# 1101
Chapter 1102: Awakening
Endless darkness was like a deep-sea current, wrapping around Lin Qiye. As his body slowly sank, his hollow eyes stared at the void before him, like a puppet stripped of its soul. Helpless against the dark's devouring embrace, he simply drifted downward with the surrounding current—sinking, sinking, sinking...
Every time he thought he had fallen to the depths of the abyss, some force would forcibly hold him up, continuing to drag him further down.
Lin Qiye didn't know how long he had been sinking. Perhaps a day, perhaps a month, perhaps a year.
Here, time seemed to have lost its meaning. Only darkness and Chaos were the eternal melody.
After an unknown period, a voice suddenly appeared beside his ear.
"—Who are you?"
A flicker of light returned to Lin Qiye's hollow eyes. He blinked, dazedly following the direction of the voice, gazing toward a corner of the endless darkness.
There, a child of six or seven stood quietly in the center of the darkness, frowning as he looked at Lin Qiye.
Is that... me?
At the sight of the child's face, Lin Qiye froze.
The child's appearance was almost identical to his younger self. The only difference was that the child's gaze, like the abyss surrounding him, was unfathomably deep.
The child frowned, looking at Lin Qiye, and spoke again:
"—Who are you?"
"I am Lin Qiye."
Hearing this answer, the child's brow furrowed even tighter. He squinted at Lin Qiye for a moment, then shook his head:
"—Wrong..."
"Where's the mistake?"
"—You are not me."
As the last word fell, a thunderclap erupted in Lin Qiye's mind. The surrounding darkness churned violently.
At that moment, a point of golden light ignited in the darkness above Lin Qiye's head, like a sacred scorching sun, rapidly tearing the darkness apart. A mysterious force suddenly wrapped around Lin Qiye's body, pulling his consciousness toward that blazing sun, rapidly ascending!
"Hmm?"
A puzzled voice came from within that orb of light. The moment Lin Qiye heard it, he slightly froze, finding it oddly familiar.
Before he could discern the voice's identity, his form had already merged entirely into that mass of golden light. Endless brightness flooded his vision, and a strong sense of dizziness enveloped his heart.
...
Lin Qiye's body jerked upright from the green grass.
He widened his eyes, the gold in his pupils receding like the tide. His breathing was rough, beads of sweat hanging from the tip of his nose. He looked as if he had just finished intense exercise, drenched in perspiration.
As consciousness gradually returned, Lin Qiye's breathing slowly settled. A gentle hand patted his back, and a warm voice reached his ears.
"Brother, are you alright?"
Lin Qiye's body trembled. He quickly turned his head to look—Yang Jian sat beside him, eyes full of concern.
"A Jin..." Lin Qiye remained frozen in place for a long while before regaining his composure. Fragmentary memories surged through his mind, connecting cause and effect. "Didn't I... die?"
"The Heavenly Lord intervened to preserve your life, and then the Seraph Michael used a miracle to bring you back." A smile appeared on Yang Jian's face. "Brother, you survived."
Michael... Wasn't He on the Moon?
Right, that soft "hmm" in the darkness just now—it seemed to be His voice too.
So what was all that he had just seen?
Countless questions flooded Lin Qiye's mind, but at present, he had no energy to ponder them. After being resurrected, his mind was still in chaos. He needed time to readjust.
Lin Qiye pressed his palms against the ground, trying to stand, but his legs went weak and he nearly fell.
Yang Jian beside him quickly reached out to support him. "The Heavenly Lord said your body's vitality has just revived and your muscles need time to readapt. No strenuous activity."
Yang Jian kicked Little Black Wart, who had been lying on the ground snoring away. The latter rolled a somersault on the ground, dazedly lifted his head, and upon seeing Yang Jian's gaze, immediately transformed into a black-and-grey dog-skin wheelchair.
Yang Jian helped Lin Qiye onto the wheelchair, then pushed the handles, slowly moving them forward.
"Where is the Heavenly Lord? And Michael?"
"They're both in the main hall discussing matters. It seems they are negotiating some kind of transaction."
"Transaction..."
Lin Qiye suddenly recalled that when he had encountered Michael again during the Great Cangnan Catastrophe years ago, He had also mentioned that the reason He passed the [Mortal Divine Realm] to Lin Qiye was because of some transaction He had made with Great Xia's Lingbao Tianzun a century prior.
Looking at it this way, the relationship between Michael and the Gods of Great Xia had always been fairly amicable?
A sweet breeze brushed across Lin Qiye's face. Several celestial cranes circled overhead, and misty spiritual energy, mixed with the fragrance of verdant green grass, filled his nostrils. His pale face gradually regained its color.
Yang Jian simply pushed Lin Qiye in this manner, crossing the green meadows, passing over spirit streams and small bridges. Neither of them spoke, simply quietly enjoying this long-awaited reunion.
Lin Qiye closed his eyes, basking in the sun, comfortably reclining in the dog-skin wheelchair. In his heart, he couldn't help but reflect on the wondrous nature of fate.
Four years ago, Lin Qiye would never have dreamed that one day he would reunite with Yang Jian in such a manner, in such a place.
"Brother." Yang Jian's voice came from behind as he pushed the wheelchair.
"Mm?"
"All these years... how have you been?"
"...Not bad, I suppose." Lin Qiye smiled. "Why? You want to hear my story?"
"I'm a bit curious." Yang Jian answered honestly. "I always knew you would be impressive, Brother, but I never expected that in just a few short years, you would reach this point..."
"，确实经历了不少事情...你想听，我就跟你说说，反正我们现在有的是时间。"
Lin Qiye turned his head to meet Yang Jian's eyes. "But before that, I have a question for you too."
Yang Jian looked at him. "What?"
"The current you... are you Yang Jian... or are you Yang Jin?"
Yang Jian froze. He was silent for a moment, about to say something, when Lin Qiye shook his head and turned back around with a smile.
"Never mind, that question doesn't matter... Whether you're Yang Jian or Yang Jin, in my heart, you're still my little brother."
Yang Jian stood frozen for a moment. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He hummed an acknowledgment and continued pushing the wheelchair forward.
"Come to think of it, being able to claim the legendary Erlang Shen as a little brother—I as the older brother have really hit the jackpot here."
"Brother, weren't you always one to grab a bargain since you were little?"
"? When was I ever?"
"Every time Aunt Liu from next door set up her stall to sell eggs, you would shamelessly try to get her to throw in two extra for free. And despite being blind, you ran faster than anyone when snatching those eggs..."
"That was with outsiders. When have I ever taken advantage of family? Don't make things up..."
"..."