Chapter 4

After Wu Xie stepped through the door, a dazzling light flashed, so bright that it made it impossible to keep his eyes open.

Then, he heard the matchstick figure behind him say, “Is this enough?” Countless dense voices responded in unison, “It is enough.”

So, the new type of zongzi could speak so fluently now. That was Wu Xie’s last thought before he lost consciousness.

As Wu Xie collapsed, his body slowly began to heal, his appearance growing younger, until he vanished completely.

Deep underground, a young man seemed to sense something. His eyes snapped open as he clutched his chest.

He… felt pain. And then, he realized that his power was fading.

“Wu Xie!”

Outside, Fatty suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed, unconscious. His body gradually became translucent.

The matchstick figure dissolved into countless points of light that scattered in all directions, leaving behind a faint sense of longing.

These lights were formed from the thoughts of netizens. Now that their task was complete, they too began to fade, except for one tiny light that continued to follow Wu Xie.

—-

When Wu Xie regained consciousness, he was walking through a desert.

So hot. So tired.

Opening his eyes, he saw Zhang Qiling walking ahead, Fatty following behind, and himself in the middle. They were traveling through the vast desert.

“What’s going on? Is this what’s behind the Bronze Gate? Did it create two people to keep me company?”

Fatty, unable to hear Wu Xie’s mumbling, called out from behind, “Tianzhen, what are you muttering about?”

“Fatty, you can talk!?”

The people behind the door could still talk? But why did he still feel so exhausted?

Hearing this, Fatty quickly ran up. “Tianzhen, did the heat fry your brain?”

Wu Xie patted Fatty’s face. It was soft. Damn, it felt so real.

He then rushed to the front and pinched Zhang Qiling’s cheek—smooth and tender. Definitely not the skin of a hundred-year-old man.

Looking at the seemingly clueless Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie thought that maybe these people were just figments of his imagination, like in a dream.

In that case, wouldn’t this mean that the things he never dared to do before were now… possible? Hehehe.

“Smooch.”

Fatty, witnessing Wu Xie’s actions, widened his eyes in shock.

His chubby little hands covered his mouth as he stared at Wu Xie in disbelief.

“Tianzhen, Tianzhen, let’s get out of here first—this isn’t the place for that!”

“Bang—”

“Tianzhen!”

Fatty quickly ran over and patted Wu Xie’s face. His skin was burning. It really seemed like he had gotten heatstroke.

“Don’t worry, Fat Master here will carry you out.”

Eventually, the group was rescued by Ding Zhuang Zhuoma and taken to a house to rest.

—-

When Wu Xie woke up again, he felt weak all over. But there was no pain, no itching—just a bit of dehydration.

What was going on? He had just been in the desert, and now he was indoors? Looking to the side, he saw Zhang Qiling lying nearby. Wu Xie reached out and touched him—warm?

The illusions behind the Bronze Gate were way too powerful!

“Little Tianzhen, you’re awake. Don’t worry, Little Brother is fine.”

Wu Xie saw Fatty grinning slyly at him. Hmm, this definitely had to be his imagination—otherwise, there was no way Fatty could look so real.

Ignoring Fatty, Wu Xie looked around. Where was this place?

“Little Tianzhen, we were rescued by Ding Zhuang Zhuoma. Panzi is here too. Once you and Little Brother recover, we’ll head back…”

Hearing the name Ding Zhuang Zhuoma, Wu Xie froze for a moment.

Wait—was this the Western Queen Mother’s Palace? Panzi!?

“Hey, Tianzhen, why are you running?”

Outside the house, everything felt so familiar.

A bold, carefree man was chatting and laughing with someone nearby. That face—Wu Xie would never forget it in this lifetime.

“Panzi…”