"Ah Ling!" Lei Qing cried in panic. "What are you talking about?!" she asked when she saw her younger brother's shocked expression. However, Lei Ling's eyes are blank. "Ah Ling! Answer me!" she said.
"Jie… you… I'm still in the sect?" Lei Ling asked as he blinked. The Righteous Alliance, as well as Qi Ling, disappeared. "Jie…" he called.
"What was that about?" Sun Rong asked.
"Shijie… what happened to Lei-shixiong?" You Rou asked, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at Lei Ling.
"I don't know, it's too sudden…" Lei Qing shook her head. "Let's go ask shifu." She said.
"Yes." You Rou nodded as she helped Lei Qing help Lei Ling to walk since Lei Ling's head is still aching and he felt dizzy.
Sun Rong and Qie Shi watched with a sigh the Xinfaxian sect disciples left.
Yunxiao Inn, Zhongyang, Central Region.
"Founder!" Cheng Sheng cried as they safely arrived in the Yunxiao Inn.
They were unhindered with their walk because their group is still wearing the demonic cultivators' clothes. Jing Kang was hidden in the middle of them to obstruct the demonic cultivators' sight of him.
"Xiao Sheng! Xiao Yin! Xiao Tian! Xiao Mo!" Xie Lan exclaimed as he hugged his four disciples tight. Everyone cheered with their return. "You've all worked hard." He said as he patted them. "Young master Chen. Second young master Sun." he said when he saw Chen Han and Sun Yi. The smile on Xie Lan's face faded when he remembered what happened to the Youxiwang Sect.
Chen Han and Sun Yi just bowed and didn't speak.
"Zhe." Yu Sheng, who was overlooked by everyone, called someone who was also overlooked by everyone.
Zuo Zhe who was hiding in the corner jumped in fright and he looked away. "Yu Sheng." He lowered his head, not daring to look at Yu Sheng in the eyes.
Zuo Zhe secretly sighed in relief when he didn't hear Yu Sheng speak, but he also felt disappointed. I knew he'd be mad. He bitterly smiled. When he saw the familiar palace, it was just then some memories returned to him.
He remembered the Feng Hua Palace, and the Cave of Retribution hidden beneath it, with the Spring of Life inside. In the Spring of Life Hui Shen's power is coming from. It is where everything was born, including Hui Shen. However, among the gods, only Bai Shen, Hei Shen and Hui Shen were left.
Zuo Zhe knew his mistake. He shouldn't have written. However, he didn't expect for everything he wrote to become real. How can it become real? How did fiction become a reality? No one told him the answer, and so he continued to write. If transmigrating is the punishment, then he now regrets. He now repents. He doesn't want to stay in this world anymore and face Yu Sheng.
It was because he doesn't want to see Yu Sheng that he didn't follow them to Xinfaxian Sect. He felt ashamed to face Yu Sheng. He was the one who brought them their tragedy. Cheng Sheng died being skinned alive by Cheng Shu, and then beheaded after. Yu Sheng died by being pierced by thousands of arrows while sitting on top of his horse which continued to run until can't run anymore and died along with its master.
Zuo Zhe left and went back to their room in the Yunxiao Inn. But, Yu Sheng stayed along the first floor, giving Zuo Zhe some space. Even if he can't see Zuo Zhe, but he can feel him. Not only because of their life and death contract, but also because he loves him. And so, when Zuo Zhe closed the door and cried, Yu Sheng felt his heart was being torn apart. His eyes reddened, and his fists clenched.
Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin felt the fluctuation of qi and turned to Yu Sheng. They looked at each other before Fei Yin nodded at Cheng Sheng and occupied everyone's attention to him so Cheng Sheng could go to Yu Sheng.
"Ge." Cheng Sheng called.
Yu Sheng was startled by Cheng Sheng's address to him. He raised his head and smiled. "You finally acknowledge me as your elder brother?" he asked.
"Will you acknowledge how terrible your face right now, then?" Cheng Sheng asked back. Both of them stared at each other before Yu Sheng looked away.
"Zhe, he…" Yu Sheng said as his pupils trembled when he felt his heart aching again.
"Hey." Cheng Sheng called. "Can you listen to me? Zuo Zhe wrote two novels, one is mine and the other is Fei Yin's." he said and glanced at Fei Yin. "Both of us have experienced tragedies one after another. However, do you think you're too presumptuous?" he asked.
"What?"
"I don't know if Fei Yin is running out of time that time he talked to you, but did he not mention that Zuo Zhe wrote our story – " Cheng Sheng looked at Yu Sheng. " – which has an ending of us being lovers?" he asked.
Yu Sheng's eyes widened and he immediately shuddered in disgust. "Although we are gods, but that doesn't mean we should practice the incest act!" he said.
Cheng Sheng smiled. "That's why Fei Yin hates you, because you're my supposed lover." He told him. "Don't you get it yet?" he asked.
"What is?" Yu Sheng asked.
Cheng Sheng frowned as he looked at Yu Sheng like he hated the iron for not becoming steel. "Zuo Zhe don't know we are authentic brothers, so he wrote us ending up as lovers. If he's the one who wrote everything that happened to our life, why would he write our story with us becoming lovers when we're actually brothers?" he asked.
It took a while for Yu Sheng before he finally realized. "You mean – " his eyes brightened as his hope lit up.
Cheng Sheng nodded. "Yes." He said. "Zuo Zhe is just a writer. He may have created us, but every detail in our life, he didn't write. That's because what he wrote is only the surface of our life, the general plot of our life. But, each and ever secret of our birth, of our meetings, etc., he didn't." he explained.
"Then, where…" where did the secrets come from? Yu Sheng wanted to ask.
"I don't know." Cheng Sheng said. "I have a bugging question in my mind that I longed to ask." He said before turning to Fei Yin. "You can say it is a talent, however, how can the writers write another person's story?" he asked before he turned back to Yu Sheng who was stunned. "I say, their talent is only to write, to share another person's story, but that person's story is his own, and not by others." He shook his head and saw Yu Sheng's lips curled up into a smile. "Their talent is writing flowery words, being very detailed with their narration. However, what their 'gift' is 'creating' another person's story." He said.
"And this 'gift' is actually the true story of a real person. This 'gift' was given to the writers for them to share it with others." Yu Sheng finally realized the matter.
Cheng Sheng smiled.
"Zhe thought he was the one who created those tragedies for us when, in fact, it was just given to him in the form of 'ideas'." Yu Sheng rose from his seat.
Cheng Sheng patted Yu Sheng's shoulder. "Go." He told him and pushed him towards the stairs.
"Cheng Sheng." Yu Sheng called before he climbed up the stairs. "Thank you." He told him before finally climbing up the stairs to comfort Zuo Zhe.
Cheng Sheng didn't answer and just smiled. He doesn't believe someone as soft-hearted as Zuo Zhe would be cruel to give them a tragic life. Thus, he thinks someone gave their story to Zuo Zhe for Zuo Zhe to write as a form of entertainment. The writer thought what he is writing is just a form of entertainment, but when reality strikes him, for one example is Zuo Zhe, transmigrating into the story you've written… it's such a cruelty is you've transmigrated to the worst story.
Cheng Sheng had such a horrible thought. If the objective is to make these writers feel horrible, regret and despair that they had written such tragic stories… he shook his head. But, if it is true, then, why?
Another question is, who 'told' their story to Zuo Zhe? Who gave these ideas to the writers? His eyes roamed around the surroundings and then met Fei Yin's gaze. He saw the worry in Fei Yin's smile and he gave him a reassuring smile before he joined them.
A man with a conical hat and wearing a beggar's clothes watched Cheng Sheng walked towards Fei Yin. "He's really smart." He said as he stared at Cheng Sheng. "The Devourer didn't choose wrong when he chose him to eat his soul. Cheng Sheng is very, very exceptional. The tragedies in his life just made his soul be more beautiful." He sighed in admiration. Then, he disappeared from the roof.