Legend of the Dragon King: I really didn't mean to provoke them!

"...Just play once, don't delay any longer."

As she spoke, she released her grip on Xie Xie's collar and gave him a light tap on the head.

"okay!"

After receiving permission, Xie Xie dashed off towards the stall.

I bought thirty Soul Guide Flying Discs, and they all hit their target.

The stall owner stared in disbelief, while Xie Xie happily took away the largest mecha figurine from the pile of prizes.

Gu Yue stopped at a jewelry store, picked up a headband inlaid with a purple gemstone, and compared it to herself in the mirror.

Xie Xie, holding the figurine, came over and teased with a smile, "This headband is quite pretty! The purple gemstones inlaid on it are the same color as your eyes!"

Gu Yue's cheeks flushed slightly, and she put down her headband and was about to leave: "So-so."

"Boss, I'll take this one!"

Xie Xie reacted quickly, took out Federal Coins to pay, and stuffed the headband into her hand, saying, "Take it, consider it a thank you for helping me pick out clothes today."

Gu Yue lowered her eyes to look at the hairband in her palm, her fingertips gently caressing the cool, smooth gemstone.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally let her long, black hair down and secured the purple gemstone headband firmly in her hair.

The amethyst-like gemstones accentuated her cascading black hair, making her appear even more beautiful and charming, with exquisitely beautiful features.

Tang Wulin watched from the side and said with a smile, "It's very beautiful."

Xie Xie immediately gave a thumbs up, "Not just good-looking, it's extremely good-looking! There's a saying..."

He scratched his cheek with his index finger, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly snapped his fingers crisply.

"Yes! I remember now!"

Xie Xie cleared his throat, his gaze fixed intently on Gu Yue, and said, word by word:

"The gemstone has become a fake, but your eyes are the real thing."

Gu Yue's ear tips instantly flushed a light red. Her fingers, gripping the hairband, tightened slightly.

She abruptly turned her head away, avoiding Xie Xie's gaze, a barely perceptible hint of panic hidden in her cool voice.

"Grumpy."

She muttered a soft rebuke, her pace quickening unconsciously.

Her long, jet-black hair was tied under a purple gemstone headband, swaying gently with her movements.

Tang Wulin, watching this scene, felt his smile fade slightly, and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed his cuff.

Xie Xie didn't seem to think anything of it. Holding the mecha figure in his left hand and pulling Tang Wulin along with his right, he continued to chatter away to Gu Yue about how he got the mecha figure.

"Tang Wulin, don't you think so?" Xie Xie turned around and looked at Tang Wulin with a smile.

Tang Wulin slightly averted his gaze, his eyes landing on a shop not far away with a sign that read "Seafood Stall".

"I'm a little hungry. Let's go get something to eat. I want grilled fish and two bowls of seafood noodles."

"no problem!"

Xie Xie put the figurine into his soul-guided storage device and waved his hand, "Eat whatever you want, it's on me!"

The three of them quickly sat down at the outdoor seating area of ​​the food stall.

Shortly after ordering, a large plate of sizzling grilled fish was served, followed by braised prawns, garlic scallops, and Tang Wulin's large bowl of seafood noodles, among other dishes.

"Mmm...this crayfish tastes amazing!"

Xie Xie mumbled incoherently as he peeled shrimp, his cheeks bulging.

Gu Yue handed him a tissue with a look of disgust.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Even so, she herself still frequently dipped her chopsticks into the crayfish plate.

Tang Wulin, on the other hand, focused on finishing his seafood noodles. After finishing one bowl, he picked up a second one, sweating profusely but looking completely satisfied.

As night deepened, all the lights of Donghai City lit up, like a galaxy fallen to earth.

The three of them had a hearty meal and thought they could have a great time, but less than half an hour later, their stomachs started growling again, their cravings being tempted by the aromas from the street vendors.

Suddenly, a rich and mellow aroma of meat wafted in on the breeze.

Xie Xie's nose twitched, and following the source of the fragrance, a sign that he remembered was incredibly familiar to him.

——A restaurant serving braised beef in a pot.

He was suddenly startled.

This time, he deliberately avoided this place and chose the food street next door instead.

After wandering around for most of the day, I finally returned here.

Is it a coincidence? Or...?

A strange unease crept into my heart without me even noticing.

"Xie Xie? Xie Xie?"

"what?!"

He snapped back to his senses and looked up to meet the gazes of Tang Wulin and Gu Yue.

Tang Wulin reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder, his tone filled with concern: "What's wrong? Are you tired?"

Xie Xie quickly shook his head, trying to shake off the unease in his heart.

"It's nothing, I was just spacing out!" he said, pointing his thumb to the braised beef restaurant and laughing, "Come on, I'll take you guys to eat that braised beef! It's especially delicious, let me tell you."

"Okay!" Tang Wulin said with a smile; he was already hungry.

There were only five small rectangular tables in the shop, which could seat a maximum of twenty or so people, and more than half of them were already occupied.

Gu Yue was somewhat surprised, "You still eat at roadside stalls?"

"Of course," Xie Xie said with a nonchalant smile. "The real delicacies are always hidden in the most inconspicuous places deep in the alleys. This shop, well, it was my... mother who found it for me."

As he spoke, he sat down on the bench first and gently patted the bench next to him.

"What are you standing there for? Sit down!"

After Tang Wulin and Gu Yue sat down, Xie Xie immediately stood up and called out towards the kitchen, "Uncle Li, I've brought some friends to eat!"

"Oh, it's Xie Xie!"

A cheerful voice rang out, and a middle-aged man lifted the kitchen curtain and came out.

He wiped his hands, which were slightly oily, casually on the apron around his waist, then opened his arms and caught Xie Xie who was lunging at him.

Xie Xie hugged Uncle Li tightly before smiling and saying, "Uncle Li, you're still the same as always."

"Okay, no problem!"

Uncle Li said with a smile, and then patted Xie Xie's head, just like he would his own nephew.

"Okay, then I'll wait to eat!"

"Go ahead, go ahead." Uncle Li gave Xie Xie a thumbs up. "You can leave this to me."

"Got it!"

Watching Uncle Li's busy figure, a familiar image kept popping into his mind.

She was a woman with gentle eyes and brows that could melt winter snow.

She was slender but not frail, with her long, soft pink hair loosely tied into a low bun, and a few loose strands hanging down at her temples, making her oval face even more gentle and beautiful.

Her eyes were the same warm, dark green as Xie Xie's, and when she smiled, shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her eyes.

That's him, no, that's Xie Xie's mother—

Lin Wanqing.

Chapter 23 The place where this body belongs is the true self.

Memories of Xie Xie and Lin Wanqing flooded his mind, making his eyes sting with tears.

Just a second before he was about to lose control, Xie Xie suddenly stood up.

"I...I'm going out for a bit, I'll be right back!"

His voice was strained, and he barely dared to look Tang Wulin and Gu Yue in the eye. Before he finished speaking, he turned around and rushed out of the shop.

The figure was so hurried it was almost disheveled, even the steps revealed a panicked and helpless state.

Tang Wulin and Gu Yue instinctively wanted to chase after them, but were stopped by Uncle Li, who came out of the kitchen.

"and many more!"

The two looked back and saw that Uncle Li had already placed three steaming pots of beef and white rice on the table.

Looking in the direction Xie Xie disappeared, Uncle Li sighed helplessly, "Sigh, let him be by himself for a while."

Xie Xie ran aimlessly for a while.

Only after confirming that no one was following did he slowly slide down and sit against the cold wall.

Even though he had already absorbed all of the original owner's memories, he still couldn't tell whose it was that churning pain in his heart belonged to.

Is it a wandering soul from another world, or Xie Xie, the original owner of this body?

He was a child who grew up in an orphanage, but through sheer perseverance, he managed to get into a top university.

Xie Xie always thought that he had already developed an indestructible mental defense and had long been accustomed to the loneliness of knowing his own joys and sorrows.

However, in the original owner's memory, his mother Lin Wanqing's gentle smile, which flashed by only briefly, instantly shattered the hard defenses he had built up over the years.

A sudden tingling sensation ran through my nose, and a burning, wet feeling uncontrollably welled up in my eyes.

He had never experienced such delicate and warm maternal love.

No one ever tidied his stray hairs, no one lit a lamp for him at night, and no one cherished him like Lin Wanqing did.

That unfamiliar yet burning tenderness was the original owner's past, but it was a luxury he had never been able to touch in his entire life.

He longed for the maternal love he remembered, yet he was keenly aware that this love did not belong to him.

Xie Xie buried his face in his knees, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably, but he bit his lip tightly, not letting a single sob escape his lips.

"Hey……"

A soft sigh suddenly echoed in his mind.

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calmness that penetrated the soul, instantly dispelling the chaos and confusion in Xie Xie's mind.

Xie Xie was startled. He looked up, his eyes blurry with tears, and looked around, but there was no one in sight.

"Who?"

He spoke with a mixture of surprise and doubt, his voice still hoarse from crying.

There was no response from his voice; instead, his consciousness seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, suddenly sinking into a deathly darkness.

It was not a terrifying darkness, but an extreme, empty white.

Right in the center of this white chaos, space gently "cracked".

It wasn't an explosive event, but rather like a crack being torn open in the water, revealing a divine dragon whose entire body resembled condensed moonlight.

Its body is huge and serene, and its scales are not ordinary metallic, but have a jade-like texture with a warm silver light.

In the endless white space, its white dragon armor was neither dazzling nor dim, but rather resembled a pure white behemoth guarding time and space.

Its dragon wings were folded behind it, the wing membranes were transparent, and faint silver-gray patterns of light and shadow were interwoven on them.

Its eyes were as deep as the night sky, like two silent silver nebulae, quietly watching Xie Xie.

Deep within the dragon's eyes, Xie Xie could clearly see his own reflection, as well as every moment of his past life.

It was like watching a movie on fast-forward.