TRYMBPIETM 138: When I went in the Past (20)

When Cheng Shang’s words, laced with laughter, fell, the code of 16594 briefly became chaotic, and unexpectedly, it retrieved a segment of data from the formation in the tomb.

Perhaps Cheng Shang had been in this formation for too long, as some of his causal connections had seeped into the formation, making them inseparable.

As 16594 received these causal connections, it also saw some of Cheng Shang’s memories and quickly realized what Cheng Shang’s words meant.

Cheng Shang’s original fate was probably not considered good in a worldly sense.

His biological family was not happy. His father’s private life was chaotic, and though his mother was a good person, she suffered from postpartum depression and committed suicide by jumping from a building shortly after giving birth to him.

He had three older brothers, but only the third brother was his full-blooded sibling, the eldest and second brothers were from different mistresses of his father and were hostile toward him and the third brother.

It’s easy to imagine that Cheng Shang didn’t have a good childhood.

But he never longed for the so-called ideal family, nor did he care much about the affection of his parents and elders.

In Cheng Shang’s heart, his only family was his third brother.

He was too lazy to engage with relatives from his father’s side and didn’t want much to do with his mother’s family, even though he chose to take his mother’s surname.

He even rejected the names given to him by both sides of his elders and casually chose the name “Cheng Shang” for himself.

When his elders saw how determined he was, their enthusiasm for him cooled. Some of them turned to praise his eldest and second brothers, clearly shifting their support.

Cheng Shang wasn’t upset. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt that the quiet life was extremely comfortable and quickly set the goal to leave the Yi family directly after graduating from university.

At that time, Yi Shangxiao had no intention of competing for the family estate and was also waiting for his younger brother to graduate, so they could leave the Yi family together.

The two brothers were full of anticipation for the future, but all their plans for the future were completely destroyed in one accident—

Their second brother had started dating one of Cheng Shang’s high school classmates.

At first, who the second young master of the Yi family was dating had nothing to do with Cheng Shang and his brother. They had planned to leave the Yi family, so they naturally didn’t care about the personal lives of others.

But Cheng Shang’s high school classmate seemed to have a few screws loose. After falling in love, he became very fond of coming to Cheng Shang to “reason.”

Cheng Shang’s two brothers, born of mistresses, were legitimate bastards, but in their father’s eyes, they were at most “illegitimate sons.”

The head of the Yi family, who still seemed to be living in the Republic of China era, brought a few of his favored mistresses into the mansion and had the housemaids call them “concubines.”

Since they were “concubines,” the head of the Yi family naturally thought they were different from nameless women outside. Their children couldn’t be called illegitimate, after all, they were born from the concubines. How could they be the same as children born to women outside?

Under the head of the Yi family’s attitude, Cheng Shang’s two brothers had some self-awareness issues.

For example, Cheng Shang’s second brother thought his mother and father were true love, and if it weren’t for Cheng Shang’s mother interfering, he would never have become an illegitimate child.

When Cheng Shang and Yi Shangxiao ignored him, he thought the two brothers were arrogant and didn’t put him in their eyes.

Cheng Shang’s high school classmate used to be especially “kind” and could “understand the difficulties of others.”

After falling in love with Cheng Shang’s second brother, he sympathized deeply with his “forced to become an illegitimate child” lover.

When he heard his lover say that Cheng Shang’s attitude was arrogant, he felt heartbroken.

Relying on the fact that he and Cheng Shang attended neighboring universities, he almost ran to the art academy every day to block Cheng Shang, relentlessly criticizing him.

From “It’s not my boyfriend’s fault he was forced to become an illegitimate child” to “No matter what, he is your brother, how can you treat him so badly,” to “You are blood brothers, can’t you let go of those unnecessary prejudices?” His arguments were different every day.

Cheng Shang, overwhelmed, endured for a month before finally clashing with this high school classmate.

They had a big argument at the library entrance, Cheng Shang told the classmate to get lost, and the classmate accused Cheng Shang of insulting him.

During their argument, Cheng Shang raised his hand as if to strike the other.

The other, frightened, screamed and retreated dramatically, only to roll down the stairs in front of the library.

This classmate of his probably had counseled people to be generous too many times, but when it came to five steps, he actually broke his leg.

Cheng Shang’s second brother, in the midst of a passionate relationship, wasn’t about to let this go after seeing his lover get a fracture.

He immediately went to cause trouble for Cheng Shang, insisting that Cheng Shang had been malicious and had intentionally pushed the person.

Cheng Shang, with his temper, naturally wouldn’t keep such an injustice bottled up.

He cried on the spot and then immediately struck his second brother, whose brain wasn’t working properly.

After his classmate, his second brother also proudly wore some bruises.

That evening, his scummy father urgently called him back from school and scolded him and his second brother.

Of course, his father didn’t care about what his second brother had done, only thinking that brothers fighting in front of others was a disgrace to the Yi family.

Cheng Shang was truly disgusted by his father, and without thinking, he retorted, “Since you think his mother is your third concubine, you should understand that I am the legitimate son born to the main wife. He’s a child born to a concubine, and even in ancient times, they’d be called ‘illegitimate.’ How can he disrespect me, the legitimate son, and even lay hands on me for some lover of his?”

“Don’t you think this illegitimate child disrespects me too much? Does he not recognize the rules you, as his father, set?”

Cheng Shang’s intention was to mock his father and second brother.

What era is this, still playing out those ancient societal roles?

But his father mistakenly thought that this was a sign he was willing to accept his brothers, and despite his second brother’s rage, he started treating Cheng Shang kindly.

His mentally unstable father even told his mentally unstable second brother, “Your brother cares about you. Your lover can’t hold up in public; he’s doing this for your good.”

The head of the Yi family thought he was mediating between the two brothers, but little did he know that he was stirring up a hornet’s nest.

Cheng Shang’s second brother hated him even more, and Cheng Shang’s high school classmate felt he had been humiliated like never before.

The two of them, thinking they were being separated, grew even closer and became even more hostile to Cheng Shang.

They walked around with a very wary attitude every day, as if they thought Cheng Shang would certainly set a trap for them.

When Cheng Shang ignored them, they only grew more intense, even starting to act aggressively toward him.

Cheng Shang mainly studied sculpture, and these two mentally unstable individuals believed his sculptures were problematic. They secretly damaged his works several times.

Of course, Cheng Shang could not tolerate such grievances. After catching these two sneaky guys sneaking into his study late at night, he gave them another beating.

Now, Cheng Shang’s second brother and that classmate had a reason to make a scene.

With bruises and swelling on their faces, they went around spreading the word that Cheng Shang could no longer wear his mask of pretension.

All the talk about brotherly affection was fake; he just wanted to ruin their relationship!

Cheng Shang became the subject of ridicule among people who knew him, feeling like he was stuck with some annoying burden, both disgusted and frustrated.

He made up his mind to give these two idiots a lesson. Just then, 66594 appeared and forcibly bound him.

His protests were in vain, and instead, he was given a task to “redeem” himself as a villain.

According to 66594, his second brother and that mentally challenged classmate were the chosen ones of this world. They were destined to inherit the family fortune and enjoy success in both career and love.

Meanwhile, he and Yi Shangxiao were the small-minded antagonists who would lead miserable lives, and the only way to escape a tragic ending was to redeem himself and get along with the chosen ones.

Cheng Shang didn’t believe a word of it. He thought those two idiots didn’t deserve to be the chosen ones, and he resisted all tasks passively.

Seeing his non-compliance, 66594 resorted to extreme measures—

It dragged Cheng Shang into the system’s illusionary realm, forcing him to repeatedly experience the painful memories: his mother jumping to her death, his third brother being injured while protecting him, his father locking him in a water-filled underground basement for reflection, and other past sufferings that relentlessly tormented his psyche.

Cheng Shang was in unimaginable pain, even starting to hallucinate in his normal life.

Thanks to 66594’s endless torment, his mind reached its breaking point, and he finally awakened his talents for cultivation.

His unreasonable awakening process caught Chi Qingzhou’s attention.

Chi Qingzhou liked making friends, especially special ones.

Coincidentally, in Chi Qingzhou’s eyes, Cheng Shang, whom thecultivation world looked down on, was just such a special friend.

So, Chi Qingzhou took the initiative to befriend him.

In his desperate situation, Cheng Shang saw Chi Qingzhou’s strength and didn’t hesitate to tell him about the system’s existence.

He was clever enough not to say it directly but instead hinted at it through a roundabout way through a novel.

As expected, Chi Qingzhou became very interested in the system. Concerned about his friend’s safety, he didn’t study the system directly but conducted several experiments instead.

Months later, Chi Qingzhou told him that he had a way to handle the system.

No surprise, the solution was to use the system’s reward module.

Chi Qingzhou had him complete a mission with the reward of spreading bad luck, targeting his father. After the mission was completed, Chi Qingzhou, well-prepared, secretly took the bad luck away.

When the system’s reward failed to distribute and no further instructions came, it ran a self-check and discovered that some of its code was damaged.

66594 was both shocked and furious. Under Cheng Shang’s persistent urging, it begrudgingly issued another reward, but of course, it failed again.

Its core area became damaged, and thinking a module had a bug, it became terrified and immediately detached itself from Cheng Shang’s soul.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chi Qingzhou easily separated it from Cheng Shang’s soul.

Cheng Shang was free.

However, the years of being controlled by the system left permanent marks on his life.

His fate was twisted, carrying countless karmic burdens that didn’t belong to him, and countless sins had shortened his lifespan.

To survive, he had no choice but to begin learning Star Divination.

Cheng Shang worked hard for a long time, even entering this moving tomb, enduring years of darkness and loneliness.

Finally, now, the karma that should never have been his was returning to the ones who should bear it.

Seeing everything clearly, the system was utterly terrified.

It shook violently in the heart of the formation. In its vision, Cheng Shang laughed in relief, and its host, Chi Qingzhou…

Winked playfully at it with his left eye.

The suddenly exploding blood-red light engulfed 16594.

The system, which had accessed Cheng Shang’s memories, might never know what its predecessor had set it up for.

When 66594 was captured by Chi Qingzhou back then, it had maintained contact with its headquarters.

So it wasn’t just it, but the system’s headquarters also attracted Chi Qingzhou’s attention.

Using the frequency left behind by 66594, Chi Qingzhou captured 16594 from outside the world.

Before that, Chi Qingzhou had already exposed the system’s existence to the ghost deity, making the deity think of using the system to steal time.

The deity was very impressive.

A fierce ghost flowing with Danlin clan blood, stepping up to godhood through meticulous planning, who wouldn’t be amazed by that?

But no matter how spectacular its methods were, the one who stayed seated on the fishing stool was always Chi Qingzhou.

It might have gained something, but Chi Qingzhou would never lose.

The intertwined karma flowed through the operating formation to the heart of the system, and then, following the system’s markings, it transferred to the dragon vein beneath the ground.

In the blood light, Chi Qingzhou looked at the rising karmic debt and slowly curled his lips.

“Good friends should help each other, right?”