Chapter 137: Back to the Beginning

Chapter 137: Back to the Beginning

Meng Shu died.

On a gloomy morning, he passed away from respiratory failure.

Before his death, he had struggled for a whole week. Lake cried as he took him to the hospital, hoping to use their last savings to prolong his life.

But the doctor shook his head at him.

There was nothing more to be done.

It would only be a matter of days.

In his final days, Meng Shu still retained a sliver of consciousness, but he had lost all ability to move. Even breathing had become a burden.

Lake brought him back from the hospital again and stayed by his bedside, tears streaming down his face.

He knew Meng Shu was in great pain. He even tried to forcefully use magic, but was immediately struck by backlash from the laws. He couldn’t save Meng Shu, and ended up covered in his own blood.

Meng Shu could still barely move his eyes. He watched Lake’s disheveled appearance and tried hard to force a smile, but didn’t even have the strength to twitch the corners of his mouth.

He couldn’t speak, and he couldn’t chant any spells.

In his final moments, Meng Shu could only stare at the ceiling, day after day, in a daze.

On the morning of his death, Meng Shu had a vague premonition. He moved his fingers, his face pale, his breathing growing increasingly faint.

Lake sobbed uncontrollably beside him.

Death was too foreign to them. Lake had been sent to study the meaning of death, and for a long time, he couldn’t understand why people here would shed tears over death.

Not until he saw Meng Shu’s breathing weaken, the rise and fall of his chest gradually cease, did he suddenly understand the meaning of death.

But he wished he had never understood.

Tears fell onto the back of Meng Shu’s hand, scalding hot.

He saw Meng Shu’s lips move, but there was no sound. He quickly wiped his tears and leaned down. “What did you say?”

“...”

Still nothing.

Lake stared at his dry lips. Even though he couldn’t hear, he knew what he was saying—“Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying, I really am not.” Lake, tears still falling, grasped his hand and choked out in his own defense. “Which eye saw me crying?”

“...”

Both eyes saw it.

Meng Shu wanted to say that, but he couldn’t utter a word. He looked calmly into the distance, his eyes hollow. Slowly, he closed his eyes and stepped into the white space.

Don’t cry.

That was his final wish.

A few minutes later, Lake felt his breath stop. In disbelief, he shook his shoulder, but there was no response.

“……Meng Shu? Brother? Are you still there?”

There was no answer.

Long before his death, Meng Shu had arranged a prepaid funeral package for himself. Not long after he passed, all the necessary documents were processed.

Only then did Lake learn that this world had something called a “funeral,” but since Meng Shu had no family or friends, no funeral would be held. He couldn’t even afford a small plot of land for burial. He chose to be cremated.

So people here turned into earth or a box of ashes when they died.

Lake didn’t quite understand the laws of this world. He did his best to handle Meng Shu’s funeral arrangements, but when it came to his ashes, he was at a loss. He couldn’t figure out how a person could end up crammed into such a small box, not even leaving behind a physical body.

Meng Shu had left him a small sum of money, enough to sustain him for another two months in this world.

But Lake’s heart had begun to waver. He had come here to explore the meaning of death, and he had already completed that research. If he stayed any longer, he feared he’d get too emotional.

So he opened the magic passage ahead of schedule, preparing to return to his own world.

According to the laws, after completing academic research, a scholar could take one item from this world as a reward for exploring a foreign world alone.

At first, Lake wanted to take the phone back to examine, but he didn’t know what to do with Meng Shu’s ashes. He couldn’t just dig a random hole and bury them, could he?

After thinking it over, Lake held the urn, with a sad face. “Brother, I really mean it. I’m giving up the phone just to bring you with me to my world.”

Six days after Meng Shu’s death, Lake had gathered all his materials and opened the magic passage, carrying Meng Shu’s urn.

Once he returned, he would never be able to come back to this world.

Before stepping into the magic passage, Lake turned back to take one last look at the small apartment Meng Shu had rented—small, dark, old and damp, but Meng Shu had tried so hard to live there.

When the wall surface peeled, he put up wallpaper. When the floor cracked, he mended it. The room was small and cluttered with odds and ends, yet everything was neatly organized.

Lake had wandered in this world for a long time, and this was the first place he had ever lived.

He gazed at it longingly for a few moments, then steeled his heart and turned away, not forgetting to curse: “Dumbass Meng Shu, next life don’t live in some shithole like this.”

Lake entered the magic passage, waiting for the laws to bring him home.

After waiting in the passage for a few minutes, Lake opened his eyes and found himself still inside the magic passage. Confused, he bent down to check the formation. “I didn’t mess up the drawing. Why can’t I go back?”

He activated the formation again and waited a few more minutes, but he still remained in place.

Holding Meng Shu’s urn, he spun around in place. “Strange, very strange.”

Why would the magic passage be closed?

After a moment’s thought, Lake altered the pattern of the magic array. Since he couldn’t teleport directly through the laws, he would try using the same magic array he had used for Meng Shu.

That array was meant for a hero from another world, and Lake couldn’t control where he would land.

He worried it might send him to some godforsaken place with no teleportation formation.

“mika, moska, makabaka.”

He chanted the spell, and the array emitted a blinding white light. Lake breathed a sigh of relief. At least this magic array hadn’t been cut off.

He vanished from the formation.

When he opened his eyes again, Lake fell out of the array, instinctively clutching the urn, and landed hard on his butt.

His tailbone throbbing, Lake picked himself up, grimacing. This hero-summoning formation is the worst! It always dropped people from midair!

Who in their right mind uses this kind of formation!

He looked around at his surroundings—the familiar layout, the bright and spacious room. It actually teleported him straight home!

Lake almost burst into tears. God knows how long he'd been suffering! Finally, he was back in his own home!

He glanced down at the urn in his arms and muttered to himself, "Bro, that cemetery on your side charged fees, and we didn't have the money. You said to scatter your ashes, but I really couldn't bring myself to do it, so I'll just keep you at home."

He looked around, finally placing Meng Shu's urn on the bookshelf. Next to it was a pretty vase with fresh lilies.

"Looks like Mom's been cleaning my room," Lake said, his nose stinging as he looked at the flowers. "I was never happy with you. You were too poor to even afford food. From now on, you'll just stay with me... Meng Shu, you're such a pain."

His eyes welled up again, and he hurriedly wiped his tears. "I wasn't crying."

Footsteps approached from outside the door, and a soft female voice called out: "Who's in there? Lake, are you back?"

It was Mom!

For the first time, Lake thought his mom's voice had never sounded so sweet. He eagerly opened the door and threw his arms around her. "Mom! I'm back!"

His mother looked at him in surprise, then patted his back. "Didn't you say you'd be gone for six years? Why are you back so soon?"

Lake shook his head and said in a muffled voice, "I finished my mission early, so I came back early."

"Coming back early is a good thing," his mother sighed. "But why do you look like you're about to cry?"

Lake pouted. "...I lost someone very important."

His mother asked, "Did you have a fight?"

Lake choked out, "He died."

"Then just bring him back to life. If you don't have enough money, I can lend you some."

"Mom, it's not about money." He hugged her tighter, but couldn't hold back the tears. "Their world doesn't allow resurrection... Once you die, you're really gone."

His mother was stunned. "They don't allow resurrection..."

She didn't know what to say to comfort Lake, so she just reached up and patted his head. "I'll cook you your favorite dishes... Don't be too sad..."

Lake nodded gloomily, and the two chatted on and on about what happened in the other world. Hearing about Meng Shu's plight, even his mother couldn't help but get teary-eyed. "Oh, that's so tragic."

The more they talked, the sadder Lake got. He cried until his nose ran, and blew his nose loudly as he sobbed. "Why is it so brutal! Their world is too cruel! I never want to go back! Even if there were phones with games, I wouldn't go back!"

After he had cried himself out, his mother took him to dinner and then sent him back to his room. She said worriedly, "It's too late now. You should get some sleep. I'm very sorry about your friend, but don't grieve too much. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

Lake curled up in the clean sheets, wiping his tears and snot all over the blanket. "I know..."

He cried his eyes out, his eyes puffy, until he drifted into a dazed sleep.

The next day, before dawn, Lake woke up. His eyes were dry and bloodshot, and his throat was parched. Rubbing his eyes, he got out of bed to get a drink of water and take a shower.

He went to the living room, turned on the light, and looked for his cup.

He'd been away from home for so long that many of his things had been put away. Lake rummaged through the cabinets for ages before finding his cup. As he was filling it with water, his mother suddenly came out of her room and stood on the second floor, staring at him in surprise.

Lake's voice was thick with congestion as he looked up at her. "Mom, you're up so early?"

His mother was taken aback. She hurried down the stairs, muttering, "Oh my gosh, Lake, when did you get back? Didn't you say you'd be gone for six years?"

Lake took a sip of water and looked at her blankly. "I told you yesterday, didn't I? I finished my mission early and came back."

His mother frowned. "What do you mean yesterday?"

"Mom, are you losing it?" Lake set down his cup. "I came back yesterday afternoon. I even told you about my friend. Don't you remember?"

"What are you talking about, kid?" She reached out and touched his face, looking completely puzzled. "Did something turn into you or what? I don't understand a word you're saying."

"I really did come back yesterday! If you don't believe me, go ask Dad!"

Lake thought she was acting crazy and irritably moved her hand away.

The racket soon made his father poke his head out. As soon as he saw Lake, his face beamed. "Son, you're back! So soon!"

Lake's eyes went wide. He said incredulously, "What's wrong with you two? I came back yesterday! You've both forgotten?"