Chapter 506: Is There Something Special In This Time

“Who… … Mr San?”

Chen Xiaolian was shocked for a moment. However, when he saw the long umbrella in this figure’s hand, he exclaimed.

This man’s body appeared hidden within the shadows. No matter how Chen Xiaolian tried to peer at him, he was unable to make out his features. Even the man’s voice sounded faint, nearly unnoticeable.

However, the sight of the umbrella caused Chen Xiaolian’s heart to pound.

Mr San.

Why did Mr San appear here?

In the past, when he was going through this instance dungeon, Mr San had not appeared here.

“Not just anyone could use this item.” Mr San’s voice had a faraway quality to it and he repeated his words.

“Not… not… anyone could use… n-n-not… … n-not… not… … not just anyone could… c-could… could… c-c-could… … could use it…”

Chen Xiaolian was surprised.

His voice… sounded like…

Jammed disc?

Mr San was now no more than three steps away from Chen Xiaolian. However, Chen Xiaolian was still unable to make out Mr San’s facial features.

“Mr San?” Chen Xiaolian knitted his brows and asked in a hushed tone, “Is that you?”

Then, Mr San suddenly raised the umbrella in his hand to gently point at the coffin.

He pointed.

Subconsciously, Chen Xiaolian turned to face what the umbrella was pointing at, the coffin.

To his surprise, he found that the coffin’s cover had silently opened up slightly, revealing a small gap.

The coffin… … was open.

Shocked, Chen Xiaolian quickly turned his head to look at Mr San again only to feel goose bumps all over his body…

Mr San had disappeared.

His figure had disappeared into thin air.

“I… … did I encounter a ghost?”

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Chen Xiaolian’s forehead and down across his cheek.

While Chen Xiaolian was assuming that he had been seeing things, the same voice spoke up from beside him.

“… not just anyone could use… this item.”

Chen Xiaolian was shocked. He nearly jumped in fright. Snapping his head, he looked around. “Mr San? Where are you?”

“I… I…” The voice sounded as though it was experiencing a jam again. “I… not here.”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly thought of something.

Could it be… … this situation is just like that of a bad reception?

He gulped and tried asking, “Is this… … bad reception?”

Although the words ‘bad reception’ held a peculiar meaning, it would appear that the other party understood Chen Xiaolian’s question.

“Can… … comprehend… as that.”

Mm, it would appear to be an issue with transmission. Chen Xiaolian only heard the word “comprehend”.

“Mr San, how could you… … appear here?”

“I… … because…” A strange jamming sound played out before the voice continued, “… that is why.”

Chen Xiaolian felt himself going crazy.

Is that so? But I didn’t get what you said at all. I could not get the main points!

“If so, do you know who I am?” asked Chen Xiaolian.

Was this Mr San from this timeline or… … did he travelled through time like he did?

This was an important factor here. If he was the Mr San from this timeline, he should not know who he was.

“… … umbrella… … the key factor.” Mr San’s reply caused Chen Xiaolian to scratch his head. Thankfully, he was able to get the next sentence. “Chen Xiaolian, you must remember this.”

Chen Xiaolian’s heart skipped a beat.

This… this… … this Mr San knew him. If not for that, he would not have been able to call out Chen Xiaolian’s name.

…

At the top of an unknown mountain range was a secluded house amid heavy falling snow. Mr San sat before a fireplace within the house and he looked into the burning flames.

The image of Epang Palace within the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang instance dungeon was reflected off the surface of the flames. The image swayed, staying clear at times and blurry at others. However, it was possible to make out the image of Chen Xiaolian standing beside the coffin.

Mr San’s face was pale to the extreme and his hair appeared to be growing even whiter. He used one hand to gently stroke the umbrella in his hand as he looked at the image within the flames. More accurately, he was looking at Chen Xiaolian.

“You… … you have fallen under a type of spell?” Mr San knitted his brows and revealed what appeared to be surprise. Next, he shook his head. “Whatever, since I am here, I will help you get rid of it.”

After saying that, Mr San raised his umbrella and gently pointed it at Chen Xiaolian.

…

Inside the great hall, Chen Xiaolian’s body suddenly flinched.

He had this faint feeling that a peculiar power was penetrating his body. It was an extremely subtle sensation, something that he could not describe with words. In but an instant, he felt as though a layer of gauze that had been covering a certain part of his sea of consciousness was being gently pulled out, erased…

“A type… spell… … I… … rid…”

Mr San’s voice came into Chen Xiaolian’s ears intermittently. Chen Xiaolian was at a loss, but he quickly understood that the subtle feeling he was sensing was Mr San’s doing. However, he was somewhat puzzled as to why.

“Remember…” Mr San’s voice suddenly grew clear and Chen Xiaolian grew alert.

…

“Remember!” Mr San suddenly stood up and moved to stand before the fireplace. His voice grew solemn and vigorous and the flames of the fireplace abruptly raged upward. In but an instant, the flames had become fierce and the image within the flames grew sharp and clear.

“Chen Xiaolian… … remember these words! The world, is a tree!”

After he was done speaking, Mr San’s body gave a shudder and the flames in the fireplace swayed before fading back down.

Mr San stepped backward and his body slumped heavily upon the chair. His hand hung limply on the armrest as he gasped loudly for breath. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead and face, his entire being seemingly having turned weak to the extreme.

Yet, despite how weak he had become, his hand continued gripping the umbrella tightly.

…

“The world, is a tree!”

Chen Xiaolian was able to hear those words clearly. Every single word had seemingly contained a certain magical force within it and they were all carved deep into Chen Xiaolian’s mind.

Hearing that, he was taken aback. Next, however, Mr San’s voice disappeared.

Chen Xiaolian waited there for one whole minute but he could no longer hear Mr San.

He knitted his brows and looked around. Then, he shouted out a few times but his attempts garnered zero response.

In the end, Chen Xiaolian turned his head to look at the coffin, at the opened gap of the coffin cover.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Xiaolian walked over to peek inside the coffin.

Inside the coffin was a person.

The figure wore long black clothing and seemed almost alive.

Next, something peculiar happened.

The body inside the coffin that appeared almost alive only sported a slightly pale complexion. No sign of decay could be seen on the body.

However… … Chen Xiaolian was unable to make out this person’s facial features.

This was very difficult to explain.

This person was right before Chen Xiaolian’s eyes. He wore the black coloured Imperial clothing of the Qin Dynasty and was so close. His face was there before Chen Xiaolian’s eyes.

And yet, it appeared that some form of magical power was stopping Chen Xiaolian from seeing this person’s facial features.

Or rather… … he could see it, but… … he was unable to recall it.

Looking at him, Chen Xiaolian could sense that his face was here. However, in but a blink of an eye, his mind became incapable of describing this person’s appearance.

This… … was most peculiar.

Suddenly, Chen Xiaolian became attracted to something else.

Qin Shihuang lay inside the coffin with both his hands crossed atop his chest. However, there between his hands was a valuable jade cup.

A faint glow was seemingly radiating out from within the jade cup.

Chen Xiaolian became seemingly possessed. A power was seemingly acting upon his body and he reached his hand out toward the jade cup.

Chen Xiaolian pulled the jade cup out by force. When Chen Xiaolian obtained the jade cup, something the size of a thumb rolled out of the jade cup and into his palm.

Crystalline and translucent, it had the colour of a green jade.

It was an extremely thick green colour. The faint green lustre coming off it shone with an exuberant sense of vitality.

Gripping it, Chen Xiaolian examined it. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that this item looked like a…

“A seed?”

At that same time, the jade cup in his hand abruptly disintegrated into powder and flowed out of his grip.

Chen Xiaolian was shocked. Then, he saw a prompt appearing within his personal system.

[????: Prop acquired. You have successfully stopped Qin Shihuang’s resurrection. You have acquired the highest authority from this instance dungeon. Quest complete. Now exiting instance dungeon.]

Before Chen Xiaolian could respond to that, he promptly felt his body launching upward. His vision swam and he found that he was no longer inside the great hall.

…

It was night, a quiet night. This place appeared to be within a mountain. However, as he was standing on the mountainside, he could see some lights far in the distance.

After a moment of surprise, Chen Xiaolian quickly ran down the mountainside.

After running a few metres ahead, he saw a signboard. What he saw stunned him.

Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang’s scenic zone?

He immediately halted his steps and turned to look around.

“Zero City?” Chen Xiaolian shouted loudly. “Why hasn’t this time travel thing ended?”

Zero City’s voice finally spoke up from within his mind.

The old-fashioned, meticulous and emotionless voice spoke.

“From a time calculation point of view, you finished this quest before your earlier self. Thus, you have gained yourself some extra time. Of course, if you do not need this extra time, I can send you back right now.”

Extra time?

Chen Xiaolian felt confused.

“Presently, there are a few issues that you must consider,” Zero City quickly added. “Due to your involvement here, a change had occurred to the you from the past, your companions, everything that happened in this instance dungeon, the process and the result, cause and effect. In other words, you have… … changed history.”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian was dumbfounded. “What do you mean?”

“I meant exactly what I said.”

“Wait a minute! You mean to say, just now… … I really travelled back in time and returned to a point in time… … several months ago? I went through this instance dungeon again? Wasn’t it… … oh Heavens, this was not just a simulation that you created? Not some game stuff? I actually travelled back in time? I thought… … I thought you had utilized my memories to create this instance dungeon… … I thought this is just something created from memory.”

“What you went through are things that happened in the past.” Zero City’s response caused Chen Xiaolian’s jaws to drop. “The issue here is the result of you coming to participate in this instance dungeon. There is now a huge difference between the result of this instance dungeon and the previous timeline. Thus… … there would be chaos in the timeline. After the main program of the world discovers this chaos, it would go about fixing it. In other words… … it would initiate resets. These resets would prioritize the changes you made to history.”

Chen Xiaolian mind spun and he quickly shouted, “Wait! In other words… … a lot of things…”

“A lot of things will change. For example, in the previous timeline, the Guild Leader of Nangong Guild was killed in battle and the Windslasher Guild was completely exterminated. However, due to your participation here and your completion of the instance dungeon, all those things did not occur. Thus…”

“Could it be… … when we return, history itself would be changed?” Chen Xiaolian sucked in a breath of cold air. “Holy shit? Wouldn’t that be a catastrophe? Take Lun Tai and Bei Tai for example. The two of them had only joined my guild because of Guild Leader Nangong’s death! If Guild Leader Nangong did not die… then… … everything would be different! And… … there is me! Since I did not participate in the final battle in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, I would not be able to get Bai Qi’s War Soul!”

“No, you are the only constant here. Everything about you would not change,” Zero City replied coolly.

“There are still so many things… … for example, in the end, Miao Yan was supposed to get Qin Shihuang’s coffin. What happened then?” Chen Xiaolian was at a loss for words.

“All the changes and conflicts would be calculated by the main program. It would calculate out the various factors and reset out a new timeline,” Zero City replied nonchalantly. “Certain details in history would certainly be changed as a result.”

“Chaos… … chaos! Wouldn’t this cause chaos?” Chen Xiaolian clutched his head. “So many things would go wrong.”

“In my opinion, worrying about those is pointless. Wait until you get back and the main program calculates out the causes and effects and resets out a new timeline. Then, you should worry,” Zero City replied coolly. “At present, you have a choice. You can choose to go back immediately, or stay here a while longer. You have completed the quest earlier in this timeline and gained yourself a total of 98 extra minutes. You may continue staying here for that amount of time.”

98 minutes?

Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “Staying here is pointless… … the instance dungeon is already over, I might as well… … ah, wait!”

After saying that, he stared absent-mindedly.

This timeline… … is there something special in this timeline?

Yes!

Of course there is!

Right now… there is…

Qiao Qiao!

Qiao Qiao is alive here!

…