Remembered by History?

Su Bai sighed. "Before today, I kept wondering... if I accidentally exposed my identity, would I be rejected and isolated like the Hulk in the movies? Maybe even dragged off to some secret laboratory by a bunch of doctors in white coats and sliced up so they could study my anatomy."

Gu Jiuge snorted. "What, you think you're an alien? Sliced up?"

A little embarrassed, Su Bai rubbed the tip of his nose. "I thought I'd hidden it well. How did you find me out?"

Gu Jiuge pinched his chin, considered for a moment, then explained:

"Three years ago, the Tomb Sweepers' research suggested that the arrival of the blood moon and the resurgence of supernatural powers might be connected to the gods. So they were desperate to observe and understand them.

"But at the time, the development of a system of supernatural knowledge had almost ground to a halt. As luck would have it, that was when the Contaminated Novelist appeared.

"The Novelist kept telling people secret stories about the gods. Those unbelievable stories contained an immense wealth of supernatural knowledge.

"By analyzing those stories, the Tomb Sweepers not only succeeded in observing the existence of the gods, but also established a nearly complete supernatural system in just a few years.

"Thanks to that supernatural knowledge, they soon discovered that the behavior of almost all supernatural creatures followed nine specific laws. That's also the main reason your identity was exposed."

"What laws?" Su Bai asked.

Gu Jiuge patted Su Bai lightly on the shoulder. "Those laws are fairly complicated to explain. To put it simply, whenever the Novelist looks for someone to tell a story to, he always goes looking for... a Transcendent."

"..."

Su Bai felt as if he'd swallowed a fly, utterly disgusted.

Sure enough, none of those novelists were any good.

Supernatural law one: devouring (supernatural creatures must devour other supernatural creatures to advance.)

Supernatural law two: conservation (when a supernatural creature dies, its supernatural power does not disappear.)

The next day, dawn was just breaking.

Classroom of Class 17, third year.

"Lu Ping?"

"Here!"

"Shen Fei?"

"Here!"

"Wu Hang?"

"Here!"

"Su Bai?"

"Here!"

The old professor, whose hair and beard were both white, held the attendance register and glared fiercely at Su Bai in the back row.

Normally, when these little brats put on an act and answered for their classmates and friends, the old professor would turn a blind eye and let it pass.

Who hadn't had a wild youth?

He understood. He understood it all.

But today, Su Bai had answered four times in a row, each time in a clear, perfectly enunciated voice, without even changing his tone. Did he really think everyone else was blind?

"'Here,' my foot! Get outside and stand there!"

The old professor's eyes bulged with anger as he barked the order.

The students clutched their stomachs with laughter, making a tremendous racket.

Su Bai scratched his head, obediently walked out the door, and raised his eyes.

The azure sky looked as though it had been submerged beneath seawater, shimmering with ripples.

Lush clusters of clouds swayed gracefully, like flowers striving to bloom in the sea.

How had he never noticed before that such ordinary scenery could be breathtakingly beautiful?

Last night, before Gu Jiuge left, he had given Su Bai two different documents.

One was a confidentiality agreement.

The other was an internship contract to join the Grave Keepers.

To Great Xia, everyone who stepped into the supernatural realm was a treasure.

Just as Gu Jiuge had said, Great Xia truly showed ample tolerance and respect for Transcendents' decisions to stay or go.

Every Transcendent was entitled to choose how to walk the road ahead.

"Sign the confidentiality agreement, and you'll have drawn a clean line between yourself and the supernatural. From then on, you'll live as an ordinary person and must not reveal the inside story of the supernatural to anyone. The benefit is-you'll receive a handsome sum of money.

"Sign the contract to join the Grave Keepers, and you'll have to leave this familiar campus behind. Perhaps... perhaps you'll leave behind every place the sun shines and become a filthy rat like me, able to hide only in dark corners. The benefit is-you'll be remembered by history."

Those had been Gu Jiuge's exact words.

Su Bai didn't understand why Gu Jiuge had mockingly called himself a "filthy rat."

It was hardly a complimentary term.

Su Bai also didn't understand what "remembered by history" was supposed to mean.

But he hadn't offered any opinion on the matter.

Because he had never intended to join the Grave Keepers.

Compared with "being remembered by history," "a handsome sum of money" was naturally the more practical choice.

At the time, Su Bai had picked up the confidentiality agreement without hesitation.

But Gu Jiuge had then said, "You have one day to think it over."

But was this really something that needed time to consider?

Ring, ring, ring-

The bell rang, ending morning self-study. It was time for breakfast, and students walked out of the classroom in groups of three or five.

Su Bai slowed his steps and silently returned to the classroom. He picked up his study materials and was about to stand when a clear voice rang out behind him. "Su Panda!"

Su Bai paused and turned his head. The first thing he saw was a pair of beautiful, clear, bright eyes, followed by a serene girl smiling softly with her lips pressed together.

The girl's name was Lin Xue, and she had glossy black hair that fell to her shoulders.

She wore a long-sleeved white satin dress, with a thin layer of gauze covering it from the lower waist to the hem. Beneath it were her straight, pale legs, white as mutton-fat jade, with lace ankle socks leading down to bow-tied ankle-high Martens.

Pretty and elegant-that was Su Bai's assessment of Lin Xue.

With his somewhat meager vocabulary, he really couldn't come up with anything else.

There was one thing Su Bai was fairly sure of, though: he liked Lin Xue.

At that innocent, clueless age, liking someone didn't really require a reason.

He remembered the day he entered Star Sea Middle School. The sun wasn't too hot, the breeze was just right, and Su Bai spotted Lin Xue in the distance, also carrying a suitcase.

Lin Xue stood bathed in sunlight, her fair skin faintly luminous. The wind lifted her black hair, and she reached up to brush it aside.

At that moment, she was as dazzling as a rare pearl born from a wondrous clam in the East Sea.

Later, when Su Bai learned that Lin Xue was in his class, he thought this might be fate.

Astonished at first sight, suddenly delighted at the next. It was that simple.

"Su Panda, did you sleep badly last night? Why are the dark circles under your eyes so big?"

Only then did Su Bai understand why she had called him "Su Panda." He looked away from Lin Xue and said listlessly:

"Last night, Iron Man came to see me. He invited me to join the Avengers and wanted me to go save the world with him. I thought about it all night, but I decided to stay at school and be a quiet pretty boy instead. You know I'm pretty lazy. Something as great as 'saving the world' really doesn't fit my style."

Lin Xue burst out laughing, then rolled her eyes. "It's one thing for Lu Ping and Shen Fei to skip class, but why didn't Wu Hang come either?"

Su Bai slung his bag over one shoulder, pondered for a moment, and explained:

"Last night too, a female ghost in a red dress came looking for Wu Hang. He fainted from fright and slept with his head tilted to one side all night. When he woke up this morning, he grabbed his luggage and insisted on going back to his hometown in Shandong. Judging by the time, he should already be at the train station."

If the train was fast, it would be carrying Wu Hang along.

If the train was slow, Wu Hang would have to carry it along.

After all, what happened last night had dealt a tremendous blow to Wu Hang's tender young heart.

"..."

Lin Xue reached out and touched Su Bai's forehead. "You're not burning up, though?"

Su Bai sighed.

He still remembered that, three years ago, when he had just awakened his unusual eyes, he had gone to a small clinic on the street the very next day and secretly told a white-haired old doctor about it.

The old doctor had done exactly what Lin Xue had, reaching out to feel Su Bai's forehead before saying in confusion, "You're not burning up, though?"

The difference was...

After confirming that Su Bai didn't have a fever, the old doctor had taken out his phone to call a brain hospital.

Fortunately, Su Bai had run away fast.

Otherwise, it was hard to say whether those doctors in white coats might have locked him up as a mental patient.

For the past three years, Su Bai had lived in constant anxiety, treading carefully for fear of revealing the slightest thing that made him different from ordinary people.

He had always thought he was a monster.

He had always feared that others would find out he was a "monster."

So...

When the Contaminated Novelist knocked on the dormitory door...

When Gu Jiuge leaned against the entranceway with a Tang saber in hand...

Although Su Bai had been terrified, deep down, he had also breathed a long sigh of relief.

I'm a monster, but I'm not the only monster.

That's enough.

Su Bai shook his head, casting his tangled thoughts aside, and looked at Lin Xue again. With a serious expression, he said, "Don't worry, I'm not having an episode or going crazy. Everything I just said was a joke. By the way, what did you need me for?"

As soon as he said it, Su Bai wanted to give himself a resounding slap across the face.

Because he saw Lin Xue take a pink envelope out of her desk drawer.

Cupid, with a pair of little wings, floated proudly in the upper left corner of the envelope. Beneath him, a long pink arrow pierced two large hearts.

Well, all that was missing were the words "love letter" written on the envelope.

Su Bai could have figured out with his toes that the thing definitely wasn't meant for him.

His skin was thick, but he was at least that self-aware.

"You... you're close with Shen Fei. Could you give him this letter for me? The college entrance exam is only a few days away, and I don't want to have any regrets."

Lin Xue spoke very softly.

But Su Bai heard her clearly.

To be honest, Su Bai felt none of that anger or sadness people described, as if the world were falling apart, their thoughts were in knots, or their blood was surging.

He just felt a little helpless and really wanted to roll his eyes hard a few times and complain about the plot and situation in front of him.

I like you, you like him-Su Bai had seen far too many love soap operas on TV, melodramatic enough to run for eighty-odd episodes. When it actually happened to him, he was surprisingly calm.

Su Bai shrugged and remarked:

"I'm suddenly thinking Iron Man's offer wasn't bad after all. Something like 'saving the world' suits me pretty well, and a line as ridiculously edgy as 'being remembered by history' really is cool, isn't it?"

Lin Xue froze. "Huh?"

Su Bai looked into Lin Xue's limpid eyes and reached out to take the envelope. He lowered his head and fell silent for a moment, then looked up and smiled. "I mean... okay."