Chapter 525 The Merging of Small Bowls
Listening to the other person's light footsteps, and guessing if it was Xiaowan, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.
It seems that most encounters with Xiaowan follow a similar pattern. Waiting for her at a specific location, guessing whether it's the little girl I'm waiting for by listening to her footsteps. Only this time, the location I'm waiting for is no longer in a virtual world, but in the real world.
A short figure, dressed in a tattered black cloak with the hood obscuring their face, slowly approached me from a distance. Their movements were extremely cautious, seemingly trying to use the darkness and withered trees to conceal themselves and spy on me. Unfortunately for them, the newcomer's stealth skills were worlds apart from the mysterious woman's. With my keen eyesight and hearing, the newcomer's figure and movements were crystal clear to me.
"Is it a small bowl?" I asked directly.
Upon hearing my voice, the other person quickly hid behind a dead tree in the distance, as if trying to play the ostrich and pretend not to know anything. Then, seemingly belatedly realizing what was happening, they uttered a childish and hesitant voice.
“Is it…is it Mr. Number Three?” she asked.
Because I couldn't distinguish each other's faces in the virtual realm, my memories of Xiaowan were mostly based on her voice. So it was easy for me to recognize her now. And Xiaowan was probably similar to me, able to identify me by my voice.
However, the more important reason is probably the text notes left by the wandering spirits on the map. It briefly mentions that my village's achievements await here.
"It's me."
To increase my side's credibility, I summoned a fireball. The dazzling light illuminated the figure of Xiaowan in the distance. She was clearly startled by the appearance of the fireball, and it seemed like she wanted to turn around and run away.
It then dawned on me that I had heard my magical energy fluctuations were almost identical to those of the Great Demon of Calamity, while Xiao Wan was being chased by the Great Demon of Calamity. Rashly displaying my magical energy fluctuations would naturally cause a reaction on the other side.
Fortunately, Xiaowan had also come into contact with my magical energy fluctuations when the Void Realm was destroyed. She immediately calmed down, moved towards me, and took off her hood.
Her appearance was also revealed to me.
It looks exactly like the picture I saw in the photos I read in Ma Zao, and it also looks exactly like the young Zhu Shi—Zhu Jiuxing—that I saw in my dream in Chang'an.
Neat, clean, jet-black medium-length hair, fair and delicate skin, and an endearing appearance... Xiao Wan in real life is practically another Zhu Jiuxing.
Is Xiao Wan's true identity really not the embodiment of Zhu Shi's dream? This doubt arose in my mind again.
I stood up from the stone that served as my stool, then walked over to the little bowl and said, "Long time no see, little bowl... or should I say it's our first meeting?"
"Long time no see, Mr. Number Three..."
Xiao Wan first seemed to subconsciously recite a sentence, then looked at my face with an incredulous gaze and said, "Mr. Number Three, have you really traveled to this era? Am I dreaming?"
“That’s reality,” I said.
"Then, what about Sister Mazao? There should be a strong bond between you two... Could it be that she also traveled to this era with you?" Xiaowan asked.
"It's a pity she's not with me." I looked elsewhere. "Didn't the ghost's letter say so?"
Xiao Wan followed my gaze and looked over. The wandering spirit's body lay flat not far away. Upon seeing the body, Xiao Wan was stunned for a moment, then fell silent and walked to the side of the body.
She sighed softly, then clasped her hands together as if earnestly praying for the other person's soul.
“He asked me to tell you—'Thank you for granting my wish,'” I said.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan's expression turned complicated as she read aloud, "Thank me...?"
“Now that you’ve joined me, even if the Great Demon of Calamity attacks later, I can help you hold it off. But how do you know that as long as the wandering soul regains its memories, it can help you escape the crisis?” I asked curiously.
"I only had this intuition vaguely." Xiao Wan looked at the ghost's body. "'If we do this, things might turn out for the better'—that was about the extent of my premonition. I never expected that Mr. Number Three would travel through time to join me."
"I don't know if this approach is right or wrong. To put it simply, I sacrificed Mr. Youhun's life by taking the Three Lives Stone Powder in exchange for my own safety. As for this, I don't feel much shame or guilt. On the contrary, I feel relieved and joyful that I was able to reunite with you, Mr. Number Three, and that I have been given the opportunity to continue living."
"Mr. Number Three, will you hate me because of this?"
Her words sounded sentimental, and while there might have been some genuine feelings involved, there was also a possibility that she was trying to gauge my emotions.
Kobo and Asahi have many diametrically opposed traits. It's not simply that Asahi is slow and clumsy in many ways, while Kobo is incredibly clever. Asahi appears to be a vigilant and calm survivor of the apocalypse, but she actually has many overly naive and kind aspects. This may be because she possesses considerable strength and spends most of her time living a life far removed from human habitation, without being exposed to the treacherous atmosphere of the world.
Xiao Wan, on the other hand, appears innocent and kind, but actually possesses a vigilant and calm mind. This may be because she is weak and easily hurt, and could die at any moment. She knows how to find a protective shield for herself in unfamiliar environments, is adept at understanding the thoughts of those around her, knows how to present herself, and can see through the superficiality of others' words and actions.
Compared to Mazao, this girl who looks only ten years old is probably more like a cold-blooded post-apocalyptic survivor.
After all, I'm someone who traveled from the modern world to this era. She probably thinks I might have different values from hers, and that might lead her to have some opinions about her behavior. Although we've had many in-depth conversations in the past, and she knows quite a bit about me, those were just verbal exchanges conducted in the detached and monotonous environment of the virtual world. Now, we're finally beginning to truly understand each other.
"The wandering spirit sought release, and you pointed him in the right direction. He offered help to repay that kindness—it's that simple, no need to make a big deal out of it," I said. "I'm now planning to bury the spirit's remains. Are there any special customs regarding this in the apocalyptic era?"
"If you're going to bury someone, then cremation is the best option," Xiao Wan offered her opinion. "Not to mention that burial might lead to strange phenomena like the corpse coming back to life, the body will also be eaten by maggots after a while."
"In the apocalypse, there are no normal natural animals. Maggots growing from corpses are a common and bizarre phenomenon. They are not real maggots, but rather a symbol of death and decay. Therefore, survivors who indiscriminately eat those maggots will also be infected with the curse, which can cause weakness or even death."
"I don't think Mr. Wandering Soul would want to be devoured by that thing after he dies."
Since she said so, I summoned flames and cremated the wandering soul's remains in one go, burning them to ashes. Then I put the ashes in a wooden box.
This wooden box is something I made on the spot from nearby driftwood; I'll use it as an urn. Under these circumstances, I can't ask for more. I originally planned to bury it on the spot, but after thinking about it, I decided to keep it for now. Maybe I can find another beautiful place to bury it later, which would be a way of repaying the wandering spirit's help.
Perhaps I'll even manage to return to the modern world someday. Since the wandering spirit's true wish is to go home, burying it in the modern world is probably the most appropriate course of action.
After the simple processing was completed, Xiaowan and I moved on to the next topic.
"Mr. Number Three... how exactly did you come to this era?" Little Bowl asked.
“Before I explain this… will you still call me ‘Mr. Number Three’?” I said. “This isn’t a virtual realm; there’s no need to conceal our identities here.”
Moreover, I estimate that all the Void Realm Apostles already know my real name.
It's not that I have a problem with the title "Mr. Number Three"; rather, I quite like this kind of numbered designation used by mysterious organizations. However, without considering the context, it just feels a bit off. I might encounter other people in the future, and using this title then could attract some strange looks.
“Just like I call you Little Bowl, you can just call me by my name,” I said.
Xiao Wan blinked, then tentatively asked, "So... Brother Zhuang Cheng?"
Feeling a little embarrassed by her sweet, childlike voice, I said, "Just call me Zhuang Cheng."
“But I call Ma Zao-jie ‘sister,’ so of course I should call Zhuang Cheng-gege ‘brother,’” Xiao Wan said.
It seems to make sense, and when I think about how it's a name that goes with Ma Zao, I feel that it's not bad at all.
"Okay, then that's settled." I nodded in agreement.
Xiao Wan smiled slightly and then said, "Then, Brother Zhuang Cheng, about the topic from earlier..."
"Well, here's what happened..." I explained in detail the whole story of how I entered the apocalyptic era.
After listening, Xiao Wan seemed to slowly process her emotions about my arrival in the apocalyptic era, and then she showed a serious expression.
"To banish you to the Yellow Springs in the void at the cost of my own life, and the 'firefly' that appeared in the void..." she said thoughtfully, "Leaving aside what the former is all about, the latter sounds even more mysterious... Could it be that the true form of this 'firefly' is the Great Demon of Calamity?"
“I think that’s impossible,” I said. “This ‘firefly’ remains motionless, while the Great Demon of Calamity has been hunting you down all along, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, according to my intuition, the Great Demon of Calamity is also constantly searching for where I might be right now,” Xiaowan said calmly. “However, even if the true form of this ‘firefly’ is not the Great Demon of Calamity, it should still be an existence that has some connection with the apocalypse.”
Also out of a desire to help me organize my thoughts, I intentionally asked, "How do you know?"
"Because you came to the apocalypse by chasing this 'firefly,'" Xiaowan said. "Since the connection between you and this 'firefly' did not deepen after you officially arrived in the apocalypse, it means that the coordinates of this 'firefly' are likely not within the spacetime of the apocalypse."
"That being said, if you are simply in nothingness, then it is very likely that it will not be able to guide you to the end times."
"So here's what I'm thinking: could this 'firefly' be located at the boundary between the apocalypse and nothingness?"
"The border area?" I hadn't considered that direction. "But even if your hypothesis is valid, how would we verify it?"
“It’s very simple, Brother Zhuang Cheng,” Xiao Wan said. “Next, I will strengthen the connection between you and this ‘firefly,’ and you will try to see if you can directly observe the specific scene in which it is.”
(End of this chapter)
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