Chapter 605 The Moon Under the Moon
I didn't sleep. Not just because I didn't need to sleep, but also because I wanted to cherish the time I spent with Mahaya. People often cherish what they've lost and then regained. Mahaya was, in my heart, a treasure I once thought I would lose.
At the same time, I could feel my affection for Asahi growing stronger. Embracing her with this warm feeling was naturally the most comforting thing to do.
However, just as soaking in hot water for too long can make you dizzy, letting your feelings of affection grow unchecked might also cause you to lose your composure. I felt somewhat unfamiliar and lost with my own emotions. In the middle of the night, in order to calm myself down, I first lifted half of the blanket, sat up in bed, put on my slippers, and quietly went to the hallway outside.
The mansion's corridors were quite antique. Stepping out of the bedroom, one could see directly into the courtyard, and looking up, one could see the moon hanging in the night sky. Unlike the abnormally large full moon in the afterlife, the moon in the real world maintained a reassuring sense of distance. The silvery moonlight shone down hazily, keeping the night dark enough, yet not so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.
The cool breeze blowing in from the courtyard helped me pull myself out of my slightly tipsy state. A walk helps massage the brain, so I started strolling slowly. Although this is my own property, I rarely wander around like this. The courtyard at night seemed to have an added layer of mystery, looking at first glance like someone else's house. I couldn't help but recall the fun I had as a child exploring unfamiliar buildings.
Suddenly, a strange intuition struck me. As if drawn by a subtle force, I moved towards a spot in the mansion. It was the room where Chang'an was staying that night. Upon arriving, I found the door open, but the room was empty. After a quick search of the surrounding area, I soon spotted the figure who had left the room in the courtyard.
The figure seemed familiar, yet it wasn't Chang'an. In the courtyard stood a large rock used as a small hill, and the figure stood quietly beside it. The hazy moonlight vaguely illuminated its form.
Long, silvery-white hair, a slender and graceful back, and a pale white dress fluttering in the breeze. The other person seemed to sense my gaze and turned around, revealing a pair of golden, demonic eyes that gleamed in the darkness.
Standing there was a beautiful, dreamlike, monstrous girl.
Silver Moon.
"Long time no see, Zhuang Cheng."
Even after I "caught" it, this strange creature didn't show any fear or fright. It just smiled calmly and greeted me as if it were a close friend.
It's obvious that she's currently using Chang'an as a vessel. Strangely enough, I myself don't feel any urgency about this situation. Perhaps it's because I've unconsciously sensed what this silver moon is all about.
"You've been resurrected?" I asked tentatively.
“You know all too well that I can never be resurrected through Chang’an,” Silver Moon said with a smile. “Your destruction and sealing were very effective. I was suppressed in the unconscious realm of Chang’an. I can no longer function as an independent self, I can no longer think as Silver Moon, and I can no longer recover under the seal. I can only serve as a kind of spiritual resource to fill the existence of Chang’an.”
"So, what's wrong with you now?" I asked.
“I’m just dreaming,” Silver Moon said.
"A dream?" I asked.
“Don’t you humans like to interpret dreams as rumination in the unconscious realm? A large number of fragments of information are randomly pieced together and combined to form fantastical dreams. And I am also a fragment of information suppressed in the unconscious realm,” Silver Moon said. “So, I’m just dreaming, or rather, Chang’an is having a dream where he becomes Silver Moon. I will wake up after the sun rises.”
This aligns with my intuition. The silver moon before me is a far more illusory existence than any incarnation of a dream; it is a true dream. It is not an independent, vibrant life, but rather more like an occasional gust of wind, merely a phenomenon. When I speak with her, I even feel as if I am not conversing with a conscious being; her responses are like illusory murmurs in a dream.
Even if a normal person dreams of becoming someone else, this situation wouldn't occur. It's just that Chang'an also harbors a power that can turn illusions into reality, which is what led to the current phenomenon.
"Have you appeared in the past few months as well?" I asked. "Will your current state have a negative impact on Chang'an?"
“No.” Silver Moon answered the first question calmly. “Originally, I shouldn’t have been able to appear. The reason I can appear now is actually partly due to you… You seem to have been infected with the fate of attracting strange things to appear.”
Even so, this is most likely an unrepeatable coincidence, a meaningless last gasp.
"As for other reasons... it might be because he felt a little confused."
I speculated: "Because he saw the small bowl, he thought of Zhu Jiu, and then he thought of his own biological mother?"
“He has a void in his heart. If he thought reality was wonderful, who would want to indulge in a dream?” Silver Moon said. “Or, as long as he has the courage to face reality… but he is still quite far from that level.”
She paused, then said, "As for the second question, the answer is no. I don't mind seeing Chang'an as 'another self,' and Chang'an is gradually and truly assimilating me. Unless he encounters misfortune in the future that makes him want to give up his existence, his sense of self is unshakable."
"So please treat me well from now on—treat Chang'an well too."
"There's still a long time tonight. If you're willing to agree, I can give you a lot of 'special rewards'!"
I caught the ambiguity in her words and rejected her without hesitation: "Don't say such disgusting things. Don't forget you're using my friend's body right now. I don't want to develop that kind of relationship with my friend."
"Is a girl from the Zhu family suitable?" Yin Yue asked with a smile.
“Die in my friend’s consciousness, Silvermoon, and never come out again,” I said.
"Don't be in such a hurry, Zhuang Cheng. I have one last thing to say to you," Yin Yue said.
"Tell me about it," I said.
Yinyue smiled faintly and said slowly, "Thank you for taking such good care of my child all this time."
“The real Silver Moon wouldn’t say that,” I said.
The real Silvermoon never cared about her own son.
"Yes, so this was just Chang'an's wishful thinking." Yin Yue looked up at the moon in the sky with a sense of melancholy.
The next day, the silver moon indeed disappeared like a dewdrop welcoming the morning sun.
She appeared without a trace and disappeared without a trace; perhaps that's what describes her. That was probably the last time I saw her.
Chang'an returned to normal, as if he had no memory of the dream, completely unaware of what had happened the night before. Perhaps it's better not to know some things, so I didn't tell him about my experiences that night. Under Mr. Zhu's urging, he returned to Luoshan Academy to continue his studies, sporting his usual carefree smile.
Perhaps it's not just Chang'an, nor just the Ancient Moon God of the former Ancient Moon Village. The Silver Moon, obsessed with its alternative form of self-preservation, may have also established its own incarnations and manifestations elsewhere, or even other acts of "resurrection." Those "Silver Moons," whose existence is uncertain, what their views of Chang'an might be. I warned Chang'an about this, and he took it to heart. In the future, I will also need to find them one by one and exorcise them all.
In the morning, Lu Chan compiled information about the past four months and reported it to me.
The exact location of Mingzhuo is still unknown. Although Lu Chan offered to secretly help me search, it's practically impossible for him to pinpoint the lurking Dawuchang. It's better to hope that Fazheng will provide results. I'm also conducting a large-scale, thorough search using the "Fireflies" distributed throughout various locations.
At noon, because I had made an appointment with Maya, I took some time to accompany her to meet her parents.
In the past, Asaha was treated for Soul Loss at the military hospital in Saltwater City, so it was natural that her parents also lived there. We both possessed the ability to teleport, arriving in Saltwater City in an instant, and then walking towards our specific destination. This walking time was both to give Asahaha time to prepare mentally and to allow myself some time to do so.
Asaha was diagnosed with amnesia at the age of ten, and her recorded age is now thirteen. If her parents were to ask me about my relationship with Asahaha, how should I answer?
First of all, I would never do something as shameful as concealing something, let alone lying. Being afraid to be honest about my relationship with Asahi would be tantamount to insulting her. That being said, is telling the truth really without any problems?
Although Asaho's soul has experienced countless years in the chaotic "apocalyptic era," the human mind struggles to grow in a world filled with madness. As a master of the Great Perfection stage, Asaho's soul image will obviously follow the theory of "appearance reflects the mind," so it can be judged that while her mind may not be at the level of a ten-year-old when she first developed the Soul Loss Syndrome, it will not be beyond the range of thirteen or fourteen years old.
Therefore, using so-called "psychological age" as a shield is obviously hypocritical, and there's even less need to mention physical age. And no matter how much people around me say that "the Great Impermanence can trample on worldly ethics," I find it difficult to completely ignore the strange looks from others—especially from Asaho's parents.
Of course, even if I am looked at differently, I will not waver in my decision.
So we had no choice but to stick to our old ways and think things would work themselves out.
“…Zhuang Cheng.” Ma Zao said nervously.
“I’m here,” I said.
I initially thought Mazao wanted to seek my emotional support, but after taking a deep breath, she asked a different question: "Zhuangcheng... how do you get along with your parents?"
"My parents?" I asked, surprised.
(End of this chapter)
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