Everyday Life

Their fight ended quickly, with Gu Yue narrowly winning in the end.

The setting sun slid past the high-rises, casting bands of light across the dining table, where Tang Wulin's empty bowl and the exhaustion of their day lay together.

"Tomorrow's the weekend. Want to go out together, Gu Yue?" Tang Wulin said indistinctly through a mouthful of food.

"Cough, cough... You... cough, cough... you two?" Before Gu Yue could answer, Xie Xie choked.

Tang Wulin patted his back with one hand and handed him a cup of water with the other.

Likewise, Gu Yue's teasing came before Tang Wulin's explanation. "Yes, just the two of us. Not you, Xie Xie."

"You... you two."

Xie Xie sat across the table, both hands braced against its edge like a tree someone had pinned down by the roots.

There were still traces of water at the corner of his mouth from choking just now.

Tang Wulin handed him a tissue. "The three of us. How could I possibly leave you behind alone?"

Xie Xie took the tissue, wiped himself carelessly, then turned his gaze toward Gu Yue again.

Gu Yue sat beside them, taking small sips from a cup of warm water. She glanced at Xie Xie, clearly quite pleased with her prank.

Xie Xie paused, finally catching his breath. "...Can you two stop making people wait for the rest of the sentence?"

Tang Wulin finished the rice in his bowl. When he set down his chopsticks, the bowl was spotless.

He looked up at the sky beyond the window. The sun was slowly sinking between the buildings, its slanting light cutting into the room and stretching the empty bowls, cups, and chopstick holder into long, thin shadows across the table.

Gu Yue set down her cup. "Where are we going tomorrow?"

"Haven't decided yet. We'll go out first and figure it out later."

Xie Xie looked at him, then at Gu Yue, and muttered quietly, "Anywhere's fine. I'll follow along anyway."

Tang Wulin glanced at the two of them, sounding a little helpless. "I meant the three of us together."

Xie Xie said, "...I never said it wouldn't be the three of us."

Gu Yue turned to look at him, her eyes carrying a hint of guilt.

"What kind of look is that, Gu Yue?!"

Tang Wulin lowered his head and wiped the water stains from the table with a tissue, changing the subject. "I'll treat you guys to something delicious tomorrow."

Xie Xie froze for a moment. "You're treating... Where did you get the money?"

"My blacksmithing workshop brings in some income. I saved up a bit."

Xie Xie looked at him for several seconds, as though reassessing him, then leaned back. "Fine. Then I won't hold back tomorrow."

Tang Wulin smiled, then turned to Gu Yue again. "What do you think?"

Gu Yue leaned against the back of her chair, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment as though confirming something. Then she nodded. "All right. Then we'll let you spend some money."

Night fell completely. With the evening breeze blowing in through the window, it really could carry away some of their exhaustion.

Xie Xie was already lying in bed, breathing evenly as though he had just fallen asleep. Tang Wulin climbed quietly into his own bed, pulled up the covers, lay flat on his back, and sank his consciousness into the Sea of Spirit.

The golden palace still floated in the void, golden points of light flowing quietly across its dome.

"The Class Advancement Tournament isn't important. The East Sea Alliance Grand Competition doesn't seem all that important either." Tang Wulin stood in the center of the great hall, his voice echoing faintly through the empty space. "Uh... but should we go through all those processes that are supposed to happen again?"

At the thought, his back began to ache faintly.

The Golden Dragon King's voice descended from above. "You're afraid of getting beaten?"

"No."

"There are many other things you need to care about." The Golden Dragon King's tone lowered slightly. "Haven't you noticed? The effects of traveling through time and space have caused some wear to your memories."

Tang Wulin paused. "Have they?"

The Golden Dragon King pressed a hand to his forehead. "If you noticed, would it still count as wear?"

"That sounds serious."

"Strictly speaking, it isn't serious. You can still remember most of the important things, but some details have already begun to blur. It isn't a major problem."

"You never told me about this before."

"Because telling you would have been useless. The damage has already happened, and you can't control it." The Golden Dragon King paused. "The most important matter now is the valuable things on Ye Guojie."

Tang Wulin froze. "Ye Guojie?"

Ye Guojie's corpse appeared out of thin air on the floor at one side of the hall. Most of his gray robe was torn apart.

"Where did you get that?" Tang Wulin took two steps toward the corpse, then stopped. "I remember clearly. When I killed him, he didn't leave anything behind."

"This is this king's palace. This king can do whatever he wants."

Tang Wulin looked away from the corpse and raised his eyes to the dark golden figure on the throne. "Time reversal?"

"It's enough that you know."

"Then if I take his soul bone now..." Tang Wulin looked back at the corpse, his tone slightly probing. "Can you make another set appear for him?"

The Golden Dragon King straightened slightly on his throne, his crimson eyes narrowing into slits. "What do you take this king for?"

"Don't attack. I was joking."

The Golden Dragon King leaned back against the throne again, his usual indifference returning to his voice. "This king can remove his soul bone without destroying the corpse."

Tang Wulin fell silent for a moment. "Then his corpse is useless too, right?"

"It has a use."

Tang Wulin looked up at him.

"This king can refine it into a puppet."

Tang Wulin's breathing stopped for an instant, and his gaze lingered on the gray-robed corpse once more.

He did not want to see Ye Guojie's face a second time, but using this corpse as a puppet—he was not sure how he felt about it.

"You don't need to worry about the rest." The Golden Dragon King's voice cut off his thoughts. "Just focus on growing closer to the Silver Dragon tomorrow."

"...Are you urging me to go out and have fun?"

"This king is telling you what matters more."

The Golden Dragon King waved a hand. Dark golden light began to draw inward, and Tang Wulin's consciousness was slowly pushed back into reality.

When he opened his eyes, the night light outside the window cast a long, dark-blue line across the wall.

"Did I really... leave behind something important?"