1 Death

BAAANG!! BOOOOMMM!!

The noise of explosions rang in the air as numerous fighter jets burnt to a crisp. The place was completely covered in smoke and the fire made it look an erupting warzone. 

An extremely wounded man sank deep into the ocean. His consciousness blurry and his heartbeat was ceasing quickly. 

"So... this is how it ends....?" the man thought, the light disappearing from his eyes "Betrayed by my own comrade....Heh...how worthless..." His heart stopped beating, darkness completely covered his vision and needless to say, he passed away. 

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"Little Che, wake up! You need to get out of bed now!"

A girlish voice laced with urgency rang in his ears. Who?

"Mm… it's still so early. Just let me sleep in a little longer."

In response to the girlish voice, a lazy male voice rang out. Soon enough the dead man's vision cleared and he was witnessing a rather odd scene.

It was in a room that looked like it was from the medieval era. A pale, lean boy who looked like a pretty doll was sleeping on a comfy bed while a young girl who looked incredibly beautiful tried to wake him up. The man had no clue about what he was seeing.

"Little Che, wake up! Today's the day you're getting married to Miss Situ, and it's almost time already! Quickly!"

The girl's voice rang in his mind again and his gears started to spin...

Miss Situ? Little Che? His eyes turned sharp and started paying close attention to the ongoing conversation. And it seemed like they couldn't see him.

Upon hearing the words "Miss Situ", the boy woke up as if someone had spilled cold water with his eyes wide open. He completely forgot that today was his wedding, it seemed. 

"Little Che, I made this porridge for you. You have a weak constitution, and it's going to be a long morning, so… you should finish everything."

And the boy started scarfing the porridge down for obvious reasons. It would be unsightly to be late to one's own wedding after all.

"Phew, I'm done… I wonder if I can still eat your meals after I get married, Little Aunt."

The man's eyes widened in realization. The names Miss Situ, Little Che and Little Aunt echoed heavily inside his mind as he recognized the scene in front of him. This was Yun Che's, or Xiao Che's in this case, wedding day in his first life! Xia Qingyue didn't exist before his third life after all.

"Heehe, don't forget that the governor's daughter is marrying into your family, not the other way around. If you want, I can prepare your meals every day just like before."

"Of course not! Didn't I promise you yesterday that I'd never forget about you even after I marry Situ Xuan? We'll spend just as much time with each other as we used to, and I'll always be there whenever you call for me!"

"Good boy! Still… you've really become a big boy, haven't you Little Che?"

Just then, a tall, muscular but an incredibly looking young man entered the room...He was very handsome. His eyes were sharp and carried great vigor.

"Big brother! Big brother!! I'm here… wow, your wedding clothes are pretty impressive… So er... how does it feel to get married? Why do I feel like you're not very excited?" 

The tall boy's voice rang loudly in the room as "Little Aunt" and Xiao Che were startled by his presence.

"To be honest, I am not excited. It was something my parents decided before I was born, and I've only met Situ Xuan a couple of times. I don't even quite remember how she looks, which is why I barely care about the wedding at all… you on the other hand, are unusually excited given the time of the day. It's not just because of my wedding, is it?"

Xiao Che replied plainly with a smile after recovering from his surprise and counter questioned.

"Hehe… I do have some good news to share. The day before yesterday, my father invited a friend of his—a teacher from New Moon Profound Palace—over to his house. He was hoping to ask for a favor and drop me into New Moon Profound Palace. But after his friend saw me, he said that someone of my talent should just join Blue Wind Profound Palace directly!"

The tall boy started off sheepishly but his voice grew a tone higher with excitement.

"Oh! That's amazing! That's something the entire Floating Cloud City should celebrate!"

"Hehehe! I was so excited I haven't slept for the past two days. When I join Blue Wind Profound Palace and become even stronger than before, I'm sure no one will ever dare to bully you again!" 

Xiao Che was a cripple stuck at the 1st level of the Elementary Profound Realm so bullying was all too common for him.

"Your entrance to Blue Wind Profound Palace is what we really should celebrate. I bet the entire city will rejoice on the day you… officially enter… Blue Wind... Profound... Palace…" 

Xiao Che's voice fell down as he was speaking and immediately passed out.

Little Aunt or Xiao Lingxi yelped in surprise and so did the tall boy or Xia Yuanba and Lingxi immediately ran out to call for her father, Xiao Lie.

In the scene, Xiao Che was lying lifelessly on his bed in his wedding clothes. His eyes were open, but glassy and utterly colorless.

Beside him, Xiao Lie was pressing his hands against his heart and doing everything in his power to drive out the poison inside his body. His grandfather's lips were blue, and his face a deathly pale complexion. He was trying his best to remain calm, but the pain gathered in his eyes was enough to make anyone avert theirs.

Xia Yuanba broke into a run toward the exit while roaring that Profound Palace mentor's name again and again. Xiao Lingxi was kneeling on the ground, clutching his cooling palms in a death grip and crying her heart out.

Light suddenly dimmed at this moment.

The scenes faded into black the voices faded into black, everything faded into blackness until all that was left was a girl's despairing figure and sobs.

"To think that sorrow really can shatter one's soul… is this the power of a human's emotions?"

The crying girl slowly looked up in a daze. "Who… are you?"

"I am another you, and you are another me… you sensed me the moment I appeared, didn't you?"

"... save Little Che." At first, her murmur was soft as the wind. Then, as the scattered lights in her eyes narrowed into a beam of hope, she pleaded louder and hastier like a drowning person who found a straw to cling onto. "Save Little Che! Save Little Che!!"

This was the scene where Xiao Lingxi had forcefully altered Xiao Che's fate and literally made him the luckiest man alive.