Shi Deng maintained the sunflowers’ bloom day after day. Time in this garden plot reversed again and again. He’d thought he would simply die here eventually.
He’d never imagined he’d hear Yuan’s voice again in this lifetime.
That bastard—the one Shi-ge had dragged into hell at the cost of his own existence—had somehow reappeared perfectly intact. Though Shenhu City was far from here, there was no possibility he could mistake the aura Yellow Springs transmitted to him.
How could this be?
Shi Deng listened to Zhi Ze’s voice calling from outside. After a moment, the wheelchair turned, and he finally left this place.
The wheelchair pressed two shallow tracks through the snow.
***
When Shi Deng had first entered the Monster’s Dwelling, winter had barely begun. Now that he emerged again, it was early spring with its lingering cold, snow still unmelted.
Having crippled his own hands and feet and avoiding using his abilities, nothing came easily to him anymore. His body had grown alarmingly gaunt.
The moment Xiao Deng saw him, he burst into tears, clinging desperately and refusing to let go.
“I was so worried about you.”
Shi Deng’s complexion was deathly pale, his eyes utterly lifeless. His tone was flat. “Stay away from me.”
Xiao Deng shook his head stubbornly. “No. You won’t hurt me now.”
The two locked gazes. Xiao Deng’s eyes blazed with determination, refusing to yield even an inch as he gripped the wheelchair’s armrest and wouldn’t leave.
Shi Deng withdrew his gaze. “Suit yourself.”
The next second, time chains forcibly pulled Xiao Deng away and dutifully tossed the child into his bedroom.
Only then did Shi Deng address the others gathered around the conference table. “Give me a rundown of the situation in Shenhu City.”
Uncle Fu nodded. “It started several days ago.”
“A few months back, after Yuan vanished, contamination qi at ground level significantly receded. However, residual amounts remained, and incidents of frenzied exotic beasts occurred frequently, though the situation stayed manageable overall.”
Shi Deng nodded in acknowledgment.
He’d participated in suppressing those rampaging beasts before—he knew about all this.
Zhi Ze continued, “Originally, there was no contamination qi near Yellow Springs. But recently, contamination aura suddenly began appearing there, growing increasingly concentrated. We couldn’t get close to Yellow Springs. Then today, Yuan abruptly reappeared.”
“It seemed intent on escaping initially, but the time chains trapped it.”
The youth in the wheelchair pressed a deep line between his brows. “Time chains can only contain it temporarily. But if contamination qi accumulates to a certain threshold, what happened in Shenhu City that day will repeat itself.”
If time chains alone could permanently contain Yuan, Shi-ge wouldn’t have needed to pay such an enormous price.
Yet even after paying that price, Yuan still hadn’t been completely destroyed. Counting from the day Shi-ge disappeared, Yuan had only been dispersed for less than half a year.
It was truly…
Shi Deng closed his eyes briefly.
If Shi-ge had known that his desperate gamble would only buy a few months of peace, would he still have made that choice?
Cen Le asked quietly, “Is there really no way to eliminate Yuan completely?”
“Instructor Chi searched through all of Yuan Guang’s historical records,” Yuan Ting said. “They state that contamination qi is intrinsically linked to humanity. As long as humans exist, contamination qi won’t disappear. However, Yuan CAN be completely destroyed. Without Yuan, contamination qi can still be opposed by ability users.”
Shi Deng’s voice was flat. “How do we destroy it completely?”
Zhi Ze sighed heavily. “Yuan Marrow.”
And it would need to be Yuan Marrow at its most powerful nascent stage. But Yuan Marrow had already vanished.
Shi Deng fell silent for a moment, then reached toward the center of his chest. This was where the three primary ability meridians converged—and where he’d sealed off two of them.
Under normal circumstances, when abilities flowed through this convergence point, they would form a small energy vortex—the source from which ability users channeled their powers.
Uncle Fu’s voice carried concern. “Leader, what are you thinking? Have you thought of a solution?”
The youth still seemed lost in thought. Uncle Fu called his name again, more softly this time.
“…It’s nothing.”
Shi Deng’s hands were thoroughly ruined. Without using his abilities, even lifting his fingers required tremendous effort.
After a moment, he said quietly, “I miss Shi-ge. I want to see him.”
Everyone froze in stunned silence.
This was the first time in all these months that Shi Deng had voluntarily mentioned Shi-ge.
Uncle Fu’s voice was gentle. “Leader?”
Shi Deng’s tone remained calm. “I have a method that requires testing. If it succeeds, completely destroying Yuan might not be impossible.”
The youth didn’t elaborate on what this method entailed, falling into silence despite their barrage of questions.
He honestly wasn’t certain whether the idea forming in his mind would actually work.
Only Yuan Marrow could destroy Yuan. So he could attempt to bring Yuan back three hundred years to when Yuan Marrow first appeared, and eliminate Yuan in the past.
During all his previous retrogrades, he’d never gone back further than the time period where Xiao Deng existed. One reason was that the further back he traveled, the more ability it consumed. The other reason was that he would replace his past self at that point in the timeline.
If he went beyond the era when Xiao Deng existed—even further back, to the very beginning—and destroyed Yuan there…
Would Yuan still exist? Would Xiao Deng still exist?
For that matter, would Shi Deng himself still exist?
If ‘Shi Deng’ ceased to exist, would everything that followed in the present timeline still happen?
Like the grandfather paradox, temporal paradoxes were inherently unsolvable propositions.
Shi Deng spoke softly. “Uncle Fu, I recall that among the tomes collected by Yuan Guang’s successive elders and leaders, there are records concerning time-based abilities?”
Uncle Fu confirmed, “Yes, Leader.”
“Help me find them,” Shi Deng said, lifting his gaze to his three companions. “Zhi Ze, hasn’t Tiangu also had time-system ability users appear in the past? If possible, I’d like to borrow any recorded texts about time, space, and life-death class ability users.”
Zhi Ze’s expression turned serious. “No problem—leave it to me. But you need to tell me: will whatever you’re planning put you in danger?”
Shi Deng smiled faintly. “That’s why I need to collect data first, then test it out.”
He really did want to see Shi-ge again.
***
The next day, every tome from both Tiangu and Yuan Guang concerning time, space, and life-death class abilities was delivered to Shi Deng’s location.
Chi Yu even made a special trip to personally demonstrate his spatial ability for Shi Deng.
Over the following three months, Shi Deng practically lived in his room.
Daylight poured through the window, illuminating the youth’s hunched figure at his desk. He shifted slightly, never having imagined that after crippling his hands, he’d face such an enormous workload. Even with his abilities supporting him, gripping a pen to draw diagrams brought searing pain.
On the desk lay a sheet of paper woven with Yellow Springs reed leaves.
The paper had a slightly yellowed tint. A diagram covered its surface.
An extraordinarily complex ability reversal formation sprawled across the paper, involving virtually every known ability class.
Shi Deng handed this diagram to Chi Yu.
“Don’t rush to gather people yet. Let’s see if tomorrow’s test succeeds first. Ever since I lost control of Yellow Springs, I haven’t been able to reverse time the way I used to. If this attempt successfully harnesses Yellow Springs’ power, then you can assemble the formation team.”
Chi Yu wanted to smoke, but looking at the alarmingly gaunt youth before him, he dismissed the thought.
In the first timeline without retrogrades, he’d been Shi Deng’s instructor, watching the four of them in the elite team grow up. In the third timeline, he and Shi-ge had become colleagues and comrades-in-arms.
The bonds between these people and Shi Deng felt like destiny itself.
Chi Yu said firmly, “Don’t worry. That guy told me out of nowhere to look after you properly. I’ll watch over you carefully.”
Chi Yu’s face was stubbled and unshaven, but his expression was absolutely serious. “I’m a lone wolf—no wife, no kids. If you don’t mind, you can call me uncle.”
“Shi-ge was a friend, a brother. But you—to me, you’re more than just a student.” His voice was firm. “When we destroy Yuan this time, I’m following the whole way through. I don’t want to forget again.”
Forget his friend and brother. Forget this child who’d shouldered far too much.
“…Uncle Chi.”
Shi Deng lowered his eyes. “I’m entrusting the ability conversion formation to you.”
Chi Yu’s response was resolute. “Don’t worry.”
***
The next day.
Shenhu City.
Shi Deng consumed an excessive dosage of medication, ensuring he wouldn’t have an episode. Only after that did he allow himself to spend some time close to Xiao Deng. Then, accompanied by Uncle Fu, Yuan Ting, Chi Yu, and several other ability users, he departed.
Together, they arrived before Yellow Springs.
The blood river still stretched across the vast ocean surface. The mass of black qi atop it had grown progressively stronger. Even with time chains binding it, Yuan’s poisonous curses could be heard constantly.
The moment it sensed Shi Deng approaching, the mass swelled violently. “YOU—! You dare come here?!”
After clearly seeing Shi Deng’s current condition, Yuan paused, then burst into delighted, raucous laughter. “Shi Deng, oh Shi Deng! So THIS is what you’ve become? What happened—that lunatic who wanted to drag me to death disappeared, and now you can’t be happy either, can you?”
Xiao Deng’s expression turned sinister in a way no one could see.
Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.
Shi Deng glanced at Xiao Deng and pressed down on the child’s head. His tone was flat. “Behave.”
Xiao Deng made a low humming sound of discontent.
Shi Deng unsealed the two primary meridians he’d blocked. Abilities flowed through his meridians to his calves and wrists. Fine beads of cold sweat appeared at his temples as he gripped the wheelchair’s armrests and slowly, painstakingly rose to his feet.
When his feet made contact with the ground, the youth’s breathing became noticeably shallower—clearly, the pain was excruciating.
Shi Deng’s expression didn’t change. He even managed to walk forward two steps. Xiao Deng followed close behind, clutching the hem of his clothing, terrified of losing him.
“Uncle Chi, I’m counting on you.”
Chi Yu nodded.
The remaining ability users who’d come along spread out in orderly fashion.
This was an extremely simplified version of the complex diagram Shi Deng had given him earlier—requiring only twenty ability users to activate the formation.
However, it came with significant limitations.
Shi Deng pushed Xiao Deng away, handing him to Uncle Fu, then positioned himself at the formation’s center.
Yuan Ting channeled his ability into the formation array, his voice grave. “Shi Deng, be extremely careful!”
Shi Deng’s response was calm. “Don’t worry.”
His figure gradually blurred, and on both shores of Yellow Springs, a semi-transparent shadow appeared.
For the first time, Shi Deng set foot on Yellow Springs’ banks.
Yellow Springs existed in a state half-real, half-illusory. Previously, he’d only utilized it—never truly stepped onto its shores.
He surveyed his surroundings.
This place differed dramatically from ordinary riverbanks—impossibly clean. Aside from the growing reeds, not a single blade of grass or stray leaf could be seen.
Shadowy Two Worlds people sat or stood, quietly weaving straw hats. A few raised their heads slightly at Shi Deng’s arrival.
However, they had no faces. Their entire forms were wrapped in black misty veils, making it impossible to discern any emotions.
Shi Deng glanced around briefly, pressed his lips together, and lifted his foot to step into the river itself.
An invisible force struck him back. The Voice said: [The living may not enter the river of death.]
Yellow Springs blood river—the dead could enter, the near-dead could enter by chance or circumstance, but the living could not.
Those outside Yellow Springs also heard this solemn, majestic voice. Tension gripped them immediately, everyone fearing Shi Deng might never return.
Shi Deng wiped the blood trickling from his lips, his expression perfectly calm. “I’m going in anyway.”
The Voice responded: [Become a Two Worlds person, and you may enter.]
Shi Deng asked flatly, “How do I become a Two Worlds person?”
The Voice: [Forget your obsessions. Forget everything. Wait by Yellow Springs until a wandering soul passing through recognizes you. Only then may you remember.]
This requirement was utterly unreasonable.
Anyone who wanted to become a Two Worlds person—whether living or dead—invariably harbored obsessions. But once forgotten, what meaning would becoming a Two Worlds person even hold?
Two Worlds people were all faceless. How could a passing wandering soul possibly recognize them?
Xiao Deng stood outside, gently embracing Uncle Fu’s leg. “Little Uncle Fu, will Shi Deng abandon me?”
Uncle Fu’s voice was gentle. “He won’t.”
His aged eyes gazed toward the reeds lining Yellow Springs’ shores and the figure of the child he’d watched grow up. Silent heartbreak filled his chest.
Shi Deng indeed abandoned the option of becoming a Two Worlds person. “Are there other methods?”
The Voice: [Receive a reed straw hat voluntarily gifted by a Two Worlds person, and you may temporarily enter Yellow Springs.]
Zhi Ze spoke in a low voice, “Ancient texts record that Two Worlds people are extraordinarily attached to the reed hats they weave. There’s no precedent for them giving them away. The difficulty is astronomical.”
Shi Deng chose this method.
Chi Yu shook his head grimly. “That’s not all. Inside Yellow Springs, time is disordered. Some of these Two Worlds people we’re seeing have already vanished into the past. Others come from an unknowable future. Still others have only just appeared in Yellow Springs.”
Yellow Springs blood river—time without order. Or to put it another way: time in chaos.
Meaning that communicating with a Two Worlds person had less than a one-in-ten-thousand chance of receiving any response—and even then, the response would most likely be a refusal.
They watched as Shi Deng marked the spot where he’d been standing, then began approaching the Two Worlds people one by one to ask.
Time passed slowly, relentlessly.
Shi Deng bent over countless times to make his request. He was rebuffed again and again.
Eventually, even Uncle Fu—the most patient among them—couldn’t help wanting to urge Shi Deng to give up.
The youth seemed utterly exhausted. He sat casually by the shore, listening to the rustling sound of wind through reeds.
The Voice: [Will you give up?]
Shi Deng’s throat was parched. “I’m thirsty. Can I drink this Yellow Springs water?”
The Voice: […]
Shi Deng smiled faintly. Enduring the pain, he prepared to stand again when a half-finished straw hat was extended toward him.
Shi Deng froze, looking up at the Two Worlds person who’d appeared beside him at some unknown moment. “For me?”
The faceless Two Worlds person nodded.
Shi Deng asked, “Do you know me?”
The Two Worlds person shook their head.
Shi Deng realized he’d been foolish—Two Worlds people had no memories.
Seeing his hesitation, the Two Worlds person placed the straw hat on his head and then stood perfectly still, silently staring at him continuously—
Though they had no face.
Yet Shi Deng simply felt it was so.
He touched the hat on his head and stood up from the ground. “I need to see someone very important. Thank you for helping me. Even though I don’t know you, I’ll remember you.”
The Two Worlds person stood quietly.
Shi Deng leaped into Yellow Springs. Black misty veils gradually began appearing around his body.
He glanced back toward the blood river’s shore, but the Two Worlds person was already gone.
The youth steadied himself. With Yellow Springs’ assistance, his abilities surged. “Time reversal.”
His figure vanished within the blood river.
To those watching from outside, Yellow Springs itself transformed. A somewhat familiar house appeared above it—precisely the location where Shi Deng’s time reversal manifested.
Everyone’s spirits lifted, never having imagined Yellow Springs could project what occurred during Shi Deng’s time reversals.
Immediately, they focused their complete attention and watched intently.
***
This was a flower shop.
When Shi Deng opened his eyes, he’d already confirmed where he was.
He stood behind the beaded curtain of the flower shop. The straw hat he’d brought from Yellow Springs had transformed into a normal flower farmer’s hat, though his entire body remained shrouded beneath black misty veils, as if wrapped in an all-encompassing cloak.
Glancing at a nearby mirror, the face was still his own, though somewhat blurred—perhaps due to Yellow Springs’ straw hat.
Immediately afterward, he discovered his feet wouldn’t move.
Shi Deng frowned, attempting to speak, only to find his words partially restricted as well.
…Yellow Springs.
Irritation inevitably rose in his heart.
The simplified formation simply didn’t possess enough powerful energy to free him from Yellow Springs’ shackles. If this were the complete formation, Yellow Springs could only watch helplessly.
While his thoughts churned restlessly, the flower shop’s wind chimes rang softly.
A familiar voice reached Shi Deng’s ears—warm yet detached—
“Is anyone here? I’d like to buy flowers.”
Shi Deng froze completely.
He slowly lifted his head.
The young man in a hooded jacket who’d entered the flower shop only revealed his chin. His frame was tall and slender as he carefully selected flowers from the shop’s inventory.
Shi-ge.
Shi Deng thought he’d lost the ability to cry, yet his nose still tingled uncontrollably, his eyes gradually reddening. Unable to move, terrified the person would leave, he quickly covered by saying, “…Yeah, help yourself. I’m too lazy to get up.”
Finding this strange, the young man glanced his way several times.
But he said nothing, lowering his head to carefully select sunflowers.
Shi Deng watched Shi-ge wrap the sunflowers in paper, tie them with a bow, trim excess stems, and smile gently as the tip of his nose brushed the petals—as if thinking of something worth feeling happy and anticipatory about.
After the bouquet was complete, Shi Deng found it familiar.
…These were the flowers Shi-ge had given him on his birthday.
Shi Deng glanced at the date nearby.
Indeed, it was July 29th.
The young man asked, “How much?”
Shi Deng was still in a daze when he heard the young man continue, “Sorry, my phone’s dead. Can I pay by card?”
Shi Deng had so many things he wanted to say but couldn’t get them out. He wanted to say: Shi-ge, Xiao Deng and I miss you so much. I nearly killed Xiao Deng.
He wanted to say: I’m not doing well right now. Yuan’s been resurrected. It’s bullying me again.
But this time, you’re not here to protect me.
The youth’s throat felt stuffed with cotton, unbearably uncomfortable. In his daze, he remembered he still owed Shi-ge a bouquet of flowers he’d never given, and said:
“It’s yours. A gift.”
The young man responded, “For me?”
Shi Deng held back tears. “Yes. For you.”
His voice was controlled by invisible forces into sounding calm and casual. Only the silent tears that fell to the ground—disappearing instantly—betrayed him.
The sounds of wind chimes and beaded curtains swaying completely masked the sound of tears hitting the floor.
The young man said simply, “Thank you.”
He turned and left.
Shi Deng watched his retreating back the entire time. His heart felt suffocated and painful, yet the shadow he cast on the ground remained completely motionless. He couldn’t take a single step forward.
As if sensing something, after leaving the shop, Shi-ge turned back once.
The beaded curtains swayed. Shi Deng’s face was covered in tears. His lips moved soundlessly, struggling desperately to produce a voice.
Right now, he didn’t want to be mature or rational.
He wanted Shi-ge to come back and see him. He wanted an embrace that transcended time and space.
He watched as Shi-ge stood outside the flower shop holding the bouquet, seeming to hesitate. But then a breeze blew past, and the “Temporarily Closed” sign fell into place leisurely.
The clock tower’s hands were approaching six o’clock.
Shi Deng watched him make his decision.
The young man’s back vanished around the alley’s corner. Gone.
Shi Deng knew—right now, Shi-ge was going to attend his birthday fireworks display. Shi-ge never broke his word. That fireworks display hadn’t been late either.
Yet right now, he selfishly, unreasonably wished with all his heart that Shi-ge HAD been late to that fireworks display.
***
**
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152