April Fools' Day Special

(Note: This chapter is a standalone April Fools' Day special. Everyone gets their wishes fulfilled and healed. They may be a little OOC. I love seeing the contrast, hahahahaha.)

(Dear godfathers, our book has entered its trial period! Please hit the update reminder often, and if you like it, would you leave me a review? Thanks, brothers. I'm kowtowing to you.)

The morning sunlight did not stream through stained glass, nor did it come with the heavy scrape of armor in the knights' hallway.

Wei Zhenzu was awakened by a down-to-earth sound: a breakfast vendor downstairs hawking fried dough sticks and soy milk.

He bolted upright in bed, gasping for breath, and instinctively tried to summon his big iron pot.

But all his hand found was an unbelievably soft cotton duvet cover and a pillow.

A long-absent tranquility filled the room.

The air conditioner blew warm air, and the smart speaker on the nightstand displayed the time: April 1, 8:00 a.m.

"Where... am I?"

Wei Zhenzu froze.

He looked at his hands. There were no scars from karmic fire, no mark of the Anemo Archon.

He reached up and touched his face without thinking. His skin was warm, that of an ordinary young man in his twenties.

"Zzz... sweet-and-sour spare ribs... and an order of Adeptus' Temptation too..."

Just then, a familiar, soft, sleepy voice drifted over from the other end of the bed.

Wei Zhenzu whipped back the covers and saw the "Emergency Food," dressed in a little white outfit trimmed with gold and sporting a thick head of white hair. She was sprawled out asleep, hugging his thumb, with a long, glistening string of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth.

"Paimon!" Wei Zhenzu nearly fell out of bed in shock.

Had he actually brought Paimon back to the real world with him?

No, this had to be a dream.

Wei Zhenzu gave his thigh a vicious pinch.

"Ah, that hurts!"

"Hey, why did you pinch Paimon's leg?!"

Paimon shot up into the air, clutching her plump thigh as she protested with tears in her eyes.

"Traveler, are you so hungry you've gone crazy? Are you finally going to take a bite out of Paimon?"

Looking at the lively Paimon before him, Wei Zhenzu felt the tension that had held him taut for countless days and nights suddenly melt away completely.

He walked over to the window and flung the curtains open.

Before him was a bustling, clean, vibrant modern city.

No Distorted monsters were running rampant in the streets. The sun shone brightly, and traffic flowed in a steady stream.

But on closer inspection, the city had an indescribable, stitched-together quality to it.

A giant LED screen across the street was showing an advertisement for W Corp.'s latest hover train. Atop a distant office building, he could just make out the enormous logo of one of the Wings.

"The City... and the real world have merged?"

Wei Zhenzu murmured to himself. He picked up his phone and glanced at the calendar, then suddenly gave a self-mocking smile.

"April 1... April Fools' Day, huh? If this is a joke the system's playing, I hope it lasts a little longer."

"Rumble-"

Paimon's stomach let out an earthshaking roar, interrupting Wei Zhenzu's melancholy.

"Traveler, Paimon wants food! Paimon wants the tastiest food there is!" The little one stomped her feet impatiently in midair.

"Let's go. Eat all you want today. My treat!"

With a grand wave of his hand, Wei Zhenzu pulled on a casual jacket and headed out the door with Paimon.

Since this was an April Fools' dream, he would fill all those damned regrets with good food and smiles.

Walking along the sunny street, Wei Zhenzu felt like a ghost freshly released from a prison sentence in hell.

They came to a Spanish churro shop on the street, its rich aroma of butter and caramel filling the air.

"Two orders of freshly fried churros, please. Extra cinnamon sugar, and two hot chocolates."

Wei Zhenzu placed his order with practiced ease, while Paimon was so hungry beside him that she could barely move.

As they waited for the food to come out, a loud laugh brimming with over-the-top theatrics rang out from the street corner.

"Ohhh! The destination of our quest today is yon cursed dungeon, filled with evil spirits and curses! Dragons and evil spirits alike shall tremble beneath the iron hooves of our justice!"

Wei Zhenzu turned around, his eyes widening slightly.

It was the Sinner Don Quixote, dressed in ordinary clothes but wearing a little yellow cape.

She was bouncing up and down with excitement, two amusement park tickets in her hand and a pure, unclouded light sparkling in her eyes.

Standing beside her was a tall, gray-haired old man.

He wore an old trench coat that seemed a little out of place, but his back was ramrod straight, like an insurmountable mountain.

That was... the real Don Quixote.

The father who, in the secret history of the Bloodfiends, had turned her into a Bloodfiend and given her a dream called "justice."

Old Don looked at the lively girl beside him, his weathered eyes full of fondness and gentleness.

He reached out with a broad hand and gently ruffled her messy golden hair.

"Go, Sancho. Take this lance and set out on an adventure of your own. Whether it is a dream or reality, as long as you keep running, the knight's story will never end."

The old man's voice was low and raspy, yet held a tenderness that made one's eyes sting.

"Yes, my lord! I... no, Sancho shall never disappoint you!"

The girl answered loudly, though tears glistened at the corners of her eyes.

She threw her arms around the old man's arm and pulled him along toward the amusement park.

Wei Zhenzu stood there, watching the pair's retreating backs as they moved farther away. He accepted the hot chocolate from the shop assistant and took a deep breath of its sweet aroma.

"How nice. She's in her silly-girl form, huh? Looks like it'll be fun," Wei Zhenzu murmured.

Here, she was just Sancho, and he was just a silly old dad accompanying his daughter to a haunted house.

"Traveler, why are you spacing out? The churros are going to get cold!"

Paimon took a bite of a crispy churro, getting chocolate sauce all over her mouth as she urged him on indistinctly.

"Coming, coming. You little glutton."

Wei Zhenzu bit into the freshly fried treat.

Crisp on the outside and tender within, the sweetness of cinnamon sugar and the slight bitterness of chocolate blended perfectly in his mouth. This was the taste of peacetime.

The two ate as they wandered aimlessly down the bustling shopping street.

As they passed an upscale women's clothing boutique, Paimon suddenly stopped and pointed through the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Wow! Traveler, look! That person's carrying so, so many bags. He looks miserable!"

Wei Zhenzu followed Paimon's pointing finger and nearly sprayed out a mouthful of hot chocolate.

It was Heathcliff, wearing a casual suit that looked a little awkward on him but was made of fine material.

And he really did look miserable.

Four or five luxury clothing bags hung from his left hand, several shoeboxes were stacked in his right, and a small lady's handbag even hung around his neck.

His face, usually full of hostility, was now marked by the helpless look of a man utterly fed up with life. But a closer look would reveal a nearly greedy satisfaction and happiness hidden deep in his eyes.

In front of him, a woman with beautiful long hair and an elegant, understated dress was holding a silk scarf up to herself in the mirror.

That was... a living, breathing, smiling Catherine.

"Hey, Heath, do you think this purple one looks better, or that pure white one?"

Catherine turned around and looked at him with a smile.

"...I told you, you look good in anything. You'd look good wearing a sack."

Heathcliff scratched his hair in irritation and turned his face away, but his bright red ears betrayed him.

"Hurry up and buy it so we can eat. There isn't even anywhere to sit in this lousy place, and my arms are about to fall off."

"Hmph, you don't even have that much patience? I wonder who it was that insisted on coming with me."

Catherine gave him a playfully reproachful glare, then stepped forward, casually took a tissue from her pocket, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Then I'll take the white one."

Looking at Catherine so close to him, Heathcliff swallowed all the complaints that had been on the tip of his tongue, managing only an awkward "Mm."

Without the hopeless dead ends of every timeline, they did not have to become monsters who tormented each other. They only had to be an ordinary boy accompanying his girlfriend on a weekend shopping trip, and a girl happy to buy a dress she liked.

"A place this sickeningly full of romance isn't for single dogs like us."

Wei Zhenzu bit into his churro, though his grin was nearly stretching from ear to ear.

"Come on, Paimon. I'll take you out for a big meal to get that taste out of our mouths."

As noon approached, Wei Zhenzu's chef radar began sounding the alarm.

Following the powerful aroma of beef tallow mingled with Sichuan peppercorns in the air, he brought Paimon to a lavish hot pot restaurant called Red Chamber Boiling.

The restaurant was packed with chatter and steaming with heat.

Wei Zhenzu had barely found a seat by the window when he heard a fierce clash of "weapons" from the next table.