Chapter 588 Returning to the Real World

The reason the gray staircase didn't appear immediately was probably because I was standing where it overlapped with mine, obstructing its view. I think I had a similar experience a long time ago when I tried to escape the fifteenth-floor basement. It seems I was too tense and forgot the lessons I learned last time.

Instead of rushing up the gray stairs, I first examined my state from an abstract perspective, considering factors like fate and cause and effect, to see if the jinx still clung to me. The "apocalyptic era" didn't exhibit any phenomenon of loss, unlike the real world. If I rashly returned to the real world without the jinx, I might suddenly become a lost and unpredictable being. If I were careless about this, I'd have no recourse.

Although I'm a little curious about how I can disconnect from the strange world in this state, could it be that after returning to the real world I will suddenly find that all the strange elements around me have inexplicably disappeared, as if the whole world has inexplicably become a completely common-sense world?

I already know the address of the Luoshan headquarters. It's impossible that after I've lost my way, I'll go to the corresponding location and still not be able to find any clues related to the strange world, right? The fact that I really can't figure out how the Lost World phenomenon works is what makes me so curious.

It's embarrassing to admit, but even someone like me who takes risks wouldn't dare to gamble on this.

I quickly completed my self-examination and roughly determined that I was safe. However, just to be absolutely certain, I conducted a more in-depth and comprehensive examination, striving to ensure that I would not trigger the Lost World phenomenon once I returned to the real world.

Number Seven stared at the exit above, which was covered by a wooden lid, with a complicated expression on his face.

"If I just push open this lid, can I return to the world of the living...?" she murmured.

"Do you also want to leave the afterlife?" I asked.

Xiao Wan continued, "If Ms. Seven also wants to go to the other world, it shouldn't be a problem."

After hesitating for a moment, Number Seven shook his head and said, "No, I still have a lot of unfinished work in the afterlife... The remnants of the Tai Sui Army are still waiting for me to reorganize and protect them. I absolutely cannot irresponsibly go to a safe area alone."

It's clear she harbors a personal desire to travel to the world of the living.

The afterlife is called both "Naraku" and "Hell," a name used in the prophecy of the divination master that "Hell is about to flow out." Although I haven't personally witnessed what the afterlife was like over a hundred years ago, the current afterlife absolutely deserves the title of "Hell." Asahina, who reached the Great Completion level, suffered greatly there, and Number Seven, at the same level, must have also experienced countless unspeakable hardships and pains.

Her desire to escape this hellish place is completely understandable; she simply suppressed her selfish desires through her sense of mission and responsibility.

I am someone who rarely prioritizes such ideas to guide my actions, but I admire the willpower and self-discipline she demonstrated in making this choice.

"But you... are you alright?" Number Seven looked at Little Bowl. "You're also planning to return to the world of the living with Zhuang Cheng, right?"

“That’s natural,” said the little bowl.

Number Seven points out: "However, you are a soul. Although you appear to have a physical body now, this is merely a byproduct of the afterlife mimicking the apocalyptic world of the real world. Essentially, this is an illusion created by the spiritual spacetime of the afterlife, and once you return to the real world, you will immediately reveal your true form."

"Right now, you're like water that's lost its container. Even if you can move freely in the spiritual world, it doesn't mean you can do the same thing in the material world, does it?"

"It's alright, I'm here," I said.

The law of impermanence allows the dead to continue their activities in the world of the living. In the past, I used my spiritual power to maintain the existence of the Winter Chariot, who should have died, in the outside world, and now I can do the same for the Little Bowl.

This is actually a power that is close to the law of heaven and earth. As long as it is within the scope of my law of heaven and earth, it can grant the small bowl natural privileges so that it will not become so that its soul will fly away when the wind blows or its spirit will dissipate when the thunder roars.

Xiao Wan herself should be able to achieve a similar miracle. With her inherent natural privileges, she could move freely in the material world as a spirit, as if traversing the afterlife. The power of heaven and earth would automatically gather around her body, like an invisible glass container helping her maintain her form. As a fellow incarnation of dreams, the past girl Lu Chan struggled to survive in the material world; the same thing wouldn't happen to Xiao Wan.

Number Seven, who is always in the afterlife, probably never seriously studied this kind of "useless knowledge." He only realized it after Xiaowan and I explained it to him.

But thinking of the young girl Lu Chan, I realized another issue that was more directly related to Xiao Wan's life and death, and then asked, "Xiao Wan... what about your 'mission'?"

Xiao Wan quickly understood what I meant and said, "Brother Zhuang Cheng, are you asking if I will disappear directly after returning to the real world and completing all my missions?"

The incarnation of a dream is a spirit formed based on a certain obsession. Once the obsession is let go, it will disappear completely, just like the ghosts in old ghost stories.

“My obsession is to help you and Mazao live a happy and fulfilling life, and I will never give up on that. However, even if I achieve this goal, I probably won’t disappear immediately,” Xiaowan said. “Because my original intention was to help Zhushi become happy and fulfilled. If helping Mazao is my acquired mission, then helping Zhushi is my innate mission. This obsession is very likely still lingering in the core of my soul.”

"Otherwise, I should have disappeared long ago, before I even had a chance to think about helping Asaha-nee."

"So..." I followed up with a question, "Right now, would you want to accomplish that innate mission at all costs?"

“…I don’t know,” Xiao Wan said vaguely. “Although I have fully regained my memories, I am neither Zhu Jiu nor Zhu Shi. The evidence is that when Brother Zhuang Cheng asked me about these two names back in the virtual realm, I was unable to fully identify with or resonate with them…”

"However, I do not intend to sever ties with Zhu Jiu and Zhu Shi. I am a spirit born from them—from the soul of my mother and the fantasies of my daughter—and exist to fulfill their dreams; this is absolutely true."

"So... I want to discuss the specifics after I've met Zhu Shi."

“I have a feeling that as long as I see her face, touch her body, and have a conversation with her, I can draw a conclusion.”

Although she said she would decide later, it was clear that she wanted to fulfill her innate mission as well.

The ghosts in old-fashioned ghost stories, even knowing that fulfilling their obsessions means their own demise, will still pursue their obsessions without hesitation.

They are beings with a different underlying spiritual logic from humans, and fulfilling their mission is the meaning of their existence.

"only……"

As she finished speaking, Xiao Wan's face showed hesitation and unease.

Looking at the gray stairs in front of her, she seemed to be afraid of them, so she didn't urge me to hurry up or make any move herself.

I knew perfectly well what Xiaowan was uneasy about. In fact, ever since I heard her true origins from her, I immediately thought of the huge landmine that lay within.

The spirit of Xiaowan can be interpreted as either "an individual created by sacrificing Zhu Jiu" or "an existence that lives in place of Zhu Jiu." Although Xiaowan itself did not have any subjective malice, and it was even Zhu Jiu who voluntarily relinquished her existence to her daughter's dream incarnation, how would Zhu Shi and Old Master Zhu view it? Would they regard Xiaowan as "a strange thing that has taken over Zhu Jiu's existence"?

Suddenly, I remembered Zhu Jiu's physical body in the real world. Even though Xiao Wan's existence had been established, that body showed no signs of death or decay, as if to say that Zhu Jiu's wandering soul was still alive.

Moreover, there haven't been any cases of unexplained deaths among patients with amnesia in the real world. Luo Shan previously believed that these bodies didn't die from the loss of their souls because they maintained a mysterious connection with souls whose whereabouts were unknown. But shouldn't those souls have all perished in large numbers after falling into the afterlife? Why haven't any unexplained deaths of bodies been confirmed in the real world?

I tried to throw this question at Number Seven. Although Number Seven didn't seem to fully understand our previous conversation, he still answered: "I guess it's because the time in the afterlife is disordered, which has caused the way the bodies of those suffering from amnesia detect the state of their souls' existence through mysterious connections to also become disordered."

"Although the souls of many patients with amnesia have already perished in the afterlife, from the perspective of the physical body, the time when the soul 'has perished' and the time when it 'still lives' exist simultaneously."

Is it like the wandering spirit and the sandalwood incense? I tried to speculate. The wandering spirit is dead, but the sandalwood incense is still alive, and ultimately, the wandering spirit and the sandalwood incense are both patients suffering from the same amnesia. If I were this person's body, I certainly wouldn't be able to be sure whether my own soul has truly been scattered.

Perhaps those physical bodies can never truly comprehend this state of being "both alive and dead," and can only categorize it as "half-alive, half-dead." Since it's not truly dead, the body feels it should prioritize living—the real situation likely involves more technical details, but this is the only unprofessional explanation I can come up with for now.

Then, I came to this conclusion: "In other words... the time that Zhu Jiu was still alive also exists in the afterlife?"

"Although I'm not entirely clear on what you were talking about before, I must remind you that the Divine Seal Fragments possess a unique timeline, and those of us bound to them will also be affected by them," Number Seven said. "The most direct point is that in the afterlife, we Void Apostles will not encounter our past selves, or our predecessors or prototypes... at least the individuals themselves cannot encounter them."

"At the same time, we all possess absolute immunity to 'history modification.' Even if we find our past in the afterlife through the hands of others, we cannot truly change our fate; it will be automatically corrected by the nature of the divine seal fragments. Incidentally, to a certain extent, gods and humans who transcend time and space will also experience similar phenomena in the afterlife."

"If we really do encounter an existence that is like our own selves at other times, it would be an illusion created by some kind of power, just like the Great Demon of Doomsday."

According to this logic, the route of saving Zhu Jiu through the phenomenon of time chaos in the afterlife is invalid.

Once the small bowl opens its wooden lid and reaches the world of the living, Zhu Jiu's physical body, located elsewhere, may detect the small bowl's soul through a mysterious connection, making the judgment that "Zhu Jiu is dead," and thus completely succumbing to death.

However, is Zhu Jiu truly dead? I noticed this suspicious point. From other perspectives, Zhu Jiu might not be dead yet. Although she has become part of the small bowl's material, her soul hasn't vanished; she can be considered to be in an active state "in another structure." It's like disassembling and reassembling a building block toy into another form. Although the original building block toy is no longer visible, can it truly be defined as "disappearing" in the literal sense?

If it's impossible, and even after Xiao Wan went to the world of the living, it was determined that Zhu Jiu's soul was still alive, then it likely means that there exists a way to reassemble Zhu Jiu's soul. Even now, I can conceive of at least two methods based on my current knowledge.

But doing so would undoubtedly erase the small bowl that currently occupies Zhu Jiu's existence. I would absolutely never do that, and how would Zhu Shi and Chang'an view this matter?

It's practically a variation of the trolley problem.

Regardless, without taking this step, no answer will be found. Even if we hesitate because we worry about Zhu Jiu's physical vessel dying, it's just postponing the inescapable problem. I looked at Xiao Wan and reached out my hand to her. She still seemed unable to shake off her hesitation and unease. What I could think of, she could surely think of as well, but emotional conflicts cannot be easily resolved by reason alone.

"Little Bowl, let's go together," I said. "I'll always be by your side."

"……Um."

Xiao Wan seemed to be trying to calm herself down, then she raised her hand and took my hand in hers.

"Well then, farewell for now," said Number Seven.

With Number Seven bidding us farewell, we climbed the gray steps and arrived at the wooden lid. I raised my hand, opened the wooden lid, and then, holding Little Bowl's hand, we climbed step by step onto the floor above.

Bright sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and shone on me, while the vibrant noise of the city filled the air outside.

Xiaowan and I arrived at the fifteenth-floor room that Chang'an used to rent.

We have returned to the world of the living.

(End of this chapter)