Chapter 134
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Northern part, Tamuville Desert.
The strong wind blew, raising sand and dust, obscuring the sky.
Fu Xuezhou walked alone in the desert, dressed in black with a Tang blade slung across his back. His body was covered in sand, his coat and hood covering his silver hair, making him look like a lone boat.
Sparse residential buildings appeared not far ahead of him, and the locals, bundled up tightly, led camels back and forth. This indicated that they were about to leave the desert.
Fu Xuezhou looked up, his lips pressed tightly, his gaze shifting. He was about to buy some water, but the next moment, his vision flashed, and he found himself back in the depths of the desert.
Fu Xuezhou: “…”
He sighed softly.
This was already the second time Fu Xuezhou had turned back time five minutes before he was about to step out of the desert.
With two consecutive time reversals, and an interval of less than three minutes between them, what was Lou Yan doing?
Fu Xuezhou looked towards the south, where Chengjiang City was located, his brows slightly furrowed. He quickened his pace and left the desert again.
But after a few steps, Fu Xuezhou felt the ghost marriage contract tattoo on his body suddenly heat up.
Fu Xuezhou paused, his brows furrowing even deeper, and he accelerated his pace once again.
The ghost tattoo burned for a full minute.
This meant that Lou Yan was in intimate contact with others, and they had been in contact for a full minute.
Had something happened to Lou Yan?
Only in very urgent situations would Lou Yan use time reversal. With such a short interval between the two time reversals, the damage to Lou Yan’s body would be significant. The situation was likely even more urgent than an emergency.
Fu Xuezhou could imagine the scene on Lou Yan’s side; he should be receiving help to cool down now.
What kind of situation had occurred to make Lou Yan take such a risk?
It was just a rank A water ghost after all.
If Lou Yan couldn’t even deal with a water ghost and got injured as a result, then Lou Yan was just that. He wouldn’t be able to survive in an increasingly dangerous world.
It wasn’t worth Fu Xuezhou’s effort to care about him.
But thinking like this, Fu Xuezhou’s speed increased, and his lips pressed down. Like the wind, he returned to the edge of the desert town. Instead of buying water first, he went to the small shop where he could make a phone call with a stern face.
This town was very backward, and the shop’s phone was a landline. Fu Xuezhou picked up the receiver, but hesitated when dialing the number.
The thin old shopkeeper with a wind-blocking scarf on her face glanced at the handsome young man and urged in dialect, “Young man, don’t you remember the phone number?”
Fu Xuezhou shook his head expressionlessly.
His memory was good, and he had already memorized Lou Yan’s phone number.
But his mood wasn’t very good now.
He felt somewhat irritable.
This inexplicable irritability made Fu Xuezhou’s suppressed hostility surge.
Fu Xuezhou closed his eyes; he didn’t want to save Lou Yan, but he couldn’t let Lou Yan die.
Because if Lou Yan died, the ghost marriage contract tattoo on his back would become his death sentence.
This was the last chance to start over.
He couldn’t die.
So he must save Lou Yan.
After thinking this through, his mood improved. Fu Xuezhou opened his eyes again, and his pitch-black, bottomless eyes returned to calm. He pressed the sandy number, and the phone connected.
A mechanical and pleasant female voice came from the other end, “Hello, the number you dialed is currently busy, please try again later…”
Fu Xuezhou silently hung up the phone and dialed another number.
The owner of this number answered quickly, with a slightly tired voice coming from the receiver, “Hello? Who’s this?”
“It’s me.” Fu Xuezhou asked directly, “How’s Chengjiang City?”
“Ah Zhou? Is it really you? You actually called me?” Cui Ansheng exclaimed, the rustle of clothes being put on sounding in the background. “This isn’t your number, where’s your phone? Did you lose it?”
Fu Xuezhou’s tone intensified as he asked again, “Cui Ansheng, how is Chengjiang City?”
Cui Ansheng sighed, “It’s still the same, thankfully we have the Anomaly Control Bureau and Lou Yan’s team, so things have been stabilized. I heard they’ve been searching for the ‘Water Ghost,’ but it seems like the ‘Water Ghost’ has been frightened off by Lou Yan and hasn’t shown up.”
Fu Xuezhou asked, “How is Lou Yan?”
“He’s naturally fine,” Cui Ansheng chuckled, teasingly adding, “So, you called just to ask about Lou Yan, huh… Everything’s fine, everything’s fine. Even if something were to happen, with your partner being so strong, nothing would happen to him. We ordinary folks are the ones who should be worried, right?”
Fu Xuezhou fell silent.
Cui Ansheng pressed his ear against the phone, turning up the volume to the maximum. Besides the sound of the wind, he couldn’t hear any other sound from Fu Xuezhou’s end.
He couldn’t even hear Fu Xuezhou’s breathing—as if Fu Xuezhou didn’t need to breathe.
Cui Ansheng whispered, “Ah Zhou?”
Finally, Fu Xuezhou spoke, “How’s Xiao Bao doing?”
Cui Ansheng replied, “You can rest assured, Xiao Bao is doing fine! I’m also fine! As for Lou Yan, he’s doing exceptionally well. There’s nothing major happening in Chengjiang City, so focus on your own matters and stop worrying needlessly.”
“…Mm,” Fu Xuezhou lowered his head slightly, the eaves’ shadow covering his entire face, his tone devoid of any emotion. “Cui Ansheng, do you remember what I said to you before?”
This abrupt statement left Cui Ansheng momentarily stunned, and he instinctively asked, “What did you say?”
Fu Xuezhou replied, “This is the 288th time, and it’s also the last.”
After saying this, Fu Xuezhou hung up the phone.
***
Cui Ansheng listened to the busy tone on the other end of the line, memories of Fu Xuezhou’s words, which he had treated as a joke, flashed through his mind.
“In 287 worlds, you betrayed me.”
“How many worlds did I not betray you in?”
“Four times.”
“Hope in this world, you can make it five.”
…
Cui Ansheng’s hand holding the phone began to tremble. He stared wide-eyed at the wall where the “Star of Progress” award was hung, feeling as if his heart was being squeezed by a giant hand.
Although Fu Xuezhou’s words were illogical, and although Cui Ansheng had no knowledge of what Fu Xuezhou had said, at this moment, Cui Ansheng had a strange feeling, as if, as if what Fu Xuezhou said had actually happened.
He felt like he couldn’t breathe, his chest tightening as if suffocating. Trying to keep his breath, Cui Ansheng looked at the wall with wide eyes, his eyes almost bulging out like those of a dying fish. He didn’t know why he was doing this; his mind was blank, but Cui Ansheng involuntarily acted like this, as if he expected flowers to bloom on the wall he was looking at.
But in reality, his vision was getting blurrier, the sour taste rising to his nose.
Tears welled up in his eyes, and finally, unable to hold back any longer, they fell. Like a flood finding its outlet, the phone in Cui Ansheng’s hand fell to the ground with a loud “bang.” He sat on the floor in agony, hands covering his face and head, not knowing why he was feeling so miserable.
He didn’t know whether he was feeling sorry for himself or for Fu Xuezhou.
Hearing choked sobs, Cui Xiaobao walked out of the bedroom in confusion. Seeing his brother sitting on the floor, hugging his head and sobbing, Cui Xiaobao’s eyes also filled with tears, rushing over to hug Cui Ansheng, sweating profusely from the effort, trying hard to lift Cui Ansheng up, “Brother! Brother! Don’t cry, Xiaobao will not anger you anymore, Xiaobao will study hard!”
Cui Ansheng used all his strength to suppress his sobs, lifting his tear-streaked face to look at Cui Xiaobao, forcing a wry smile, “Brother is fine, Xiaobao, don’t worry.”
Cui Xiaobao nodded, sobbing.
Cui Ansheng pulled his brother to sit down, staring blankly at the clothes on his brother—these clothes were bought by Fu Xuezhou for Cui Xiaobao before.
Cui Ansheng’s tongue was bitterly dry, smoothing out the wrinkles in the clothes, “Xiaobao, are you still scared?”
Cui Xiaobao shivered, a flash of fear crossing his face, but he bravely shook his head, “No, I’m not scared anymore…”
Anyone could tell he was lying, and Cui Ansheng smiled wryly a few times, reaching out to touch Cui Xiaobao’s stomach. Cui Xiaobao’s stomach was flat, but there was a small lump the size of a thumb above his navel. After being touched by Cui Ansheng, this lump actually moved slightly to the right.
This bizarre scene made Cui Ansheng’s eyes dim, muttering to himself, “It’s all because of me.”
A week ago, cultists found Cui Ansheng, trying to persuade him to join their organization. Cui Ansheng was tempted at that time, so he went to ask Fu Xuezhou. After asking Fu Xuezhou, Cui Ansheng immediately dispelled the idea of joining the cultists.
He knew that Fu Xuezhou wouldn’t speak without reason; if Fu Xuezhou said the cultists were dangerous, then they definitely were. With Fu Xuezhou around, Cui Ansheng felt that with their relationship, Fu Xuezhou could protect him and Xiao Bao. So, after being warned by Fu Xuezhou, Cui Ansheng really gave up the idea.
But Cui Ansheng didn’t want to join the cultists, yet they didn’t want to let him go.
After Fu Xuezhou left Chengjiang City late at night, the cultists kidnapped Cui Xiaobao, using him to threaten Cui Ansheng to join their organization. They even implanted a blood fly egg in Cui Xiaobao’s body. If Cui Ansheng showed any signs of betrayal, the blood fly would immediately suck all the blood from Cui Xiaobao’s body.
So, Cui Ansheng chose to betray Fu Xuezhou and join the cultists, becoming one of them.
Their first task for Cui Ansheng was to spread rumors within Chengjiang City, stirring up unrest as much as possible. They were to sow discord among the people, turning them against the personnel of the Anomaly Control Bureau and the group led by Lou Yan.
Cui Ansheng felt that the cultists must have thoroughly checked his information, otherwise, how could they assign such a perfectly fitting task to him?
Cui Ansheng had been mingling in society for a long time and had the most diverse network of contacts. From respectable bosses like Boss Song to street thugs and rogues, he knew them all. As long as Cui Ansheng wanted, he could spread rumors at the fastest speed.
Moreover, Cui Ansheng’s eloquence was unparalleled in swaying people’s hearts.
But Cui Ansheng didn’t expect that he would be discovered betraying Fu Xuezhou so soon. Nor did he expect that one sentence from Fu Xuezhou would make him feel so guilty and miserable.
“Xiao Bao, do you think I’ll regret it?” Cui Ansheng muttered to himself.
Rather than asking Xiao Bao, it was more like asking himself. He immediately shook his head, as if encouraging himself, “No, I won’t regret it.”
After saying that, he fell silent for a few seconds, then raised his hand to cover his face, revealing a smile even uglier than crying.
“Right, Xiao Bao?”
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