Reincarnation Keeping Up with the Times (Part 2)

"I think you're thinking about something disrespectful," the Auspicious Beast said gloomily.

"Of course not." Wang Rui bared his teeth awkwardly. "Go on."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion glared at him. Without realizing it, she seemed to have begun seeing this unfamiliar human, originally only meant to be a temporary sounding board, as a friend.

"I saw those novels called 'Douluo Continent,' which recorded the fate of our world. I also sensed that many people in the ocean of the internet liked me and felt indignant on my behalf. I think their affection was why I could find this world. Human thoughts are a form of Spiritual Power, and my weakened self was able to recover a little vitality because of it."

"I gave almost everything I had to Yuhao, but I still have the last bit of power that belongs to me alone—the right to choose for myself." The Auspicious Beast's tone grew solemn. She curled her tail beside her and sat upright like a large cat. "I can still choose to abandon the fate of the Auspicious Beast and give that fate to someone else, allowing my final self to be free."

"If you agree to exchange with me, I can completely transfer fate to you and send you back fifteen thousand years, to be born as the Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest and live out my life." Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at Wang Rui, her eyes carrying a faint, nearly imperceptible plea. "And I hope that, if possible, you'll keep living... Because it was only after coming to this world that I learned that after my sacrifice, the Star Dou Forest's fortune was taken by Yuhao to the Divine Realm... Ten thousand years later, the Soul Beast clan's legacy was nearly severed."

"This was my mistake. I am a sinner of the Soul Beast clan." Three-Eyed Golden Lion judged herself in an almost ruthless tone. Proud as she was, she would never try to erase her own sins. "But I don't regret sacrificing myself for Yuhao. I should have handled the Star Dou Forest's fortune more properly. And I hope that after taking over my fate, you can look after him a little. At the very least, don't let bad women hurt him that badly..."

"Wait, wait." Three-Eyed Golden Lion's words, which sounded like a last will and testament, made Wang Rui's scalp tingle.

He had no idea why Miss Jin Ni trusted him so much. This sudden trust was too heavy, crushing him into a daze. "This is all your unwillingness, your obsession. Then of course you should go back and make up for your own regrets. Why come to me?"

"..." Three-Eyed Golden Lion glared at Wang Rui, her sharp teeth grinding with a creak. "So you didn't listen to a single word I said, did you?"

For a moment, Wang Rui saw an image of Wang Xiaohua throwing a tantrum in embarrassed fury. He sighed sadly inside, but still raised both hands in surrender with a smile. "Sigh, regrets should be made up for personally. Reincarnating yourself is obviously better than entrusting it to me!"

"That's because I can't do it!" Three-Eyed Golden Lion slapped her tail against the ground. She looked extremely irritated, clearly unwilling to admit that it was beyond her abilities. "Can't you understand human speech? I can't reverse time and send people back to the past. Not even gods can do that! I can only exploit a bug in fate and let you become me with your memories! Anyway, as long as you want to live, you'll definitely fulfill my goal of remaining on Douluo Continent!"

...She was even talking about exploiting bugs. Miss Jin Ni was seriously addicted to the internet.

"Fine, I agree," Wang Rui said.

"Why wouldn't you agree? It doesn't harm you in any way. Didn't you say you didn't want to die...?" She stared at Wang Rui blankly. "You agreed?"

"Yeah." The young man shrugged.

"I thought you'd hesitate for a while." Three-Eyed Golden Lion stared at him in surprise for a long time. Even her third eye opened and spun around a few times. "I thought you'd be reluctant to leave your parents and little sister."

"What's there to be reluctant about?" Wang Rui said lightly. "I'm already dead."

"...You don't look sad at all. Aren't humans supposed to be sad about life and death, about parting from loved ones?"

"There's nothing to be sad about. I'm the one who died. My parents and little sister are both fine, and my parents have Wang Xiaohua to take care of them..." Wang Rui smiled. "Besides, you said it was an 'exchange of fate.' If you give me your fate, then you naturally have nowhere else to go. You'll definitely have to take my fate away.

"And I'm dead now. I don't know how you'll do it, but you definitely can't let others discover that I died, right?... Whether you take over my life or erase my existence, if no one notices, then isn't that the same as me not dying? My parents and little sister won't suffer, and I can live in another world... There's nothing bad about that."

"This is a good thing!" the young man repeated with a smile.

"Th-this..." Three-Eyed Golden Lion tucked her tail beneath her hind legs uncomfortably, somewhat startled by Wang Rui's sharpness.

After all, she had deliberately kept vague about taking away Wang Rui's fate. If their positions were reversed, she absolutely would not want someone else to replace her.

"You humans are so hypocritical," she muttered softly at last. "I can feel it. You're obviously not as relaxed inside as you're pretending to be."

"Leave me some dignity, Miss Jin Ni." Wang Rui gave a bitter smile, then rubbed Three-Eyed Golden Lion's big head again. For the sake of that wonderful feel, he decided to admit that he was an evil furry enthusiast.

"But you're really just going to believe me? Aren't you afraid I'm lying to you?" Jin Ni pushed her head in front of Wang Rui's face, seeming a little unwilling to give up—though who knew what exactly she was unwilling to give up on.

"Yeah, this stupid human is just going to believe you." Wang Rui pulled the lion head into his arms and rubbed it. "What would you gain from tricking me? Besides, you were the one who trusted me first."

Yeah. A hypocritical human could be reckless enough to smash the broken jar. Wang Rui smiled bitterly inside. No matter what someone told him now, he would probably believe it.

Because he truly did not want his parents and little sister to face his cold corpse.

If it could keep his family from suffering... then anything was fine for him.

"You were the one who trusted me first..." Three-Eyed Golden Lion froze in Wang Rui's arms, repeating the words under her breath. "This really is..."

She looked at Wang Rui with complicated feelings.

She had observed the young man before her for several days. With her shallow understanding of humans, she could barely tell that he was probably a good person with empathy and a sense of responsibility.

But as for trust, there naturally had not been much.

It was only because the recovery of that last sliver of power had brought the world's rejection with it. She did not have much time left and had no other choice. She could only gamble that this person could fulfill her wish.

And Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who controlled the power of fortune, had never feared gambling. What she believed in was herself.

"Stupid human," she cursed softly at last.

"Fine, I'm stupid. But I still have one question." Wang Rui said, "Why did you choose me?"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion immediately looked visibly guilty. "Uh... Well, that's a complicated story."

Wang Rui instantly had a bad feeling. "How exactly did you choose me?"

"Uh... Mm... Well... I read an article online, and I thought it was very well written."

Though he did not understand what an article had to do with him, Wang Rui's ominous feeling grew even stronger.

"What article?" He stared at the stammering Jin Ni.

"Uh, fine, fine." After a long while, Three-Eyed Golden Lion lost their staring contest. Looking sheepish, she snatched Wang Rui's phone. No one knew what she did, but after a flash of golden light, the screen of the phone that had run out of battery lit up again.

Wang Rui's mouth twitched as he watched Three-Eyed Golden Lion, now transformed into an internet-addicted lion, skillfully use magic to log online. She then opened a crude webpage he had never seen before and pulled up a novel.

He glanced at the table of contents and was immediately blinded by the blunt wording—this was a Liu Bei story where Tang San was first □ed, then □ed again, and finally □□ed before falling into depravity as a □□□.

The author really hated Tang San. But somehow, Wang Rui also seemed to understand why Three-Eyed Golden Lion liked this Liu Bei story so much...

But what did this have to do with me? Wang Rui was a little dumbfounded.

Then he saw the author's username: Wang Jixiang from the Village Head.

He fell silent at once.

...Wang Rui's pen name for writing novels on legitimate websites was... Wang Dahua from the Village End.

All his sadness evaporated in an instant. He did not know whether he should mock Wang Rui or thank her.

His little sister had clearly treated Tang San as her idol when she was in elementary school. Was this what happened when a fan turned into an anti...?

Terrifying.

"This thing... wasn't written by me." Only after a long while did Wang Rui remember to defend himself, and he said it with difficulty.

"I know. You have a twin sister." Three-Eyed Golden Lion said dryly. "But twins' fortunes are very hard to distinguish, and I was extremely weak... I mixed you up with your sister. But the outcome is still good. You're a good person. I believe in you."

Without hesitation, she handed him a good-person card.

"Uh, also, I'll copy my memories for you. If you don't know how to be an Auspicious Beast, you can use them as reference. But your experiences will definitely be different from mine... You were born in this world, so your control over fate will naturally be stronger than mine. You'll probably gain many new abilities." Jin Ni nudged Wang Rui with her big head. "If that still doesn't work, you can try contacting me. Our connection won't be severed after exchanging fate. All right, you should go now!"

"Wait? I'm leaving already? There's no ceremony or anything?"

"Oh, just go already! Why are you dawdling like that? Are you even a man? A ceremony? You look like a ceremony to me!"

"Hey! Can't you let me go see my parents one more time?"

"There's no time! Go!"

"Then remember to clear my phone's browsing history, aaaaaaaaaah!!!"

"Huh? Who was I going to call just now?" Wang Rui put down her phone and muttered to herself in confusion.

"Meow~" A golden kitten that looked highly criminal jumped onto the girl's lap.

"Wang Jixiang, why are you suddenly acting so cutesy? Wait, I'll open you a can, Mommy's little baby!"

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