Mazao’s disinterest in life was certainly not a day or two’s symptom; from the very first day we recognized each other, she had expressed similar thoughts. Her lone wolf style was probably also a manifestation of this tendency.
As the saying goes, it takes more than a day’s cold to freeze a river three feet deep, and thawing it is not sothing one can simply do if one wishes. If it were a physical freeze, I would be able to thaw it instantly, yet the frozen heart is beyond my reach.
Is there a way to get her to cheer up?
I pondered this question very hard, while simultaneously saying, "We still don’t know if soul loss patients have truly traveled to the Doomsday Era. Even if they have, it’s unknown if people who die in the Doomsday Era continue to live in this era as vegetative beings. Don’t think too much about it now, just go and confirm the list of soul loss patients first."
Perhaps the bodies left in this era by soul loss patients who have traveled to the Doomsday Era will also perish—I didn’t voice this assumption based on assumptions. Overly negative speculations are not good for Mazao’s ntal health.
Mazao nodded in tentative agreent, then said, "Also, about that Xuanwu thing..."
"You’re not trying to persuade not to go after Xuanwu too, are you?" I asked.
"No, just like you told that old man, if they’re truly targeting Fla Ability Users, they will find you sooner or later. Besides, I really do need to heal my soul. You are my partner, so I won’t refuse your help, and I won’t refuse to help you in the future either," she continued half-mockingly mimicking what I had told Mr. Zhu, and then went on, "Only, I think that Xuanwu might be..."
"Attracted by you, right?" I said. "At a ti when you need to heal your soul, the clue to Xuanwu, who can heal your soul, suddenly cos before us, bringing an item that could contact him, and even blatantly attached a background explanation that he is extrely hostile to Fla Ability Users... You want to say that this is also caused by your presence, a calamity that affects those around you, right?"
"Yes." She nodded. "Calamities, if they are not threatening, cannot be called calamities. Those past enemies were probably just wild beasts drawn by my Broom Star Physique, but this ti it’s different. If there is a dood fate on , that fate has certainly made arrangents for you, even specifically targeting you...
"In other words, this matter is a ’calamity’ for you too, a true threat, a dire on that could endanger your life. Zhuang Cheng, you are very powerful, but that Xuanwu is unlike anyone you’ve ever encountered. He might really be able to kill you."
I countered, "So what?"
"...Do you regret it?" she said uneasily. "Regret being with ..."
Are you that neurotic girlfriend who keeps asking for reassurance about your boyfriend’s feelings after you start dating? I couldn’t help but think this very impolite thought. Not just impolite, but also quite presumptuous.
"Mazao, answer one question first," I said. "Last ti you chose to leave , but if I had shown the Divine Seal Fragnt before that, would you still have left ?"
"That... I’m not sure." She hesitated. "Considering the Divine Seal Fragnt cannot be separated from you, I might have left the fragnt with you and left to be on my own; or I might have thought that staying with you would lead to other Divine Seal Fragnts, so I might have stayed by your side a bit longer to see."
"That’s about what I thought. Honestly, during the days you were gone, I regretted every day. How much better it would have been if I had been honest with you sooner?"
Actually, I wasn’t truly regretting it, because at that ti I couldn’t possibly have shown the Divine Seal Fragnt, I was very open about that, but now I continued to speak half-truths to her: "So... Mazao, if I ever really regret it one day, it definitely won’t be because I was with you, but because I did sothing that made you leave."
Practice makes perfect, and such smooth talk coming from the before I t Mazao would undoubtedly have made itch all over, but now I have developed an impervious thick skin. The speed of this evolution even my superpower cannot match.
"Zhuang Cheng..."
Mazao quickly lowered her head and turned away, not letting see her face. Perhaps she was moved by my words... or perhaps she was cringing at my acting. I always tend to overdo it during such performances, it’s an old habit of mine.
As night fell.
Under my supervision, Mazao took her dication and rested at ho, just like Mr. Zhu had said. The soul-healing dicine Mr. 您曾 Zhu gave us needed to be boiled like making a decoction, and using household pots and stoves was sufficient. The operation was simply following the instructions included, and if that was not possible, ingesting the ingredients directly was also not a problem. They called it ingredients, but they were essentially finished products; boiling them just made them easier to ingest and digest.
The post-boiling dicine looked like coffee-colored thick porridge. Out of curiosity, I dabbed a bit with my finger from the unwashed pot and tasted it, and it was incredibly bitter. It was probably as bitter as juicing tree roots. Although I understood the concept that good dicine tastes bitter, sothing this bitter couldn’t help but make one suspect that the soul of the taker might be hard in other ways.
Yet Mazao, unflinchingly, scooped up the dicine in her bowl with a spoon, blew on it to cool it, and put it in her mouth. Once the dicine wasn’t so hot, she even poured it directly into her mouth. Was this the survivor style of the Doomsday Era? I imdiately grew more respectful.
"How does it feel, is your soul recovering?" I asked with concern.
"Hmm..." she closed her eyes to sense, "The effects of the dicine haven’t started yet, so it shouldn’t be so quick."
"Be careful not to let the blessing power cancel out the effects of the dicine," I reminded.
"I know."
As she spoke, she let out a tiny yawn.
It wasn’t even eight o’clock in the evening yet, and she was already feeling sleepy. Perhaps her soul was still not in good shape? I suggested she go to sleep first, but she shook her head and said, "You’re not sleepy yet, are you? I want to sleep with you."
"You an we’re going to hold hands while sleeping tonight?" I asked.
"Yes!" she nodded vigorously.
It seed that before successfully entering the Mist Dream Realm, she planned to hold hands with every night.
I had already copied the list of soul loss patients from the USB drive to the tablet. She sat on the sofa, unfamiliar and slow, and inspected the data with extra care. By around ten o’clock, the progress seed to be minimal, and she was already nodding off like a sleepy bug. To prevent the blessing power from inadvertently dispersing the effects of the soul healing dication, she hadn’t reset her state even once.
I helped her up and slowly walked around, and she was like a child duped and drugged by the Evil Master, hazily led by into the room, then allowed to arrange her on the bed.
Upon reflection, I was indeed an adult and indeed had repeatedly deceived this child and given her suspicious drugs that were definitely not registered with the drug administration. I’d even brought her to my bed, about to share it with her... From a societal standpoint, wasn’t I engaged in sothing quite outrageous?
I switched off the room lights. She slightly turned her body in the darkness, and glanced at hazily, then extended her hand and mumbled, "Hold hands..."
I silently took out the Divine Seal Fragnt, then held her hand and lay down beside her. Naturally, I didn’t take off my clothes or pants. It seed instinctual when she snuggled closer to , settling down like a cat that had found a warm, comfortable spot.
"Good night," I said.
-
Tonight was a special day.
Of course, every day since eting Mazao was special to , and tonight was particularly so. Perseverance pays off, and although our last attempt to enter the Mist Dream Realm had failed, this ti we finally succeeded.
Perhaps calling it "success" might be self-flattering, as the fact that Mazao and I were sharing a bed likely had nothing to do with this success. It was just luck, or perhaps it followed so pattern that I was yet unaware of. Whatever the reason, I had finally entered the Mist Dream Realm.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in an endless expanse of grey mist. There was no ground underfoot, just layers upon layers of grey mist, and it was unclear why I could stand. Walking felt like walking on a sandy beach.
As usual, it was hard to discern the boundary of entering the Mist Dream Realm, but then again, who can pinpoint the exact mont they fall asleep? It felt as though I had been walking in the mist for a long ti, only just realizing it.
I finally made it!
With that realization, I montarily stopped and looked around. Not to ntion Mazao, there wasn’t even a silhouette of anyone else. Perhaps Mazao’s hopes were dashed; indeed, those not bound to the Divine Seal Fragnt couldn’t enter the Mist Dream Realm, or maybe she was wandering in another part of the mist?
Regardless, as long as one of us could enter the Mist Dream Realm, it was enough. Next, I would go to the location with the eight stone chairs, and there, find the second small bowl to deliver the forgotten na.
Thus, I could finally complete my mission.
Thinking of how joyful Mazao would be at that mont, my heart seed to leap with anticipation, unable to resist looking forward.
I continued deeper into the mist.
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