The Place Where the Setting Sun Weeps Blood and Longs for Home · When the Phoenix's Shadow Leans Silently Against the Door

On the bed.

Long Jinyu's brain was like a pot of boiling porridge, bubbling with all sorts of absurd thoughts.

A television... how could that thing be here?

The style, the design—it was clearly identical to the LCD television in the living room at Mother Jin's home before he'd crossed over! Even the brand was...

An outrageous thought sprouted wildly like a vine, twining around his muddled mind.

"Could it be... none of this is real?"

He stared blankly at the ancient wood grain on the ceiling.

"That's right... a dream. It must be a dream. Only a dream could be this bizarre, piecing things from reality together at random."

He tried hard to find a reasonable explanation for what he was experiencing:

"It feels like a long time has passed, but it's actually only been half a day..."

"When we ate, the food tasted unbelievably good, but afterward I didn't really feel full..."

"Even the Dragon God Bloodline can't eat that much, can it?"

"And everything that happened today... it's been more up and down than a roller coaster."

"Crossing over, a system, my Martial Soul going berserk, 'saving a beauty,' becoming a disciple of the Sea God Pavilion, living together at the Phoenix Perch Pavilion..."

"My first seventeen years, as ordinary as they were, weren't half this exciting. What else could explain it, if not a dream?"

The more he thought about it, the more "reasonable" it seemed.

"So... it was just a dream."

He murmured to himself. The realization made his heart suddenly feel empty, then flooded him with immense disappointment and... a trace of relief?

He was disappointed because if it was only a dream, then this seemingly invincible power, the system, and the chance to change those regrets were all just flowers reflected in a mirror and the moon's reflection in water, gone in an instant.

He was relieved because... if it was only a dream, then he wouldn't have to face the terror of truly crossing into another world, the bewilderment of an unknown future, or... the inescapable longing for his "home" and "family" on Blue Star.

In the end, he was just an ordinary student on Blue Star, Long Jinyu—not some chosen one bearing the Dragon God's mission.

He had no power to shake the world. He couldn't change any storylines, and he couldn't... save anyone.

Ma Xiaotao.

Her bright, fiery figure, proud yet fragile, appeared clearly before his eyes.

"Not even a chance to say goodbye?" His heart felt hollow.

If this really was a dream, and he was about to wake up... shouldn't he do something?

An even bolder thought, almost blasphemous, suddenly leaped into his mind, carrying the wild fantasy only a teenager could indulge in when safely ensconced in a dream:

"It's just a dream anyway... why not... while my 'consciousness' is still 'clear'... go upstairs right now?"

"Tell her everything I want to say! That I like her, that I feel for her, that I want to protect her... tell her all the feelings she could never hear in real life!"

"Maybe... I could even... kiss her? Just once... anyway, if she hits me, it won't hurt... or... we could have a roll in bed?"

Even more suggestive, jumbled images flashed uncontrollably through his mind, making his cheeks burn.

It was only a dream, wasn't it? Once he woke up, everything would vanish.

At least in the dream, he could let loose, indulge all his beautiful fantasies and feelings for this "2D big sister," and leave no regrets.

The thought was incredibly tempting, like the whisper of a devil.

He could even imagine all the reactions Ma Xiaotao might have: surprise, embarrassment, or maybe she'd burn him right out of the room...

He sat up abruptly, his heart pounding, and stared intently at the tightly shut door, his breathing growing more hurried.

All he had to do was open it and rush up the stairs...

But the moment his bottom left the bed, that impulse deflated like a pricked balloon.

He slumped back onto the bed and covered his eyes with one hand.

"I can't..."

Even convinced that it was a "dream," he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He'd promised not to go upstairs.

A promise was a promise.

It was engraved in his bones, a sense of propriety and a moral boundary instilled by Teacher Jin through years of teaching by word and example.

A dream wasn't an excuse to break a promise, either.

"Forget it..."

He let out a long, weary breath, pressing the restless, unrealistic fantasies and immense disappointment back down into his heart.

"Let it be... being able to dream of this is already wonderful."

"...Honestly, you're so well-behaved even in a dream. Who are you putting on an act for...?"

He muttered in self-mockery.

At last, utter exhaustion swallowed his muddled thoughts whole.

He didn't even take a shower. Curling up, he fell into a deep sleep.

He slept as if the sky had fallen and the earth had turned upside down.

Outside, the sunlight shifted from blazing white to golden, while the Phoenix Perch Pavilion lay quiet.

Long Jinyu woke to a faint pain—he seemed to have been lying on his own hair.

Still half-asleep, he tried to turn over and instinctively reached for his phone by the pillow to check the time.

His fingertips brushed a familiar, cool, smooth, rectangular object!

Long Jinyu jolted and opened his eyes. He looked at the thing in his hand—

It was unmistakably his smartphone!

The lock screen still showed the photo of him with Teacher Jin and her daughter!

"It really was a dream... I'm awake..."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, there was no crossing over... He propped himself up and sat, unconsciously running a hand through his hair.

Wait, long hair?

He came to his senses.

When he lowered his head, he saw several strands of black hair, streaked with platinum-white, falling across his chest!

Long Jinyu froze completely.

He looked around—the carved wooden furniture, the warm wall lamps, the "familiar" Soul Guidance Television on the opposite wall, the soft but strange bed beneath him, the faint scent of plants in the air...

This wasn't Mother Jin's home at all!

This was... the Phoenix Perch Pavilion!

He scrambled over to the dressing mirror in the corner of the room. The reflection wasn't the familiar, neat-looking boy with black hair and eyes, who carried a faintly scholarly air.

It was the otherworldly "Long Jinyu," with mismatched eyes, fair skin, and a face so beautiful it was almost demonic.

"Buzz—!"

His brain seemed to have been struck by a heavy hammer. After a moment of blankness, countless fragments of memory came flooding back!

The system's notifications, Mu En's profound gaze, Yan Shaozhe's smile, the conversation at the Sea God Pavilion, Ma Xiaotao's burning phoenix eyes, Wu Ming's hearty laughter, Han Ruoruo's gentle intervention...

Everything was terrifyingly vivid, carrying an undeniable sense of reality!

It wasn't a dream?!

He wasn't about to wake up.

He'd really... crossed over?!

[ Ding-dong~ Host, you're awake? Did you rest well? ]

[Seeing how soundly you were sleeping, this system thoughtfully synchronized your phone's data and brought it along, too! Surprised? It only cost a mere 10,000 points! Now you can take photos, play offline games, and read downloaded study materials in this world, too!]

Holding the cold, familiar phone and staring at his completely unfamiliar reflection, Long Jinyu heard the system's cheerful voice. It was like a heavy hammer, shattering the last of his wishful thinking.

The excitement of crossing over, the joy of seeing Ma Xiaotao, and the emotions suppressed by one unexpected event after another erupted like a volcano that had been building pressure for ages!

"G-go... home..."

His voice trembled, and his eyes reddened instantly.

"System! Take me home! I don't want to be the Dragon God or anything! I want to go back to Blue Star!"

Panic, confusion, and an overwhelming longing for and attachment to his old world swept over him like an icy tide.

He was just a seventeen-year-old student who'd only just finished the college entrance exams, full of both hope and anxiety for the future. He hadn't even had a chance to check his exam results! He hadn't even...

"Mother Jin..."

His voice choked, and large tears rolled uncontrollably down his cheeks.

"I haven't repaid her... I said I'd become a teacher like her... I haven't... I haven't even found out how I did on the exams... She promised me... she said if I got into a top teacher-training college, she'd... she'd..."

She'd set him up with her daughter.

The "big sister" he'd secretly loved for five years, but had never dared confess his feelings to because he'd thought of himself as an orphan with no future.

An immense sense of loss and guilt gripped his heart.

"Mother Jin... will she be frantic when she can't find me?"

He was like a despicable deserter, abandoning all his responsibilities and promises to flee to a world that looked dazzling but was utterly strange.

Dragon God, peerless talent, saving tragic lives... He didn't want any of it!

He just wanted to go home! Back to that ordinary but real world, where Teacher Jin nagged him, where there were endless practice exams, and where he had simple hopes for college life!

His Soul Power spiraled out of control again, driven by his violent emotional upheaval, more turbulent than any time before!

Nine-colored light flickered uncontrollably across his body, and the objects in the room trembled faintly.

His head throbbed. He crouched down and hugged his knees tightly, burying his face in them. Like a lost child, he sobbed, his whole body shaking.

[...Host?]

The system seemed completely unable to understand this sudden breakdown.

[Logical error... unable to parse host's behavior.]

[According to a comparison of the data, you are defined as an 'orphan' and a 'student from a poor family' within Blue Star's social structure, with an extremely low social value assessment.]

[In this plane, you are the inheritor of the supreme Dragon God Bloodline, possessing limitless potential and a position of honor... Choosing to return to a low-value starting point does not conform to any optimal logic. May I ask what you're dissatisfied with? Were too many points deducted?]

"Logic?! All you know is logic!"

Long Jinyu suddenly looked up and shouted at empty air, his face covered in tears and snot, utterly lacking in dignity. Only raw sorrow and anger remained.

"You don't understand! You have no idea how important Mother Jin is to me! Without her, I'd have been done for long ago! She taught me to read and how to be a good person, paid my tuition, and gave me a home... That can't be measured in 'value'! It's... it's..."

His voice caught. He couldn't find the right words to describe that bond of gratitude, rooted deep in his bones.

"And my dream... I studied hard for twelve years... I haven't even seen the results... That's my life! You're just telling me to abandon it?! Did you even ask if I wanted to?!"

He shouted himself hoarse, as if trying to vent all his fear and unwillingness.

Long Jinyu collapsed helplessly onto the floor, his back against the cold edge of the bed. Still clutching the phone that could no longer connect to his old world, he sobbed softly.

The euphoria of crossing over had come to an end. The heavy reality, like the setting sun sinking outside the window, pressed against his heart with its icy weight.

[...]

The system fell silent for a long time. It seemed even its vast database and processing core couldn't handle such a complicated variable called "emotion."

Outside the door.

A fiery-red figure came to a quiet halt.

Ma Xiaotao had noticed how late it was getting and had come to call Long Jinyu to dinner, as well as ask how he was feeling after his rest.

As she reached the door, she heard muffled sobs from inside, suppressed as hard as he could but still impossible to hide.

Her hand froze in midair, and the fingers poised to knock curled back.

That crying... so full of sorrow, so helpless. It was nothing like the articulate boy she'd seen during the day, who'd even been able to suppress her Evil Fire.

Ma Xiaotao felt something tug at her heart.

She immediately remembered the story he'd told at the Sea God Pavilion—his entire clan wiped out, his home destroyed, and him alone, cast adrift.

"Is he... homesick? Missing his family?"

A wave of sharp, sympathetic sorrow rose within her. She, too, had once endured the pain of losing all her family. She understood that loneliness and helplessness all too well.

Though Long Jinyu possessed great power, in the end... he was still just a boy, not quite grown, who would hide away somewhere and cry when no one was around.

Listening to his suppressed sobs from inside, Ma Xiaotao felt as if she could sense the bone-deep sorrow in them.

She, who usually rushed headlong into everything and could even be a little reckless, hesitated now.

Should she go in and comfort him?

But... how? She was terrible with words and didn't know how to say anything nice.

Besides, he was so proud, or so she thought. Wouldn't he hate having anyone see him so vulnerable?

Should she leave him alone to collect himself?

But... hearing him cry so sadly made her feel awful, too. She couldn't stop worrying about him.

Ma Xiaotao stood outside the door, the setting sun stretching her shadow long behind her.

She furrowed her brows, her face filled with conflict and... heartache.

In the end, she still didn't open the door. She only sighed softly, leaned her back against the wall beside it, folded her arms, and slid down to sit.

"Forget it... let him cry. Maybe he'll feel better after letting it out."

That was what she thought.

"I... I'll wait here for a little while. Once he's calmed down, I'll... I'll ask what he wants to eat."

Inside the room.

Long Jinyu remained immersed in his own world of sorrow, completely unaware of the silent presence outside the door.

As evening settled over the Phoenix Perch Pavilion, all that could be heard was the boy's suppressed sobbing and the quiet breathing of the girl waiting outside.