This coffin feels very unfamiliar.

Xu Lai searched through his memories and still couldn't find where he might have seen it before, so he simply stopped thinking about it; anyway, he'd be jumping into the next memory soon.

Xu Lai felt his limbs were incredibly heavy. Even just opening his eyes took every last bit of strength in his body.

Unfortunately, he only managed to open them a tiny crack.

Squinting, out of the corner of his eye he saw his senior sister Yu Guiwan sitting in front of the grave mound, chattering away, talking about some past embarrassing incidents, tugging up little bits of Xu Lai's old memories.

"Is Fairy Yu here?"

Just then, a call came from down the mountain. It was the middle-aged, burly Wang Bainian and his wife Wang He, who lived at the foot of the mountain.

Back when the Heavenly Court's sect gate lay desolate, it was they who planted the whole mountainside full of plum trees, and now and then offered sacrifices to a few grave mounds behind the mountain, sweeping away fallen leaves.

Though it was partly because they were occupying this piece of land, Xu Lai was still deeply grateful. After going back and forth, they'd built up a bit of contact.

The Wang couple would often pick fresh fruits and melons and send them up the back mountain, and Xu Lai and Yu Guiwan would occasionally invite their neighbors from down below to share a meal.

"Qingfeng, I'll be right back."

Yu Guiwan straightened her appearance, then headed down the mountain.

"These final memories before death are way too real. So real it's like it's actually happening." Xu Lai thought silently.

He gradually recovered some strength and was able to open his eyes fully.

The clouds in the sky rolled and billowed.

Yu Guiwan seemed to have been delayed by something and didn't return even after several hours. Instead, Ruan Lan came back first with Xu Yiyi and Xu Pingan.

"Daddy, Yiyi's back." Xu Yiyi said, skipping as she spoke.

"You bastard brother-in-law!"

As Ruan Lan walked past the coffin she gave it a hard kick.

"...?"

Xu Lai looked at Ruan Lan, a whole row of question marks in his head.

But the big-hearted Ruan Lan and Yiyi didn't notice; only Xu Pingan saw. His eyes went wide as he shouted:

"Father!"

"What, you feel bad just because I kicked your dad's coffin?"

Ruan Lan had one arm hooked around a basket full of plums, and with the other hand she knocked Xu Pingan on the head.

"Father, he… he's looking at Auntie!" Xu Pingan said, his voice trembling.

"Don't talk nonsense. Your dad is dead as dead can be. Even an Immortal Fruit couldn't save him."

Ruan Lan curled her lip. "Still, when he was alive he sure did sneak plenty of peeks at me. Can't be helped—your aunt is also a devastating beauty that can topple nations."

"Auntie, people who tell lies have to swallow ten thousand needles." Xu Yiyi said solemnly.

"???"

Ruan Lan tapped her niece on the head, half angry, half amused. "Between you and your mom it's only a thousand needles for lying, and when it's me it jumps tenfold?"

Mentioning her older sister.

Ruan Lan's expression dimmed. She couldn't help giving the coffin another hard kick, and even glared fiercely at Xu Lai lying inside.

Only, as she looked, she kept feeling that something was off.

She stomped around the Ice Crystal Coffin several times, puzzled. "Yiyi, Pingan, why are your dad's eyes open?"

Xu Yiyi hopped up onto the coffin and stretched out her little hand to close Xu Lai's eyes.

She closed them once, and Xu Lai opened them.

She closed them again, and Xu Lai opened them again.

This repeated several times in a row. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Xu Lai was utterly helpless; the last bit of his strength was being used up in this battle of wills with his daughter.

Only at this point.

Did Ruan Lan finally realize something was wrong. Hesitantly she said, "You two… could it be that your dad is actually alive?"

She thought it over.

Then Ruan Lan rubbed her chin and immediately refuted herself. "That shouldn't be possible. He's been fed Immortal Fruit for two months—if he could come back, he would've long ago. Could this be a corpse turning into a zombie?"

"I know!"

Xu Yiyi suddenly clapped her hands.

Under the curious gazes of her aunt and little brother, she choked up and said, "Daddy can't die in peace."

Xu Lai: "..."

Hearing his filial daughter's words, his blood pressure shot straight up.

So much so that Xu Lai didn't know where the strength came from—he grabbed the edge of the coffin and actually sat up.

"Crap, that stinking brother-in-law really did turn into a zombie! Someone must be controlling his corpse!"

Ruan Lan cried out in shock, summoned the Formation Chessboard, and slammed down three Formations at once.

Two Starlight Arrays, one for attack and one for defense, would've been bad enough.

What Xu Lai found most unacceptable was that he was actually smashed into vomiting blood by the Zhoutian Star Fighting Formation he himself had created…

"Ruan—Lan!"

Xu Lai practically ground out the two words between clenched teeth.

In all the other memory scenes, Xu Lai had managed to say his goodbyes to the past, barely counting as making up for his regrets.

Only this illusory memory of unknown time made his heart ache with rage.

"Stop hitting him, The Supreme Emperor seems to really be alive."

The Artifact Spirit of the Formation Chessboard sucked in a cold breath and hurriedly cut off the output of the two Killing Formations.

"Seems?"

Ruan Lan's face was full of doubt.

Xu Lai leaned against the coffin's edge, hand trembling as he pointed at Ruan Lan, so angry he didn't even feel like speaking.

"Daddy?"

"Father?"

Xu Yiyi and Xu Pingan tentatively called out.

"Mm."

Xu Lai forced a smile. "Daughter, son, Daddy is about to wake up. If I stay in this world any longer, it'll be a nightmare."

Xu Lai closed his eyes.

Waiting for the memory to collapse.

He waited like that for nearly half an hour.

And so, Yu Guiwan, carrying fruits and melons as she came up from the foot of the mountain, saw an extremely eerie scene—

Her little junior brother sitting inside the coffin, with blood still at the corner of his mouth.

Ruan Lan stood there with her two niece and nephew, all three frozen stiff.

"Ruan Lan!"

Yu Guiwan was somewhat angry. "Even if you hate Qingfeng because of what happened to your junior sister, you shouldn't toy with his corpse like this."

"Martial Aunt, come quickly and look at Father." Xu Pingan said weakly.

"Look at what? Don't tell me he's alive?" Yu Guiwan walked over, still scolding.

Before the world he was waiting to collapse ever did, Xu Lai opened his eyes and nodded. "Senior Sister."

"Clatter."

The vegetables and fruits fell all over the ground.

Yu Guiwan's eyes widened. In disbelief, she said, "Little junior brother, you…"

"This is an illusion. I already died in the Karmic Tribulation."

Xu Lai sighed lightly. He'd said this sentence countless times in the previous memories.

"Smack!"

Yu Guiwan slapped Xu Lai on the chest. Her voice trembled. "The Karmic Tribulation was nearly four months ago. Does this slap hurt? If it hurts, then wake up!"

"..."

Xu Lai's expression slowly froze.

Feeling the pain in his chest and the pounding of his heartbeat, his expression turned uncertain.

"I've been unconscious for four months?"

There had been so many memories, packed so full, that for a moment Xu Lai couldn't accept the fact that he wasn't dead.

"Not unconscious—fallen."

The Qingfeng Sword was somehow floating in the air. Even though it tried to forcibly suppress its voice, a faint tremor still came through; it could sense that Xu Lai's life force was extremely strong.

Xu Lai instinctively tried to think, a splitting headache stabbing through his skull. He suddenly looked at Ruan Lan. "You said earlier… Immortal Fruit?"

"Yes."

Ruan Lan still couldn't believe Xu Lai had really woken up.

Joy surged up, her eyes turning red. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and said, "You're awake, that's what matters. As long as you're awake."

Then she ran back to her room, leaned against the door, and burst into sobs.

"Daddy!"

Xu Yiyi let out a wail and threw herself into Xu Lai's arms. "Daddy, you finally woke up. I missed you so much."

Xu Pingan stood where he was, trying to act reserved, but his tears were still falling despite himself.

"Daddy missed you too."

Xu Lai hugged his daughter tightly, not daring to believe he had actually come back from the dead. He couldn't help asking:

"Right, Senior Sister, what's with the Immortal Fruit? Could it be that Tiangui was killed by Emperor Bahuang?"