Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

"Lan Yu, atop Chengyuan Mountain, do you have any regrets?"

The old man's thumb was icy cold as he held Shen Yu, just as he had held him as a child more than a decade ago. Shen Yu's ears were ringing, his body temperature was dropping, and the resentment in his heart was growing stronger.

……regret?

Who should regret it? He should regret it.

Whose fault was it? His fault?

He wasn't the one in the wrong.

It was the whole world that had wronged him.

Shen Yu gripped the old man's robe tightly, blood welling in his throat, yet he still forced himself to lie face up: "No...it wasn't me..."

The old man sighed, then embraced Shen Yu, as if blaming himself and feeling helpless: "Lanyu, go somewhere else. This world... can no longer accommodate you."

"Cough..." Shen Yu coughed up blood incessantly. His heart, spleen, and lungs were all ruptured. All the ailments that had accumulated over the years were now flaring up. He already had a premonition that his death was imminent.

"Go somewhere else and never come back." The old man whispered something to Shen Yu. Shen Yu's life force rapidly drained away, and he gradually could no longer hear the words above.

"...In your next life, may you be reborn into a better family and be an ordinary person...Go..."

Shen Yu's body had long been permeated by the chilling air. The wound on his severed arm bled profusely and slowly lost its sensation. The sound of the wind whistling through the woods faded into the distance, but his heart still stubbornly resisted, occasionally struggling to beat.

In the next life...may I be reborn into a better family?

What kind of reincarnation will I be born into? Where will I go?!

Blood trickled from the corner of Shen Yu's lips; in his dying moments, he had almost torn the flesh inside his mouth to shreds.

The Yue Kingdom has fallen, but Xuan Lin is still alive. The palace walls have collapsed, and the palace maids and eunuchs who humiliated and imprisoned him for years have all escaped in the chaos. His senior brother has severed his arm, and the mountain gate remains tightly shut... Despite all this, his master grants him a better rebirth in his next life?

How can he be reincarnated? How can he even be reincarnated!

These people are all alive and well. They may live a life of luxury and live in anonymity in the future, continuing to live as usual.

And he... blind, with severed hands, and covered in wounds, fled half the country, ultimately dying miserably in the forest with this broken body.

“Come… back…” Shen Yu’s face contorted as his senses began to fade. His eyes were vacant, and he seemed lost, only able to murmur repeatedly as he tilted his head back, “I… come… back…”

He will not enter the cycle of reincarnation, but will remain a ghost for eternity! Even if he goes elsewhere, he will remember everything from this life... One day, he will return.

He wants to tear this rotten world apart.

The old man remained silent. He put his arm around Shen Yu and slowly placed his hand on Shen Yu's forehead. Shen Yu's face was deathly pale, his whole body was stiff, and he had stopped breathing at some point.

The cold wind that usually blows through the forest ruffles a few strands of hair beside Shen Yu's cheek. These white, dry hairs caress the equally rough and dry skin beneath.

"Lanyu, go."

The old man lowered his hand, covering the dark, deep eyes beneath. Shen Yu's body gradually stiffened, blood pooling at his side, ultimately leaving behind a corpse whose features were indistinguishable.

All the infighting and scheming within Yue Kingdom vanished the moment the Sheng Kingdom's army breached the capital.

In the same year, Wen Lanyu died.

*

"Shen Yu!"

"Shen Yu!"

"Wake up! Shen Yu!"

Shen Yu's head was throbbing with pain. He hadn't yet recovered from his previous memories, and when he opened his eyes upon hearing the voice, he found his body still somewhat unfamiliar and difficult to control.

"Shen Yu? Is he awake?"

Shen Yu's breathing went from light to rapid. He suddenly raised his head, took a step back, and his back slammed against the stone wall behind him.

Water splashed everywhere, and a sharp pain instantly spread along his spine. Shen Yu's vision cleared, and in the purple light falling from the sky, he slowly made out a face that resembled his own.

"...Wen Yu?"

Wen Yu's face was half hidden in the dim shadows. He held the edge of the stone wall inside the well with one hand and wrapped his other arm around Shen Yu's waist.

Shen Yu's mind was in a daze. He stared intently at Wen Yu, his dark eyes filled with unreadable emotions. Wen Yu's hair was disheveled, and the scar on the other half of her face was exposed. The golden mask was nowhere to be found.

Seeing Shen Yu awaken, Wen Yu's tense expression eased slightly: "How are you feeling?"

Shen Yu's eyes shifted slightly. His body was submerged in the black water of the abandoned well, surrounded by a stench. He looked up and soon understood what had happened.

"Why are you here?" Shen Yu lowered his head again, turned his face to look directly at Wen Yu's face.

"How dare you say that? I told you not to run around and not to go to the backyard, did you listen?" Wen Yu's face was gloomy. He was soaking wet and looked rather disheveled after falling into the well. "If I hadn't come, you would have drowned yourself!"

Wen Yu waited in Kunning Palace for a while. Shen Yu got up early and went somewhere, but he always came back at the same time. However, this time there was no sign of him coming back.

Wen Yu was the most suspicious. He questioned several palace maids, but to no avail. He then focused his attention on the backyard of Kunning Palace. Shen Yu had previously asked him about matters in the backyard, and given that his meeting point with the Shadow Guards was also in the backyard, it was highly likely that the meeting would take place there.

After pondering for a while, Wen Yu drugged the palace maid, changed her appearance, and quietly went to the backyard.

Unlike other places, the backyard was rarely guarded. After entering, Wen Yu followed the trail and found two corpses deep in the dense forest.

Wen Yu sensed something was wrong. He ran to the abandoned well and found Shen Yu buried in the black water. Shen Yu's head was lowered below the surface of the black water. Wen Yu called his name four or five times at the wellhead, but there was no response.

If this continued, he would drown in no time. Wen Yu had nothing else on him. At first, he tried to turn Shen Yu over with a long wooden stick, but Shen Yu was in a deep coma, and his clothes were heavy after being soaked in water. Wen Yu tried several times without success.

So, with a heavy heart, he jumped down into the well.

Wen Yu was a good swimmer, so he went in and pulled Shen Yu up, preventing him from drowning in the sewage in the well.

After learning the situation, Shen Yu was somewhat stunned. He looked up at the well opening above and said, "At first, it was just me alone, but now neither of us can get out."

Wen Yu's jaw muscles twitched, but she didn't speak.

Shen Yu turned to look at Wen Yu. Wen Yu had used most of her strength to support Shen Yu, and now her strength was almost completely exhausted. Her face was completely bloodless, and her lips were trembling slightly from the cold well water.

Shen Yu stared at him silently for a few seconds, then reached out and put his arm around Wen Yu's waist. He pulled Wen Yu close to him and said, "You're not feeling well, hold me."

Wen Yu's body stiffened for a moment, his long hair was covered with water droplets, and his eyes were wet and his emotions were unreadable.