Return to Rodos

Zhang Yao reached down to his leg and found nothing there. He froze for a moment before realizing that he was in his own world, not Rodos.

Smack! Just as Zhang Yao stood there dazed, a snowball hurtled into his face. The icy chill snapped him back to his senses. Seeing Li Qing'er giggling in the distance with another snowball in her hand, he shouted, "Li Qing'er, don't you run!" He scooped up snow with both hands, packed it into a ball, and hurled it at her.

"Ah! It's so cold!"

Unable to dodge in time, Li Qing'er took a direct hit from Zhang Yao and cried out at the freezing impact.

"Hahaha, serves you right! That's what you get for ambushing me..."

Seeing Li Qing'er shivering with cold, Zhang Yao burst into laughter.

"I'll give you something to laugh about! Take this!"

At the sight of his smug expression, Li Qing'er immediately retaliated.

Trading volleys back and forth, Zhang Yao and Li Qing'er chased each other around the Zhang family's courtyard, only stopping once both their clothes were soaked through with melted snow.

For Zhang Yao, this was purely play. Otherwise, with his abilities, if he had put his full effort into dodging, not just Li Qing'er but even ten more people throwing snowballs at him probably wouldn't have grazed him.

Though he was soaked through, Zhang Yao's superhuman constitution meant he only had to return to his room and change before coming out as if nothing had happened, ready to accompany his father on New Year visits to their neighbors. Li Qing'er wasn't so fortunate. The moment she returned indoors, her limbs went weak and her head grew dizzy. She caught a cold and was confined to bed. Because of this, Zhang Yao's mother kept scolding him for not knowing when to stop while playing with Li Qing'er, saying he should have gone easier on her.

What could Zhang Yao do in the face of his mother's complaints? He could only rub his head and chuckle sheepishly. The following days passed in their usual rhythm. With Li Qing'er ill, Zhang Yao finally achieved his purpose in coming home: getting some rest. Good days always passed quickly. One day, then two. Before he knew it, it was already the fifth day of the New Year, and the time Zhang Yao had exchanged for was about to run out.

"Time really flies!" Looking at the desk calendar, Zhang Yao couldn't help sighing. Then he rose and headed toward his parents' room. This time, he planned to leave for roughly half a year, returning only for the college entrance exams. Although Rodos World provided a cover story, he still felt it would be better to tell them himself.

"Dad!" Zhang Yao entered the room and greeted his father, who was reading.

"Hmm? What is it?" His father glanced up at him, then returned his gaze to the book in his hands.

"I have to go back to Teacher Luo's tonight! I won't be back until the college entrance exams!" Sitting down opposite his father, Zhang Yao told him his plans.

"Can't you stay until after the fifteenth?" His father put down his book and asked with a trace of hope.

"No. There isn't enough time!" Zhang Yao gritted his teeth and refused his father's suggestion. Though he dearly wanted to spend the entire New Year with his family, circumstances forced him to refuse. For one thing, the threat of death in Rodos World kept him from enjoying his family's company with an easy heart. For another, he didn't have enough gold coins to pay for the extra time he would spend here.

"Then never mind! Once you're at Teacher Luo's, study hard and take good care of yourself! I'll handle everything here. Just come back when it's time for the college entrance exams! Hmm, and... forget it, I won't go on. Be careful on the road!" Like every father, Zhang Yao's father offered reminders to his son before a long journey. Fathers might not be skilled with words, but the depth of their love was too rich to ever dissolve.

Zhang Yao returned silently to his room and lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Only when darkness fell did he slowly come back to himself.

"Character attributes." He summoned the character Attribute Panel again and gently tapped the door icon.

At the thought of returning to Rodos, where he would once again have to carefully put on a withdrawn, unapproachable front, Zhang Yao felt an endless longing for home. He would have to return to a life of thinking three times before doing anything, calculating all day long what consequences his every action and every word might have, terrified that a single careless moment might cost him his life.

But no matter how unwilling he was, no matter how painful it felt, he still had to keep living that way. His life depended on it.

After a wave of dizziness, Zhang Yao once again returned to the Transit Station, which resembled the Chosen One Hall. Transit Station was the name he had given this intermediary stop on his return journey.

"Would you like to return to Rodos World?" The moment Zhang Yao appeared in the Transit Station, that cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind again.

Yes, Zhang Yao answered silently.

Immediately, Zhang Yao vanished from the Transit Station and returned to the alley from before. The instant he appeared there, he used the Concealment Technique, hiding himself as he carefully surveyed his surroundings.

Though his choice of departure point had seemed casual, Zhang Yao had actually put considerable effort into it. Not only was this alley open at both ends, but the tall buildings surrounding it also shrouded the entire area in shadow. This terrain was extremely favorable for using his skills, as well as making a swift retreat if anything went wrong.

After observing for a long while and finding nothing amiss, Zhang Yao slowly revealed himself and walked toward the inn, keeping close to the walls.

Entering the inn, Zhang Yao headed straight upstairs to the room he shared with Luo De without stopping. At the door, he knocked softly. Luo De's wary voice came from inside. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Zhang Yao!" he replied quietly.

Clack! Barely had Zhang Yao finished answering when the door was pulled open and Luo De darted out. Looking at Zhang Yao standing before him, Luo De said excitedly, "Zhang Yao, you're finally back!" He spread his arms for a hug, but Zhang Yao nimbly dodged him.

"I'm not used to hugging men!" Leaving him with those words, Zhang Yao ignored Luo De, who looked as though he had suffered a crushing blow, and walked straight into the room.

The furnishings were almost exactly as they had been when Zhang Yao left. The only difference was the beautiful young woman now sitting in the chair by the window-Amelia. Zhang Yao frowned at her but said nothing, taking his favorite spot in the shadows of the corner.

"Zhang Yao, you've really broken my heart. Would you refuse even a hug between friends?" Wearing an utterly heartbroken expression, Luo De looked at him reproachfully.

"I'm not refusing. I'm just not used to it!" Zhang Yao narrowed his eyes and emphasized the point again.

"Ah! I'm so heartbroken!" Luo De continued looking at Zhang Yao with that same devastated expression.

"Oh, if you keep disgusting me with that expression, I'll show you what being heartbroken really means!" Zhang Yao spoke with the breezy calm of a light wind beneath drifting clouds, but the Drowned Ghost Dagger that suddenly appeared in his hand revealed his true mood.

"Hahaha, Zhang Yao, how did your training go?" Seeing the cold radiating from the Drowned Ghost Dagger, Luo De immediately forced a laugh and changed the subject.

(PS: These past few days, I've been busy and exhausted, but seeing friends and relatives I haven't met in ages sitting around the table, chatting animatedly, has filled my heart with joy. I suppose this is what the New Year feels like~~)