Chapter 1453: One Life

The child’s eyes widened in despair.

However, at that moment, a pair of hands reached over and grabbed his hands, pulling him back to the top of the mountain.

The mountain peak was sharp, preventing the two children from standing alongside each other. However, they grabbed each other with both arms and lodged themselves on the mountain peak, temporarily saving themselves from the clutches of death.

“Why… Why did you save me?” The rescued child looked at the opposite boy’s chubby face in puzzlement.

“You are my opponent, but not my enemy.” As the boy spoke, he glanced in the middle-aged man’s direction and said, “He’s the enemy. If someone is to be killed, it’s him.”

The middle-aged man smiled when he heard that. “You’re right. In theory, I’m your enemy, but not only do you not have the ability to kill me, but your fate remains in my hands. If I want you dead, you will be dead. If I want you alive, you can remain alive. Only by killing the other can you have a chance to live.”

“You may be right, but I won’t do as you wish.” As the boy spoke, he suddenly pulled the other child with all his might, allowing him to lie over the mountaintop. He released his grip and turned to jump down the cliff.

“Even if I die, it’s done on my own terms. It’s not something others can control.” The boy spread out his arms and fell down the mountain.

The child at the top of the mountain was first taken aback, but without any hesitation, he leaped up without a word and jumped in the direction of the boy’s plummet.

The middle-aged man was slightly surprised when he saw the two children throw themselves off the cliff.

Just as the two children were about to fall to the bottom of the valley, their bodies stopped the moment they reached the ground.

Their faces were almost touching the rocks on the ground, but they ultimately didn’t.

The middle-aged man released his grip and the two of them landed on the rocks.

“You may not want to be controlled by me, but I insist on controlling your fate. Our game has just begun.” The middle-aged man glanced at the child who had thrown himself off first and said, “Don’t think that you can easily survive with those tricks. I can give you a chance to live, but whether you can walk out of here alive depends on the two of you. If you can exit here alive, we still have a chance to continue this game in the future.”

With that said, the middle-aged man turned around and vanished into the forest, leaving the two children in the middle of the forest.

“Are you stupid? Why did you jump down?” the boy asked the child.

“From now on, I, Uncrying Li, share the same life as you, An Tianzuo,” the child said seriously.

“In that case, what’s yours is mine?” An Tianzuo said as he looked at Uncrying Li.

“Yes.” Uncrying Li nodded.

“Since it is all mine, can I change your name? I don’t like the name Uncrying. I’ve disliked it for a while,” An Tianzuo said.

“Why?” Uncrying Li was somewhat stunned.

“Uncrying gives me sad vibes. I don’t like it. Let’s do it this way. Instead of not crying, why not laugh. Just call yourself Laughing Li. In the future, when there’s no one else, I’ll call you Laughing Li,” An Tianzuo said with a smile.

Uncrying Li raised his eyebrows and said spitefully, “I don’t like your name either. I’ll call you Tianyou from now on.”

“Tianyou as in being protected by the heavens? That’s nice. I hope the heavens can really protect us,” An Tianzuo said as he got up from the rubble and looked at the distant forest.

Four days later, someone discovered the two dying children on a mountain trail. They were covered in injuries and were being gnawed by dogs. They were almost unrecognizable.

One of the children protected the other child tightly. His entire back was mangled from the bites. He didn’t budge even when he fainted.

“Live on. Only by living on will we have a chance to make the enemy pay the price.” The person who saved them heard one of the children sleep-talking through gritted teeth.

…

I have to swim over! Xiao swam forward with all his might. He didn’t have any other thoughts. All he knew was that he had to swim over to the other side.

He gradually approached Paramita that seemed to be enveloped by fog and impossible to approach.

Holy God watched Xiao’s figure disappear into the fog of Paramita and muttered to himself, “He really crossed the lake. There’s finally hope of bringing him back.”

Xiao crawled ashore and knelt in a flowerbed like a sea—an endless sea of flowers—panting heavily.

The spots where his body touched the flowers rapidly recovered. His originally exhausted body instantly returned to its optimal state.

Xiao felt that his body was filled with vitality as though he had been reborn. He stopped panting and sized up the flowers with a strange expression.

Only then did he discover something strange. The flowers here had no stem or leaves. They grew on the ground and covered the entire land. They stretched as far as the eye could see, and there were only flowers.

Xiao walked above the sea of flowers and had a strange feeling. It was as though his nerves were connected to the flowers. When he stepped on the flowers, he could actually feel the pain of the flowers being stepped on.

This feeling was very strange. It felt like he was one with the world, one with nature.

Perhaps this strange power had taken effect. Xiao seemed to sense something and walked in a specific direction.

After walking for a short distance, he saw a shackled old man lying in the flowers.

The elder’s hair and beard were completely white. His body was restrained by shackles. From the material of the shackles, one could tell that they were made of Holy Metal.

The elder looked like he was about to die. His body that was covered by the foliage of the sea of flowers grew many flowers. He looked like he was about to become a part of the land.

This scene was extremely strange. Even the knowledgeable Xiao was alarmed.

A living person had flowers parasitizing him. What kind of terrifying experience was that?

“Who are you?” The elder didn’t say a word or make any sound—he couldn’t even open his eyes. However, Xiao sensed his words.

Just like Xiao could sense the emotions of the flowers, he could also sense the information transmitted by the elder’s brain through the flowers.

“Sir, I’m Laughing Li. You are indeed here.” Xiao squatted down and brushed away the hair and flowers on the elder’s face. After carefully identifying him, he was immediately overjoyed.

overjoyed.

“Laughing[1. Note that Laughing in Chinese is also Xiao, but with a different intonation.]”Laughing…” The elder reached out with great effort to touch Xiao’s cheek. Flowers had already grown on his arm, making it rather difficult for him to move.

Xiao hurriedly grabbed his hand and placed it on his face. He continued, “Sir, Tianyou got me to find you. Don’t worry, we will definitely save you.”

“Laughing… It’s really you…” The elder was immediately overjoyed when he heard Xiao say the word “Tianyou.” This was because there was only one person who would call An Tianzuo that. The elder struggled to get up, but most of his body seemed paralyzed. He couldn’t stand up.

Xiao wanted to help the elder up, but the elder said, “It’s too late. I’m already at the end of my rope. If it wasn’t for that thing, I would have long died. Laughing, there’s something you have to help me take to Tianzuo. No matter what, you have to personally hand it to him.”

[1] Note that Laughing in Chinese is also Xiao, but with a different intonation.