Chapter 595 Reunion

Although I hadn't made any prior contact, Ma Zao, Zhu Shi, and Mr. Zhu were already waiting in front of the mansion's gate.

It was probably because of the magical fluctuations I had released not long ago. Because they foresaw my imminent return, they prepared in advance to welcome me. And looking at their figures, I actually felt a bit of "returning home with trepidation."

From my own subjective perspective, the time I've been apart from Asahi hasn't been very long, but how has it been for Asahi? Four months isn't a long time, but I can't help but worry that our feelings for each other might have cooled down.

Xiao Wan also showed a somewhat timid and guilty expression. Zhu Shi and Old Master Zhu were people she knew very well, but that acquaintance only existed on an informational level. The people she truly had a close relationship with were Zhu Jiu and the young Zhu Shi, not herself. If she were to reveal the truth, they might even see her as an evil spirit who had usurped her place. I wasn't entirely unable to fathom her state of mind at that moment.

From afar, Mazao saw me too. Her gaze fell on my face, and her expression revealed the joy of a long-awaited reunion.

In my memory, she didn't smile very often. Although as we spent more time together, she was no longer as melancholy as when we first met, her expressions were still generally not very varied. But now, seeing me, she broke into a big, overjoyed smile, and tears even welled up in her eyes. Seeing her reaction was, frankly, not very flattering, but it actually brought me a sense of peace.

Naturally, she also saw the small bowl beside me. A series of emotions, including surprise, confusion, and delight, washed over her. After a moment of hesitation, she rushed towards me, then leaped into my arms and hugged me tightly.

"Zhuang Cheng!" she called out with joy.

"I'm back, Mazao."

I held her tightly, feeling her soft body and warmth, breathing in the fragrance of her hair. She buried her face deeply in my chest, rubbing against me and breathing greedily, as if trying to imprint her scent onto me again.

Then, Mazao reluctantly pulled her face away from my arms and looked at Xiaowan. Xiaowan immediately stepped forward and hugged Mazao, shouting loudly, "Sister Mazao!"

"Little Bowl!" Ma Zao hugged Little Bowl tightly.

The petite girl and the even smaller girl embraced each other tightly. They had shared an immeasurable amount of time together, a time they themselves could not fathom, filled with countless hardships I was unaware of. During the apocalyptic attack, they were forced apart, believing they would be separated forever, never to see each other again.

And now, thanks to countless miracles, they have finally been reunited.

Mazao raised her face again, her gaze shifting between me and Xiaowan. She seemed utterly bewildered by this double joy, as if she didn't know how to hug both of us at the same time. Xiaowan reached out and turned Mazao's body, pushing her towards me. In the end, it was an awkward situation where Mazao hugged me, while Xiaowan hugged Mazao tightly from behind.

Ma Zao, sandwiched between two people, stared blankly for a moment, then seemed to give up thinking, drunkenly hugging my body with a silly smile on her face.

This doesn't resemble the "Gospel Witch" from the "Apocalypse Era" legends at all.

Zhu Shi and Mr. Zhu also came forward.

Unlike Ma Zao, Zhu Shi didn't lose his composure. He just looked at Ma Zao and me with a very happy expression, and then looked at Xiao Wan with surprise. Old Mr. Zhu also observed Xiao Wan's appearance with a look of doubt and uncertainty.

"Welcome back, Zhuang Cheng," Zhu Shi said with emotion.

"This girl, could she be..." Old Mr. Zhu looked at the small bowl.

Xiao Wan buried her face in Ma Zao's back, as if she dared not look Mr. Zhu in the eye.

“She is Xiao Wan,” I said. “We will explain about her later. Mr. Zhu, please also explain what happened during the time I disappeared.”

Mr. Zhu's expression turned serious. He said, "Okay, let's go inside first and sit down together to talk."

-

We sat down in the hall of the mansion. Mr. Zhu explained to me what had happened during this time, while Ma Zao still held me tightly and added explanations with Zhu Shi.

When Liu Shuying and I launched our attack on Taoyuan Township's main stronghold, Huang Quan and Xu Gou appeared simultaneously to assist Taoyuan Township Lord Meng Zhang. Because Taoyuan Township Lord and Huang Quan had anticipated our attack and had set up a massive protective barrier in the surrounding area, the fluctuations in magical power weren't immediately detected by the Luoshan headquarters. By the time the Great Impermanence members of the Luoshan headquarters realized what was happening, the battle was already over.

When I was banished to the void, although I sensed that the magical fluctuations of Liu Shuying and Meng Zhang, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, disappeared simultaneously, the latter was not dead. The disappearance of the magical fluctuations could simply be due to being seriously injured, or the use of some method to revive afterward, or the one who fought us at the time was essentially an avatar, etc. In any case, Meng Zhang, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, reappeared in the observation of the Luoshan headquarters a month later.

Liu Shuying vanished without a trace. The Luoshan headquarters could only confirm that he was not dead, but could not pinpoint his exact whereabouts. Xu Gou, on the other hand, went into hiding again and disappeared without a trace.

As for me, Fa Zheng also mentioned that everyone knows I haven't died, but my whereabouts are unknown. A month later, Yu Chi used the Divine Seal Fragment technology to pinpoint my location in the "Apocalyptic Era" and then relayed this information to Ma Zao and the others.

For a whole month, Asa had been tirelessly searching for me, even attempting to use the return mark left on me to teleport directly to my side. However, after the baptism of nothingness, although the jinx power on me didn't disappear, the return mark was completely washed away. This is why, after learning that I had returned to the real world, Asa didn't immediately use the power of return to teleport to my side.

After receiving Yuchi's information, Mazao calmed down. She knew she couldn't teleport to the "Apocalypse Era," and since I was in the "Apocalypse Era," it meant that the isolated and helpless Xiaowan had a chance to get my help. This was actually good news that allowed her to find joy in her misery.

At the same time, she had this idea—since she could come from the "apocalyptic era" to the modern world, and I could travel from the modern world to the "apocalyptic era," it meant that a way to travel between the two "eras" existed. So she changed her approach and investigated in depth how to travel between different eras, hoping that I could also find a way to travel to the peaceful modern world with the small bowl.

Although she felt uneasy and lonely, she decided to be strong and continue exploring despite the negative emotions because she still had hope and a direction to strive for.

However, my good fortune didn't last long. Four months after I disappeared, Mingzhuo began to take action.

Knowing his lifespan was at most nine years, every minute and second was incredibly precious to Mingzhuo. During those four months, he repeatedly investigated my whereabouts, and may have even tentatively exorcised the Xuanming Fire within his own body and my flames in the process, finally confirming that I had truly vanished without a trace in the real world, and at least wouldn't be returning anytime soon. Therefore, he completely broke the oath he had made to me and brazenly attacked the location of Mazao.

To be honest, I think he's incredibly cautious. If it were me, I probably wouldn't be able to resist making a move for a week or two at most, but he's waiting for almost half a year. Perhaps this also shows how wary he is of me.

Then he encountered two huge obstacles.

The first obstacle came from Fazheng.

I had never taken my cooperative relationship with Fazheng seriously in the past, but Fazheng valued this alliance more than I had expected. The oath that Mingzhuo had made to me was made in front of him, and given his emphasis on rules, he must have considered the seriousness of the matter considerable. Therefore, upon sensing Mingzhuo's malicious magical fluctuations heading towards those around me, he attacked without hesitation.

But if it's only this bad, it's probably still within Mingzhuo's expectations. Mingzhuo is a fickle person, like a representative of the transcendentalist, and how could he not know the temperament of Fazheng, the leader of the ruling class? His thought at the time was probably that as long as he acted fast enough, he could snatch the person and run away, so that Fazheng wouldn't catch him in the act.

Fazheng values ​​evidence highly, so Mingzhuo mostly felt that as long as he didn't leave any direct evidence, Fazheng, bound by rules and dogma, couldn't do anything to him.

What led to Mingzhuo's failure was a second obstacle he never expected.

That was Zhu Shi.

It has been more than seven months since Zhu Shi began communicating with Ma Zao to forge the Yama Sword.

Although there's still a short distance to go before achieving 100% communication, Zhu Shi in this state has reached about 80% completion of the communication with the Yama Sword, and is already able to unleash its true divine power. The envisioned goal is for the completed communication with the Yama Sword to allow the wielder to unleash combat power at the level of the Great Impermanence, and Zhu Shi can now use the Great Impermanence-level White Tiger Killing Power two or three times, as if performing a finishing move.

If it were any other type of Great Impermanence power, it would be impossible to achieve any decent results against a veteran Great Impermanence like Mingzhuo in actual combat. However, the extremely fierce White Tiger Killing Power actually managed to block Mingzhuo.

(End of this chapter)