Chapter 134 Successfully Entering 2
Asao's nihilistic tendencies were definitely not a recent development; she expressed similar sentiments from the very first day we met. Her lone wolf approach is probably also a manifestation of this tendency.
As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day," and thawing it isn't something that can be done overnight. I can thaw a physical freeze instantly, but a frozen heart is beyond my reach.
Is there any way to motivate her?
I thought about this problem very hard, and said, "It's still unclear whether the patients with the Soul Disorder have really traveled to the post-apocalyptic era. Even if they have, we don't know if people who died in the post-apocalyptic era will continue to live in this era as vegetative states. Don't think about that too much right now, go and confirm the list of patients with the Soul Disorder."
Perhaps the bodies left behind by a soul-sustaining amnesiac who transmigrated to the post-apocalyptic era will also die—I didn't voice this hypothetical scenario. Overly pessimistic speculation wouldn't be good for Asao's mental health either.
Asaho nodded in agreement, then said, "Also, about that Xuanwu..."
"You're not trying to persuade me not to go to Xuanwu, are you?" I asked.
“No, just like you said to that old man, if the other party really is targeting fire-elemental users, they'll probably find you sooner or later. Besides, I really do desperately need to heal my soul. You're my partner, so I won't refuse your help, and I won't refuse to help you in the future.” She seemed to be mimicking what I'd said to Mr. Zhu before continuing, “However, I think that Xuanwu might be…”
“It was attracted by you, right?” I said. “When you needed to heal your soul, the clue to the ‘Black Tortoise’ that could heal your soul suddenly appeared in front of us, along with a token that could be used to contact him, and even blatantly included a background explanation like ‘I am mortal enemies with fire ability users’... You’re trying to say that this was also attracted by you, causing trouble for those around you, right?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “Trouble isn’t trouble if it poses no threat. In the past, those enemies were at most just wild beasts passing by, attracted by my jinxed nature, but this time it’s clearly different. If there’s a destined misfortune in my life, that fate must have also made arrangements for you, perhaps even going so far as to name you specifically…”
"In other words, this incident is a 'disaster' for you, a real threat, an ominous sign that could endanger your life. Zhuang Cheng, you are very powerful, but that Xuanwu is unlike anyone you have ever met before. He might really be able to kill you."
I countered with, "So what?"
"...Do you regret it?" she asked anxiously. "Do you regret being with me..."
Are you the neurotic girlfriend who keeps checking her boyfriend's feelings after you start dating? I couldn't help but have this very impolite thought. Not only is it impolite, but it's also incredibly presumptuous.
"Ma Zao, answer me a question first," I said. "Last time you chose to leave me, but if I had shown you the fragment of the Divine Seal before that, would you still have left me?"
"Well... I'm not quite sure either." She hesitated. "Considering that the Divine Seal Fragment cannot leave you, I might leave it with you first and leave to act on my own; or I might think that as long as I follow you, I can get clues about other Divine Seal Fragments, so I'll stay by your side and observe."
"That's pretty much what I thought. To be honest, I regretted it every day while you were gone. If only I had told you sooner!"
Actually, I didn't really regret it. After all, I couldn't have taken out the Divine Seal Fragment back then. I'm quite open-minded about that. Now, I continued to say a mix of truth and falsehood to her: "So... Mazao, if I ever regret something in the future, it won't be because I'm with you, but because I did something that would make you leave."
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. If I had said similar flowery words before I met Ma, I would have been incredibly embarrassed. But now, I've developed an unshakeable thick skin. The speed of my evolution is so fast that even my prized superpowers pale in comparison.
"Zhuang Cheng..."
Mazao quickly lowered her head and turned away, preventing me from looking at her face. Perhaps she was moved by my words… or perhaps she was embarrassed by my acting. I always tend to overact when performing similar acts; it's an old problem of mine.
It was evening.
Under my supervision, Ma Zao obediently stayed home, taking her medicine and resting, just as Zhu Shi had instructed. The soul-healing medicine that Mr. Zhu gave us was like decocting a medicinal soup; it required adding water and boiling it, just like making soup, using a household pot and gas stove. The method was simply to follow the accompanying instructions; if all else failed, it was fine to just ingest the ingredients directly. Although called ingredients, they were actually already a finished product, only boiled to make them easier to take and digest.
The simmered medicine looked like a thick, coffee-colored porridge. Out of curiosity, I dipped my finger into the unwashed pot and tasted it—it was incredibly bitter. Even if you juiced tree roots, it wouldn't be much different. Although I understand the saying "good medicine tastes bitter," such bitterness inevitably makes one wonder if the soul of the person taking it will be damaged in some other way.
Ma Zao, however, remained unfazed, scooping up spoonfuls of the herbal soup from the bowl, blowing on them to cool them, and then shoveling it into her mouth once it was cool enough to drink. Is this the way of a survivor in the apocalypse? I was immediately filled with awe.
"How is it? Is your soul recovering?" I asked with concern.
"Hmm..." She closed her eyes to sense, "The medicine doesn't seem to have started to take effect yet, it shouldn't be that fast."
"Be careful not to let the blessing power cancel out the medicine's effects," I reminded him.
"I know."
As she spoke, she gave a small yawn.
It's not even 8 p.m. yet, and she's already sleepy. Maybe her soul isn't in a good state yet? I tried to persuade her to go to sleep, but she shook her head and said, "You're not sleepy right now, are you? I want to sleep with you."
"You mean, we're going to hold hands and sleep together tonight?" I asked.
"Yes!" she nodded vigorously.
It seems that before successfully entering the dream world of mist, she planned to hold my hand and sleep with me every night.
I had already copied the list of patients with amnesia from the USB drive to her tablet. She sat on the sofa and slowly, clumsily, yet meticulously reviewed the information. It was almost ten o'clock at night, and she seemed to have made little progress; she was already nodding off like a sleepyhead. To prevent the blessing power from accidentally dissipating the effects of the soul-healing medicine, she hadn't reset her state even once.
I pulled her up and slowly walked around. She was like a child who had been tricked and drugged by an evil adult, and I led her into the room in a daze. Then she lay down on the bed at my mercy.
Thinking about it carefully, I am indeed an adult, and I have indeed deceived this child time and time again, given her suspicious drugs that were definitely not registered with the drug administration, and even brought her to my bed, and was about to share a bed with her... From the perspective of general society, am I doing something really outrageous?
I turned off the lights in the room. In the darkness, she turned over slightly, looked at me groggily, and then reached out her hand, saying indistinctly, "Hold my hand..."
I silently took out the fragment of the divine seal, and then she took my hand, and we lay down on the bed side by side. Naturally, I didn't take off my clothes. Seemingly unconsciously, she leaned closer to me, settling down like a cat that had found a warm and comfortable spot.
"Goodnight," I said.
-
That night was a special day.
Of course, every day since I met Asahi has been a special day for me, and tonight is especially special among them. Persistence pays off; although my last attempt to enter the Misty Dreamland failed, this time I finally succeeded.
Perhaps calling it a "success" is a bit of self-aggrandizement, since my sharing a bed with Asahaha probably has absolutely nothing to do with this success. It was just luck, or perhaps it followed some kind of pattern I'm not yet aware of. Whatever it is, I've finally entered the misty dream world.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in an endless gray fog. There was no ground beneath my feet, only layers upon layers of gray fog, and I didn't know why I was able to stand. Walking felt like walking on a beach.
As always, it's hard to pinpoint the boundary between my entry into the misty dream world, though I doubt many people can pinpoint exactly when they fell asleep. It feels like I've been walking in the mist for a very long time, and I've only just come to my senses.
I'm finally in!
Realizing this, I stopped and looked around. Not to mention Asahi, I hadn't seen a single person along the way. Perhaps Asahi's hopes had been dashed; it seemed that those not bound to the Divine Seal Fragment couldn't enter the Dream of the Mist, or perhaps she was wandering in another part of the mist?
In any case, as long as either Asahi or I can enter the Dream of the Mist, that's enough. Next, we need to go to the location of the eight rock seats, find the second small bowl there, and hand over the other person's forgotten name.
In this way, I can finally complete my task.
Just thinking about how happy Masako will be makes a part of me jump for joy, and I can't help but look forward to it.
I continued deeper into the fog.
(End of this chapter)
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