Shang Xu's abilities were clearly usurped from another boss. Although inferior to Feng Yun's and often overpowered, he was still as tenacious as a cockroach.
"Teacher Xiaochi...let me take a bite, just one bite, just one bite..." Sethia's emotions were becoming increasingly out of control. He stared at Yan Chi's wrist, swallowing hard. If Tan Mo hadn't been holding his head down, Sethia would have bitten Yan Chi's hand.
Yan Chi focused intently on picking at the blood vessels. Sometimes, when Tan Mo wasn't holding Sethia down, the little jelly would open its mouth wide and try to bite. Yan Chi frowned and gave the little head a slap.
"Be good."
"..."
Sethia was dazed from the slap, but finally behaved for a moment, staring blankly at Yan Chi using tweezers to carefully remove the small red leech from the flesh.
The small red leech was still struggling violently. It had barbs growing on its body, which hooked onto Sethia's flesh as it pulled. The belated pain made Sethia burst into tears.
"Don't cry, it'll be out soon." Yan Chi frowned, his hands always wobbly as he wasn't a professional scalpel operator. He calmly used tweezers to wrap around the leech's tail and slowly pulled it out.
Sethia had never seen him so serious. He leaned weakly against Tan Mo's hand, looking deflated and listless.
From his arm, Yan Chi pulled out seven leeches. One was torn off, becoming two, wriggling and burrowing deeper into the flesh.
Yan Chi was never lacking in patience. He continued to focus on removing the worms. After removing the last leech, he heard a muffled thud.
"Bang!"
Shang Xu fell heavily at Yan Chi's feet. His body was covered in wounds of varying sizes, making him look disheveled. A scar stretched across most of his face.
Flesh and blood were torn open; Shang Xu's face was utterly disfigured. He touched the wound on his face, gave a sudden laugh, and then reached out to grab Yan Chi.
Yan Chi was about to dodge when he looked down and froze. In his vision, he saw Shang Xu's body split in two: one half writhing with terrifying red blood vessels, the other half pure white and immaculate.
It was as if two completely different souls had been stuffed into one body.
That half…was it the real Qiu Yunshu? Yan Chi's heart suddenly raced. Instead of retreating, he lunged forward, grabbing the pure white hand and pulling it back forcefully.
Shang Xu screamed. His body showed signs of splitting in the middle, countless blood-red threads extending and stretching from the split, lunging towards Yan Chi.
"Xiao Chi, get out of the way!"
Upon hearing Shen Mingsu's voice, Yan Chi instinctively released his grip and dodged to the side. The long arrow, carrying unstoppable force, pierced Shang Xu's body, splattering blood, and pinned him straight to the tree trunk.
Shang Xu groaned, blood spilling from his mouth. He finally saw Yan Qingyuan and the others not far away, recognizing at a glance that they were all Super S-level beings.
Looks like he'd been caught red-handed.
Shang Xu removed the ring from his thumb and swallowed it whole.
Meanwhile, Shen Mingsu anxiously examined Yan Chi, rolling up his sleeve to check his arm, then crouching down to examine his calf, confirming there were no wounds.
Shen Mingsu breathed a sigh of relief, but anger surged up immediately afterward. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from him? What if that red thread gets on you? What am I supposed to do…"
"It's okay, I saw it all," Yan Chi said excitedly. "Qiu Yunshu is still alive. I was holding Qiu Yunshu's hand, so there's no red thread. Besides, Shang Xu is currently parasitizing his body; I can separate them."
"No, it's too dangerous." Shen Mingsu rejected Yan Chi's idea without hesitation, his coldness making Yan Chi feel like a stranger. "There's no need to save him. Your safety is the most important."
"Why…" Yan Chi stared blankly at him, taking a deep breath. "You won't save Sethia, and you won't save Qiu Yunshu even though he's alive. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Yan… Suddenly, Qingyuan appeared beside Yan Chi. He glanced at Shen Mingsu and said, "Tell him."
"Yeah, yeah, if you keep hiding it, you'll lose your wife!" Xing Zhinan also walked over to them with a grin. He put his hand on Yan Qingyuan's shoulder, leaning half his body against him, ignoring Yan Qingyuan's threatening gaze. "Just lean on him, don't be stingy."
Xingluo was also with Xing Zhinan. Xingluo ran to check on Shang Xu, who was nailed to the tree, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it at him. "Evil deeds will surely lead to one's downfall, uncle."
Shang Xu's wounds were healing rapidly. The horrific wound on his face was now just a red scar. He glanced at Xingluo, as if facing an unreasonable junior, "Little kid, you'll get a spanking for that."
Xingluo made a face at him, "I think you'll get beaten to death by Uncle Feng Yun first."
Will that happen? Shang Xu laughed at Xingluo's ignorance. He opened the system space, pressed the [Exit] button, and waited for the system to teleport him away.
One second, two seconds…
[Error!]
A huge error message appeared on Shang Xu's system interface. The smile on Shang Xu's face froze, gradually fading away, as if a gentle breeze could easily blow his composure to the ground.
[System!]
Shang Xu roared at the system in his heart, trying to re-establish contact, but in the end, there was only deathly silence.
"Give up, the system's access is in my hands."
A boastful voice rang out. Shang Xu turned his head, and the familiar face instantly evoked his memories. "Fu Qin, you're still alive."
"I was supposed to be dead, but luckily I met my dear mommy." Shen Changyao smugly maintained a distance, enjoying Shang Xu's current miserable state. "When you stabbed me in the back, did you ever think this day would come?"
Shang Xu's eyes were icy. "No, I just wished I could grind you to dust back then."
"Too bad, it's too late for regrets now." Shen Changyao gloated. "Now it's my turn to grind you to dust."
Xingluo watched with amusement. "Yeah~ Who's in such a miserable state? It's Shang Xu! Clap clap!"
Shen Changyao immediately clapped, confirming his role as the straight man. The two of them, singing in unison, made Shang Xu's chest heave with anger.
Xingluo, pleased with Shang Xu's expression, then handed over the task of tormenting him to Shen Changyao and went to check on Sethia.
Ahui was applying herbal medicine to Sethia's arm. Lian Deng stood nearby, holding his cubs, feeling a pang of pain for Sethia at the sight of the gruesome wound.
Lian Deng, still shaken, said, "Thank goodness Dad let Ahui and me leave first."
If they had faced Shang Xu, they would have suffered too. This player was truly insidious and shameless.
"Teacher Xiaochi has removed all the red veins; the wound will heal quickly." Ahui bandaged Sethia, applying a little too much pressure, causing Sethia to cry out in pain.
Cecia pleaded pitifully. "Ahui, please be gentle, okay?"
Ahui, unlike Yan Chi, didn't have the patience to treat him. She immediately dropped the bandage, "Then do it yourself."
Tan Mo picked up the bandage and tied it around Sethia's wound. Sethia sniffed, "You and Teacher Xiao Chi are the best."
The other students from Class 1 also came over, looking at Shang Xu in the tree as if they were visiting a famous historical site. Shang Xu was in an extremely good mood, even waving and greeting them.
With parents watching intently from the sidelines, they weren't worried about their children getting hurt.
On the other side, Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu were still at an impasse. After a few minutes, Shen Mingsu finally revealed his plan, "I want to go back in time to before the system appeared and change everything that's happening now."
Yan Chi doubted his ears: "...What did you say?"
Everyone...going back to the past?
"But...but didn't you say that you and Feng Yun had gone back many times, but in the end, nothing could be changed?" Yan Chi was in a state of utter confusion, unsure how to face this situation. "Will it still work this time?"
"It will work," Shen Mingsu said with absolute certainty. "Feng Yun and I alone can't change things, but with the addition of Shen Changyao, who can rewrite the system, your father, and Xing Zhinan and the others...there's room for change."
No wonder Shen Mingsu was unwilling to rescue Sethia; he had already decided to give up on this opportunity and start all over again.
Yan Chi was at a loss. "What about me?"
He was only twenty-one years old this year. Would he still come to this school, still meet the students in Class One...and still encounter Shen Mingsu?
Shen Mingsu grabbed Yan Chi's hand and promised, "I will definitely find you."
"Find what?" Yan Qingyuan pushed Shen Mingsu away and pulled Yan Chi behind him. "You're not allowed to see him until Xiao Chi is an adult."
Yan Chi weakly said, "Dad, I'm an adult."
"You won't be an adult in a little while."
"..."
He couldn't argue.
Even if Shen Mingsu only reversed the timeline by ten years, turning Yan Chi into a little boy, those ten years were perhaps just an insignificant segment of the long lives of everyone else present.
Hearing Shen Mingsu's plan, Yi Luo was shocked. Even the chicken leg in his hand lost its flavor. He looked at Shen Mingsu in astonishment, "Are you going to go this far? Teacher Xiao Chi becomes a baby? Don't you want your husband anymore?"
Shen Mingsu's forehead veins bulged. Of course, he didn't want to do this, but he had no other choice. And these people were just adding fuel to the fire. "Then think of another way!"
Yi Luo felt guilty. "I'm sorry, I'm brainless, I can't think of anything."
Seeing Shen Mingsu about to explode, Yi Luo hurriedly ran away to check on his precious son's injury. Luckily, he arrived in time. Yi Luo saw that Sethia's wound was almost healed.
The person who had interrupted left, but Yan Qingyuan remained standing beside Yan Chi. Shen Mingsu dared not cross the line. "We will both retain our current memories, so we won't forget each other."
"I will wait for you to grow up."
Yan Chi looked up at him, stroking the dark green gem on his wrist. "Okay, I'll wait for you."
Before officially beginning the rewind, Feng Yun dragged Shang Xu away and beat him again. Those blood-red threads couldn't penetrate Feng Yun's dragon scales; in a pure strength contest, Shang Xu would only be brutally beaten.
Even in such a sorry state, Shang Xu still wore a faint smile.
"Where's the stuff?" Shen Mingsu walked to Feng Yun's side, glanced at Shang Xu's empty thumb, then looked at his abdomen, and clicked his tongue. "He ate it…how come you didn't choke to death?"
Shang Xu was like a cockroach, weak, but disgusting enough. Feng Yun stepped forward, his right hand transforming into a claw. "Just cut open his stomach."
The wound reopens faster than it heals. Feng Yun coldly tore open Shang Xu's abdomen, pulled out the ring, and asked Shen Mingsu, "Do you still want it?"
The ring was covered in blood. Shen Mingsu took a step back in disgust. "No, just crush it."
The ring crumbled into dust in Feng Yun's hand, and time, which had been frozen in Shang Xu's body, began to flow again. Wrinkles began to appear around his eyes, transitioning him from youth to middle age, yet he didn't show signs of aging.
That was Li Xian's healing power healing his body, preventing him from dying on the spot.
Yan Chi walked to Shen Mingsu's side, looking at the dying Shang Xu on the ground. He didn't feel pity for him, only thinking about how he had sacrificed so many lives for so-called immortality, only to end up with nothing.
And now… there was another chance.
Yan Chi: "Shall we begin?"
Shen Mingsu held his hand. "Yes, and remember me."
"Shen Ruoqin."
Shen Ruoqin, in the past, heard Shen Mingsu's voice and began to rewind time, while Shen Mingsu pushed time backward.
Time shifted, and Yunzhou underwent rapid changes. School buildings, botanical gardens, art galleries… all kinds of educational facilities vanished in an instant, and the bosses who were present all returned to their respective worlds.
Finally, only a villa with a detached garden remained in the vast Yunzhou. The sun shone brightly, and three- or four-year-old Shen Chang Le stood at the door with his little schoolbag on his back, his round eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
Wasn't he playing with building blocks with Chu Xi?
"Lele."
A familiar call made Shen Chang Le freeze on the spot. He stared blankly at the door, and the next second, Shen Ruoqin and her lover pushed the door open and came out.
Shen Ruoqin, dressed in a white dress, smiled at Shen Chang Le. She knelt down and opened her arms to the little boy, "Lele, long time no see."
Tears instantly welled up in Shen Chang Le's eyes upon seeing them. He threw himself into Shen Ruoqin's arms, hugging her and crying, "Mommy, Mommy... I missed you so much."
Shen Ruoqin patted Shen Chang Le's head, "Mommy missed you too."
Meanwhile, in [Snow Flame], it was a rare sunny day; the years-long snowfall had finally stopped.
Li Xian, smiling, tilted his head back and spoke to Feng Yun, "I heard Qingyuan is planning to have a child. Let's find some time to go see them, and bring Xiaowang and Xiaohuai along so they can see their little brother."
Feng Yun didn't speak, staring intently at his face.
"Why are you suddenly so quiet again?" Li Huai chuckled, cupping Feng Yun's face in his hands and tiptoeing to kiss him on the lips. "Can you talk now?"
But Feng Yun suddenly pulled him into his arms, hugging him tightly and burying his head in his shoulder. Li Huai felt the dampness on his shoulder and stroked Feng Yun's head. "Why are you crying? Hmm? Tell me, okay?"
Feng Yun didn't speak, but instead led him home.
The two passed a boy covered in snow. Li Xian stopped. "A-Yun, there's someone here."
Feng Yun's gaze instantly turned icy cold. He glanced at Shang Xu, whose face was ashen from the cold. "He's dead. Let's go."
Li Xian checked Shang Xu's breathing. Sure enough, he wasn't breathing, and his body was stiff. He hesitated, but when he met Feng Yun's bloodshot eyes, Li Xian withdrew his hand. "Life and death are predestined. Let's go."
"This child looks about the same age as Xiao Huai and Xiao Wang…it's so pitiful."
Li Xian's voice faded into the distance. Shen Mingsu emerged from behind the snowdrift. He glanced at the lifeless Shang Xu, then went to the player lobby and found Shen Changyao.
The initial group of players consisted of only a dozen or so people, and Shen Changyao was one of them. Looking at his familiar companions, he was shocked to find himself truly transported back to the past.
One of his companions said, "Since we can't go back to our original world, let's stay here and make this our base. We just can't raid other people's homes."
"But we don't have food or water..."
"We can go to the smaller worlds and do chores for people, exchanging our labor for food and water."
"Fu Qin, could you help design a program? Let people from different worlds post their difficulties on the system, and we'll help solve them."
The conversation, exactly as he remembered, played out again. Shen Changyao, holding his computer, smiled smugly at his companions. "Of course, but first, we need to establish a few rules."
His companions readily agreed. "Sure."
"First, no harm to the inhabitants of the original world."
"Second, no stealing or kidnapping."
"Third..."
Shen Changyao input these rules into the system. Anyone who violated them would be thrown into a world engulfed in flames and burned alive.
His companions were all in favor, and a prototype of a complete system began to take shape.
Seeing everyone cheering for the system's birth, Shen Changyao turned and saw Shen Mingsu not far away, his mouth opening and closing as he looked at him.
—Thank you for giving me a chance to make amends.
Shen Mingsu, seeing all this, turned and left again, this time arriving at the orphanage gates hundreds of years later.
It was still that snowy night, but Yan Qingyuan and Yan Chi were nowhere to be seen. A certain possibility crossed Shen Mingsu's mind, and he immediately went to [I] only to be refused entry.
This time, it wasn't the words "You weren't invited," but a simple, decisive word—Get out.
Shen Mingsu: "...Dad."
Shen Mingsu hardened his heart and shouted at the top of his lungs outside [I] "Dad! Just let me see Xiao Chi one more time, just once, Dad! Please, Dad!"
After Shen Mingsu's relentless harassment, a week later, Yan Qingyuan finally emerged carrying Yan Chi.
Yan Chi was only a few months old, nestled in Yan Qingyuan's arms like a tiny figurine, pampered and exquisitely beautiful. He wore an adorable onesie, and on his wrist, besides the dark green gemstone Shen Mingsu had given him, was a string of pure gold bell bracelets.
This time, Yan Qingyuan didn't send Yan Chi to an orphanage. He cherished raising his precious child, and he showed no mercy to anyone who coveted his treasure.
Yan Qingyuan looked at Shen Mingsu coldly. "Didn't we agree to meet again after we came of age?"
Shen Mingsu knew he was in the wrong. "I just wanted to see Xiao Chi."
"Now that you've seen him, get lost." Yan Qingyuan only stayed a few seconds before turning to leave.
"Wait! Dad, can I take one more look?"
"No." Yan Qingyuan scrutinized him from head to toe. "Is Yunzhou finished yet?"
"Uh…not yet."
"Then hurry up and go, or where will Xiao Chi work?"
Shen Mingsu froze, his eyes widening in surprise. He bowed deeply to Yan Qingyuan. "I'll go right now!"
As long as the school is built, the children in Class 1 will return, and Yan Chi will naturally return too. Thinking of this, Shen Mingsu was filled with energy.
"Ee-ya?" Yan Chi nestled on Yan Qingyuan's shoulder. His vocal cords weren't fully developed yet, producing only monotonous sounds. He stared at Shen Mingsu's retreating figure with his large amber eyes.
Yan Qingyuan kissed his little cheek. "Let's go home."
This time, Yan Qingyuan created Xie Tao again. He prepared a special nursery for the two children. [I] cared deeply for Yan Qingyuan's children, collecting all sorts of baby toys, piling them up in this room.
Under Yan Qingyuan's meticulous care, Yan Chi spent a long and happy childhood. At the age of twenty, Yan Chi decided to prepare for the teacher qualification exam again.
Xie Tao didn't understand. "No need, right? You're going to Shen Mingsu's school. Do you think he'd turn you away?"
Yan Chi buried himself in his book, immersed in the sea of knowledge. "Even those with connections need ability; they must be certified."
"I'm afraid that by then, you'll be the only one in your school with a certificate."
Yan Chi: "...I need to keep to my own pace."
The moment he received his teaching certificate, Yan Chi also ate his twentieth birthday cake. The next day, he prepared to go to Yunzhou to register for school.
Shen Mingsu had received the news early and was waiting for him outside. Upon seeing Yan Chi, he reacted strongly, hugging him tightly, "Little Chi, Little Chi, I missed you so much."
Yan Chi pushed away his restless head, but couldn't hide the smile in his eyes. He gently kissed Shen Mingsu's lips, his voice soft, "Yes, I missed you too."
Stepping back into Yunzhou, Yan Chi looked at everything familiar around him, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Along the way, Yan Chi saw the director, Xi Chang, Lin Heng, Teacher Youyou…
Everything was the same, yet somehow different.
"Is Xiao Chi here to teach Xiao Huai and the others?" Li Xian chuckled, gently rubbing Yan Chi's cheek. "Wow, Xiao Chi's amazing! He can teach his older brothers and sisters now!"
Yan Chi's cheeks flushed. "Uncle Li Xian."
Li Xian's blue eyes gleamed with amusement. "Why are you still so easily embarrassed? I even bathed you when you were little."
This infuriated Shen Mingsu. After saying goodbye to Li Xian and Feng Yun, Yan Chi ran into Shen Ruoqin, with Ming Danxi beside her. The two had dropped off their children and were about to go shopping, only managing a brief chat with Yan Chi.
Yan Chi reached the door of Class 1 and heard familiar voices coming from inside. A surge of nervousness rose in his heart. He pushed open the classroom door and went in, his gaze sweeping over every familiar face.
Mingcai, Sethia, Shen Chang Le, Lian Deng…
The entire classroom fell silent, then suddenly erupted in chatter.
"Teacher Xiaochi!! You're finally back! I missed you so much!"
"Teacher Xiaochi! I thought you weren't going to teach us anymore, boohoo..."
"Teacher Xiaochi, we came to find you, but why didn't you see us?"
Of course, it was because he was just a little kid wearing open-crotch pants back then; how could he let the students see him like that? Yan Chi maintained his smile, not answering the question.
"I don't need to introduce myself this time, do I?"
"No need."
"Alright, everyone, take out your books, let's get ready for class."
The bell rang, the teacher lectured on the platform, the students listened attentively below, a few little monsters were secretly fighting, and a breeze blew through the window, shaking the lush branches of the ancient tree.
[End of Main Text]
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