From the end of the world

Chapter 368 Ma Zao's Parents 2
Ma Zao's parents?

For a moment, I felt like I heard two words that could never be put together, like the wings of an egg, the hands and feet of a carp, the scales of a snail - or Ma Zao's parents.

Of course, I am not saying that Ma Zao was born from a stone. Since Ma Zao is also a human being, she must have a father and a mother. However, because she traveled from the apocalyptic era and has always lived alone, with only a small bowl by her side, I assume that she has already lost her parents, and even she herself has probably forgotten their faces and names.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Shi suddenly wanted to talk to me about Ma Zao's parents, which really caught me off guard.

Why would she bring up this kind of thing with me? Ma Zao's parents weren't born in this era... Wait.

Only then did I realize that I seemed to have forgotten something quite important until now.

By the way, Ma Zao did not travel to this era physically, but her soul. She already had a body in this era, and her body had its own social identity. Before Ma Zao traveled here, this body had been sleeping in a military hospital somewhere in Xianshui City. Zhu Shi's mother Zhu Jiu was also placed in that hospital in the past.

Since she was living in the hospital, someone must have handled her admission procedures and paid for her hospitalization expenses. Although the brain of this body had not proactively provided Ma Zao with any useful memories, Ma Zao's ignorance did not mean that the social relationships this body had did not exist.

The original owner of this body - Ma Zao of this era, must have his own relatives, friends, classmates and other social relations, rather than a body that appeared out of thin air and was specially prepared for Ma Zao to come to this era.

I was really careless, or maybe I paid too much attention to Ma Zao's identity as a doomsday visitor and his bad luck, and turned a blind eye to "Ma Zao who once lived an ordinary life." It was not until today, with Zhu Shi's reminder, that I finally remembered such an important thing.

"You really haven't thought about it, Brother Zhuang..."

Zhu Shi seemed to have figured out the truth from my reaction, and she showed a speechless expression.

"Did you think about this problem from the beginning?" I asked.

"Of course." Zhu Shi handed me the yellow file bag in his hand.

I took the file bag and opened it. Inside was some information recording Ma Zao's family situation during that era.

Ma Zao of this era was not born into a demon hunter family and had basically no connection with the weird world. His father was a middle-level manager of a construction company in Xianshui City, and his mother ran a bakery. The only special thing was that his daughter suddenly suffered from amnesia three years ago, when she was ten years old, and she has been sleeping ever since.

The parents loved their only daughter very much. They didn't know about amnesia and thought it was some unknown brain disease just like the hospital. Three years later, they never gave up hope of waking up their daughter.

After Ma Zao, whom I knew, traveled to this era and disappeared from the military hospital, the parents became anxious and began to look for their daughter everywhere. Soon after, Zhu Shi noticed this situation and reported it to Mr. Zhu. They found the parents and used mental magic to make them believe that their daughter had been found and was now receiving cutting-edge treatment in a national institution specializing in amnesia.

"Although using the power of spiritual magic to prevent them from seeing their daughter is not good in some ways, it was not a good time to bring Ma Zao to meet them." Zhu Shi said, "Not to mention that Ma Zao had no idea that she had parents in this era. At that time, she was in the vortex coveted by the dark forces of Luoshan, and she herself had a jinx physique.

"Forcing her to reunite with her parents would only bring mysterious dangers to them. After I realized her unlucky physique during the Shadow Changer incident, I became even more certain of this.

"Of course, if we just meet in private and exchange a few words, there shouldn't be any problem. Although even if we bring Ma Zao to them now, we probably won't be able to have a proper conversation... But in any case, I still think that the relationship between parents and children should not be cut off so hastily.

“Now that even the matter of Mingzhu has been resolved and many things have been settled, I think it’s time for Ma Zao to meet his parents.

"Although you might say that the current Ma Zao is the Ma Zao from the apocalypse era, and that she is a different person in spirit from the Ma Zao of this era, the possibility that they are the same person is not low. To put it another way, even if the Ma Zao we know is really not the Ma Zao of this era, she is at least using the body of the Ma Zao of this era, so she may also need to bear some of the karma... or responsibilities of the Ma Zao of this era."

While listening to Zhu Shi's words, I read through all the information and then reorganized and overlapped it.

Ma Zao's mother in this era is the owner of a bakery, and Ma Zao says that she somehow remembers the steps of making cakes, and even her body seems to have some memories... Is this because the soul of the Ma Zao I know is really the Ma Zao of this era? Or is it because her body and brain have invisibly fed back the memories of the original owner to her?

This part still has no answer for the time being, but I partially agree with Zhu Shi's words. If Ma Zao is really using the body of Ma Zao of this era, then it is necessary to end his old interpersonal relationships. Whether to sever the relationship or maintain the relationship, the decision should be made after facing it carefully.

"Why did you tell me alone first instead of telling Ma Zao directly?" I asked.

"Ma Zaoke is different from you, Senior Brother Zhuang. She is a good child. Once she realizes that she may not only have unconsciously occupied someone else's body, but also that the original owner of the body has parents who love her very much, she may feel extremely stressed." Zhu Shi said, "So I hope you can be prepared to comfort her in advance."

I pointed out mercilessly: "You just don't want to be the only one to tell Ma Zao about this, so you want to drag me along with you."

Zhu Shi looked away, looking very guilty. I don't really mind such trivial matters. Rather, I am actually quite happy that Zhu Shi came to me for consultation.

"And... I'm actually a little unsure whether I should really tell Ma Zao." Zhu Shi said in a low voice, "She doesn't seem to realize that she has parents in this era... Maybe it's because she lacks the understanding of the relationship between 'parents'. Maybe it's better not to tell her..."

"There are reasons for not telling me, but I still think I should tell you," I said.

"Why?" Zhu Shi asked seriously.

"Because what I hate most is hiding things and dragging things out," I said.

"Why don't you tell me the benefits of doing this!" Zhu Shi complained, "Also, are you qualified to say this! Especially to Ma Zao!"

I turned my head away and said to Ma Zao who was in another place, "Ma Zao, we're done talking, come back."

At this moment, Ma Zao was standing at the other end of the corridor outside the room, standing in front of the window sill and looking at the scenery outside. With her perception, she could hear our conversation, but she seemed to consciously not listen. My voice ignored the physical walls and the distance in space and appeared directly beside her ears. Since my hands can penetrate space and directly reach distant objects, it is also possible to let the sound ignore space and transmit to the target location.

Ma returned to the room early.

I got off the bed and sat on the edge, mentally prepared to tell Ma Zao the truth; and Zhu Shi also sat next to me with a serious face, looking at Ma Zao solemnly.

"What are you..."

Ma Zao seemed to sense something from this solemn atmosphere and looked at us with confusion.

"Morning, we have something very important to tell you," I said.

"Very important matter." Ma Zao recited.

"Yes, it is very important." Zhu Shi also spoke up, "Not only is it very important to you, it also concerns the two most important people to you."

"The two people who are most important to me..." Ma Zao's eyes moved between me and Zhu Shi.

"There's no need to go into too much detail. I'll just get straight to the point. Ma Zao, have you ever thought about your parents?" I said, "In the past, you lived alone in the apocalyptic era. The existence of your parents may have come too late for you, but I need to tell you this matter, which is..."

Before I could continue, Ma Zao suddenly took a step back and looked at me and Zhu Shi in disbelief: "Could it be that..."

Zhu Shi sighed: "It seems that you have understood it. Yes, it is just as you think."

"Are you planning to be together and then adopt me as your daughter?" Ma Zao said in shock.

"Ah?" I almost didn't react.

Zhu Shi said loudly: "Wait - why did it become such a misunderstanding?"

"But, isn't that the case?" Ma Zao said with a complicated expression, "You two are the most important people to me, and this matter is not only important to you, but also to me. What are you talking about parents..."

"We're talking about your parents," I said.

"Yeah, so that's not the case... No, wait..."

As he spoke, Ma Zao finally seemed to react.

"My...parents?" she muttered blankly.

(End of this chapter)