[First Life, Ended]
[Primary Gains of This Life:]
[1. Plum-Pickled Soybean Cake (Wonder Item Crafting): Grants different special effects depending on the creator's state of mind during creation. Authorization: Only the creator may produce it; authorization cannot be transferred.]
[2. Forget-Sorrow Plum Blossom Brew (Wonder Item Crafting): When consumed at three years' aging or less, it has no side effects; one cup dispels worries. After four years' aging or more, consuming 250 mL will cause certain intoxication; one drunkenness dissolves a thousand sorrows. After sobering up, memories from the intoxicated period are lost. Authorized quantity: 1.]
[3. Knowledge of Biological Memory Science.]
[4. An Indestructible Zhongruan (Cannot Be Discarded).]
[5. A Plum Blossom Sachet with Everlasting Fragrance (Cannot Be Discarded).]
[The aforementioned gains will be carried into the next cycle of reincarnation. Please choose any memories you wish to erase. If there are none, please ignore.]
Within the system's soul domain, Rrakavasha looked back on his life, filled with a bittersweet feeling.
Right and wrong no longer mattered. The judgments of the living held no weight here.
He harbored no hatred toward anyone, nor toward fate itself. It is what it is.
The carousel of memories froze completely. Rrakavasha's gaze drifted across the different stages of his life, each moment frozen in time.
In the end, it settled on a gentle, slender figure etched deep into his bones, one that had defined everything he'd become.
"If after a hundred years I don't contact you, then forget me. I owe you nothing, and you will no longer owe me."
"..."
Those words from the past echoed in his heart like a final commandment. After a moment of silence, Rrakavasha chose to erase all memories related to Ruan Mei.
"Teacher, this is the last time your student will obey your instructions. I wish you peace in the future, and a smooth road ahead."
Farewell.
[Timeline anchor locking in progress... locked: Xianzhou Cangcheng.]
[Generating Talent and Fate Cards. Note: Talents cannot be retained after death.]
[Talent rarity levels: Rainbow, Gold, Purple, Blue, White, Black]
[Beautiful Yet Short-Lived (White): Outstanding appearance and temperament, but the probability of dying young is greatly increased.]
[Withering Fortune (Black): Difficult to achieve success in life, the tides of circumstance rarely favor you.]
[Heaven's Punishment (Black): Cannot live past the age of 24.]
[Reviewed Best Friend (Blue): When working in online fiction writing, you will not be banned for writing 18+ content.]
[Blood Rage (Purple): The lower your rationality, the greater the destruction you cause. Can be activated voluntarily, cannot be deactivated voluntarily.]
[Heavenly Defect (Black): You are born incomplete, randomly acquiring congenital defects such as blindness, deafness, dwarfism, and so on.]
[Pure Yang Body (Gold): Abundant qi and blood, strong physique, immune to most diseases and toxins.]
[Swordsmanship Master (Purple): Practicing the sword yields twice the results with half the effort. With dedication, success is assured.]
[Bajiquan Grandmaster (Rainbow): Upon reaching adulthood, you will naturally master this martial art without a teacher.]
Seeing the generated Talent and Fate Cards spread before him, Rrakavasha was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected to acquire not only Gold-tier cards, but even a Rainbow-tier option, the rarest of all.
People naturally seek benefit and avoid harm. Rrakavasha had no masochistic tendencies, so he wouldn't choose cards with extreme drawbacks just for novelty's sake.
[Please select three to begin your next life.]
"I choose Pure Yang Body, Swordsmanship Master, and Bajiquan Grandmaster."
[Beginning preservation of retained memories from this life. Default unsealing age: 6. Next life countdown: 10, 9...]
[Second life begins. Due to the large span of the current timeline, you will be transported to a future node.]
Rrakavasha's consciousness rapidly blurred, dissolving like morning mist. Whether heading to the future or returning to the past made no difference to him; time was simply another cycle to experience.
The future, Xianzhou Cangcheng, Star Calendar Year 5700.
A family welcomed a precious son. The couple each took a few letters from each of their own names and named the child Rrakavasha, unaware of the soul that had lived with this name before.
...
Twenty years after Rrakavasha's passing.
Another year of snow blanketed the mountains.
A strangely shaped spacecraft descended from the sky, hovering above the snowy ground outside the bamboo house with practiced ease.
The hatch slid open, and Yu Qingtu stepped out, spotting that familiar back at a glance, or so she thought.
A glimmer lit up her eyes as her figure drifted toward the bamboo house like wind across water.
"He youngster, long time no see. Did you miss me?"
Yu Qingtu was in an exceptionally good mood, her voice carrying a playful lilt.
After dealing with trivial matters that had troubled her for twenty years, she'd chosen one person to visit first between her friend Ruan Mei and her friend's perpetually stiff student.
In the end, she'd chosen the latter. The incident between Ruan Mei and him back then had piqued her curiosity for far too long, and she intended to satisfy it today.
She had to ask Rrakavasha herself, get the truth straight from his lips.
A refined smile curved Yu Qingtu's lips. The moment her toes touched the ground, she saw the figure turn around.
The instant she saw his face, her smile froze solid.
"A puppet?!"
Her mind immediately jumped to Ruan Mei, assuming she must be here as well.
But why bring this thing over? Letting Rrakavasha see it would be too cruel, a mockery of his devotion!
Yet very quickly, Yu Qingtu realized something was wrong with that assumption.
This puppet lacked Ruan Mei's unique markings entirely, and the craftsmanship was far rougher, functional rather than elegant.
She could feel its emotionless gaze sweep over her, as if confirming information with some internal database.
Within two seconds, the puppet's voice confirmed her guess with mechanical precision.
"Memory database matched successfully. Identity confirmed. Genius Society #55, Senior Yu Qingtu, welcome."
"..."
Yu Qingtu was momentarily speechless, her usual composure shaken.
So it possessed autonomous intelligence, though she didn't know to what extent or how sophisticated its programming was.
As the puppet identified her, she also rapidly analyzed its structure with practiced expertise. This mechanical puppet was clearly made by Rrakavasha himself; she recognized his meticulous style in every joint and panel.
"Teacher and student... the two of them are really something..."
What on earth had happened over these twenty years while she'd been away?
"Where is Rrakavasha? Notify him. Tell him I'm back," she demanded, impatience creeping into her voice.
"Respected Senior Yu Qingtu, please allow me a brief self-introduction. I am a mechanical puppet powered by Rrakavasha's memories and acting according to a prime directive."
"I can tell. Stop the nonsense. Hurry and let him come see me, or take me to him." Yu Qingtu waved her hand dismissively.
"Senior Yu Qingtu, Rrakavasha, passed away twenty years ago."
"What did you say?!" Yu Qingtu froze, the words not quite registering.
The disbelief on her face deepened with each passing second. In almost an instant, she appeared before the mechanical puppet, her movement too fast for mortal eyes to see.
The puppet's chest cavity opened with a soft hiss. Its right hand reached into a special folded space within, retrieving two items with careful precision.
A jade-green potion brimming with vibrant life energy that practically hummed with vitality.
And a container resembling a preservation box. When the lid opened, it revealed a plate of exquisitely made plum-pickled soybean cake, each piece perfect, as if freshly baked.
"These are items Rrakavasha left for you before his passing, stored under the highest level of security. This set may only be received by you. In addition, there is also a recorded message."
Staring at the familiar green potion and the unfamiliar yet oddly familiar cake, Yu Qingtu's mind was in turmoil, a rare state for someone who'd lived as long as she had.
The mechanical puppet pressed two fingers to its temple, projecting a memory recording between them.
A young man bustled about in the back kitchen, carefully crafting a new type of pastry with the same meticulous attention he'd always shown.
After succeeding, he stored part of the pastries in a device capable of long-term preservation; his movements were practiced and efficient.
Finally, he placed them into the puppet's internal folded space with a gentleness reserved only for the most precious of things.
"Senior, I'm sorry. I'm about to die of old age and can't personally present you with the pastries you like."
"Please forgive me for fulfilling your request in this way. My abilities are limited; I can only keep them fresh for at most one hundred and fifty years."
"I hope that when you return, they haven't expired yet. I wish you the best of luck in your life ahead."
"Also, Senior, you once promised to unconditionally help me with one thing, didn't you?"