Chapter 414 The True Form of the Little Bowl
Of all the Void Realm Apostles, Xiao Wan was the easiest to spot. Therefore, I instantly recognized the petite figure that appeared in my field of vision as Xiao Wan herself.
I immediately stepped forward and quickly stood in front of her. She seemed to be slightly startled at first, but when she saw it was me, she quickly relaxed and greeted me in a cute and polite voice, "Long time no see, Mr. Number Three."
“Long time no see, Number Two,” I said. “Although it seems to me that only three weeks or so have passed.”
“More than three weeks... I feel like I’ve been here for at least three months,” Xiaowan said.
She probably didn't mean it had been a long time since we last met, as if it were more than three months. In a post-apocalyptic world where time flows erratically, it's easy for people to experience different periods of time.
In the past, when she was on the verge of being consumed by karmic demons, she was fortunate enough not to have ended up in a place where time flowed too quickly; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have survived until I found the name "Little Bowl" for her. Or perhaps this luck was also brought about by her proper placement in the celestial and terrestrial alignment?
The little bowl seemed to be observing me carefully. After watching for a while, she tentatively said, "Mr. Number Three, you seem a little different than before... You seem to have become even more formidable. Could it be...?"
“That’s right, I am now the Great Impermanence.” I said directly, “I have also defeated the Fate Turbidity and saved my friends. I have basically solved all the problems that I asked you to help me with last time.”
Seeing that I didn't hide from Xuanming and Number Seven's ears, Xiaowan was taken aback at first, then exclaimed with what sounded like heartfelt joy: "Really? That's great, Mr. Number Three!"
I had completely processed those things before, but seeing her so happy for me makes me happy too. However, I didn't come here specifically to report this to her.
I reached out my hand to her.
Perhaps because so much time had passed on her end, she was initially puzzled by my actions, but then she realized what I meant and raised both her hands, obediently taking my outstretched hand in hers.
Then, through her ability to speak, her voice rang in my mind.
"Mr. Number Three, is there something you want to tell me privately?"
As she asked questions, she discreetly glanced at Xuanming and Number Seven in the distance. Xuanming seemed quite interested in our activities, looking at us with an inscrutable gaze.
Although I told Xiaowan my real name last time, she still seems to prefer calling me "Mr. Number Three".
Actually, I quite like this special name; it has a sense of being outside the everyday.
“Yes. I think I’ve found your identity in the modern world,” I said.
"You mean my identity in the modern world...you mean what I mentioned last time, that I might not be a native of the apocalypse, but a person who traveled from Mr. Number Three's era to the apocalypse...a person suffering from amnesia?" Xiao Wan said, seemingly having some difficulty digesting the information. "...You found my body that was sleeping in that era?"
“No, that’s not it,” I said. “Little Bowl, do you still remember the name ‘Zhu Shi’?”
“I remember. It was another ‘love strategist’ that Mr. Number Three found, right?” Xiao Wan reacted immediately.
However, her focus was strange, and she said very seriously, "Mr. Number Three, you absolutely cannot be with any girl other than Asahi-neechan!"
"The most cunning girls are those who offer advice on your love life while secretly getting close to you. They'll act harmless, listening attentively and winning your favor, quietly taking a place in your heart. At first, they'll offer suggestions, then gradually suggest you practice confessing your feelings to them, and later they'll even casually welcome you to practice kissing and other intimate things with them... By the time you want to back out, it's too late!"
"I feel that you might be a bit slow on the uptake, Mr. Number Three, and could easily fall for it... By the way, how far have things progressed between you and that Zhu Shi guy?"
"Is it the listening stage? Or the confession rehearsal stage? It can't be that they're already kissing..."
I answered honestly, "I am engaged to Zhu Shi, and she is now my fiancée."
The little bowl seemed to widen its eyes, and even involuntarily let out a sound: "What—!!"
I think this is the first time I've ever heard her speak so loudly. The sound startled even Number Seven, who reflexively looked over.
Xiao Wan quickly shut her mouth, frantically asking in the reading, "What happened? What happened? Why? Why? Why? Mr. Number Three likes Sister Ma Zao! Why is he engaged to that Zhu Shi? Could it be that Mr. Number Three has been recorded with some kind of evidence by that vixen Zhu Shi—"
“That’s not it. Calm down and listen to me. The point isn’t about Zhu Shi’s engagement to me,” I said. “Remember what we were talking about at the beginning? The point is, Zhu Shi is you.”
Upon hearing this, Xiaowan immediately crashed.
After a few seconds, the girl, who was about ten years old, spoke again in the murmur: "...I am the fox spirit?"
Of all the people I've met, the ones most fittingly described as "fox spirits" are probably Yin Yue and Chang'an, because they truly possess the blood of a fox demon.
"Let me explain first. Zhu Shi isn't the kind of person you think she is," I said.
“…Okay, I’ll hear Mr. Number Three’s explanation first.” Little Bowl nodded blankly. “…What exactly happened?”
I told Xiaowan the basis for my conclusion that "Zhu Shi is Xiao Wan" and the whole story of how Zhu Shi became my fiancée.
At the same time, I also revealed that Zhu Shi had no romantic relationships.
Gradually, Xiao Wan seemed to have digested the shocking information she had just received and regained her usual calmness and rationality.
"Mr. Number Three...you're what they call 'two-timing', right?" She seemed to have a speechless look in her eyes. "Although Sister Asaho is a bit dim-witted and thinks I'm the third party, so she's happy to accept this kind of thing; and that fox named Zhu Shi...that girl can also accept this absurd development because of her special circumstances...but Mr. Number Three, you don't have those special circumstances, do you?"
“I think as long as Ma is happy, that’s all that matters. Zhu Shi has also resolved his marital issues, my anchor of destiny has been strengthened, and none of the three of us are unhappy about it. What’s the problem?” I asked.
"I almost forgot, Mr. Number Three, you were the pervert who initially planned to imprison a girl as young as Asaha..." Xiaowan covered her head with one hand, "I actually mistakenly thought that Mr. Number Three was a person with common sense and ethics..."
Her reaction now makes me feel like she's just like Zhu Shi, which makes me feel very close to her.
"Compared to that, how do you feel now?" I said. "After regaining the name Zhu Shi, have you recalled any memories of yourself as Zhu Shi?"
As instructed, Xiao Wan focused her attention on the task at hand. She seemed to be checking her own consciousness.
After a moment, she shook her head: "No... The name Zhu Shi does feel very familiar to me, as if I've known this name for a long time... But I don't feel like I am Zhu Shi, and no past memories come to mind."
This response wasn't exactly beyond my expectations.
When I returned the name "Xiao Wan" to her in the past, her reaction was as if she were under the control of a mysterious spell, falling into a state of blissful oblivion. If I were to bring her her real name, she might have reacted even more violently. But when she heard the name "Zhu Shi," her reaction was quite indifferent.
I guess it's because "Zhu Shi" isn't a name she truly identifies with. I still have to bring out my trump card.
“Then… what about ‘Zhu Jiuxing’?” I stared into her eyes. “Your real name is not ‘Zhu Shi’. That is merely a title given to you as the tenth generation descendant of the Zhu family.”
"I wish you good fortune—this is your true name."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan was struck dumb, frozen in place.
"I am... Zhu Jiuxing?" she said absentmindedly.
Then, she fell into a long silence.
It seems I finally got the right "password" for her this time; her reaction is just like when she regained the name "Little Bowl." I can finally relax; I feel like I've solved another long-standing problem.
However, I then had to face new mysteries. Why did Zhu Shi turn into Xiao Wan in the apocalypse? And was Xiao Wan Zhu Shi's true form or a dream incarnation of Zhu Shi? If it was the latter, should she be allowed to return to Zhu Shi's true form? One question after another arose in my mind, and I couldn't find a solution for the time being.
Just then, Xiao Wan suddenly broke the silence.
Her words were like a boulder thrown into a pool, causing the mud and sand to rise and churn, turning what was once a pool where the bottom could be seen clearly into a complex and intricate mess.
“I… am not Zhu Jiuxing,” Xiaowan said.
"...What?" I was a beat slow to understand.
“The name Zhu Jiuxing feels very familiar to me, even more familiar than the name Zhu Shi…” Xiao Wan said in a complicated tone, “But… I am not Zhu Jiuxing.”
(End of this chapter)
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