Chapter 566: Chapter 49: Awakening from a Dream_2

“Don’t go, buddy, you could chat with me a bit more,” Mr. Lan sighed. “It’s really boring in here! Occasionally, a few people come along, we exchange a few words, and then they go crazy. It’s not often I find someone who can have a normal conversation like you.”

Hearing this, Gongsun Ce’s thoughts stirred, reminding him of the content of their last conversation.

“Hey, no, wait a second. Do you have the nerve to say you don’t lie?” Gongsun Ce said with a cold laugh, “Last time, you told me Kong Wang is not an evil spellcaster, and here you are outright lying to me.”

Mr. Lan clicked his mouse and brought up a photo of a beautiful woman on the computer. The seductive woman’s body fused terrifyingly with a dragon’s form, the very image of evil Gongsun Ce had seen on Zero Island.

Pointing at the photo, he uttered in confusion, “Kong Wang seems to have done quite well for herself, how is she evil?”

Gongsun Ce was dumbfounded. “The Red Mage is world-renowned as an evil spellcaster!”

“Ah—then I should say, there is a little problem with your definition of ‘turning evil.'”

Mr. Lan smiled meaningfully.

“Someone who has not been influenced by others, creating the world they desire following the dictates of their heart, that’s the purest form of the Creation Realm Skill. In my view, Kong Wang has always been on the right path. Rather than saying her methods are incorrect… it would be more accurate to say, what’s really abnormal is what you call the ‘Dragon Slaying Skill.'”

Gongsun Ce felt the conversation was fraught with deeper meaning, but Mr. Lan didn’t give him the chance to ask further. The blue figure pressed the enter key on the keyboard, and instantly the table and computer vanished. They were back at the starting point of the seven paths, with Mr. Lan already stepping outside the path, standing with him at the center.

“It’s time to say goodbye, buddy!” Mr. Lan walked backwards towards the path of Desolate Form. “I’ve got some things to take care of recently, so you won’t be seeing me for a while.”

“How long?” Gongsun Ce asked subconsciously. He then reflected on his question, as if he were really sad to see Mr. Lan go.

“If I were to compare it to a light novel, I’d say almost one and a half volumes.”

“That long?! What’s with that tone, it’s as if you can see the future!”

“When you have enough information at hand, it’s not hard to predict the future.” Mr. Lan stopped at the entrance of the path and said with a smile, “Hey, buddy! Now that we’re on the topic, would you mind doing me a favor?”

“I mind,” Gongsun Ce replied cautiously.

“It’s nothing major, just keep an eye on Zhen Fan and Budman when you have the chance,” Mr. Lan said casually, “They are my seeds.”

“Oh… Ah?!”

Gongsun Ce couldn’t connect the two together at all, he said in shock, “Do those two have even one thing in common?! And why do you have two seeds?!”

“They’re both very weak. I’ve always been an enemy of the strong and a friend of the weak,” Mr. Lan said with a mischievous laugh, “As for the number… is there a chance that I’m a bit more formidable than you imagine?”

Mr. Lan whistled frivolously, looking just like a close friend who loves to cause trouble.

“Until next time, buddy! You’d better work hard on the path of love. I’ll be waiting for good news when we meet again.”

Gongsun Ce retorted, infuriated, “My personal life is none of your damn business!”

“Your stubborn attitude has me worried for you!” Mr. Lan exclaimed with an exaggerated sigh, “At this rate, there will come a day when you’ll end up with nothing. And what other outcome could there be for you, stripped of everything, but to embrace annihilation?”

“What are you talking about—”

“I’m saying, don’t take the happiness around you for granted.”

Mr. Lan spoke using his former appearance, imitating his former tone. For a moment, Gongsun Ce almost thought his younger self from three years ago had emerged from a dream to admonish his current self.

“If there’s a girl you like, you should go after her quickly… otherwise, one day, they will leave your life and never look back.”

Mr. Lan turned and walked into His path, disappearing from Gongsun Ce’s vision.

The young man with gray hair stared blankly ahead, the last words left by Mr. Lan echoing like a spell in his heart, unforgettable.

They always leave your life, don’t they? That’s to be expected. He had never been in love himself, nor had he entertained the thought; those girls, no matter how lovely and charming, were ultimately just friends to him.

But, but, whether it was the lingering influence of the evil spellcaster or the echoes of the Clarity Dream, he felt as though the 16-year-old boy was still shrieking within his body, howling, wearing a foolish uniform, uttering stupid words.

It was as if an actor became too engrossed, genuinely believing himself to be the character, that youthful arrogance of a younger self seemed to reawaken within him, fighting with his current self to assert dominance.

At 19, Gongsun Ce thought himself utterly ordinary; at 16, Gongsun Ce believed he was invincible.

At 19, Gongsun Ce had become accustomed to the heavy past; at 16, Gongsun Ce had almost drowned in that past.

At 19, Gongsun Ce wanted to live an unremarkable life in the city; at 16, Gongsun Ce was convinced he could conquer the entire sky city.

At 19, Gongsun Ce felt he was a gloomy guy unfit for romance; at 16, Gongsun Ce entertained different thoughts… boasting presumptuously in front of girls, looking like an idiot in the eyes of others, yet speaking with utter confidence…

In the past three years, he, Gongsun Ce, had grown up. But had he lost something in the process of growing up…?

A mix of conflicting emotions and almost arrogant fervor whirled non-stop in the young man’s heart. The view from the starting point of his journey gradually faded, and a new light appeared. Reaching out to that light with feelings he himself couldn’t quite describe, Gongsun Ce extended his hand—

·

“!”

A bright light pierced his eyes, almost bringing him to tears.

He blinked hard, barely adapting to the long-lost light source. A delicate face emerged from the light, a doll-like visage so beautiful it seemed emotionless, yet familiar and comforting to behold.

“Miss… you’re here.”

Gongsun Ce calmed down, and at that moment, all the frenzied emotions settled, and the manic self obediently rested. Slowly regaining his bearings, he truly felt that he had returned to the routine of everyday life.

…

But Qin Qianbai didn’t speak.

There were none of the greetings he expected, none of the care he imagined, nor any of the usual jokes. Qin Qianbai simply regarded him silently, her gaze very strange, so strange that it caused him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

“What’s wrong, Miss?! Has the Sky City fallen?!”

Gongsun Ce tensed up immediately, thinking that perhaps something unexpected had happened while he was unconscious?! He tried to prop himself up, and only then did he notice that his right hand was raised.

His body faithfully replicated the last action from the dream, a strange sensation coming from his palm. It felt like the soft fabric of a shirt, wrapped around something that fit perfectly in his hand, the elasticity at his fingertips reminding him of a young girl’s skin.

Gongsun Ce turned his eyeballs very slowly, praying frantically in his mind that he was wrong.

However, prayers have never had the slightest effect in the face of cruel reality.

Just as he had imagined.

The awkward episode from three years ago, when he had met a certain girl, was replaying now in a different form.

………….

Instantly, the air in the room turned as frigid as the polar regions.

Chatter, chatter, Gongsun Ce’s teeth couldn’t stop chattering.

Qin Qianbai moved his hand away bit by bit, and with an expressionless face, said:

“Pervert.”