First contact

Everything before his eyes rushed backward.

The corpses of the Ox Demon and Shi Lai vanished from before Xia Yi, replaced by Zhou Qin, whose beard had been yanked off, and Old Man Sun, who was carrying a chessboard.

"Did it only rewind this far because I delayed for a while? Is the key to the rewind not a fixed point, but time?"

"Senior?" Zhou Xiaoxian looked miserable.

Without a word, Xia Yi turned, drew the sword, and tossed out his bamboo hat. Hat-to-Wings. He took off at a low altitude and vanished from Zhou Xiaoxian's sight in the blink of an eye, leaving her opening her mouth in bewilderment.

A Saint Soul that lets you fly. How impressive... But why did he have to run here before taking off?

She hastily bowed to the two dumbstruck old men. Not knowing what she should or could say, she hurried after Xia Yi.

This time, Xia Yi traveled at full speed, but Zhou Yi's House had still collapsed by the time he arrived.

The people were unharmed, as was the other house. Shi Lai had only just begun fighting the Ox Demon distractedly when Xia Yi descended straight into the scene from above!

His sharp sword stabbed downward, and the Ox Demon leveled its horns.

With a sharp screech, the sword tip snapped off, but the remaining half of the blade punched unstoppably through the ox's head, pinning it hard to the ground! It could not even struggle and died on the spot!

Off to the side, however...

Shi Lai blankly clutched the sword tip lodged in his neck.

His vision gradually went dark.

[Victory and defeat are commonplace in war,

Young hero, please try again.]

"...Fuck!!!"

"This can't be a scripted death, can it?!"

"Why does that broken sword act like it has homing?"

"Is this high-level NPC killing me on purpose? What did I ever do to him? This old man showed up with Zhou Xiaoxian. He can't be some kind of pervert who knows I've been asking Zhou Xiaoxian to marry Zhou Lizhu... Eww~"

"This game's plot wouldn't be that disgusting, would it? Come to think of it, why does this NPC seem to make a different entrance every time I use Reloading a Save?"

"Let's watch some more. Let's watch some more."

Load!

Everything before his eyes rushed backward.

Hearing Old Man Zhou's voice nearby, Xia Yi let out a long sigh.

"He probably has to rewind three minutes. Otherwise, one minute would have been enough this time."

"I shouldn't test it again. If I do, he might notice something... Though I am very curious about what would happen if he did."

"A... player who can use Reloading a Save? Wait, if there are players, could what that girl said about the Demon Race being wiped out actually be true?"

Zhou Xiaoxian caught up to him. "Senior, why did you suddenly stop?"

Xia Yi turned his head. "Girl, was the Demon Race really wiped out? How did it happen?"

H-he's having another episode? Zhou Xiaoxian glanced worriedly toward the crashing sounds. Anxious, she reached for her sword in Xia Yi's hand.

"Senior, I'll tell you when we get back!"

Xia Yi shifted sideways, avoiding her hand just as he had the previous two times. "Things are fine over there. Tell me first. Hey, if you won't tell me, I won't give it to you."

This senior! Why is he like a child?! Zhou Xiaoxian puffed out her cheeks and helplessly spoke at top speed. "A thousand years ago, the Human Race and the Demon Race fought nonstop, and we were clearly at a disadvantage."

"The turning point came six hundred years ago."

"King of Qin Ying Zheng comprehended the six-star Saint Soul 'Pacify the Inside Before Resisting the Outside' from the books of his predecessors. Surrounded by the Demon Race, he showed tremendous resolve and unified the six kingdoms of that time, creating the seven-star Saint Soul 'First Emperor.' This greatly strengthened the Human Race and marked the beginning of its counterattack against the Demon Race."

"Then, five hundred years ago, a King named Xiang Yu comprehended the seven-star Saint Soul 'Hegemon' in battle. Hailed as the strongest of both races in a thousand years, he slaughtered countless demons. In the end, he fought for three days and three nights in a vicious killing formation jointly set up by the Twelve Demon Gods, perishing together with them and marking the beginning of the Demon Race's destruction."

"...Fuck!"

"Senior?"

"...Nothing. Keep going."

Zhou Xiaoxian cautiously studied Xia Yi's rather odd expression before continuing:

"After that came a hundred years of advances."

"Heroes emerged one after another among the Human Race. Kings such as War God Lü Bu and Great Wei Taizu appeared in succession, steadily eroding the Demon Race's living space and expanding our territory dozens of times over. But this also led to another split into the Seven Kingdoms, which have endured to this day!"

"Senior, the Demon Race really was wiped out!"

"Please give me my sword!" Zhou Xiaoxian reached for it again. Xia Yi habitually shifted aside to dodge her, making her stamp her foot helplessly before she ran toward where the crashing had come from on her own.

Xia Yi stood rooted to the spot. This was even more implausible than players showing up and wiping out the Demon Race!

No, now was not the time to compare which was more implausible, but rather... He did not know what it was time for either. He could only look speechlessly up at the blue-and-white sky.

Am I still asleep? He did not deceive himself into drawing the sword and hurting himself to check. He merely tightened his grip on it and forced himself to calm down.

"It's most likely true, but I still need to confirm it through other channels."

"For now... let's test the player first."

Taking several deep breaths, he tossed out his bamboo hat and leaped into it. Hat-to-Wings came effortlessly, and he took off low, flying over several squat buildings to reach the Ox Demon ahead of Zhou Xiaoxian!

Xia Yi descended straight down. Shi Lai's eyes shifted as he fought the Ox Demon. He's here! The same entrance as last time! Shi Lai grew more vigilant!

The sharp sword swung. Shi Lai's eyes darted, and he suddenly kicked hard off the ground, diving away and landing heavily several meters off with a thud!

"Cough..." The fall made him cough several times, but he felt rather pleased with himself. Surely I won't die this time. Hahahahaha-hic...

The next instant, that smug look froze on his face.

Xia Yi's wings beat, and he shifted sideways as though teleporting, brushing past the charging Ox Demon. He swung the sword in a dashing flourish, then smoothly returned it to its sheath.

Not a drop of blood stained the blade!

The Ox Demon charged several more meters under its own momentum, only for its head to separate from its body and hit the ground with a thud!

Only two seconds later did blood spray out!

Only then did Xia Yi seem to notice Shi Lai, who was propping himself up after landing face-first. He apologetically held out a hand. "Child, did I frighten you?"

Shi Lai: ???

Your sword isn't breaking this time?

Hesitantly reaching out to let Xia Yi pull him up, Shi Lai casually used a special skill: Detection Art.

[Ding! Based on your level, you can only obtain the following information.]

[Name: ???]

[Age: ???]

[Faction: ???]

[Level: ???]

[Saint Soul: ???]

[???]

[Threat level: Your reckless probing has alerted the other party. Begging for mercy may allow you to survive.]

"..."

Holy shit!

Shi Lai was inwardly alarmed, yet Xia Yi's expression showed nothing unusual. "You didn't hurt yourself in that fall, did you? My fault. I should have warned you before making my move. Hmm, your swordsmanship seems rather unstructured. You probably learned it by yourself. Help me deal with this Ox Demon's corpse in a bit, and I'll give you a few pointers."

[Ding! ??? has issued you a quest: Help bury the Ox Demon's corpse. Accept?]

[Quest reward: Two-Star Saint Soul Sword Scripture, level cap unlocked to level 100.]

Huh? A system bug? He didn't notice? Shi Lai instantly perked up. "I accept! Ah, no, I mean, I'll help you. It's my duty!"

Xia Yi smiled gently. "Good child."

He then naturally turned his gaze toward the approaching Zhou Xiaoxian, concealing the fluctuations in his emotions.

"Besides Reloading a Save, he also has Detection Art and quest-accepting functions? Quite the complete package."

Xia Yi thought for a moment, then said, "Oh, never mind. With that girl here, I won't need your help."

[Ding! ??? has canceled the quest.]

Shi Lai: ? That can happen too?!

"Please don't, Grandpa! I love helping people!" Shi Lai hurriedly said.

Xia Yi looked at him and smiled gently again. "Is that so? What a good child. Then you can help me after all. Thank you."

[Ding! ??? has issued you a quest: Help bury the Ox Demon's corpse. Reward: ???'s gratitude. Accept?]

Shi Lai: "..."

This is getting a little weird, huh.

PS: (Original-fiction newbie Li Siyang is setting sail for the second time. Please send waves of bookmarks and recommendation votes to help me sail a little farther. Thank you.)