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

The sun gradually sank and dusk fell. The afterglow of the sunset parted the clouds, and the rays of light were clustered together, like balls of colorful cotton floating in the sky.

Yan Ruchen looked at him indifferently without saying anything.

Guan Shanyu also looked back at him quietly, holding a banana in his hand, which was suspended in the air without being put down.

The woman looked at Yan Ruchen and then at Guan Shanyu in confusion, then suddenly realized something and said coquettishly, "Oh, you two know each other, that's perfect, the three of us can go out and play together."

After hearing this, Guan Shanyu turned his gaze towards the woman. Yan Ruchen then moved slightly, but his voice was cold and hard as he said, "Do you really think you can handle me with just a banana?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Shanyu put down the banana and threw it into his backpack. He looked at Yan Ruchen with some confusion, not sure whether the man in front of him was the Yan Ruchen who had died and resurrected, or a brand new Yan Ruchen who had not gone through the same storyline with him.

The woman beside them also looked at the two teenagers with a confused expression. After a moment of silence, she half-jokingly complained, "Hey, are you two having a fight?"

Guan Shanyu glanced at her sideways. The woman shook her handkerchief lightly and said angrily, "This guy has been following you since the dock. Of course, I followed you all the way too. Young man, you are so handsome..."

"Get lost!"

Yan Ruchen roared. Although he was still young, he was full of momentum, frightening the woman so much that her face suddenly changed color. She looked at the two of them, covered her chest with her handkerchief, and cursed "lunatic" before quickly walking away.

Guan Shanyu stared at Yan Ruchen's black eyes for a while, then laughed.

It seems that this person is really the Yan Ruchen he knows.

I've been looking for this person for so long, but when we met, he was so cold and indifferent to me.

If you don’t want to see me, then don’t see me. Who is more arrogant than me?

After thinking about it, Guan Shanyu turned around resolutely, walked towards the street without looking back, and ignored him.

Yan Ruchen stood there with a frown on his face. He had thought Guan Shanyu would talk to him, but unexpectedly he just walked away. He panicked and called out, "Wait."

Guan Shanyu stopped but didn't turn around. He only heard Yan Ruchen whispering behind him in a slightly dry voice: "I don't understand why I came back here, but I can leave immediately."

After he finished speaking, he waited for a while, but there was no sound of Yan Ruchen moving.

Guan Shanyu lowered his head slightly, blinked rapidly, and adjusted his breathing. He turned around and looked at the scarred and ragged Yan Ruchen in front of him, and asked softly, "How old are you now?"

Yan Ruchen replied: "Fourteen."

This is the age when they first came to Xianyuan Village.

I guess in that world, Yan Ruchen has just grown to this age.

Unexpectedly, the system did not send Yan Ruchen back according to the age of this world, but after the program for merging the two worlds was run, it brought him back at the same age as that of the world.

Guan Shanyu turned his eyes to the side, bit his lip, and clenched his fists slightly. He thought that Yan Ruchen didn't know that he would appear here, so he didn't know why he was late in this world.

But anyway, it's good to be back.

At least from now on, he doesn't have to repeat the plot over and over again. From today on, his life has just begun.

Guan Shanyu spoke slowly: "Now that everything is settled, since you are back, go back to Wangshuiling. It is still your territory, and you are the most powerful among the hundreds of immortal families."

"I won't go back."

Yan Ruchen responded softly, without any emotion in his tone.

Guan Shanyu asked in confusion: "Why? Could it be that... you don't want to see me?"

"Of course not." Yan Ruchen looked at him and said after a moment's hesitation, "My appearance this time was quite sudden, and I might leave again soon. Since I have already perished in this world, I don't want to bother you anymore..."

"No." Guan Shanyu interrupted him, his tone urgent, "You will not leave again, you will stay here forever."

A hint of doubt flashed across Yan Ruchen's eyes. Seeing this, Guan Shanyu took a step forward, approached him, and explained, "I am the author. You will not leave this world, and the plot will not be repeated again. From now on, you just need to follow your path."

Yan Ruchen looked at him deeply, his eyes revealing a calmness that was inconsistent with his fourteen years old. After listening, he simply asked calmly, "My path?"

Guan Shanyu nodded: "Yes, go your way, everything in Wangshuiling belongs to you, everyone is looking forward to your return."

After listening to this, Yan Ruchen remained silent, expressionless, and just looked deeply at Guan Shanyu. Guan Shanyu also stared at him, sincerely showing his sincerity.

But after a long while, Yan Ruchen asked in a muffled voice: "What about you? Do you want me to go back?"

Guan Shanyu answered without hesitation: "Of course!" Otherwise he wouldn't have come out to look for him for five months.

But Yan Ruchen immediately asked, "If I don't look back at Shuiling, does that mean I'm still walking my own path?"

Guan Shanyu was speechless for a moment, and Yan Ruchen immediately raised the question: "If I don't want to return to this world, is it still my path? If I commit suicide, leave, and survive in another world, is it still my path?"

These words were like a heavy hammer, and Guan Shanyu stood there in a daze.

He heard the question in Yan Ruchen's words.

If he doesn't want to come back here...of course that's possible.

After all, he had said many times that he was tired of all this, and it was only because he had come to this world that he felt novel and had come all the way here. But Yan Ruchen had never been willing to be manipulated by others.

He committed suicide in this world to offer sacrifice to his spirit, and after going to that world, he continued to commit suicide, which shows that he is indeed extremely tired of these worlds. When people live in this world, they always need something to support them. Yan Ruchen said that he likes him, but Guan Shanyu is not sure whether this love can support him to continue living.

What if his goal was actually to end it all? To end this endless cycle of rebirth?

Then, is it a bit selfish for me to bring him into this world just because I want to see him?

He never asked Yan Ruchen for his opinion, or rather, he never really understood what Yan Ruchen wanted.

Because in his subconscious, Yan Ruchen is still the paper man he created.

Therefore, he will selectively ignore the paper man's growth that deviates from the settings and the self-awareness that grows freely.

Because he felt that the characters he created should not be out of his control.

But the person in front of him, apart from his childhood background and name being consistent with the image he created, has grown into another person entirely through self-awareness.

Therefore, his path may not be to look back at the watershed, nor to unify the world. It may even be just like himself, to go down the mountain to open a shop and live an ordinary life.

After all, if I can choose to live a different life, why can't Yan Ruchen? Is it just because he is the protagonist?

Guan Shanyu was left speechless by Yan Ruchen's question. All the speeches he had prepared became hesitant when he faced him.

Looking at the scarred boy in front of him, who is now fourteen years old, it means that he has experienced that miserable childhood again. How can he ask?

But Yan Ruchen didn't wait for him to think carefully, he just laughed suddenly.

Guan Shanyu suddenly looked up at him, but saw only a faint smile on his face, without any anger. However, he looked at Guan Shanyu for a moment, said nothing, then turned and blended into the night, quickly disappearing at the end of the long street.

Guan Shanyu's nose suddenly felt sore.

When people face their own feelings, they are the most dull and clumsy people in the world.

He knew he should go up to him and hold him, telling him that he actually missed him very much and that he didn't blame him for taking advantage of him. After all, compared to what he had endured, all the suffering he had endured was nothing.

But because it was nothing, he couldn't say it.

The pain they suffered was not on the same scale, and he had no right to say to Yan Ruchen, "Forget it, it's all over, come back."

Because he couldn't confirm what Yan Ruchen was thinking.

Yes, he should have asked what Yan Ruchen thought.

If you want to commit suicide or start a new life away from him, of course you can do that!

but...

Guan Shanyu raised his head and looked at the deserted, dark and empty street. There was no one in sight.

He hit his head in frustration and squatted down on the street with his head in his hands.

As expected, with my slow and sluggish personality, I will never succeed in anything I do.

The first time I saw Yan Ruchen, I should have apologized to him immediately and told him that he could go wherever he wanted from now on.

But there is still time. He is only fourteen now. How far can he go?

After thinking about it, Guan Shanyu immediately stood up and planned to chase after him. However, as soon as he stood up, he felt a pain on his head and bumped into someone's chin.

He was caught off guard and fell to the ground, with the bananas in his basket spilling all over the floor. He covered his head for a while before looking up to see who was coming. The person standing in front of him was Yan Ruchen, who had returned at some point and was looking at him expressionlessly with his chin covered.

Guan Shanyu was stunned for only a moment, then immediately crawled over and hugged his legs: "Yan Ruchen! Listen to me, I've figured it out. You can go anywhere, you can even not look back at Wang Shuiling, and you can even never see me again in this life! You can do whatever you want!"

Yan Ruchen's lower body was tightly bound by a force. He stumbled back a step, and after barely standing, he looked down at the person who was hugging him tightly and asked softly, "Never see you again in this life?"

Guan Shanyu was startled, looked up at Yan Ruchen, then quickly lowered his head. After a moment of silence, he nodded: "Yes, it's okay if we don't meet."

Hearing this, the air seemed to freeze, and the silence in the night was pushed to the extreme. Even though the two people were so close to each other, they seemed unable to hear each other's heartbeat.

I don't know how long it took, but a soft sigh came from above my head: "Let's go."

Guan Shanyu released his hand and asked dully, "Where... where are we going?"

Yan Ruchen reached out and helped him up, his eyes not lingering on him as he softly said, "Look back at Shuiling."

"Wang...Wangshuiling?"

Guan Shanyu repeated in a daze. Yan Ruchen had already bent down, silently picking up the scattered bananas, and then took the backpack from Guan Shanyu's back and put it on his own shoulders. He didn't say another word the whole time. Just as he was about to leave, he gently reminded him, "Let's go."

Xianyuan Village is about three or four hundred miles away from Wangshuiling, but for Yan Ruchen, who has lived for nine lifetimes, this distance is just the time of a talisman.

Guan Shanyu wanted to say something more, but Yan Ruchen didn't give him the chance. With a stroke of the talisman, a passage opened, and Wangshuiling was right in front of him.

When the two arrived, Guan Shanyu still couldn't say a word, and Yan Ruchen just ate a banana in silence on the way.

The sun rises earlier at Wangshuiling than elsewhere. When the two arrived, disciples were already cleaning the mountain steps. The disciples saw the two approaching from afar and were about to stop them, but when they recognized one of them as Guan Shanyu, they immediately greeted him, "Second Brother Guan, you're finally back! Who is this kid?"

Guan Shanyu glanced at Yan Ruchen, who was a head shorter than him, and for a moment he didn't know how to explain.

The two of them had not discussed anything along the way, and hadn't even spoken a single word to each other properly, so he didn't know how to introduce the reborn Yan Ruchen.

But if we don't want to cause panic, it's better to put it mildly.

So he answered cautiously: "This is your boss Yan's cousin..."

"I am Yan Ruchen."

Damn it.

Guan Shanyu turned around suddenly, and Yan Ruchen had already finished his answer with an expressionless face.

The disciple saw Yan Ruchen approaching him, staring at the young boy covered in wounds, and asked Guan Shanyu blankly, "Who did he say he was just now?"

Guan Shanyu looked horrified and didn't answer. Yan Ruchen said again, expressionless, "You clearly heard it. Rongming, could it be that you don't recognize me after not being back for so long?"

Upon hearing this, the disciple named Rong Ming's pupils slightly widened and he was stunned for a long time.

Then the broom in his hand fell to the ground.

Then he opened his mouth and took a few steps back.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Everyone, come quickly!!! Something big has happened!!!"