Chapter 224 Goodbye [Birth] & Together We Descend

The story of the past was slowly told by the braided woman. In front of them, Jiang Lai and Gojo Satoru were both silent until Tenuchi Riko stopped talking.

Jiang Lai had thousands of thoughts running through his mind, complex emotions swirling in his heart, and sobs choking his throat. But in the end, he only asked softly, "Is He okay now? How about you?"

The black-haired young man had eyes and eyebrows like stars, and the first words he uttered were to express his concern for them.

The image of the young man with the radiant warmth of dawn in Riko Amauchi's memory gradually took on a clearer look and overlapped with the person in front of her.

This is Iris’s younger brother.

Tenuchi Riko lowered her eyelids and replied, "After that incident, He never woke up again."

"He is still here, deep in the spiritual world, but...he is still sleeping."

"As for me, because He gave me the power, I have the ability to control this power. They can't control me as a puppet, nor can they use this power alone. Although I am still controlled by others, I have more or less some autonomy."

Jiang Lai still felt mixed emotions, but his tense heartstrings were more or less relaxed.

After all, in a sense, this is good news.

[Birth] did not dissipate, but fell into a long sleep like Jiang Lai once did. And Riko, with the power to rely on, firmly became a stubborn horned sheep surrounded by wolves.

——At least, there is still hope.

Jiang Lai thought about his family in the conceptual sense.

The head of the family [Source] and the eldest sister (eldest brother) [Birth] have both fallen into a deep sleep, and the state of good and evil [Death] coexisting in one is complicated. In this situation, it seems that I have to support this family by myself.

Jiang Lai felt a heavy sense of responsibility on his shoulders, and his expression became calm.

It was also at this time that he felt an extra hand on his shoulder.

Gojo Satoru stood beside him, put his hand on his shoulder, blinked his clear blue eyes, and said with a slight raise in his voice, "You look very heavy, Lai... Can you share half of the burden with me?"

He spoke in a brisk tone, a smile on his delicate face: "We'll stick together through thick and thin, huh? You told me that before."

Jiang Lai paused for a moment, then relaxed a little. He let out the anger that had been accumulating in his chest, smiled back, and replied, "Yeah, I know."

Without many words, they understood each other.

Then, Jiang Lai turned around and looked at Tenuchi Riko, and asked slowly, "Can I see Him?"

"Even if you didn't mention it, I would still want to take you to see Him." Amauchi Riko nodded. She knew that the person in front of her was [Sheng]'s most cherished younger brother.

"In order to save energy, this spiritual world has no physical structure and is mostly nothingness." Tenuchi Riko explained slowly, "So please follow closely to avoid getting lost."

The green bird resting on Jiang Lai's finger spread its wings, soared lightly into the sky, and flew in the darkness. Its beautiful tail feathers drew an arc in the air, like a blade cutting through the darkness.

Tenuchi Riko signaled to Jiang Lai and Gojo Satoru to follow her.

The group followed the flying green emerald bird in front of them, passing through the endless darkness. Different colors appeared faintly in front of them, and when they got closer, they could see that they were clusters of irises.

In this small garden-like iris flower cluster, a beautiful lady with a kimono-like hairstyle lies quietly. Her long, smooth hair falls naturally like seaweed, and her fair skin seems to be glowing.

Both Tenuchi Riko and Gojo Satoru tacitly stopped at a distance, leaving the private space in front for Jiang Lai.

Seeing the familiar face again, Jiang Lai's steps slowed down involuntarily, as if they were filled with lead.

He walked forward slowly but steadily, carefully avoiding the irises under his feet, and stopped silently in the open space in front of [Birth].

Jiang Lai's warm brown eyes reflected the image of the beautiful lady with the Ji-fa hairstyle, and the green kingfisher gently landed on his shoulder. This time, the kingfisher did not sing.

The scene was extremely quiet. Jiang Lai bent down and knelt, looking closely at his elder sister (eldest brother) who was in deep sleep.

He couldn't help but wonder: When I disappeared into the woods, did I feel the same way when I was born?

I know that the people who care about me are still here, but we can no longer smile at each other or talk to each other.

He exhaled and gently held the hand of [Birth]. That hand was as warm as jade, just like before, but it would not respond to him like it did a thousand years ago.

"..." Jiang Lai quietly accompanied his sleeping elder sister (eldest brother) for a while, then stood up and calmed himself down.

He knew that he couldn't get stuck in the turmoil of emotions. He still had to walk the road ahead step by step.

——Only by completing the journey ahead can you bring new hope.

"Let's go." Jiang Lai said, "Let Him rest here, and we will clear the thorns."

He spoke steadily and his eyes were extremely bright, as if they were holding thousands of stars.

——

They left the iris bush deep in the spiritual world.

Jiang Lai remembered to tell Tenuchi Riko about Kuroi Misato, but when the words came to his mouth, he couldn't say them no matter what.

Tenuchi Riko noticed that Jiang Lai was hesitant to speak. She was a smart woman, so she took the initiative to say, "Just say whatever you want to say."

"..." Jiang Lai sighed lightly, and finally, he whispered to Riko what happened to Kuroi Misato in Qishan not long ago.

The words slipped out of his lips, but Jiang Lai couldn't bear to see Tenuchi Riko's expression. So he tried his best to use less provocative language to explain the matter briefly.

After he finished speaking, there was silence in the air for a long time.

Jiang Lai paused for a moment, and finally raised his face - in front of him, Tenuchi Riko's eyes were red, she didn't make a sound, but just silently shed tears.

This is what great sorrow is like. All of my strength seems to be concentrated in my tears, and I can't say a word.

After a while, she wiped her eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you for telling me... Actually, I was mentally prepared."

Were you mentally prepared? Jiang Lai was a little surprised.

Tenuchi Riko continued, "I'm inside the regulatory agency and I know how they act. Kuroi... Kuroi is a worthless person in their eyes."

"I know they won't let Kuroi go, even if I obey them."

"But, all these years, I still held on to my lucky mentality, thinking that maybe no news was the best news. It's ridiculous, isn't it?" Tenuchi Riko forced a smile, tears still on her face, her eyes filled with crystals, "This is just deceiving myself."

Jiang Lai didn't say anything. He knew that what Tenuchi Riko needed was not words of comfort, so he chose to listen quietly.

"My biggest regret is that I didn't say goodbye properly back then... I was afraid of the parting scene and worried that I would regret it. So I just hugged her quickly and ran away."

Riko Amauchi's gaze was distracted, and she looked at her feet in a trance.

"If I knew that was the last time I would see her, I would...I would definitely hug her tightly and tell her that meeting her was the luckiest thing in my life."

"If there is an afterlife, I will be the adult and she will be the child. This time, let me take care of her."

"And in this life, I will avenge her... Even if what I can do is just a small thing, I will do it."

Riko Amauchi spoke word by word, her voice was hoarse and trembling, but her eyes and eyebrows still showed the stubbornness of not giving up.

Jiang Lai paused and said, "Maybe it's not hopeless." He said with a gentle look, "The ability to [reincarnate] is related to the soul. You can use this ability now, right? Maybe - maybe, if Heijing hasn't been thrown into the torrent of reincarnation, you can still find her."

“……!?” Tenuchi Riko’s eyes widened, a look of surprise visibly showing on her face.

She nodded, then shook her head and said, "I am under the supervision of the Supervisory Committee and cannot use my abilities at will."

"Why don't we just overthrow the regulatory agency first and then look for the right person?" At this point, Gojo Satoru finally spoke, his tone raised with a sharp edge, "Those guys have been occupying this land for long enough, it's time to uproot them."

"You guys...?" Tenuchi Riko didn't quite react.

Jiang Lai thought for a moment and said, "We have almost finished laying the groundwork here. Although it is not the time for a real decisive battle yet, we have done everything we need to do. We just need to perfect some details."

"..." Tenuchi Riko hesitated for a second, "Do you want to fight those guys head-on? Actually, you don't have to..."

"Why not? Not only you have a grudge against them, but I, Lai, and many others also have a grudge against them." Gojo Satoru pointed his finger and said, "So, overthrowing the regulatory committee is what everyone wants."

"We are all reunited now, and we have made all the necessary preparations. If we have to collide, it makes no sense that we would not win, right?"

The handsome white-haired man exuded confidence. He raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I am the strongest, and I am not the strongest alone - I am truly invincible~"

Tenuchi Riko was stunned for a moment, her eyes swept over Gojo Satoru and Jiang Lai, and her expression gradually became firm.

"Well," she said, "if you are determined to overthrow it directly, I will also lend you a hand - I will tell you everything I know, and I will do my best to assist you in the decisive battle."

"You should put your own safety first." Jiang Lai advised, "After all, you are in the Supervisory Commission."

The green bird chirped softly, spread its wings, and circled beside Amanouchi Riko, then landed on the shoulder of the woman with the braided hair.

Riko Amauchi's eyebrows slightly curved: "Don't worry about me - you see, I'm not alone." She raised her other hand and stroked the kingfisher on her shoulder.

Times have changed, but she has once again regained the fearless courage of the junior high school girl she was back then.

Jiang Lai smiled. He stood beside him, holding a book in his hand, and said earnestly, "If we work together, we will definitely win."