# 1574
Chapter 1570: Stop Waiting
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Lin Qiye stared blankly at An Qingyu's ashen face, momentarily at a loss for words to offer comfort.
He watched as the weakened An Qingyu cradled the battered black coffin in his arms and turned to walk out of the palace. That grey eye revealed no hint of emotion, while the other normal eye overflowed with unprecedented sorrow.
Lin Qiye, the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother of the West—no one called out to stop him. They simply watched in silence as he carried the black coffin into the rain.
Outside the palace, Guangchengzi and Taibai Zhenren saw An Qingyu leave. They glanced back at the Queen Mother of the West, who gave them a slight nod. The two then followed closely behind An Qingyu.
Only after An Qingyu's figure vanished into the rain did the Queen Mother of the West slowly speak:
"That girl's life is beyond saving. The most critical issue now is An Qingyu... you must have sensed it, right?"
Lin Qiye watched the departing figure, saying nothing.
Back when he had rescued An Qingyu from the mist, he had already noticed that the young man was suffused with an extremely dense aura of the Cthulhu Faction. It wasn't pollution per se, but rather an immense power emanating from the depths of his soul—perhaps even surpassing any Cthulhu Faction creature Lin Qiye had ever encountered.
The human essence within An Qingyu was nearly completely gone... At present, he resembled more of a humanoid creature that had stepped out from Cthulhu mythology.
"He proactively touched the Gate of Truth, and that eye saw the 'truth' behind the door... The knowledge from beyond this world is too vast, vast enough to alter a person's thoughts and character."
"So you assigned two Golden Immortals to watch over him?" Lin Qiye turned to look at the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother of the West. "Are you worried he might betray Great Xia?"
"Heavenly Court must prepare for the worst-case scenario."
The Jade Emperor spoke calmly.
Lin Qiye fell silent for a long moment, not bothering to argue further. He strode toward the palace exit.
Just as he was about to leave, several figures walked in from outside. Lin Qiye looked up and was slightly taken aback.
Zuo Qing, Zhou Ping, Master Chen, Lu Wuwei, Wang Mian, the [Spirit Medium] squad... These people had been searching for An Qingyu in the mist all along. When they heard that Heavenly Court had brought him back, they had rushed over.
"Qiye, why do you look so terrible?" Zhou Ping carried a black box on his back and asked softly. "What happened? Why is it only you and Cao Yuan here? Where are the others?"
Lin Qiye gazed into Zhou Ping's worried eyes but couldn't find the words to say anything. He could only shake his head bitterly.
"Sorry..."
He quickened his pace and vanished outside the palace.
Zuo Qing watched Lin Qiye's departing back and seemed to guess what had happened. She turned to look at the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother of the West.
"It's about An Qingyu...?"
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The gentle rain streaked across the overcast sky. Cao Yuan, who had been standing outside the palace gates, saw Lin Qiye emerge and walked alongside him without asking questions. The conversation inside had been clearly audible at the doorway... An Qingyu had heard it too.
The two walked in companionable silence along the misty stone paths. Water droplets slid down the towering palace eaves, landing on the crimson cloak and spreading into patches of dampness.
After an unknown length of time, Lin Qiye finally stopped.
Not far below the stone steps stood a ruined courtyard. A figure was kneeling before a battered black coffin within, using silk thread and surgical instruments to painstakingly stitch together the shattered flesh mixed among the debris...
Rain soaked through black hair and clothing. He stood with his back to Lin Qiye and the others, his expression unreadable, but his right hand gripping the surgical knife trembled uncontrollably.
His chest rose and fell forcefully, as if continuously taking deep breaths to steady his emotions...
Watching the scene from afar, Lin Qiye's lips quivered slightly. He slowly closed his eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Cao Yuan..."
"Yeah."
"Am I a terrible team leader?"
Cao Yuan turned to look at him, about to respond, when Lin Qiye continued:
"Jialan is in slumber, Zhuaige is missing, Pangpang has left the team, Qingyu is about to be sealed away, and now I couldn't even protect Jiang Er...
Perhaps if someone else had been the leader of [Nightfall], things wouldn't have turned out like this."
"But these things weren't caused by you." Cao Yuan shook his head. "You've done everything you could. Perhaps this is fate's choice... Besides, if someone else had been team leader, [Nightfall] wouldn't even exist in the first place.
The reason we all came together back then was because of you, Lin Qiye. Wasn't that the case?"
Lin Qiye gazed at the rain-soaked figure ahead and said nothing.
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"My name is Jiang Er—Jiang as in the river, Er as in the Erhai Lake..."
"..."
"But... bringing a corpse onto the battlefield is unlucky..."
"..."
"...These clothes seem really popular in this country, so I thought I'd try them on. If they don't look good, actually..."
"..."
"...You always overthink things. I like you—Isn't that enough?"
"..."
"I've been thinking about it ever since I stepped into 'Klein'. I can't always be dead weight... See? I'm pretty capable after all, right?!"
"..."
Before the battered black coffin, An Qingyu blinked hard. His chest heaved violently as he tore the water-speckled black-framed glasses from his nose bridge and hurled them aside with force.
Click—
The glasses struck a stone, the lenses cracking into several gaps before bending and falling into a puddle.
He wiped his wet eyelids with his sleeve. His reddened eyes stared blankly at the mutilated figure inside the black coffin, murmuring to himself:
"Jiang Er... I can't seem to see you clearly anymore..."
"Qingyu." A translucent white-dressed figure drifted gently before him. "Don't do this... Let's go back, okay?"
"No, there must be a way to save you. I won't let you die!" An Qingyu shook his head repeatedly. "You said we still have plenty of time, that we still have so many things to do... I haven't proposed to you yet, haven't gone home together with you, haven't been together perfectly... You can't just die like this."
"Qingyu..."
"Wait for me to finish stitching your body back together first. Then I'll think of another way..."
"Qingyu!!" Jiang Er shouted. An Qingyu's hands froze mid-motion.
Jiang Er pressed her lips together gently. She spread her arms and wrapped them around An Qingyu softly. "My time... is running out. I don't want to spend my final moments watching you pointlessly stitch together my corpse...
You've already made me wait for so very long. In this last stretch of time, don't make me wait anymore, okay?"
An Qingyu's pupils contracted slightly.
He stared dazedly at Jiang Er. Her ethereal body was fading visibly to the naked eye. Those eyes were filled entirely with pleading.
In An Qingyu's murky gaze, a spark of light finally flickered to life. He gritted his teeth hard, suddenly standing up from the ground. Grabbing Jiang Er's ethereal arm, he spun and sprinted wildly toward the courtyard entrance!