The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

The moment Chen Guan stepped inside, the eerie blue stone lamps, black and white stone bricks, and the dried-up circular pool in the circular hall were all swallowed up by the darkness behind him.

There was no feeling of falling, nor the pulling sensation commonly seen with teleportation arrays.

Chen Guan took only one step forward, and the light in front of him suddenly changed color.

The gray-yellow sky pressed down overhead.

The narrow alley is lined with small houses with dilapidated eaves, most of the tiles missing, and walls worn white by wind and sand.

There were no stone bricks on the ground, only hardened dirt roads, with cracks extending from one foot to the other.

In the distance, city walls can be vaguely seen.

The city wall was low, with a few weathered wooden poles stuck on top. Ragged cloths hung on the poles, and when the wind blew, the cloths slapped against the poles, making a very soft sound.

This place doesn't look like a modern city at all, much less like a place beneath an icy sea.

Guan Jinyue stood beside him, the long sword still in his hand. A flash of silver light appeared in his sleeve, and his previously suppressed spatial abilities were restored.

She first scanned her surroundings, then looked at the coffin.

"Is this inside a mural?"

Chen Guan's gaze fell on himself.

The original clothes were gone, replaced by an old robe. The fabric looked ordinary, and the sleeves were wide, covering half of the back of the hand when they hung down.

The robe was a dark color, and the edges were frayed from the wind and sand.

But the coffin on her back was still there, and the ring on her finger hadn't disappeared; it was as if she had only changed her clothes in a second.

Guan Jinyue, who was standing next to her, had also changed her clothes.

She wore a black robe, her silver hair was tied up with a black rope, and a long sword hung diagonally at her side. The robe concealed her original attire, making her blend into the wind and sand of this old city.

Her appearance hadn't changed, and judging from her reaction, his own probably hadn't changed either.

Chen Guan tried to call out to Baal.

There was no response in my mind, not even a sound.

This is worse than before.

Barr was completely shut out, just like a computer virus being detected and removed by 359 Security Assistant.

Chen Guan looked up and saw a child sitting on the threshold under the dilapidated eaves.

The child was very thin, wearing a faded cloak with seven hidden buttons on the front.

He held a dry biscuit in both hands and ate it bit by bit with his head down.

The biscuit was so hard that the child had to hold it in his mouth for a while to soften it before swallowing.

Chen Guan saw the seven hidden clasps and stopped in his tracks.

Beidou?

The child took a couple of bites, then, as if hearing footsteps, looked up at the coffin.

The face was much clearer than in the mural. The person was young, with ash on their face, but bright eyes that still held a shrewdness that hadn't been worn away by long-term hunger.

He first looked at the coffin, his face showing no sign of wariness.

Then he saw Guan Jinyue.

The child slowed down his chewing and lowered the biscuit in his hand a little.

"Teacher, who is this person?"

After saying that, Guan Jinyue and Chen Guan exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

That single word "teacher" clearly establishes their position.

In this story, Chen Guan becomes the man in the long robe, the one in the mural who leads the child across the desert, the coast, and the snowfield.

As for Guan Jinyue.

She has no identity in this story; she is an outsider.

Chen Guan lowered his sleeve to cover the ring and took two steps forward.

"This woman is a friend of mine."

The child responded with an "oh," indicating that he understood quickly.

He didn't ask any further questions, nor did he continue to scrutinize Guan Jinyue. He simply broke the dried-out cake in half, tucked the smaller half back into his pocket, and held the larger half towards the coffin.

"Teacher, do you want some?"

Chen Guan looked at the pancake; there were several teeth marks on it, and the edges were covered in dust.

The child held up the object very seriously.

Guan Jinyue's gaze swept over the pancake and then fell back on the child's face.

She clearly recognized that these were the children in the mural.

Chen Guan did not go to pick it up.

"You eat."

The child took the pancake back and took a small bite.

"Then I'll keep half for dinner."

Chen Guan looked at the small half-cake in his arms; it seemed this wasn't the first time the child had done this.

He recalled the murals; in the earliest one, a child sat beside ruins, and a robed figure stood before him, extending a hand.

Before Chen Guan could even process the information, the child had already jumped down from the threshold and dusted off his cloak.

"Teacher, you're home early today."

Chen Guan continued, following his lead.

"Yeah, nothing much happened today."

The child's eyes lit up a little when he heard this.

"So, are we going to learn to recognize characters again today?"

Chen Guan followed his words and said, "Learn."

The child immediately turned around and ran into the house.

The room was very low; the door frame was so low that even an adult would have to stoop to enter.

There was little furniture inside. A wooden table with a missing leg was placed against the wall, with stones supporting its legs. Several bundles of hay were piled in the corner, covered with an old cloth, which was probably where the child slept.

Guan Jinyue walked to the door but did not go in immediately.

Her gaze swept over every corner of the room; there were no fluctuations of spiritual energy, nor the warmth and liveliness that a living person should have.

It doesn't feel like a dream, but it's so real that every speck of dust can land on your cuff.

Chen Guan bowed his head and entered the house.

The child had already pulled out a thin wooden board from under the table, picked up a piece of charcoal, and sat upright in front of the table.

He placed the half-cake on the corner of the table and carefully covered it with his cloak.

"Teacher, I can write that character again."

Chen Guan walked to the table, where a single character was crookedly written on a wooden board.

Return.

Chen Guan recognized the character, but the characters here were different from the ancient characters outside.

The character resembles a modern character, but with a few more strange zigzag lines, making its structure somewhat awkward.

The child looked up at him, as if waiting for praise.

Chen Guan looked at the word and felt a chill run down his spine. Oh no, he shouldn't have agreed.

"Well written."

The child immediately gripped the charcoal stick tightly, his lips involuntarily curving upwards.

Guan Jinyue stood by the door and, seeing this scene, loosened his grip on the sword.

It seemed like the first time she had ever seen Chen Guan speak to a child like this—neither cold nor warm, and without any deliberate attempt to coax.

But that one sentence, "Not bad," was enough to make the child at the table happy for half a day.

The child wrote another word on the wooden board.

Family.

As he wrote the last stroke, he stopped and asked softly, "Teacher, when 'gui' and 'jia' are put together, does it really mean 'going home'?"

Chen Guan looked at the wooden plank.

Home.

The illusion in the circular pool, the child's lip movements, and the line from the forum all came together at this moment.

Chen Guan didn't answer too quickly; he wasn't sure what changes would occur if he said the wrong thing in this story.

It's uncertain whether the child before us is a memory left behind by Beidou himself, or an old image reconstructed from the murals based on the remnants of the oath.

Guan Jinyue asked, "Where do you want to go back to?"

If those in the know can't say it, then it's her turn to say it.