Brother, Can You Stay with Me

In the end, the red dragon channeled its grief and indignation into appetite, draining every last drop of the True Dragon Immortal Wine.

It drank itself into a stupor.

Drank until it knew no dragon affairs.

Its slovenly sleeping posture was enough to make anyone who saw it laugh.

Xu Xi swept a glance around the red dragon's dwelling, then looked at the drunken dragon form. After leaving some cultivation resources behind, he traversed space and returned to Yanshan City.

……

Time flowed onward.

As the number of simulations increased and his real-world cultivation grew more diligent, Xu Xi's strength gradually reached a limit.

Multiple transcendent systems coexisted within his body.

He could see the path ahead.

Yet he couldn't reach the supreme pinnacle.

Whether it was immortal cultivation, magic, or any other system, all were stuck just one step—or even further—from the ultimate apex.

No matter what he tried, he couldn't attain supremacy.

"Am I lacking time?"

"Or tempering?"

After long contemplation, Xu Xi felt it might be related to the simulator within him.

He returned once more to the Sea of Possibilities.

Attempting to ascend the Path.

Perhaps the key to achieving supremacy lay in this very Path.

Yet he failed again.

No matter what Xu Xi tried, he remained as before—unable to approach the Path. It seemed something was missing to complete the final ascent.

"What exactly is lacking…"

"Strength? Temperament? Status? Or… time?"

Xu Xi summoned the simulator's interface, staring at it for a long while.

Every character on it.

Even the corners of the screen.

All were in their most familiar forms, unchanged—except for one thing: the natural cooldown time for simulations.

A staggering ten thousand days in real time.

So long it was disheartening.

Because the wait was so prolonged, Xu Xi had been using transcendent items to exchange for new simulation attempts.

"Could this be it?"

Xu Xi pondered, suspecting this might be the answer.

……

"Elder Brother's conjecture is likely correct."

"I agree with the Mentor's perspective."

"In that case, I'll wait with you, Sir."

"Master, would you like some soup?"

"Regardless, I shall protect the Great Sorcerer."

After hearing Xu Xi's speculation, the five girls found it quite reasonable and decided to wait alongside him.

They too were curious.

About the truth and nature of Xu Xi's seemingly omnipotent "cycle."

What was its origin?

……

To hasten the end of the ten-thousand-day countdown,

Xu Xi reduced his simulation attempts.

Devoting more time to the real world—Earth.

But occasionally, he would still accompany the girls for brief diversions within simulations.

Compared to the real world,

Life simulations had many conveniences—like freely choosing which realm to visit, or facing no true mortal danger.

"Elder Brother, could you accompany me for one?"

As if prearranged,

No one else appeared—only Xu Moli, on a radiant and vibrant morning, made this request of Xu Xi.

"Of course."

Xu Xi smiled and agreed.

Soon after,

Xu Xi activated the life simulation, and together with Xu Moli, they arrived in a mortal world.

Here, there were no immortal cultivators, no mages, no martial artists, and no sorcerers.

Simple. Unadorned.

Nothing extraordinary—just mortals living their lives, much like ancient times in Earth's Huaxia.

Xu Xi and Xu Moli settled down temporarily, living as mortals in mortal ways. Dull and flavorless, as if dreaming back to the early days of his first simulation.

"Does Elder Brother think I'm strange?"

"Not at all."

Hearing Xu Xi's answer, a faint smile blossomed on Xu Moli's face as she sat on the aged wooden threshold, idly tracing circles with her finger.

The scorching summer heat rolled in waves.

Pedestrians in the city hurried along.

Xu Moli watched this scene and softly explained to Xu Xi why she had chosen such a mortal world:

"Elder Brother remembers, right?"

"At the amusement park, you said you always felt sorry for me."

"Because you thought life in Blackstone City was too harsh."

"You wanted me to have a better life, to be happy, to have endless sweets—so you took me to the Heavenly Sword Sect…"

"But I…"

Her slender figure sat on the threshold.

Once, the height difference had let her legs swing freely; now, grown longer, they rested firmly on the ground.

Her voice carried a thousand thoughts.

Regret. Resentment. Love. Sorrow.

"Elder Brother, I was always holding you back."

"In Blackstone City, I caused so much trouble. In the Heavenly Sword Sect, I was your burden."

"I never wanted that…"

Her expression tinged with melancholy, she leaned naturally, resting her head on Xu Xi's shoulder.

"From that time on, I kept wondering."

"If not for Heaven's Misfortune, if not for immortal cultivators… would our lives have been better?"

"Living out mortal lives as mortals."

Hearing this,

Xu Xi understood why the girl had specifically chosen a mortal world.

He reached out, ruffling her hair: "A very willful thought."

"But Elder Brother will indulge Moli, won't you?"

"Mm."

"I knew it—Elder Brother is always the best to me." Her tone held a playful lilt, her upturned lips lovely.

She grew even bolder.

Clutching Xu Xi's arm.

Voicing a wish unchanged since childhood: "Life is too troublesome. Moli only wants to be with Elder Brother. No need for friends, no need to think of anything else."

Tap—

"Elder Brother, that hurts~~~"

Xu Xi withdrew his finger with a sigh, chiding gently: "Moli, you still need to think of things beyond just me."

"No one's life is meant to be lived solely for another."

"I know," the girl nodded obediently.

Whether she truly meant it or not—only she knew.

Later,

Xu Xi and Xu Moli continued talking. She asked: "Elder Brother, what were you thinking when you saved me back then?"

What was he thinking…

Xu Xi recalled the rescue during his first simulation, gazing at the distant blue sky: "It was chaos. If I had to say… I wasn't thinking anything."

"Nothing?"

"Mm. I just wanted to save you, so I did."

The summer sun shone brilliantly, casting the streets into stillness, its light dappled and intermittent.

Xu Moli rested her head on Xu Xi's shoulder, watching the quiet summer scene.

Indeed.

No one's life is meant to be lived solely for another.

Unless that very life exists only because of that other person.