Chapter 421 The Grand Finale: The Sky We Spent Back Then
September 6, 20:30, Tokyo, Japan. Five days have passed since the Iceland match ended.
In the brightly lit exhibition hall of Tokyo Tower, a boy and a girl are sitting on top of the railing.
They looked down as vehicles streamed by on the highway like streaks of light, and a cool evening breeze ruffled their hair.
After a while, Ji Minghuan let out a soft breath and placed her palms on the railing.
He leaned to the side, gazing at the silver steel dragon rumbling across the viaduct, swinging his legs as he spoke softly.
"Look, this is the Tokyo Tower you've always wanted to visit... Isn't it beautiful?"
His words reached the white-haired girl's ears amidst the howling wind over the city.
Kong Youling nodded.
She hung her head, lost in thought for a long, long time. Then she handed the sketchbook in her hand to Ji Minghuan.
Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and took the sketchbook. He glanced at Kong Youling's expression, then looked down at the sketchbook, casually flipped to a page, and his fingers suddenly paused slightly.
On the drawing paper, five children dressed in hospital gowns are sitting together on the floor watching TV.
He lowered his head and stared silently at the black-haired girl in the painting.
Shang Xiaochi has a beauty mark next to her eye. When she was watching TV, she slightly turned her face away and secretly glanced at Ji Minghuan out of the corner of her eye.
After a while, Ji Minghuan slowly shifted his gaze to the red-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the somersault cloud.
Sun Changkong tilted his head back and laughed heartily, his teeth almost showing.
“Happy birthday, Big Sister…” He stared at the girl in the painting and murmured softly, “Little Chi, I’m sorry I couldn’t go to the beach with you.”
Kong Youling remained silent.
"Let's go..."
As Ji Minghuan spoke, she closed the photo album, looked up, and gazed at the night sky illuminated by neon lights in the moonlight.
"I want to live on, for the sake of Big Sister and Little Chi, and live well," he said.
"Shall we go find Filio and Mario first?" she asked.
Ji Minghuan shook his head and said speechlessly, "They're with the White Raven Brigade. Philio said he wanted to learn more about his father from the other members; Mario got along very well with a kid called 'Hacker'—they're both gaming experts, like-minded, and can't wait to stick together 24/7."
He shrugged. "That's it. Anyway, let's not go looking for those two guys for now. We'll talk about it later."
“Traitor,” Kong Youling said angrily.
“They are indeed two traitors,” Ji Minghuan said. “They didn’t even play with us, but went to hang out with those bad guys.”
The two looked at each other and then smiled softly.
"So, shall we go on a trip next?" Ji Minghuan asked.
"Um."
“But before that, I need to ask some people whether they want to come with us,” Ji Minghuan said softly.
He stretched, tilted his head to look at the brightly lit Tokyo, and let out a long sigh of relief. "This workload is going to be huge."
"Don't run away," Kong Youling muttered, puffing out her cheeks slightly.
"I know...it definitely won't be like that." Ji Minghuan nodded and said softly.
"They are all waiting for you."
"Yes, that makes sense."
September 7th, 13:30, Rome, Italy.
A blonde girl in a red dress sat on the edge of the fountain, her head tilted to the side, her red eyes lowered, her cheek pressed against the side of a violin, intently playing the strings.
The clear and melodious sound of the zither spread throughout the streets and alleys, attracting passersby to stop and watch.
After a while, she put down her violin, and passersby applauded and shouted "Bravo!" before dropping coins into the box on the ground.
Just then, a boy wearing an orange hoodie suddenly squeezed out from the crowd.
He quietly sat down next to the blonde girl.
The Bloodline ignored him, instead placing her hands on the edge of the hot spring. Amidst the rushing water, she turned her head to look up at the sky, gazing blankly at the Italian midday sun. The girl closed her eyes, her face enveloped in a halo of light, her pale golden hair almost pure white in the sunlight.
The boy and the girl in the red dress sat quietly for a while, and then one of them suddenly spoke.
"Hey, do you drink?" He looked up at the sky and asked casually.
"What kind of child drinks alcohol?" The girl in the red dress didn't even turn her head or glance at him. "Get out of the way, or I'll kick you out, understand?"
"Theresia, are you really not going to have a drink with me?" Ji Minghuan asked.
Upon hearing the name, the Bloodline paused slightly, slowly lowering her head and turning to stare into his eyes. At that moment, a glint appeared in her eyes, as if she had seen something incredible.
On a sun-drenched Italian street, the two gazed at each other silently, as if they had forgotten the passage of time.
After a while, Theresa lowered her head and smiled with relief.
"It's been so many years, and you've finally decided to come find me?" she asked softly.
"Yes, I've come to find you."
Theresa remained silent for a long, long time. She lowered her eyes and spoke, her voice almost hoarse:
"Then you'll have to listen to a lot of my nagging. I'll nag you about all the debts I've owed you over the past hundred years, until you cry from annoyance."
After saying that, she slightly curled the corners of her lips, "Aren't you really going to consider running away? There's still a chance."
"It's a long story. If I wanted to escape, 1001 wouldn't have sent me to find you in the first place. But I guess I'm one of them now, since the fusion is almost complete."
“I don’t understand…” Theresa shook her head. “I only know that you are in front of me.”
Ji Minghuan said softly, "Theresia, come on a trip with me. No matter how much you complain, I'll listen patiently to you..."
“Okay, where do you want to go?” she asked.
"It doesn't matter where we go, anyway..."
"In short?"
"I'm not going to Iceland."
September 8th, 20:30, Norway.
Inside a seafood restaurant at the pier, the place was bustling with activity and brightly lit. The air was filled with the aroma of grilled fish and potatoes. Outside the restaurant, someone had pulled up a chair and was sitting at the entrance smoking, gazing blankly at the undulating sea under the night sky.
But just now, a white-haired boy was sitting quietly at the restaurant counter with his head drooping.
Caesar stared blankly at the grilled fish on the plate.
He suddenly remembered that in the past, whenever he ate, a small shark would always pop its head out of his pocket and shout:
"Just give the shark a bite, just give the shark a bite!"
Then it grinned, revealing a set of sharp little porcelain teeth, and looked up into Caesar's eyes. At this point, Caesar would hurriedly shove its head back into his pocket and whisper to it:
"Don't rush, Agubaru, I'll pack it up and give it to you to eat later, it's all yours!"
Caesar remained motionless, silently reminiscing about the past. Even though the plate contained his favorite grilled fish, he had no appetite whatsoever.
After a while, his tears silently streamed down his face and fell onto the plate.
He had been wondering, since Agubaru has such a long lifespan, if one day he gets old, dies, and is buried in the ground, will Agubaru feel sad? Will it have enough to eat? Will it have to go back to the ocean world?
Will it be lonely at the bottom of the sea?
But Caesar never imagined that one day Agubaru would leave before him. Only then did he realize that the most precious people in the world are those friends who are always there for you, laughing and joking around, living life without a care in the world.
But... he has lost such a friend forever.
Just then, a figure dressed in a giant shark costume staggered into the restaurant, sat down next to him, and patted him on the shoulder with its fin.
Caesar snapped out of his daze, slowly raised his eyes from the plate, and turned to look ahead.
All that came into view was a toy shark face, baring its big teeth and looking rather silly.
Caesar's vision was blurred by tears, and for a moment he mistook it for Aguru, so he blurted out in surprise and hoarseness:
"Agubaru?!"
“Yes, Shark is Agubaru…” The boy in the mascot costume coughed twice, speaking in a muffled voice.
“You…” Caesar paused for a moment.
He was familiar with the boy's tone of voice; only Agubaru would speak like that.
"Hey... you're not allowed to wear this kind of thing into the store, it will affect other customers." The owner suddenly walked over and said coldly to the boy in the mascot costume.
"You can wear a shark costume, does it owe you money? Are you discriminating against sharks?" the boy in the mascot costume shouted. "I'm a protected species!"
The boss had no choice but to wave his hand and walk away.
Caesar continued to stare silently at the boy in the mascot costume.
The tears welling in his eyes slowly receded, replaced by a slight surprise. After a moment, Caesar suddenly reached out and carefully removed the shark head from the boy's head.
"Wow--!"
Ji Minghuan yelled and poked his head out of the mascot costume, taking a deep breath of fresh air. "I almost suffocated in there! I almost suffocated in there!"
“Aguru?” Caesar tilted his head.
"Well, how should I explain this to you, Shark?" Ji Minghuan looked away and said guiltily, "It's like this... Shark has been reincarnated and reborn as a human."
He glanced furtively at Caesar's dazed expression, rubbing his left index finger against his right, and said, "How about this, Shark could actually turn into a human from the beginning."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Don't doubt Shark. We shark nobles are all this powerful, so transforming into a human is a piece of cake for us."
Caesar stared silently into his eyes, his vision blurring with tears once more. He had wanted to laugh, but as he laughed, tears suddenly streamed down his face.
The next moment he lunged forward and gently hugged him, "I missed you so much, Bagayal."
Ji Minghuan was stunned for a moment, then gently patted his shoulder.
"Alright, alright, I knew you wanted to kill me." After saying that, Ji Minghuan suddenly realized something was wrong. "Wait, did you just secretly call me 'Baga Yaru'?"
"No, it's clearly 'Aguru'."
“Okay, actually my name isn’t ‘Agubaru’, it’s ‘Ji Minghuan’.”
"Then... I'll call you 'Gibba Lu' from now on!"
"That sounds even weirder. Oh well... whatever." Ji Minghuan smiled. "Let's travel the world together, and we can continue to eat to our hearts' content."
"Okay, Baga Yaru."
"Why are we back to square one again? You must have wanted to yell at me for a long time, right?"
“No, Agubaru…” Caesar wrinkled his nose, sobbing as he murmured, “How could I want to scold you? I miss you so much.”
"I'm really impressed by you. You truly deserve to be called the cunning little prince of the Little Garden."
Ji Minghuan said irritably, and gently bumped his shoulder.
A gentle evening breeze blew into the brightly lit restaurant, carrying the scent of the sea. Two children sat at the bar, enjoying a delicious dinner.
September 9, 20:30, Iceland, on a snow-capped mountain near Reykjavik.
The snow-capped mountain was quiet and deserted. Lin Xingshi was taking a walk alone on the mountain, her footprints stretching into the distance.
She looked up at the aurora borealis in the night sky and murmured to herself:
"Do you regret it... signing a contract with me means you'll never be free again."
"No regrets." The little beast's voice echoed in her mind.
"I don't believe it." Lin Xingshi shook his head, his fiery red hair swaying slightly. "You're so active, you've been traveling all over the world, it must be too boring for you to stay in my head all the time."
"Then what do you want me to do, my good master?"
Lin Xingshi thought for a moment, "If I untie you now, will it give you your freedom?"
"My body is already dead, only my soul and a portion of my power remain. Untying me won't help; it will only make me... completely disappear."
"I see..."
Lin Xingshi paused for a moment, then murmured, whether with relief or melancholy, "Then you'll have to stay with me like this for the rest of your life."
The little Nian beast suddenly stopped talking; it remained silent for a very long time.
Only the howling wind remained atop the snow-capped mountain. Lin Xingshi, alone, gazed at the brightly lit city in the distance, paused slightly, and then tentatively asked in a soft voice:
"Little New Year?"
The little monster did not respond.
Are you angry?
The little monster still hasn't responded.
Why aren't you saying anything? Don't scare me.
At that moment, the world was empty, and the snow-capped mountains were empty too. Lin Xingshi suddenly froze on the spot, a bad premonition rising in her heart. She muttered to herself over and over again. But no matter what, she didn't hear the little Nian beast's response.
Lin Xingshi felt a sudden panic. "Xiao Nian...where did you go?"
After a while, a boy suddenly appeared from the forest ahead.
"Lin Xingshi, I'm here."
As Ji Minghuan spoke, he walked towards her through the wind and snow.
He rubbed his hands together, exhaled, and wrapped his scarf tighter.
“You…” Lin Xingshi was slightly taken aback.
She felt that the boy looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
"Xiao Nian?" After a while, she uttered the name.
“Yes, I’m right here…” Ji Minghuan rolled her eyes at her. “Lin Xingshi, do you want to go on a trip with me? We have a lot of people, we’re just missing you.”
September 10th, 17:30, sunset, China, Haifan City.
As the sun sets in the west, the beach and the sky are both bathed in a crimson glow.
Ji Minghuan and Kong Youling squatted on the beach for a while, playing with seashells and enjoying the breeze. Then they sat by the sea, watching the sunset slowly sink below the horizon.
"Would Xiao Chi like the sea?" Kong Youling suddenly asked.
"I don't know, probably." Ji Minghuan shook her head gently, then stood up, took Kong Youling's hand, and slowly walked out of the beach.
The two entered Haifan City, where the streets and alleys were bustling with activity. The narrow streets were filled with stalls, and the lanterns on both sides stretched straight out like airplane runway lights. The dimly lit market at dusk was glowed with a faint red light.
They walked lightly through the fallen leaves, waving to the old man selling steamed buns by the roadside.
After a while, Ji Minghuan, with Kong Youling in tow, stopped in front of a brightly lit residential building, his head bowed in a daze.
"Don't run away." Kong Youling gently took his hand.
Ji Minghuan nodded and pressed the doorbell.
A moment later, someone opened the door, and there stood a figure with a high ponytail, wearing a blue and white school uniform, with an ice pop in her mouth.
Ji Minghuan slowly raised his head and glanced at her.
For a while, one of them stood in the shadows of the entryway, while the other stood in the sunlight outside the door.
They just stared at each other silently.
Kong Youling held her sketchbook, glancing at Ji Minghuan and then at Su Zimai, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"So you still know how to come back..." After a long while, Su Zimai lowered her head and said in a hoarse voice.
“You’re still not happy that you’re back? Then I won’t come back next time…” Ji Minghuan said casually, but before he could finish, Su Zimai suddenly hugged him.
Ji Minghuan's words came to an abrupt halt.
He paused for a moment, then said softly, "As expected of our Diaper Demon, you've never even seen my true form before, yet you can just grab and hug an elementary school student? Be careful you don't get arrested by the police."
Su Zimai hugged him tightly, pressed her face against his shoulder, and said softly with a smile, "You look so small, yet you dare to bully me... Just wait until we get home, I'll bully you again."
“Please, I’ll be taller than you soon,” Ji Minghuan retorted. “I’m only twelve years old, but you’re already not going to grow any taller.”
I don't believe it.
"Just wait and see."
Kong Youling paused, tilted her head, and her snow-white hair swayed slightly.
She watched the two embracing, making exaggerated "ooh ooh ooh" sounds while gently clapping her hands.
"She is... the girl you've told me about so many times before?" Su Zimai released Ji Minghuan and asked him.
“Yes.” Ji Minghuan nodded. “She is my family.”
“Then she is my family too,” Su Zimai said softly.
Kong Youling immediately said, "Sister."
Ji Minghuan suddenly became a little unhappy, scratching his head as he said, "Don't call her 'sister,' call her 'diaper devil.'"
Su Zimai immediately gave Ji Minghuan a flick on the forehead to shut him up.
"My sister beat up a restricted elementary school student! My sister is the most amazing in the world!" Kong Youling said, clapping her hands.
"If you can talk, then say more, little sister Kong Youling," Su Zimai snorted.
Ten minutes later, in the kitchen of the same residential building in the same Haifan City.
The curtains swayed gently; autumn colors deepened outside the window, and a maple leaf drifted over the windowsill and into the kitchen. The setting sun was about to sink below the horizon, casting its last rays into the kitchen.
Ji Minghuan and Kong Youling sat down around a dining table, while Su Zimai pulled up a chair and sat between them.
Across from the three of them, Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuoan listened to Su Zimai's words with puzzled expressions.
Gu Zhuo'an stared blankly, his expression as if he were constipated; Gu Qiye, on the other hand, crossed his arms and leaned against the sink, quietly staring at Ji Minghuan's face.
Both of them had a million questions in their minds, such as, "You mean... he's my son?" and "Is this child really Wenyu?"
But neither of them said it out loud.
They simply stared at Ji Minghuan's face, waiting for him to speak.
“Yes, that’s my older brother, anyway…” Su Zimai said with a sigh of relief.
Her high school language skills were not good enough to explain such a complex matter in detail; she could only barely make it understandable to them.
At this moment, Su Zimai looked up at the expressions of the father and son, then reached out and patted Ji Minghuan's head, "From today onwards, he is my younger brother."
She paused, then reached out and ruffled Kong Youling's hair. "And then she's my sister."
At this point, Su Zimai lowered her head and said fiercely, almost emphasizing each word:
"You two old men are not allowed to have any objections."
Gu Zhuoan and Gu Qiye were both silent for a moment. During this time, the father and son quietly looked at Ji Minghuan's face.
Ji Minghuan avoided their gazes and finally spoke, saying somewhat awkwardly:
"I'm back, Dad, brother."
Hearing that familiar tone, Gu Zhuo'an's eyes suddenly reddened slightly. He stroked his stubble, avoided his gaze, and murmured:
"It's good that you're back..."
Gu Qiye remained silent for a long, long time, then took a breath, reached out, and gently touched the top of Ji Minghuan's head. "You'll have plenty of time to explain later, you know?"
"Yes, I will explain everything to you." Ji Minghuan nodded.
"What are you all babbling about? Don't you dare bully my older brother, oh wait, I mean my younger brother."
As Su Zimai spoke, she frowned at the father and son and gently hugged Ji Minghuan.
Gu Qiye smiled softly.
He said softly, "Okay, okay, we'll listen to Xiaomai. Anyway, Xiaomai is still the one who makes the decisions at home."
"You're not allowed to run away this time." Su Zimai said, grabbing Ji Minghuan's wrist tightly. "Your older brother and I will be watching you."
"Mmm, okay, sister."
Ji Minghuan drawled out her words, then looked up at Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuoan, "By the way, Dad, brother..."
The two turned their heads and silently looked at his face.
Ji Minghuan paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you want to travel the world with me?"
Before the two could answer, he reached out and touched the tops of Su Zimai and Kong Youling's heads, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Of course, these two will be here too."
September 10, 22:00, Reykjavik, Iceland.
In the hospital room, the girl in the kimono slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling.
Then, she slowly sat up and looked out the window.
Night had fallen, and the Pearl Tower in Reykjavik was ablaze with lights, radiating a pure white glow in the evening breeze, while a streak of blue aurora borealis hung in the sky.
Origami Ayase stared blankly out the window when suddenly she noticed a collection of haiku on her bedside table.
That was a haiku book her mother left her.
After a while, she reached for the haiku collection and opened it. Suddenly, she saw a photograph tucked inside the book; it was a picture of her and someone taken at the docks of Bergen, Norway.
The dock was filled with wooden houses, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. She and Xia Pingzhou were sitting on a public wooden bench by the roadside, their cheeks enveloped in a warm glow.
The setting sun cast a shimmering glow on the sea, and white doves flew across the sky.
Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami leaned their heads together, and the camera froze on this moment.
Seeing Xia Pingzhou's expressionless face in the photo, Ayase Origami suddenly realized something:
He is dead.
In that black and white world, he collapsed in her arms, covered in blood, and said hoarsely, "Don't die... You are the most important person to me."
Recalling the scenes from her memories, Origami Ayase trembled and lowered her head, her cool hair obscuring her eyes.
Her lips moved slightly.
"fraud……"
After a while, a tear slowly rolled down the corner of the girl's eye.
She wept silently, and after a long while, she suddenly murmured:
"Takikage...is this what sadness feels like?"
Just then, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure by the window out of the corner of her eye; it was a boy.
The ward was quiet.
The boy sat by the window, his eyes lowered, quietly turning the pages of his book, his face bathed in the bright moonlight.
“It’s so cold in Iceland… I don’t like it here at all, what about you?” he said to himself as he read.
Origami Ayase slowly raised her eyes, turned her head, and quietly observed him.
"Would you like to come outside with me?" the boy asked.
The girl in the kimono remained silent.
At this moment, the night, like a curtain, enveloped Ji Minghuan's face. The girl in the kimono couldn't see his expression, and the boy, without looking up, whispered to her:
"Perhaps it's opening a bookstore in a remote northern city, where you love reading and can sit behind the counter and read every day. In winter, you can see snow, and in the north, there's the aurora borealis, when the night sky is very bright, with a bluish light stretching across the entire sky."
The girl in the kimono stared blankly at him. She had heard Xia Pingzhou say those words before, a month ago, when the two of them were still at the aquarium. But back then, she hadn't taken Xia Pingzhou's hand.
Suddenly, Ji Minghuan closed the book and turned to meet the girl's gaze.
The two gazed at each other silently for a while.
Then, he extended his right hand to the girl in the kimono and asked in a low voice:
So, will you come with me?
Silence enveloped the two of them.
Snow was still falling outside the window, and the branches were covered in snow. After a while, Ayase Origami suddenly looked up and took his hand.
"I'll go with you."
One month later, on the moon.
The universe was silent, with only the occasional shooting star streaking across the sky.
At this moment, Ji Minghuan was lying quietly on the surface of the moon, his arms crossed behind his head.
He stared blankly at the earth. White was the clouds, blue was the sea, green was the forest island, and all the colors intertwined to create this colorful world.
For him, this is the quietest place in the world, the perfect place to clear his mind and daydream.
After a while, he suddenly picked up his phone and glanced at the text messages on it.
[KamiNeko: Kitten, come shopping with me.]
[Caesar: Aguru, when are you going to go get something to eat with me? I'm so bored by myself.]
[Lin Xingshi: Lake Hunting is recruiting new members. Could you come with me to meet the successors?]
[Theresa: What happened to the world trip you promised? It's been a month, are you going to run away again?]
[Gu Qiye: Could you buy me some eggs and a box of chicken breast when you come back? Yu Ruier is coming over tonight, and I'll cook for you.]
[Su Zimai: Bro, where are you? You disappeared halfway through a game!]
[Kong Youling: Cluck cluck cluck? My sister's looking for you. She said you stood her up.]
"Spare me."
Ji Minghuan sighed softly and silently put his phone back into the pocket of his orange hoodie. Just then, a cold voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Are you free?" asked the restricted-level 1001.
"What's wrong?"
Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that it was rare for 1001 to chat with him.
“I suddenly wanted to talk to you. I realized I’ve overlooked something,” said R-rated 1001.
"for example?"
“Souls exist in this world, which is why Enma Rin’s Tenkyu can store the souls of those she kills in her Tenkyu.”
"so what?"
"In my timeline, I did not obtain the mythical fragments of the 'World Tree'."
Ji Minghuan thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. In your memory, you destroyed the fragments of the World Tree unconsciously."
Restricted Level 1001 nodded: "Yes, and after that, I searched the whole world but couldn't find a way to resurrect a person's soul. That's why I chose to go back to the past at all costs."
He paused, then continued, "But this conclusion is based on the premise that..."
Upon hearing this, Ji Minghuan paused for a moment, then quickly replied:
"The premise is that at that time, the fragments of the 'World Tree' did not exist in the world at all."
"That's right. In some versions of Norse mythology, the World Tree can store the souls of the dead and create new bodies for them, but this is just a possibility."
Ji Minghuan stood there stunned for a long, long time, then slowly raised his head and looked at that slightly blue planet in the universe.
“You mean…” he murmured.
“That’s right, Li Qingping and Sun Changkong both have a chance to come back… but it’s just a chance, after all, I haven’t tried it myself.”
Rated 1001 paused here: "But, assuming my idea is correct, we first need to find the 'World Tree' fragments scattered somewhere in the world, then slowly retrieve their souls, use the World Tree's power to store their souls, and finally create a new body for them."
Ji Minghuan was stunned for a moment, then slowly sat up and asked:
How long will it take exactly?
“I don’t know, but I conservatively estimate it will take at least a year,” said R-rated 1001. “After a person dies, their soul will drift around the world for a while before disappearing. You have to act quickly.”
After a while, Ji Minghuan slowly stood up.
In the silence, he spoke:
"One month."
"A month?"
"Yes, a month should be enough at most."
"You're in charge now, you're the boss." The restricted-level 1001's tone was unusually gentle for once.
"Let's go." Ji Minghuan took a deep breath and slightly curled the corners of her mouth. "We'll be busy from now on."
(End of this chapter)
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