Scaring Himself, a Conversation Across Time

The face beneath the man's hood was identical to his own. Compared with his youthful features, though, it held a maturity earned over the years.

Anyone would be startled to see someone who looked exactly like them. Xiao Yan was no exception.

But a moment later, he quickly calmed down and sorted through his tangled thoughts.

If he was right, this man was his future self, who had mastered the Rabbit's power and traveled back through time.

Traveling through time to change the past—such power was terrifying.

Then something occurred to Xiao Yan, and his expression gradually turned strange. He muttered, "So... I stole my own sister-in-law from myself? Holy shit! Xiao Yan, you really know how to have fun."

At the thought of facing two Medusas at once someday, a lecherous grin crept onto Xiao Yan's face, and heat surged through him.

"Man, that face of yours is seriously handsome!" Xiao Yan said, unable to resist admiring the sharply defined, striking features beneath the black hood.

Black-Robed Xiao Yan couldn't hear him, but he could revisit his own memories of this moment. It was almost like talking to the Xiao Yan of the present.

As he recalled those memories, nostalgia slowly spread across Black-Robed Xiao Yan's handsome face.

He had certainly done plenty of foolish, childish things back then and said more than his share of embarrassing nonsense. But those years were the road that had brought him here, memories he would treasure forever.

Excited, Xiao Yan tried to ask about the future.

For certain reasons, Black-Robed Xiao Yan said little, answering only a few harmless questions.

Though Xiao Yan hadn't learned what he wanted, he was still happy.

After speaking across time with his former self and saying goodbye, Black-Robed Xiao Yan looked away and turned to heal the younger sister in his arms.

He extended a finger and gently touched her, instantly activating the Horse Talisman's power.

As that gentle yet vast power flowed into her body, the horrifying wounds covering her began to heal at an astonishing speed.

Her once-feeble aura rapidly strengthened under its influence, and color gradually returned to her pale cheeks.

Watching, Xiao Yan couldn't help marveling at the Horse Talisman. Any damage caused by an external force, no matter what kind, could be restored completely.

It was practically a broken ability, useful from childhood to old age and right up to the moment of death.

Yet although her body had fully recovered, the younger sister kept her eyes shut, showing no sign of waking.

Forcing a secret art with the power of a Dou Emperor, coupled with her deep desire to escape reality, had left her utterly lost in her dream. She no longer wanted to wake.

With his current strength, Black-Robed Xiao Yan could have forced her awake.

But he could not do that.

Even at his current level, he had to exercise extreme caution when tampering with time. The slightest deviation could have unthinkable consequences.

So Black-Robed Xiao Yan took the younger sister back to the Snake-People Tribe, then vanished from this stretch of memory.

Before leaving, he made sure to raise his middle finger at Xiao Yan once more.

"Now I finally understand why my teacher keeps knocking me on the head. I really do look like I'm asking for a beating," Xiao Yan said through gritted teeth, staring at the spot where Black-Robed Xiao Yan had disappeared.

It was the first time in his life Xiao Yan had wanted to beat himself up. Strange as it was, he meant it.

With Black-Robed Xiao Yan gone, the light and shadows around him began to shift.

Xiao Yan looked around and found himself back where he had first entered the dream.

"Did the dream reset?" he murmured uncertainly, gazing at the familiar scene.

The two little Snake-People girls passed by him once again, confirming his suspicion.

The same memories unfolded along the same path.

Just as he had the first time, Xiao Yan lived through every joy and sorrow the sisters shared.

On the third reset, Xiao Yan returned once more to that familiar starting point.

As he watched the sisters pass him for the third time, his expression finally turned grave.

He took a deep breath and slowly said, "Looks like if I want to end this dream and save my sister-in-law... I'll have to do something myself."

While he thought, the dream continued.

As time passed, their surroundings changed rapidly.

The warm streets became the cold, imposing Snake-People Temple.

"If there's a perfect moment to step in... it's right now!" Xiao Yan fixed his eyes on the two figures at the center of the temple, his mind racing. "But how? With the Sheep Talisman's power?"

Thoughtfulness and anxiety alternated across Xiao Yan's face.

At the center of the temple, the younger sister had already placed the knife in her elder sister's hand. The secret art that twisted space was about to be used again.

There was no time to think.

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth. To hell with the consequences. He drove the Sheep Talisman's power to its limit, with only one thought in his mind: Let me enter this dream!

At the same time, he thrust out his hand and grabbed hard for the younger sister's arm.

His hand, once transparent and unable to touch a thing, suddenly became solid.

His fingers closed firmly around her soft, pale wrist.

Xiao Yan's sudden appearance startled the three Elders and both Medusa sisters.

The younger sister froze in the middle of activating her secret art. Her beautiful eyes widened as she stared blankly at the human who had appeared out of nowhere.

It worked! Joy surged through Xiao Yan.

There was no time to explain, and he didn't care to try. He took her hand and sprinted out of the temple.

His sudden move left the younger sister's mind blank. She forgot to resist and let him pull her along as they flew out of the Snake-People Temple.

The three Elders stood rooted to the spot, bewilderment written across their faces.

A moment later, they realized what had happened. Their faces turned ashen, and they pointed at Xiao Yan and the younger sister as they roared, "Catch that damned human!"

At their command, powerful members of the Snake-People Tribe took to the air from every direction, pursuing the pair like a swarm of locusts.

"Shit... My teacher isn't here, and I'm only a Dou Ling right now. Am I going to end up needing my sister-in-law to protect me?" Sensing his current strength, Xiao Yan looked a little embarrassed.

He was frantically weighing his options when three Dou Wang from the Snake-People Tribe flashed behind them. Their weapons sliced through the air, thrusting straight at Xiao Yan's back.