Chapter 672, Eye of Reality and Illusion
The room fell quiet.
Sang Zhe silently stared at the spot where his mother had disappeared, not saying a word.
The others were also hesitant to speak, except for Zhang Xiaoying cautiously approaching Sang Zhe and gently tugging at his hand, “Husband…”
“…I’m fine.”
Sang Zhe took a deep breath, turned around, and forced a smile, “I really like this gift.”
“Go on, we can’t let this big cake go to waste.”
“This is just a game cake.” Bai Ming muttered softly, “If you want to eat, we have one prepared for you in reality.”
“Then what are we waiting for!”
Sang Zhe curiously looked around, “By the way, who took my logout button? How do I exit the game?”
“Well…” Bai Ming scratched her head sheepishly, “I was actually trying to scare you like in Sword Art Online… heh heh.”
Heh, you little brat.
All you ever do is come up with these useless tricks.
——
——
Back in reality, everyone was greeted by a grand party.
The guests, who had been waiting for a long time, packed the Sang family home.
Li Shanyan, Qin Xiuyuan, and Xu Yourong were trying cream cakes for the first time, commenting on the sweetness.
Xiang Zimo and Young Master Cao were chasing each other, trying to smear cake on each other’s faces.
In the end, the unlucky victim was the new emperor of the Holy Kingdom, Huo Ming, who passed by. Both of them froze in shock, trembling as they spoke.
However, Huo Ming merely stayed silent for a moment before rolling up his sleeves and grabbing two pieces of cake to join the fun.
By the end, more participants joined the chaos, with Little Ying You and Little Lonely jumping in, even Cheng Da Yong shamelessly participating in the game.
Long Xiao and his wife were commiserating with Zhang Quanzhi and his wife about how their families missed their daughters.
On the other side, Bai Ming was teaching Meng Qiyan, Tang Yubbing, and Shi Qingyan the rules of Mahjong using their newly moved-in game table.
Si Jingzhu, Hua Jianglian, Long Huan, and Gu Yingmian, who had already learned the rules, started playing against each other in a heated match.
But their stakes weren’t money.
Instead, they were bargaining for Sang Zhe’s time—up to six hours maximum.
Originally, Huo Ningxue was eager to join in for a few rounds, but Zhang Xiaoying was worried that, given her intelligence, she might get overly frustrated and act childishly, so she stopped her.
Sang Zhe was verifying some game details of “Rebellious Immortal Sect” with Yan Rouwan and Nian Nian.
“It’s your birthday today, shouldn’t you relax a bit?” Master Yu Xia said as she brought drinks to the trio.
“It’s fine.”
Sang Zhe took the cool fruit wine, savoring it, “For me, doing what I love is relaxation.”
“Speaking of which, where’s Xu Hongyi?”
“Oh, I just received a report.”
Master Yu Xia said softly, “Earlier, the avatar left by the foolish child suddenly disappeared this morning. Nobody knows what happened, so Madam Xu went to the outer realms to verify with the deity.”
The foolish child’s avatar disappeared? Sang Zhe slightly squinted.
“I see.”
Once Master Yu Xia left, Sang Zhe immediately contacted Xu Hongyi through Causal Lotus.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s nothing going on.” Xu Hongyi’s voice sounded a bit puzzled, “Foolish Child isn’t in his realm, nor can I feel any of his presence.”
“This guy, he wouldn’t mysteriously vanish like Old Woman Xi, would he? I need to check with other deities.”
Sang Zhe glanced at Nian Nian and Yan Rouwan and whispered, “No. Come back first.”
“If that’s the case, it means the Primordial Deity is in danger alone.”
“I’ll contact Huo Longyuan about this. Don’t act rashly.”
Xu Hongyi said “oh” and obediently returned to Sang Zhe’s residence through the crack he had opened.
“If Foolish Child is also missing…” Yan Rouwan hesitated but was stopped by Sang Zhe’s shake of the head.
“I’ve already sent a message to Huo Longyuan. We just need to wait for a response.”
“Let’s not think too much about it today. You guys continue the party.”
Seeing Sang Zhe say so, the others didn’t mention it further.
——
——
That night, everyone, exhausted from playing, went to bed early.
Under the night, Sang Zhe lay in bed alone, quietly staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep for a long time.
“Still thinking about what happened during the day?” Nian Nian was sitting at the head of the bed, having appeared without him noticing.
“Not really. Everything will be clear once Huo Longyuan replies.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Sang Zhe fell silent.
“To be honest, it’s my first time seeing you cry.”
Nian Nian gently twirled her hair, whispering, “It really scared me at the time. I thought I had done something wrong again.”
“No.”
Sang Zhe sighed, “I just miss her a bit.”
“Looking back now, the events of the previous life happened a long time ago. Compared to that, it almost feels like a dream; I can hardly remember it clearly.”
So when he saw the realistic room, the familiar rental apartment, and everything else again.
Sang Zhe truly felt a moment of confusion over whether he had lost his mind.
“And my mom…” Sang Zhe’s gaze dropped.
“I really miss her. Seeing her makes me happy, even if it’s just a false projection.”
Nian Nian stole a glance at him, then gradually turned her head.
“…Actually.”
“If I say.”
“You could turn that world into reality?”
She noticed Sang Zhe suddenly sit up straight beside her, staring at her sharply.
“What do you mean?”
“You said your eyes have been uncomfortable lately.” Nian Nian hesitated before speaking softly, “I don’t know if you remember, you previously obtained a mask mode fragment from Huo Ningxue.”
Sang Zhe nodded. That fragment had given him perspective and omniptent view, and it was quite useful.
“Actually… that’s the final heavenly treasure.”
“Eye of Reality and Illusion,” Nian Nian explained, “It can convert real existing things into illusions and vice versa.”
“It’s different from all previous heavenly treasures. It doesn’t require awakening, but it needs to grow and sprout slowly.”
“And now, it’s clearly nourished enough in the mask mode. It can give birth to its true form at any moment.”
Sang Zhe stared intently at Nian Nian.
He definitely understood what her words implied.
The ability to transform between the illusory and the real.
“You mean… I can make my mother in the game a real existence?”
“Right?”
“…Yes.” Nian Nian hesitated for a moment before nodding, “But I need to clarify.”
“After all, that is merely a replica using the Wheel of Time, based on your mother’s personality. Strictly speaking, it can’t be considered your mother.”
“There are ethical and moral issues involved, and everyone’s understanding varies.”
“We can’t decide for you; it’s your choice alone.”
“If she is not your mother, or not your true mother.”
“Would you still want her to become real?”
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