Chapter 303

One hundred and thirteen pages – The Gospel of Qian Xia

[Restraint Dream]

“It’s Sister Ling Meng!”

The genuine Qian Xia, like a cannonball, shouted loudly and charged at me with a headbutt aimed at my soft belly.

“Gwaa—”

Unable to support myself, I clutched my stomach and squatted on the beach, watching as this little girl climbed onto my back and locked her hands around my throat, which was already feeling queasy.

She asked, “Sister, when can Qian Xia go out?”

Every night she would ask this, even though the time here flows five times faster than outside. Her patience was wearing thin day by day. Loneliness is the poison of the heart; even such an optimistic child couldn’t bear it anymore?

“I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure… Sorry.”

I didn’t want to eat the Elixir of Immortality given by Lord Hai, and there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was let Qian Xia waste away meaningless time here.

“Sister, Qian Xia is so bored, Qian Xia doesn’t want to sleep anymore.”

She knew she was dreaming too.

When her patience ran out, no matter what new and interesting scenes were created, they couldn’t pique her interest.

“I’m sorry, Qian Xia… Sister can’t let you out right now, sorry.”

I held her up and sat with her, looking up together to see Xiao Lei’s meteor streak across the sky. (Voice-over: Wahahaha!!!)

A familiar voice came from behind.

“If you want to get out so badly, why don’t you just leave directly?”

The old lady squatted there in a three-piece swimsuit, holding an umbrella for no reason… although her physical body was still in the hospital undergoing postoperative care, her consciousness was wandering everywhere.

“Even though it’s winter in reality, you look very cool in your dream?”

In response to my comment, she kicked sand excitedly.

“Scenes for bathing have been cut, so the only way to get benefits in winter is through dreams! What I’m wearing now is a bikini that exposes 90% of my skin! Since it’s in front of your eyes, describe it properly, don’t just gloss over it with a three-piece swimsuit!”

She cupped my head with both hands, saying dangerous words that I understood but had to pretend I didn’t.

“Stop fooling around!”

I pushed her hands away and asked, “If you say Qian Xia can go out, what’s going on?”

“I can move around in the mortal world by borrowing Qian Xia’s identity. Because there cannot be two Qian Xias in the world, if she returns, this fake me will be exposed by the Heavenly Path, so she can’t come back. You know all of this, right?”

“Mmm, then do you have any way to bring her back?”

The old lady pushed my shoulders back, making me lie on her side, her long hair falling onto my face, tickling me.

Once I stopped struggling, she answered my previous question.

“It’s simple. Since I am the real ‘Qian Xia’, why not let this child return as a ‘non-Qian Xia’?”

I asked, “What do you mean?”

Cherry Sauce descended like an iron man, kneeling on one knee. She also asked, “Mother, did you find another loophole again?”

The old lady had been exploiting bugs all day, and the Heavenly Path seemed far from perfect, with slow bug-fixing speeds.

—”Don’t underestimate the Heavenly Path. Perhaps everything your mother does is within its tolerance range?”—

Cherry Sauce transmitted these thoughts.

But that’s impossible, right?

The Heavenly Path wants to eliminate her, how could it possibly allow such a thing…

—”Speculating on what the Heavenly Path thinks is pointless. As the supreme rational existence, we can’t know what it’s thinking. Maybe it thinks these things won’t affect the stability of the world?”—

While Cherry Sauce was speaking, little Qian Xia crawled over and squeezed beside me, insisting on putting her head on the old lady’s thigh. The old lady pinched her chubby little face and replied, “Simply put, use the ‘pseudo-exchange’ technique to swap Qian Xia’s consciousness with someone else’s in reality, to achieve temporary activity.”

“Ah? Can something like this really be done?”

“Of course it can. Since the time flow rate here is five times faster, it’s not so hard for the person being exchanged. I think letting the kid out for a bit will make her feel better. After all, staying here is no different from being in prison.”

This is indeed like being in prison.

And it’s a wrongful imprisonment based on false accusations.

I asked, “Since there’s a way, why didn’t you say anything a few days ago?”

The old lady poked my forehead with her finger.

“Kid, do you think this technique has been developed for long?”

——————

——————

[November 29th, Friday]

[7:00 AM]

“This is the situation. We need a volunteer to lend their body to the child.”

Taking advantage of breakfast, I recounted the “Qian Xia Release Plan” after regaining my original appearance.

Father apologized, “Sorry, I have to go to work today.”

“I didn’t say you should switch with her. Besides, the child likes you a lot. Seeing you would make her happy.”

Linhua and Xiao Lei had classes today and couldn’t lend their bodies to Qian Xia. I looked at the only available person, Xiao Qinglan, and suggested with a smile, “Cough, cough, Sister Qinglan~ You have nothing to do right now, why not donate your body for the child? Your current appearance is similar to hers, perfect for this role!”

“No way! Why do you call me ‘sister’ at a time like this?”

This selfish little ghost hid behind Father and yelled at us, “I don’t want to separate from Uncle Chang. Find someone else!”

Although she was uncooperative and annoying, based on humanitarian principles, I couldn’t force her to swap consciousness with Qian Xia…

She added, “Besides, you have that clone bookmark! Isn’t it used for swapping consciousnesses too?”

“It’s complicated to explain, but it can’t be used.”

According to the old lady’s description in the dream, the clone formed by the bookmark isn’t an independent entity, originally lacking an identity. Qian Xia needs to borrow someone else’s identity to return to the mortal world, so the consciousness exchange must involve a living person.

“What about other people’s bodies?”

Yuzu climbed onto the table from her chair and stood upright, asking, “If I show photos, she can transform into her original form. Shouldn’t I be suitable for this task?”

Yuzu wanted to help, but Cherry Sauce politely declined.

“Yes, but I don’t want it to be you.”

The small animal felt discontented and asked, “Why? Do you dislike me?”

“Because you don’t have much time left, Yuzu. Do you know how long your race lives?”

Yuzu’s dark eyes flickered with a hint of confusion. Cherry Sauce continued, “Eight years. The average lifespan of a pet ferret is only eight years, with the longest living to fifteen. Compared to humans, it’s too short! That’s why I hope you cherish and enjoy every moment of your life!”

… Time flows five times faster in dreams, which is too precious for Yuzu.

“I still have fifteen years, even if it’s only eight years, isn’t that still pretty long?”

Yuzu narrowed her eyes, using her simple facial muscles to force a smile.

“The owner has even less time than me, but she lives every day freely. Why should I feel sad about this?”

“Yuzu!”

Xiao Lei suddenly shouted, grabbing Yuzu and hugging her.

The small animal struggled, “Idiot! You scared me!”

“Let me take care of you from now on!”

“No way! Being with you reduces my lifespan!”

In the end, no one could lend their body to Qian Xia.

“There’s no choice. Subconsciously, people always resist lending their bodies. Let’s ask others at school…”

Ding-dong—

Just as I was talking, the doorbell rang.

It was Zhao Zhao, Xiao Haitang, and Juzi coming over together.

Opening the door, the big, simple-minded guy greeted cheerfully, “Hey! Chairman, not skipping class today?”

“Can’t skip class every day… Pfft! I was on leave before!”

“I brought you plum cake, still warm. Want some?”

“Oh! I want!”

Xiao Lei grabbed the plum cake from Zhao Zhao’s hand while holding Yuzu.

I was thinking about Qian Xia and observed the three of them.

Old Zhao, this muscular gorilla, was definitely not an option. Even if he was willing, I wouldn’t let Qian Xia swap with him, especially since he was going to the boys’ school, which would be harmful to Qian Xia’s mental and physical health;

Xiao Haitang was a busy student council president, and her student council duties couldn’t be delegated to Qian Xia, so she couldn’t swap either;

Juzi seemed suitable, but she was in middle school. If they swapped, no one would watch over her, making the situation uncontrollable…

None of them were viable options.

“Come in and sit down… Ah! Cats can’t enter the house!!”

Father invited everyone into the living room and chased the stray cat following Juzi out. Finally, he put on his coat and said, “I’m running late, I’ll go first!”

Father got up later than usual today, Fan Ni didn’t pick them up, and he was slow by nature. He became anxious seeing the time.

Xiao Qinglan naturally followed him, taking the same little pest to the company every day. I wonder if Father’s colleagues might misunderstand…

Cherry Sauce summoned the spatial jewel and said, “Father, don’t worry, I can use this to send you to the company.”

“Is that possible?”

“Don’t be polite. But Father, you need to give me directions.”

Father and Xiao Qinglan were taken away by Cherryjiao, disappearing along with the jewel in the living room… only to reappear.

I exclaimed, “Oh? So fast?”

“Not really, Father forgot his bag.”

Cherry Sauce retrieved the briefcase from the sofa and disappeared again.

“This… This is too convenient, right?”

Xiao Haitang’s tone was slightly envious.

They hadn’t waited outside today and planned to use this item to go straight to school.

“Why didn’t you bring this out earlier?”

I waved my hand and said, “This is just borrowed, and such items are like official cheats in RPG games when you’re close to finishing. Getting them too early would ruin the gameplay!”

“Chairman, aren’t you a candidate for deity? Don’t you have anything impressive?”

“I don’t even know divine techniques. Don’t make things difficult for me.”

“Speaking of which, there’s something I need your help with…”