Chapter 125 The Blessing of the Next Day 2
I've seen plenty of women; just a casual glance down the street is enough to spot them. In summer, you might even see beautiful women dressed in revealing clothing walking by. Television programs also frequently feature various beautiful female celebrities. Women are everywhere in human society, just like men.
But what if it's a "non-human woman"?
First of all, the statement itself is strange. If someone isn't even human, how can they be called a "woman"? That said, "non-human women" are by no means uncommon in fictional stories. Eastern legends feature alluring fox spirits and female ghosts, while Western mythology boasts sirens and succubi that lure sailors. These creatures, seemingly human yet not quite, often possess appearances far superior to human women, enticing men into depravity and preying on them like carnivorous plants that prey on insects.
Some people may even prefer fictional monster women to real human women.
Actually, I'm not without those unspeakable fantasies too. I imagine myself like a scholar in an ancient ghost story, encountering a beautiful female ghost with youthful looks, perhaps even engaging in some erotic interaction—this shouldn't be such a strange thought, right? Almost every man has probably had this kind of "female ghost fantasy" to some extent. As for whether women have "male ghost fantasies," I have no idea. I also wonder if any scholars have researched this kind of common psychological phenomenon and published papers on it.
I became curious about Chang'an's mother.
"What kind of demon is Chang'an's mother?"
"Well, I don't know much about her either. My grandparents didn't like to talk about that woman, my father hardly ever spoke to me, and my brother doesn't know anything about her either." Zhu Shi looked reminiscing for a moment before saying, "Based on some snippets I've heard before, I think it must be 'fox'."
"A fox demon?"
“Yes.” She nodded.
Fox spirits are frequent characters in ancient Chinese tales and legends. It is said that foxes that have gained sentience can transform into beautiful human women to seduce scholars and officials, leading them to ruin. Some are even said to be able to bewitch emperors, bringing disaster to the country and its people; the legendary nine-tailed fox Daji, who bewitched King Zhou of Shang, is a prime example.
However, fox spirits are not necessarily villains. In ghost stories, fox spirits sometimes appear as grateful people, transforming into human form to help good people; sometimes they will satirize sanctimonious big shots and retreat in front of truly virtuous people; sometimes they will even admire the talent of scholars, willingly becoming their concubines, living in seclusion behind the scenes and using magic to support their beloved's life and career, and disappearing after their beloved has achieved success.
Some of these ghost stories are reflections of reality, especially the last part, which makes one wonder if the fox spirit in the story represents a geisha in real life. But since fox spirits are real, we have to re-examine these ghost stories.
However, Chang'an actually has half fox demon blood... Could it be that he will also turn into a beautiful woman to seduce scholars in the future? This absurd thought popped into my head, and I couldn't help but feel a chill.
Let's think about something else. Since Chang'an's mother is a fox spirit, then shouldn't his father, Ying Lingyun, be portrayed as a learned scholar?
At the same time, I gradually discerned some of Zhu Shi's true feelings from her attitude.
"Your father is dead, and you don't seem sad at all?"
"I can't feel sad." She said in a flat tone, "If you want to call me an unfilial daughter, I can't find any excuse. My biological father is dead, yet I react this way. But to be honest, I've only seen him a few times since I was a child, and I've never had any particular expectations of him. My brother is different from me in this respect. It's as if he has concentrated all the expectations that I should have for our father on himself, always hoping to get our father's attention."
"As for me... even if I suddenly found out that person had joined the Humanitarian Division and become a monster maker... to be honest, I would say I was more confused than sad or angry."
“But judging from your reaction last night, it seems like you were greatly shocked,” I probed.
"It was indeed a huge shock, but I don't really feel much sadness." She hesitated for a moment, then said, "More than sadness, I'm worried that you and Asahi might see me as a cold-blooded person. That's why I suddenly acted like a block of wood in front of you."
"Actually, I was still able to think normally at the time, but I didn't know how to show the 'appropriate reaction' in front of you, so I pretended to be confused to buy myself more time to think. Even I am disappointed and speechless at my own cold-bloodedness."
I really didn't expect that.
I only put myself in the position of the perpetrator and defined Zhu Shi as the victim. I didn't know how to face her, but I never thought that she would also feel that she had difficulty facing me and Ma Zao.
So, Zhu Shi's view of her father might share some similarities with that of the goldfish... no, they are still quite different. Ying Lingyun never inflicted violence on his family, and Zhu Shi doesn't harbor any specific hatred towards him. Although Ying Lingyun committed a heinous act of infidelity, from Zhu Shi's perspective, that happened before she was born. She certainly felt disgust, but it would be difficult for her to develop sufficiently concrete negative feelings towards someone so distant and unattainable.
She might acknowledge that her father played a significant role, but that was merely a moral judgment. Unfortunately, she was also a person with a strong sense of morality and couldn't accept her indifference towards him. At the same time, Ying Lingyun, as the creator of the freak, had committed many morally unforgivable acts. These contradictions left her unsure of the right attitude to take.
Not only could I not deduce her state of mind at that moment, but I doubt even she could describe it herself. She could only play dumb in front of me and Ma Zao.
Even so, she still tried her best to express her true feelings in front of me.
Therefore, I believe I should also tell the truth and disclose the information I possess.
If she had shown great grief over her father's death, I certainly wouldn't have said anything. But since she's only brooding over it, then it should be fine.
"Ying Lingyun might not be dead yet," I said.
"..." She was a beat slow to react, "What?"
I described the gray mist I saw as I burned the monster creator's consciousness network, and then said, "...So, I suspect he may possess a fragment of a divine seal."
"You mean that the number of people who possess the fragments of the Divine Seal is uncertain, and even the outcome of death can be reversed?" Zhu Shi seemed to take a long time to digest my point of view, and then said with difficulty, "I'll just believe what you say for now... but how can you be sure that my father possessed the fragments of the Divine Seal? In reality, you only saw the gray mist; the source could very well be something else, right?"
“It’s very simple.” I took the black jade stone out of my pocket. “Because I possess a fragment of a divine seal.”
Zhu Shi was stunned, while I simply explained the existence of the Misty Dream and its connection to the fragments of the Divine Seal.
Incidentally, I also mentioned my encounters with Number Two Little Bowl and Number Four Xuanming in the Misty Dream. Ma Zao's investigation into the apocalypse requires the help of Luo Shan, and currently, Zhu Shi is the most trustworthy person in Luo Shan. Revealing this information should help Zhu Shi believe in the existence of the apocalypse.
After a long silence, she finally accepted it, murmuring, "I see... The reason Asaho trusted you so much was because you genuinely believed in the apocalypse and possessed a fragment of the divine seal that was crucial to her mission. And the reason you genuinely believed in the apocalypse was because of the existence of the fragment of the divine seal and the dreamlike mist..."
She was actually thinking about this. It seems she really wasn't that concerned about her father's life or death.
So, should I also take out the "slag" I got after killing the monster creator and have it appraised by her? I even had such an arrogant thought. But doing so was definitely going too far.
"I hope you can keep this a secret for me," I said.
“Of course.” She looked completely serious. “Since you trust me and are willing to tell me such an important secret, I will risk my life to keep it for you.”
"Don't you suspect that what I have is a fake?" I asked.
"You even encountered the traitorous Great Impermanence in the misty dream world. Did the latter also obtain a fake?" she countered.
But from an outsider's perspective, even that "traitorous Great Impermanence" might be a fake, right?
I'll skip that for now and say, "I thought you'd try to persuade me to reveal to Luo Shan that I possess the Divine Seal Fragment. After all, the Divine Seal Fragment is related to the apocalypse, and might even be the trigger for it. The scale of the event is too enormous for just a few of us to make a decision about."
“I have indeed thought about that,” she said. “However, it is precisely because the fragments of the divine seal could be the trigger for the end of the world that we must keep their existence a secret.”
Upon hearing this, I vaguely guessed the answer and asked, "How so?"
"If the apocalypse was caused by the complete Divine Seal, then there must be someone who wished for the destruction of the world from it. We don't know who that person is, or even if they are a member of Luoshan," she said solemnly. "And the simplest way to stop this hypothetical enemy from wishing for the complete Divine Seal is to prevent the Divine Seal from returning to its complete state, which means..."
I picked up the conversation and said, "As long as I keep this fragment of the divine seal in my hand, the end of the world will not come."
“That’s right.” She nodded.
By this time, we had almost finished breakfast. I got up and ordered another serving of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and fried pork chop, intending to take them home for my family's breakfast.
Then, I turned to Zhu Shi: "By the way, about the monster creator's head..."
“I will bring it to you today,” she said.
“No, what I mean is, it’s not really appropriate for you to be carrying your biological father’s head around like that. I’d rather go to your house,” I said.
(End of this chapter)
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