Chapter 3 The Ins and Outs (1/2)

“So… I understand, Nian is a scary four-dimensional creature. But, does it have anything to do with what we were talking about?” I was puzzled.

“My friend made it clear in the letter that the Taoist priest who sealed me long ago is still alive.” Wen Jiubo sat down on the bed. “I don’t know how he managed to stay alive to this day, but I have always trusted my friend’s judgment. According to him, the Taoist priest still holds a grudge against me and wants to kill me. So, if he really allied with the beast Nian, then I definitely have a zero chance to win.”

“If the beast Nian is as powerful as you say, is it really possible for the Taoist priest to control it?” I was surprised and asked. “Who is he?”

Wen Jiubo glanced at me and tried to avoid my question by changing the subject. “That isn’t important. What’s important is that once the beast Nian targets you, there is nowhere to hide. Instead of aimlessly searching in the material world, the beast Nian hunts its prey in the spiritual world through dreams. And I have no choice but to lead it to the future.”

“Lead it to the future?”

“No one can escape from the beast Nian, and I am no exception,” Wen Jiubo said sternly. “But it has one weakness, it cannot distinguish different timelines. In other words, it doesn’t know whether the one it killed is from the present or from the future.”

From Wen Jiubo’s words, I gradually understood the ins and outs of the whole thing.

“So, in order to hide from the beast Nian, you let me have a dream that could connect to the future, and you hoped that you could lead the beast Nian and your enemy to the future I dreamed about…”

Wen Jiubo nodded, praising me, “Yes, that’s right, you’re indeed my little Gu Yu. You’re so smart.”

“Asshole,” I said angrily, “you used me as your bait? Why didn’t you dream it yourself?”

“I can’t travel along my own timeline,” Wen Jiubo said solemnly.

“You read too much science fiction! I don’t believe you!”

Wen Jiubo caught my fist with his hand and said with a smile, “I’m sorry, I’ll ask you next time.”

“Next time?” I was annoyed, but there was no way I could beat him in an argument.

“Well, stop being childish. Eat the porridge while it’s warm.” Wen Jiubo didn’t take it seriously. He picked up the bowl and handed it over.

I had no choice but to take the bowl over and eat it in silence. Wen Jiubo quietly stared at me with his eyelids slightly drooped.

“So the future I saw … are you really going to die?” I put down the empty bowl and cleared my throat.

“You’ve already seen it.” Wen Jiubo sighed. “So, yes, I will, one day in the future.”

“But, you told me——you in the future told me that the future can be altered and the time can be rewritten!” I said hurriedly. “Can’t you do anything about it?”

“We can change the future, but only the future which hasn’t been seen,” Wen Jiubo said calmly. “Once we see the future, then the part we saw becomes unalterable, and it becomes a part of history, becomes an established fact. Since you saw me dead, then my death is inevitable.”

I was dumbfounded. “But …”

“Consider it as a mistake that I made due to an indiscreet move and forget about it. ” Wen Jiubo got up and shook his head. “I’m going to wash the bowl.”

“Ay, Wen Jiubo!” I straightened up my body and wanted to stop him, but he walked out of the room without looking back.

After he left the room, he didn’t show up again. At about seven o’clock in the evening, Su Xiaoyun and Shi Yitong came to the old residence to greet me. They apparently didn’t know anything since they laughed and joked with each other.

“So, Gu Yu, are you feeling better?” Su Xiaoyun looked at me with concern.

I was absent-minded and didn’t hear her. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Wen Jiubo said you had a fever, are you all right now?” Su Xiaoyun looked more concerned, and her tone showed a hint of sympathy. “Did the fever also made you a fool?”

“You’re already stupid enough, but if you suffer from mental retardation now, you will have serious trouble,” Shi Yitong chimed in.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I didn’t know whether I should laugh or cry. I couldn’t believe they stayed the same no matter what happened. I pushed Su Xiaoyun’s hand away after I noticed that she wanted to touch my forehead. I shook my head. “I’m fine, the fever is gone. Don’t worry. What about you?”

“We? We’re fine. We’re just worried about you, so we came to see you after school,” Shi Yitong complained, “and we find you’re so energetic that you don’t look like you were sick at all. You had us worried.”

“By the way, Gu Yu, here are the notes for all the classes you missed.” Su Xiaoyun took out a notebook from her backpack. “You are so careless, you didn’t even ask for leave. Fortunately, I asked the teacher and obtained leave for you.”

I took over the note and felt a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry for all the trouble.”

“Hum, it’s okay. Remember to do your homework,” Su Xiaoyun said with her arms crossed.

I opened the notebook and found it was filled with notes, which literally gave me a headache.

I was not sure if Shi Yitong saw my distress, but he came over and patted me on the shoulder. “Don’t listen to her. That homework is not important, you can do it whenever you want to. You haven’t eaten dinner, have you? Come on, let’s go out and have some dumplings.”