors. The apartment seemed to have been simply renovated; the walls and floors were freshly painted. Apart from the bedroom, only one room had some old boxes and similar items piled up. The other rooms were empty, and the bedroom only contained a bed and a few simple pieces of furniture.

Chen Yuan said to me apologetically, "The company has been quite busy lately. I just helped you with a simple tidying up. I'll go shopping with you tomorrow for the things you need."

Looking at the snow-white wall, I felt a surge of gratitude towards Chen Yuan. "Thank you for doing so much for me."

Chen Yuan laughed and said, "It seems you still don't know the extent of our friendship. You've never thanked me before."

I smiled too, and Chen Yuan looked at me happily, "You finally smiled."

II. A Terrible Dream

After Chen Yuan left, I quickly washed my face and lay down on the bed. I was a little tired today; I had never slept this late while I was in the hospital.

I drifted off to sleep, and before I knew it, it seemed like someone was singing in my ears. The singing gradually became clearer; it was a beautiful female voice: "Though we will never see each other again, I will always be by your side. The words we spoke will never change; we will never be apart..."

The singing seemed to grow closer, and I could almost see a girl in a white dress slowly walking towards me. Her features became clearer: long, flowing hair, large eyes, a smile on her face, and two shallow dimples. The girl stopped singing, but the song lingered, a faint melody rising from all directions, like background music in a movie.

I don't know when I stood up too, facing the girl. She stretched out her gentle arms as if to embrace me, and I couldn't help but reach out my hands in return...

Suddenly, the girl froze, her expression twisted in a terrifying grimace. I saw a knife protruding from her chest, blood streaming down her snow-white dress. Just as I was about to reach out and grab her to prevent her from falling, her head flew off. Then, her arms, legs, thighs, and torso all ripped apart, becoming separate pieces. I screamed in terror; my outstretched hands seemed frozen in place, unable to retract…

The girl's head hovered in the air, then suddenly smiled at me, blood flowing from her face, turning her sweet smile into something terrifying.