Chapter 128: Astrology

Chapter 128 Astrology

Lake's fair, handsome face turned gloomy, his face taut. "You're dying anyway, why do you still care so much? Always thinking about others..."

"Haha... it's not worth being sad for me." Meng Shu let out a weak, slow laugh, his eyes no longer clear, clouded and dim. "I used to think that it would be nice if someone cared about me. Now I wish no one would care about me at all."

He struggled to tighten his grip, holding the gem and glass bead firmly in his palm, his breath as faint as a whisper. "I have a feeling... this is the last time I'm going to that world..."

Lake gritted his teeth. "You know you can't bear this anymore, but you still insist on going! You could have lived for three months, but it's only been half a month and you're already..."

Worn down to this state.

He turned his face away, his voice muffled. "Why do you want everyone to forget you? It was so hard for anyone to remember you—why do this?"

"...That cat—he's impulsive and might hurt himself." Meng Shu closed his eyes weakly, slowly laying bare his inner thoughts. "I... don't want him to be sad anymore."

In truth, at first Meng Shu hadn't given much genuine affection to Ling Qingjue. He just thought Ling Qingjue's face was so handsome it made his legs weak—driven by lust at first sight, he planned to play around irresponsibly before dying.

He thought, I've been unlucky my whole life—if I mess with one person before I die, God will forgive me, right?

Perhaps Ling Qingjue saw through his insincerity, which was why he never treated Meng Shu well.

Meng Shu, by nature, had a good temper, but he also had a bit of a vengeful streak.

When Ling Qingjue sneered at him, Meng Shu pretended not to care on the surface, but secretly held a grudge.

No matter how arrogant Ling Qingjue was, once Meng Shu had him, he would have no choice but to obediently listen to him.

The lifelong timid Meng Shu decided, before death, to do one bad thing: trick a little cat into giving him his true heart, then shatter it ruthlessly.

When a person knows they're about to die, it's easy for the evil buried deep inside them to surface—they become selfish, mean, and bitter.

But things took a turn for the worse.

Meng Shu regretted it.

He thought Ling Qingjue, with that sharp tongue and such rude manners, must be a very bad cat.

A bad cat deserves to be abandoned—he felt no guilt.

But Ling Qingjue was secretly protecting everyone, bearing the fate imposed by the laws without a single complaint, staying alone in his small room, talking only to his flowers and plants.

Ling Qingjue had clearly sensed his lack of sincerity, yet still chose to believe him, awkwardly drawing closer.

How smart could Ling Qingjue really be?

A foolish little cat, easily tricked by humans.

Meng Shu's thoughts were a mess. He remembered his original malicious intentions, then recalled the look in Ling Qingjue's eyes, and the words his mother had said before she left...

Life is so short, it flashes before your eyes. Looking back on his whole life, the person Meng Shu had wronged the most was Ling Qingjue.

He'd thought he could die with a clean slate, then go before the King of Hell and yell angrily, "I've lived righteously my whole life—I never did anything bad! Why did you arrange this fate for me?"

But it turned out he had actually done something bad.

He was puzzled, and didn't understand. "Why did he actually fall for me?"

Someone as phony, dull, clumsy, and pathetic as me—how could anyone give me their true heart?

No one gave him an answer.

After a long pause, Meng Shu sighed and said, "I was wrong."

Lake stared at him motionlessly. "At least you're sincere to him now. It's just a relationship—you didn't hurt him. What wrong have you done? And now you want everyone to forget you—have you ever thought about their wishes?"

"But... have they ever experienced true death?"

In their world, death was just an ordinary concept.

Just use magic, chant some unintelligible spell, and the dead would be revived.

Even after animals died, they could be revived through special means. Their souls still lingered; even without a body, they could meet their souls. It was just more complicated than with humans.

True death, eternal parting—those were utterly unimaginable to the people of that world.

Meng Shu's eyes curved into a tired smile. "I... knew I was dying, yet I deliberately teased him... Haha, dying is my karma..."

He struggled for breath, paused a long time, then continued, "Don't let them know this kind of death... I don't want to bring real death to Moon Bay. That place is like a perfect fairy tale—it's the place I dream of... I don't want everyone to be sad because of me... Fairy tales have happy endings, don't they? Don't make everyone unhappy because of me."

Lake was silent for a long time. One of his missions in coming to this world was to study the meaning of death.

Now he seemed to understand the meaning of death.

It's precisely because death exists that we become so precious to each other, right?

He didn't fully grasp it—the concept was too vague for him. He clenched his fist, then unclenched it, finally lowering his head in defeat. "Go find Jia Zhao. He should have a way. He's a star oracle—everyone is a star in the sky. If he removes you from the astrolabe, your traces will disappear."

"...Jia Zhao?" Meng Shu laughed softly. "I haven't seen him in a long time."

"That guy's pretty impressive. I hear he's a wild fox. Not long after birth, somehow got separated from his pack, survived all kinds of magical beasts in the magic forest. Later, he was picked up by the president of the Adventurers' Guild and became his adopted son."

"...So Jia Zhao isn't the president's real son."

No wonder a human had a fox as a son.

"Later, Jia Zhao taught himself magic and helped his dad keep the Adventurers' Guild running. The Adventurers' Guild doesn't have much money, but the president is a warm-hearted guy who often goes into the magic forest to rescue animals, so he's always in the red... That kid Jia Zhao was always scraping for money, and I heard he gave it all to his dad."

No wonder he pinched pennies even after scamming so much.

He hadn't saved a single cent for himself.

Lake gently placed his palm over Meng Shu's hand, holding back tears. "I'm a space mage, and he's an astrological prophet. If you're really sure you want to erase your existence, you have to go to him."

Would Jia Zhao agree?

That damn fox would probably swindle him out of more money, right?

Meng Shu laughed for no reason. He blinked, which served as a nod. "Okay. Thank you, Lake."

Lake's eyes stung with tears, and he choked out through tears, "Anyway, I'll remember you. Even if no one else does, it doesn't matter—I'll remember you..."

Meng Shu wanted to wipe his tears but was too weak, so he just looked at him with a helpless smile.

"Mika, Moska, Makabaka."