Dusty past events

  When the little guy finally managed to express himself with gestures and words, it was already dark outside.

  The woman wrapped in a noble and mysterious black dress just looked at the little guy, with an apple that had just been peeled for her in her hand. After the little guy finished speaking, she walked to the woman's side with a plop and handed the apple to her.

  The little girl took the apple, sniffed it, and then bit into it with a crisp sound. Suddenly, juice flowed down from the corner of her mouth.

  "It turns out that little guy hasn't grown up at all." The woman's eyes were full of smile, and she took a tissue to wipe the juice from the corner of the little guy's mouth.

  The little guy heard this and her nose turned sour, her eyes were already teary. She looked up at Xiao Qingzhu.

  "Qing Zhu Ma..." There was still unswallowed fruit pulp in her mouth, and her tone was soft and gentle yet seemed to carry a hint of unspoken grievances, making one's heart ache inexplicably.

  It was Xiao Qingzhu, a woman who had been missing for a year.

  Xiao Qingzhu held the little guy who had crawled into her arms, and gazed at him with a warm and loving expression.

  She gently patted the little guy's back, and Xiao Qingzhu's mind involuntarily conjured up that person's figure. Although he was so thin and frail, his spine always stood straight, as if he could hold up this world like Kuafu.

  It's been a year, after all. Xiao Qingzhu let out a soft sigh in her heart, her voice low and mysterious: "Little guy, after tonight, no matter what happens, you can't come looking for me again, okay?"

  The little guy heard Xiao Qingzhu's words and raised his head, with black and white eyes looking at Xiao Qingzhu, full of incomprehension and doubt: "Why?"

  "Mom can't tell you why right now, just be good and take care of yourself, okay?" Xiao Qingzhu's mouth curved into a smile as her slender fingers gently combed through the little one's soft hair, stroking her head.

  The little guy only felt that his chest was being pressed by something, and his throat was also blocked. He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. His nose was sour, and tears were rolling in his eyes.

  She intuitively felt that although Xiao Qingzhu was still so gentle and quiet, something had changed after all. It's just that she didn't know what it was. Maybe the only thing she could know now was that she was very sad.

  "Qing Luan, from now on, no matter whether Qing Zhu Ma and Si Lin Ma are by your side or not, we will always love you." After a long silence, Xiao Qing Zhu picked up the little guy, letting her line of sight be level with hers.

  Xiao Qingzhu rarely called out the little guy's name, Qing Luan, Qing Luan, with a clear and elegant demeanor, like a phoenix. Even with her eyes closed, she could still vividly recall the person who named the little guy, jumping for joy as if it were just yesterday. But in reality, that person was already gone, his fate unknown.

  "Mom, I remember." The little guy's tears were held back, and in that instant, her gaze was firm yet full of restraint.

  Everyone's growth is always accompanied by pain, no one is an exception.

  Xiao Qingzhu looked out of the window, and the little guy's back figure was getting farther and farther away. The warmth on her face also gradually faded, leaving only the icy chill of the night.

  This night was as calm as all the past nights, but everyone could feel the oppression in their hearts, like the eve of a storm, and also like a pot of water that is about to boil, not knowing when it will burst out with the first bubble.

  "Qing Zhu, you... have you really thought it through?"

  In the dark room, as its name suggests, there was no light at all, only a few crystal stones emitting a faint, icy glow under the blackness. Xiao Qingzhu wore a black outfit that seemed to be wrapped in infinite darkness, yet she stood there so casually, but for some reason, her presence couldn't be ignored.

  Behind her were rows and rows of zombies, in red, green, yellow, blue, white and black, arranged neatly by level. Xiao Qingzhu stood at the very front of them.

  On the high platform of the dark room, a middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back. It was none other than Peng Hao Tian, but at this moment, he, who had always been calm and composed, also revealed a helpless expression on his face.

  He stepped down from the high platform and walked up to Xiao Qingzhu, asking again: "Qingzhu, have you really thought it through?"

  "Yes." Xiao Qingzhu nodded, his tone devoid of any emotion, and there were no more words.

  "Do you know how much suffering you will endure by making such a choice?" Peng Haotian stretched out his hand, wanting to put it on Xiao Qingzhu's shoulder. His hands, which looked slender in normal times, now seemed like the claws of the god of death.

  Xiao Qingzhu took a step back with an expressionless face, avoiding Peng Haotian's hand.

  For both Peng Haotian and Xiao Qingzhu, his softness, hesitation, and helplessness were too heavy. Only in this way can they have no more hesitation with each other.

  "I know, there are still two months left, Qingzhu, go and do all the things you want to do. Whether this time is successful or not, I promise you that my mind will not change." Peng Haotian sighed in his heart and said to Xiao Qingzhu.

  Xiao Qingzhu nodded and turned around.

  The zombies behind her automatically parted a road for her in the next instant, and Xiao Qingzhu slowly left.

  Peng Haotian waved his hand, and that group of zombies disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

  Peng Haotian stepped back onto the high platform, dripping his own blood at a depression. Accompanied by the sound of machinery, a section of the ground on the high platform slowly cracked open.

  A crystal coffin floated out of the ground.

  That man, still young in appearance, was elegant and refined, but between his eyebrows and eyes, there was a hint of unruliness and abandon, if it were just this kind of temperament, he would be almost identical to Peng Luofei.

  He lay quietly in the crystal coffin, as if he had not died, but had fallen into a long, deep sleep.

  "Luó Qiān," Péng Hào Tiān reached out his hand to touch the man he called Luó Qiān, and the chill transmitted from his fingertips made him unable to deny the fact that Luó Qiān had indeed passed away.

  He sat down beside the crystal coffin, once a proud and unyielding man, now like a child who had lost his most beloved toy.

  "Lu Qian, since your death, everything I've done has been to bring you back to life. Even if there's no way to revive someone in this world, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, I'll try. Back then, you said you couldn't let down your family and chose to get married and have children. But what did marriage and having children bring you? The person who was supposed to be your wife dragged you into suicide with her! Peng Haotian's eyebrows were furrowed, his fists clenched tightly, and in his mind, he couldn't shake off the image of Lu Qian at the moment of his death, his entire body drenched in thick blood. Lu Qian was such a cleanliness freak... I've taken good care of Luo Fei, she's grown up now, and looks more and more like you, with your eyes, eyebrows, talent, and strong personality. She's written many books and is a young author who's gained attention from society. But she lacks your carefree and easygoing nature. She fell in love with a woman named Xiao Qingzhu, a very gentle and quiet person. Her courage and perseverance make me admire her, but unfortunately, Qingzhu's feelings are not for Luo Fei. Lu Qian, the more I'm with Qingzhu, the more my heart feels tired. I've done too many things, walked too many paths, yet still can't bring you back to life. Maybe there really is no way to revive someone in this world... I promised her that I'll try one last time, and this is also my last hope. If it succeeds, you'll wake up, see your daughter, see me... If not... then I'll accompany you into eternal slumber, never waking up again."

  Peng Haotian spoke in a low voice, he was not inherently evil, as an untransformed bone, he also had his own helplessness and suffering. Just like when he saved Hua An, he didn't have any other intentions, just kindness. Time and time again, he fell into a long sleep, time and time again, he woke up, facing the changing years, the uncertainty of life, he walked in the world, having had many identities, but he could only watch as the people around him left one by one. Only Luo Qian, the only man he loved, this man brought him joy he had never experienced before, also bringing him heart-wrenching pain he had never felt before.

  He never knew he would also have such a painful time.

  Just as Luo Qian said to him, "Huang Tian, I'm sorry," at the same time they hadn't seen each other for five years and were reunited, he watched with his own eyes as the man he loved died in front of him.

  He didn't even have time to leave Luo Qian's soul behind. Now, Luo Qian's soul is left in the city of wrongful death.

  People who die unexpectedly, such as by suicide or murder, will have their souls escorted to the City of Wrongful Death after death. If a person's original lifespan was 80 years old but they died at 20 due to unexpected circumstances, they would stay in the City of Wrongful Death for 60 years or more. Except for those who died by suicide, all other souls can live normally in the City of Wrongful Death, where they can climb the city walls and gaze out until they see their murderers or people they resent receive their due retribution, allowing them to disperse the resentment from their bodies and be reincarnated. As for those who committed suicide, they need to suffer punishment and flogging in the City of Wrongful Death due to their disregard for life.

  Peng Haotian had once gone to the City of False Death, attempting to bring Luo Qian's soul out with him, but didn't think that Luo Qian was not willing to leave with him, and hadn't even agreed to meet with him. For anyone else, Peng Haotian could be overbearing, except for Luo Qian.

  The King of Biancheng, who was in charge of Wangdu City, promised Peng Haotian that during the period when Luo Qian was in Wangdu City, he would exempt him and his wife from the punishment they should receive for their attempted suicide.

  For more than twenty years, Peng Haotian has not returned to Wangshi City. But Peng Haotian knew that Luo Qian's time was running out. Luo Qian's life span was originally short-lived, and under normal circumstances, he should have passed away in his fifties due to illness. In other words, within these few years, Luo Qian would be reborn.

  At that time, even if there was another Lu Qian in the world, he would no longer be the Lu Qian who met and knew Peng Haotian.

  Bian Cheng Wang said that Luo Qian's death also had some connection with Peng Hua Tian. Everyone has a complex web of cause and effect, and Peng Hua Tian appeared in Luo Qian's life, disrupting his fate.

  After a long time, Peng Haotian stood up and resumed his usual calm demeanor. He activated the mechanism, and Luo Qian's crystal coffin slowly closed, once again plunging into endless darkness.

  "Luò Qiān, wait for me."