God's Gift

Chapter 534 Return

“Okay.” Little Fish readily agreed to Lu Keming’s invitation. She wagged her tail and turned to swim towards the sea.

Lu Keming remained in the sunken ship. Seeing that he hadn't followed, Xiaoyu stopped moving and asked Lu Keming in confusion:

"Why aren't you leaving? Weren't you going to come with me?"

"Of course I'll go with you." Lu Keming placed his hand on the invisible barrier in front of him and said to Youyou with a hint of helplessness:

"But you must remove this barrier before I can go out."

"A barrier?" To everyone's surprise, the little fish was even more puzzled than Lu Keming. It seemed to have no idea that such a thing existed in the shipwreck, and asked in bewilderment:

Where is the barrier?

Looking at Xiaoyu's expression, Lu Keming finally realized that it wasn't Youyou who had trapped him here.

So what is this barrier?

He touched the barrier in front of him; it still had no cracks, as if it wouldn't allow him to leave the shipwreck, trapping him in place.

Lu Keming recalled what Youyou had once said: the past cannot be changed.

Could this be a limitation of the time-space passage... because he doesn't belong here, so he can't move around freely?

But how could Xiao Ou explain it?

Since Xiao Ou was able to grow up here, she could not possibly be trapped in a corner of this world like him.

If it's because Youyou hasn't yet obtained all the divine power, and the spacetime portal she opened has limitations, that's why she's trapped here—

But Xiao Ou arrived here before him. When Xiao Ou left the City of Despair, Youyou also hadn't obtained all the divine power.

What exactly caused the difference between him and Xiao Ou?

Lu Keming rubbed his knuckles together, his mind a jumble of thoughts, yet he couldn't find the crux of the matter.

Seeing Lu Keming's worried expression, the little fish assumed it was because he couldn't reach the surface. Understandingly, it swam back to his side, patted his shoulder with its fin, and comforted him:

"It's alright, then we won't go to the sea."

"Even if I don't say goodbye to the sun, the night will still come."

As Yu Youyou was comforting Lu Keming, a woman's voice suddenly called out from afar:

"Youyou, where have you gone to play again?"

Immediately following the woman's voice, a man's voice rang out:

"She must have been up to something bad again; she's been nowhere to be seen for the past few days."

Upon hearing this sound, Xiaoyu immediately tensed up. She pushed Lu Keming into the corner of the driver's cab and said anxiously:

"Quick, hide! Quick, hide!"

"Don't let Mom see you, she'll beat me."

Lu Keming was passively pushed behind the door by Xiaoyu. After Yu Youyou hid him, the man and woman swam into the sunken ship.

The woman walking ahead had waist-length hair, which she casually tied into a braid, perhaps out of fear of it getting tangled in the seaweed.

Looking through the rusted hole in the iron gate, Lu Keming finally saw the mother that Youyou had repeatedly mentioned—the adult Yu Yun'ou.

The childishness on her face had long since faded, and Lu Keming could hardly find any trace of Xiao Ou on that face. Only her brown eyes still vaguely revealed her former appearance.

The man behind her had a head of dazzling blue hair, the glossy strands shimmering in the sunset. But even this striking blue hair couldn't outshine his handsome face.

Yu Yunou swam up to the little fish, looked at her guilty expression, and slowly narrowed her eyes:

"Youyou, why have you been coming here every day lately?"

"I didn't do anything... I didn't do anything..." Before Yu Yunou could even ask what she was doing, Xiaoyu had already confessed half of it while trembling.

The man behind her added fuel to the fire, translating Xiaoyu's words again: "That is, what did they do?"

Yu Yun'ou's gaze turned serious: "What did you do?"

"No..." Xiaoyu's voice grew softer and softer. She lowered her head and backed away from the two of them.

But the man didn't give her a chance to escape. He glanced at the iron door of the driver's cab, and the door immediately slammed shut.

He looked at the little fish, who had nowhere to escape, and then at Lu Keming, whose whereabouts had been exposed because the iron gate was closed.

His voice was calm and even, as if he already knew Lu Keming was behind the door:

"She brought humans back again."

"Dad!" Yu Youyou immediately cried out in a shrill voice, her eyes widening as she glared angrily at her father.

Yu Yun'ou became even angrier: "Youyou! Didn't I tell you not to bring humans back to the sea? What if he drowns?"

As she spoke, she looked at Lu Keming with concern. But after seeing Lu Keming's face clearly, her expression froze, and the words she was about to say caught in her throat.

Meanwhile, the oblivious little fish continued to explain, "He won't die, I let him breathe."

Yu Yun'ou remained silent. Her gaze shifted from Lu Keming to Xiaoyu, staring at the talking little fish with a complex expression.

After a long while, she looked at Lu Keming and gave him a faint smile: "Long time no see."

Lu Keming nodded slightly and replied politely, "Long time no see."

"I never thought we'd meet again..." Yu Yun'ou's words were cut short, but she didn't elaborate, leaving only a sigh to express her unfinished thoughts.

At this moment, the man behind Yu Yun'ou stepped forward. He gazed at Lu Keming and slowly spoke: "The person of the future."

"You should go back to where you belong."

His voice, like a bell in the morning light, pierced through the thick fog, awakening the traveler trapped in the mist.

Lu Keming's mind became muddled. He felt a strong sense of rejection, as if someone was constantly repeating in his ear that he did not belong here.

"How am I supposed to get back?" Lu Keming clutched his throbbing head and looked up at the man:

"The time-space portal was opened by Youyou... but she's like this now..."

Lu Keming looked at Xiaoyu, who looked completely bewildered, and understood that she could not open the time-space portal again.

"Her?" The man glanced at the bewildered Xiaoyu beside him, a cryptic smile on his face, but he didn't spell it out directly, only telling Lu Keming:

"You can only get back on your own."

"Me?" Lu Keming stared blankly, confusion gradually appearing in his eyes: "What should I do..."

The man interrupted him: "What were you thinking before you came here?"

“What I’m thinking is…” Lu Keming muttered these words over and over. In his dazed state, the chaotic thoughts in his mind gradually cleared, finally settling into one sentence:

"Yuzu."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing its name, the little fish immediately swam over to Lu Keming, its tail swaying. "Are you calling me?"

A dull pain shot through Lu Keming's head. He was breathing heavily, and several blood vessels appeared on the whites of his eyes as he stared intently at the small fish in front of him.

It's Youyou.

As he fell into the sea, while unconscious, his consciousness kept calling out her name.

Yoyo...

A faint red light appeared around Lu Keming.

The little fish was startled by Lu Keming's unfamiliar appearance. She hesitated and was about to back away when Lu Keming suddenly grabbed her fin.

The seawater behind him was torn apart, and a black hole appeared out of nowhere.

"Youyou." Tears welled in Lu Keming's eyes, mingling with the cold seawater. His gaze was reluctant as he spoke rapidly:

"You will meet someone in the future, he..."

Past scenes flashed through Lu Keming's mind like a revolving lantern, those unpleasant memories flooding his mind one after another, causing his voice to tremble uncontrollably:

"He's not good..."

Lu Keming stopped, and after a long while, he pleaded in a choked voice, "If you meet him..."

"If you meet him, please be patient with him."