Chapter 120: Back To That Key Moment ②

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Chapter 120: Back To That Key Moment ②

When Shang Ke opened his eyes, he found himself inside an ice cave—and once again in spirit form. His body, or rather Osari’s body, lay inside an ice coffin below him, completely covered in frost.

Huh? Did something go wrong? Why am I still in spirit form?

【The original body has already died and is currently undergoing physical restoration. Estimated restoration time: seven days.】

So he was going to “rise from the dead” seven days from now? Was that really okay?

【There have been several precedents for resurrection in this world. Certain people carry a dormant resurrection gene. As long as the body remains intact and free from decay, resurrection is possible within one year. The probability is extremely low, but it is not unprecedented. Such people are known as the God-Touched. Five God-Touched individuals have appeared throughout the history of Turan.】

Something this miraculous actually exists?

Shang Ke asked, “How many years have I been ‘dead’?”

【Three years.】

Shang Ke: “…”

Didn’t you just say resurrection was only possible within a year? It’s already been three! Without the System cheating on his behalf, he would probably have been thoroughly dead by now. Even more astonishingly, someone had actually preserved his corpse perfectly for three whole years!

Shang Ke looked around. Icicles covered the cave. Although his spirit form couldn’t feel the cold, he could still guess how low the temperature must be. No wonder his body had remained preserved for so long.

Just then, a patter of footsteps came from outside the cave. Shang Ke looked up and saw a slender little girl appear.

She looked about eight or nine years old. Her reddish-brown hair was casually tied behind her, and she was bundled in a thick, puffy cotton outfit. Her little face was flushed red from the cold, and she struggled toward the ice coffin while clutching a stiff, frozen fish in her arms.

Pupu!

Although she had grown, Shang Ke recognized her immediately. He floated over and smiled as he studied the little girl running toward the coffin. Mm, she’s taller now… but she seems thinner than before.

“Daddy, look.” Pupu held up the fish excitedly. “Ty caught this under the glacier. We’re making fish soup tonight. But Ty’s cooking doesn’t taste good at all. Daddy, when are you going to wake up? Pupu wants to eat fish made by Daddy.”

This silly girl… Has she thought all this time that I was only sleeping?

Shang Ke reached out with his translucent hand and gently stroked her head.

“Pupu, bring the fish over. It’s time to cook it.” A deep voice suddenly came from outside, and Tylor’s tall figure appeared at the cave entrance. He wore a black fur coat, snow clinging to his hair and shoulders. His stern face carried a deep, melancholy air, while his indifferent eyes resembled a pool of stagnant water.

Shang Ke floated after Pupu. Seeing how thin and desolate Tylor had become made his heart ache.

Tylor took the fish from Pupu and led her toward another section of the stone cave.

A bonfire burned inside, with a pot suspended over it. The water inside boiled vigorously.

Several rock-hard frozen fish lay in a basin beside the fire. Tylor picked one up, scraped off its scales with a knife, then held it over the boiling pot and shaved slices of flesh directly into the water, as though making knife-cut noodles.

After “executing by a thousand cuts” every fish in the basin, Tylor and Pupu sat beside the fire and waited for the soup to cook.

Shang Ke stared in horror. This is how you cook fish?! Where are the ingredients? The seasoning? And aren’t you supposed to clean the damn fish before cooking it?!

After a while, the broth turned milky white and steam curled from the pot. It was obviously ready, yet Tylor and Pupu continued waiting like idiots, sitting silently beside the fire like two statues and staring at the soup.

Only when the soup was about to boil over did Tylor finally pour it into bowls. He handed Pupu a piece of dry bread, and the two ate their dinner just like that—one bite of dry bread, one mouthful of fish soup.

Shang Ke’s heart hurt terribly at the sight.

Isn’t Tylor a prince? Even if he secluded himself here to preserve my body, did his living conditions really have to be this awful? Couldn’t he at least have brought a couple of servants?!

Looking around, Shang Ke saw all kinds of daily necessities scattered through the stone cave, along with two tents used for sleeping. They had clearly been living here for a long time.

After dinner, Tylor did some simple cleanup and took Pupu to the hot spring to wash up. There was no entertainment at night, nor did the two speak much. They simply returned to their respective tents and crawled beneath the warm blankets.

Tylor said, “Good night, Pupu.”

Pupu replied, “Good night, Ty. Good night, Daddy.”

At some point, heavy snow began falling outside the cave. Amid the howling wind, the two gradually fell asleep.

Shang Ke floated beside the tents, watching them in silence for a long time…

Over the next few days, Shang Ke remained beside them, watching them repeat the same monotonous routine every day. Gradually, he understood why they had isolated themselves from society. When the Devil’s Tree was sealed, his death had caused both Tylor and Pupu to be corrupted by a massive amount of demonic energy, turning them into half-demons capable of generating demonic energy themselves. To avoid spreading panic or causing disaster, they chose to stay away from other people and hide in this bitterly cold land.

Aside from occasionally leaving to purchase necessities, Tylor and Pupu almost never left the snowy mountains.

Shang Ke couldn’t imagine how they had endured living like this. For the first time, his desire to come back to life was almost unbearable. He couldn’t stand watching them suffer like this for even one more day!

At long last, the seventh day arrived. Early that morning, Shang Ke stationed himself beside his own corpse and impatiently waited to resurrect.

After waiting for who knew how long, a commotion suddenly erupted outside, accompanied by the chaotic sounds of fighting. Shang Ke was just about to go investigate when the System spoke: 【Physical restoration complete. Host, please gracefully rise from the dead.】

Before Shang Ke could even raise his middle finger, his vision went black and he instantly lost consciousness.

At that moment, Tylor was being besieged by a vicious group of mercenaries. They had mistaken him for an apostle of the Devil’s Tree and attacked without mercy.

Tylor defended himself halfheartedly, seemingly indifferent to their murderous intent and allowing wound after wound to appear on his body.

“Boss, there’s an ice coffin in this cave!” one mercenary suddenly shouted.

Fucking idiot. What’s so exciting about an ice coffin?!

The mercenary leader cursed inwardly while continuing his attack, completely failing to notice that the indifference on Tylor’s face had vanished, replaced by a terrifying, bone-deep chill.

In the blink of an eye, Tylor vanished from the mercenaries’ sight.

Inside the ice cave, one of the mercenaries walked up to the coffin and caught sight of the man inside. Astonishment flashed through his eyes at the corpse’s beauty. Fortunately, he wasn’t a necrophiliac. After admiring the sight for a moment, he lifted the body out of the coffin and casually tossed it aside.

The coffin was made from cold jade and was worth a fortune—enough to equal thirty years of risking their lives for money.

The instant the mercenary saw the coffin, he knew they had struck it rich. Overcome with excitement, he completely failed to notice that the man he had just thrown onto the ground had a soft body, warm skin, and was breathing.

Just as the mercenary began fantasizing about his wealthy future, a hand suddenly closed around his throat from behind.

The mercenary struggled to turn his head and found himself staring into an unimaginably cold face. A sharp crack followed, and his neck snapped.

demonic energy churned in Tylor’s eyes, his fingers digging deeply into the dead man’s neck.

“Boss! Old Fei was killed!” an alarmed shout came from the cave entrance.

Tylor slowly turned his head toward the mercenaries charging at him and coldly said, “Every last one of you can die.”

He tossed aside the corpse, drew the sword from the dead man’s waist, and swept into the mercenaries like a ghost. What followed was a one-sided massacre. Blood sprayed everywhere, staining the surrounding white ice walls with splashes of crimson.

Within moments, more than twenty mutilated bodies lay scattered across the ground. Tylor stood amid the blood and flesh with his sword dripping red, his eyes crimson as demonic energy coiled around him like clusters of burning black flames.

The massacre awakened Tylor’s bloodlust, and the demonic energy within him seemed to find an opening, violently invading his consciousness.

Tylor trembled as he desperately fought to preserve his crumbling reason. Even if he had become a half-demon, even if he had abandoned society, even if he had endured endless loneliness and pain, he still refused to lose his precious memories and become a complete slave to darkness.

His longing for Shang Ke was the only thing still keeping him alive. No matter what happened, he could not allow the demonic energy to consume him.

Shang Ke… Shang Ke…

“Tylor.” A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

Keke… Tylor, still fighting against the demonic energy, could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.

“Tylor.” The voice sounded again, seemingly right beside his ear.

Tylor stiffly turned his head and vaguely saw a figure walking slowly toward him from the far end of the cave. Long black hair drifted gently with each step, while frost fell from his body little by little. Like a flower blooming before his eyes, the lifeless figure was once again overflowing with vitality.

Tylor’s heart nearly stopped, and his constricted pupils reflected nothing but Shang Ke’s figure.

“Keke…” He raised a trembling hand and cautiously touched Shang Ke’s face.

The warm, smooth touch felt impossibly real.

“Tylor.” Shang Ke wrapped his arms around him, allowing Tylor to fully feel the vibrant life pulsing through his body. “I’m back.”

The familiar scent, the familiar warmth, the familiar voice… The demonic energy surrounding Tylor seemed to sense the sudden surge of faith within its host and reluctantly withdrew.

Tylor’s eyes burned as he used every ounce of strength to hold the man in his arms.

Three years. He had almost abandoned all hope. Yet the miracle arrived precisely when he had fallen into despair.

“Keke, Keke…” Tylor called his name again and again, his voice overflowing with joy and life.

Just then, Shang Ke felt something tighten around his waist. Looking down, he found Pupu hugging him tightly and staring up at him without blinking.

“Daddy.” Her childish voice was as soft as a kitten’s.

Shang Ke gently pushed Tylor back, bent down, and lifted Pupu into his arms. His newly restored body was still weak, but he held her securely.

Looking at the thin and haggard Tylor and Pupu, Shang Ke silently swore: From now on, I’m going to fatten both of you up until you’re healthy and rosy!

Tylor suddenly scooped Shang Ke into his arms, carried him quickly into the tent, wrapped him into a warm bundle, then sat beside him and stared. Even now, he still couldn’t quite believe Shang Ke had truly come back to life.

Tylor barely closed his eyes the entire day and never stopped watching Shang Ke. They even ate lunch and dinner inside the tent—fruit wine and dry bread, nothing more. Shang Ke’s body still needed time to recover, so he didn’t object to Tylor’s suffocatingly close supervision.

That night, all three squeezed together beneath the warm blankets, a quiet sense of satisfaction and happiness surrounding them. Only after a long while did Tylor and Pupu finally fall deeply asleep in Shang Ke’s arms.

The next morning, Tylor jolted awake from a dream and turned to find the person beside him gone. His face changed instantly, and he shot out of the tent—only to see Shang Ke cooking fish soup beside the fire. The rich fragrance filled the cave, and that warm, ordinary sight instantly dispelled the fear and cold in Tylor’s heart.

He had dreamed of this scene countless times, but none of those dreams had ever felt this real.

“Good morning.” Shang Ke stood to greet him and gave him a gentle hug.

“Good morning.” Tylor seemed to be floating on air. Compared with the cold, gloomy man of yesterday, he was almost unrecognizable.

“Good morning.” Pupu poked her head out of the tent and stared at the bubbling pot, sniffing eagerly. Her large, watery eyes practically screamed, So hungry, so hungry!

“Go wash up. Breakfast will be ready soon.” Shang Ke nudged Tylor, signaling him to take Pupu with him.

Tylor picked Pupu up with one arm and wrapped the other around Shang Ke’s waist, apparently intending to drag both of them to the hot spring.

“You two go. I’m still cooking the soup.”

“It won’t take long.” In any case, Tylor had absolutely no intention of letting Shang Ke out of his sight.

The three went to the hot spring. Shang Ke helped Pupu brush her teeth and wash her face while Tylor crouched nearby, cleaning himself while keeping his eyes fixed on them.

Once they finished washing up, Shang Ke deftly braided Pupu’s hair into two beautiful plaits. Pupu admired her reflection in the hot spring for a long time before breaking into a delighted smile.

Daddy’s braids really are much prettier than Ty’s! From now on, Pupu’s hair belongs to Daddy. Ty is never touching it again!

Pupu clutched Shang Ke’s sleeve and followed him step for step back to the cave.

Shang Ke served the fish soup, then ground the snowy mountain’s native cape jasmine leaves into powder and made several soft cape jasmine cakes.

With such limited ingredients, Shang Ke couldn’t make much else. But to Tylor and Pupu, who had grown accustomed to culinary disasters, this already tasted like the finest food in the world. Watching them eat with such satisfied expressions made Shang Ke both happy and heartsore.

Just what kind of life have these two been living for the past few years?!

After that, Tylor and Pupu practically became accessories permanently attached to Shang Ke’s legs and refused to leave his side for even a step. Shang Ke didn’t mind. The first thing he did was head down the mountain to the nearby town to purchase daily necessities and ingredients.

Although Tylor looked poor and miserable, he actually had quite a bit of money. Some had been robbed from criminals, some came from trading rare local goods, and some had been “picked up” along the road. The area was simply too remote and poorly supplied for much variety, though they could at least buy enough to meet their basic needs.

Tylor had been pampered from childhood, so calling him completely incompetent at daily life was no exaggeration. As for Pupu, her mind had never fully developed, so aside from acting adorable, she couldn’t do much of anything. (Pupu: Nonsense! I can dress myself!)

The fact that these two had somehow remained alive and healthy until now was a miracle in itself.

It didn’t matter. Now that Shang Ke was back, he absolutely would not let them continue this ascetic, self-torturing existence!

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