# 890
Chapter 890: I Won't
Under the great tree at the center of the Asylum of the Gods' courtyard, a quiet and mysterious figure stood alone.
Today, Merlin had changed back into his deep blue魔法长袍 (magical robe), wearing the wide hood that symbolized mystery and the unknown on his head. In his hands, there was neither the thermos filled with goji berries nor the thick health maintenance manual, only a slender magic staff that radiated a faint glow.
He raised his head, gazing at the emptiness in the sky, his eyes full of depth and wisdom, motionless as a sculpture.
It seemed that sensing Merlin's unusual state, the two rivals Sun Wukong and Gilgamesh had remarkably refrained from fighting today. Instead, they each stood at the door of their hospital rooms, gazing toward where Merlin stood.
Sun Wukong held a massive wine jar, taking a long gulp, the splashing foam landing on Gilgamesh beside him. The latter's eyes immediately flared with anger.
"Monkey, are you looking for death?!" He turned to glare at Sun Wukong, lowering his voice as he coldly said.
"...Tch."
Sun Wukong gave him a glance but didn't say more, dismissively turning away his gaze before continuing to drink from the wine jar.
Although Sun Wukong said nothing, his expression said it all. The anger in Gilgamesh's eyes burned even brighter!
"T-two, two of you..." Just then, a timid voice came from behind them.
The two turned to see Bragi clutching his harp, carefully saying, "Today, let's not cause trouble, okay? Uncle Merlin doesn't have much time left..."
Hearing those final words, Gilgamesh frowned slightly. He turned to look at the magician standing alone under the tree, puzzled.
"What's wrong with that old man?"
Gilgamesh was a new patient here and hadn't witnessed Nyx leaving the hospital. Now seeing Merlin's state, he was somewhat at a loss.
Sun Wukong reached out to wipe the wine from the corner of his mouth. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke:
"He's leaving."
...
"Uncle Merlin, what are you looking at?"
Li Yifei leisurely walked to the edge of the courtyard. Seeing Merlin standing alone under the tree, staring blankly upward, he couldn't help but ask in confusion.
Merlin's gaze was as deep as an abyss as he quietly gazed at the emptiness above his head. After a long while, he finally answered:
"Fate."
"Fate? Whose fate?"
Merlin didn't answer. He silently removed his hood and gently ran his hand over his head. Several strands of hair drifted to the ground.
At the same time, the panel progress bar floating above his head advanced another notch!
"Merlin Treatment Progress: 99%"
Merlin glanced at the progress bar and let out a long sigh.
"The time is about right..."
Li Yifei heard these words and froze, as if thinking of something. He tentatively asked, "Uncle Merlin... are you leaving too?"
"Yes. If I don't leave soon, your director will be in danger." Merlin smiled helplessly. "Besides, my time has already reached its limit."
Li Yifei's face fell.
"Uncle Merlin, you can't leave! If you leave, who can keep those two troublemakers in check? They're definitely going to turn this place upside down!"
"Don't worry. Even after we leave, they will follow the rules I established." Merlin smiled, reaching out to pat Li Yifei's shoulder. "Do your best. Perhaps, one day, we will meet again."
Li Yifei pressed his lips together and nodded heavily. He stepped back outside the courtyard, leaving this space entirely to Merlin, quietly waiting to the side.
Merlin gripped his magic staff and stood there quietly. He extended his left hand and gently pinched his own brow center.
A small cluster of pink light was pinched out from his body, floating in his palm. Within that glow, one could vaguely see a floating pink starfish.
That was the foreign soul that had invaded his spiritual world. As the treatment progress increased, this soul had been gradually expelled from Merlin's body. What Merlin now held was the final trace of residual soul...
The last root of his illness.
After this wisp of soul was extracted from his body, the progress bar above Merlin's head advanced another notch. Lines of text floated out:
"Merlin Treatment Progress: 100%"
"Magic God Merlin's treatment complete. Please leave the hospital immediately."
"Reward acquisition conditions met. Beginning random extraction of Merlin's divine abilities..."
Merlin's gaze swept over these lines of text. He turned his head to take one last look at this familiar psychiatric hospital, a helpless smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
He slowly raised his magic staff and gently tapped it on the grass beneath his feet. A vast blue-white magic array instantly unfurled, covering the entire courtyard. A mystical and mysterious spatial-temporal fluctuation radiated outward!
"Goodbye."
Merlin murmured to himself. The magic array beneath his feet blazed with light, and in the next instant, his figure vanished from where he stood.
The Asylum of the Gods fell silent once more.
...
Deep Sea.
Lin Qiye's pupils constricted sharply as he saw that silver ring rapidly approaching!
He had seen this scene in the timeline at the tail end of the Mandarin Arrow...
The erasure by the Law of Time had begun.
Jialan, nestled in Lin Qiye's arms, also witnessed this scene. Her hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, slowly drew back.
She did not retract the [Immortal].
"Jialan?" Seeing this, Lin Qiye was stunned. "What are you doing?! Quickly retract the [Immortal]!"
Jialan pressed her blood-stained lips together. Her reddened eyes were full of struggle as she trembling buried her head in Lin Qiye's embrace, holding his body tightly, saying nothing.
"I won't..." Jialan murmured.
"Jialan!!" This time Lin Qiye was truly furious. He anxiously roared.
Looking at Jialan's stubborn, pale face, for some reason Lin Qiye thought of what he had just seen in the timeline... the Mask.
It was the same situation—during the temporal erasure, two people, with one vortex handing over their entire life's cultivation to Wang Mian in exchange for his chance to survive. Jialan's expression right now was almost identical to that vortex's at the time.
Jialan had no intention whatsoever of retracting the [Immortal]. As long as the [Immortal] remained, the Law of Time would have no way to touch Lin Qiye. He could survive this erasure completely unharmed... even if he were the only one left.
She was going to trade her life for Lin Qiye's life.
Under this temporal erasure, Lin Qiye would become the sole survivor of the Night Watch squad...
Just like Wang Mian had been back then.