"Mmph..."
At this mont, Yan Huan, who was being embraced and kissed by An Le, seed to sense sothing and opened his eyes, glancing at the shadowed corner from the corner of his eye.
Wherever his gaze landed, the shadowy figures dissipated one after another, preventing Yan Huan from discovering exactly what had been peering at them just now.
"Xiao Huan... I have already used the Modifier to take care of the other Modifiers. This way, you will not have any worries from now on..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan gently grasped the shoulders of An Le in his arms and cast his eyes downward.
He saw her slightly flushed face, her bright and sparkling eyes carrying a hint of pleading,
"As a reward, can you promise ... Xiao Huan's first ti?"
"..."
Yan Huan was slightly taken aback, but in the next second, a pair of soft hands suddenly grasped his hand and placed it against her chest.
Feeling the soft touch under his palm, Yan Huan's body stiffened slightly, and he actually froze for a mont...
'!!'
'Warning! Warning!'
'Little Head Yan Huan warning!!'
However, feeling the writhing Tentacles around them and the completely paused world, Yan Huan still forcibly suppressed his urge. Instead, he took out that antique ring,
"An Le, first..."
"Hiss!!"
Right at this mont, a piercing hiss suddenly ca from the darkness behind Yan Huan.
Turning his head to look, he saw that Myau-chan's green eyes had already turned into vertical slits, glaring fiercely at the girl in Yan Huan's arms.
The black fur all over his body puffed up, even his whiskers curled up in anger, and a pair of airplane ears were pinned flat against the back of his head.
His originally black fur floated like smoke at this mont, outlining his feline form to be extrely blurry...
Only those green eyes remained as brilliant as ever, like an eternal symbol.
'Myau-chan is hissing at An Le?'
"Woo, Xiao Huan, I am scared..."
The mont she saw Myau-chan, An Le in his arms trembled slightly, hiding behind Yan Huan in a soft and sweet manner.
Seeing this, Yan Huan's eyes instantly narrowed.
The ring in his hand, which was emitting a Strange Fluctuation, instantly disappeared. His expression also turned cold as he tilted his eyes to glance at the girl behind him,
"An Le... has never been afraid of snakes, bugs, ghosts, or monsters, let alone a round-headed fat cat."
"Eh?"
"You are not An Le. Who exactly are you?"
Hearing this, "An Le" paused slightly...
Imdiately after, she violently raised her right palm.
The instant she made a move, Yan Huan's eyes imdiately grew fierce.
He turned his head and firmly gripped her outstretched hand, but strangely, that palm actually began to dissolve bit by bit in his grasp...
Following that, out of her five fingers, excluding the Little Finger, four terrifying venomous creatures flew out respectively.
"Hiss!!"
Seeing this, Myau-chan behind him also let out a low growl like a small tiger and pounced towards those venomous creatures.
He swatted down the spider and centipede that flew over first with a single slap, then suddenly stood on his hind legs, wildly batting at the slow-crawling golden scorpion on the ground with his front paws like a little bee,
"Smack-smack-smack-smack!!"
When he had smacked the scorpion into a dizzy stupor, he raised his eyes to look at the toad that was squatting in place without moving.
"Ribbit?!"
The toad turned around and ran, but Myau-chan seed to have gone into a killing frenzy, lunging out with bloodshot eyes to chase it.
"ow!!"
Over there, Myau-chan was fiercely battling the four Modifiers, and Yan Huan did not show any rcy either. Taking advantage of the montum, he grabbed the neck of "An Le" and pinned her to the ground.
"Urgh..."
Feeling Yan Huan's grip tightening, the girl underneath did not show any pain; instead, she revealed a carefree smile.
It was as if another treacherous sche ant to create amusent had succeeded.
"Gurgle..."
That smile disgusted Yan Huan, and he simply gnashed his teeth as he asked,
"Where is An Le?!"
"Hehe~"
The girl beneath him just smiled faintly, causing Yan Huan to furrow his brows.
But before he could continue questioning, a sharp, piercing pain transmitted from his palm.
He gasped in shock but did not let go. Looking down, he saw that a pink crab had already clamped its pincers onto the pad of his finger,
"Create more amusent for ~"
"Rustle... Rustle..."
Imdiately after, the girl beneath him seed to dissolve. Her entire being, from hair and skin to bones, completely transford into a dense swarm of tiny crabs.
Those tiny pink crabs burrowed into the surrounding Tentacles like a flowing stream, quickly disappearing completely.
Along with them, the Phantom Images of the Modifiers that Myau-chan was chasing also departed, as if they had never existed at all...
Only leaving behind the extrely quiet, ti-stopped world, and Yan Huan crouching on the ground, staring at his injured finger.
Myau-chan shook his body and ran back over, staring with a fierce-looking expression at the empty ground in front of Yan Huan. He looked just about ready to stand up and perform a set of military martial arts punches,
"Where is that evil god?! I will end His life, ow!!"
"...He has already run away."
Looking at the posturing Myau-chan behind him, Yan Huan could not help but helplessly scoff.
It was just that at this mont, as he stood up, he could not avoid clicking his tongue,
"The question is, where is An Le right now?"
Hearing this, Myau-chan slightly restrained his pompous posture.
He tilted his nose up and sniffed the surrounding scents, then his eyes lit up as he declared,
"That is right! That evil god wants to descend using the Modifier, but the Modifier needs to attach to a Host! Therefore, wherever the Modifier is, An Le is there!
"No wonder the several Modifier projections it summoned just now did not include that stinky snake. It is still staying together with An Le right now!
"And right now, I can still sense it. It is nearby, ow!"
Yan Huan blinked, his eyes fixed on Myau-chan, who was searching everywhere with his tail raised high. He watched as the cat lowered his head, sniffing bit by bit, until he stopped in front of a wall within an archway of Tentacles.
"She is right inside here, ow!"
"..."
Yan Huan imdiately walked over and touched the tightly bound, indistinguishable fleshy wall of Tentacles that looked extrely difficult to break. Then he turned his head and asked Myau-chan,
"Are you sure, Myau-chan?"
"I am sure, ow!"
"Alright..."
Receiving confirmation, Yan Huan took a deep breath and backed up quite a distance.
Imdiately after, he raised his right hand and aid it at that wall.
"Sizzle... Sizzle..."
Following that, a spark condensed in Yan Huan's palm, bursting forth with a choking scent of gunpowder.
Launch Fireworks
With the spark in his hand successfully condensing, Yan Huan aid carefully at the wall, and then lightly flicked his finger.
"Whoosh!"
The spark shot out instantly, growing larger and larger as its flight path extended in mid-air, until it completely transford into an enormously massive fireball.
"Boom!!"
Following a massive explosion, the originally tightly shut wall of Tentacles was blown open in an instant.
A burnt sll, similar to grilled squid, drifted over, causing Yan Huan to cover his mouth and nose as he looked at the gap blasted open amidst the still smoke and dust.
"Purr..."
Myau-chan also promptly jumped onto Yan Huan's shoulder, looking over there curiously.
Within the blasted wall of Tentacles, they saw the abdon of a gigantic white snake, looking as if it were coiling around the outside of the Skytree.
At this mont, its abdon had been blasted open by Yan Huan's fireworks, thus revealing a gloomy passageway within that seed to lead to an Otherworld.
"Yan Huan..."
"Hmm?"
Myau-chan stared at the wide open entrance, seemingly realizing what kind of existence this was, and hurriedly warned,
"Did I not say before that a Modifier evolves along with the Host's Desire? Now, it has evolved into its final Form.
"In order to continuously extract the Host's Desire and enable the Host, who is on the verge of collapse, to hold out until the evil god descends, the evil god inevitably has to create an illusion that satisfies the Host's Extre Bliss to contain the Host..."
Yan Huan frowned and looked at Myau-chan,
"That is to say, inside..."
"Yes, inside there may be a great deal of Extre Bliss unimaginable to humans, luring people to stay just like a deceptive paradise of ultimate pleasure."
Myau-chan looked at Yan Huan seriously and said,
"You must find the An Le who is indulging within that Pure Land of Bliss before you can use the Ring to silence her...
"As a Deity, I cannot enter it, so I can only rely on you, Yan Huan."
Hearing this, Yan Huan also suddenly felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
He looked at the deep hole in front of him, then imdiately took a deep breath, raising his guard to the maximum,
"Alright."
'The Pure Land of Bliss?'
In the next second, Yan Huan, with his guard fully raised and his heart in his throat, lightly took a step forward, walking into the abdon of the giant white snake.
"Hum..."
Completely different from the gloomy depth seen at the entrance, when Yan Huan entered, his first sensation was that the surroundings suddenly lit up.
The light was extrely glaring, actually making Yan Huan unable to open his eyes for a mont...
Therefore, his other senses took a step ahead, absorbing information from the surroundings in advance.
"Rustle..."
The first thing he heard was the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.
Following that was the faint fragrance of blooming crape myrtles...
Those were the most commonly blooming trees in the Park of Linn during the sumr.
Yan Huan vaguely rembered that outside the gates of his Orphanage, near the abandoned children's playground equipnt, a few had once been planted.
'Wait...'
In the next second, Yan Huan's previously tightly closed eyes opened uncontrollably, directly facing the glaring sunlight in front of him.
What entered his vision were exactly those one or two crape myrtle trees blooming at the height of sumr.
The wind of Linn traced the midsumr, outlining the past upon their swaying green leaves.
Yan Huan's eyes widened, and he looked down at the low-quality sand beneath his feet. Inside it, he could vaguely see cigarette butts unhygienically tossed in by passing delinquents...
When An Le and he were building sandcastles, they would always pick up this trash and throw it out. Yet, the next ti they ca, new ones would always spawn here.
A rhythmic, repetitive sound of old tal rubbing together ca from behind Yan Huan, causing his shoulders to tremble slightly.
"Creak... Creak..."
That was the sound of a swing.
The old children's playground equipnt was simple—a slide connected to a rusted jungle gym.
On the not-so-clean Sandy Ground stood a seesaw, its seat on one side completely gone, leaving only a few bare rivets.
The only thing left to play on among the scarce few options was the single remaining swing to the side.
An Le really liked that swing. Because that swing directly faced the main gate of Yan Huan's Orphanage.
The Orphanage was under semi-closed managent, so outsiders could not often enter.
An Le was not exactly a cheerful child either; she would just foolishly wait outside, waiting for Yan Huan to appear.
Perhaps on a certain midsumr Afternoon, she left her house all alone and sat on that swing.
Swaying back and forth, her gaze remained fixed on the young boys and girls sneaking out of the Orphanage gate to buy candy.
Every ti one ca out, she would quietly count a number.
Occasionally, upon seeing one or two boys whose figures closely resembled Yan Huan's, she would imdiately stand up from the swing, staring blankly with devotion.
She would follow that boy for quite a distance until she finally realized he was not Yan Huan, and only then would she walk back to the swing in disappointnt...
Except at that point, she would suddenly forget what number she had counted up to.
So she would just start over from the beginning.
Having spent so much ti together, Yan Huan beca aware of this habit of hers, so sotis he would ask her,
"When I arrived, what number were you on?"
She would blink her eyes and think for a long ti, eventually giving Yan Huan the smallest number possible.
She would say she had not waited long.
Every ti, she would claim that she had just arrived when Yan Huan ca out.
But for so reason, whenever the children from the Orphanage ca back from buying candy, they would all say they had heard the swing outside squeaking.
"Creak... Creak..."
That mont back then was exactly like this mont right now.
That swing was currently creaking rhythmically.
Under the swaying crape myrtle tree rustling in the wind, Yan Huan slowly turned his head and laid eyes on it:
Bathed in the midsumr sunlight, a shy young girl of elentary school age was gripping the ropes of the swing with both hands, swaying back and forth over the Sandy Ground.
It was also at this mont of turning back that Yan Huan suddenly realized...
This piece of "Pure Land"...
Was nothing more than this patch of Sandy Ground, a single swing, rusted children's equipnt, and a few blooming crape myrtle trees.
That was it.
At the ends of this Pure Land, one side was an extrely blurry alleyway leading to An Le's house.
The other side was the Orphanage with its gates tightly shut, the contents within completely obscured.
'Is this...'
'The so-called "Extre Bliss"?'
"..."
Originally full of vigilance, with his heart leaping into his throat, Yan Huan simply stared blankly at this monotonous sight.
It was only after a long while that he finally exhaled the tense, pent-up breath he had been holding in his chest for so long...
Yet, for so reason, when that relaxed breath was exhaled, a clear tear slid down from the corner of Yan Huan's eye just like that.
Until it plunged into that unclean Sandy Ground.
"Drip."
"Creak... Creak..."
"One hundred... twenty-three... one hundred... twenty-four..."
"Rustle..."
Yan Huan stepped onto the Sandy Ground, step by step, walking towards the little girl who was sitting on the swing and murmuring to herself.
He looked at An Le's immature face that seed as familiar as yesterday, stayed silent for a long ti, and gently crouched down in front of her.
With this, he was finally able to barely match her current height.
"Creak..."
The mont Yan Huan crouched down, An Le's swing slowly ca to a halt.
She raised her head, a pair of shy, innocent eyes assessing the Yan Huan in front of her, yet she seed unable to recognize the changes in his appearance...
Or perhaps, in her eyes, Yan Huan had never changed at all?
Yan Huan did not know; regardless, she simply smiled innocently,
"Xiao Huan, you are here..."
"Yeah..."
Yan Huan nodded, looking at the An Le in front of him. He opened his mouth, and forcing a smile, he asked,
"An Le, when I arrived, what number were you on?"
Hearing this, she blinked her eyes and revealed a thoughtful expression,
"Hmm... the... sixth, or the seventh?"
"..."
Receiving the unsurprising answer, Yan Huan took a deep breath and lowered his head.
Seeing Yan Huan act like this, Little An Le pursed her lips and said sowhat nervously,
"What is wrong, Xiao Huan?"
"..."
"Did I... do sothing wrong?"
Only at this mont did Yan Huan adjust his expression. He raised his head, smiling as he asked,
"No... Why do you ask?"
"...I... I do not know either..."
Little An Le wrung her fingers, her expression seemingly as perplexed as Yan Huan's,
"It is just that so many things seem to be like this...
"I keep wondering, is it because... my natural figure is just poorly proportioned, which is why my classmates... make fun of
like that...
"Is it because I did sothing wrong, or treated classmate Spencer poorly, that she treats
this way...
"Is it because I made Father and Mama unhappy... so they wanted another child...
"Is it because I did not do what Little Finger told
to do, that it wanted to use ..."
Yan Huan looked at her, looking at her confusion, looking at her bewildernt,
"I clearly do not want to hurt anyone; I just want everyone to be happy and joyful...
"But it often seems that the happiness of others is always contrary to my own...
"Since everything is like this, does it not an that my existence is simply a mistake?"
Yan Huan watched her suffer in self-bla and self-doubt. In the end, however, she smiled, Relieved, and tilted her head to look at Yan Huan, saying awkwardly,
"So, rather than letting
remain a complete mistake, it is better to consu my final value... That is why... I want to help Xiao Huan."
Yan Huan opened his mouth, yet for a long ti he was unable to utter another word, so he could only ask,
"...I... An Le... I just do not understand. When we were little, I clearly only did a few insignificant things for you. Why do you have to go this far?"
"Because... perhaps to Xiao Huan, those were insignificant things... but to
back then, that was everything."
Little An Le pursed her lips and smiled,
"So, I also want to use my everything to repay Xiao Huan..."
"..."
Seeing Yan Huan staring straight at her, Little An Le grew a bit shy, her face slightly flushed as she shrank back and said softly,
"I am sorry... Saying things like this feels a bit shaful..."
"...No, the one who should be saying sorry is ."
Yan Huan lowered his head, suddenly recalling those promises he had already forgotten,
"When we were little, I only treated those things I promised you as casual words... I was the one who forgot them and did not fulfill them... I am sorry..."
However, as Yan Huan spoke apologetically, a pair of small hands gently cupped his cheeks.
As if unable to bear seeing him so downcast, those tiny hands lifted Yan Huan's face, making him look up at the little girl who was smiling warmly at him.
With a Sincere Heart, she shook her head and said softly,
"It is okay, Xiao Huan... Honestly, I never cared whether those promises were fulfilled or not. And I... have never blad you."
"..."
"Because I knew from a very young age that so-called beauty only exists in one's imagination. In Reality, it either falls vastly short of expectations or eventually fades away..."
Little An Le looked straight into Yan Huan's eyes and comforted him,
"True beauty has always only existed in the process of seeking that imagined beauty...
"Therefore, I have never cared whether promises are fulfilled. As long as they give
so hope and allow
to continuously chase after it... that is enough.
"Even if that so-called hope is just a lie, it does not matter."
Thus, even when Spencer broke her promise to her, An Le was even willing to deceive herself.
As long as Spencer said a single word, even if it was a lie to deceive her and give her false hope, she was willing to endure it...
It was only at this mont that Yan Huan finally understood why this Extre Bliss had paused at this specific ti.
The ti when the Orphanage gates had not yet opened, when she was waiting for him to co out, rather than the ti she actually spent with him.
Because that kind of beauty would ultimately fade when they separated.
The ti before her Mama ca rushing from the direction of her house to call her back for dinner.
Because that kind of beauty would ultimately be gone forever with the birth of the second child.
Only at this very mont, as she waited full of anticipation...
Did that Phantom Image-like beauty engrave itself into eternity within her heart.
'But is that really what is called beauty?'
'Perhaps it is rely because she does not believe that any beauty will stay, yet from the bottom of her heart, she incomparably longs for it?'
"..."
Finally, at this mont, Yan Huan's stiff face twitched slightly.
In the next second, he raised his head, looked at the little girl in front of him, and squeezed out an ugly smile...
A smile completely contradictory to their nas.
Promptly, he softly said,
"An Le, I brought you a gift..."
"Eh? A gift... for ?"
"Mhm... Hold out your hand."
Although Little An Le did not understand, she still complied, reaching out her small hand.
Yan Huan raised his hand...
At his fingertips, an antique Ring trembled slightly.
Following that, the originally antique ring unexpectedly began to lose its dullness bit by bit, revealing its true, shining appearance here and now.
The word "Silence" that was originally engraved on the inner side of the ring now burst forth with brilliance as that dull, aged color faded.
What appeared along with it was a line of elegant handwriting following that word,
"Silence, is her tiless oath."
Holding the softly glowing ring, Yan Huan gently lifted An Le's Middle Finger and slowly slid it on.
An Le stared blankly at the sparkling ring on her hand; in her eyes, there seed to be a faint light glimring.
But after only a second, she imdiately chose To Detach her gaze, raising her eyes to look at the young man in front of her...
Then, she did not detach her gaze again.
"..."
And Yan Huan gently closed her small fist bit by bit, letting the ring stay there forever.
Afterwards, he stood up and softly called out,
"An Le..."
"Mhm?"
"Let's go."
"Okay..."
Just as Yan Huan spoke, An Le lightly hopped off the swing.
Standing behind Yan Huan, she shyly grasped a corner of his clothes as she always had, following closely behind him.
Feeling that familiar, barely-there tug from behind, Yan Huan smiled helplessly. He turned his head to look at her and asked,
"Are you not even going to ask where you are going with ?"
However, facing Yan Huan's question, An Le let out a silly smile,
"Anywhere Xiao Huan says is fine."
Yan Huan had always thought that when they were little, it was An Le who had left the South Ward, left Linn...
But in fact, the one who truly left that place, from beginning to end, was Yan Huan himself.
That girl had remained there all alone, trapped in the past, completely unable to step out.
Fortunately, right now, Yan Huan had returned.
So, upon hearing her words, Yan Huan smiled faintly. He gently reached out, taking her small hand that was grabbing the edge of his clothes into his own palm, and squeezed it tightly bit by bit,
"Alright...
"Let's go, we are heading into the future together."
The instant Yan Huan spoke, the instant their hands—gradually overlapping and bearing the ring—touched...
Everything around them abruptly shattered.
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