Chapter 263: The Return Journey 2

Chapter 263: The Return Journey 2

Ji Xinghai gazed at Qin Yu's resolute profile, his lips tightly pursed in a sharp line.

He had always thought he had long let go, accepting that he was simply someone who couldn't be tamed. But when someone stood before him with unwavering support for his decisions, showing him through actions that "you were not wrong," he realized his lingering resentment.

Back then, he did not know he would traverse multiple worlds; for a long time, he believed he had accidentally entered the body of a stray child and still wished to return home to his parents.

Even after his teacher said that 'JiuZhou' did not exist in this world, he still wanted to search for it.

Yet an invisible contract bound him.

The teacher brought him back from outside, carefully looked after him, introduced him to other children, taught him how to play with them. Then, he introduced him to some people in the village, exchanging names, forming bonds, and told him:

"If no one guards the village, those you play with will never grow up. Those who suppress their desires to retain their humanity will be displaced. They need you."

Guarding the village meant hanging like a sword over the heads of certain aberrations.

Survivor Village was enclosed by earthen walls, planted all around with plants that aberrations despised. The only entrance was at the village gate, where the clinic stood.

The key to peaceful coexistence between original beings and aberrations was that "no one breaks the taboo, and ordinary lives remain unthreatened." Yet there were always those who harbored restless desires, unable to endure the monotonous life.

Doctors were the swords, aimed at the aberrations. Thus, aberrations saw him as an enemy, and so did ordinary people. It was natural that he was hated.

Simultaneously, he also despised those who could not control their desires and lost their boundaries—this too was natural.

"I knew why I felt you were special the moment I saw you!" Ji Xinghai suddenly placed his hand on Qin Yu's shoulder, his thoughts leaping from one point to another.

The previously somber atmosphere was suddenly broken. Qin Yu looked at his carefree smile, wondering if he had truly let go.

"This is the first time I've seen such a restrained monster, silently resisting all pain. Ah Qin, you are more human than me. I am just a hair's breadth away from crossing the line, just a hair's breadth."

He showed his white teeth, somewhat smugly: "Now you belong to me."

Qin Yu was speechless. So it wasn't just him who harbored such possessive desires?

He couldn't say those words aloud; even abnormal beings would blush. But he could secretly respond: "Yes, you own me now."

Ji Xinghai looked again at the tree on the hill.

Bound by gratitude, he provided treatment during the day, trading medical skills for living supplies, and held a gun at night, waking up at any sound. Over time, he could no longer sleep deeply.

Until death, he never left.

"Did you see through my incomplete wickedness from the start, or were you also gambling?"

With the person gone, the tree could not answer his question.

Ji Xinghai didn't need an answer because he had already gained enough to stop doubting himself about this transaction filled with too many things.

Here, he was used to being attacked by smiling faces, being hated, staying vigilant, and enduring loneliness... All these became the capital for his future survival.

But he did not thank these hardships.

"Everything is over; we are even now."

He held Qin Yu's hand, turned around, facing away from the tree and toward the sunlight: "I want to eat ice cream again."

That ice cream shop, passed down through three generations, had been open for decades, but he only tasted it occasionally in the first ten years, never again in the following decade.

Because he couldn't have it, it slowly became the most beautiful memory and fantasy this land left him.

"Now I can eat whenever I want." He thought.

Qin Yu held his hand, listening to his heartbeat, which had returned to calm, even a bit relaxed.

Those dark eyes glanced at the withered tree, the force of death spreading from its roots upward. The already dry leaves fell off, extinguishing the last bit of vitality.

They bought ice cream from the shop again. Qin Yu seemed to taste rich creaminess, though it might have been his sense of smell deceiving him.

The shop owner received another golden melon seed, looking around but finding no suspicious individuals, so she temporarily put it away.

This time, Ji Xinghai ate very slowly. The melted ice cream soaked the outer shell, making it no longer crisp, yet it remained delicious.

The two walked forward confidently, boarding a train to the distant lands. Ji Xinghai leaned against the window, watching the scenery flash by.

More and more new sights appeared, and suddenly a large patch of green jumped into view, indicating they had entered a new region. The old, dilapidated scenes were swept aside as the train entered a tunnel and emerged into new life.

The bright light at the end stung Ji Xinghai's eyes, but he stubbornly refused to close them. Everything changed in an instant, and the next moment they were no longer on the train.

They appeared in a unique cemetery, shaded by green trees and meticulously cleaned, but the tombstones bore no names.

Qin Yu observed the different landscape. This was a humid mountainous area, with the cemetery at the foot of the mountain. Judging by its style, it seemed more official than civilian.

And the nameless tombstones...

"Am I here too? Oh, but I'm not." Ji Xinghai walked past the nameless tombstones, muttering to himself, which Qin Yu heard.

Qin Yu recalled that Ji Xinghai was proficient in M language, able to distinguish ordinary people from drug lords at a glance, with experience surviving in the wilderness, and knowledge of mercenary team survival modes.

He had carried out missions overseas and encountered mercenaries, but Ji Xinghai did not follow that path.

Border anti-drug police, an undercover agent?

Ji Xinghai never detailed his past, and Qin Yu did not know there was a second transmigration.

"Are these all anti-drug police and undercover agents?" Qin Yu wanted to bring flowers but didn't, so he saluted the nameless tombstones.

"Ah Qin, over here!" In the distance, Ji Xinghai waved at him. He had almost reached the edge, where the area was beautifully arranged, with trimmed spherical greenery and many flowers planted below.

Qin Yu walked over and saw a unique tombstone. The top part was normal, but the bottom was intricately carved with steamed buns, noodles, rice, roasted chicken, braised pork, and wild mushroom stew...

"..." He couldn't help feeling sad. Was this to ensure he wouldn't go hungry in the afterlife?

"This is a custom-made one. Uncle swore he would never use it for me, but here it is," Ji Xinghai said to Qin Yu with a hint of happiness. "I just looked around, but didn't find his tombstone. I guess he's still doing well."

He hadn't lived as long in this world as in the previous one; he died at twenty-seven, two days shy of his birthday. But in terms of experiences and people met, he far exceeded the previous world.

Qin Yu walked up to Ji Xinghai. Interestingly, when Ji Xinghai mentioned his death, his state was actually 'joyful', completely different from the previous world.

"Is Xinghai a police officer here?"

"No."

"An orphan of a martyr?"

"No."

"Don't think too much. Just an ordinary person. Dropped out at thirteen, didn't even finish middle school." He squatted down in front of his tombstone, hands on his knees. "Maybe I was too restrained in the previous world, so I let loose here."

He could now speak about these things calmly.

"There was a kind policewoman in the neighborhood who always tried to persuade me. She knew I was an orphan with no money and wanted to sponsor my education. Unfortunately, she passed away after a few days. At that time, I wasn't really interested in living either. If I had to die, I might as well choose a meaningful way."

"With a bit of basic chemistry knowledge and some stolen chemicals, I managed to achieve my goal. Killing someone turned out to be so simple."

It wasn't about revenge; he just wanted to die. If he could die more spectacularly, all the better.

After realizing this wasn't his hometown, the tension built up over a lifetime snapped. His castle was now in ruins.

"Perhaps it was a side effect of crossing over, but my memory, comprehension, and thinking abilities improved significantly. I became a quick learner, whether it was good or bad."

He looked up at Qin Yu. Despite the sunlight making his eyes sparkle like gold, Qin Yu felt they were deep and bottomless, like an abyss.

"Unfortunately, the thrill of being above others was short-lived, so I quickly grew tired of it."

Children learn bad habits easily; they don't have clear boundaries between right and wrong.

Even now, those boundaries were blurry. He only stayed on track thanks to the early moral values he cultivated.

Qin Yu also sat down in front of the tombstone, cross-legged on the ground, looking at the unfamiliar yet slightly familiar smiling face on the stone: "If I had been here back then, it would have been nice."

"Huh? Fall together with me? In that case, I'd mercilessly leave you behind." Ji Xinghai immediately rejected the idea. He wanted to find someone who firmly held their principles, someone who was both similar yet fundamentally different.

"If you change, I'll eat you."

His expression was so serious that no one doubted the truth in his words.

Qin Yu seriously pondered if his thoughts had strayed recently. After all, he wasn't a particularly moral human anymore.

Ji Xinghai, who had been squatting, also sat down beside him and laughed: "Don't worry about it. Those who fall don't think about what they did wrong. You'll always be my navigator, right?"

If his path deviates, remember to pull me back, Navigator.

Qin Yu, without a heartbeat or warmth, felt his cheeks heat up. He turned to look at the tombstone: "Who is the uncle who erected this tombstone?"

"It's the husband of the policewoman. I contacted him a few times, provided some clues, and cooperated several times. I wonder how he convinced them to put my tombstone here. Shameful, truly shameful." If he had known he would end up in such a solemn place, he wouldn't have designed his tombstone this way, ruining the atmosphere.

As they spoke, two women entered the empty cemetery, the older leading the younger.

"Our job here is simple: sweep the grounds once in the morning and evening. During the process, pay attention to each tomb. Report any issues immediately, and the maintenance team will come. As for weeding and cleaning the tombstones, there's assistance on the first day of every month. You don't need to worry about these."

"Actually, the most important thing here is respecting the deceased."

The young woman nodded as she listened. When they passed Ji Xinghai's tombstone, the young girl exclaimed: "Sister Wei, look at this!"

The older woman also noticed Ji Xinghai's unique tombstone. She was unfazed: "You want to know if this is the tombstone of the original model for Skyward Xingyao, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes." The young girl nodded vigorously.

"Yes."

The young woman's cheeks flushed with excitement as she approached the tombstone and saw the photo: "So young."

The older woman also half-squatted and pulled out a few weeds growing nearby.

"Every year, after each movie, people come to pay their respects. It's quite nice."

The young girl nodded: "There are already seven movies, almost becoming a regular feature. He's really handsome and can do everything, lighting up all romantic skills. No wonder he gets a new wife in each movie."

Qin Yu looked at Ji Xinghai with a probing gaze.

Ji Xinghai: ...

Ji Xinghai felt his scalp tingle: "She's slandering me."