Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a figure appeared at the entrance of the cave. It was a burly, tall black dragon beastman with deep, complex eyes. Three parts nonchalance, three parts mockery, three parts barely concealed anger, and one part barely perceptible excitement—these four distinct emotions appeared simultaneously in his eyes, making it impossible to fathom his true thoughts.

This sudden turn of events caught everyone present completely off guard. Before they could even blink, the black dragon had bound them tightly with a special kind of rope. This rope seemed to contain some strange power, rendering those bound unable to move or use any abilities.

Black Dragon clapped his hands as if he had done something insignificant, then turned to his younger brother, Black Ze, his tone slightly mocking: "What, have we got a guest? Aren't you going to introduce him to your older brother? And what about what you were going to do about me?"

His tone held no trace of anger, only endless mockery and a barely perceptible hint of anticipation. He slowly walked up to Heavy Fist, looking at the white dragon he had specially bound, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He grabbed Heavy Fist by the neck with one hand and effortlessly lifted him up, as easily as lifting a chick.

"This white dragon... it still retains its self-awareness, how interesting." The black dragon's eyes were filled with endless desire, as if it wanted to devour the heavy fist whole. "Tell me, where did you come from, you white dragon?"

That look was all too familiar to Heavy Fist. In another timeline, he had faced it countless times. He felt like a fish on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered at any moment by the black dragon before him—Obsidian.

Despite being choked and barely able to breathe, Heavy Fist's eyes showed no fear of death. He had experienced far too many things like this before. Before he possessed such power, he had been a slave, the slave of this very black dragon before him, only in another time and space.

Hei Yao noticed that the white dragon in his claws showed no fear of death whatsoever, which piqued his curiosity. However, he didn't have time to question it. He casually tossed the heavy fist aside as if discarding a piece of useless trash, and then began to observe Cheng Yu and Bai Yu.

Meanwhile, Kurosawa simply stood quietly to the side, not stopping his brother's actions. He knew that Cheng Yu and his group needed to obtain safe identities to explore this place, and this step was necessary. Otherwise, they would face endless attacks and interrogations wherever they went.

"Brother, you've come," Kurosawa said calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"What, you're not welcoming me?" Hei Yao raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Of course not." Kurosawa shook his head. "I just didn't expect you to come so quickly."

"Of course I have to get here quickly, my lovely little brother." Hei Yao's lips curled into a strange smile. "I want to see who is so bold as to disturb my good time."

His gaze swept over Cheng Yu and Bai Yu, finally settling on Cheng Yu. "You... there's an aura about you that I find repulsive." Hei Yao narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Cheng Yu closely. "Just who are you?"

"I'm just an ordinary person," Cheng Yu replied calmly. Although he was feeling a bit breathless from the pressure of Hei Yao's aura, he still tried his best to remain calm.

"An ordinary person?" Obsidian sneered. "Do you think I'd believe your nonsense?"

"Believe it or not," Cheng Yu said. "I'm here only to find fragments of time."

"Time fragments?" A glint of light flashed in Obsidian's eyes. "You also know about time fragments?"

“Yes,” Bai Yu said. “We have found the fragments of the ‘past’ and the ‘future’, and now we are looking for the fragments of the ‘present’.”

"Fragments of the 'past' and fragments of the 'future'?" A greedy glint flashed in Obsidian's eyes. "You've found fragments containing the laws of time? Where are they?"

“Here it is.” Heavy Fist struggled to his feet and handed the fragment of the “past” to Obsidian. “This is my gift to Kurosawa!”

Obsidian took the fragment of the "past" and examined it carefully. The fragment emitted a faint glow, appearing exceptionally beautiful in Obsidian's hands. Obsidian could sense the powerful temporal force contained within it; this was the treasure he had always dreamed of.

“This…this really is a fragment of time…” Hei Yao murmured to himself, his tone filled with surprise and excitement.

“Brother, the power of time contained within this fragment is extremely important to us,” Kurozawa said. “With it, we can…”

“I know,” Obsidian interrupted Kurosawa. “I want this fragment.”

"Brother!" Kurosawa's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction, "We found this fragment together!"

"So what?" Obsidian said coldly. "Do you think you're qualified to compete with me?"

"I..." Kurosawa was speechless for a moment. He knew he was no match for Kokuyo, but he was unwilling to just hand over the fragments of the "past".

"Alright, stop arguing," Obsidian said impatiently. "This fragment is mine now. As compensation, I will help you find the 'present' fragment."

"Really?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Kurosawa's eyes. "Brother, are you really willing to help us?"

“Of course,” Obsidian said, “but you must first prove your worth.”

"Prove your worth?" Cheng Yu asked, puzzled. "How do you prove it?"

“It’s very simple,” Obsidian said slowly. “Help me find the fragment of ‘now,’ and I will tell you everything.”

"...Speechless. You freeloader, is this how you help us? You're really outrageous!" Bai Yu said speechlessly.

"What? Haven't I made myself clear enough?" Obsidian sneered. "However, remember this: I'm not a patient person. If you can't find the 'Now' fragment soon, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead."

After saying that, Hei Yao turned and left the cave, leaving Cheng Yu, Bai Yu, and Chong Quan looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What should we do now?" Bai Yu asked.

"What else can we do?" Cheng Yu gave a wry smile. "Of course, we have to go find the 'Now' fragment. No matter what, Obsidian is definitely not something we can deal with. Even if we all joined forces, we still couldn't defeat them."

"Damn! This is giving me a terrible headache. How could we encounter such a domineering black dragon? Maybe we should just leave here. At worst, it'll just give my two masters a headache. We can still force our way out of this space-time continuum. I've really had enough." Bai Yu was on the verge of a breakdown. If everything were normal, he could slowly find a way out of this predicament. But now, a black dragon had suddenly appeared, and that black dragon didn't seem like the kind of person who would keep his promises.

"I don't think highly of your idea." A voice suddenly rang out, and the three of them turned around to find that it was Kurosawa who spoke.

"Why?" Cheng Yu asked in surprise. "How do you know this method won't work?"

“Of course I know,” Kurosawa said. “Because the ‘Now’ fragment is in my hands. You’re all thinking too simply. Cheng Yu, if you really understand me, or rather, if you know me well, you should know that I’m still playing the role of Bai Ze. It’s just the beginning. Although I’m still getting used to it, I still have some things to say to you.”

"What?" the three exclaimed in unison.

"Surprised?" Kurosawa's lips curled into a mysterious smile. "Actually, I knew you would come looking for me, and I knew your purpose. So, I've been waiting for you."

"What...what exactly do you want?" Cheng Yu asked, feeling as if he had fallen into a huge conspiracy.

"What do I want to do?" Kurosawa smiled. "I just want to make a deal with you, but before that, please wait for me to finish speaking."

"Master, what do you want to say? We will remember every word you say!" Heavy Fist looked at Kurosawa excitedly. In his heart, whatever Kurosawa said was correct and the truth.

Cheng Yu/Bai Yu: "..."

"Actually, I've always known that something is wrong with this world, because it's all too strange. Any strong person in this world can sense it. That's why my brother Hei Yao thought this way and obtained the so-called time fragment."

When a supreme being discovers they've always been controlled by others, a sense of resentment and hatred inevitably arises in their heart. My brother was one of them, but he underestimated the situation. Even if we collect all the fragments of time, we still can't leave this world. Don't you agree?

"..."

"Hehe~ Actually, you don't need to answer. In this world, everything has lost its meaning. It's more like a screenwriter constantly rewriting a plot, repeating it countless times and starting over again and again. Only by achieving a perfect play can He stop this idea."

But perhaps this world is missing something, or perhaps it's a replica, unable to include all the characters, which leads to the story's irrationality. In drama, every key plot point is difficult to modify; the absence of characters signifies the play's failure.

In this play, He cannot create imitations of all the characters, so the drama is destined to fail, and He can only keep overturning and starting over until He finds a way to remedy this irrationality.

"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. I hope you've grasped some of the principles. As for trading..."

Kurosawa exhaled a cloud of white mist. Speaking so much at once without taking a breath was really uncomfortable for him; he needed to catch his breath.

"What kind of deal?" Bai Yu asked.

Kurosawa handed Cheng Yu an ancient-looking book. The cover was blank, simply made of an unknown black material that felt strangely cool to the touch. Cheng Yu took the book, his fingers gently tracing the cover, a strange feeling welling up inside him, as if the book held some special connection to him.

"Is this the contents of the deal?" Bai Yu leaned closer, curiously examining the book. "It doesn't look like anything special."

Upon hearing Bai Yu's words, Chongquan frowned, about to reprimand him, but was stopped by Kurosawa raising his hand. "This book concerns the fate of this world, and also your fate." Kurosawa's voice was deep and powerful, each word carrying immense weight. "If you can take it out of this world and give it to 'me' in another timeline, perhaps you can change some things."

"Me from another timeline?" Bai Yu blinked, seemingly intrigued by the idea. "That sounds interesting, but how do we know which one is the 'you' from another timeline?"

"You'll find out when the time comes." Kurosawa didn't explain in detail, but gave Bai Yu a deep look. "Remember, this book is very important. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands."

Cheng Yu carefully put the book away. He could feel its weight, not just physical weight, but also the weight of a responsibility. "I will do my best," he said solemnly.

“Very good.” Kurosawa nodded, then turned and walked forward. “Come with me, I’ll take you somewhere.”

The three followed Kurosawa through a dense forest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. All was quiet except for the occasional chirping of birds.

"Where are we going?" Bai Yu couldn't help but ask.

“A place that can help you understand this world,” Kurosawa said without turning his head. “There, you might find the answers.”

After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at an ancient temple. The temple walls were covered with vines, and it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. The temple doors were tightly closed, and some strange symbols were carved on them.

"This is it." Kurosawa stopped and pointed to the temple. "Go in, there's what you want inside."

Cheng Yu stepped forward and pushed open the temple door, a long-sealed aura wafting out. The temple interior was dimly lit, with only a few beams of sunlight shining through holes in the roof. They cautiously entered and discovered a huge altar in the center of the temple, upon which were placed some strange objects.

"Where is this place?" Bai Yu looked around curiously.

“A forgotten place.” Kurosawa’s voice echoed in the empty temple. “This place was once the center of the world, but now it has lost its former glory.”

"So what are we going to do here?" Cheng Yu asked.

"Search," Kurosawa replied simply, "Search for the answers you need, search for the truth of this world."

“Alright, let’s begin.” Bai Yu shrugged and walked towards the altar first.

Cheng Yu and Chong Quan followed, and the three of them carefully searched around the altar. They examined the ancient artifacts, trying to find some clues.

"Look, what's this?" Bai Yu suddenly pointed to a box on the altar and said.

Cheng Yu and Chong Quan walked over and found it was a box made of an unknown metal, with some intricate patterns engraved on it. They tried to open the box, but it seemed to be sealed by some force, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't open it.

“Let me try.” Kurosawa stepped forward and placed his hand on the box.

A beam of black light emanated from Kurosawa's hand, and the patterns on the box began to flicker. A moment later, the box clicked open.

Inside the box was a piece of transparent crystal, and something seemed to be flowing inside it.

“This is…” Cheng Yu looked at the crystal in surprise.

“This is the memory of this world,” Kurosawa explained. “Through it, you can see the past of this world.”

Bai Yu couldn't wait to pick up the crystal and stick it to his forehead.

“I saw it…” Bai Yu’s voice trembled slightly, “I saw the birth of this world, I saw countless lives flourishing here, I saw war, I saw destruction…”

“I saw it too.” Cheng Yu picked up the crystal, closed his eyes, and said, “I saw hope, I saw the future…”

“Master, I’d like to see it too,” Heavy Fist said.

Kurosawa nodded and handed the crystal to Heavy Punch.

He caught the crystal with a heavy punch, closed his eyes, and began to feel the memories within the crystal.

"I saw it..." The voice, filled with shock, rang out, "I saw our future..."

"What did you all see?" Kurosawa asked.

“I saw a past full of hope,” Cheng Yu said.

"I see a future full of destruction," Bai Yu said.

“I see a present full of unknowns,” Heavy Punch said.