Chapter 150 Who Will Proclaim the Way (Part 21) Farewell: Chen Xingzhi and Bai...
"sun?"
Similar questions rang in his ears. Du Yu turned his head, and the colored noise lines swayed a few times, like a receiver with a poor signal finally starting to work. From the hand on Du Yu's shoulder to the shoulder and then to the torso, a figure gradually became clear.
A gray sleeveless vest outlined a smooth figure, and the camouflage cargo pants were neatly tucked into brown Martin boots. Chen Xingzhi pulled down the brim of his brown baseball cap, revealing the bandage wrapped around his wrist. He didn't look like a university scholar or professor, but rather like a rescue team leader who might rush into the rainforest at any moment.
After that lecture, Chen Xingzhi's outfit caused quite a stir in the grade. It's said that some people even went to ask Gu Yinglan if becoming an archaeologist after graduation would make them this handsome.
Now, Du Yu can no longer be an archaeologist, but seeing Chen Xingzhi dressed like this still evokes a sense of familiarity, as if the crumbling ivory tower in his memory has become more stable.
Chen Xingzhi nodded to Du Yu. "To make a long story short, I'll tell you your mission after this place collapses. You can probably ask three questions."
After entering this gray fog-invaded space, Du Yu had accumulated a bellyful of questions. Now that he had finally found someone to ask, he paused for a moment before remembering the question he most wanted to ask:
Is He right?
Chen Xingzhi led Du Yu inside, found a chair in this place that resembled an abandoned parking lot, and casually said, "Half and half."
"That madman's words are often half truth mixed with half falsehood, or only half truth, so—you can't believe a word he says, because you don't know that a deadly trap is hidden in that lie."
"However, here, the energy that His incarnation can transmit is limited. What He just said is basically correct, but He has absolved Him of responsibility and changed the subject."
The avatar possessed such terrifying energy, yet it was just an avatar?
"Don't worry too much. He has accumulated an incarnation of this level for hundreds of years, and there is only one like this."
Chen Xingzhi seemed to have anticipated Du Yu's thoughts, and calmly offered an explanation. He then stared intently at the purple in Du Yu's eyes, seemingly lost in thought, before abruptly speaking:
"You actually took this route... It's definitely better than mine, but the [light] is still a bit slow..."
"Too slow?"
For some reason, Du Yu's heart skipped a beat, but Chen Xingzhi seemed to have figured something out, and his expression relaxed. "Fortunately, we're still in time. Next question."
Having confirmed that the information he had just received was correct, Du Yu went straight to the question he most wanted to know: "Where are the crystals in the library?"
The crystals in the first two levels appeared after completing the corresponding tasks. However, in the library, perhaps because the avatar of the [Lord of the Pure Sea] broke in, the crystals didn't appear even after the avatar melted the entire library.
"On you."
"I...you mean, in my lost memories?"
The other party understood too quickly, saving the trouble of explanation. Chen Xingzhi nodded, but then noticed that the junior who had remained unfazed even when facing the strongest pseudo-god of the era hesitated for a moment, his lips tightening for a second:
"...If I make it to the end, will they really come back?"
"I used to think that emotions were the most useless thing in a brutal competition, but it turned out that I lost badly and lost the whole world."
Chen Xingzhi pulled out a pack of cigarettes, biting the butt but not lighting it. His eyes, when he looked over, were dim as if shrouded in a layer of gray mist: "So there's no need for an old man like me to pass on my experience—back to the question, yes. Omnipresent and omnipotent, that's the power of the gods, but at a price..."
Chen Xingzhi didn't say what came next, but Du Yu knew it wouldn't be easy to bear. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his shoulders. "That's enough."
Chen Xingzhi gave her a deep look, lit a cigarette with a click, and didn't try to persuade her anymore: "I've asked all the questions I needed to ask. Perfect timing, let's hit the road."
Du Yu couldn't shake the feeling that the phrase "on the road" was unlucky, but Chen Xingzhi clearly hated idle chatter. He flicked his cigarette ash, and familiar colored specks appeared beside him, forming the shape of a door as they held hands.
"Go, everything you want to know is there."
...
Du Yu walked through the deserted wilderness.
Looking out, all I could see was the dark, dead earth beneath my feet, a low-hanging gray mist overhead, and my mind was completely blank.
She had forgotten everything except the name "Du Yu".
Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
have no idea.
Du Yu is simply moving forward.
Or walk backwards.
The direction has lost its meaning.
Once again, she casually tore apart the monster that was howling and charging through the mist. Her hands were covered in thick, foul-smelling liquid. Du Yu pulled a shiny stone from the corpse, her rumbling stomach telling her she should eat it.
Du Yu looked down at the crystal covered in dark brown pus and frowned: So dirty.
You should wash your food and hands before eating.
The thought suddenly appeared in his mind, and the figure of a middle-aged woman with a blurred face flashed by. Du Yu didn't pay attention to it and quickly accepted the idea that suddenly popped up.
What should I use to wash it?
water?
Another unfamiliar concept suddenly flooded his mind, causing Du Yu's brows to furrow even more. He didn't know where the resistance in his heart came from, but he didn't want water.
The woman stood there thinking, or perhaps not thinking at all, and after a moment she took action—the monster's skin was ripped off with a "rip," placed inside a stone, and then stretched at the four corners and tied to the monster's bones, and a simple bundle was made.
Next, she needed to find something to clean the food.
...Sand won't do.
The crystal rolled around on the soil filled with bone fragments and rotting matter, and not only did the pus on the outside not disappear, but it also became covered with a layer of even more disgusting grayish-brown substance.
...Even stones won't work.
The crystals cut out of the monster's body looked brittle. Du Yu pinched one and gently rubbed it against a stone. With a "crack," a hole was dented into the surface of the stone.
Du Yu kicked the useless stone away.
Living monsters, dead monsters, strange flowers, bones... everything Yu could find, he failed to find.
I'm so hungry.
Du Yu took out the 367th crystal and stared at it intently. Her stomach or some other organ was screaming with hunger, urging her to swallow these energy bodies quickly.
But another sense of disgust kept Du Yu's mouth tightly shut. She didn't know why, but a strange obsession lingered in her heart: only clean food could be eaten.
So annoying.
Du Yu tossed the 635th crystal into the monster's leather pouch. A faint heat emanated from his back as the crystals from different monsters fused together, transforming into a bizarre and ugly giant crystal.
Du Yu ignored them.
The crystals did not become cleaner after fusing; on the contrary, the aura emanating from the huge crystal became even more repulsive—not entirely due to the pus adhering to its surface.
So tired.
Why does the road have no end?
Before Du Yu could figure out the answer to this question, after obtaining the 897,655th crystal, she suddenly stopped and looked into the distance with great interest—because of something that suddenly appeared at the end of the road.
A human being.
Upon seeing that figure, related concepts simultaneously surfaced in Du Yu's mind, and she realized:
Oh. Not only a person, but a handsome man.
So she politely asked, "Who are you?"
Du Yu had forgotten how long it had been since she last spoke, and before meeting the man, she had even forgotten the act of speaking itself. When she first opened her mouth, her movements were somewhat unsteady and clumsy, and what came out first were monstrous growls and indescribable murmurs, but in the end, looking into those golden eyes, she uttered her first complete sentence.
The man sat with his knees drawn up on a huge meteorite, as tall as a small mountain. His golden hair fell behind him, the edges of which melted into the gray mist. He turned his head and rested it on his arm, his golden eyes coldly scrutinizing Du Yu.
He seemed completely unwilling to acknowledge the woman who had inexplicably appeared before him, but after remaining silent for an unknown period of time, he finally spoke:
"...a fool waiting to die."
"Fishman?"
A strange light flashed in Du Yu's eyes, and she felt even hungrier, but she still politely asked a perfunctory question:
Why don't you want to live anymore?
His eyelashes drooped, and those golden eyes no longer looked at her. He turned his head away and said, "There's no reason to want to die."
Du Yu tilted his head, and deep within his dark pupils, a glimmer of purple flame suddenly lit up, went out, lit up again... This cycle repeated for an unknown amount of time, but that glimmer of purple light stubbornly remained in the depths of the blackness, and some fragments surfaced in his mind.
Du Yu understood for a moment, then nodded in sudden realization, "Oh, you were lied to by your dad, lied to by your friends, lied to by your teacher, and finally lied to by your teacher again, and now you're just waiting to die here, you're so stupid... Hey, I didn't hit you, why did you hit me?"
In the almost dark world, the shadow beneath Du Yu's feet inexplicably grew thicker. Before the dark shadow blade could pierce his skin, Du Yu jumped away in time, twisted his body and kicked back, scattering the shadow that was still struggling to kill him with just one kick.
"【Mind】? No, a completely new power... an ability related to memory."
The cold light in the man's eyes lessened slightly, but he still turned his face away when Du Yu jumped up carrying the animal skin bundle. Du Yu leaned closer, revealing his true intentions: "Since you don't want to live anymore, can I eat you?"
In Du Yu's eyes, the energy emanating from the man was greater than that of all the monsters they encountered along the way. Of course, more importantly, he was clean and did not have that nauseating stench.
The fingers resting on her arm, the veins on her neck clearly visible when she tilted her head, her long, smooth hair falling naturally—it had none of the filthy slime or the disgusting, albeit palatable, energy contained within the monster crystal.
Her instincts were stirring, and a voice inside her stomach seemed to be clamoring, "Eat him!"
The man then turned to look at Du Yu again. There was no fear or disgust in his eyes, but a kind of tangible coldness. His gaze finally settled on the small package she was carrying on her shoulder, and he stated the fact: "The sinful journey of all the fallen creatures in the land of exile has been ended by you."
Did she kill all the monsters in the world?
No wonder she was so tired.
After struggling to process her strangely accented words for a while, Du Yu sat down next to the man and unfolded the small package to show him: "It's very dirty."
They think monsters are dirty, so they come to eat people?
The man glanced at the elemental core, which had been fused together after killing countless corrupted beings, then his gaze fell on the pair of black and purple eyes: "You can eat it after washing it clean."
Do not wash with water.
Du Yu frowned in disgust, then noticed that the man's attitude seemed to have softened somewhat, specifically by becoming a little more talkative:
"There are many ways to cleanse yourself. Carefully feel the source of your power and use your qualities to expel the mark of #@￥%.
The sentence was a bit long, and Yu didn't understand a few words. She clutched her rumbling stomach and instinctively did as the man said: Source of power… core… the most essential power of the body… the place where power converges…
Du Yu clutched his stomach, deep in thought. The man looked down at the woman who had suddenly appeared, her entire body covered in black substance, with only her eyes revealing her gender. He was unusually intrigued.
To be imprisoned here, this woman must also be an extraordinary being, yet he couldn't find any corresponding abilities for her among the known elements. A new victim...?
"Hmm..."
Du Yu's brows twitched. The previously self-consistent energy began to stir, showing signs of spiraling out of control. A stream of cool energy was injected, and the uncontrollable energy, like a mischievous child who had received candy, temporarily calmed down. The voice in his ear was very close:
"What's wrong?"
Du Yu looked up, the purple in her eyes seeming to intensify, and the hand covering her stomach twitched: "...So hungry."
Du Yu was quite certain that there was a fleeting moment of speechlessness in those eyes.
Du Yuxue rested his face on his arm and said, "I haven't eaten in a long time."
"Because it's dirty?"
"Um."
Du Yu watched as those golden eyes turned to look at her, yet seemed not to be looking at her at all. A hand stretched out, outstretched, with long, slender fingers, even skin and flesh, and an unhealthy pale color.
Du Yu hesitated for a moment, then reached out and shook the hand up and down.
The speechlessness in Jinmou's eyes seemed to deepen.
"Eat."
Hunger had been a constant companion all along, reaching its peak at this moment. The energy he craved was within reach, and Du Yu instinctively clenched that hand. It was icy cold, almost devoid of warmth, yet Du Yu felt as if he had been burned, and a shiver ran through his body.
"……Why?"
The other person seemed to have changed their mind. He tried to pull his hand back, but it was gripped even tighter. He gave up indifferently and lowered his eyes: "For no reason. I was just waiting to die anyway."
"Why don't you want to live anymore?"
To his surprise, the woman suddenly became angry—angrier than when he had first tried to test her. Their hands clasped together, and the temperature rose. He looked away, but her unreasonable ability to read the answer she wanted was immediately apparent.
"Because it has no meaning...meaning?"
The other person emphasized the last two words, seemingly unable to grasp their meaning in their current state: "Isn't living just about eating when you're hungry and running away when you're attacked? What's the point?"
The man avoided the topic, but the other person kept nagging in his ear. He finally spoke without any emotion: "But you're almost exhausted to the point of collapse."
collapse?
A sense of doubt seemed to rise in those dark, purplish eyes, and he felt inexplicably cruel as he spoke:
"Are you sitting here because you're hungry and want to eat me? Or are you just too tired and want someone to keep you company? Even with your mind sealed to this extent, pushing forward, meaninglessly pushing forward, for six hundred years, you're about to give up, aren't you?" "No..."
"Being fed and procreating—survival is that simple, but even something as simple as that can crush a person. Is it that you can't remember, or that you don't want to remember? Because remembering will drive you crazy?"
His eyes, which had been fixed on him, were now buried in his knees. The hand that had been gripped tightly loosened slightly, and he hesitated for a moment before letting the other person shake him.
Do I look tired? I don't know. I don't know anything.
"All I know is that my name is Du Yu, and I must keep going, I must keep going, but why... why should I keep going? I can't remember..."
The incessant noise in his ears gradually subsided. He looked at the gray fog in the distance and pondered aimlessly, "What else could it be for? Humans are actually quite easy to understand."
Insignificant hopes, unfulfilled lies, unrealized ideals... these seemingly insignificant things are enough to make people risk their lives, but when life and death become meaningless, that's when these seemingly insignificant things dissipate.
"……wrong."
The voice, which had been lowered, rang out again, "Since you believe 'life and death are meaningless,' why did you help me just now?"
"You know perfectly well that as long as I don't give up, I won't die."
"You said I'm tired and need someone to be with me... but actually, aren't you lonely too? You're sitting here, are you waiting for death, or are you waiting for someone, like me?"
The grip on his hand tightened again, even pushing the other side further. The familiar arrogance resurfaced in his eyes. He looked away, but Du Yu laughed.
"The two loneliest people in the world have met... Kill me and you'll be free. Why didn't you do it just now?"
Du Yu suddenly stood up, pulling the man to his feet. A flicker of emotion finally appeared in his eyes: "...Once you remember everything, let go."
"I don't want to."
Du Yu stood atop the uneven meteorite, gazing at the deathly gray fog that had remained unchanged for six hundred years, a fog so thick it could drive anyone mad, and the lifeless earth shrouded in it.
This is a world on the verge of death, or rather, a world that is dying.
It is her deep attachment to her homeland, which she has cherished for 634 years.
A city, a settlement, a small team... until finally, she was alone. The world was as exhausted as she was, and the weight of everything rested on her "feather".
As long as she lives, the world is not dead; if she gives up, the world will perish in an instant.
A slightly melancholic smile flickered in his eyes, followed by an extremely brilliant bright purple, and finally, joyful flames leaped out, pouring down with a "whoosh" and enveloping the two people and the meteorite.
In the rising purple flames, the pitch-black unidentified substance was burned away, revealing the skin's base color and bright eyes.
He stared blankly up at the bright flames rising in the dim space, his long, bright purple hair brushing against his face. He listened numbly to his heart pounding, each beat faster than the last.
Humans.
Even when burned to ashes, they are forgetful creatures who are moved by flames and light.
Du Yu raised his other hand, and the purple fire joyfully pounced forward to devour the crystal wrapped in the animal skin. When it returned with a clear crystal, it also secretly took a lock of the man's golden hair.
"Flames burn more cleanly."
Du Yu crunched the crystal without a care in the world, and was wondering whether to share it with his fellow inmate when he heard a suppressed murmur, the last syllable still trembling:
Fire? You believe the essence of an individual is flame? There are actually people fantasizing about burning…
Why not?
"Once someone wanted to save the sun, and she died; later someone wanted to become the sun, and he went mad... Now, in the age of gray fog, both the new and the old sun must die, all ideals have been proven to be the end, do you still want to be the flame?"
[New Japan] has really gone mad.
Despite witnessing the scene of [New Sun] going mad in Icaria's memory and hearing the former Holy Son of the New Sun Church admit it himself, Du Yu couldn't help but sigh. That person was the closest to that step, but unfortunately, he failed at the last moment.
Otherwise, the fifth rank would be the Sun instead of the Moon.
"You're right."
Du Yu took another bite of the crystal and shook their clasped hands: "But if the sun dies, shouldn't we ignite the flames? If we don't become the first moth to burn itself in the fire, how can we ignite the fire that burns everything?"
"Drive out darkness, protect friends and family, punish sinners; fire will either be the judge that decides everything, or it will become my coffin."
Icaria stared blankly at the undying purple flame in the woman's eyes, speechless for a moment.
Words are the most unreliable thing in the world, and humans are masters of deception who even deceive their own hearts. But no one can lie to a flame, and a liar's fire cannot burn in a vacuum for 634 years.
He had seen the hottest, most turbulent flames in the world, their color a brilliant white tinged with gold, originating from the highest and most sacred celestial bodies. He had also seen the most terrifying, coldest flames in the world, raging and sweeping across the earth, vowing to fill the world with nothingness.
But he had never seen such a gentle yet bright flame, a bright purple, like a water lily budding in a pond, like a translucent amethyst nurtured under the torment of high temperature and pressure, like the first purple glow on the horizon reflected on the warm glaze of a pearl.
After asking the question, Du Yu didn't hear a reply from the man. He nudged his companion, who was cosplaying as a stone statue, with his other hand. "I wasn't thinking straight just now. Let me reintroduce myself, Du Yu."
The flames gradually subsided, and the man's gaze shifted from the woman's long purple hair to her crystal-clear purple eyes, his eyes glazed over. "...I have no name."
Unfortunately... it's too late, too late.
In exchange for abandoning her real name to escape the control of her father, who had fallen into godhood, Du Yu had seen this passage in the memories she had just received. She paused in her chewing and continued to poke the man: "Then I still have to call you something, right? Why don't you come up with a new one?"
"Giving up your real name isn't that simple..."
The man instinctively opened his mouth as if to say something, but Du Yu tugged at his blond hair behind his ear, ignoring his tactful refusal, and said with great interest, "How about 'Icaria' then? An island transformed from the warrior who died chasing the sun, it fits your story perfectly."
Icaria closed his eyes, waiting for the curse to erase the name, but after waiting for a long time, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared blankly at Du Yu: "You..."
Du Yu failed to braid her hair with one hand, and somewhat guiltyly hid her messy blonde hair behind her back. She then guiltily changed the subject, letting go of the man's hand and trying to stand up.
"Since you have no objection, then I'll call you Xiao Yi... Hmm?"
The clasped hands had just parted when Icaria, who had been reluctant all along, suddenly reached out and gripped the other hand tightly, as if grasping at a lifeline. He stared intently at the judge, like a condemned prisoner awaiting the guillotine on the gallows, waiting for a verdict: "You, no, you..."
Du Yu scratched her face awkwardly. She knew why the other person was imprisoned here and the plans of the [Lord of the Pure Sea]. Their interests were aligned, but she still couldn't stand the other person's suddenly enthusiastic gaze: "I have gathered all the elements of a certain trend, and the curses of other gods have no effect on me."
"Th-thank you..."
Icaria thanked him incoherently, her gaze darting away as if she had finally made a decision. She unfastened the necklace around her neck; the greyish-white, feather-shaped pendant, made of stone-like material, still appeared dim under the purple flames.
"This is the third key. Take it; you must leave here."
Du Yu reached out and touched the pendant, which looked no different from an ordinary stone, with surprise. When he felt the lingering warmth on it, his fingers instinctively curled up: "What is this? You always kept the key to leave this place with you, but you stayed here to wait to die?"
Her world had been ravaged by the Lord of the Pure Sea, and she was unwilling to give it up, naturally for various reasons.
The other party failed to compete with the Lord of the Pure Sea for the element and was exiled here, leaving their original world. Like a fish out of water, they can only wait to die.
But if Du Yu hadn't unconsciously wandered here, the other party wouldn't have had any intention of saving themselves.
Icaria shook her head, her golden eyes staring straight at Du Yu. "No, you're the one who needs to leave."
Du Yu's eyes turned cold.
“If I leave, the world will collapse. Without the constraints of world consciousness, I am merely putting meat into that lord’s mouth.”
The other party seemed oblivious, his expression so sincere it resembled that of a madman about to be martyred, a far cry from the coldness he displayed when they first met: "The past and the present are both ashes from the ashes, but you are a new flame, and you should not remain here to decay together. When the [Reader] personally steps into the book, then He will become a character who can also be killed by a supporting character."
"I told you I can't..."
"Exchange fate."
Those golden eyes were resolute and sincere. Icaria gripped Du Yu's outstretched hand tightly, her voice quickening: "You have a future and responsibilities to bear. The embers of the past can be entrusted to someone like me who has no future..."
"That's enough. I don't need self-righteous sacrifices."
A finger pressed to her lips, a universally accepted "silence" gesture, and the purple eyes that had been watching him turned cold. At that moment, in Icaria's perception, a noticeable change occurred in this newly born god who didn't care about manners while eating. She was still smiling, but even a blind person wouldn't recognize it as a human smile.
The fact that Du Yu has been able to persevere through torment and loneliness to this day certainly shows that she has a will stronger than gold, but it also means that her spirit is only one step away from madness.
Icaria held her breath for a moment, then slowly raised her head. Her voice was soft, yet showed no hesitation: "Is it because of the 'curse' of immortality on you? A gift from the [White Witch], the seed's dying wish can even reverse traits..."
"What do you know?"
Icaria was slammed heavily onto the meteorite. The hard iron meteorite collapsed layer by layer without even lasting a moment. During the seemingly endless fall, the hand gripping her neck tightened its grip, and angry flames flickered in the air.
very nice……
As the hazy vision of death and freedom rose before his eyes, Icaria couldn't help but smile, a smile devoid of any impurities, only pure joy.
But the next moment, the fingers gripping his neck loosened.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Adding a little romance plot here ww
Sorry, it was so laggy, I spent ages rewriting and deleting [crying][crying]. I'll be giving out some small red envelopes in this chapter (sliding on my knees).
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