Chapter 263: Chapter 260 【Chen Xiaoguo Returns】(Continuing the big Chapter!)
Chapter 260: Chen Xiaoguo Returns
When Chen Nuo slowly opened his eyes...
The boy lay on the bed, feeling utterly weak and devoid of strength. After a moment of bewilderment, he clearly saw the person in front of him. That exceptionally beautiful woman stood at the bedside, and behind her were several other lovely girls...
The boy frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Am I... still not dead?"
Lu Xixi sighed, a faint trace of guilt flashing across her brow. Once his lingering obsession was fulfilled, this boy would truly "die," wouldn’t he? In a sense, helping him fulfill that obsession was akin to ending his life with her own hands.
"There’s someone whom I think you would really want to meet," Lu Xixi said softly.
The boy lay there and smiled coldly. "Another girl... related to ’me’?"
Lu Xixi was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "No, it’s not like that. But this is someone you would definitely want to meet."
The boy let out a light sigh. "Whatever... Anyway, my mind has been filled with too many questions and doubts these past few days, and I’m really too lazy to figure them out. Do with me what you will. Whoever you want me to meet, I’ll meet."
As he spoke, the boy instinctively reached out for something...
Sun Keke stepped forward and carefully placed the photo frame into the boy’s hands.
Clinging tightly to the frame, the boy looked up at Sun Keke and revealed a smile that finally held some warmth. "Thank you, Sun Keke."
Sun Keke pressed her lips together without speaking.
"...Let’s begin. Let them in." Lu Xixi sighed and hesitated. "Everyone else, please leave... Um, Erya... Oh, Situ Beixuan, you stay."
"What about me?" Wu Daodao asked.
"You go out!"
Erya stood by Lu Xixi’s side, curiously observing the boy on the bed.
This... must be the scoundrel Master spoke of, right? Well, he certainly is handsome. But... Hmph, what a pity for such good looks! Scoundrel!
After everyone else had left, the room door remained open.
Lu Xixi coughed softly...
The boy’s gaze went to the doorway. In the next instant, he suddenly found the strength to sit up straight on the bed! His eyes, which had been gray and detached, widened in an instant!
At the doorway, a middle-aged man with a handsome, lean face and a stern expression slowly walked in.
The boy stared almost greedily at the man, as if he wanted to devour every one of his movements, every subtle action, and lock them away in his eyes!
The man walked to the bedside, hesitated, and then spoke in a deep voice tinged with a hint of raspiness.
It was the very familiar Jinling dialect.
"Xiao Nuo..."
Chen Nuo’s body started to tremble! He trembled violently, like an autumn leaf in the wind!
The man called out again, "Xiao Nuo..."
"What did you say? I can’t hear you. Come closer," Chen Nuo suddenly said, lifting his head. He was trembling, but his voice was cold.
The man took a deep breath and slowly bent down, about to say something...
The boy on the bed suddenly mustered his strength, raised his arm as if using every ounce of energy he had, and slapped the man across the face!
SLAP!
The sound was indeed feeble.
In fact, even though the boy had used all his strength, the slap landed on the man’s face feebly. Having exhausted himself with the effort, the boy staggered and fell into the man’s arms, who caught him with both hands.
"This slap was for Grandma!"
The boy gritted his teeth, forcing the words out!
"Xiao Nuo... I’m sorry, I..."
"Shut up." Chen Nuo shook his head, trying to forcefully struggle free from the man’s grasp.
Though his body was weak, his words were as sharp as a knife!
"What are you going to say? Apologize? Will a simple ’sorry’ make up for all your sins? No, Chen Jianshe! That’s impossible! It won’t happen!!
I’ve considered many possibilities. I wondered if you had died! I wondered if you had gone abroad! I even thought perhaps you were in prison! Otherwise, how could you have gone so many years without sending any news! But later, I stopped wondering... because I realized you’re just that kind of scumbag!"
The man took a deep breath. "I know you won’t forgive me no matter what I say... but..."
"No buts." Chen Nuo glared fiercely at the man. "Do you have any idea? Grandma was sick for half a year! She cried secretly almost every night! She worried about two people. One was me. She was afraid that after she died, I would have no one to rely on and wouldn’t be able to survive! And the other person she worried about was you, Chen Jianshe!!
You’re her only son! She endured so much hardship to give birth to you, raise you, find you a wife, and get you a job! And then you just ran away! You can dream of getting rich all you want, that’s your business! But Grandma was your own mother! You couldn’t just abandon her!!
Do you know... one day, Grandma and I went out to exchange the gas cylinder! We couldn’t find anyone to help us that day... Grandma and I carried a gas cylinder up to the fifth floor together! Her knees hurt for days afterward!
Do you know what I was thinking then...? Why couldn’t I grow up faster!! These were all things you, Chen Jianshe, should have been doing! Things you should have done to honor Grandma, yet you didn’t do a single one!!
Did you ever cook her a meal?! Did you ever buy her a single piece of clothing?! Did you ever take her out anywhere enjoyable?! Did you ever wash her feet for her?!
Do you know that in all those years you were gone without a trace, every New Year’s Eve when Grandma and I ate, she always set out a bowl and chopsticks for you!!!
Chen Jianshe! You didn’t do any of those things!! You didn’t even make a single phone call! You never wrote a single letter!!!
Do you know?! Grandma was calling your name even as she was dying!!!! Do you know?! Even if you’re the most heartless bastard, Grandma still considered you the person she most wanted to see before she died! You are her son!!!!!!"
The man took several deep breaths, his expression sorrowful. He said softly, "Chen Nuo, I know I was wrong. I..."
"I said, I don’t need your apology!!!!"
Chen Nuo suddenly roared. After roaring, he coughed violently, his body falling back weakly, but his eyes still fiercely glared at the man.
"I won’t forgive you! Chen Jianshe, you don’t owe me anything! You gave me life! So even if you didn’t raise me or care for me, you gave me life, a chance to experience this world. That makes us even! But you owe your mother!!
I will not forgive you! Not in this lifetime! Not in the next! Not in the lifetime after that!
You don’t need to apologize to me!! The only one you should apologize to, kowtow to, and beg for forgiveness from is my Grandma! Your mother!!!!"
The youth, his eyes bloodshot, suddenly thrust forward the photo frame he was clutching.
"Look at Grandma’s portrait! Chen Jianshe! If you still consider yourself human! If you have even a shred of humanity left, then right now, in front of your mother’s photo! Kneel! Kowtow! Repent!!"
The man’s gaze was complex as he looked into the youth’s eyes. Then, he took a deep breath.
THUD!
The man knelt. He knelt by the bed, before the framed portrait.
"Mom... I’m sorry! Your son was wrong!! All the mistakes, all the faults, they are all Chen Jianshe’s alone! Chen Jianshe is not human! Chen Jianshe is an animal!! Your spirit in heaven, please listen to Chen Jianshe’s repentance!!"
After speaking...
BANG! BANG! BANG!!
He kowtowed three times, his forehead striking the floor resoundingly.
Old lady, given your age, you could practically be my mother. And the dead deserve respect; kowtowing to you a few times is not excessive. Don’t blame me for deceiving you! This is all for Chen Nuo’s sake...
When the man rose, he looked up and met Lu Xixi’s sighing gaze. He looked towards the bed and saw the youth staring at him, his eyes slowly, gradually, narrowing. His tightly clenched fists also gradually loosened.
Gently, deeply...
A long breath escaped the youth’s lips.
The man was startled. He leaned in a bit, then turned back to look at Lu Xixi.
The Star Sky Empress sighed softly. "He... has gone."
With that, Lu Xixi reached out and gently closed Chen Nuo’s eyes. The youth’s pulse also stopped. One could feel Chen Nuo’s spiritual power rapidly dissipating, draining away... His Consciousness Space had already collapsed...
"Erya."
"Huh! Huh? Wait! My name is Situ..."
"This is no time for nonsense." Lu Xixi shook her head and said solemnly, "Use the Summoning Soul Technique."
"But... didn’t you say we wouldn’t need the Summoning Soul Technique anymore?"
"Do as I say. Summon ’his’ soul."
Erya dared not say more. During a previous rest, Wu Daodao had warned her that this unbelievably beautiful woman was not to be provoked.
"Alright! Just a moment, I need my ritual implement."
Saying this, Erya immediately opened the travel bag on the floor and took out...
A plastic megaphone!!
Brother Lei’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets!
Yes, it was indeed a plastic megaphone. The switch had four settings. The lowest setting was ’Off’. The second amplified sound. The third played "There’s No Greater Love Than From a Mother." The fourth emitted the warning: "Reversing. Please be careful. Reversing. Please be careful."
The ritual implements of the Qingyun Sect were just so unpretentious and practical!
Is this really a ritual implement? I could buy eight of these for a hundred yuan on Tangzi Street!
"Brother Lei, please step outside for a moment," Lu Xixi said gently, her tone instantly perking Brother Lei up.
He nodded quickly and turned to leave.
When only Lu Xixi and Erya were left in the room, Lu Xixi whispered, "Begin..."
"But... this person is a remnant soul. Even the summoning technique won’t bring him back completely. His soul power will only dissipate."
"I know. We only need to gather a tiny sliver," Lu Xixi nodded.
Although Erya didn’t understand her meaning, she still picked up the megaphone.
"I’m young and haven’t yet mastered the ’Striking Shout’ spell, so to call the soul, I must use this device. It’s not that I’m intentionally being disrespectful. I just want to make that clear beforehand!"
Erya cautiously glanced at Lu Xixi and received a gentle smile in return.
This prominent disciple of the Qingyun Sect, "Situ Beixuan," finally took a deep breath...
A possibly saddening truth is that there is actually no such thing as an underworld or reincarnation in this world. Once people die, they are truly gone. The so-called soul is merely a concentration of a person’s spiritual power. Upon death, this power disperses, scatters into the world, and reintegrates with it. There will be no rebirth, no Naihe Bridge, no cycle of reincarnation.
Just before the original owner’s soul within Chen Nuo’s body completely dissipated, the Summoning Soul Technique finally retrieved a tiny wisp of that spiritual power. It was now merely a wisp of pure, unconscious spiritual power.
Lu Xixi carefully captured it. Then, she picked up a small potted asparagus fern she had bought earlier and infused this pure energy into it... The asparagus fern was a vibrant, lovely green.
After all this was done, Lu Xixi had Erya leave the room. Only Lu Xixi and Chen Nuo’s physical body remained in the room.
The Empress extended her hand, and a pair of slowly swirling black and white rice-grain-like objects appeared in her palm.
Lu Xixi concentrated and gently inserted the white grain into Chen Nuo’s body...
Into the fragmented Consciousness Space, the white grain was infused, and then...
The Empress took a step back, quietly watching Chen Nuo, who lay on the bed.
In her palm, the black grain suddenly stopped swirling, and the faint glow upon it abruptly vanished.
"Huu..."
Chen Nuo, as still as a corpse, suddenly exhaled softly!
Lu Xixi neither moved nor spoke, simply standing there silently, watching Chen Nuo.
One minute passed... then two... five... ten minutes...
The Empress withdrew her probing spiritual power.
A new power burgeoned within Chen Nuo’s Consciousness Space. It quickly gathered the collapsing, scattered remnants of his consciousness and reconstructed the space. Spiritual power flowed and circulated...
Finally, Chen Nuo, lying on the bed, slowly opened his eyes...
His gaze was dazed and vacant... His empty gaze drifted around the room before finally focusing. It landed on Lu Xixi.
Chen Nuo’s expression was blank. He had no trace of emotion as his lips moved slightly...
"I..."
"You’re awake," Lu Xixi bit her lip.
Chen Nuo gazed intently at Lu Xixi, seemed to frown, and then whispered a sentence.
"Who... are you?"
Lu Xixi was speechless. "..."
Suddenly, the Empress stepped forward and slapped Chen Nuo across the face!
SLAP!!!
Chen Xiaoguo was nearly sent flying off the bed and onto the floor by the force of the slap!
"Still trying to act with me?!" Lu Xixi glared and shouted, "Do you really take me for a fool?!"
Chen Nuo grimaced in pain but chuckled as he sat up. "Well... how did you see through my act?"
Lu Xixi’s face was stern. "When you opened your eyes, although you pretended your gaze was unfocused... when you looked at me, your eyes lingered on my chest for a tenth of a second! You lecher!!"
Chen Nuo widened his eyes. "How is that possible? I’m not that lecherous... Besides... it’s not like I haven’t seen them before."
Lu Xixi’s chest heaved with anger. "See! That just proves it! I tricked you into admitting it, didn’t I?! You jerk!!"
After speaking, the Empress landed a punch squarely on Chen Nuo’s left eye!
Chen Nuo cried out, covering his eye with one hand while grabbing Lu Xixi’s wrist with the other.
"We agreed you wouldn’t hit me!"
"I said I wouldn’t beat you to death! I never said I wouldn’t hit you at all!!"
"But the written agreement and the vow..."
"That’s what you said. I never agreed to it!"
"But... you said you would never hit me again... in Brazil! When I was in a coma, you sat by my bedside and said it! I heard everything!"
"You actually believe what a woman says? You’re not even qualified to be a scumbag!!"
"...I... AHH!!! Damn it! Not there! You can’t kick there!! Are you trying to make sure I can’t have children?!"
A short while later, Chen Nuo, his face bruised and swollen, finally managed to grab Lu Xixi’s hands, struggling to catch his breath.
"Lu Yiyi, if you hit me anymore, I’ll really die... My terminal illness hasn’t been cured yet..."
The name "Lu Yiyi" suddenly made the Empress break down. Her stern expression softened, and her captivating eyes quickly filled with tears. Large teardrops rolled down her cheeks one by one...
"Chen Nuo, do you know? I’ve never loved anyone before. But I’ve also never been this heartbroken!"
Lu Xixi stared at Chen Nuo for a few moments.
Chen Nuo was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I’m sorry. It’s my fault."
"No, you’ve wronged every single one of us!"
Lu Xixi bit her lip. "Now that you’re awake, this matter is concluded! Chen Nuo, I can accept what happened between you and Sun Keke! But those other women... You’ve hurt me too much!!"
Chen Nuo moved his lips, about to say something.
The Empress suddenly stretched out her hand. A strand of condensed spiritual power, sharp as a blade, pointed right between Chen Nuo’s eyebrows!
"For the rest of our lives, don’t let me see you again! If I ever see you again, I will definitely kill you!"
After saying this, the Empress suddenly turned, walked to the window, and with a wave of her hand, the window flew open. She then leaped out of the window and flew away! She didn’t even say goodbye or acknowledge anyone else! She left so decisively!
Chen Nuo sat on the bed, stunned for a moment. Then, a mournful smile appeared on his face.
...Leaving me... Perhaps, that’s for the best. Maybe... it can prevent... Hmm.
THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside.
Chen Nuo lifted his head. Sun Keke had already rushed in and was standing before him. Behind her were Li Yingwan, Niveer, and Xicheng Xun...
This is a social nightmare unfolding right before my eyes!
Chen Nuo pursed his lips and looked first at Sun Keke.
"Keke..."
SLAP!!
School Belle Sun slapped Chen Nuo across the face!
"I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. The only thing I wanted to do was to deliver this slap to your face once you did."
Sun Keke’s eyes were red and brimming with tears. She slowly took two steps back.
"Chen Nuo... from now on, let’s just pretend we don’t know each other."
Saying that, the girl turned, forcefully pushed past the people behind her, and strode out of the room.
Chen Nuo took a deep breath, enduring the wrenching pain in his heart, and looked at the three remaining girls.
"What about you three? One slap each? Or all at once? Come on... I’m ready..."
「Pudong International Airport.」
Lu Xixi walked into the airport and approached a counter. She took out her passport, ID, and a credit card from her bag.
"A ticket for the earliest flight to London, please."
"The earliest flight to London departs in four hours. Is that acceptable?"
"Then to anywhere in Europe. Any city will do. I want to leave Huaxia immediately," Lu Xixi said, shaking her head.
The ticketing agent quickly lowered her head and began searching for flight information on the computer.
Suddenly, Lu Xixi’s expression changed drastically! She whirled around and covered her mouth with one hand.
"Ugh..."
By evening, Chen Nuo was the only one left in the room. Sun Keke had left in the afternoon. Brother Lei had seen Sun Keke off, which relieved Chen Nuo somewhat. Brother Lei hadn’t dared to appear before Chen Nuo as "Chen Jianshe" and had washed off the disguise immediately.
As for the other three girls... The atmosphere had become incredibly awkward, like a standoff where no one knew what to do. Although none of them had slapped Chen Nuo or vented their anger on him... After all, Li Yingwan and Niveer already knew about the situation and each other’s existence. Lu Xixi was just one more to add to the list.
Hmm... I guess ardent admirers don’t get much say, huh.
The only one truly heartbroken was Xicheng Xun. But this Japanese girl seemed to have no standing to express any anger. On reflection, it felt as if hers had always been unrequited love... In this atmosphere, however, all three girls felt somewhat too embarrassed to face Chen Nuo.
Dinner was brought to Chen Nuo’s bedside by Wu Daodao’s disciple, the prominent student of the Qingyun Sect "Situ Beixuan," whose real name was Erya.
Chen Nuo glanced at the century egg and pork congee beside his bed. Then he turned to look at the little girl.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"I’m looking... at a scumbag," Erya said, rolling her eyes.
"...Hasn’t your master taught you that talking like that might get you beaten up?"
"My master can’t beat me," Erya answered quickly.
Fair enough!
Chen Nuo sighed, but then looked at Erya with a strange smile.
Erya felt that this handsome young man was looking at her with an indescribably eerie gaze. Instinctively, the little girl backed up a few steps and glared, shouting, "Why are you staring at me like that?!"
"You can stare at me, so why can’t I stare at you?"
"...I’m warning you, don’t look at me like that! I’m only nine!! You bastard! Even if you’re going to be a scumbag, you can’t be one to me! I’m only nine!!!"
Chen Nuo rolled his eyes. "So, you were this annoying even as a child, huh."
Saying this, Chen Nuo sighed and seemed to mutter to himself, "So this is the ’fated connection’ Eldest Senior Brother spoke of. Heh... Interesting."
Taking a deep breath, Chen Nuo’s tone became much more normal, much gentler.
"Let me ask you a question. Do you... like irises?"
"What’s that?"
"Hmm, it’s a very beautiful flower... You’ll come to like it in the future."
With that, Chen Nuo closed his eyes to rest and recuperate, continuing to repair his newly formed, fragile Consciousness Space.
Erya stared dumbfounded at the man for a while before turning and leaving.
"What a weirdo! How could those older sisters fall for someone like him! Are they blind?"