GRMFBS CH261

The air conditioner droned steadily, its night-mode breeze brushing against Zhan Yan’s face, leaving it entirely chilled.

He felt as though he were submerged in water, separated from the entire world by a foggy membrane. Out of sheer instinct, he reached out to grasp the warm body in front of him, gasping for air near-convulsively.

“……Yanyan? Yanyan?”

The darkness before his eyes was abruptly pierced by a sudden light, and someone’s voice pulled him up to the water’s surface.

He had sat up at some unknown point. Behind him, he was leaning against half of Gu Jiancheng’s shoulder and chest, while his hands were tightly gripping Gu Jiancheng’s arm, his fingers digging deep into the relaxed muscles.

With trembling fingers, Zhan Yan released his grip, only for his hand to be caught and held securely.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. It was all just a dream, you’re fine now that you’re awake,” Gu Jiancheng comforted him in a soft voice right next to his ear.

Only when Zhan Yan felt Gu Jiancheng’s hand wiping his face did he realize he was completely drenched in tears.

The silhouette in his dream had remained incredibly calm throughout, acting composed as if listening to a story that had absolutely nothing to do with him. Yet Zhan Yan had heard everything, and he knew exactly how much agony lay buried beneath that tranquil surface of the sea.

The tide had crested and poured over him, leaving him completely drenched.

“Xiao Gu,” Zhan Yan threw his arms around him.

The emotions that didn’t belong to him had already receded, but a sharp, lingering ache still throbbed in his chest. He had only known back then that Deep Shadow was the one who pointed out the location of the core of the Infinite, but he had never known that Xiao Gu had found it in this exact manner…

“I’m here,” Gu Jiancheng said in a low tone. “I’m here, it’s alright.”

“Xiao Gu,” Zhan Yan’s voice was incredibly hoarse. “I want you to stay with me.”

I want to stay by your side forever.

……

The following morning, Xingxing—who had slept soundly all night—crawled out of bed and let out a long, extended stretch.

He stretched his front paws, then his hind paws. Right in the middle of it, the content little kitten’s face suddenly froze, his eyes widening into round circles as his posture locked up entirely.

This wasn’t right. Hadn’t he gone to sleep on the bed last night? Why on earth was he currently resting on the sofa in the small living room of the suite?

Xingxing leaped down from the sofa, scurried over to the bedroom door, and began batting at it frantically.

A few minutes later, Gu Jiancheng opened the door, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, his hair a thoroughly tangled mess.

Xingxing stared blankly up at him.

Ah… did I scratch him when I was throwing a tantrum yesterday?

Gu Jiancheng fished out some meat jerky and water, pouring them into the feeding bowls before gently rubbing Xingxing’s head.

“Shh, go play by yourself first. We’re going to sleep a bit longer.”

His voice was somewhat deep, laced with a subtle trace of profound contentment. After feeding the cat, he stepped back into the bedroom in his slippers.

Zhan Yan lay lazily on the bed, maintaining the exact same posture as before. He was already awake, but he simply couldn’t be bothered to move. At any rate, the hour for morning exercise had long since passed, so it didn’t matter if he lingered in bed a while longer.

Gu Jiancheng climbed back into bed, mumbling sleepily, “Xingxing is awake. I’ve already fed him. Sleep a bit more?”

Zhan Yan kept his eyes closed and remained silent, lazily leaning over to curl inward.

He couldn’t fall back asleep at this hour anyway. Activating the Gossip System, his gradually clearing mind began to organize the situation.

Last night, he had dreamed of Gu Jiancheng’s past memories—a continuation of that brief trigger from back when he encountered the Sansheng Stone level. The gossip tab indicated that he had triggered a fraction of Diting’s divine ability.

It was likely because he was currently piecing together the puzzle of the Diting Horn, while simultaneously coming into contact with the Little Cat Wan Yan. The Gossip System presumably held some underlying connection to Diting’s divine ability…

Yet it wasn’t as if he hadn’t interacted with other people while being in contact with the Little Cat Wan Yan before, but he had only ever managed to hear an inner voice when touching Gu Jiancheng. This residual ability only took effect between him and Xiao Gu because… Xiao Gu held absolutely no defenses against him.

The air conditioner kept the room pleasantly cool, and the early morning brought a quiet sense of peace. He truly just wanted to lounge like this indefinitely…

Xingxing finished his meal, wandered around the room on his own, and eventually marched over to the bedroom door. He tilted his head up and stared.

This handle here…

He jumped, hooked his paws over it, and pressed downward.

Kitty door-opening maneuver!

Swishing his tail, Xingxing sauntered inside, only to spot both individuals lying flat on the bed.

Bounce! He wanted in too, he wanted in too!

Right through the comforter, he landed with unerring accuracy squarely on Zhan Yan’s waist.

Zhan Yan let out a sharp yelp and shuddered: “Xingxing! You are already an eight-jin cat!”

An arm reached across, scooping Xingxing up right by his armpits. Before the kitten could even process what was happening, his position had been forcefully shifted.

Gu Jiancheng anxiously massaged his waist for him: “Are you alright?”

Zhan Yan took a moment to recover, then testily bit him.

“I’m hungry.”

Xingxing watched blankly as the man broke into a silly grin, pushed himself out of bed to get dressed, and headed downstairs to purchase breakfast. The kitten padded over the comforter to Zhan Yan’s side: “Meow-ao?”

Something is strange.

Zhan Yan rubbed the kitten’s head, his voice still a bit raspy: “Xingxing, go play on your own. I’m going to lie down a bit longer.”

He needed to check the status of the Dawn World, as well as how things were progressing between his older brother and the Little Cat Wan Yan.

Conducting a quick search, he found that Mr. Wan Shitong had already reported the recent changes in the Dawn World, and the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had established contact with the Wan Yao Alliance and Mount Chaofu.

The process of integrating the Reincarnation Cycle absolutely required someone to keep watch. As for the candidate for the Underworld… excellent, it was his brother.

The Little Cat Wan Yan couldn’t be relied upon, Ghost King Tie Lao had no time to spare, and Ghost King Ming He was permanently guarding the Reincarnation Cycle and could offer a hand at most. Consequently, the task still fell squarely on Ghost King Lin Yuan.

However, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureauhad managed to calculate an unexpectedly fitting candidate…

Gu Jiancheng headed downstairs to buy breakfast.

Porridge? Mm… it smells freshly simmered, not like that instant stuff. Excellent, this is the shop.

Pork and century egg porridge, eight-treasure porridge, millet porridge, fish porridge… a total paradox of choice. Taking a sniff, the ingredients for the pumpkin porridge and the fish porridge were the freshest—perfectly balancing sweet and savory, so he bought both.

Mmh, the pan-fried dumplings here look spectacular, buy them. The egg tarts at that shop just came out of the oven, buy them. This stir-fried seasonal vegetable looks incredibly fresh, buy it…

By the time Mr. Wan Shitong sent a message to his boss, Gu Jiancheng’s hands were so full he could barely carry another thing.

He shifted his bags around with some effort, pulling out his phone to check the message.

Ah, it was regarding the Dawn World. But why on earth would the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau think to seek his assistance in guarding the Dawn World? He couldn’t even enter that realm. Furthermore, based on the inherent connection to the world itself, shouldn’t they be looking for Rong Sui regardless?

Mr. Wan Shitong felt a bit guilty. This outcome had been calculated by the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau using supernatural divination methods; Deep Shadow was the absolute most fitting option. He strongly suspected it was a consequence of that “Deep Shadow” NPC he had created…

Mr. Wan Shitong explained: “Boss, there’s no need for you to enter the Dawn World. Mr. Reliable and I are keeping watch inside while playing the game. It seems the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau has also enlisted a highly powerful and incredibly mysterious fellow, though I have no clue who it is.”

“During the process of integrating the Reincarnation Cycle, the Dawn World will establish a direct connection with reality.”

“The Management Bureau should be reaching out to you very soon as well.”

This was his way of secretly giving a heads-up in advance.

Sure enough, the moment Mr. Wan Shitong finished his explanation, someone from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau pinged him. The communicator buzzed repeatedly, laying out the entire sequence of events clearly.

Gu Jiancheng’s gaze locked onto the personnel deployment section.

The Underworld portion was being guarded by Ghost King Lin Yuan, while he would be guarding the corridor link, which meant he would inevitably have some interaction with Ghost King Lin Yuan.

Ah… the opportunity has finally arrived.

Before he could locate Diting’s singular horn, he had to seize this chance to leave a thoroughly positive impression on Ghost King Lin Yuan.

So, the plan is to have Sister guard the inside of the Dawn World, Brother guard the Underworld, and Xiao Gu keep watch over the corridor link…

Zhan Yan seamlessly redirected the gossip tab over to his brother’s side.

There wouldn’t be any issue with Xiao Gu and Sister cooperating, but this time he also had to work alongside Brother. Brother had already figured out Xiao Gu’s secret identity, so Xiao Gu would definitely want to seize this chance to score some favorability points.

It wasn’t their first time cooperating, but given their previous mode of collaboration… well, Brother might harbor a slight psychological trauma from it.

It would be best to help Xiao Gu break the ice somehow. He needed to think of a plan… His “Approaching Science” account had crossed paths with Ghost King Lin Yuan a few times before. He had even sent messages to help Ghost King Lin Yuan evade the Little Cat Wan Yan on several occasions.

Could he find a way to whisper a few words of praise for Deep Shadow in front of Ghost King Lin Yuan?

Zhan Yan turned his body over, accidentally straining himself slightly. Baring his teeth in a wince, he hooked a pillow over to hug tightly. Xiao Gu’s stamina is truly terrifying.

He continued scrolling through his brother’s gossip tab. He wondered how the conversation between his brother and the Little Cat Wan Yan had gone…

Ah, Brother had taken the Little Cat Wan Yan straight back to the Underworld. Which made sense; even though the Little Cat Wan Yan had recovered the majority of his memories, his soul remained fractured. He was only keeping afloat due to the “curse” his brother had placed on him, leaving him in a thoroughly restless state. Brother naturally didn’t dare bring the Little Cat Wan Yan back home or to the cake shop.

The Underworld’s Forest of Distraction.

The moment Zhan Jinli loosened his grip, Wan Yan bolted straight up into a tree. Turning his back completely to him, the kitten neither acknowledged him nor attempted to flee, merely letting a length of his tail dangle downward, the tip twitching gently back and forth.

Zhan Jinli: “……”

Staring up at a cat’s tail from beneath a tree from this exact angle honestly triggered a mild case of PTSD within him. Yet seeing Wan Yan in this state made it clear that the feline had recalled a fair amount—at the very least, curing his bizarre, inexplicable obsession with fishing.

Wan Yan’s previous bite on his wrist had been entirely out of sheer petulance; otherwise, he never would have allowed himself to be brought here so submissively.

Zhan Jinli’s voice was deep: “Are you still planning to fish?”

The kitten’s tail went completely rigid. He felt a distinct twinge of guilt.

Zhan Jinli: “A cat going fishing?”

Wan Yan: “……”

“Meow!”

Zhan Jinli nodded: “Mm. A cat. Did you find that custom cat toy Tie Lao ordered for you amusing?”

Wan Yan instantly recalled that “Lin Yuan” doll that constantly switched between two modes.

“……Meow-ao-wu-ao-wu-meow!”

It wasn’t as if I requested that thing! I was thoroughly tormented by that contraption myself! That was explicitly Tie Lao’s fault, why on earth are you pinning it on my head?!

Crouching upon the tree branch, Wan Yan glared down at him, his whiskers twitching furiously with rage: “Meow-ao-ao-ao!”

You raised another cat! You even purchased cat toys for another cat!

Staring at the way his whiskers trembled, Zhan Jinli instinctively recalled the spatial projection Ming He had transmitted to him previously. The kitten had been feigning sleep, his whiskers on both sides meticulously braided into tiny plaits, all while keeping his eyes tightly shut as he pretended to snore.

Wan Yan continued yowling and spitting for a long interval before finally noticing that Zhan Jinli hadn’t uttered a single word, appearing exceptionally serene and composed throughout. The kitten let out two soft grumbles, crouching quietly in the tree without further speech.

The Little Cat Wan Yan began to space out. He couldn’t help but drift back to the memories within his dreams.

— “Lin Yuan, why do you always linger around Diting?”

— “Is something amiss?”

— “None of us dare approach you anymore. That divine ability of his…”

— “He is exceptionally good.”

Upon Lin Yuan’s return, he had laid eyes on a completely dazed Diting. Inner voices that Diting had no desire to perceive kept forcing their way into his ears relentlessly.

He would inevitably face rejection, wouldn’t he? Who wouldn’t harbor resentment toward an entity that constantly disrupted their normal existence?

— Did you hear it?

Lin Yuan’s freezing hand gently stroked the thick fur lining his neck.

— “Whomever I choose to stay with is entirely my own affair.”

“Come down. Let us converse.”

Out of pure instinct, Wan Yan climbed down from the branch.

Peering through the gossip tab, Zhan Yan watched as his brother managed to completely soothe and placate the Little Cat Wan Yan through their conversation. Wan Yan was permitted to seek him out, but he had to promise never to disrupt his family members who belonged to his ordinary human identity.

As expected of my brother! He managed to handle the Little Cat Wan Yan so quickly!

[Ghost King Lin Yuan, Zhan Jinli, questioned Wan Yan regarding his previous circumstances. Wan Yan recounted the events truthfully, explicitly stating that it was thanks to ‘Approaching Science’s’ assistance that he was able to successfully locate Zhan Jinli.]

!!!

Why on earth would you spill everything so freely, you silly kitten?!

How was he supposed to use the “Approaching Science” account to build up favorability points for Xiao Gu in front of Ghost King Lin Yuan now?!