“Bang!!”
Fang Qi slammed the door shut.
He leaned against the security door, his chest heaving violently, each breath rapid and heavy.
Clutching Liguang’s figurine, he slowly—inch by inch—slid down along the door.
Until he collapsed onto the cold floor.
“Impossible…”
He murmured, his fingers gently brushing over the figurine’s silver hair.
“Impossible… Absolutely impossible…”
What had Sister An Lian said just now?
The figurine… had he commissioned it himself?
Had he demanded a one-hundred-percent likeness?
And even…
Had he been the one who requested that “Produced by Dawn Company” be printed on the packaging?
But…
But Liguang clearly…!
No.
No, no, no!
He desperately tried to recall Liguang’s face.
The real Liguang’s face.
She had knelt on the other side of the coffee table, both hands wrapped around a white porcelain teacup, a gentle, obedient smile playing at the corners of her lips…
…?
Huh?
He suddenly realized that he was having trouble remembering.
Without looking at the figurine’s face, he actually…
couldn’t quite remember what she looked like anymore.
Those memories—those scenes he had once believed were etched into his very bones…
The way she sang in the Star-Sea Cottage, the way she tore loose her hair, her silver locks spreading in the wind as she leaped from the rooftop beside him…
All of it was becoming blurred.
Like an old photograph soaked through with water, its outlines fading away bit by bit.
The only thing he could still see clearly was, unexpectedly…
He lowered his head slightly.
The only thing he could still make out was the face of the little figurine in his arms.
But Sister An Lian had said…
This figurine was fake, too.
He had commissioned it himself.
He had been deceiving himself.
No.
Impossible.
Trembling, he reached out and touched the tiny switch at the back of the figurine’s neck, then gently flicked it.
Click.
“Master, your tea.”
“The temperature has been adjusted to your preferred fifty-two degrees Celsius.”
The familiar voice.
Fang Qi buried his face in that tiny head of silver hair.
His shoulders shook violently.
“Impossible…”
His voice was muffled in the figurine’s hair.
“Absolutely impossible… There’s nothing wrong with my mind…”
“Absolutely impossible… Impossible…”
In his arms, those crimson eyes continued to glow faintly.
None of this could be fake.
…
…
The days that followed became blurred.
Fang Qi felt that he really was going mad.
He was no longer limiting himself to this city.
He bought plane tickets and began…
flying farther and farther away.
He went to a fishing village on the coast.
It wasn’t the village where the old fisherman and his wife had once taken him in—he couldn’t find that place. He had simply picked a random one on the map.
He also went to a resort town at the foot of a snowy mountain.
To a city in the south where it seemed to rain forever.
To places whose names he couldn’t even pronounce.
Every time he boarded a plane, he placed Liguang’s figurine inside a soft cloth bag, leaving only that tiny silver head exposed.
Along the way, the passengers seated beside him would sneak glances at him, and the flight attendants would look twice. But he didn’t care.
He would lower his head and look at those quiet, mismatched eyes gazing back at him.
Even if Sister An Lian said the figurine was fake, even if Liguang’s image in his mind was growing increasingly indistinct, even if…
this world seemed to be becoming more and more real…
he still had to find Liguang.
He had to find her.
…
…
Until that day.
That day, he had just left the airport and returned home.
He planned to search for a supposedly “old game shop” in an urban village.
Night had already fallen. The streetlights were dim and sparsely spaced.
As he carried Liguang’s figurine through a deserted alley, he ran headfirst into…
several thugs.
There were five of them, all around twenty years old. One held a beer bottle, another had a cigarette dangling from his lips, and all of them had yellow, tobacco-stained teeth when they grinned.
The leader, a guy with dyed brown hair, spotted the figurine in Fang Qi’s arms and immediately laughed.
“Hey, buddy, what’s that thing?”
He came over and reached for the figurine in Fang Qi’s arms.
“Let your brothers have a look, huh?”
Fang Qi turned to the side, dodging his hand.
The brown-haired thug froze for a moment, then laughed even harder.
“Well, aren’t you protective of it? Don’t tell me it’s one of those… inflatable things? Hahaha!”
The others behind him burst into laughter as well.
Fang Qi merely pulled Liguang’s figurine closer to his chest.
“Get lost.”
He said the words calmly.
The brown-haired thug’s laughter stopped.
He stared at Fang Qi for two seconds before his expression darkened.
“What the fuck did you say?”
He stepped forward and reached for Fang Qi’s collar.
Fang Qi said nothing more.
His body moved before his mind could react!
He kicked the brown-haired thug squarely in the chest!
Bang!
The man was sent flying!
He slammed heavily into the alley wall with a dull thud!
Fang Qi himself froze for a moment.
He was incredibly strong.
Come to think of it, this seemed to be…
a privilege Liguang had granted him.
Right…?
He couldn’t quite remember…
And in that brief instant when his attention wandered, the remaining thugs suddenly rushed him all at once!
From the corner of his eye, he saw one swinging a club while another raised a beer bottle!
Fang Qi: “...!”
He instinctively twisted aside, but…
an iron rod came straight toward the figurine!
Bang!!
It struck the figurine solidly!
…?
Fang Qi’s entire world came to a standstill.
He slowly lowered his head and looked into his arms.
Several cracks had split across the side of the figurine’s face.
A small piece of its silver hair had broken off.
…Huh?
Fang Qi stared blankly at the shattered little silver-haired girl figurine.
Liguang’s face… was cracked?
A buzzing began in his ears.
No…
No…!
Bang!!
Another swing of the club!
This time, it struck him directly on the head!
His vision flashed red!
Blood streamed down from his forehead, staining everything he saw crimson.
But he didn’t fall.
He slowly raised his head, his face covered in blood, and looked at the thugs before him.
At the clubs still swinging toward him…
Then he suddenly exploded into action!!!
…
…
Fang Qi didn’t remember how he had fought them.
When he came back to himself, all the thugs were already sprawled on the ground.
They were groaning in pain.
One clutched his stomach, curled into a ball. Another was covered in blood and unable to crawl away. Two others had arms bent at unnatural angles.
Broken clubs and shattered beer bottles lay scattered across the ground.
Fang Qi’s fists were covered in blood.
So was his face.
Everyone nearby had long since fled.
Somewhere in the distance, people were screaming. Others were taking pictures. Someone shouted, “I called the police! I called the police!”
Fang Qi stood there blankly.
The sound of police sirens approached from afar.
Only then did his entire body jolt!
…the police were coming?
Would they take him away?
Would Liguang be confiscated as evidence…?
His mind raced!
No…
He couldn’t!
He couldn’t let Liguang be taken as evidence!
Once she was taken away, she would disappear completely…
just like all the other evidence had!!
He abruptly turned around, hugged the broken figurine to his chest, and sprinted toward home!
The blood covering his face made every passerby recoil in terror!
Some screamed. Others pulled out their phones to call the police!
But Fang Qi knew only one thing:
Run!
Keep running!
Bang!!
He crashed through his front door, then slammed his back against it to hold it shut.
And then…
His entire body leaned against the security door as he slowly slumped down onto the floor.
He was back…
He had returned with Liguang.
Slowly, he lowered his head and looked at the Liguang figurine in his arms.
A small piece of its silver hair had broken off. The crack across its profile was painfully conspicuous.
His hand trembled slightly as he gently flipped the switch at the back of its neck.
“Click.”
This time, the crimson eye did not light up.
That gentle, soothing voice did not sound, either.
The figurine lay quietly in the palm of his hand.
Fang Qi stared blankly at the crimson eye that no longer shone, his mind utterly empty.
Liguang’s figurine… was broken?
She was gone?
…Huh?
Something inside his chest was swelling violently, clogging his throat completely!
No…
It couldn’t be broken!
It couldn’t!
Even his memories had grown hazy!
This was the only way he could see her face and hear her voice!!
If the figurine was broken, would he…
Would he one day…
Completely forget Liguang…?
His hands began to tremble violently, and everything before his eyes started spinning!
“Bang, bang, bang!!”
Suddenly, frantic knocking came from the door!
“Open up! Police! Open the door immediately!!”
Fang Qi shuddered again.
He hugged the shattered figurine tightly, his back pressed hard against the shaking door.
“Ding!”
His phone screen lit up.
He lowered his head and looked.
Lin Xiaoyou had sent him a message.
It was a video of him fighting the thugs in the alley while clutching the figurine. Someone had apparently filmed it and uploaded it online.
In the video, his face was covered in blood, yet he was still fiercely protecting the tiny figurine in his arms.
[Lin Xiaoyou: Senior, is this you…?]
[Lin Xiaoyou: I’m begging you! Please go get medical treatment!! Please!!!]
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The police outside continued pounding on the door.
“Can the person inside hear me? Open the door immediately!”
“If you refuse to cooperate, we’ll force our way in!!”
“Ring—!”
His phone rang again.
This time, it was An Lian calling.
But Fang Qi did not answer. He simply let the call ring out.
“Ding!”
A message immediately popped up.
[Sister An Lian: Xiao Qi, don’t resist the police!]
[Sister An Lian: They were the ones who attacked you with weapons first. The surveillance cameras caught everything. Just cooperate with the investigation and you’ll be fine!]
[Sister An Lian: It’s all right, really. I’m here, and your Uncle An is here too. Everything will be fine!]
[Sister An Lian: The figurine broke? Big Sis will buy you another one, all right?]
Fang Qi stared at the last line, his lips trembling violently.
“…Buy another one?”
He muttered,
“How could I buy another one…”
“There’s only one Liguang…”
The pounding and shaking behind him continued.
His body was shaking as well, but he paid it no attention.
He held the broken figurine up before his eyes and stared at it blankly.
His fingers gently brushed over the crack across her cheek and the shattered strands of her silver hair.
…He had to repair the figurine.
Even if it could no longer light up, even if it could no longer speak, at least he would still be able to see her face. At least it would still have that…
…Huh?
His eyes froze.
His hand suddenly went rigid.
…Where was the little star?
He stared blankly at the figurine’s earlobe.
The earlobe was completely empty.
…It was gone?
At that instant, Fang Qi’s mind went utterly blank.
Then he abruptly sat upright!
“The little star…?!”
His eyes flew wide as he stared at the figurine in his hands!!
He frantically searched everywhere!
“Where did the little star go…?!”
He checked every corner of the figurine’s base!
He shook out his bloodstained coat, then fumbled wildly across the cold tile floor with his fingers!
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing!
“The little star…”
His vision began to redden again as he roared in a low voice!!!!
“Where did the little star go?!!!”
“The little star is here, Master.”
A plastic little star was held out before him, pinched between a delicate hand’s fingers.
…Ah!
Fang Qi was ecstatic!
Without thinking, he snatched the star away!
The little star!
He found the little star!
Thank goodness! Thank goodness!!
Trembling, he held up the little star and was about to press it back onto the figurine’s earlobe…
Then his hand froze.
This little star…
It was huge.
It was almost as large as the figurine’s head.
And…
His gaze trembled.
Why was there…
a faint red glow reflected in his arms?
A scarlet light illuminated the shattered resin fragments in his embrace, casting them in shifting shades of brightness and darkness.
It was shining from… in front of him.
…Huh?
Fang Qi’s breathing stopped.
Slowly… he raised his head.
A pale-blue skirt.
Long silver hair.
A fair, slender neck.
A lovely face.
A silver-haired girl was kneeling before him.
She tilted her head slightly, the corners of her lips…
curved into that blissful, sickening smile.
Her amber eyes were dim and lifeless, but her crimson eye…
was blazing brightly!
The scarlet light dyed her pretty face—and the walls of the entryway—entirely blood-red!
“Bang!! Bang!!!”
Behind him, the security door continued to shudder under the police’s assault.
“Open the door!!”
“Person inside!! Can you hear me?!”
Fang Qi could hear none of it.
He simply…
stared blankly at the silver-haired girl before him.
Huh…?
The silver-haired girl used the same hand that had been holding the little star…
and gently stroked his cheek.
Her fingertips were slightly cool.
“Look, Master.”
She leaned down, pressing her lips against his ear, her warm breath brushing over it.
“None of them believe Master.”
“They all think…”
“That Master has gone insane.”
Her fingers slowly slid across his cheek, leaving behind a cool trail.
“So, Master…”
Her lips grazed his earlobe.
“Only Liguang… will believe Master unconditionally.”
“Only Liguang…”
“Will remain by Master’s side forever.”
She lightly bit his earlobe again, leaving behind a faint tingling sensation.
“Bang, bang, bang!!”
The door was still shaking!
“Open the door!!!”
“Look.”
She retreated again and tilted her head at him.
“They’re trying to take Master away now…”
Her phoenix eyes narrowed into crescent moons.
“Only Liguang…”
“Is worthy of Master’s trust.”
On her pretty face, dyed scarlet by the red light, that sickening smile stretched wider and wider!
“Do you understand…”
“Mas-ter?”
Fang Qi stared blankly at her.
At her tearful, dim amber eyes…
and the crimson eye in which scarlet light churned.
…Ha.
Hahaha…
Hahahahaha…
You crazy bitch.
You’re finished.
I told you so.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
