I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 336: Chapter 194: Sun Chaser

Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe galloped on horseback, riding and riding, straight out of Li City and westward.

They rode until dawn broke.

They shifted positions on the horse a few times.

Eventually, Xie Luohe was sitting in front, smiling coyly as she nestled into Zheng Xiu’s embrace, with no room to close her legs.

The rising sun behind them cast their two figures as long shadows stretching out from beneath the horse’s hooves.

As he held Xie Luohe, the scene of them galloping on horseback inexplicably reminded Zheng Xiu of a dream he’d had back in the Imperial City, on the night of the reunion festival.

In the dream, he and Feng Bei were riding together, traveling the world and chatting happily, until Feng Bei took off her glove and slapped him into oblivion.

Zheng Xiu remembered that dream.

He looked down at the woman pressed against him. She was clearly Feng Bei, yet she called herself ”Xie Luohe.” He suddenly couldn’t tell if this moment was real or just another dream.

”I fell for it.”

Zheng Xiu suddenly smacked his forehead, exclaiming that he’d been had.

”You dummy.”

Xie Luohe’s smile grew even wider. That trace of deep-seated melancholy she’d shown when bidding him farewell in her room had vanished completely.

Zheng Xiu glanced back toward Li City and sighed. ”I should have known. With your abilities, Xie Luohe, there’s no way you’d let yourself get into such a desperate situation.”

”Who knows.”

Xie Luohe tilted her head, humming innocently as she played dumb.

”If I let you trick me again, then my surname isn’t Zheng!”

”Your surname is Gongsun. Your given name is Mo.”

Zheng Xiu was about to protest.

Xie Luohe turned to face him and gently pressed a finger to his lips. Her bright eyes were filled with longing. ”Just for a little while. Whether this is real or a dream, whether this is today or two hundred years ago... none of that matters.”

Zheng Xiu stared at her in surprise. Tears glistened in Xie Luohe’s eyes as she pleaded, ”Even if it’s just for a moment. Just once is enough. You’re not Zheng Xiu, and I’m not Feng Bei. We’re just Xie Luohe and Gongsun Mo. That’s all... Okay?”

After she spoke, Xie Luohe turned her head away and looked down, her slender shoulders trembling slightly.

’Is she crying?’

Zheng Xiu was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.

’Impossible.’

He immediately dismissed the thought.

With her back to him, quiet, whimpering sobs, like those of a kitten, escaped Xie Luohe’s throat.

Now Zheng Xiu believed her. Guiding the horse with one hand, he used the other to gently stroke her hair. ”...Alright.”

Xie Luohe’s shoulders trembled even more violently.

”Xie Luohe?”

Xie Luohe finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. She burst out laughing. ”Hahaha! You dummy! You lose! A man’s word is his bond, so from now on, you’re Gongsun Mo! Hahaha...”

”What the hell?”

Zheng Xiu was dumbfounded.

After laughing for a good long while, Xie Luohe finally composed herself.

”Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. I have something to tell you, and I’m sure you’ll be interested.”

Zheng Xiu rolled his eyes, wondering if he should just harden his heart, dump Xie Luohe, and head back on his own. But he was immediately conflicted. This vast world wasn’t where he belonged, and now his last hope of returning—Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault—had turned out to be empty. Even if he decided to ”go back,” he had no idea where he would even go.

As he sat there conflicted, with the girl still in his arms, Zheng Xiu’s ears perked up at her words. He asked suspiciously, ”Are you trying to trick me again? Trying to swindle this poor, ignorant Scholar? You’re the magnificent Big Leader of Yunhe Village, the greatest villain in the world, ranked fiftieth on the Weapon Manual—a person of real status. Can’t you show a little martial virtue?”

”Martial virtue? Of course I have martial virtue!” Xie Luohe replied shamelessly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She giggled. ”Which is why I promise you: this time, I’m not lying.”

Under Zheng Xiu’s skeptical gaze, Xie Luohe began her story.

”A few years ago, before you showed up, I was investigating everywhere. I searched painstakingly, reading through all sorts of local legends, supernatural tales, and anecdotes from the Countryside...”

”Wait.” Zheng Xiu couldn’t help but interrupt her. ”You... can read?”

”What, you think I can’t?” A ripple of light passed through Xie Luohe’s eyes, revealing a hint of smugness she couldn’t hide. ”You didn’t really think that I, Xie Luohe, was some illiterate, uncouth woman from the wilds, did you?”

’I’m not sure about the illiterate part, but those two words, ”uncouth woman,” describe you perfectly.’

”Hm? What were you just calling me in your head?”

Xie Luohe narrowed her eyes.

”Nothing. You must have misheard me,” Zheng Xiu flatly denied.

”Stop bickering and listen.” Xie Luohe reached back and pinched him. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d grabbed, and her face flushed slightly, but she calmly continued, ”I discovered that a long, long time ago, there was someone who shared my affliction, someone who walked the same path I do.”

”Who?”

Xie Luohe shook her head. ”His name and identity have been lost to history. However, I once read the autobiography of a Physician. In a few brief lines, it recorded the strange case of an Odd Person. That Physician from long ago called him ’Zhu.’”

Xie Luohe paused. The blush faded from her cheeks as she continued, ”In his autobiography, the Physician wrote that this Odd Person, Zhu, had the ability of *limb regeneration*. It also said that this person lived for over two hundred years, yet his *skin remained like a young man’s, and his vigor was like that of an ox*.”

At first, Zheng Xiu was astounded. ”Zhu? Limb regeneration?”

But after his amazement passed, Zheng Xiu’s brow furrowed. He felt like he’d heard that strange ”name” somewhere before.

He had a vague recollection of it.

Xie Luohe didn’t notice Zheng Xiu’s grave expression. Lost in her own memories, she continued slowly, ”Later, through years of investigation, I discovered something. History is full of legends, full of Odd People and strange occurrences. Some people’s faces never aged. Some could see in the dark. Some could travel a thousand li in a single day on their bare feet. And some, like that Zhu, could regenerate their limbs. Most people nowadays just dismiss these strange tales as the ignorant speculation of foolish ancients. They treat the legends as jokes. No one believes any of it.”