The door was forcibly pulled open. Dan Heng, who was sitting on a chair and staring blankly, looked up and saw Stelle walk in while holding her phone. She pulled over a stool with great familiarity and sat down. Looking at Dan Heng, who was still in a daze, she waved her hand repeatedly in front of him and said, "Earth to Dan Heng! Come back!"
"I'm not dead yet."
Dan Heng let out a resigned sigh and said this.
"Who told you to spend the past few days looking like you'd lost your soul? Just now, I was shouting about how I made a huge profit and wanted to treat everyone to a meal, and you didn't even stand up to reply."
"I don't have much of an appetite. You guys go ahead."
"Oh my, why are you so stubborn? Himeko has already forgiven you and said this wasn't your fault, and you didn't cause any major damage. Why do you still have to look so gloomy?"
Dan Heng remained silent, keeping his head down and still maintaining that gloomy aura.
"Ah! I can't take it anymore!"
Stelle scratched her hair, shouted in frustration, and immediately ran out, yelling as she ran.
"Caelus! Caelus! Help me!"
Caelus, who was reading the exciting part of a novel, closed the book helplessly, then looked at Stelle, who had rushed over, and asked, "Is something the matter?"
"Dan Heng is still brooding over what happened before. He's been looking out of it and withdrawn these past few days. Help me out. I'm worried that if this continues, he's going to lose his mind."
"Oh, then I'll go modify his memories."
"It doesn't have to be that extreme. Can't you just talk him through it?"
"Then you've asked the wrong person. I don't know how to do talk therapy. Mr. Welt, as a reliable adult male who has also experienced many things, might be the person you should look for."
"Uncle Yang... now that you mention it, I think I've seen him staying in his room these past few days too. He wouldn't be the same as Dan Heng, would he? I have to go check!"
After Stelle finished talking to herself, she rushed off again.
Caelus retracted his gaze and opened his book. Just as he was about to continue reading the exciting part of the novel, someone else walked over.
"I heard from Stelle that you possess the power of Finality and can reverse the past?"
Dan Heng appeared in front of Caelus and asked this.
"Hmm, what is it?"
"Do you know about the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion from back then?"
"I know. The former you, that is, the former High Elder Dan Feng, and the master craftsman Yingxing used the flesh of Shuhu, an Emanator of Abundance, aiming to resurrect your friend Baiheng, who died in the War of Abundance. However, this led to a series of tragedies. The corrupted dragon went on a rampage, your friend was not successfully resurrected, and only a new life, Bailu, was born."
"Yingxing also became the current Stellaron Hunter, Blade, and High Elder Dan Feng became the current you, Dan Heng. The former Luofu Sword Champion, Jingliu, also suffered a mara-struck episode because of this and fled the Xianzhou Luofu."
"Since then, of the High-Cloud Quintet, only Jing Yuan remained as General, stationed on the Xianzhou Luofu."
Caelus said this in a calm tone.
"Then, can Baiheng come back? General Jing Yuan is the one who was hurt the most by the events of that year. If an old friend could return, perhaps it could improve the General's mara-struck condition. It would also count as some compensation for the mistakes I, the past me, committed... I just don't know what price I would have to pay."
Because of this recent event, Dan Heng had actually been thinking about the past. He thought that if his own mistakes caused Himeko or his other companions to die, he would probably be like Dan Feng back then, recklessly wanting to bring back the companions he had lost.
Dan Feng: You cannot agree with me only after you have lost your companions.
And the reason he wanted to bring Baiheng back now was mainly because that man had called him not long ago.
"Ask that man. If Baiheng is to be resurrected, what price must be paid? No matter what it is, I will do everything in my power to pay it."
Dan Heng was thinking of paying this price himself to bring Baiheng back, which could also be considered a way to make up for some of the mistakes he had committed.
Caelus thought for a moment and did not give an answer immediately. The shadow under his feet suddenly twisted and squirmed, then a black raven flew out from the shadow. Then, accompanied by the sound of turning gears, the raven disappeared into thin air.
In the distant past...
In the second before Baiheng's consciousness and soul were about to disappear, a pitch-black bird flew past, collecting the shattered soul and consciousness, then flew toward a more distant direction.
After arriving at an uninhabited place, the shattered soul and consciousness were pieced back together, and Baiheng regained the ability to think for herself once again.
Baiheng opened her eyes, or rather, regained consciousness. She looked at the strange gray-haired man in front of her. Half of his body was emitting gray smoke, giving people a feeling of both reality and illusion.
The man did not say much. He simply turned the events of the High-Cloud Quintet into memories and transmitted them directly to Baiheng in front of him. After spending more than ten minutes sorting through the memories that appeared, her face was full of a bitter smile.
"I didn't expect such huge things to happen after I died. This is really... in the end, only Jing Yuan was left."
"Your future companion hopes that you will live again in the future. What do you think?"
"...Coming back to life won't change anything, will it? Unless I resurrect in this current timeframe, but wouldn't that affect the future? I'm afraid that's impossible."
"Hmm, you cannot resurrect at this point in time. That would disturb the future that has already been observed, and I'm afraid it would only result in the creation of a parallel world."
"Even so, I cannot abandon my companions. Dan Feng, Yingxing, and Jingliu have all fallen into irredeemable situations because of me. Jing Yuan is innocent! He shouldn't have to suffer the damage caused by all of this! At the very least, my appearance should be able to ease his mind, right? Perhaps I can even try to bring Yingxing and the others back..."
As Baiheng spoke, her voice faded, her face filled with a complicated expression.
She knew that deep down, Dan Feng was actually quite impulsive, but she had not expected him to be this impulsive, ultimately causing such a catastrophe.
The massive destruction caused by that created abyssal dragon in the Scalegorge Waterscape might have even caused casualties. In light of such sins, should she really be resurrected?
Caelus seemed to see what was in Baiheng's heart, so he took her across time to the point after the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion occurred. Then, right in front of her, he fished out the souls of those who had died in the abyssal dragon's chaos. As for the structural damage caused, that was of no importance.
"Alright, under these circumstances, it doesn't count as anyone having died. At most, they have just slept for a long time."
Baiheng watched this scene, her expression stunned, then muttered to herself.
"Are, are you perhaps the legendary final boss of the universe, the one who became the Aeon of Finality when the universe was destroyed and then went against the flow of time?"
"No, I'm not. I'm just an ordinary Traveler. Alright, I've collected all your souls. Once we reach the Xianzhou Luofu, I will discuss this matter with Jing Yuan. For now, you should just sleep for a while."
Caelus said this, then quickly gathered the souls, and soon saw the scenery in front of him change abruptly.
A stone statue he had seen before, grand and immense, symbolizing the Path of Equilibrium, appeared before Caelus.
The massive stone statue and the small Caelus stared at each other.
"The future, past, and present of this universe are already constantly changing. This shouldn't be a particular violation of the Path of Equilibrium."
"..."
"Alright, I know. I'll try to minimize doing this. If it really doesn't work, I'll just take some things related to the Path of Equilibrium from outside the universe and stuff them in here. That should work, right?"
...
Xianzhou Luofu.
Jing Yuan had already received news that the Astral Express had warped in and arrived. With a friendly smile on his face, he was preparing to personally meet Caelus, who was crucial to the Xianzhou and had become quite famous recently.
However, the first person he saw was not the young man in the black trench coat with gray hair and golden eyes, but a Foxian woman with silver-purple hair and fox ears.
"Long time no see, Jing Yuan. It has been hard for you all these years. You look much older than before."
The smile vanished from Jing Yuan's face.
(To be continued.)
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)