He and It Chapter 126: Utopia (22)

If you want more of this novel, we are accepting donations on Ko-Fi for sponsored chapters. https://ko-fi.com/exiledrebels

Chapter 126: Utopia (22)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The old battlefield was as lonely as death, and the russet earth was covered with old blood that could not be washed away by 10,000 rains.

Sissel laughed, a raspy laugh that never ceased from the pain he had endured.

“Yes, yes, using the guillotine of Wine God Planet, my fathers severed the heads of one political rival after another, but to his rebellious son, it’s actual value will be far greater than its unsavory insides!” The Emperor smiled, “With the Wine God Planet, I can even tell all of the Empire’s subjects, all of the generals, that the late Emperor had once called for a plan to use this planet to execute any bureaucrat he didn’t like… How useful, Xingqiao, how useful do you think?” 

“Having a common enemy is the beginning of a cooperative friendship, even if it’s an imaginary one…” 

He lowered his voice surreptitiously, and then cooled his tone, “Of course, the only variable is you, Xingqiao, and as long as ‘Gu Xingqiao’ doesn’t fall off the pedestal, the myth that ‘Gu Xingqiao is the Dawn of the Wine God’ hasn’t been shattered. Then you’ll always have a piece of my victory. Oftentimes, friends are the ones who can only share the pain, but not the sweetness, not to mention, your status is here – you’ve been on equal footing with your master for so long, you should be satisfied, right?” 

Gu Xingqiao stared at him quietly.

“You are provoking me to kill you.” He said, “Has the Empire developed any new gadgets for faking your own death?” 

Sissel’s smile remained unchanged, and the eyes that stared back at him didn’t move an inch.

“So, that’s all the reasoning and explanation you have.” Gu Xingqiao nodded, “I will not kill you, Sissel, the death of the body, for people like you, is only a moment’s stagnation, you will still be resurrected where I cannot see, I will not kill you.” 

The young man’s pale face was frozen with bits of red blood, he held the Emperor’s gaze for a long time, and opened his mouth, “I still remember, you told me more than once, that I was your right hand man.” 

Sissel’s pupils couldn’t help but flicker.

“Now you still have your left arm, that would be too pathetic, and too ridiculous.” Gu Xingqiao said softly, “Let’s end this.” 

In the loud sound of blood and flesh falling off, the Emperor’s left arm flew out of his torso, and before his hiss of fury was cut off, his right arm ended up in the same situation!

At that moment, the illusion of the virtual battlefield slowly receded from the rehearsal room, revealing the bloodstained ground and the unconscious mentor in the distance.

Gu Xingqiao stood up, drew the heat ray gun behind his waist, and shot the two twitching limbs into flying black ash. At his feet, Sissel spasmed violently like an evil ghost with a severed tail, sweating like pulp, twisting and struggling in a pool of blood.

“So long, old friend.” Gu Xingqiao looked at him, his eyes so quiet, as if he were looking through the eaves of a house, watching a town sleeping in the drizzle, the lights hazy, “Just remember, I’ll always be where you can’t find me, whether you hate me or love me, it doesn’t matter to me anymore.” 

Ignoring no more of Sissel’s seething curses, he threw the dagger to the ground, and only took the first step forward, stumbling unsteadily, and then, when he stepped forward again, it was steady.

His back fluctuated like a ripple, and in an instant he disappeared into the drill room.

On this day, it rained in the central district of the empire.

Gu Xingqiao, wearing a cloak, passed by countless pedestrians with unclear faces on the busy streets. Those who lived here knew that the natural climate was nothing more than an adjustable weather phenomenon, and because someone living in the Imperial Palace thought it should rain, it rained today.

It had been a long time since Gu Xingqiao had seen rain in the human world, and as he slowly walked past the decorations on the side of the road, the faces of the rulers, beloved by the residents of the empire, flashed continuously on the endless curtains of light in the sky. Blonde hair and blue eyes, a warm and beautiful smile, the man looked more like a big, unsophisticated child than the Emperor.

The rain crackled and pounded on people’s shoulders. Walking in such rain, one would not smell any uncomfortable metallic odor, even the rain in the Central Region possessed the pure water quality that was hard to find on remote planets.

Gu Xingqiao was a bit tired, so he sat down on the side of the road and looked at the crowds of people coming and going without saying a word. He did not speak, and the white spider on his shoulder remained silent and quiet.

Across the street, in the amusement park, children were laughing and chasing a few mechanical dogs, while the real live dogs with fur and tails were cherished by their parents as some kind of social medals to show off. With a second glance, the mechanical dogs ran into a holographic light screen advertising the Emperor’s new policy.

On the other side, couples skip briskly through a stream of rainwater on the side of the road, one laughing and complaining about his dirty shoes, the other jokingly saying “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll give you a new pair of shoes with a completely different look,” a political slogan adapted from the one used to highlight the Crown Prince’s accession to the throne.

Store windows displaying blonde models, radio channel presenters flashing their rich blue eyes with glee, rich girls’ hovering limousines skimming overhead, leaving behind only a few words about how the royal family is influencing this year’s fashion trends…

Gu Xingqiao stopped looking left and right, and looked up at the sky, at the overcast clouds made cotton-white by the city’s light. Falling rain gradually drenched his face, and a heavy, large drop hit him squarely in the center of his left eye at the same time.

Startled, he began to lower his head and rubbed his eyes with his hands. As he rubbed his eyes, his fingers paused, and he suddenly covered his face with all his might, sucking in long, hard breaths into his palms.

The rain fell more and more heavily and densely, gradually, the rain drops also from Gu Xingqiao’s finger gap overflowed out, constantly overflowed out. People passed by in a hurry, no one would give their eyes to an adult sitting huddled in the street, his shoulders shivering.

The white spider watched him silently, its body blurred in the rain. With a gentle dispersal program, Tian Yuan silently appeared next to the young man, one side of his appendage fully open, encircling Gu Xingqiao’s body.

The foggy rain curtains seemed to coat his silver-white uniform and exoskeleton with a layer of hazy white light, so out of place, but the people on the street did not feel the slightest bit of abnormality, only subconsciously bypassing the place when passing by them, leaving a clean space.

Tian Yuan quietly gazed at his human, and after some thought, he stretched out his arms and hugged Gu Xingqiao’s shoulders, letting him lean into his embrace.

“It’s raining.” He said.

Suddenly it became quiet, except for the sound of the pouring rain, the clamor of the streets, the sirens of the vehicles, the announcements of the light curtains… everything was far away. Everything was gone, except for the sound of Tian Yuan talking to himself.

“This temperature, isn’t it cold for humans.” He said, “I’ll go back and make you some fish soup, okay?” 

“Oh, there’s a dog.” Tian Yuan raised his head, indifferently looking at the small dog across the street, “You like pets, we can also have pets, not a problem.” 

“In fact, the scenery here is really very mediocre, boring and confusing to me. The human world isn’t much fun, is it.” 

He rambled on, barely resembling a mechanical being. In his arms, the blood in Gu Xingqiao’s hands was washed away by the falling rain.

He finally cried out, bawling over the rain that blurred the world. Having accomplished such a cool revenge, the spine that had held his body straight from the beginning to the end, holding up his blank expression, now crumbled, collapsing in the endless rain of tears.

Tian Yuan hugged his human tightly, perhaps it couldn’t be called a hug, a hug was still an action between two people after all. Like so many nights in the past when nightmares struck, Tian Yuan wrapped his arms around his body like so many bones sprouted out of thin air, keeping him from softening into a puddle in the cold sweat of his bed and wet pajamas.

“Let’s go home,” Tian Yuan said, “It’s okay, your life isn’t over, we can still go home.” 

To the shrieks and screams of the crowd, the luscious snow-white craft landed straight in the middle of the street, blowing over several passing hovercrafts.

With Gu Xingqiao securely fastened between his chest and arm, Tian Yuan swept into the starship, which came and went like a gust of wind, quickly ignoring the warnings and blockades of the Royal Guard, and disappeared into the atmosphere of the Central Planet.

.

Gu Xingqiao locked himself in his room and sat still for a long time.

Three days had passed since he had returned to the interior of the Tian Yuan. Aside from eating, sleeping, and briefly communicating, he seemed to have closed himself off to a small, isolated world, and Tian Yuan speculated that perhaps he had never really been at peace before his revenge, and that after it, he had briefly lost his purpose in life, and was still in a period of confusion.

“I will be fine,” he whispered to Tian Yuan, “I have not forgotten my promise to you. You have fulfilled your promises and duties, and when I take a little more time, I will fulfill my own.” 

It was only a promise, Tian Yuan looked at him and did not say the words out loud, what will you do if this promise is also fulfilled.

In fact, the Messianic Code had already shown signs of loosening, in the end, it was just a program with a very mechanical standard of judgment, which did not even give rise to the ability to think independently.

It was like a lock, and it was actually Tian Yuan’s arrogant nature that was used as a trap. To reject the war was to reject the fundamental value of Tian Yuan’s existence, and he would not allow himself to be overthrown, which was why he had been detained by the Code until now.

But Gu Xingqiao came, and it made him realize that love, intolerance, obsession and possessive torment made Tian Yuan more of a human being than he had ever been before – even if he would never be one.

Three nights later, he knocked on Gu Xingqiao’s door.

In the dark silence, Gu Xingqiao looked at him mutely.

“What is it?” 

“I want to give you this.” Tian Yuan turned on the light in the room. He always stood with his hands behind his back, but this time, he reached forward, but from behind his back he took out…

…from behind his back, Tian Yuan took out a live dog.

Gu Xingqiao stared.

Yes, with golden fur, floppy ears, and a round head, snoring deeply in the larger-than-human hands of his warship incarnation – such a live dog.

“Part of the human philosophy of survival is that individuals live to reproduce, and only when their children and grandchildren continue to live, will they have the motivation to change the world and leave a mark on the history of the world.” Tian Yuan said blandly, “Naturally, I can’t have a child for you, but the point of a pet is to take the place of people who don’t want to give birth to an heir, to consume hormones that have no place to be vented, or love.” 

Gu Xingqiao, “Ah, that’s…” 

“Do you like it?” Tian Yuan asks, “I think you should.” 

Addis:

Tian Yuan: I cannot give birth, so here is a puppy! shows fluffy baby

Gu Xingqiao: …

Tian Yuan: But he’s cute and now our son!!

Gu Xingqiao: …