Chapter 222 [Birth] and Riko's past

Tenuchi Riko smiled for only a moment, then returned to the original topic and asked, "How did you get here?"

Gojo Satoru was in no rush to answer. He was the one who paved the way and guided the way, and after the connection was established, he planned to let Jiang Lai handle the rest of the matter on his own - after all, this was a place related to Jiang Lai's family in the conceptual sense, so it was Jiang Lai who should make the decision.

Therefore, the one who answered this question was Jiang Lai.

His brown eyes lifted, and he explained gently, "It's because of me. I can... have some kind of connection with my family, through dreams."

The point of these words was not clear, and Tenuchi Riko did not understand it immediately. She frowned slightly, and seemed to be thinking about the meaning of Jiang Lai's words.

However, the green bird on her shoulder had already moved.

The bird with beautiful and smooth feathers flapped its wings, chirped clearly, and flew to the side of the black-haired young man in a whirl, looking very intimate and fearless.

Jiang Lai subconsciously raised his hand, and the green bird gently landed on his fingers. The bird folded its wings and rubbed him lightly with its fluffy wings.

Such a gentle movement melted Jiang Lai's heart. His brown eyes were shining and his expression was extremely gentle.

Across from her, Tenuchi Riko was startled for a moment, then reacted after a while. Her straight back relaxed a little, and a hint of surprise and understanding appeared between her brows. Finally, she nodded and said, "You are... His brother?"

The [Him] in the words is not stated directly, but both know who they are talking about.

Jiang Lai nodded and responded, "I am - so I want to find Him." He stroked the small kingfisher with his other hand and continued, "Is this a derivative of Him? I feel a familiar breath."

It seems that Tenuchi Riko trusts the Azure Kingfisher very much. Because of the Kingfisher's intimate actions, her last trace of wariness and alienation towards Jiang Lai also disappeared. So she said, "I'm not sure what you mean by derivative. But this Kingfisher was indeed born from Him."

At this point, Amanouchi Riko's expression dimmed visibly.

Seeing this, Jiang Lai's heart suddenly came up, and he couldn't help but stop stroking the kingfisher.

"Are you here to find Him?" Tenuchi Riko lowered her head and spoke softly, "I can take you there. But He is still asleep and may not be able to recognize you."

"…What happened?"

Tenuchi Riko sighed, recalled the past, and narrated slowly. From her mouth, Jiang Lai gradually understood the story of those years.

After the astral plasma incident, Tenuchi Riko was secretly taken away by the core members of the Supervisory Committee.

At that time, she was unconscious due to the anesthetic injection. When she woke up, the world had changed completely.

At first, the people on the board treated her very kindly, especially the long-haired woman with stitches on her head. As a junior high school girl, she didn't have many thoughts, and Tenuchi Riko really thought they were there to save her and take care of her.

However, even though she has enough food and clothing and lives a safe and stable life, Tenuchi Riko still misses her friends and her family, Kuroi Misato. She wants to go back to school and see Kuroi again, who said goodbye to her in tears.

Riko Tenuchi wanted to hug Misato Kuroi again and tell her that she was fine and asked her not to cry.

It was during this period that Riko gradually realized that she was under house arrest. She could not leave the area and was not allowed to contact anyone else.

Riko Tenuchi no longer fully trusts the people on the Supervisory Board, and her doubts grow.

By the time she discovered the truth, the regulatory agency was ready to make Riko Amauchi the vessel for her [birth].

The girl, who was originally just an ordinary person, suddenly had a power that she didn't have before. She didn't know what was living in her body.

The people around her took advantage of her power with ill intentions. She witnessed with her own eyes the innocent people being sucked dry and turned into "feed", and also witnessed the "rebirth after death" of people breaking out of the shells in the huge cocoon.

The girl was terrified. It’s not that she didn’t think about running away or resisting, but her strength was too weak and she couldn’t get out of the underground at all. In addition, the regulatory agency brought up the name of "Kuroi Misato".

The safety of Kuroi Misato forced Tenuchi Riko to bow her head.

The woman with stitches on her forehead smiled and communicated with Amauchi Riko in a warm manner, saying that as long as Riko obeyed her orders, she would ensure that Kuroi Misato would be alive.

Unable to leave, Tenuchi Riko could only agree first. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, but she could only run around in circles in vain.

During this lonely and helpless time, a figure with a princess cut hairstyle appeared in her dream.

The man had long flowing hair and was wearing a gorgeous twelve-piece kimono. His beautiful peach blossom eyes seemed to be shimmering with light. He was standing in a dream, in a cluster of countless blooming irises.

It was the first time that Tenuchi Riko saw such a scene in her dream. She was shocked and terrified at the same time. She even wondered if she was going to die. Was the person in front of her the messenger who would lead her to the Sanzu River?

However, the person in front of her did not embarrass her, nor did she make any moves to guide her. The beauty with the princess-cut hairstyle just stood there with a gentle look on her face.

"I am rarely awake. Hello, nice to meet you."

So Tenuchi Riko couldn't help but relax, and even mustered up the courage to ask: "...Are you the cursed spirit placed in my body?"

"I'm not a cursed spirit." The beautiful lady in Twelve Singles spoke in a clear voice, with a hint of androgynousness, "You don't have to be afraid."

After a few seconds, He looked at Tenuchi Riko and sighed again: "She's still just a child."

Riko Amauchi, who had been alone and worried in the regulatory committee, had not heard such gentle words for a long time. Her nose was sore and she wanted to pour out all the fear and grievances in her heart these days, but in the end she held back and did not say anything to the stranger she met for the first time.

But the tears still flowed out uncontrollably and slid down the contours of my cheeks.

Tenuchi Riko stared at her own toes, letting her tears cloud everything in front of her.

It was not until a faint shadow appeared in front of her that Tenuchi Riko noticed that the man had walked up to her.

She raised her head, and her eyes, still filled with tears, could only see large patches of blurry colors.

White, slender fingers brushed the corners of her eyes, wiping away the tears. The beauty with a princess-cut hairstyle gently held the thin girl in her arms.

In the warm embrace that exuded a faint floral scent, Tenuchi Riko could no longer hold back. She raised her arms and hugged the person in front of her without caring about her image and identity, and burst into tears, as if she wanted to pour out all the suffering she had experienced in the past few days.

The beauty in front of him just kept hugging her quietly until Tenuchi Riko had finished crying and calmed down, then she let go.

At this time, Tenuchi Riko regained her senses, her face flushed, and she felt a little embarrassed. She came out of the arms of the twelve-piece beauty, calmed down, and asked curiously: "You are not a cursed spirit, then what are you? Have you always been in my body? Are those powers of mine actually your powers?"

The beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes in front of her answered patiently, but even though she said the words, Tenuchi Riko didn't understand them.

However, Tenuchi Riko also knew the name of the person in front of her.

"[Birth]...?" The name sounded a bit strange, and Tenuchi Riko chewed it in her mouth.

The beautiful lady in front of him smiled again, her smile was like a spring breeze: "Or, you can also call me [鳶]." He said, "This is the name I gave myself to imitate my brother when I walk in the world."

"Brother?" Tenuchi Riko blinked, "Do you have a younger brother?"

“Yes.” When mentioning his brother, [Incarnation]’s expression became somewhat complicated. His eyes were filled with regret and nostalgia. His thin lips moved for a moment, and after thousands of words, he finally said only one sentence, “—He is fine.”

In response, Tenuchi Riko said sincerely, "You are also very good. If you are so good, your brother must be very good too."

The Ji-haired beauty twitched her lips and said, "My brothers are not all good, but he is very good."

"I used to have no contact with humans. Later, due to his influence... He liked humans, so I tried to contact them, and then I really discovered another world in the human world."

"I see." Tenuchi Riko nodded. The lively girl continued, "What about your brother?"

"..." [Incarnation]'s expression darkened, and his voice became lighter. "Something happened a long time ago, and he fell into a long sleep. I know he is there, but I can't see him."

"Now, I'm afraid I won't see him anymore. I wonder if he has woken up yet? I hope he's not alone. He's afraid of loneliness."

Behind these simple words lies a heavy emotion.

"…I'm sorry." Tenuchi Riko replied stiffly, feeling very guilty for bringing up such a topic.

However, when she mentioned her family, she couldn't help but think of Kuroi Misato again, remembered Kuroi's glance and smile, and remembered Kuroi's gentle hands running through her hair and braiding her beautiful braid.

Tenuchi Riko's expression also became depressed. Her throat was a little shaky and her voice was trembling: "I also said goodbye to my family. I miss her very much."

Tenuchi Riko lost her parents when she was young, and Kuroi was her guardian, taking care of her until she grew up. Tenuchi Riko has always regarded Kuroi as her elder sister and mother.

She had never been apart from Kuroi Misato for such a long time. Now that she thought about it, if she really fulfilled the mission of the astral plasma body and merged with Lord Tianyuan, what would Kuroi do?

She is also afraid of loneliness.

The two people who were unable to meet their important people stood silently in the iris bushes of this dreamland, like two lost people trapped in layers of barriers.

"We'll see each other again." In the end, it was [Birth] that broke the silence. His beautiful and delicate eyes were filled with unspeakable emotions, and his words were as light as a bird's feather, but they carried a certain belief.

"The sun and the moon rise in the east and set in the west, and the long river flows into the sea. Since everything in the world has its own destination, we will also meet again as scheduled."