Thinking this, Chen Youzai lifted his head and looked at the sun. It seemed to already be sinking toward the west. The next day was about to arrive, so at this time, he ought to do something for himself.
Spreading his legs, Chen Youzai ran in one direction without even thinking. He had to reach a lake before midnight. He had to see himself before he died. Otherwise, coming here would truly have had no meaning at all. If he still had memories in his next life, he could even tell others with perfect confidence that in his previous life, he had been the most handsome person in the world.
Chen Youzai imitated “Kua Fu chasing the sun” and ran westward. Of course, he also felt thirsty, and the conviction in his heart was very firm. He had a premonition that not far ahead, there would definitely be a lake. Even if it was not a lake, there would be a pond. Chen Youzai ran with all his might. When he grew tired, he would stop, gasp heavily a few times, walk for a stretch, and then continue running.
Elio’s Notes: Kua Fu Chasing the Sun (夸父追日) is a famous Chinese myth about the giant Kua Fu, who relentlessly chased the sun across the sky. Though he ultimately died from thirst before catching it, he became a symbol of unwavering determination and perseverance in pursuing an impossible goal. Here, the comparison emphasizes Chen Youzai’s desperate, single-minded dash toward the pond before he dies.
The Third Prince sat in the carriage, sneering nonstop. Want to escape? Mu Xueshi, so even you have a day when you can no longer endure? If I told you that I arranged all this just to test you, what expression would appear on that incomparably beautiful, cold face of yours?
“A pond… there are reeds…”
Chen Youzai’s vision blurred, and he suddenly fell to the ground. Once he fell, he could not get up again. He touched his legs and found that they had completely lost feeling.
Chen Youzai was unwilling to die filled with resentment when he was already so close to water, so he propped himself up with his arms and crawled forward inch by inch. With every step closer, another trace of excitement appeared on his face.
In the end, this stretch of road took even longer than the part he had run at the beginning. Seeing that the sky was about to darken, Chen Youzai finally crawled to the edge of the pond in his desperation.
He stretched his head to the point where, once he opened his eyes, he would be able to look down and see his entire face. Chen Youzai took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. The reflection in the water made Chen Youzai’s breath catch. He quickly lifted his head and looked left and right, but there was only his own face. He touched his face again, and the shadow in the water was also touching its face.
The miracle did not happen the way Chen Youzai had imagined. His pitch-black face was crisscrossed with ravines, exactly as he had felt with his hands. There was not a single patch of smooth skin on his face, and spots and blotches were embedded in those grooves.
Chen Youzai understood why he had not been chosen by the officers to become a servant. Only now did he thoroughly understand. He had not expected that even after changing identities, he was still a joke.
Chen Youzai clawed fiercely at his own face. He felt as if he had torn his own skin off. It did not matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. Chen Youzai was completely in despair.
Was his existence only meant to be toyed with and laughed at by others? Was I greedy? I only hoped I could have an ordinary face, so I could communicate with others as an equal. Why? Why did even Heaven have to toy with me?
Chen Youzai cried and wailed as he clawed at his face. His true face was soon revealed, the fair, translucent skin streaked with tear marks, making him look all the more pitiful.
The man driving the horses in front of the Third Prince had only turned his head for a moment before he froze there, unable to move. The riding crop in his hand was still raised, but his eyes were fixed on that place for a long time, unable to recover.
In the next second, the man driving the horses breathed his last. With a light leap, the Third Prince arrived before Mu Xueshi in just a few steps. Looking at that familiar face bearing an expression he had never seen before, the corners of the Third Prince’s mouth curved into a cold smile. He lightly touched Mu Xueshi’s hand, which had already become bony and protruding, with his foot and asked.
Futile Devices Scans 
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