CH 107

Thank you to SOLEIL for the ko-fi~

Inside the tent, it was very quiet. Despite the absence of any light, it felt like all the world’s radiance had converged in their hearts, at least giving Gu Langu a clarity of mind he had never experienced before. He reached out to comfort Shu Shuishui’s back, as if he was petting a little dormouse, one stroke after another, unsure whether he was soothing Shu Shuishui or himself.

There was silence for a long time as the two cuddled together, and it seemed as if time had come to a standstill.

“Shui Shui,” Gu Langu’s voice sounded somewhat husky.

Shu Shuishui made a soft sound to acknowledge that he had heard, but his head remained nestled in Gu Langu’s embrace, as if only the scent of Gu Langu could bring him peace.

“I also love Shui Shui, very, very, very much. I can’t live without you, and I can’t go on without you.” In fact, when Gu Langu was initially born into this world, he had no memories of Shu Shuishui. However, his soul instinctively guided him. He knew the battlefield was a place where one might face death at any moment, he knew that someone had plotted against him, but he never gave up on protecting the Canghai Galaxy. It was all because of a faint hope deep within him. What if? What if he were somewhere in this world? What if he just hadn’t found him yet? He couldn’t lose, he couldn’t die, and as long as he was alive, there was hope; once he died, there would be nothing left.

Gu Langu bore the burdens of the entire world, and his path of reincarnation was destined to be rough and filled with hardship. He lacked the completeness of the six desires and seven emotions, yet faced the relentless onslaught of the seven sufferings and eight difficulties. Unlike the fragmented memories in Shu Shuishui’s dream, Gu Langu’s dream that day took him completely back to his past.

It was as if he had relived his entire life, from birth to death, through one cycle after another. It was a vastly different experience from watching a fragmented movie, but rather being a true dreamer. Gu Langu’s memories were not fragmented, yet the more he knew, the more secrets he held. Many of these secrets could not be uttered, and he hoped that these secrets would remain buried.

Gu Langu never felt sadness or sorrow for the hardships he had endured. As Shu Shuishui put it, “amaryllis,” meaning, “I know you’re there, we’re of the same root and branch, and that’s enough.”

Hearing Gu Langu’s response, Shu Shuishui chuckled softly and finally sat up straight, reaching out to playfully tug at Gu Langu’s clothes. “Of course, Shui Shui is unique and irreplaceable. Fluffy and cute, can cook and sew, can catch cats, and fish, and take care of Gu Gu, save the world, one of a kind, irreplaceable.”

Gu Langu couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, Shui Shui is one of a kind.” Shu Shuishui scooted forward and opened the tent’s curtain. The icy season was coming to an end, and occasionally, the sky outside would clear, revealing the vast starry sky beyond the clouds. The starlight outside momentarily shattered into scattered gem-like fragments, falling upon the two of them, their eyes, and their clasped hands, creating a dazzling scene.

Not far away, the lake resembled a mirror, and the lotus flowers growing on it appeared as intricate patterns on the mirror’s surface. Occasionally, small fish would poke their heads out, creating concentric ripples, making the night serene and cool.

Shu Shuishui’s nose was still slightly red, as were his eyes, but his gaze was clear and transparent as if washed by water. When he woke up initially, he had many questions he wanted to ask, such as what was in the last area of the brain that he guarded so tenaciously, or why Gu Langu would risk himself despite knowing the schemes and dangers. However, in the end, he didn’t ask anything because he knew the answers.

“Gu Gu, let’s return to the Huanxing1Sphere Star Continent. There, we can create a new world, and build a new Shui Jing Gong. We can cultivate together, live forever together, and travel through countless worlds together.” This life’s journey had reached its destination, and the seven sufferings and eight difficulties had come to an end because the end of this life was the end of time. “If the end of time leads to destruction, it doesn’t matter. We’ll bury ourselves together and become one.”

Gu Langu responded with a mixture of tolerance and determination. “Yes, okay.” After experiencing countless cycles of reincarnation, he had come to accept the idea of an end with remarkable calmness because, in the end, he had finally found that person.

Shu Shuishui scooted back into Gu Langu’s broad embrace and leaned against him, gazing at the starry sky and the nighttime tranquility beyond the tent. It felt incredibly serene and fulfilling, but sleep seemed elusive. After the initial confusion of waking from the dream, Shu Shuishui began to contemplate the dream he had just experienced.

It was different from the dreams he had when he was asleep; it didn’t feel like his own dream. Instead, it felt like someone else’s dream. So he had entered someone else’s dream? Wasn’t this a dream-making ability of the Dream Clan? Shu Shuishui wasn’t particularly eager for the power of turning dreams into reality. Despite sounding incredibly powerful, Shu Shuishui speculated that the Dream Clan might unconsciously create dreams, and there could be many things they created through dreams that even they didn’t know. Truth and falsehood could become blurred and indistinguishable. What if there were nightmares among them?

Thinking about nightmares, Shu Shuishui couldn’t help but shudder. In his mind, he envisioned himself pitifully crouching on the ground, surrounded by a large circle of cats, all kinds of cats, white ones, black ones, and especially voracious orange ones. Beyond this circle of cats, there were countless more cats, stretching into infinity.

If such a nightmare were to come true, Shu Shuishui felt like he could dig a hole, lie down flat, cover himself with flowers, bury the soil, and erect a tombstone.

Shu Shuishui vigorously shook his head, and his whole body broke out in goosebumps. This was too terrifying! So, it’s better not to have the ability to make dreams come true. However, for the Dream Clan, entering dreams was just the simplest and most fundamental ability. After countless cycles of reincarnation, Shu Shuishui believed that his chances of awakening the power to make dreams come true were not very high.

Although he had been slapped in the face by entering dreams not long ago, Shu Shuishui still firmly believed that he could sleep soundly, nestled in Gu Langu’s bed, without worrying about being eaten because he dreamt of a cat.

“What’s wrong, Shui Shui?” Gu Langu asked when he saw Shu Shuishui’s hair standing on end.

Shu Shuishui raised his arm and then rubbed his upright hair. “It’s nothing, really. I just feel that having the power to make dreams come true isn’t all that great. What if I dream of a world full of cats? Besides you, who turned into one, I haven’t seen any non-scary cats. They have fierce faces, sharp teeth, menacing eyes, a fierce disposition, excel in ambushes, are cunning and sly, enjoy eating rat meat, and never blink when they eat…”

Gu Langu: “…”

Suddenly, a person came to mind for Gu Langu, the cat enthusiast, Nan Fang. If one day Shu Shuishui’s nightmare came true, the happiest person would probably be Nan Fang. He might jump into the sea of cats and happily bury himself in it.

And speaking of it, since it’s entering a dream, whose dream is it entering? There were only three people that Shu Shuishui knew in the dream: Yu Jin, Gu Langu, and Cheng Que.

But from the perspective of the dream, Gu Langu and Yu Jin were both objects, while Cheng Que seemed more like the subject of the dream. Only he was fully involved in Gu Langu’s modification plan, knew what outsiders were saying, and knew every reaction of Gu Langu’s brain. Shu Shuishui suddenly remembered some details from the dream. “Gu Gu, it seems like Cheng Que did something during the surgery.” Perhaps it was the ability brought by entering the dream that allowed Shu Shuishui to perceive strong emotional fluctuations in the dream. So even though Cheng Que appeared flawless under the monitor, Shu Shuishui still felt his anxiety, nervousness, excitement, luck, and other strong emotional fluctuations.

“I know,” Gu Langu patted Shu Shuishui’s shoulder to indicate that it was okay. “The Galactic Alliance wanted absolute obedience, an obedient machine. Cheng Que is naturally rebellious, appearing stable and elegant on the surface, but deep down he’s extremely defiant. So he secretly made modifications, which is also the reason I later became uncontrollable.”

“In that case, Cheng Que isn’t that bad after all. No wonder he was exiled to the Cang Zhan Star,” Shu Shuishui sighed in relief.

Gu Langu gently rested his chin on Shu Shuishui’s head. “Cheng Que is a complex person with deep scheming. His actions were seamless, and if it weren’t for his voluntary exile, no one would have found evidence to exile him. And he didn’t tamper with the process for my sake but for his own. He wanted to forcibly change the object of my fixation and set himself as my sole protector, of course, through layers of deception. It’s easy to understand; a powerful and unbreakable weapon controlled by one person is more effective and intimidating, but he failed.”

Cheng Que knew he had failed too. No matter how he tried—concealing, erasing, modifying, attacking, intimidating, and many other methods—he couldn’t shake Gu Langu’s fixation. Cheng Que eventually gave up and focused on planting seeds of uncontrollability in Gu Langu’s brain.

Despite Cheng Que’s covert actions, Gu Langu was ultimately satisfied with the result. At least, if he hadn’t come to Cang Zhan Star, he wouldn’t have met Shu Shuishui. The two of them would have missed each other just like countless cycles before.

Because of this, Gu Langu didn’t make things difficult for Cheng Que and chose a neutral approach. Cheng Que himself was always aloof from everyone, neither close nor distant, neither involved nor withdrawn. It was quite strange, as if he forcefully inserted himself as a bystander, waiting for something.

After listening, Shu Shuishui snorted. “I even gave him a book. But why did I enter Cheng Que’s dream? Is entering dreams random? Even considering the number of contacts, the distance was too far. How does entering dreams select its subjects?”

Thinking about it gave Shu Shuishui a headache, but he was suddenly distracted by the chorus of frogs. “Gu Gu, did you hear the frogs croaking?”

Gu Langu nodded. “Yes, I heard it. Do you want to eat them?”

Shu Shuishui: “…”

“Gu Gu, frogs are good frogs. They might compete with me for bugs, but they look very cute, so you can’t eat them,” Shu Shuishui tried to correct Gu Langu’s dietary preferences.

Gu Langu couldn’t quite see what was cute about frogs, but he obediently nodded. “Alright, can’t eat them.”

Shu Shuishui’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Gu Gu, let’s go catch fireflies!”

Gu Langu couldn’t help but imagine the scene of catching fireflies and thought it was still quite romantic and beautiful. “Sure, I’ll find a jar.”

Shu Shuishui quickly waved his hand. “No need to find a jar. Let’s catch them to feed the frogs. Fireflies aren’t that tasty, and we won’t keep them as emergency rations.”

Gu Lan Gu: “…”

Although the beautiful image was shattered, Gu Langu still left the tent with Shu Shuishui and walked to an area with lush green grass. As they walked, countless fireflies were startled and took to the air, creating a dazzling display of stars filling the night sky.