Yes, Xie Fan had been poisoned by mushrooms.
If he hadn't realized it at first, he had completely figured it out now.
The little people dancing in front of his eyes were practically the textbook symptom of mushroom poisoning.
Fuck!
He'd known eating them like that was risky. Xie Fan completely ignored the fact that he'd been greedy at the time and had convinced himself nothing would happen, and now felt that this was completely unreasonable!
This was already a supernatural world. Why the hell could he still get mushroom poisoning?!
The person opposite him fell silent for a moment, apparently not expecting that answer either.
A few seconds later, he suddenly laughed.
Xie Fan: ...?
He turned his head in confusion, unable to understand what the man was laughing about.
Was mushroom poisoning that funny?
Had no one in this village ever eaten mushrooms before?
The gloomy-looking young man furrowed his brows tightly, his lips pressed into a thin line. Just as he was about to say something, he heard the person beside him say:
“You're going to be late for the meeting.”
The meeting...
Right, the meeting!
Xie Fan abruptly snapped awake and irritably ignored the little people in front of him as he headed toward the village chief's house.
The walk was usually fairly long, but for some reason, it went surprisingly quickly today. Xie Fan felt as though he'd barely left the large tree behind when, in the blink of an eye, he had already reached the threshing ground outside the village chief's house.
Quite a few villagers had already arrived. After Xie Fan took his place, he saw Xiao Yao come over.
“Brother A-Xie, you walked so fast.”
“I thought you were going to be late.”
She had even thought up an excuse to give the village chief for him. She hadn't expected Brother A-Xie to actually make it in time.
Xie Fan's mind was still somewhat foggy, so he simply went along with her.
“Mm, I walked a little faster.”
Beside them:
Zhang Hai, who seemed to have just returned from the fields and was still holding a hoe, smiled and greeted the two of them when he saw them.
Xiao Yao cheerfully nodded.
“Brother A-Hai.”
The atmosphere on the threshing ground was relaxed, as though nothing serious had happened at all. Even Xiao Yao didn't seem to care about the “sheep” that had died yesterday.
A few minutes later, the village chief came out.
The old man in the wheelchair seemed to be in worse condition this time. Previously, he had still been able to turn the wheels himself, but now he could only have A-Qi push him.
The cold-browed man stepped out and immediately swept his gaze across the crowd. He quickly spotted A-Xie standing in the corner and paused slightly.
The next second, he awkwardly looked away again.
The village chief noticed where A-Qi had been looking and frowned as he followed his gaze, but saw nothing. He couldn't help finding it a little strange.
However, he soon stopped thinking about it. The old man in the wheelchair slowly steadied his breathing before speaking at an unhurried pace.
“All right, stand properly.”
“There's nothing serious today. I called everyone here because there was a small problem with the sacrifice prepared last night, but it's already been resolved.”
The village chief's voice was somewhat hoarse. When he spoke, it sounded like tree bark scraping across the ground, unpleasant and grating to the ears. Yet the expression on his face was kindly, making him look like a benevolent old man. The contrast was enough to send chills down one's spine.
Xie Fan tried hard to focus on the words “sheep” and “sacrifice.” When he heard that the problem had been “resolved,” he became confused.
When had it been resolved? Why didn't he know anything about it?
Had... something happened?
Last night's dream was almost resurfacing in his mind when Xie Fan's thoughts drifted for a moment, and he saw a group of little people dancing on top of the village chief's head.
A soft chuckle seemed to sound beside his ear.
“What does mushroom poisoning feel like?”
“I've never tried it before.”
Xie Fan: ...
Why was this guy so annoying? This was his first time finding out too.
Besides, why should he tell him?
“Who are you?”
The figure beside him was indistinct and impossible to see clearly. Xie Fan strained his eyes wide.
The village chief was obviously still standing in front of them, while Xiao Yao and the other villagers were right beside him. Everyone was listening attentively to the village chief.
And yet, for an instant, Xie Fan felt as though only the two of them were left in the entire world.
The person in front of him smiled, seemingly a little surprised.
“I'm your system.”
“You transmigrated into a book. Did you forget?”
System... transmigrated into a book?
Xie Fan froze, completely unprepared for that answer.
He really had transmigrated into a book, but a system...
Since when had he had one?
Those deep honey-colored eyes quietly watched him. When Xie Fan looked carefully, it was as though he could see countless divided eyeballs densely arranged across that handsome face.
Yet the strange impression vanished in an instant.
Xie Fan's thoughts drifted for a moment, and he quickly accepted this setting.
He had transmigrated into a book and come to this world. It was perfectly normal for him to be bound to a system.
The system was——his cheat.
Still, a subtle sense that something was wrong made Xie Fan instinctively ask:
“Why didn't you appear before?”
He'd already been here for several days. Why had this system been slacking off all this time? Wasn't a system supposed to appear and bind itself to its host the moment the host transmigrated?
Xiao Yao, standing beside him, turned her head and glanced over, only to see Brother A-Xie staring blankly in one direction. She couldn't help becoming curious.
Was there something over there?
There was nothing.
Xiao Yao could only see the peach tree outside the inn. She shook her head and looked away again.
The village chief's voice continued intermittently in the background.
Xie Fan saw the figure beside him spread his hands as though troubled.
“Actually, because I don't have enough energy, I can't maintain myself for very long each time.”
“Only you can see me. No one else knows I exist.”
“Oh, right.”
The face of the figure opposite him gradually became clearer as he turned his head.
“I'm Sun Zhou.”
“I was also the one who gave you those things.”
Sun Zhou was him?
So the person Xie Fan had met shortly after transmigrating, who had later disappeared, had actually been the system.
Wait.
A system taking the initiative to feed its newly transmigrated host because it was worried the host might starve to death actually sounded pretty reasonable?
No wonder.
He'd been wondering why everyone else didn't “remember” Sun Zhou.
His mind automatically “explained” all his previous doubts. Xie Fan was about to ask something else when, in the blink of an eye, his “system” suddenly vanished.
The space opposite him was empty. Beyond the countless people in between, only Zhang Hai stood there stiffly.
Xie Fan: ...
Out of energy again?
A faint stabbing pain went through his temple, and he instinctively frowned. Yet for some inexplicable reason, he felt relieved. In an instant, the thought of having a system made this terrifying village seem a little less frightening.
The tension in his expression gradually faded, and the strange sense of incongruity in his heart disappeared once again.
Xiao Yao quickly forgot her earlier confusion. After listening boredly until the village chief finished speaking, she skipped over to him.
“Brother A-Xie, Brother A-Xie.”
“Come back to earth.”
“You looked a little unwell just now. Are you feeling better now?”
“Xiao Yao?”
Xie Fan blinked. The little people were still there in front of his eyes. For a moment, he couldn't even tell whether what he'd just experienced had been a hallucination or real.
Still, when Xiao Yao asked, he came back to his senses and answered tiredly:
“A little better.”
He just needed to go to bed earlier tonight. It was probably the mushroom poisoning. He felt exhausted now.
He'd sleep and check again after waking up, see whether that so-called system was still... there.
If it was, that would mean it wasn't a hallucination. Did he really have a cheat for transmigrating into a book?
Xie Fan breathed a faint sigh of relief. After saying goodbye to Xiao Yao, he returned home.
For the entire night, the effects of the mushrooms left him dazed and muddleheaded. Once he closed his eyes, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Fortunately, he didn't dream about anything this time. Instead, he had the best night's sleep he'd ever had.
There were no terrifying scenes of any kind. Instead, it almost felt as though he'd returned to before his transmigration.
When Xie Fan opened his eyes, he instinctively looked toward the window. The first thing he did was check whether the little people were still in front of him.
Through the open wooden window opposite him, everything outside was lush and green, with nothing but the dense leaves of the locust tree.
No little people?
Had the mushroom toxins finally worn off?
Xie Fan breathed a sigh of relief and came back to his senses. He figured that encountering Sun Zhou during the meeting on the threshing ground last night and learning all that nonsense about a “system” and a cheat had probably all been hallucinations.
Yet the very next second, as he stood up, he suddenly caught sight of a figure sitting beside the table with his head propped on one hand.
Xie Fan: !!!
“Good morning.”
The tall young man spoke with a smile in his voice, quietly watching him.
There was no telling how long he'd been sitting there...
A stabbing pain ran through Xie Fan's temple, leaving him somewhat bewildered.
“You're not a hallucination?”
“Of course not.”
“Sun Zhou” smiled faintly.
“Didn't we already confirm that yesterday?”
Confirm...
Right. He'd already confirmed it yesterday.
This system knew everything that had happened to him before he'd transmigrated. It even knew the contents of this book!
The system had transmigrated here together with him.
Xie Fan breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat embarrassed.
“Sorry. I was just too nervous.”
“It's fine.”
The system didn't mind at all.
The smile on his face was sincere, as though he thought it was a good thing for his host to be vigilant.
“It's perfectly normal to be cautious in a place like this.”
Xie Fan couldn't agree more!
He plopped himself down opposite the system, picked up a cup to wet his throat, and prepared to pour out everything he'd been holding in.
God knew he'd nearly suffocated from keeping everything bottled up these past few days. He didn't dare say a damn thing around the villagers.
A rich, sweet fragrance flowed down his throat. Xie Fan lowered his head in surprise.
“Taro milk tea?”
“Yeah.”
The system opposite him curled his lips into a smile.
“Isn't this your favorite flavor?”
“I used some of my remaining energy to exchange for a cup.”
Xie Fan's eyes flew wide open. He felt that the system was practically squandering precious resources!
How could it waste such valuable energy exchanging it for milk tea?!
But... forget it.
This milk tea was seriously so good. It tasted exactly like the kind from the shop near his home.
Xie Fan gulped down more than half the cup in one go before finally remembering something.
“Cough, cough. Can systems drink?”
“Here, you can have a taste too.”
A pale, beautiful hand appeared before his eyes.
By the time “Sun Zhou” reacted and lowered his gaze——the cup of milk tea had already been brought to his lips.