Chapter 149: Rebirth at the Break of Dawn

The wind and sand ceased, and the woman’s figure deep within the Rift gradually faded away, yet the call of “Yan’er” still echoed in his ears. Shen Yan stood in place, the brand of “Never Uninstall” on his chest burning as if it would sear through his flesh. He didn’t move, nor did he speak, only slowly closing his palm—the residual warmth of the light sword still pulsed at the tip of his finger, like a living heartbeat.

The next moment, the ground beneath his feet trembled, and four familiar streams of Energy surged from the void, wrapping around his limbs and body as if someone had reached out and forcibly dragged him from the depths of the data abyss.

He opened his eyes to the morning light slanting through the broken walls and ruins of the imperial garden.

On the pile of rubble, Ye Zhao still gripped the Frost Soul Sword, its tip embedded in the ground, her shoulder stained with blood, a strand of hair loose on her forehead. She glanced up at him, saying nothing, only turning the hilt half a circle in her palm, the binary patterns shimmering faintly in the morning sun.

Pei Yue crouched beside a pile of medicinal dregs, having just tucked a Silver Needle into her sleeve, her fingertips stained with still-wet blood. She pressed a hand to her temple and said softly, “Back? Don’t pretend you’re fine. Your heartbeat is as erratic as runaway Code.”

Luo Li sat on the edge of a stone step, the tip of her tail gently resting on the back of his foot, warmth creeping up his pant leg. Without looking at him, she stared at a patch of scorched earth in the distance and murmured, “You promised to take me to see the sea… Don’t fall apart before we get there.”

Yu Xiaotang bounced over to him, holding up a freshly drawn Talisman Paper, the ink still wet, her coin-adorned hair tie jingling. “Brother Shen! I just finished writing a new fireworks talisman. When it gets dark, I’ll set off a cross-year-level show for you! Guaranteed to be more spectacular than the last time we blew up the cafeteria!”

Shen Yan opened his mouth, but his throat felt as if sandpaper had scraped it, unable to utter a single word.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to respond, but the Spiritual Energy within his body was still surging wildly. His Source Code Spiritual Root felt as if it had been forcibly unplugged and Restarted, the Terminal Interface flickering in his mind, filled with Error Reporting Notices. He could sense that Ye Shi’er’s final whispers still lingered at the edges of his consciousness, like a Background Process that couldn’t be fully deleted.

He closed his eyes and silently recited the names of the four—Ye Zhao, Pei Yue, Luo Li, Yu Xiaotang.

Once, twice… his heartbeat slowly steadied.

“I’m still alive,” he finally managed to squeeze out the words. “And this time, I really didn’t blow up the furnace.”

Pei Yue rolled her eyes and promptly jabbed a needle into his wrist. A cool, healing force seeped in, making him shiver.

“Stop the nonsense,” she said. “If you’d been ten breaths later, we would’ve all charged into the Rift to find you.”

Ye Zhao sheathed her sword, the metallic rasp crisp and sharp. “As long as the Code doesn’t crash, the person isn’t lost.”

Luo Li coiled her tail halfway around his wrist. “Next time before you leave, write an automatic Backup Program.”

Yu Xiaotang leaned close to his face, blinking. “Want me to carve a ‘Shen Yan Exclusive Resurrection Armor’ for you right now? Buy one year, get six months free! Buy three, get one free!”

Shen Yan laughed, a bit weakly, but it truly warmed him from the heart.

He knew he had returned.

Not by any System Refactoring, nor by Defying Heaven through his Source Code Spiritual Root.

It was because they had stayed here, waiting for him to come back for a meal.

The morning breeze brushed past as the emperor, leaning on a cane, emerged from the side hall. Though his dragon robe was worn, his presence remained undiminished. Step by step, he walked up to Shen Yan, retrieving half of a bronze tiger tally from his robes and offering it to him.

“The Cultivation Realm and the imperial family shall jointly govern the world. From this day forth, let this tally serve as proof.”

Shen Yan did not take it.

He lowered his head to look at the tiger tally. Its surface was carved with cloud and thunder patterns, and faint traces of blood could be seen on the back, as if it had passed through countless life-and-death exchanges. Suddenly, he felt this object was too heavy, pressing down on him until he could hardly breathe.

The Terminal Interface suddenly popped up with a line of green text: “System upgrade completed. Unlock ‘Cross-Interface Transmission’ function?”

He raised his hand and directly tapped “Cancel.”

Then, under everyone’s gaze, he took the tiger tally. With a flick of his fingertip, Spiritual Energy sharp as a blade sliced through it—crack—splitting the half-piece of tiger tally evenly into four fragments.

He turned and handed one fragment to Ye Zhao: “Guard the northern border. Keep an eye on those sects trying to stir up trouble for me.”

Ye Zhao was stunned for a moment before taking it. Her fingertips brushed against his palm. She didn’t speak, but the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

The second fragment he handed to Pei Yue: “Rebuilding Medicine Valley and allocating medicinal herbs will still rely on you.”

Pei Yue froze, then shook her head with a smile: “Are you dumping all the responsibilities on me?”

“What else?” He shrugged. “You’re the best at saving people while scolding me anyway.”

The third fragment he handed to Luo Li: “The Demon Clan needs someone who can speak for them.”

Luo Li stared at the fragment for two seconds, then suddenly reached out and carved a small wave pattern on it with her nail: “On the day you fulfill your promise, I’ll throw it into the sea.”

The last fragment he offered to Yu Xiaotang: “Reform the Talisman Dao. You can change the fried chicken recipe, but don’t blow up my hair again.”

Yu Xiaotang snatched it away, grinning widely: “Don’t worry, Brother Shen! Next time I’ll blow up someone else!”

The emperor watched as the four fragments of the tiger tally fell into their hands. He remained silent for a long time before finally sighing: “Good, very good… This is true joint governance.”

After saying this, he turned and left, his back aged yet straight.

Shen Yan stood where he was, morning light spilling over his shoulders. The four women stood around him, their auras intertwining, faintly forming an invisible barrier that completely isolated the bloodshed and madness of the previous night.

He lowered his head to look at his empty palm, then touched the brand on his chest—the warmth was still there, but it no longer burned. Instead, it felt like a medal embedded in his flesh and blood.

“System,” he silently thought, “next time you upgrade, can you change the theme color? Black is too depressing.”

The Terminal remained silent for a moment before popping up with a line of text: “Suggest switching to pink heart-themed version. Already preset as default option.”

“…Did you secretly connect to Yu Xiaotang’s Talisman Array?”

Before the System could reply, Yu Xiaotang suddenly tugged his sleeve: “Brother Shen! Look!”

She pointed at the sky.

A giant firework made of Talisman Paper was slowly taking shape among the clouds, bursting with colorful light and forming four large characters—Welcome Home.

Ye Zhao snorted lightly: “Wasting Spiritual Power.”

Pei Yue shook her head with a smile: “So childish.”

Luo Li’s tail gently brushed against his lower back: “But… it’s quite warm.”

Shen Yan looked up at that burst of light and suddenly felt his eyes grow a little hot.

He didn’t speak again, only quietly reached out, hooking his fingertip around Ye Zhao’s little finger. His other hand was gently held by Pei Yue, Luo Li’s tail wrapped around him, and Yu Xiaotang hung onto his shoulder.

The five of them stood together, their shadows stretched long by the morning light, overlapping like a piece of Code that could not be separated.

From the distant bell tower came the first chime of morning lessons.

Shen Yan lowered his head. His phone screen lit up, and the Terminal Interface displayed a new Notice:

“Four high-frequency Resonate Signals Detected. Initiate ‘Five-Person Collaborative Debug Mode’?”

He stared at the line of text, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

“Wait until nightfall.”

(End of Chapter)