Do you really think you can get me with just a banana?

The wind suddenly blew outside.

A crack gradually appeared in the gray sky, and the strong wind carried bean-sized snowflakes and smashed them down violently. The doors and windows were crackling in the wind, and the bare trees screamed miserably in the cold wind. The boundary between heaven and earth disappeared in the wind and snow again.

Inside the house, apart from the occasional crackling sound of insects hitting the burning candle, the only sound left was Guan Shanyu's steady yet slightly chaotic heartbeat.

"Plop, plop," again and again.

Time seemed to freeze, and the vastness outside the house made it difficult to tell the time. At this moment, a disciple seemed to wake up in the distance, and the faint sound of conversation could be heard. Guan Shanyu suddenly came to his senses, and his own voice seemed to not come from his mouth. He asked again, "What...did you say?"

Yan Ruchen stared at Guan Shanyu, his eyes as sharp as a torch, like a cheetah staring at its prey, staring at him intently, and replied: "You are the author of this world."

Guan Shanyu suddenly gasped, took two steps back, stumbled and fell to the ground, looking at him in disbelief. Seeing this, Yan Ruchen frowned and hurried forward to help him up, but Guan Shanyu was so scared that he shouted: "Don't come over!"

Yan Ruchen was halfway there when he was frozen in place by the sudden shout, his feet feeling as if they were filled with lead and unable to move. He looked at Guan Shanyu's eyes, which instantly turned red.

Guan Shanyu reached out his hand, pressed down his pounding heart, and tried to keep his voice calm as he asked, "When did you know?"

Yan Ruchen stared at him, his eyes reddened. After a moment of silence, he answered truthfully, "I knew it the first day you came here."

Hearing this, Guan Shanyu's breathing stagnated, his head felt numb, and his arms trembled slightly. Some things that he had been unable to figure out before, now seemed like a clogged sewer that suddenly cleared, and his thoughts flowed freely like water.

No wonder he knew how to use me, asking me for herbs at Wuzijian, letting me find the entrance at Wangshuiling, guiding me to contact Jinyu and Guyu, and putting the blame on the elders...

But that’s not right…because many other things require foresight.

Guan Shanyu was indeed the author, but the plot had already shifted, and many things were no longer under his control. Even though he knew he was the author, Yan Ruchen had no way of foreseeing many of the plans.

unless…

"You...you have awakened?" Guan Shanyu asked in disbelief with a hoarse voice.

Yan Ruchen walked over to Guan Shanyu and squatted down, looking him in the eye. Although his eyes were red, his voice was unusually calm. As usual, he did not answer directly, but simply said: "You said that as long as I know, I can do whatever I want, right?"

"Answer me!" Guan Shanyu glared at him fiercely and asked, "Have you been possessed, or have you awakened?"

Yan Ruchen's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his voice finally took on a husky tone: "Answer me first, are you willing to let me do whatever I want?"

Guan Shanyu suddenly laughed out loud, a little wantonly, his eyes reddened. He looked at Yan Ruchen and said, "You and I are not on the same level at all. Of course, you can do whatever you want to me."

This remark seemed to sting Yan Ruchen. His breathing paused slightly, and he avoided Guan Shanyu's fierce gaze and looked to the side. After taking several deep breaths to adjust, he slowly turned his head and reached out to pull Guan Shanyu, who was still sitting on the ground. He said in a hoarse voice, "Your heart meridian damage hasn't fully recovered yet. The ground is cold, and sitting like this will easily cause a relapse. Get up first and sit on the bed. I'll explain it slowly."

Guan Shanyu didn't take his hand, but waved it away. He ignored Yan Ruchen, who was still frozen on the ground, and stood up, walked to the bedside and sat down. He asked again, "So, did you take over another body, or did you awaken?"

Yan Ruchen was still half-crouched on the ground, his hands frozen in mid-air. He blinked a few times, his sore eyes clenched, took two deep breaths, and then slowly stood up. He walked slowly to Guan Shanyu, but didn't sit down, slightly dazed. After a moment's silence, he finally spoke: "I haven't been possessed, and I don't know what awakening is."

Guan Shanyu frowned and looked up at him. Yan Ruchen saw his somewhat unhappy expression and continued in a hoarse voice, "But, this is the eighth time I've experienced this."

"what?"

Guan Shanyu's expression suddenly changed, and he stood up in shock. Seeing Yan Ruchen fall silent again, just staring at him, he anxiously grabbed Yan Ruchen's arm and asked, "What do you mean? Speak clearly!"

Yan Ruchen's gaze fell on Guan Shanyu's tightly clasped hand. He gently raised his hand and shook it. His voice seemed to be tinged with frost as he whispered, "I've experienced this kind of life eight times."

"Abandoned since childhood, he was rescued by his foster mother under a large tree in Fengping Village. He witnessed the destruction of a brothel and ended up living on the streets. He was later chosen to join Tianxuan, but was framed and fell into the Endless Life during the Immortal Gate Trial. Every time he learned of his demonic bloodline, everything started all over again."

Guan Shanyu's face turned pale. He stood there in a daze, staring at him blankly, and repeated softly: "Eight times...you experienced eight times?"

Yan Ruchen smiled at him weakly and nodded: "Yeah."

No wonder.

No wonder he'd known how to sleep on asbestos pads in Xianyuan Village, how to curry favor with Chen Rongrong while climbing the mountain, and how to quickly win Si Hongyin's favor afterward. Even though they were the only two to enter Tianxuan, everyone knew Guan Shanyu had bullied Yan Ruchen. It turned out to be because... Yan Ruchen had already experienced this and knew how to play weak to gain the sympathy of Si Hongyin and Chen Rongrong.

No wonder everything was beyond Guan Shanyu's control, because there was another person who also knew the plot and was able to make arrangements in advance.

Guan Shanyu's hands and feet felt cold, as if a basin of cold water had been poured over him. He pulled his hand away from Yan Ruchen's with trembling hands and asked again, "Then you... do you know that you... you are..."

"I know." Yan Ruchen replied softly, "After the third experience, I realized that I was a character in a book."

"How did you know?" Guan Shanyu covered his chest and looked at him in disbelief.

Yan Ruchen turned and walked to the table, poured a cup of hot water, and handed it to him, motioning Guan Shanyu not to rush. Then he slowly said, "Once when I was begging for food, a large screen similar to a spiritual realm suddenly appeared in the sky. Several paragraphs of text flashed on it, and I saw my name and the chapter I was in."

Guan Shanyu's pupils dilated slightly, and he thought for a moment, recalling the multiple network fluctuations mentioned by the system before... Could it be that this was the bug that appeared unintentionally at that time?

Therefore, Yan Ruchen's repeated experience of eight lives is also one of the bugs.

He has experienced a life of living on the streets, being bullied, and competing with dogs for food eight times?

Guan Shanyu's lips trembled slightly, and he was speechless for a moment. Seeing this, Yan Ruchen spoke softly again, "I always thought I was a minor character in this book, a marginal person like a beggar or a refugee. But after meeting you, I realized that I am more powerful than a minor character."

Guan Shanyu's eyes widened, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Did you...see the system I carry with me?"

Yan Ruchen shook his head slightly and smiled at him: "Well, it's also because I saw you."

Guan Shanyu looked confused and repeated, "What do you mean, you saw me?"

Yan Ruchen lowered his eyes slightly, walked forward, took his hand again, and looked at him for a long time before slowly saying, "The first time I saw you, I recognized you. You are not the same Guan Shanyu. I have seen you seven times, but this time, when we came back from our odd jobs in Xianyuan Village, your appearance and temperament were completely different."

Guan Shanyu's brain was already unable to think straight at this moment, so he could only follow his lead and ask, "Why is it different..."

Yan Ruchen carefully examined Guan Shanyu's face, from his eyebrows to his lips, and said seriously, "You are better looking than the old one."

Guan Shanyu stared at him in horror, speechless.

Yan Ruchen lowered his eyes slightly, recalling the scene when he first met him that day, and said, "It was originally a very boring and meaningless day, but when I was going back, I suddenly saw a beautiful person in that shabby house. Her facial features were completely different from before."

"But except for me, no one else was surprised. Even Li Qi and the others weren't surprised to see someone completely different from yesterday. They were all surrounding you, and they all knew Guan Shanyu. I started to think, could it be that the protagonist of this world has finally arrived, and I can finally end this repetitive, meaningless life."

Guan Shanyu's Adam's apple rolled, but he couldn't say anything.

Yan Ruchen looked at his frightened and horrified face, smiled softly, and gently covered his face with his other hand, stroking his cheek carefully. He said softly, "But not long after, a screen rose in front of you, and it actually said that you were the author and I was the protagonist."

Guan Shanyu stood still and said dully, "So, you're unhappy?"

Yan Ruchen raised the corner of his mouth slightly, then shook his head: "Well, not happy."

Guan Shanyu took a deep breath and asked, "Just because you were unhappy, you... killed Si Xuanqing?"

Yan Ruchen's eyes paused for a moment, staring into Guan Shanyu's dark pupils for a long moment before he slowly nodded, "I suppose so."

Guan Shanyu was confused and didn't understand why "unhappy" could be a reason. He asked helplessly, "Just...just because of this? Because they know you're the protagonist?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruchen smiled at him and replied, "It's not because I'm the protagonist, because it's meaningless."

Guan Shanyu looked at him blankly. Yan Ruchen did not respond immediately. Instead, he put down the hand that was on Guan Shanyu's cheek, tightened the other hand that was holding Guan Shanyu slightly, and pulled him closer to him.

As soon as Guan Shanyu's face touched Yan Ruchen's chest, he felt Yan Ruchen's chin resting on the top of his head and gently hugging him.

Then, a low and slightly dull voice came from above: "In my previous seven lives, I tried my best to cultivate and treat others kindly, but they still disliked me and continued to bully me. On the day of the Immortal Gate Trial, they will still mercilessly beat me down to the Endless Life. The people who deceived me every time were those I helped in the past. Even if this person didn't trick me into losing my Endless Life this time, someone else would do it."

"Every time, I wanted to save my foster mothers, but my power was so limited. No matter how I planned, how I prepared, or how I looked for solutions, I couldn't stop them from being insulted, I couldn't stop the brothel from being destroyed, and I couldn't stop them from dying in the heavy snow."

"And the so-called supreme immortal sect requires a fee to enter. After finally getting in, I found that the elders and senior brothers favored disciples with deep roots. During my fourth experience of life, I completed three years of courses in just six months and even went down the mountain to subdue a demonic beast possessed by an evil spirit. However, the final credit was given to Xu Fengyu by Elder Si, simply because his father donated a pavilion to the Sutra Library."

"I was often bullied in Tianxuan, giving so much but receiving so little in return. But Elder Si told me that as long as I had a clear conscience, I didn't need to worry about material things. They made fun of my background, but Si Hongyin didn't care. She told me that I should just accept my life as it was."

Having said this, Yan Ruchen stopped and did not continue.

Guan Shanyu's eyes were moist. After a moment's silence, he continued softly, "So, you discovered that Si Hongyin was the little girl you knocked down when she was little, who went to the brothel to make trouble because she lost something, causing your adoptive mother to be humiliated. So... you killed her father and framed her for having an affair..."

Guan Shanyu deduced the connection between the little girl and Si Hongyin based on the unique pattern on her clothes in the illusion, and Yan Ruchen, who had gone through eight trials, should have been alert to this detail.

Yan Ruchen leaned against Guan Shanyu's head, gently closed his eyes, and whispered, "They deserved it. They claim to be an upright sect, but in fact they secretly caused the disappearance of disciples of the sect, causing countless families to be broken. I am only administering a small punishment on behalf of the victims."

Hearing this, Guan Shanyu suddenly stretched out his hand and pushed Yan Ruchen away. He looked at him with red eyes and said, "Then shouldn't you kill me? I am the author. All the suffering you have experienced was designed by me!"

Hearing this, Guan Shanyu exerted his strength and pushed Yan Ruchen away. He glared at him with red eyes and shouted, "Then why don't you kill me? I am the author. All the suffering you have experienced was designed by me!"

Yan Ruchen's back slammed against the wall, but he barely frowned. He just stared at Guan Shanyu for a long time, his eyes red as he spoke with difficulty: "I did, I killed you three times."