245: I feel ashamed, but I have no regrets.

"No reaction?"

"It seems your psychological resilience is quite good."

The Heart Demon circled Zhou Yan, looking him up and down, attempting to find some flaw in him.

But Zhou Yan remained expressionless, merely responding calmly.

"This world is inherently strange; everyone looks like they aren't rotten to the core, yet the things they do are insane."

"Given my state at that time, without a cheat, it was basically a dead end."

"Although I didn't anticipate the ending presented, I think it also drew inspiration from the experiences of those pitiful people in Langqi Village."

"I did indeed worry about this ending, but I was already a dead man. Being able to be reborn in the body of the deceased is already a gain."

"Moreover, life is quite good now. If you want to instill negative energy in me solely by fabricating history, it seems useless, other than infringing on my portrait rights."

Zhou Yan did indeed have some regrets about wiping out both families back then; after all, who could have expected that they were all Cultivating a Demonic Technique.

However, later he also practiced a Demonic Technique, and thinking back on how his ancestors had gradually moved away from the core of power because they were unwilling to associate with the corrupt, it was not strange that everyone practiced a Demonic Technique; it was he who appeared to be the odd one out.

So, were there really no good people among them?

Did he truly not kill a single innocent person when he killed them all?

Zhou Yan had reflected on this matter, and he had also seen his deep-seated thoughts in the novice dungeon. The fact that those dead people turned into monsters and attacked him proved that he indeed had a sense of indebtedness in his heart.

But since everything had already happened, thinking more about it was useless.

Since, on the whole, he had done the right thing at the time, he should not let his mind wander or pressure himself.

As Zhou Yan let go, the "Zhou Yan" who was suffering and those baring their fangs and brandishing claws servants dissipated entirely.

The dungeon before his eyes turned into a space of pure white.

Before Zhou Yan could even breathe a sigh of relief, another figure appeared before him, and Zhou Yan frowned once more.

He saw the situation he had once fantasized about.

Before him was a hairless, cat-like creature half a person's height, with human hair and a hideous face.

It muttered in its mouth.

"Lord Tianzun... save... save Little Yueer... Little Yueer... is... is in so much pain..."

This was Han Yue in her Half-Demon form as imagined by Zhou Yan.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yan subconsciously clenched his fists.

The Heart Demon took this opportunity to walk to his side and whispered in his ear.

"Before, what you did was more right than wrong, and it was out of revenge."

"So, you can be at ease."

"But what if, because you delayed using your Sword Seal and Formation, you were a step too late, causing an irreversible tragedy?"

"Would you pay for your mistakes?"

The corner of Zhou Yan's eye twitched slightly, and he took a deep breath. Just as he was about to turn and respond, he found that the Heart Demon beside him had vanished instantly, reappearing two meters away with his hands raised in surrender.

"Don't say it to me."

A sly smile appeared on his face as he pointed to Han Yue, who was curled up on the ground, having been transformed into a Half-Demon.

"Say it to her."

"She must... have a lot to tell you."

Zhou Yan forced himself to turn back, but upon seeing Han Yue's appearance, his heart sank, and a suffocating pressure welled up.

"Lord Tianzun, I... I feel so uncomfortable... I feel like I've become so ugly, really... really so uncomfortable..."

Zhou Yan wanted to speak, but his throat was filled with the urge to retch, making him unable to speak for a long time.

It wasn't because he felt disgusted by her appearance that he wanted to retch, but because his emotions were too intense.

"The System may have been unreliable before and of no great use, but it allowed you to gain a foothold in this world, even making it feel like walking on flat ground."

"But do you know, the essence of this gift is concealment."

"It concealed your limitations as a Mortal, and it also concealed your awe for real life."

"In essence, you are still that stupid college student, reckless, naive, and lacking a real sense of life and death."

"Now you hold the power to change fate, yet you still treat everything with the frivolity of a gamer."

"Why not use your life-saving items?"

"Because in your subconscious, this is still a high-fidelity dream."

"The life and death of NPCs are just plot branches, and even your own existence is just borrowed time, an overdrawn experience."

"You walk across this land, witnessing tears, blood, and despair."

"Those people you call 'NPCs' regard you as the only light in the darkness."

"When they reach out to you, what you give is gamer-style pity, a kind of empathy that is safe and secure, separated by a screen."

"You could clearly change more, but you always retreat at critical moments."

"The 'hope' you provide is more like a cheap compensation for your own guilt."

"The 'decency' you bestow is nothing more than to soothe your own crumbling conscience."

"What's even more ridiculous is that you even carefully decorate this cowardice."

"You have thought about, thought about preserving your former self, but that self never truly understood the weight of life."

"You are merely using nostalgic sentimentality to whitewash your current indifference and incompetence."

"Then you stand in their grateful gazes, enjoying that bit of warmth."

"As if you were truly a hero, rather than a passerby wearing a cloak of power, helpless in the face of real tragedy."

The Heart Demon's words were like wedges chiseled into the Soul, each word heavy, each step sinking, pressing the targeted Soul to kneel before the cracks of its own self-reflection.

"Do you think you are particularly great?"

This should have been the last straw that broke Zhou Yan, but it had the opposite effect.

Zhou Yan slowly straightened his body until he was standing completely upright.

Then, under the Heart Demon's stunned gaze, he took a deep breath and walked forward.

Finally, he gently embraced Han Yue.

"I'm sorry."

"The past me was indeed too self-righteous."

"I clearly knew the System was an idiot, but in the end, I realized that I was one too."

"I once thought, if I had used the Sword Seal early on to eliminate Chen Yan, would everything have led to a better outcome?"

"Perhaps Yi Sanyi and the others would still die, but would there be some slight difference?"

"At that time, I felt very cool, but that wasn't a game, nor was it a novel or a movie."

"The price of saying that was that others would truly be put in danger."

"Perhaps in your eyes, those words gave you hope and courage, but I know myself that at that time, I was still an idiot with a head full of wanting to show off."

"But I am lucky."

"Although my brain wasn't sharp then, at least I did one thing right."

"That was successfully saving you, and you truly changed me."

"That's why I was afraid to see you like this... but I am lucky, you like this will only appear in my Heart Demon."

"And you did truly change me, making me resolutely rush to the capital to save more people."

"That may not have been my achievement alone, but that time, I wasn't doing it for a mission, nor for fame."

"I truly wanted to do my best to save lives, even if the Sect didn't support it, even if I might die."

Zhou Yan felt the non-human body in his arms gradually soften, turning into a soft, small body.

A pair of hands also gently hugged him back.

"I know... I am also very grateful to Big Brother Zhou."

"Although I don't understand much, I know it was you who saved me and saved my uncle."

"Perhaps your methods still seemed immature, and what you did at the time wasn't necessarily all correct, but you resolutely came to save me, to save someone unrelated to you."

"I am really grateful to you."

"I also hope Lord Tianzun... gets better and better."

The scenery around them began to change.

One after another, Han Wenqing, Jia Sanyi, Yi Sanyi, the Village Chief, and a woman with a blurred face appeared before Zhou Yan.

They all nodded at Zhou Yan.

Then little Han Yue gently pushed Zhou Yan away, ran to Jia Sanyi and the woman, and hugged them respectively.

Then she said goodbye to Yi Sanyi and the Village Chief, and finally, holding Han Wenqing's hand, walked to the left.

Jia Sanyi held the woman's hand, smiled at each other, looked together at Han Yue's departing figure, then turned to Zhou Yan, cupped their hands in farewell, and walked away together towards the center.

Finally, there was Yi Sanyi.

He patted the Village Chief on the shoulder, signaling him to go first, and then shouted to Zhou Yan.

"Don't think so much! Even a bad guy like me thinks you're naive, yet you're the one fantasizing."

"When you have nothing to do, you can believe in yourself a bit more."

"Ah, no, don't believe too much either, otherwise, if you don't make any progress in the future, don't blame me."

"I'm off."

After saying goodbye, Yi Sanyi quickly caught up with the Village Chief, put his arm around his shoulder, and walked to the right with a laugh.

Watching them walk away, Zhou Yan slowly stood up.

There was no big change on his face, but his slightly trembling hands betrayed his inner state.

Until everyone disappeared from view, this pure white space completely shattered, returning to the original Void Realm.

Zhou Yan turned around.

The Heart Demon was sitting cross-legged on the ground, chin in hands, looking miserable.

Behind him was a door emitting light, which was particularly striking in the Void Realm.

"So annoying, so annoying!"

The Heart Demon ruffled his hair, his expression exaggerated.

"I didn't expect you to pass so quickly; I originally wanted to trap you for at least a few days."

Zhou Yan took a deep breath, suppressed his melancholy, and finally revealed a heartfelt smile for the first time in this place of crisis.

He walked up and patted the shoulder of the Heart Demon sitting on the ground.

"Sigh, you've taught me another lesson."

"But this time, I won, right?"

The Heart Demon glared at him unconvinced.

"Who said you won? I haven't admitted defeat!"

Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile and turned to walk towards the light door with big strides.

The Heart Demon sat alone in the darkness, watching Zhou Yan's back.

Zhou Yan walked towards the light step by step, his mind becoming increasingly clear, until he walked to the door and was about to take that final step.

But he heard a soft sound behind him, as if something small had fallen to the ground.

Zhou Yan subconsciously turned back and saw only a music box.

The moment his gaze fell upon it, the music box bloomed with a "click" like a sleeping metal flower.

Two delicate ballet dolls slowly rose, as if lifted by the wind of memory.

A melodious piece of instrumental music played softly, tugging at Zhou Yan's lonely heart.

The moment the first note flowed out, the world began to peel away.

A violent yet gentle wind blew into his face.

The Void Realm was torn apart by the wind like a fragile canvas, and Zhou Yan's long robes and long hair rustled and shattered into dust of light, revealing his most familiar appearance.

A soft old T-shirt, casual shorts, and fresh, short hair.

The wind continued to blow, carrying the scent of grass and moist soil.

The sky spread out above his head again; it was a sunset that was not quite dusk, dyeing the clouds in gradients of orange-pink and pale purple.

Distant mountains rose and fell like the spine of a quiet beast, and white wind turbines slowly rotated their blades, as if whispering to the wind or measuring time.

He stood by a wheat field.

The waves of wheat swayed in the wind, each ear of wheat gilded with golden light, as if the earth were breathing, shimmering with the fine yet magnificent luster of life itself.

"Whoosh—"

Another gust of wind surged from behind, pushing him to sway slightly.

He looked up, but what he saw was not the wind, but a flock of birds flying low over the wheat field.

Their wings beat out transparent air currents, and also beat out a soft tremor in the twilight.

They then flocked together in the air, constructing the shape of a whale, dreamlike and illusory.

Zhou Yan stood in place, his heartbeat like the rising drumbeat on the plains.

Something was awakening and expanding in his chest, colliding with his throat.

He opened his eyes wide, as if seeing this world for the first time, or rather, recognizing it for the first time.

But he just shook his head quietly, the corners of his mouth curving into a very shallow, faint arc, as if conceding to some joke only he knew.

He turned around, ready to continue taking that unfinished last step.

"Young man."

The voice came from behind.

The gentle, familiar tone held his footsteps again.

"It's almost dark, what are you doing on the side of the road? Is your car broken, or are you lost?"

He didn't dare to look back, but heard footsteps approaching, stepping gently on the asphalt road, rustling.

The person smiled again, as peaceful as the evening breeze.

"Do you want me to give you a ride home?"

The sunset fell right on his outline, dragging out a long, warm shadow that extended all the way to Zhou Yan's feet.