Chapter 265: The Return Journey 4

Chapter 265: The Return Journey 4

The path under the setting sun was particularly picturesque.

Their shadows were stretched long; Qin Yu, who had been half a step behind, now stepped forward to walk shoulder to shoulder with him. He knew that Ji Xinghai wanted not just a follower but a companion and comrade who could keep pace with him.

In fact, there were people who could do so, but they came too early.

In those memories, there was no shortage of admirers drawn by his free spirit, including some who stayed for the long haul. But the young boy refused to settle down for anyone.

Many people suddenly left their original environments, leaving their families behind. At first, they might miss home, but over time, reality would wear them down.

Ji Xinghai, however, kept his time frozen at that moment, refusing to grow up.

"What are you thinking about?" Ji Xinghai asked.

Qin Yu looked ahead at the setting sun: "Thinking about your baby videos, when you were a few months old, crawling around in a onesie on the bed, rubbing your head bald. And..."

"Stop thinking about it." Ji Xinghai covered his mouth, "Why did Mom show you everything?"

Qin Yu didn't say anything, but the corners of his mouth curved upward: the luckiest thing in his life was meeting Ji Xinghai in the year he returned home—neither too early nor too late.

They stayed in this world for several days. This world was very similar to JiuZhou, but for some reason, various crimes were rampant, and ordinary people who lived peaceful lives were inexplicably dragged into unrelated incidents.

So it wasn't surprising that Ji Xinghai became a world-renowned protagonist of the 'Sky Thief' series in this world. It wasn't his fault; something was wrong with this world. Information here was poorly guarded, making it too easy to learn or commit crimes.

"Is it a legal issue?" Qin Yu guessed.

"I think it's an issue of temperament. Civilizations have their own temperaments. Maybe this is a criminal investigation world where extreme cases are more likely to occur. Fortunately, Mom isn't here; she'd be exhausted," Ji Xinghai added silently, "If she came here and found out what I'm like, she'd be furious."

If Mom came here, should he turn himself in or steal some lost relics to make amends? He couldn't help pondering this.

Days passed as they wandered around without any signs of being able to leave.

In the previous world, they could leave because Ji Xinghai finally left the land that had confined him. So what about this world? Halfway through, Qin Yu suddenly stopped, remembering something important that had been overlooked.

How did Ji Xinghai die in this world?

Qin Yu's first instinct was to search online for clues, but like movie adaptations, internet rumors might not reflect the truth. If he found false leads online and based his deductions on them, he might end up with completely opposite conclusions.

He decided to follow rational thinking and directly ask the question.

Ji Xinghai wasn't an ordinary person either, and sometimes their thoughts aligned. So he calmly replied, "I think I died of illness?"

"..." So he wasn't sure either?

Ji Xinghai brushed aside his long sideburns: "How did I really die? Let's check online."

They immediately went online to find answers.

As Qin Yu had anticipated, Ji Xinghai's life was so legendary that even his death couldn't be ordinary. At least, netizens wouldn't allow it. While he died quietly in a seaside hotel, the internet was rife with multiple versions of his death.

"I remember dying of illness," Ji Xinghai almost doubted his memory, "in a hotel by the sea. Come to think of it, it must have affected the hotel too, since someone died there."

He had always been reckless, and his health wasn't great, so a bit of wind made him feverish, leading to complications. In that state, he couldn't seek help, and eventually, he accepted his fate and waited quietly to die.

When he died, he felt a bit apologetic, knowing it would scare the hotel staff and affect the business.

"In truth, there's no need for an apology. That hotel has gained notoriety thanks to you, and the room has been preserved indefinitely. Should you wish, we could pay it a visit," Qin Yu remarked. Numerous fans would make a special trip to stay there; they felt not a hint of fear, but rather, they were quite thrilled.

"…let's talk about those rumors instead."

There is a saying that he offended too many powerful people, who couldn't trouble him openly but could hire assassins in the dark, so he died from poisoning.

The reason it wasn't detected in the final autopsy is that the poison metabolizes quickly, or perhaps someone bribed the forensic examiner.

Another account suggests that Ji Xinghai's body, worn down by years of relentless travel, could no longer bear the strain, and he tragically passed away after an old injury flared up during a struggle with others.

Thinking of him enduring the pain of his old wounds and returning to the hotel alone to face death, the netizens couldn't help but shed tears.

"...Do I look like an idiot?" Should we still return to the hotel with the old injury acting up? Shouldn’t we go to the hospital right away?

"The psychologist said that you might have depression or other psychological issues, so you can’t be judged by normal standards." Qin Yu pointed to a widely circulated explanation.

No matter which world it is, the trope of beauty, strength, and tragedy always sells.

The most absurd claim is that he never actually died, but faked his death to live in seclusion, and is now quietly enjoying life with his beloved in the midst of the city.

"Ignoring the span of time, there's some truth to that." Ji Xinghai stroked his chin. Wasn't he just like that now? Even if no one else could see it.

"It's already impossible to find the truth."

"I was almost forgetting..." Before Ji Xinghai could finish his sentence, he was kissed on the forehead.

Qin Yu didn't know why he felt the need to do this; perhaps it was just an instinctive reaction. Hearing about the misfortune that had befallen him in the past, both his body and his soul felt uneasy.

Extremely uncomfortable.

"You..."

"I sense that you're feeling sad," Qin Yu said.

Ji Xinghai didn't know what had come over him; in any case, upon hearing this sentence, he maintained that expression and that action, solidifying in place for several seconds.

Then he laughed and shook his head, preparing to say something to liven up the atmosphere. A hand reached over, and a drop of water fell onto it, sliding down into the palm.

"What is this?" Ji Xinghai was taken aback and instinctively looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling was clean with no signs of a leak, so he suddenly realized what it was.

Impossible?

He thought there must have been some mistake and reached up to wipe his face, feeling the wet traces on it.

Even an abnormal being would know they were crying when tears fell.

How long had it been since he last cried?

Qin Yu sat across from Ji Xinghai, silently watching him, tears falling drop by drop from those eyes like black holes.

"Why are you crying?" Ji Xinghai paused, his hand mid-wipe on his cheek.

"I don't know." Qin Yu could only answer this way because he genuinely didn't understand what this feeling was. Knowing and truly experiencing it were two different things; he felt at a loss.

The two of them stared at each other like fools, looking at each other's strange tearful faces.

"Okay, I'll be honest. I do remember some things." Ji Xinghai wasn't afraid of much, but he couldn't bear seeing someone he cared about in distress. He chose to surrender.

"But I really did die from illness." He still emphasized this point, concealing some details but not lying.

"At that time, I was indeed injured, so I went to recuperate alone. One morning, after catching a bit of a chill, I started running a low fever.

"This was just a cold, and I knew how to handle it, so I bought some medicine and prepared to sleep it off. But in the middle of the night, it suddenly turned into a high fever. My consciousness became hazy, and my throat began to swell painfully.

"I rarely got sick, so I never expected it to hit me so hard."

Recalling something deliberately forgotten isn't pleasant, but he understood that lancing a festering wound and cleaning it out is necessary for healing. He always knew this.

Given how he used to live, it was already a miracle that he managed to keep going as long as he did. So that outbreak wasn't unexpected; it seemed inevitable.

"The high fever lowered my immunity, causing many hidden issues to flare up." A thin layer of sweat covered Ji Xinghai's skin as he touched his throat, his mind wandering back into memories, his gaze unfocused.

Choking.

He died choking.

"It was like a severe allergic reaction, with rapid swelling in my throat blocking my airway. When I woke up, I was already suffocating. My limbs were weak, unable even to lift my hands."

Realizing he couldn't press the alarm button, he gave up. He tried to control his facial muscles, preventing them from contorting into a grotesque expression. He wanted to leave this world looking peacefully asleep.

Death is unpredictable, yet he still wanted to hold onto that tiny bit of control, like how he looked when dying. To prove he was utterly fearless, facing death with calmness.

But it was just self-deception.

His first death, shot in the heart from behind, wasn't too painful or frightening. Instead, it brought a sense of 'finally being free.'

But this time, he slowly felt death approaching, life being drained away bit by bit. It was a very long process, one he couldn't bear to recall twice.

He wanted to go home.

"Someone interfered?" Qin Yu remembered that wind chills usually caused low fevers and throat pain, but rarely such a severe allergic-like reaction.

"Perhaps. Even if someone did, it wouldn't be surprising. Those who kill will be killed." Ji Xinghai didn't resent it; he just didn't want to recall it and didn't want others to see his vulnerable side.

Listening to Ji Xinghai's calm narration, Qin Yu remained motionless until he finished. Then, he took his hand and placed it on his forehead.

Thorns materialized, crawling over Qin Yu's hand like snakes. Their breaths connected through the pact, and Qin Yu's deeply buried memories were transmitted to Ji Xinghai.

Ji Xinghai 'saw' Qin Yu's past.

Skipping quickly through childhood and adolescence, the memories paused at Qin Yu's eleventh failed trial. By then, he had learned about the existence of the 'Battle of the Hungry Academy.'

"If no one had warned him, even another two or three Qin Yus wouldn't have made a difference. From the start, this was a dead-end path."

He chose 'death,' transforming into an abnormal being.

No one's death can be dignified, especially not when transforming into an abnormal being. It required an intense, life-defying obsession, losing all other emotions in endless trials, retaining only that obsession.

The more resolute one's will, the longer and more painful the transformation.

The Hungry Academy was designed to drag the entire world into darkness by making wrong decisions. It knew where Qin Yu's vulnerabilities lay.

Ji Xinghai saw human Qin Yu being tormented to the point of blurred consciousness, repeatedly making painful choices, pride trampled underfoot, emotions nearly extinguished.

Everything human was ground down to dust, leaving only the obsession. The transformation was successful.

"Xinghai, now we both know our most pitiful appearances." Qin Yu didn't know how to comfort someone; he could only bring them to the same starting point this way.

See, everyone is equally pitiful when facing death.

Because there are things we can't let go of, making a graceful exit impossible.

"Please allow me a bold request: can you not make another pact? Thinking of another existence being favored besides me makes me jealous."

His expression was so earnest, as if offering his shattered soul, making it impossible to refuse.

"Alright." Ji Xinghai leaned forward, sealing his lips with a kiss. "Only you."