Chapter 0315: Though I Am Reluctant to Part, I Still Wish You a Long and Healthy Life

Xie Jinyu slightly lowered his eyelids, the internal energy in his hand dissipating into thin air. Seeing Xie Chengze reach out to touch the Heavenly Decree, he suddenly raised his hand and grasped his slender wrist.

Xie Chengze cast a puzzled glance his way.

“Second Brother.”

Xie Jinyu gazed at Xie Chengze, a flicker of struggle seeming to pass through his eyes. After hesitating in his heart for a long time, he finally shook his head and released his wrist. “It’s nothing.”

Xie Chengze smiled faintly and nodded, then placed his hand on the Heavenly Decree.

Every year, he would touch the Heavenly Decree to check on the condition of his body in the modern world. The surgery after the car accident had been successful, and he had passed the critical stage, but the doctors said he was now in a state of pseudocoma. Although he exhibited some characteristics of a vegetative state, he actually retained consciousness and could even hear sounds from the outside world.

It was just that certain factors kept him in an unawakened coma. Perhaps one day, he would truly wake up.

Xie Chengze knew that as long as his soul returned to its place, he could go back to the modern era.

The moment his fingertip touched the Heavenly Decree, Xie Chengze’s vision once again plunged into darkness, and his body felt weightless, as if floating in the vacuum of space.

The hospital room was still bustling. To the left of his bed was an elderly man who loved listening to the radio, which was currently playing a Northeast Errenzhuan program. To the right, a mother was reading fairy tales to her sick child. And directly in front, the television was blaring, broadcasting local news.

“Recently, a touching incident occurred in Qingcheng City. Xie, a freshman at Qingcheng University, saw an out-of-control car about to hit Shen, a student taking the college entrance exams. He courageously rushed to save her. Unfortunately, despite emergency hospital treatment, Shen tragically passed away. Although Xie is no longer in critical condition, he remains unconscious. Shen’s parents, with heavy hearts and deep regret, have expressed their commitment to covering all of Xie’s medical expenses…”

Xie Chengze’s consciousness drifted, thinking to himself, So the young man he saved was named Shen…

What a coincidence.

Just as he was about to listen more closely, he suddenly heard someone burst into the room, their hurried footsteps accompanied by a panicked voice, “Xiao Ze!”

Xie Chengze’s spirit trembled.

“Xiao Ze, Mom and Dad are here! Sob… You foolish child, why were you so reckless…”

The familiar voices, even if he could only hear them over the phone once a year, were unmistakable to Xie Chengze. They were his parents.

“Xiao Ze, please wake up, okay? Don’t scare Mom. Mom is easily frightened…”

“Xiao Ze, open your eyes and look at Dad, okay? Didn’t you always want to see Mom and Dad? Stop sleeping. Mom and Dad are really back! Open your eyes, please?”

Xie Chengze’s body trembled slightly. His parents’ faces surfaced in his mind. Hearing their anxious, heartbroken pleas, he struggled to open his eyes, to tell them he heard them, to wake up and embrace them.

But in the next instant, his hand abruptly separated from the Heavenly Decree. His vision returned, and he found himself back in the dim chamber.

“Dad! Mom!” Xie Chengze frantically tried to touch the Heavenly Decree again, but Xie Jinyu tightly wrapped his arms around his waist. Xie Jinyu’s panicked and sorrowful voice echoed in Xie Chengze’s ears, “Second Brother! You’re bleeding!”

Xie Chengze jolted awake, touching beneath his nose where blood flowed incessantly, impossible to stanch.

“I’m… going anemic…”

His eyes rolled back as he fainted.

When he woke again, the room was crowded. Shen Yuan, Su Qinghe, Zhang Yuheng, Jing Ze, Ouyang Jiu, and Zhu Xiaobiao had all come, along with Xie Shoujun, Xie Zimiao, Xie Ping An, Xie Shu, and Xie Ji. Xie Ji was Xie Shu’s legitimate eldest son, who had been named Crown Prince by Xie Jinyu three years prior. He adored sleeping beside Xie Chengze, listening to him recount Journey to the West and Water Margin.

“Imperial Uncle…” Now, Xie Ji had usurped Xie Jinyu’s spot, leaning tearfully over the bedside. “Imperial Uncle, don’t go, wu wu wu…”

Xie Jinyu rubbed his temples and reached to move Xie Ji aside. “Crown Prince, such weeping is unbefitting your station.”

“Father is old and still clings to Imperial Uncle crying—why can’t I?” Perhaps influenced by Xie Chengze’s nurturing and affection since childhood, Xie Ji was far more rebellious than Xie Jinyu. He showed no fear of his father, often leaving Xie Jinyu speechless with rage.

This time, Xie Jinyu saw black. Despite the unspoken understanding among those present, he had never been so bluntly exposed in public.

“Xie Ji! Confined to quarters upon our return!” Xie Jinyu roared impotently.

Xie Ji stuck out his tongue, then sobered and turned a displeased gaze to Xie Chengze. “Imperial Uncle, you promised me you’d live to fifty!”

“This Imperial Uncle broke his word.” Xie Chengze ruffled the boy’s hair, glancing at the assembled crowd with a twinge of embarrassment.

He had never been skilled with sentimental words. With so many visitors, he was at a loss.

He couldn’t exactly offer each a parting message.

“Second Brother…” Xie Zimiao’s eyes also welled up, a familiar slender pouch slung over his shoulder. “Should you take another piece of old ginseng…”

Xie Chengze shrank back in horror toward the inner side of the bed. “Absolutely not.”

“I’ve no final words for any of you.” He cleared his throat. “In short, after I’m gone, just carry on with your lives.”

“Oh, right.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Don’t bury gold or treasures with me. Please use salt to inter me—it slows decay.”

Someone as beautiful as him would be a pity to let rot too soon.

Xie Shoujun sat down, flicking his forehead gently, a trace of sorrow in his eyes. “Very well, as you wish.”

After everyone had left, only Shen Yuan remained.

Shen Yuan sat by the bed, leaning forward to tuck a stray lock behind Xie Chengze’s ear.

“Going back?”

After over twenty years together, Xie Chengze had long entrusted him with the truth—what his original world was like and all he had endured.

“Mm.” A lovely smile graced Xie Chengze’s face as he slowly rolled onto Shen Yuan’s lap, gazing up with unusually bright eyes. “Today, I heard my parents’ voices.”

A flicker of heartache crossed Shen Yuan’s gaze, but he felt joy for him. He knew Xie Chengze’s lifelong wish had been to see his parents again, and clearly, the time had come.

“Congratulations.” He gently stroked his hair, fingertips tracing across Xie Chengze’s forehead, slowly descending to his delicate eye corners, lightly caressing them. Though his heart was filled with endless reluctance, he still chose to let go, just as he had twenty years ago.

May you live a long and healthy life over there.