***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to ArmyGirl for the donation! ^^
***
The player next to Ning Su explained the situation to her, “Two players came over earlier and refused to cooperate with the zombie inspection. They were thrown into the zombie warehouse. One was eaten by zombies, and the other couldn’t accept it and started yelling...”
He glanced at the player who had been drained by the Vampire.
The human pupa master understood and looked at the Vampire, “Hu Tian, why are you so irritable? Didn’t the president say not to kill?”
Then she added, “Never mind, it’s just an idiot who can’t even distinguish human faction players and still wanted to bring one into the base. If he’s dead, so be it.”
[......]
[I curse myself.]
[I really want to see the moment they realize Ning Su is a human faction player, haha.]
After she finished speaking, the human pupa master walked into the zombie warehouse and took a look.
Ning Su stood quietly behind the Vampire, watching.
Back at school, he had thrown the human Guo Xiao out of the classroom, not knowing at the time what would happen when another self of a player died.
He thought at the time, with so many zombies around, even if the human Guo Xiao was bitten to death by zombies and turned into a zombie himself, hiding him wouldn’t be difficult.
Unexpectedly, Guo Xiao was directly devoured by zombies, who would destroy his body beyond recognition.
Therefore, when he saw another version of Warlock appear, he came up with this idea.
He had seen the Warlock in prison before, and as soon as he saw the Warlock in casual clothes approaching, he knew this was the Warlock’s other self, his former human self.
So, he decided to send the Warlock into the zombie warehouse made by the Yongming Guild.
The idea of using the zombie warehouse to test players came from the Warlock.
The current Warlock came up with this idea, and the former Warlock was tested using the very same method. It’s unclear which Warlock sent away which Warlock.
Ning Su scratched his ear; it was he who sent him away.
The human pupa master just took one look and left; naturally, there was no complete human inside.
No one knew that the person who was just devoured by zombies and cursed by them was the Warlock’s other self.
They would soon receive the news of the Warlock’s death in prison.
Ning Su took the three children back to sleep.
On the way, he saw the high school Gu Witch looking at him.
Ning Su: “You saw it, didn’t you?”
He was referring to the incident at the school where he threw the human Guo Xiao down.
The high school Gu Witch nodded. “I won’t tell anyone.”
He added, “Including my other self.”
Ning Su: “You should follow your other self.”
High School Gu Witch: “I know, I know what’s going on now.”
Ning Su: “Then why don’t you go find him?”
High School Gu Witch: “Then why don’t you kill me?”
Ning Su: “I have my considerations.”
High School Gu Witch: “On that street, why did you pull me away? Why did you give me pants and ointment?”
He was still wearing the pants Ning Su gave him.
Ning Su probably didn’t realize that this was the first pair of men’s trousers in his life.
The Gu Witch before, like the Gu Witch now, didn’t speak much.
But the Gu Witch in front of him was in a very emotional period and didn’t want to leave many things hidden under the calm surface; he had to get an answer.
His face, ulcerated and scabbed, was facing Ning Su, staring at him without blinking, and asked hoarsely, “Why?”
It seemed that this answer was very important to him, and he really wanted to know.
Ning Su scratched his ear. “Because I recognized you. Because I know some things about you, so I gave you the trousers and ointment.”
When he saw the high school Gu Witch, saw the scabs on his face and the skirt on him, he knew that he had just discovered he was a boy not long ago, was bullied and scorned, and was on the brink of death from the backlash of the Gu insects.
So, he gave him a pair of trousers to protect his legs.
That night, hearing about the Gu Witch in the castle, Ning Su didn’t think that the gender transformation was embarrassing or unacceptable because he understood the biological reasoning behind it, but he did feel that the Gu Witch was a bit pitiful.
He was born in such a feudal and backward village and naturally didn’t know these things.
He had always been subjected to domestic violence and school bullying, and in that place full of malice, there was no one who truly loved him.
In some ways, they were somewhat similar.
Therefore, when Ning Su saw the high school Gu Witch in his most desperate time, he reached out to him and gave him a pair of trousers and ointment; it was just a matter of course, without thinking about any significant meaning.
At most, he thought that after knowing he was a boy, looking at his skirt would make him uncomfortable, and changing into trousers would make him feel less stiff.
Ning Su said to him, “You should go find another version of yourself. Go and see how strong you will be in the future.”
So, don’t be confined to the current muddy corner.
After saying this, Ning Su left with the three children.
Before entering the door, he looked back again.
The high school Gu Witch was still standing there, the magnificent fiery red sunset was behind him, making his action of tightly clutching the trousers look small and stubborn.
“Are you going to take me to see my future self?”
After entering the room, the ten-year-old Shi Tianzhu asked Ning Su.
She was very clever. Just by quietly observing and listening, she understood everything.
Ning Su nodded.
The two children also nodded and immediately approached.
Manman said, “You’ll be amazing when you grow up.”
Gui Sheng added, “You’ll be very beautiful when you grow up!”
The ten-year-old Shi Tianzhu said to Ning Su, “Although I haven’t figured out your exact identity yet, I can tell that you are a good person and that we’ll have a good relationship in the future.”
Ning Su asked, “Why?”
The girl replied, “Because in the hospital, you told me that you wanted to take me to meet someone I would really like.”
These words were very heartwarming.
She looked up at Ning Su and said, “Thank you.”
Ning Su smiled, squatted down, and said to the girl, “No need to thank me. I’m willing to do many things for you.”
There was something in his eyes that the little girl couldn’t understand. Looking into his eyes, the girl felt assured that she wouldn’t turn out to be a bad person in the future.
The girl continued, “But you can’t let that high school student go find his future self.”
Ning Su asked, “Why?”
The girl replied, “Because his future self doesn’t like who he is now.”
“From the perspective of his future self, he doesn’t like who he used to be.”
“If you let him meet his future self, he’ll be even more heartbroken.”
Ning Su was taken aback.
He looked out the window. The figure was already gone.
The Gu Witch didn’t tell anyone that this high school student, covered in sores, was his former self, nor did he cure his sores.
Did he really dislike him, his past self?
What did it feel like to be hated by your future self?
Especially for someone who had never been liked by anyone.
Manman and little Shi Tianzhu slept on the bed, while Ning Su and Gui Sheng squeezed onto the sofa.
Ning Su rubbed the tuft of hair on Gui Sheng’s head that was lying on his chest, thinking to himself that it’s time for him to leave.
Thanks for the update!! 💔💔💔
ReplyDeleteWow, that ending is far too relatable for me.
ReplyDeleteLet me recommend anyone's who's interested Holland's Loved You Better, a song about how he wished he had loved his own younger self better.
He's a Korean pop singer who's (the first, I believe?) openly gay and writes about his experiences.