Chapter 78 [Existence] with Sukuna and Brothers

Snowflakes were flying as Jiang Lai walked alone on the unexplored land in the forest. His footsteps left shallow footprints in the snow, which were soon filled and flattened by the falling snow. Everything was incomparably quiet.

He followed the guidance of the strange power, pushed aside some tangled dry vines, passed through a damp cave, and arrived at a half-frozen lake.

There is an ancient tree by the lake, and leaning against the tree is a figure wearing a beautiful lotus pink kimono.

Long straight black hair falls down like a waterfall, with neat bangs on the forehead and the hair hanging down on both sides of the ears neatly left to the chin - this is a typical princess hairstyle. It was the most popular hairstyle among female nobles in Japan during the Heian period.

The figure was holding a fishing rod in his hand and fishing on the half-frozen lake.

Sensing someone approaching, the man looked at Jiang Lai from a distance and smiled, "Come here."

Jiang Lai stared at the figure in front of him - the other person's hairstyle and clothes were both feminine, but his voice sounded a bit like the gentle and youthful voice that was as smooth as jade. The overall gender revealed was very vague and it was hard to tell whether it was androgynous.

However, it stands to reason that this setting [exists] without gender. What is revealed is just the gender wandering in the world.

"If [Source] hadn't mentioned it, I really wouldn't have known that there were other [existences] passing by here." The figure's double-lidded peach blossom eyes curved, "I am [Descendant], hello."

Jiang Lai caught two nouns in the other person's words, one was "origin" and the other was "birth". But there was only one figure in front of him?

At the moment when doubts arose in his mind, the pink figure in front of him happened to continue speaking.

"It was [Yuan] who was greeting you just now," He turned to the ancient tree behind him and gestured, "This is [Yuan]."

Jiang Lai's eyes moved to the old tree. The spots on the brown bark looked like an old man's wrinkled face, and every tiny mark was a work of nature.

It looks just like millions of other trees, nothing special, but when you stare at it you can feel a kind of silent and steady power.

An old voice came into my mind, whose language I couldn't tell exactly but I could understand: "Hello, [Time and Space]. 」

[Time and space]? Jiang Lai was slightly stunned.

He was just hesitating about how to introduce himself. After all, there seemed to be no standard clock with a minute hand and an hour hand in this era. However, the ancient tree named [Source] called itself [Time and Space].

But on second thought, this name does seem to be more accurate, Jiang Lai thought.

His own technique is [All Things Crossing], which can manipulate time and space at the same time. The combination of these two concepts is [Time and Space].

The original name "Clock" is more like a nickname for the strange clock in my heart.

In other words, it is a sub-category concept of the term "time and space" after the infinite power that he had thousands of years ago disappeared and faded away.

Jiang Lai smiled faintly as his thoughts turned to his mind, and replied politely, "Hello."

Although it was their first meeting, Jiang Lai felt a sense of intimacy. This was a very natural emotion that spread from the bottom of his heart.

“Come over to me and fish with me.” [Birth] waved his hand, and the line under the fishing rod shone with a light golden light.

The lake that had not completely frozen was rippling with water. Jiang Lai looked down and saw many small red fish swimming in the clean and clear lake. They were circling around the empty fishing hook.

Jiang Lai paused: "This is..."

"Is it part of my ability? It makes the work more interesting." [Rebirth] held the fishing rod with her delicate hands and said, "I am [Rebirth]. I can make the old souls that have passed away or the new souls that have just been born be born into the world."

The dead old soul is reborn again... When Jiang Lai heard this concept, his thoughts wandered for a second.

He inevitably recalled the information about the Supervisory Committee in the present world, the immortality of those with totems on their foreheads, and the new life after "pregnancy" mentioned by the woman in the long skirt.

——But the figure in front of him didn’t look like the character from the Future Supervisory Commission. At least not a thousand years ago.

"Since I don't know how to choose, I might as well erase the soul's memory first, and then attach it to a small fish. Whoever I catch will be reborn." It was a gentle and casual tone.

"..." Jiang Lai's eyes fell on the fish in the half-frozen lake. "If that's the case, wouldn't it take a long time for a living being to be born?"

"Yes, but this does not affect the natural operation of the world, and newborns are still born as usual." [Birth] said, "Our [existence] is just to make some fine-tuning and regular adjustments outside the natural laws of the world with an objective attitude - come and sit next to me."

Jiang Lai nodded, but he did not sit down to watch the other party fishing. He was still holding the guide stick that Yu Hagi left for him in his hand. He was going to look for Yu Hagi later, to check on the missing case, and the two Sukuna. He was planning in his mind.

Jiang Lai said, "I'm sorry, but I have something else to do."

"Are you going to control [Death]?" The Jifa-style figure in front of him looked forward and spoke.

"?" Jiang Lai didn't react for a while, "What?"

"Huh? It's not him." [Birth] half turned his head, a little surprised, "I thought you recognized [Death], so you wanted to care about him."

Hearing this, Jiang Lai was silent for a moment, and the previous scene flashed through his mind. He hesitated and said, "... [Death] refers to Ryomen Sukuna?"

[Living] nodded: "According to what people call him, that's right."

Ryomen Sukuna actually [exists]? !

But unlike the figure and the ancient tree in front of me, I couldn't feel anything when facing him! And he himself didn't seem to know anything either.

Jiang Lai hesitated for half a second and continued, "Discipline?"

This word sounds interesting and doesn't seem like something that would be used among peers.

"Well... after all, conceptually speaking, using the relationships in the human world to explain, you can be considered his elder brother." [Birth] smiled, his rosy eyes slightly raised, and he delivered the important news.

Jiang Lai: ???

Jiang Lai's spirit seemed to be struck by lightning for a moment! The world-famous painting "The Scream" emerged in his mind, and he was shocked by this brotherhood that came out of nowhere.

Then he reflected on the word in the other person's words - "in a conceptual sense". In other words, they were not brothers with a traditional blood relationship.

The figure in the lotus pink kimono stood straight as he explained in a gentle voice.

"There are only a few of us [in existence] in the world right now. [Source] is the source of everything that has been around for the longest time. Then there is [birth]. After life is born, it will experience a longer or shorter [time and space], and finally [death] will come."

"So, in terms of this conceptual sense, [Source] is our head of the family, I am your eldest brother - or eldest sister, you are next, and [Death] is our youngest brother."

The first wild idea that popped into Jiang Lai's mind was: Ryomen Sukuna, this hell B, is really a younger brother (bushi)!

Then, with more serious thoughts overshadowing those teasing thoughts, Jiang Lai spoke:

"However, Sukuna doesn't seem to know his own identity, and he doesn't seem to be... a normal and objective existence."

He used a relatively euphemistic term to describe Ryomen Sukuna's murderous behavior.

"Yeah." [Death] nodded and replied, "So my suggestion is - just ignore him."

“Don’t meddle with [death]. [Death] is already a mess, and if you try to restrict or correct it, you’ll only get yourself into it.”

The lotus-pink figure changed his hand and placed it on the fishing rod, saying in a condescending tone.

"Although he is no longer a real [existence], he still has the identity of [death]."

"If you change the judgment made by [death], you will inevitably bear the sin of violating the rules. This sin comes from [existence] and is more profound than subjectively changing the life and death of ordinary people."

He spoke slowly, advising: "So there is no need to care about him - and even if you start to discipline him now, it will only delay the disappearance of his divinity. He has already killed too many lives objectively."

The winter wind blowing from the lakeside lifted the corners of Jiang Lai's sleeves. He said, "...I didn't do it because of him. I did it for those who died in vain."

[The Incarnation] was even more surprised when he heard this. He even stopped looking at his fishing rod to see if there was any fish on it: "For mankind?"

He looked puzzled: "Humans are so weak, they will die eventually, why should we lend a hand to save them? Besides, there are too many of them, it is impossible to save them all."

"I know." Jiang Lai smiled gently, "I have never positioned myself as someone who can save everything."

"Then why bother trying to save him?" [Rensheng] stared at him. "It's meaningless and no one cares."

"It's meaningful, and people care about it. Those who shouldn't have died can continue to live, and the people around them won't lose their loved ones and close friends."

Jiang Lai's brown eyes were calm, his gaze fell on the rippling lake, "That person cares, the people around that person care, and countless people who may get to know him in the future care."

The conversation between the two at this moment was somewhat like a story he had read a long time ago. Jiang Lai couldn't help but recall the past. An article titled "This Little Fish Cares".

Jiang Lai has never thought of himself as superior to others or a bystander of the plot.

Even though his identity in this world has been set to become a god-like [existence], he has always felt that he is a part of the vast human race.

He usually doesn't think too much when saving people. He just simply thinks that he has many umbrellas in his hands, so he might as well give one to those who are unfortunately drenched by the heavy rain.

There is no point in keeping so many umbrellas in my hand. After all, they can be shared and used to protect people from the wind and rain, which can better realize their value. Jiang Lai thought so. It would be enough for me to keep only one umbrella.

The snow was still falling from the sky. The old tree [Source], which had not spoken since the greeting, now spoke again from afar. The ancient and gentle voice echoed softly in my mind:

"I can feel your feelings. You are a good kid with great potential."

Latent? What potential? Jiang Lai blinked. He did not understand what this ordinary yet magical ancient tree said.

It seems that the ancient tree [Source] can select individuals and transmit words that cannot be expressed in words but can be understood - a bit like the way the special-grade cursed spirit Flower Guard speaks.

This time the words seemed to be spoken only to him, because the pink figure in front of him did not seem to hear the ancient tree's source speak.

Therefore, Jiang Lai did not ask further about the meaning of "potential" in Gu Shu's words. In fact, he did not care much about these aspects.

It's good to be an ordinary person. Jiang Lai typed the emoji of a dancing puppy in his heart.

At this point in the conversation, some of the previous mysteries have been solved. Jiang Lai knows that he has stayed here for too long and it is time to leave.

He said, "My friends are still waiting for me. I will go to find them first."

[Birth] still seemed to not understand him, but when he heard Jiang Lai's words, he nodded.

"Then go ahead." His peach blossom eyes curved slightly, and he said affectionately, "If you need anything, you can come back to us - you can sense the way."

"Okay." Jiang Lai agreed. He smiled and said goodbye to his parents and elder brother (elder sister) in the conceptual sense, "Goodbye."

——

the other side.

The bright moon hung high in the starless night, and beneath it was the empty ground.

Ryomen Sukuna's domain - Demon Subduing Cookware, can cut all targets within the domain in an instant after it is unfolded.

Now the small town has completely disappeared into thin air. There is no trace of any living creature within the radius of the area. A large piece of empty land has suddenly appeared in this area.

Ryomen Sukuna raised the corners of his lips with satisfaction and revealed a smile - the next moment, he raised his hand to block the sudden cursed attack from the other side!

The surging cursed energy crashed down, and even the strong Ryomen Sukuna was pushed back a long distance by this force.

He groaned and looked up at the white-haired figure falling down: "Did you finish dealing with that monster so quickly? That guy is nothing but a piece of trash."

Yu Hagi, who had already torn off the black and gold cloth, revealed his bright blue eyes. He stared directly at the cherry-pink-haired boy with four arms and shouted through gritted teeth, "What the hell are you doing! Why are you doing this?!"

Facing Sugagi's question, Ryoumen Sukuna slightly raised his eyebrows: "Huh? Why? If you want to kill me, then kill me. What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong?" Yu Hao repeated, mixed with some cold anger.

"Isn't this helping you?" Ryomen Sukuna let his arms hang naturally, and spread out his other two hands, saying in a leisurely tone, "If you eliminate everyone, you won't have to worry about your whereabouts being leaked - otherwise someone will always report you."

"Help me? Don't use such a hypocritical banner." Yu Hao snorted, and frowned at Bing Ling with his delicate eyebrows, "It's disgusting."

"You really don't know what's good for you." Ryoumen Sukuna moved his neck, his scarlet eyes scanning over, and he put one hand on his chin, "You both have strong abilities, but you insist on restraining yourselves - if you two can really let go and have fun, I don't mind traveling with you."

The white-haired boy remained unmoved, still cold and arrogant. He exuded the aura of Rokugan.

In front of him, Ryoumen Sukuna looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed:

"Honestly, are you angry because you really care about the lives of these people - or are you simply upset because an unexpected incident broke your law of omnipotence?"

The words were thrown out lightly, but they felt as heavy as a thousand pounds when they landed on the ground. The white-haired young man was stunned by the piercing question and his body stuttered slightly.

The winter evening breeze blew past, bringing up dust and snow on the ground.

Ryoumen Sukuna narrowed his scarlet eyes slightly, and he said slowly and leisurely: "If you really care about the lives of these people, why not beg that guy to help you revive them."

That guy? Are you referring to Bai Wu? Yu Hagi frowned slightly. What resurrection? What does this mean?

"But - I'm not sure what will happen to that guy." Ryoumen Sukuna continued, adding the second half of the sentence casually, with the ending tone mixed with the interest of watching a good show, "I'm looking forward to it too."

He held a space charm with a strange pattern on it between his fingers, grinned, and gradually laughed louder, his laughter echoing in this empty area.

The eyes of Sugagi's eyes glowed, and she launched a powerful attack. But before that, Ryomen Sukuna had already activated the spell and disappeared on the spot.