The Astronomical Bureau had already chosen the date for the ascension.
Xie Yi was overwhelmed with work during this period.
He insisted on marrying Lin Zhizhi on the day of his ascension.
Although the ministers believed this violated protocol, Xie Yi’s rule was already stable, and he held command of the army.
He was an emperor with real power.
Their opposition was useless, so they could only grit their teeth and make preparations.
On the day of the ascension, just as the Astronomical Bureau had predicted, the weather was clear, with gentle winds.
Xie Yi and Lin Zhizhi went to the outskirts of the capital to worship Heaven and honor their ancestors.
Both wore magnificent and solemn ceremonial robes.
Under the guidance of the ritual officials, they walked step by step toward the altar.
The civil and military officials knelt beneath the altar, looking up at them with fervent devotion in their eyes.
When Lin Zhizhi had studied history in the past, he could never understand why ancient times had so many formalized rituals.
Nor did he understand why the ancients said, “The greatest affairs of a state are sacrifice and war.”
He had already seen Xie Yi leading troops into battle.
And now he had personally witnessed the solemnity of sacrificial rites.
Only now did he gradually begin to understand.
And precisely because of that, he knew his choice had not been wrong.
Xie Yi becoming emperor would change not only his own fate, but the fate of everyone in this country.
If at the beginning he still felt detached from this world, believing it was only a book—
after living here for so long, his thoughts had changed.
His gaze swept across the people below.
He saw Shen Xian, Cang Feng, and Luo Zhitang.
He also saw Cen Junce and Cen Xuezhou.
And hidden behind the crowd were Songlü, Qing Li, and Liu Muzhi.
He had come to know them.
He knew their pasts, drank with them, listened to them brag, took care of them, and had been cared for by them in return.
They had become his friends.
No longer names briefly mentioned in a book, insignificant and forgettable.
Just as he was momentarily lost in thought, Xie Yi used the cover of his wide sleeve to gently squeeze his fingers.
Lin Zhizhi turned his head.
If he felt only regret when facing his friends, then what he felt toward Xie Yi was true reluctance to part.
That heavy emotion flashed through his eyes.
It passed so quickly that even Xie Yi failed to catch it clearly.
Even so, the almost instinctive understanding between him and Lin Zhizhi still made him sense something was wrong.
In a low voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Zhizhi shook his head.
“Nothing. Let’s continue with the next step.”
The day’s schedule was packed extremely tightly.
Before Xie Yi could say anything, the ritual official stepped forward and invited them back to the palace to continue the remaining ceremonies.
After returning to the palace, the two would receive the officials’ kneeling homage in the main hall and issue the imperial decree.
The two sat together in the jade carriage.
Xie Yi felt Lin Zhizhi’s hand was somewhat cold and looked at his slightly pale face with concern.
“Are you tired?”
Because the rituals were so complicated, preparations had begun the night before.
Xie Yi was strong and robust. During war, overnight forced marches were commonplace to him. This was nothing.
But Lin Zhizhi had always been physically weaker than him. He had also suffered lingering health issues back in Qingzhou, so his stamina was not particularly good.
Having gone without sleep all night, and now enduring such heavy ceremonial robes during the sacrifices, it truly was difficult for him.
Lin Zhizhi had originally wanted to deny it instinctively.
But at the last moment, he changed his mind.
“A little. I won’t attend court with you later. I want to return to the palace and rest first.”
Lin Zhizhi knew he would leave sooner or later.
Although he did not know how 03 would handle his disappearance afterward, he still hoped his presence would remain as inconspicuous as possible.
Forget receiving the officials’ kneeling homage in the hall—even attending the sacrificial rites had been something he wished to avoid.
But Xie Yi had firmly refused, and Lin Zhizhi had feared arousing suspicion and causing uncontrollable changes, so he could only agree.
Now that he raised it again, Xie Yi still refused.
“If you’re truly uncomfortable, I’ll have the imperial physicians examine you.”
But the more Xie Yi acted this way, the more bitterness welled in Lin Zhizhi’s heart.
Thinking about how little time he had left with Xie Yi, he stopped bringing up leaving early.
The new dynasty adopted the national title Yong and the era name Jinghe.
After the imperial decree was announced, the hundred officials knelt and shouted blessings of ten thousand years.
At that moment, the task list before Lin Zhizhi changed.
[Main Mission Seven completed. Mission progress: 100%.]
[Congratulations, Host. All main missions have been completed. Mission world successfully saved.]
Decisive and clean.
Completely lacking the awkward hesitancy it had before.
Even though Lin Zhizhi had long expected this result, he still froze in place.
But it was not over.
The task interface began changing again.
The words on the screen seemed to break apart and reorganize.
In the end, new text appeared.
[Mission System No. 047, congratulations on successfully completing your mission and resolving the destruction crisis of Mission World S2079, reaching the story ending.]
[Mission Rating: SSS.]
[Reward: …]
Lin Zhizhi no longer had the heart to read further.
This was once what he had dreamed of.
Now, it had become the final ultimatum forcing him to leave this world.
And at the same moment Lin Zhizhi received the completion notice, Xie Yi also froze.
At that instant, he felt as though some invisible shackles that had bound him for so long had suddenly broken.
Ever since learning he was the villain of a book, he had always felt an invisible restraint controlling him, forcing him to resist with all his strength.
But now—
that restraint had vanished.
In its place was a freedom and ease Xie Yi had never felt before.
It was as though…
from this moment onward, he truly controlled his own destiny.
Even someone as calm and composed as Xie Yi felt dazed.
As a result, he failed to notice Lin Zhizhi’s abnormal state.
Lin Zhizhi knew he was about to leave.
He did not dare look into Xie Yi’s eyes.
He only said softly, “I want to return to the palace first.”
Xie Yi immediately came back to himself.
Unable to dwell on the feeling, he looked at him with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
As he spoke, he reached for Lin Zhizhi’s hand, only to find it even colder than before.
But before he could ask further—
Lin Zhizhi leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.
The officials below were still bowing in homage.
No one noticed their movements.
Lin Zhizhi smiled with the utmost gentleness.
“It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired. I’m not interested in the banquet afterward anyway. I’d rather go back and rest early.”
Xie Yi knew Lin Zhizhi had always disliked banquets and social drinking.
Seeing his pale and exhausted face, though doubt still flashed through him, he had just experienced his ascension and this newfound freedom.
The overlapping emotions inevitably disturbed his usual sharp instincts.
So in the end, he could only order the eunuchs to escort Lin Zhizhi back and send for the imperial physicians.
Watching Xie Yi issue all these orders, Lin Zhizhi suddenly called his name.
“Xie Yi.”
“Mm?”
“Goodbye.”
Xie Yi froze.
But Lin Zhizhi had already boarded the jade carriage.
He lightly waved to him before heading toward the sleeping palace.
—
After returning to the palace, Lin Zhizhi dismissed everyone.
Soon, he heard the familiar voice.
[047!! The mission is complete!! This is great!!]
Facing 03, Lin Zhizhi finally shed the mask he had worn before Xie Yi.
Coldly, he asked,
[You’re here to take me away?]
[Yep.] 03 seemed not to notice his cold attitude and continued excitedly. [Your mission rating is SSS! Do you know what that means? This is the first one in the history of our Transmigration Bureau!!]
[What does that mean?] Lin Zhizhi froze. [Does it mean I completed the mission exceptionally well?]
But the moment he said it, he rejected the idea himself.
Considering how often he exploited loopholes to complete tasks—so much that the system nearly crashed from frustration—it hardly seemed possible.
Sure enough, 03 continued.
[No. Mission ratings are based on mission difficulty. Before this, the highest difficulty I’d ever seen was S-rank. I’ve heard of other systems encountering SS-rank missions. But SSS-rank? Never.]
After speaking, it muttered quietly,
[With difficulty this high, no wonder I couldn’t do it. This isn’t my fault—the villain was just way too monstrous…]
Lin Zhizhi did not hear the muttering.
After a moment of silence, he asked again,
[I saw the announcement say that completing the mission would ‘reach the story ending.’ What does that mean?]
Now that the mission was complete, 03 no longer hid anything.
[Once the story ending is reached, this story becomes inspiration. An author in the real world will sense it and write it down. But that’s not something we need to worry about.]
Lin Zhizhi had not expected that.
He froze briefly, then hurriedly asked,
[Then what about this world? After I leave, what happens to it?]
03 answered:
[After the story ends, this world will continue operating like a real world. One day, a new story may be born, forming a new book. And so the cycle continues.]
Lin Zhizhi understood.
Once the story ending was achieved, the Transmigration Bureau would no longer bind Xie Yi’s fate.
He would gain true freedom.
Lin Zhizhi let out a long breath and said softly,
“So… that’s good.”
Seeing no joy on his face, 03 asked in confusion:
[This is an SSS-ranked mission! And you have a mountain of points now! Do you realize how incredible that is? Even if you can’t become an official employee of the bureau, you’ll still live extremely comfortably from now on!]
But Lin Zhizhi did not care.
Instead, he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked,
[If a living person like me suddenly disappears, won’t that cause chaos in this world? Maybe…]
[Mm, a little. But it won’t matter much.] 03 reassured him. [You’re not originally from this world. They’ll gradually forget you. Even people deeply tied to you—ten days to half a month is enough.]
Lin Zhizhi’s face turned even paler.
03 asked warmly:
[Anything else you want to know? If not, let’s head back.]
Lin Zhizhi remained silent for a long time.
Only after 03 urged him several times did he finally look one last time in Xie Yi’s direction, full of longing.
[Okay.]
—
Xie Yi sat at the head of the main hall, absentmindedly turning the wine cup in his hand.
He had never liked these tedious banquets.
If this were not the first grand banquet of the new dynasty, he would have left long ago.
Instead of wasting time here, he would rather return to the sleeping palace and see Lin Zhizhi.
At that moment—
his body suddenly trembled slightly.
The faint connection that had originally existed between him and Lin Zhizhi suddenly seemed to be severed.
Xie Yi abruptly rose to his feet.
The officials below, who had been offering congratulations, were startled and immediately dropped to their knees.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
But Xie Yi no longer had the mind to care about them. He hurried toward the sleeping palace.
The eunuch at his side rushed after him.
“Your Majesty! This servant will call for the imperial carriage!”
Xie Yi’s mind was in complete chaos. He had no patience for a slow-moving carriage. Ignoring him entirely, he used his martial arts and sped straight toward the palace.
When he arrived at the entrance, he saw bright lights shining inside.
Yet for some reason, instead of reassuring him, it made him even more uneasy.
Two young eunuchs were dozing by the entrance. When they saw Xie Yi, they nearly lost their souls in fright and hurriedly knelt.
Xie Yi ignored them and strode directly into the palace.
The sleeping palace was silent.
Only the candles crackled softly as they burned.
Lin Zhizhi was not there.
Xie Yi searched the entire palace.
There was no trace of Lin Zhizhi anywhere.
At that moment, the eunuch who had been following him finally caught up, panting heavily. Seeing Xie Yi’s dark expression, he dropped to his knees with a thud.
Xie Yi looked at them coldly.
“Where is the Empress?”
But the moment he asked, the people below showed blank confusion, exchanging bewildered looks.
Xie Yi’s voice turned colder.
“Speak.”
The two sleepy eunuchs trembled violently, crying as they stammered,
“Y-Your Majesty… you haven’t married… there is… there is no Empress…”
Xie Yi’s heart sank instantly.
He kicked them to the ground.
“Nonsense!”
This morning, he had clearly performed the rites together with Lin Zhizhi.
They had stood side by side in the great hall, receiving the officials’ homage.
They had been apart for barely one or two hours.
At that moment, Qing Li also rushed over after receiving the news.
After Xie Yi’s ascension, she had become a female official, temporarily assisting Lin Zhizhi with palace affairs.
Xie Yi looked at her expressionlessly.
“You don’t remember Zhizhi either?”
Qing Li seemed to think for a moment before hesitantly answering,
“You mean… Young Master Lin?”
Even before returning to the capital, Qing Li had never spoken of Lin Zhizhi with such unfamiliarity.
Not to mention now—she was Lin Zhizhi’s right hand, by his side every day.
Suddenly, Xie Yi remembered something.
He walked into the palace.
A strong scent of dragon’s saliva incense filled the air.
But Lin Zhizhi had never liked incense.
Even back at Qingping Courtyard, he only placed fresh fruits in the room, saying seriously that it was to prevent people from being harmed by incense.
The small porcelain figurine on the table was also gone.
Anything that bore Lin Zhizhi’s traces was quietly being erased, one piece at a time.
If not for Xie Yi’s extraordinary willpower and unwavering faith in his own memories, given enough time, he too would likely forget Lin Zhizhi just as everyone else had.
Thinking of this, Xie Yi narrowed his eyes slightly.
The method was so familiar it made him sick.
He dismissed Qing Li and the others, remaining alone in the palace.
Candlelight flickered, casting savage shadows across his face.
Expressionless, he raised a hand toward his left eye.
Then he dug into it.
Blood streamed down from the corner of his eye.
At the same time, a golden fragment dropped into his palm.
If Lin Zhizhi were here, he would immediately recognize it.
The golden fragment was exactly the same as the one on 03.
Back then, when Xie Yi split open Ding Er’s skull, 03 had fled in panic.
But just before it disappeared, Xie Yi had torn off a fragment from it.
He had embedded that fragment into the ominous eye.
Through that eye—
he saw the other side of this world.
—
03 had just sent Lin Zhizhi back to his original world.
Back then, in desperation, it had dragged Lin Zhizhi into this as a temporary system.
It had never imagined Lin Zhizhi would not only complete the mission, but achieve an SSS rating.
Originally, it could have quietly sent him away.
But the SSS rating had drawn massive attention.
Even the main system had taken notice.
03 had no choice but to tell the truth.
At least it balanced out merits and faults.
03 let out a long breath.
No matter what, this world was finally over.
It would never have to see Xie Yi’s terrifying face again.
That was probably the only good news.
Thinking of this, its body trembled instinctively.
Too terrifying.
Even now, recalling being caught by Xie Yi still filled it with dread.
It practically had PTSD.
Rubbing at its nonexistent goosebumps, it decided to imitate customs from the book worlds and get some pomelo leaves for cleansing.
But the next second—
its body was suddenly grabbed.
An overwhelming terror surged through it.
Trembling, it slowly turned its eyes.
What came into view was a human hand.
Pale skin.
A scar stretched across the back of the hand, veins bulging beneath it.
Following that hand upward—
was a face it knew all too well.
A face like a demon’s.
Xie Yi was covered in blood, a faint smile curving at his lips.
“Long time no see.”