"001, are you there?"
"..."
There was no response. 001 was not around.
"System, are you there?"
Hello, host! I'm Temporary Customer Service Agent 002. What do you need?
Unlike 001's gentle voice, 002 sounded far more lively.
But why had they switched customer service agents?
"Where did 001 go?" Ye Chang'an asked.
My predecessor resigned, so I'll be your customer service agent from now on.
As a temp worker, she could resign whenever she wanted. No need to mind anyone's attitude or worry about contractual obligations.
But that did not seem like the issue he should be focusing on right now. Ye Chang'an had a far bigger question.
"Why did she resign?"
Do you want to know? I can tell you, but would you like the truth or a lie? You can only choose one.
002 was rather talkative and had a more proactive personality.
Ye Chang'an chose the lie, because lies were romantic.
The lie is that my predecessor became envious of your simulated life, quit her job, and went to that world to experience your life herself.
Life was not just about getting by in the present. There was also poetry and distant horizons.
001 had chosen the distant horizon.
Though it contained many sights she had already seen, there were still sights she had never seen.
She wanted to go and see them.
But...
"Experience my life? Don't tell me she turned into me and is going to marry Eden? Fuck, bring her back! Now!"
Ye Chang'an looked agitated. He truly could not stand the thought of that.
Chang'an Melody was enough. He could not let Chang'an go green.
What are you thinking? My predecessor is a girl. She wouldn't become a boy. Our boss doesn't like gender-swapped life simulations.
Now Ye Chang'an could finally relax. He let out a breath, then became somewhat lost again.
He was alive. He had not died.
But he was no longer by Eden's side, and Eden probably no longer remembered him.
What will that world without me become?
Can I... still go back?
He had chosen death out of attachment, yet beyond death lay another life.
In this life, his attachment had not faded. It had only grown deeper.
He missed Eden.
PS—002: "The truth is that our boss doesn't allow any customer to die because of a simulation. If a customer wants to die, then the customer service agent dies in their place.
Ugh, being a temp worker isn't easy these days, especially when you run into customers who love courting death.
Say, this customer isn't going to try killing himself again in the next simulation, is he? No, big bro, I'm begging you, don't do this. I don't want to die yet.
Can someone come save me? Throw something at this customer who so easily sinks into falsehood and wake him up."
(A roundabout plea for votes. Don't start spamming congratulations on the ending; it's still a long way off.)
Tai Xu Chapter, Section One: 2. There Was Music, and Someone Waiting for Music
"Here, Chang'an. Eat up before it gets cold."
The melancholy atmosphere was broken by Su Mei carrying over a bowl of noodles. She stood beside him, watching Ye Chang'an to make sure he finished eating quickly.
Tai Xu Mountain was high above sea level and cold, and it was nighttime, so the temperature was even lower.
If he did not eat quickly, the noodles would really freeze stiff.
Ye Chang'an thanked her and began eating. The warm noodles and soup went down his throat, making his body feel much better.
"Are you full? If not, I'll cook some more."
"This is enough already. Thank you."
"Ooh~" Su Mei responded listlessly. Still unaccustomed to Ye Chang'an's politeness, she reached out and pinched his cheek.
"(￣ー￣)... What are you doing?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to see if you'd curse at me."
"Are you sick?"
"Mm, this is much more comfortable." Su Mei released him in satisfaction, acting like some kind of masochist.
Ye Chang'an was utterly speechless, but he did not take it to heart.
He knew Su Mei had developed this personality because he had been corrupting her since childhood.
Anyone who had transmigrated to Tai Xu Mountain would have heard of the Seven Disciples Slaying Their Master. It was impossible not to have some desire to change it.
Naturally, Ye Chang'an had wanted to change things too, so he had started corrupting Su Mei and the others from an early age.
Judging from when the system had activated, his efforts had most likely been useless.
The one used to activate the system had been Old Six. Su Mei, the second disciple, still followed her original fate and would still plot to kill her master.
What a headache.
Is there any point in changing their fates?
The confused Ye Chang'an began spiraling. The sense of loss in his heart left him dispirited.
Su Mei noticed, but she did not know why or what to do. So she simply pretended not to see it, swinging her little legs as she hummed.
Music could make people feel comfortable, just like how her mother used to hum by her bedside to lull her to sleep.
She still remembered things from before she was three years old, and remembered them clearly.
The slightly childish tune entered his ears. Ye Chang'an lifted his eyelids and looked at Su Mei.
The eleven-year-old girl had not developed much yet, but her delicate face already showed the signs of peerless beauty. Her shoulder-length red hair fell by her cheeks, making her seem faintly graceful.
As expected of the future "Peerless Fairy," famed for her unrivaled beauty and countless schemes.
But she could not compare to Eden.
Eleven-year-old Eden had been far prettier than Su Mei, and the songs she hummed had sounded much better too.
"Stop humming. Listen to mine instead."
Ye Chang'an interrupted Su Mei's humming. It was somewhat rude, but he could not care about that now.
He wanted to hum a song.
"Huh, you can? Go on, let me hear it." Su Mei listened attentively, curious.
Naturally, Ye Chang'an did not stand on ceremony. He took a deep breath, then controlled his breathing and hummed a gentle melody.
Su Mei was surprised because it sounded very good.
But it came to an abrupt stop halfway through.
"Eh? Why aren't you continuing?"
"...I'm out of breath." Ye Chang'an was so annoyed. The air on the mountain was too thin, and he could not catch his breath.
Besides, this body's lung capacity was insufficient. He could not hit many of the notes.
Singing demanded good physical conditioning.
"Oh, then don't continue. You're frail, and you've only just recovered from a serious illness. Don't push yourself."
Su Mei nodded in understanding, with a trace of sympathy.
After all, Ye Chang'an was the weakest person on this mountain.
Without cultivating a sword heart, he could not use true qi—Destruction energy. Though he was a boy, he could not even defeat Cheng Ling Shuang, who was a year younger than him.
Cheng Ling Shuang called him big brother, but in reality, he was the little brother.
Ye Chang'an was so annoyed. He glared around, trying to find a musical instrument.
His body might not be up to the task, but his technique certainly was.
As long as he had an instrument, he would make these little girls who had grown up on the mountain without seeing the world understand what music really was.
Unfortunately, he could not find one.
There were no instruments in Fu Yun Temple.
As for blowing on leaves... please consider why he had been unable to finish humming a song just now.
He could not take it anymore.
I want an instrument.
Ye Chang'an somewhat missed his Herrscher Authority.
Oh, right. I should be able to use Destruction energy to make an instrument myself now, shouldn't I?
Herrscher Authority was merely a technique for using Destruction energy. He still remembered it. As long as he had Destruction energy, he could use it.
But there was no Destruction energy on the mountain.
It had been isolated by the formation Chi Yuan had set up.
"Su Mei, let's go down the mountain."
He needed the Destruction energy outside the mountain. He needed an instrument. He needed music.
He could not live without music.
"Go down the mountain? What are you thinking? I'm not eloping with you."
"Please speak properly. I didn't say we were eloping. I only said we were going down the mountain."
"Oh, just going down the mountain? What for? We aren't short on food at the temple." Su Mei was puzzled, because the people on the mountain only went down to slay demons or buy food.
"To buy something. A musical instrument."
"What? An instrument?" Su Mei was full of question marks and did not particularly want to agree.
It seemed unnecessary, and going down the mountain was troublesome.
There were still three little girls on the mountain. Wouldn't they go hungry for several days during the round trip?
Tai Xu Mountain was not easy to climb, nor was it easy to descend.
After all, none of the little ones had learned to fly on swords.
"It's fine. We'll bring them all down with us," Ye Chang'an suggested. Su Mei reluctantly nodded.
After all, Ye Chang'an truly wanted to go down the mountain to buy something.
Thus, the two agreed to go down the mountain tomorrow and get a good rest tonight first.
Ye Chang'an's body had yet to recover.
"Your room is here. Where are you going?"
Su Mei grabbed Ye Chang'an as he walked past his room. Looking at the three little ones asleep inside, Ye Chang'an said helplessly, "They're all sleeping here, so I can only sleep in another room."
Sharing one blanket before had been beyond his control. Now, he had to keep his distance.
The principles expected of a married man.
Before you continue