Chapter 70.2 – Destined Lover.

Jiang Que finally realized something was amiss. After a moment of silence, he keenly asked, “Will you come back?”

The Elder shook his head.

Time continued to move forward.

Changing fate was no small matter. Everyone in the sect began to act. Aside from the aunt responsible for cooking and two children of Jiang Que’s age, everyone else prepared to depart for the northwest to set up a large array.

The Elder cast another divination for Jiang Que. If he stayed within the sect, he would eventually go to modern society with the aunt. There, he would encounter a human who would be a turning point in his destiny, leading a peaceful and happy life.

Seeing that Jiang Que staying wouldn’t cause any major issues, the Elder was reassured. However, Jiang Que grabbed him, insisting, “What if I go with you all?”

“Don’t leave me alone here. If I go with you, what will the future be like? You can see the future, can you tell me?”

The Elder sighed and cast another divination on the spot.

The next moment, he set down the star chart in astonishment.

“You… will also encounter the human who will be a turning point if you go with us?”

Shaking his head, he added, “No, no, this outcome isn’t right… Wait a moment.”

The Elder suddenly stood up. “Bring Qi Qiu and Qi Qing here! There’s still a variable after ten years!”

Anxiously, Jiang Que asked, “What about me?”

The Elder smiled kindly at him. “Xiao Que, you’re not a Qishan Taoist. You shouldn’t bear our responsibility.”

“But, but…” Jiang Que’s dozen or so tentacles gestured frantically. “But we’re family, I can endure hardships! You can’t leave me behind.”

The Elder pondered for a moment. “…Alright, it’s not impossible.”

Then came the familiar memories in Jiang Que’s recollection.

The Taoists were busy setting up the large array. They needed to arrange a massive condensed formation in the veins of the earth, using the entire cave as a container to temporarily seal away the malice of humans. Afterwards, they needed to set up a reversal formation beneath the array, as requested by the Elder during Jiang Que’s divination.

There were also some smaller formations, such as cleaning formations, time-delay formations, and temperature-stabilizing formations, all set up for Jiang Que.

A woman crouched in front of Jiang Que, looking worried as she said, “Xiao Que, are you sure you can stay here alone for a long time?”

Jiang Que looked at Qi Qiu and Qi Qing being earnestly instructed by the Elder not far away and firmly said, “I can.”

He was an unknown monster, brought back by the Taoists of Qi Shan, who gave him a home.

Now, they all resolutely marched towards death, and Jiang Que didn’t want to be left behind alone.

The woman still felt uneasy, but Jiang Que smiled and reassured her, “It’s alright. Didn’t you say someone will come find me in the future? That’s my… I mean…”

Jiang Que forgot his words, and the woman chuckled, saying, “It’s your destined lover.”

She said somewhat enviously, “I envy that. It’s the first time I’ve seen lovers fated to be together by destiny. If I had known, I would have gone with you that day. I also want to see what the astrological chart of such lovers looks like.”

Jiang Que nodded firmly, “Yes, anyway, someone will come to save me. I don’t want to enjoy the peace brought by your deaths out there. I want to be with all of you.”

With the conversation reaching this point, the woman still couldn’t shake off her worries, “But your memories will be completely erased, the Elder said if you know your fate, there will be variables in the future. You must be completely unaware.”

Thinking of a completely ignorant Jiang Que being locked underground for so long, the woman couldn’t relax at all.

“Xiao Le! It’s your turn!”

The woman hurriedly turned back, responding affirmatively. She had wanted to say more but ended up leaving hastily.

The man on the next shift patted Jiang Que’s head, “Don’t cry all alone here.”

“I won’t,” Jiang Que retorted sulkily.

The man locked eyes with him, chuckled, and then sighed, squatting down.

He said seriously, “This place is a container for storing malice. When it can no longer hold it, a lot of malice will seep out. Even if you’re hungry, you can’t eat those things, understand?”

“I know, you all have told me many times,” Jiang Que replied. “I could recite it even with my eyes closed.”

The man pinched his cheek, laughing, “If you were to cry silently, just look up. The Elder deliberately placed the array’s core directly above you.”

“We’ll be with you all along.”

Later on.

As the storm arrived, on the day when the beginning of the apocalypse was revealed, somewhere in the northwest desert, a great beam of light appeared.

The entire sect, consisting of a total of two hundred and twenty-seven people, gathered here to activate the large array.

Thirteen years later, the people intertwined with Jiang Que’s fate would break into this place. At that time, Qi Qiu and Qi Qing would come to awaken Jiang Que’s memories. Jiang Que would have to pay with his life to activate the reversal formation.

Time would reverse, fate would backtrack, everything would change, but the only constant would be his destined lover.

This unchanging anchor was also the greatest variable.

He would bring a glimmer of hope.

With the ability to comprehend heavenly mandates in the heavens, Jiang Que could also reverse the situation in the mortal world.

Though hidden from the world, he worried for the world, and would step forward in times of crisis, saving people from danger to help the masses.

This was what it meant to be a Qishan Taoist.

In the midst of a storm, a middle-aged woman threw the information about Jiang Que, labeled “extremely dangerous,” at the entrance of the Anomaly Investigation Department to prevent them from mistakenly entering the large array.

She was skilled in cooking and later became the head chef of the Special Operations Unit of the Anomaly Investigation Department, a role she held for over a decade.

The wheel of destiny turned, everything fell into place.

Jiang Que finally broke free from his memories. As he slowly opened his eyes, he seemed to hear countless voices.

From the white bones behind him, silently guarding the cliff for over a decade, protecting him and all the people of the world.

The countless familiar voices came rushing in, calling him “Xiao Que.”

Finally, everything fell silent, and a gentle female voice softly said, “You’ve worked hard, our Jiang Que.”

Jiang Que opened his eyes.

He looked at the white bones on the ground, the new bodies that should have been Qi Qiu and Qi Qing.

Clearly, something had gone wrong with the reversal formation that should have been awakened by his command. It had taken the lives of the two of them. This was also why time had not yet begun to reverse.

Jiang Que couldn’t say if things were good or bad now. His heart was filled with mixed emotions. Finally, he glanced at the mountainous pile of bones and left the place.

Before his death, he wanted to return to Shen Tazhi’s side.

During his memory loss, he had done terrible things. He didn’t dare to believe whether Shen Tazhi would still like him in this state.

Jiang Que walked back quietly and sat down next to Shen Tazhi, waiting silently.

When Shen Tazhi slowly woke up, he had formed a plan.

After some time passed, Shen Tazhi gradually regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes and saw Jiang Que sitting beside him. Shen Tazhi stood up in surprise, “Jiang Que, you’re awake? How do you feel?”

“Mm.” Jiang Que softly responded, almost greedily looking at Shen Tazhi’s face.

This was the person intertwined with his fate. He didn’t want to let go of him, nor did he want the other person to forget him.

He reached out his tentacles and held Shen Tazhi’s hand, truthfully saying, “It hurts a lot, Shen Tazhi. I’ve eaten a lot of dirty things, it hurts a lot, my whole body hurts… Shen Tazhi, I’m dying.”

Shen Tazhi stiffened for a moment, then spoke with difficulty, “It’s okay, let’s go out first…”

He reached out to hold Jiang Que’s hand but Jiang Que skillfully avoided it.

With a smile in his eyes, Jiang Que said, “I’m telling you, I’m dying, Shen Tazhi.”

“You humans don’t have a way to heal monsters. If I go out, I will definitely die.”

He took a step forward and suddenly embraced Shen Tazhi.

“Humans… are truly warm,” Jiang Que murmured softly.

After saying these words, he released Shen Tazhi and stepped back slowly.

Shen Tazhi became alert, “What are you trying to do?!”

Jiang Que spoke slowly, “Shen Tazhi, go seek revenge, don’t take me with you.”

It was difficult to say these words against his heart, but for his plan, Jiang Que had to continue:

“I don’t want to go with you. You can live well on your own, there’s no need to bring me along.”

“Jiang Que!” Shen Tazhi interrupted him.

Jiang Que seemed unfazed, even smiling slightly before continuing:

“Just… if we meet again, could you bring me something delicious to eat?”

“I really want to eat something tasty.”

At this moment, Jiang Que had already retreated to the edge of the abyss.

His smile became even more radiant as he said, “Shen Tazhi, live well.”

Taking another step back.

He stepped into the void, falling rapidly.

Before Shen Tazhi could react, he had already fallen, not even leaving time for a reaching hand.

Jiang Que could even hear Shen Tazhi’s despairing cries and the sound of impact as he plummeted towards the ground.

Was this kind of death unforgettable enough?

Jiang Que didn’t know. When he heard Shen Tazhi’s cries, he actually regretted his decision. But compared to being forgotten by Shen Tazhi, he would rather make Shen Tazhi a little miserable.

Not to be forgotten, to be remembered, to come and find him.

Shen Tazhi had fallen in first, it was only natural for such a terrifying monster to latch onto him.

Whether he was despicable or took advantage of Shen Tazhi’s kindness, as long as it ensured that in the next life, Shen Tazhi was willing to meet him again, that was enough for Jiang Que.

He didn’t want to be separated from Shen Tazhi.

All of this could be explained slowly in the next life.

Outside the cave.

Shen Tazhi walked through the snow, the snowflakes falling heavily, covering the ground, and the piercing cold wind seeping through every gap.

With a bitter smile, he thought to himself, “Winter is truly cold.”

Perhaps it was because winter was too cold that Jiang Que didn’t want to come out and see the snow?

In the moment before stepping out of the cave and saying those words to him, to jump down… They were less than three hundred meters away from the cave entrance.

The abyss had been climbed out of, so why was it that he couldn’t walk those final three hundred meters?

Ha, such a death was truly unforgettable. He didn’t even dare to turn back to look at the cave he had exited.

It wasn’t until the moment of Jiang Que’s death that Shen Tazhi realized, in hindsight, that all his irrational actions, the craziness, had all been driven by love.

But what use was it to realize that now? It was all too late.

The reversal formation began to operate.

As Shen Tazhi walked, he noticed the snow and wind disappearing. He was now dressed in a black suit, his assistant reporting company matters to him while he listened to Shen Liushi complaining on the phone.

Shen Tazhi coldly hung up the phone, glancing at the date.

He had been reborn.

Reborn one week before the apocalypse.

Jiang Que went insane at the sight of his attempt to use death to make Shen Tazhi remember him. But as a spirit, he couldn’t do anything, only watch Shen Tazhi kneel down, breaking down in tears.

What was this!! This would traumatize Shen Tazhi! This was the reason why Shen Tazhi always reacted so strongly to his death in this life!

Idiot! Despicable fellow! Not considering anyone’s feelings!

You deserve not to be liked by Shen Tazhi!

Jiang Que cursed angrily, then saw Shen Tazhi stand up silently, walk into the snow, and get sent back by the reversal formation after just a few steps.

He witnessed Shen Tazhi hang up the phone with a cold face, swiftly find the remaining Qishan Taoists, contact the Anomaly Investigation Department, and prepare supplies and novels. He hardly slept for almost a whole week, heading to the northwest desert overnight.

He descended the abyss cautiously, accidentally dropping a novel down during the process.

Then, he saw Jiang Que, crying while holding a book.

Shen Tazhi panicked. It was the first time he had seen Jiang Que cry. Even in the previous life, no matter how much Jiang Que suffered, he never shed a tear. So he asked:

“Are you feeling unwell? Why are you crying?”

“Stop crying, everything’s fine.”

At that moment, Jiang Que’s heart began to beat for the first time.

Even without memories, the inevitable influence of fate upon seeing Shen Tazhi caused countless grievances to surge within him. Almost subconsciously, he began to complain.

Gege, I’m so hungry, so lonely.

And with that, the cycle of fate closed.