The room instantly fell silent.
Luo Tangtang hugged herself tightly, seeking a sliver of warmth. Suppressed sobs slowly escaped her throat, continuing for a long, long time.
“Squeak.”
A moment later, a small, white, disc-shaped creature appeared.
“Fluffy Silk Plate Flower?” Luo Tangtang murmured, stunned.
Seeing her recognize its name, the white disk’s large, dark, round eyes flashed with joy, and it let out a happy squeak. Its feelers at the bottom moved swiftly, and in an instant, it scurried to Luo Tangtang’s side.
“Are you happy?” Luo Tangtang asked, looking at the creature. One of its tentacles reached out and rested on the edge of the bed.
The large white disk nodded.
Its tentacle tentatively reached out towards Luo Tangtang’s hand, as if ready to pull back immediately if she showed any unwillingness.
Luo Tangtang hesitated for a moment before extending her own hand. The tentacle immediately wound around Luo Tangtang’s hand, holding it tightly.
The white disk’s body, dark and glossy like obsidian, shone with a light that seemed to pierce right into one’s heart.
“Squeak, squeak.” The white disk chirped a few times.
A vision flooded her mind: a vast expanse like a galaxy. On a high throne sat a figure, but Luo Tangtang couldn’t make out who or what it was.
*What was the Fluffy Silk Plate Flower trying to tell her?*
“Yes.” Luo Tangtang heard herself answer this way.
*No… It’s not me! I don’t want to go! I don’t want to!* Luo Tangtang realized in horror that her consciousness seemed trapped within her body. No matter what *she* wanted, her body remained expressionless, its demeanor respectful.
“Go,” the figure on the throne said.
*I won’t go! I won’t go! Say it, quickly! Say it! I can’t go! I don’t want to meet her again! I don’t want to harm her again!*
*Why won’t you tell me anything? Why must I go through this again and again? I don’t want to… I don’t want to!*
“I won’t go!” As if her mind had been struck, Luo Tangtang’s face turned pale, sweat drenching her.
She raised her head, her voice firm and resolute. “I won’t go.”
On the high throne, there was a slight movement. Although Luo Tangtang couldn’t see the person above, strangely, she could sense a hint of surprise.
“Are you that System Number One?” Luo Tangtang asked.
It couldn’t have been Yun Shayi. Yun Shayi had just left, and then this happened immediately after, the timing too perfect. Luo Tangtang could only suspect the System was playing tricks.
“I am not a System.” The person paused, then after a long moment, said, “I am the Main God.”
“Main God?” Luo Tangtang’s eyes widened instantly. The shock on her face made her look a little comical.
“You’re the one who brought me here?” Luo Tangtang asked, her tone wary, her expression heavy.
“Don’t you want to know the truth? I’m letting you see it for yourself,” the Main God said.
“Your purpose?” Luo Tangtang’s gaze was icy.
“We haven’t met for so long, and your temper has certainly grown,” the Main God remarked.
Luo Tangtang frowned, her expression growing even darker.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll destroy you, for daring to be so insolent?” the Main God said again, a chill now lacing his voice.
Luo Tangtang remained expressionless, her eyes dull. “Do you think that still matters to me now?”
“Whether it matters or not isn’t for you to decide—unless you don’t care about Yun Shayi!”
“Are you threatening me?” Luo Tangtang clenched her fists.
“This isn’t a threat. It’s a warning.”
“Besides, I don’t even need to lift a finger. She’s courting death all on her own.”
“Courting death? What do you mean?!” Luo Tangtang roared, her expression savage, her mind in turmoil. She lunged forward, wanting to drag the figure from the high throne and demand an explanation, but after only a few steps, an invisible barrier stopped her.
“Tell me! What exactly is happening?!” Luo Tangtang screamed, pounding on the invisible barrier that had suddenly appeared before her, feeling like she was about to collapse.
“See for yourself,” the voice echoed.
Her vision blurred and shifted rapidly.
“Number One?”
Luo Tangtang turned her head and found Luo Er looking at her with a puzzled expression.
“Number One?” Luo Tangtang echoed, her eyes vacant. Then she suddenly looked around wildly.
Luo Tangtang’s eyelashes trembled. She blinked, her gaze lost and confused.
“What’s wrong with you?” Luo Er asked, confused.
“Where’s the Main God? Where is he?!” Luo Tangtang crouched down, gripping Luo Er’s shoulders and demanding urgently.
Luo Er frowned, startled by her intensity. “What’s gotten into you!”
“You’re lying to me, aren’t you? What tricks are you playing now?”
“What are you talking about? We need to hurry to the Central Continent to find the core of the world!” Luo Er pouted, her eyes clearly screaming, *Are you crazy?*
*Could it be… I’ve been thrown into some other place again?*
A sharp pain shot through Luo Tangtang’s head, and she clutched it. She felt utterly exhausted, without a shred of energy. An empty void filled her heart, leaving only a dead stillness.
“The core of the world.” Luo Tangtang pressed her lips together. *Do I have to go through this all over again?*
“Stop spacing out!” Luo Er patted Luo Tangtang’s leg, urging her to get moving.
Luo Tangtang paused, glanced at Luo Er, and without a word, pulled up her hood. “Let’s go.”
Luo Tangtang’s voice was a little cold. She wanted the real truth, not some self-righteous, false compensation meant to soothe her conscience.
They seemed to be in the north, so they could only travel south. As they did, the temperature gradually rose, and the wind and snow subsided. By the time they reached the Central Continent, the streets were bustling with people, noisy and incredibly lively.
Luo Er was very excited, looking left and right, finding everything new and fascinating.
“Number One!” Luo Er tugged Luo Tangtang’s sleeve, pointing to a stall selling candy figures.
Luo Tangtang spared it a quick glance.
Luo Er’s face fell instantly with disappointment.
“Central Continent, core of the world… what are we supposed to do here?” Luo Er asked.
“I don’t know.” Luo Tangtang didn’t feel like talking to her.
“Aaaah, I really want one of those! They look so good!” Luo Er whined, glancing back at the candy figures, still unwilling to give up.
Luo Tangtang still ignored her. Luo Er pouted. Then, a candy figure suddenly appeared in her hand.
“If you won’t get it for me, I’ll get it myself!” Luo Er declared proudly.
“Huh?” Luo Er’s eyes lit up as she looked at the candy figure in her hand.
“That’s stealing,” Luo Tangtang stated flatly.
“It’s immoral,” she added.
Luo Er paused for a moment, then seemed even more self-assured. “So what?”
Luo Tangtang remained silent. Her gaze drifted to the small stall selling candy figures. She slowly looked at her own hand, clenching it tightly. It still felt unreal.
*Thump.*
Luo Tangtang slowly raised her eyes and softly uttered two words: “Karmic retribution.”
Luo Er had tripped and fallen flat on her face. The candy figure in her hand had flown off and landed in the dirt.
She scrambled up from the ground, looking disheveled, her eyes wide with disbelief. “How could I fall?”
“This shouldn’t happen!” Her big eyes were filled with utter disbelief. “The Main God said his creations wouldn’t fall!”
“Just because you have the most powerful backer means you won’t fall?” Luo Tangtang asked softly.
“Obviously.” Luo Er shot her a look. “Have you ever seen the Main God fall?”
*What kind of absurd logic is that?* Luo Tangtang thought.
Luo Tangtang frowned. “Since you’re here, in this world, you have to follow its rules.”
“Oh.” Luo Er responded dismissively.
Luo Tangtang lowered her gaze.
A moment later, two loud thuds sounded again. Luo Tangtang paused, looking at the snow-white, fluffy pastry that had been in Luo Er’s hand and was now also on the ground.
“I told you,” Luo Tangtang said. “Karmic retribution.”
After this happened a few more times, Luo Er finally said, suspicious, “Number One, are you the one making me fall?”
Luo Tangtang was perfectly calm, her expression unchanged. “Why would I do that?”
Luo Er looked even more suspicious. *Is it really karmic retribution?*
“Don’t call me Number One anymore,” Luo Tangtang said.
“Call me Luo Yi.”
“Luo Yi?” Luo Er turned to look at her. “Why?”
Luo Tangtang said, “Since we’ve come to the mortal realm, we should experience something of its ordinary life.”
“Then what about me?”
“Luo Er.” Luo Tangtang’s expression was complicated.
“Luo Er.” Luo Er nodded. “Alright then. Feels a bit random, though.”
Hearing this, the corners of Luo Tangtang’s mouth slowly curved into a bitter smile.
*Beep beep.* Suddenly, a sound came from something Luo Tangtang was carrying.
“The core of the world!” Luo Er instantly perked up, her eyes shining. “It’s nearby!”
The Main God had set up a detection spell so that once they got close to the core of the world, they would be able to sense it.
Luo Er’s small figure darted forward quickly in the direction of the signal. Luo Tangtang hesitated for a moment but followed.
When Luo Tangtang arrived, she found Luo Er standing to one side, looking somewhat stunned. Luo Tangtang followed her gaze and saw a young girl in ragged clothes sitting on the ground. The child was holding a dirty steamed bun and looking around cautiously.
“This is the core of the world?” Luo Er asked, her tone laced with uncertainty.
Luo Er looked completely bewildered. In her mind, the core of a world should be an immensely powerful being. Yet, the person before them was tiny, looking only about six or seven years old, and her cultivation seemed to be only at the first or second level of Qi Refining.
Something seemed very wrong.
Luo Er turned her head and was startled to see Luo Tangtang’s expression—she had almost completely lost her composure.
In all her memories, Luo Tangtang had seen Yun Shayi in many forms—cold and powerful, carefree and ruthless—but never like this.
*Is this… how we first met?*
Luo Tangtang stared at the young Yun Shayi. She looked malnourished, her life clearly very difficult.
Indeed. The young Yun Shayi stared at the slightly moldy part of the bun in her hand, then resolutely stuffed it into her mouth.
“Don’t eat that!” A sharp pain lanced through Luo Tangtang’s heart. She rushed forward and knocked the moldy bun from the girl’s hand.
“Who are you?” The little girl looked up, her dark eyes wide with surprise.
“I—!” Luo Tangtang paused, then said gently, “I’ll take you to get something proper to eat, alright?”