"Are you kidding me? I'm as healthy as an ox, just a little less muscular than that freak Lu Ziye. How could I be dying!"
As I was about to retort to Luo Yaqin, I suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit.
After a few coughs, I felt something trickle down my throat. I covered my mouth with my hand, then looked down to see it was blood!
I coughed up blood?!
Could it be that Luo Yaqin was telling the truth!
"Li Degui, have you forgotten? What was one of the main purposes of your trip this time? Don't you remember yet!"
From the darkness behind Luo Yaqin and Lu Ziye, a person slowly emerged. A familiar female voice echoed in my ears.
It was Shangguan Yao!
She still had that arrogant, self-important demeanor I was used to, but this time, I detected a hint of sympathy in her words.
A memory suddenly flashed through my mind: a haggard Li Degui was in the hospital, and upon learning he had terminal cancer, he clutched his face and wept uncontrollably.
"So, I really am Li Degui..."
I muttered to myself, feeling as though the sky had fallen.
"Before we left for our trip, you specifically came to tell me that you had terminal cancer and didn't have much time left. You said this was your last trip, that you wanted to see the ocean, and that's why we chose a cruise."
At some point, dark clouds had obscured the moon, casting the graveyard into deeper darkness. I could no longer see the expressions of Lu Ziye or Shangguan Yao, only hear their voices.
So, I truly don't exist. What exists now is Li Degui, who is terminally ill and on the verge of death?
I felt my body growing weaker, my fingernails even starting to peel. My body hunched over, as if I had aged decades in an instant.
Is this the burial place I prepared for myself?
I reached out, my fingers brushing against the rough tombstone. The icy touch sent a jolt through me, and I instinctively pulled my hand back.
"Li Degui, to be honest, Pan Lili betraying me and choosing you has always been a thorn in my side."
"But after coming to this island, my impression of you has greatly improved. I've found that you do have some commendable qualities. If not for your current condition, perhaps we could have been friends once we returned."
In the darkness, Lu Ziye's tender words reached my ears, spoken at a slow, unhurried pace.
However, as he unexpectedly became sentimental, a strange scene suddenly popped into my mind.
I looked down from above at a pleading Li Degui, pretending to let him go.
When he tried to sneak attack me with a dagger, I was already prepared. I kicked him away and personally ended his life.
The scene was so vivid, I could even feel the satisfaction and thrill the person experienced after personally killing Li Degui.
How strange, why would I suddenly remember this?
"Li Degui, rest assured. Although we haven't known each other for long, we have experienced life and death together. After you're gone, if we manage to return to the outside world, we'll find you a bigger place so you and Pan Lili can be together forever."
As soon as Lu Ziye finished speaking, Luo Yaqin seamlessly chimed in.
Damn it, even if you bury me and Pan Lili together after I die, I won't know anything!
I was about to retort, but for some reason, I suddenly remembered Luo Yaqin looking at me flirtatiously, as if we had just finished exercising together.
How strange. After setting up camp, I never saw any of the women at night. I don't know what they look like when they sleep, so why can I imagine Luo Yaqin's clingy, seductive posture?
I felt that things were becoming increasingly bizarre. Memories that didn't seem to belong to Li Degui were appearing in my mind. And as I looked at the seemingly all-consuming darkness before me, the sense of incongruity in my heart grew stronger.
"Li Degui, I have nothing else to say to you. We will live on with your will. From now on, every year on this day, I will place a bouquet of flowers on your grave."
"So—Li Degui, when exactly are you going to die!"
Shangguan Yao's words were initially tinged with warmth, but then the tone suddenly shifted. She spoke of terrifying things in a gentle voice.
"Li Degui, why aren't you dead yet!"
"Li Degui, why aren't you dead yet!"
"Li Degui, why aren't you dead yet!"
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