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Chapter 123: Back To That Key Moment ②

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After the New Years, several visitors arrived at their snow-clad residence. The party comprised the original companions who’d gone with them to seal the Devil’s Tree, with Kaiser at the head. There were a total of five people and over twenty guards. One of the girls had a special identity. She was Tylor’s sister, the little princess of the Holy Empire, and Kaiser’s fiancee; Ticia.

After sealing the Devil’s Tree, Kaiser and the others were awarded the title of ‘Hero’ by the Holy Empire, and they became famous throughout the continent. Ticia fell in love with Kaiser at first sight during the Hero honouring ceremony. When he graduated, the King announced their marriage.

The purpose of their visit was to invite Tylor to Kaiser and Ticia’s wedding ceremony.

Before coming here, Kaiser hadn’t known that Shang Ke was still alive. So, when he walked into the small courtyard of the bamboo house, and found Shang Ke making tea on a stone table in the snow, his shock was palpable.

“Shang… Shang Ke!”  Kaiser watched in disbelief as Shang Ke slowly walked towards him. His memories of the time they had lived together three years ago emerged bit by bit. Each scene appeared vividly, including the bloody conclusion that unfolded. The man he believed to be sleeping under the ground was now alive and whole before his eyes.

“How are you?”  Shang Ke smiled at him happily.

Kaiser dashed up to him and lunged over to wrap the man tightly in his arms. “You’re alive! You’re still alive!”

His warm temperature, his steady heartbeat, and his familiar smell made Kaiser feel not only the joy of recovering something he had lost but also a sense of security.

Suddenly, a strong force tore Kaiser apart from Shang Ke, and Tylor stared at him with an unwavering gaze. He had his suspicions of Kaiser’s feelings for Shang Ke in the past, but now he could confirm it with his own eyes.

Kaiser hadn’t recovered from his excitement yet when he saw Tylor holding Shang Ke’s waist, and his eyes flickered slightly.

“Second brother.”  The little princess Ticia stepped forward and greeted Tylor softly. Her eyes scanned Shang Ke from head to foot once.

“Your wedding date has been fixed?”  Tylor emphasised the phrase ‘wedding date’.

Shang Ke was not surprised by Kaiser’s marriage to Ticia, since according to the information provided by the system, Kaiser did marry the princess. As the ‘main character’ of this world, he would have a fruitful career and love, and his future would be smooth-sailing.

Just then, the voice of the system broke out in his mind.【‘Main Character’ conversion has occurred. The world’s main character has converted from Kaiser to Tylor.】

Shang Ke’s eyes flashed with a trace of surprise. Main character conversion? Why?

The system did not answer. In these worlds, some characters are vital to the fate of the world. Sometimes, there are side characters in the world that outshine the main character and essentially take their place. 

In this world, Kaiser held a portion of the fate of the world and had the chance to become the real ‘main character’. If Shang Ke had fallen in love with him instead, he would have become the real ‘main character’. Following Shang Ke would have helped him swallow the role completely, and the moment he succeeded, he would immediately take possession of the world’s fate as the destined character.

In previous worlds, secondary characters who had the chance to become the main character also existed. Fortunately, Shang Ke had always recognized the true main character, and he hadn’t allowed the secondary characters to gain enough power to contend for the spot of the destined character.

The difficulty of the task not only depended on the task itself but also on Shang Ke’s decisions in life.

“Yes, the wedding date is in three months.”  Ticia smiled slightly. “Second brother, you won’t miss your sister’s wedding, will you?”

“I will go.” Tylor replied, standing upright in the courtyard. He had no intention of inviting anyone to come in and sit down in the house.

“It’s freezing.” Shang Ke called out, “Come in and have a chat. It’s just that the room is very small, so I’m afraid I’ll have to let the others rest in the yard.”

“Thank you for the kind gesture, Lord Osari.”  Ticia responded politely as she glanced at Kaiser nearby.

Tylor reluctantly let them in. Shang Ke poured them hot tea and sent some refreshments to the guards in the courtyard to warm them up.

Ticia noticed how Shang Ke worked in an orderly manner and had a good impression of him.  It was just that he and second brother lived together in the same room, had a close relationship, and Kaiser’s attitude towards him… Ticia had a bit of a problem with that.

Shang Ke told Tylor to catch up with his sister while he went to the kitchen to prepare their meals. But after a while, Tylor came in and told him there was no need to work. The visitors were going to leave very soon.

“They came all the way here and you don’t want them to have a meal?”  Shang Ke asked, puzzled.

“Making for twenty or thirty people is too troublesome.”  Tylor leaned in and kissed his face. “Reserve your delicious meals for only me and Pupu.”

Shang Ke shrugged and didn’t insist.

When the two sent them out, Kaiser seemed to want to talk to Shang Ke alone, but he couldn’t even get a word out.

After a few more turns, Ticia was very surprised to see the neat vegetable plots and gardens, the exquisitely designed amusement park nearby, and the children who were playing in it. Shang Ke’s wisdom and ingenuity and Tylor’s serene demeanor surprised her. The once majestic and refined Prince Tylor was now willing to live in seclusion with a man in the mountains.

Ticia sighed in her heart. She couldn’t blame Tylor for being bitterly disappointed with them.  After he became a half-devil, no one supported him or accepted him. They just politely told him to rest in a quiet place. How could Tylor not understand their fear veiled in politeness?

Before leaving, Ticia asked Tylor, “Second brother, do you really plan to be with Osari? You are both men and I’m afraid you’ll suffer criticisms in the future.”

“Do you know why I became a half-devil?” Tylor asked in reply.

“Wasn’t it because of the devil qi?”

“It’s because of Shang Ke’s death.”

“He’s your weakness, so you want to be with him?”

Tylor was expressionless as he continued, “Do you know why I could get rid of the devil qi and return to normal again?”

“Why?”

“Because Shang Ke came back to me.”

So? Ticia stared at him with a puzzled face.

Tylor looked at Shang Ke standing not too far away. His voice was warm as he spoke, “Only the power of faith can dispel the devil qi. Shang Ke is my faith.”

Ticia looked at him in shock. It wasn’t uncommon to regard one’s lover as their faith, but it required extremely tenacious and pure emotions to transform this faith into a force strong enough to dispel devil qi.

Her second brother gave his everything to that man.

Ticia could not determine whether she was sad or envious. Who in the world wouldn’t want to receive such genuine love? Osari was really lucky.

“I understand.” Ticia smiled at Tylor. “Take Osari—no, Shang Ke, back to the palace. I’ll do everything I can to convince father and mother not to obstruct the both of you.”

“Thank you.” Warmth flashed through Tylor’s eyes for a moment. Although he didn’t care whether or not he gained the family’s approval, he accepted Ticia’s kind offer.

Ticia shrugged her shoulders and helplessly said, “I am also doing this for my future. My fiance obviously has feelings he shouldn’t for your man. Perhaps he himself has yet to realize it, but if I don’t break him away from those feelings soon, it could affect my future with him.”

When Tylor heard this, his face sank. He responded coldly, “You’d better take good care of your fiance. If he dares to have any ideas on Shang Ke, I will make him wish for death!”

“Don’t worry.”  Ticia adjusted her dress gracefully and affirmed, “I’m still very confident in my skills. In less than two years, he’ll be hell-bent on me.”

The group of people came suddenly and also left straightforwardly. For Ticia, since they achieved their goal, there was no longer a need to stay. Tylor always kept his word. When he said he would come to her wedding, he wouldn’t break his promise.

Sure enough, more than two months later, Tylor came to the capital with Shang Ke and Pupu.

Shang Ke prepared to suffer criticism and ridicule, only to find out that Ticia had taken care of everything. Even though there was still some critique, many expressed their support and blessings for the couple.

A few years ago, the mission to seal the Devil’s Tree had caused quite a sensation throughout the mainland. As important members of the mission, Shang Ke and Tylor’s contributions were compiled into stories and widely circulated around Tulan.

However, what everyone was most interested in was not the heroic tale that people had heard for several years, but the love story that had spread out just recently. Its main characters were Shang Ke and Tylor.

The two of them possessed god-given talents. They were once called the ‘School’s Twin Stars’ and were highly respected. However, Shang Ke was defeated in a duel and disappeared without a trace. It was not until several years later that he quietly returned to the capital and made a living by selling lunch boxes. Alas, if you thought selling lunch boxes was a sad profession, you were wrong. 

Even if he sold lunch boxes, Shang Ke did it with style. He sold an elegant demeanour, fame and taste, and was eventually known as the ‘Prince of Lunch Boxes’. It was only after accidentally tasting one of Shang Ke’s packed lunches that Tylor recognized his identity. The gazes of the two men cut through the vast crowd buying lunch boxes. They stood on opposite sides of the unruly mob, but their lives were forever bound from that very moment.

When he heard this, Shang Ke couldn’t help ridiculing it. Did they dare not change the location of their romantic encounter? In a pile of sweaty people buying lunch boxes, who had the spare time to feel love?

Tylor was of the same mind. “That’s right, the author of this story is too uncreative.”

Then, the two men took part in the mission to seal the Devil’s Tree. The process was not without its twists and turns, and the experience was full of mystery. It was simply tear-jerking. Their feelings gradually evolved amidst various obstacles and encounters; enough to even pledge an oath to never abandon each other.

However, it seemed the heavens intended to test their feelings. When they finally sealed the Devil’s Tree with the rest of their companions and prepared to revel in victory, traitors attacked them. Shang Ke, to protect his lover, blocked a fatal blow with his body. He died in Tylor’s arms, drenched in blood.

Tylor was devastated and heartbroken. He was eventually corrupted by the devil qi, and he became a half-devil. A person without faith. To not endanger the lives of the people, he took Shang Ke’s body and lived in seclusion in the snowy mountains, where he waited alone for three years.

Then, the most unbelievable and amazing miracle happened! Shang Ke resurrected three years after his death, becoming the longest-living Familiar of God in history. He returned to the world with god’s blessing, and came back to the human world, to Tylor’s side.

Tylor had fulfilled his oath of never abandoning his lover, and Shang Ke broke the boundary between life and death. After many hardships, the two could finally spend the rest of their lives together.

Such a passionate couple, how could anyone have the heart to break them apart? Their romance was almost treated as a legend by the people, and it spread across the lands.

“Shang Ke, you are my faith.”

Hand in hand we go, from young to old.

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