Chapter 613

“Master? Master, are you there?”

“Master…?”

Fang Qi woke to the sound of murmuring.

Hmm?

He slowly opened his eyes.

The sea breeze was still blowing, the waves were still rolling, and the sunlight was a little harsh.

His vision remained blurry for several seconds before gradually clearing.

It was already early morning. The horizon was beginning to pale.

Huh? Had he actually fallen asleep?

He blinked, his mind still somewhat sluggish.

Ah, right.

Yesterday, he had spent the entire day with Liguang, from dawn until late at night.

He had barely carved any words all day, so his fingers hadn’t been ruined. As a result, he hadn’t chosen to use “Death” to reset his body.

But without the reset, his mind naturally hadn’t recovered either.

And last night, he had lain beside Liguang, listening to her soft, even breathing, like a lullaby…

And somehow, he had actually fallen asleep just like that.

It really had been a long time since he’d last slept.

“Master, please…”

The sound of the waves filled his ears, along with that ceaseless, broken murmur.

“Please give Liguang an answer. Even just one word…”

…Liguang?

Wait!

He abruptly sat up!

Sweeping his gaze around, he saw the silver-haired girl kneeling at the edge of the raft!

Her back was turned to him. Her pale, slender back was tense, both hands braced against the planks, her fingertips digging hard into the wood grain!

She was staring blankly at the floor, her body trembling faintly.

“Where is Master…? Please, give Liguang an answer…”

She simply knelt there, staring at the floor as though her soul had left her body. She neither cried nor shouted.

“Even one stroke… Just let Liguang know you’re still here…”

She murmured the same words again and again.

…Ah!

A buzzing filled Fang Qi’s head as he immediately realized what had happened!

Oh no!

He hadn’t carved anything for Liguang that morning!

Every day before this, he had watched Liguang fall asleep, then watched her wake up.

And every time she opened her eyes… his words would already be waiting for her.

【Good morning!】

【You’re awake?】

【Go back to sleep. It’s still early.】

If she slept in, he would even crawl over and carve words onto the planks beside her face…

【Time to get up, sleepyhead!】

It had been like that every day, without exception.

As a result, the wooden boards beside the bed in the cabin were already covered in dense layers of morning greetings.

Perhaps because there were too many of them, the new carvings had blended into the old ones and were no longer easy to spot.

That was why, over the past few days, Liguang had chosen to carry her blanket outside and sleep beside the places where he usually carved his messages.

In any case, seeing his words the moment she woke up had already become a habit for her.

But this time, he had fallen asleep, and Liguang had woken before him.

When she opened her eyes, there had been nothing there.

“Master… Master, please… Just carve one word, okay?”

Still facing away from him, she stared blankly at the floor and murmured over and over:

“Even one stroke… Just let Liguang know you’re still here…”

Fang Qi: “...!”

There was no time to think!

He immediately lunged forward and pressed the severed finger he had long since learned to use with practiced ease against the wooden plank!

【I’m here!】

He carved the words as quickly as he could!

The instant the characters appeared, Liguang’s body shuddered violently.

Her pupils slowly focused on the two words, and her eyes widened little by little!

Phew…!

Seeing that Liguang had reacted, Fang Qi let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly continued carving:

【I accidentally fell asleep. I can’t believe I woke up later than a certain sleepyhead!】

The strokes flew across the wood, crooked and uneven!

Liguang stared at the line of text and blinked once more. Then…

Her entire body suddenly went limp!

She tilted to the side and collapsed onto the wooden planks.

She still didn’t cry or make a fuss. She merely stared blankly at the words. Only after a long while did she murmur:

“Master scared Liguang half to death… Liguang thought Master…”

She pressed her lips together and stopped there.

Fang Qi watched her helplessly.

How long had it been, and she was still worried that he would abandon her?

His Little Yandere really had no sense of security!

But when he saw her slightly reddened eyes and her pitiful, vulnerable expression, what could he say?

It was his fault. All his fault!

He was just about to carve an apology when Liguang suddenly raised her head.

She looked in the direction where he was standing. Her little face was still pale, with tear marks on it, but suddenly, a smile blossomed across her features!

It was such a bright, radiant smile!

“Master, Liguang has made up her mind!”

Her tone had even become light and cheerful.

“Since Master doesn’t want Liguang to lose her memories, then… then Liguang will do as Master wishes!”

“Liguang… will stay! Liguang will find another way to leave—a way that lets Liguang keep her memories!”

She smiled with her eyes curved into crescents, looking utterly delighted!

Fang Qi: “...?”

Huh?

He paused for a moment.

Honey, isn’t your mood changing a little too quickly?

Just a moment ago, you looked like you had lost your soul. And now, all of a sudden…

He pursed his lips slightly.

She was forcing herself to smile.

Still… he felt somewhat relieved.

He understood why Liguang was acting this way.

She felt guilty!

Choosing to stay meant choosing to let him continue suffering. How could she not feel conflicted about that?

She must have been afraid he would see through her inner turmoil, so she was rushing to cover it up with a smile.

But that was exactly what he wanted!

So he smiled as well and extended his severed finger to carve onto the floor:

【Finally figured it out?】

【I told you already—this is the best choice we have right now!】

【Your master has already made his choice. What are you hesitating over?】

Liguang looked at the words with a gentle smile.

But for some reason, Fang Qi felt that…

Her gaze seemed to lose focus for an instant.

A faint azure-blue light flashed rapidly across the depths of her eyes.

Fang Qi blinked.

Was his wife trying to activate her authority?

That’s it, honey. Keep going. Work hard!

“Master!”

Liguang immediately stood up.

“Then let’s take the day off today!”

As she spoke, she stretched lazily, showing off her graceful curves. She rose onto her toes and lightly flexed her feet against the wooden planks.

“Mmm…! Let’s have a really fun day! The past few days have been so exhausting!”

As she said that, she looked toward him and blinked.

Fang Qi: “...”

Wait, I just told you to keep working hard, and now you want to take a break?

“Besides, Master’s fingers hurt from all that carving, so let’s carve less today!”

She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly, smiling at him.

“You can answer Liguang with circles or crosses!”

Since she couldn’t see him, Liguang’s gaze wasn’t actually focused on his face.

But Fang Qi was used to it by now.

He smiled.

All right, all right. So you want to reduce your guilt by doing this, huh?

That was easy enough.

He immediately extended his finger and drew a large circle beside the line of text he had just carved.

Liguang looked at the circle, her eyes curving into crescents.

“Hee-hee!”

But Fang Qi always felt that her smile…

Seemed to be hiding something different.

Hmm…

It was probably her guilt toward him.

…

And so, this day of “rest” began just like that.

For the first time in a while, Liguang went to make tea for Fang Qi again.

Lately, she had been getting up later and later, and she had rarely completed the proper “morning tea” ritual she used to perform in the beginning.

But today, she had brought them out again. A white porcelain cup, tea leaves, hot water.

She knelt in the middle of the raft, both hands cradling the steaming teacup and holding it high. Her expression was gentle and earnest.

“Master, your tea.”

“The temperature has been adjusted to your preferred fifty-two degrees Celsius.”

Fang Qi sat cross-legged across from her, watching the way she held up the cup and breathing in the tea’s fragrance—so intense it seemed capable of piercing straight through his soul.

How familiar.

So familiar that his throat tightened slightly.

But he couldn’t drink it.

All he could do was watch and smell it, then carve a crooked character into the floor:

[Delicious!]

Liguang lowered her head and saw the character. The corners of her lips curled upward.

Then, without warning, she stood up, carried the cup to the edge of the raft, and flung its contents toward the sea!

The tea formed a pale golden arc before splashing into the ocean beneath the morning light.

“Let the sea have a sip!”

She turned around, the sparkling sea at her back, and smiled in Fang Qi’s direction.

“Let the sea remember everything about Liguang and her Master!”

Fang Qi froze for a moment, then smiled.

That crazy girl. She always managed to come up with these rituals that left his heart both soft and aching.

So he drew a circle on the ground.

When Liguang saw it, her smile grew even brighter.

Then she said, “Master, go fishing with Liguang!”

Fang Qi looked at her.

He understood that she was still clearly uneasy.

Her smile was too bright, her words too numerous, and her movements too frequent.

She was trying to use one thing after another to suppress the mess of thoughts in her head.

…Of course he had to indulge his wife!

He immediately drew another circle.

Fishing had originally been part of their daily routine out on the sea.

But today, Liguang was obviously distracted.

Sometimes she failed to pull in the line when a fish took the bait. Other times, the moment the hook moved slightly, she would jerk awake and lunge for the fishing rod—only to grab empty air.

Every so often, her gaze drifted toward the place where sea and sky met.

Fang Qi noticed it all.

She was thinking about how to get him out of here, wasn’t she?

Was this crazy girl finally starting to take some responsibility?

The corner of his mouth lifted. He carved a long string of words onto the wooden plank beside her:

[Liguang, get some rest today. You don’t have to worry about so much.]

[I’ve already gotten used to living like this!]

[I can always see Liguang. That’s enough for me!]

[You’re the one who can never see me, Liguang. You must always be worried, right?]

[Don’t worry. I’ll always be here.]

When he finished, he nodded in satisfaction. His writing was getting better and better!

Liguang stared blankly at the words, then sniffed softly.

And then…

She suddenly shot to her feet!

Fang Qi: “?!”

“Master, no more resting!”

She set the fishing rod aside, turned around, and faced him with an incomparably serious expression.

“Liguang can’t rest at all right now!”

She clenched her little fists.

“So, Master, why don’t we…”

She looked toward where Fang Qi stood. Her chest rose and fell slightly, and a faint blue glow flickered in her eyes.

“Why don’t we go take a look at the ‘edge’ of this world together?”

…Huh?

Fang Qi was stunned.

The edge?

The edge of the world?

He had heard Liguang mention it before. The place where sea and sky met was the edge.

She had gone there more than once, but every time, she had returned empty-handed.

She couldn’t break through the “air wall” there, nor could she go around it.

Later, Fang Qi had carved a message telling her how worried he was whenever she went there alone…

After that, she stopped going.

So this time, she wanted to take him with her?

He didn’t hesitate for even a moment. He immediately drew a large circle on the ground.

—Sure!

…

The two of them sat on a small wooden raft and drifted toward the line where sea met sky.

As for the raft, Liguang had pried it loose from the edge of the offshore platform.

It wasn’t large—just big enough for the two of them to lie side by side. It was about the same size as the raft they had first used.

Liguang knelt at the front, gripping a simple wooden oar and paddling through the water stroke by stroke.

The sea breeze blew toward her, sending her silver hair streaming behind her.

Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and the hem of her cream-colored swimsuit clung damply to the roots of her thighs.

She bit her lower lip and kept paddling with all her strength!

As for Fang Qi…

All he could do was watch.

He couldn’t touch the oar, so he carved words into the raft’s wooden planks:

[Keep going, Liguang!]

[Rest if you’re tired!]

Liguang glanced down at the words, then smiled and said between ragged breaths, “Master, Liguang isn’t tired!”

“Liguang has to keep working hard… for Master!”

The little raft cut through the shimmering water and sailed toward the line where sea met sky.

Liguang said that this world was very small—pitifully small.

But it looked so vast.

The sea was so deep a blue that it was almost black, while the sky stretched endlessly overhead.

Sitting on this little raft and personally paddling toward that eternal golden line…

Fang Qi felt a surreal sensation, as if everything had been stretched into infinity.

They were drifting on a little raft again.

It was just a shame that this time, the two of them couldn’t hold each other.

…

At last, the raft came to a stop.

Liguang rested the wooden oar across her knees, panting as she raised her head.

“Master, we’re here.”

She reached out and pressed her hand against the space ahead of them, pressing against…

For the first time, Fang Qi saw the edge of this world with his own eyes.

Liguang’s hand rested against the “air wall,” causing the air to ripple faintly.

Fang Qi reached out as well, but all he could feel was something cold, hard, and “transparent.”

What shocked him most, however, was what lay beyond the wall.

His pupils contracted slightly.

As they drew closer, the so-called place where sea met sky revealed its true form.

It was no longer the sea.

Beyond the transparent, solid boundary was a stretch of…

Dark, viscous nothingness, as if not even light could escape from it.

Only the occasional flicker of a ghostly blue point of light passed through the void, like…

Fragments of code.

Huh…

Fang Qi blinked.

The void outside was actually rather beautiful.

It was just that this feeling…

seemed strangely familiar?