Parting is a weight so heavy.
Like a boulder.
Like a mountain.
It presses on the heart, making it hard to breathe.
Only when parting truly arrives do people realize that all the rehearsals they prepared in advance are as light as a feather, barely ten percent of the actual burden.
Krisha had prepared herself for scolding.
As an object, she had openly defied her master's decision.
This was something absolutely unforgivable.
The moment the words left her mouth, the witch's heart sank into regret and self-blame, yet even so, she still had to reject Xu Xi's request.
As if by refusing his instructions, she could also refuse the parting.
Make Xu Xi stay.
Keep the warm sun from fading away.
"Please…" The delicate face, gently caressed by a withered hand, trembled as she spoke, "Don't say anymore. I won't accept it."
The witch's refusal took Xu Xi by surprise.
His expression shifted—first shock, then confusion, and finally a gentle, relieved smile. There was no scolding, as Krisha had feared.
"Hahaha… ahahaha…"
"Hack… cough!"
Xu Xi laughed.
He seemed to be in good spirits, but his frail body betrayed him. His laughter turned into violent coughing, harsh and urgent.
His aged face twisted in pain.
"Master!"
Krisha quickly cast a life-restoring spell to ease Xu Xi's suffering.
Every shallow breath, every flicker of pain, became an invisible blade piercing her heart, making her tremble uncontrollably.
What could she do? How could she save him?
Krisha didn't know. All she could do was desperately cast the highest-level life magic, over and over, to make Xu Xi's body feel just a little better.
Soon, Xu Xi's coughing subsided.
"I'm fine, Krisha. I'm just… too happy."
Xu Xi's eyelids grew heavier.
His tired eyes half-open, he gently took the witch's hand and shook his head, signaling her to stop casting. His gaze met her hollow, lifeless eyes.
"For the first time… this is the first time you've opposed me."
"Krisha, it's wonderful… you've gained your own thoughts…"
An object has no will of its own, nor does it express opposition. When a witch learns to oppose, it means she has regained her sense of self.
The witch had truly become—
A **person**.
Xu Xi's eyes were clouded and unfocused. He could barely see the world before him. Sleepiness surged, threatening to steal the last glimmer of clarity from his gaze.
"Krisha…"
On the bed, the dying old man softly declared, "You've graduated."
The world fell silent.
So silent that Krisha couldn't comprehend it.
So silent that fear welled up in her heart, dreading the cruelty that was about to come.
"But… compared to you, I'm still far behind…" Krisha's voice trembled. Her face remained expressionless, but the suppressed sorrow seemed to break free from her body, echoing in the air.
"There's still so much… so much I need to learn from you."
"Without you, I can do nothing."
Krisha's voice grew hoarse, the immense grief burning her throat like fire.
She didn't understand.
She couldn't comprehend.
She was Xu Xi's possession, a witch despised by the world, a worthless thing that could be discarded at will—lowly, ugly, and insignificant. She was a shadow that would lose its meaning without the light.
Thus, Krisha couldn't accept Xu Xi's acknowledgment of her "graduation."
It meant she would have to leave his side.
Clumsily, she listed her flaws and shortcomings, over and over, amplifying them to prove she wasn't ready to graduate.
"…"
Xu Xi didn't interrupt her. He simply gazed at her tenderly, his bony hand reaching out once more.
He placed it gently on Krisha's head.
Giving her one last touch of warmth.
Gradually,
Krisha stopped speaking, no longer reciting the lies she told herself.
The room was quiet. Outside the window, the world was bright.
But Krisha's heart was torn apart.
True despair isn't a sudden disaster—it's knowing the disaster is coming and being powerless to stop it.
This torment of helplessness, this despair of watching the end approach, drained the mystery and brilliance from Krisha's black-and-gold eyes, leaving only hollow sorrow.
"Please… don't leave me."
"Or… let me go with you."
Krisha choked back a sob, finally voicing the words she had buried deep in her heart. Her tone carried no weeping, yet it was filled with desolate sadness.
Like a candle on the verge of extinguishing.
Like a bird with clipped wings.
She pleaded helplessly with Xu Xi.
Krisha had already prepared herself to die alongside him.
Nothing mattered anymore—not the world, not godhood. In the loneliness of her heart, nothing weighed as much as Xu Xi.
Just as Xu Xi had saved her and given her everything,
Krisha was willing to abandon everything to accompany him in silent death.
No reason was needed.
No hesitation.
She was willing, with all her heart.
In response, Xu Xi's hand grew weaker on her head, and his voice became as faint as a wisp of air.
"Krisha, you know I won't allow that."
On the bed,
Xu Xi's breathing grew fainter. Each breath seemed like a final struggle, a fight against the pain and suffocation as his body slowly lost sensation.
He gave Krisha one last smile.
His aged, weathered face, bathed in sunlight, faintly revealed traces of his younger self.
"Please live well, Krisha."
"This is my request."
"Don't grieve over my departure. This isn't goodbye—just a long separation."
"One day, we'll meet again."
His weak hand could no longer caress her hair. It lost all strength and rested motionless on her head.
The spark of life was about to fade.
The shadow of death closed in.
Xu Xi spoke his final words to Krisha: "It's a pity… I never got to see you truly smile."
Suddenly,
Xu Xi paused, his pupils dilating slightly. A sudden shock seemed to delay death for a moment.
"Master…"
"Look…"
"This is… my smile…"
Under the golden afternoon sun, her gray hair cascading like a waterfall, Krisha sat quietly by the bed. Trembling, she raised her hands.
All fingers curled except the index fingers.
Two index fingers,
hooked at the corners of her mouth,
gently pulling, creating the shape of a smile.
The smile was stiff, and tears streamed down from her already brimming eyes, silently soaking her hands.
It was less a smile and more a silent cry.
"Such a beautiful smile…"
Xu Xi whispered softly.
In the quiet breeze, his breathing ceased. His tired eyes closed.
This time, he would never wake again.
[You have died.]
[Simulation ended.]
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
