A Little Longing

Not a friend, but a senior colleague.

That's a bit of a guilty conscience of mine.

Yu Xing looked up, touched his nose, and a smile appeared on his face.

He definitely considers them friends, but this friend has progressed too quickly. While he feels a little proud of the other person, he also has a bit of worry that he's unwilling to admit.

Moreover, even though you know the other person is a very important friend, you can't remember them no matter what when your memory is confused, and then you stubbornly keep thinking about them. Even if you die and are resurrected, you're still thinking about them. It's quite embarrassing.

It's not so shameful if you don't admit it.

If Qu Xuanqing were here, she would probably glance at him sideways, and ask him with some puzzlement, "When did you develop such a tsundere personality?"

Yu Xing is probably bored out of her mind.

With seven deaths and seven resurrections, his emotions and mind were in turmoil, like a mixed palette of colors, and it would take him some time to restore the mingled pigments.

As she lowered her head, Yu Xing licked her lips and looked once more at the shadows in the corner.

He wasn't that slow-witted. Just now, he thought of all the companions and enemies he had encountered in recent years, but he couldn't recall Zhao Yijiu at all. It was as if his memory was veiled by a thin gauze, and no matter how hard he tried to remember, the person remained a blur.

There must be a reason for this.

Zhao Yijiu is special.

What was so special about him? Yu Xing stared at the shadow for a long time, thinking for a long time, until the last bit of black mist slid into his skin and disappeared beneath his pale complexion.

Is it because of the vengeful ghost inside Zhao Yijiu?

Yu Xing suddenly frowned.

Is it true that the vengeful spirit within him silently influences the memories of others, and can even create obstacles for someone far away?

Special means secret, and secret means uncertainty. There are indeed too many uncertainties surrounding Zhao Yijiu, Yu Xing had already considered this with Zhao Mou many times before.

I want to go up and see Zhao Yijiu.

Judging from the remaining amount of black mist around us, at least a month has passed.

Without the constraints of time, Yu Xing truly felt as if she had been transported to another world, even believing that she might have been underground for thousands of years—probably due to the lingering effects of the Ghost Tree.

Anyway, I started to feel out of place in the world above.

And those people in the world on earth have been gone for a long time.

... To be both sentimental and frank, he felt a pang of longing. In the boundless silence and abyss-like solitude, the more vivid the figure in his memory, the more he missed it.

Yu Xing blinked, took a deep breath, and then came back to her senses.

The surrounding environment seemed to have undergone subtle changes. For example, before, he didn't need to breathe at all, because this core area didn't seem to require the concept of breathing.

But now, having absorbed so many curses and gradually gained control of this space, the rules of the space seem to be changing according to his habits.

Having broken free from her subconscious fantasies, Yu Xing finally had the leisure to observe herself.

He could barely move an inch now, because his ankles and the ground were covered by his long hair, and even the slightest movement could cause them to get tangled.

The body still had that familiar shape, with well-proportioned bones and firm muscles, a perfect form that had been transformed from a laboratory.

But this feel was unfamiliar.

Yu Xing touched her chest and felt that her heartbeat was much quieter than before.

His heartbeat was slow and faint; if he didn't consciously try to feel it, he would almost ignore this organ that is indispensable to humans.

But the vitality bursting forth from this suppressed heartbeat was more vigorous than ever before.

Power comes from curses.

Vitality... comes from within himself.

This time, it was no longer the curse that prevailed, nor that the curse controlled his life; rather, it was he who decided the curse's mindset, making the curse adapt to him.

His explosive power, speed, and cell regeneration abilities are all much stronger than before. Since he can't find a reference point, he's not entirely sure just how powerful he has become.

Anyway, he felt that as long as he had the power of the curse, it wouldn't matter if he had to face Yi Qing, who was free of any constraints, or stand in front of that giant human-faced fish.

Yu Xing felt that she had truly become a monster, a monster who knew how to control herself.

He chuckled softly, a hint of self-mockery in his voice.

It's as if this is his destiny; he ceased to be human long ago, so he might as well just admit it openly.

He used to get stuck on a lot of trivial things, but now he's figured it out. As long as his thoughts are still his own and under his own control, and he doesn't do stupid things against his will, it doesn't matter whether he's a human or a monster. Isn't Yi Qing a ghost too? When he's normal, he's pretty good too.

Zhao Yijiu also has a vengeful ghost inside him, but he is also a very good person.

Suddenly, Yu Xing discovered something.

The black markings on his body were gone.

The immense energy seemed to have lost its form of expression; the dense lines that had been cutting into his skin suddenly disappeared completely. When Yu Xing felt a little uneasy.

What about the texture?

Yu Xing rummaged through herself, searching for a long time.

No.

There is none left.

The beautiful patterns he wanted, similar to those of Yu Fengchen, no longer exist!

"Boom..."

As if sensing his mood, the thick branches around him suddenly surged, rubbing against each other with a loud sound, like thunder from colliding clouds.

Taking advantage of this sound, the last wisp of black mist surged into Yu Xing's heart.

He then realized that the curse he had been thinking about, which he had assumed he would have to die again to absorb completely, had actually ended just like that.

His skin was smooth, without a single wound; his soul was stable, no longer shivering with cold.

The power of those curses was like an extension of my arm, controlled at will, without any sense of draining my life force; instead, it became an enhancement to my life force.

His body had completely adapted to this immense power, which meant that even without the curse, his physical form alone was stronger than many ghosts.

Such power is undoubtedly exceptional. According to the Absurdity System's classification of levels, Yu Xing should have skipped a major level and arrived at a realm he had never ventured into before.

Do Lingren also feel this way?

Yu Xing clenched her fist.

This is understandable, as Lingren usually treat others like toys, rarely giving them a second glance.

This is due to a difference in understanding...

Yu Xing is currently experiencing that feeling of being out of place.

He felt an urgent need, a burning desire, to go to the ground and see normal people.

Thinking this way, he did it.

The branches he could control were no longer as easy to injure as before. The thick branches that stretched out carried him straight up. He passed through the soil and the other gaps in this completely "dead" Ghost Tree, but he was like a fish in water, just like he was in the water after he devoured the Water Ghost Shiwei.

Each root system felt like an extension of him, permeating his senses. These plants were merely a medium to him. Yu Xing clearly felt that there was a distinct dividing line between him and these branches; they were not one.

After running a short distance, Yu Xing stopped, her scalp throbbing with pain.

He glanced speechlessly at the tangled hair behind him, thinking to himself how he could have forgotten about it; it really was over-nourished, causing his hair to grow wildly.

All of this was just a burden. Yu Xing simply grabbed the long hair at the back of his head. His fingertips were enveloped in a faint black mist. The next moment, the part he was holding was corroded and broken by the curse, leaving only some messy short hair that just reached the nape of his neck.

After cutting it off, Yu Xing suddenly felt much lighter, let out a long sigh, and charged upwards again.

His destination was the Underground City.

With its tentacles acting as sensors, Yu Xing naturally knew that the Underground City had not been destroyed. At most, due to the loss of power, the small village that had been created had been completely abandoned and was never seen by the light of day.

Those sorcerer followers who worship the Ghost Tree still wander the small village. The curse that sustains their lives is a separate creation of the original Ghost Tree. If Yu Xing doesn't remove the curse, the sorcerers will wander here forever.

They will realize that they don't need to eat at all, that they are fundamentally different from humans, and ultimately, that they are the very ghosts they are wary of and abhor, gradually assimilated, and become devoid of thought.

In just a few breaths, Yu Xing, like a drop of water in the ocean, successfully reached the Underground City in the middle of the underground.

The large pit that Yu Fengchen left behind when he picked him up is still there, and there are even more pits now. It's easy to imagine that Jiang Jieleng's experience when Yu Fengchen took him away wasn't very pleasant.

Yu Xing carefully sensed the surroundings and realized that the number of believers had decreased dramatically since his last visit, with only about ten remaining.

The power of the ghosts also became scattered. It seemed that after a period of time, the ghosts lost their previous interest in the Underground City and stopped crowding towards it.

Therefore, the remaining followers of the wizard miraculously "survived".

The Underground City had become a dilapidated, dark village, and every Sunken Sun had lost its color.

Yu Xing stood at the edge of the altar, looking left and right.

Still having some sense of shame, he headed straight for the reception area, wanting to find a robe to put on first.

After finding it, he went barefoot and followed the flow of the curse, appearing in Amber Bradley's house in the blink of an eye.

He remembered that the Saintess's room was fully equipped.

At this moment, Yu Xing was searching through Amber's room like he was searching a map in Yugi. The order of the Underground City was created by the special rules set by the Ghost Tree. Although he had absorbed the curse power of the Ghost Tree, he had not inherited the Ghost Tree's mind. As a human, he was also fundamentally different from the strange rules of this plant, so he naturally could not replicate this creativity.

So he could only use what was left behind.

First, there was the mirror. He searched for a long time and only found a few pieces of mirror on the floor of Amber's room.

Then comes the scissors.

The young master, who was studying art, had a deeply ingrained sense of self-consciousness and absolutely could not tolerate going out in public with a hairstyle that was cut straight down from the bottom.

He figured that if he actually appeared in front of his teammates like that, Zhao Yijiu, that icy coldness, would be amused and laughed at by him.

Scissors are definitely present. These wizard followers in the Underground City believe themselves to be human, so their behavior is similar to that of humans; their hair grows long and they trim it regularly.

Before long, Yu Xing found a pair of scissors and reluctantly cut her own hair in front of the mirror.

He tried his best to cut his hair the same way he used to, including his bangs and sideburns. To be honest, he didn't really want his friends to notice how different he looked from before.

Having studied sculpting before, he possessed exceptional spatial imagination, making drying casual hair a piece of cake. Only after putting down the scissors and seeing himself reflected in the shards of the mirror did he breathe a sigh of relief with satisfaction.

No one is allowed to laugh at him, no one is allowed!

After a three-second pause, Yu Xing suddenly remembered something.

The Underground City was completely dark, without any lights, but he felt no discomfort at all since arriving there.

His vision in the dark was no different from that in the light.

This time it's a complete... night vision.

Yu Xing seemed to suddenly understand how Zhao Yijiu felt standing in the shadows. It must be similar. He was like a drop of water in the ocean within the curse, and Zhao Yijiu, in the shadows, probably felt the same way.

It's really something special. He needs to go up and check the other party's vengeful ghost personality. He should be able to defeat that ghost now, right?

With clothes to cover her body and her appearance tidied up, Yu Xing looked up, feeling a little pleased.

Next, we should go up there and take a look. Without the support of the Ghost Tree, the Dead Silent Island dungeon must be in complete chaos.

If the event wasn't over yet, he could still return to the hotel and be taken away by the Absurdity System.

If it's over, he's clearly been overlooked by the system, and he'll have to find a way back on his own.

Just then, Yu Xing's ears twitched as she heard suppressed footsteps behind her.

Someone's here?

He didn't bother turning around at all, stopping by the table and silently waiting for the person behind him to approach. He didn't try to disguise himself, so the person behind him quickly realized that he had discovered him.

"Roy?"

The person spoke first; it was a woman's voice.

The voices weren't familiar, or rather, after Yu Xing died seven times, he wasn't familiar with anyone's voice anymore; they all sounded like he hadn't heard them for hundreds of years.

Is that you?

The woman's voice asked again.

Yu Xing gave a lazy reply.

The next second, the sound of wind cutting through the air appeared irresistibly beside his ear, and then, a cold dagger was pressed against his neck.

Yu Xing smiled, turning her head despite the sensation of the dagger rubbing against her skin.

A thin line of blood was left on his neck, almost invisible to the naked eye, and it disappeared completely very quickly.

The woman in front of me is Amber.

In this situation, the fact that this woman could still sneak back to her room in the dark and catch him before he left can be considered a kind of strong intuition.

Before, the scar beneath Roy 'Amber blonde hair was quite noticeable, ruining her beauty. But now, the deathly stillness and resentment in her eyes are far more striking than the scar.

"You're finally back," she said.

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, her posture relaxed. "So, it seems you know I was gone."

Amber's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but then he closed his mouth and pressed the dagger firmly against Yu Xing's neck.

"Of course I know. I also know that the Underground City was abandoned by the Wood God. The Tree Witch betrayed us, and the God betrayed us too." A hint of resentment flashed in Amber's eyes. "Why?"

"And you, all of this is thanks to you. I don't hate you, because you're so powerful that I have no right to hate you."

Amber bit her lip. "I just want to know, why? Why did you come here, destroy everything we have, ruin God's favor upon us, and then just leave?"

What did we do wrong? And where are you going...?

These questions likely reveal a great deal about Amber's inner journey.

Yu Xing simply smiled, extended a finger, and easily removed the blade from her neck.

"That's not how it works." He gazed at the Virgin Mary in the Underground City and chuckled softly, "It was a mistake from the start, so where's the betrayal in that?"

"You believers, you are already dead. Don't the sins you have committed deserve this end?"

Amber's gaze flickered, Yu Xing remained composed and indifferent, offering a fake smile as she chipped away at Amber's last remaining fig leaf, "I even think your disappearance was far too easy. Now you've come to me, are you trying to test me for a more severe punishment?"