From the end of the world

Chapter 414 Xiaowan's True Form
Among all the Apostles in the Void Realm, Xiaowan was the easiest to identify. Therefore, I recognized instantly that the small and exquisite figure that appeared in my field of vision was Xiaowan himself.

I immediately walked up to her and came to her quickly. She seemed to be a little frightened at first, but then she saw that it was me and quickly relaxed. She called out in a cute and polite voice: "Long time no see, Mr. No. 3."

"Long time no see, Number Two," I said, "although from my perspective it's only been about three weeks."

"More than three weeks... I feel like I've been here for at least three months." Xiaowan said.

She probably didn't mean that it had been a long time since she last saw me, as if it had been more than three months. In the doomsday era where the flow of time is chaotic, it is easy for each other's experience of time to be inconsistent.

When she was on the verge of becoming a demon, she was lucky enough not to go to a place where time flows too fast, otherwise she would not have survived until I found the name Xiaowan for her. Or was this luck also brought about by her correct position in the universe?

Xiaowan seemed to be observing me carefully. After a while, she said tentatively: "Mr. No. 3, the feeling you give me seems to be a little different from before... It seems that you have become more powerful than before. Could it be..."

"Yes, I am now the Great Impermanence." I said directly, "I have also defeated Mingzhu and rescued my friend. I have basically solved all the problems I asked you to help with last time."

Seeing that I didn't avoid Xuanming and No. 7's ears, Xiaowan was startled at first, and then he made a joyful sound that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart: "Really? That's great, Mr. No. 3!"

I had already digested all that, but now seeing her so happy for me, I couldn't help but feel happy. But I didn't come here just to report this to her.

I held out my hand to her.

Perhaps it was because so much time had passed on her end that she was a little confused at first when she saw my actions. Then she reacted, raised her two hands, and obediently held the hand I extended.

Then, through the power of telepathy, her voice rang out in my mind.

"Mr. Three, is there anything you want to tell me in private?"

As she asked, she secretly glanced at Xuanming and No. 7 in the distance. Xuanming seemed to be quite interested in our activities and looked at us with an unpredictable look.

Although I told Xiaowan my real name last time, she seemed to be more accustomed to calling me "Mr. No. 3".

In fact, I also prefer this special name, which has a sense of non-routine.

"Yes. I should have found your identity in the modern world," I said.

"The identity in the modern world... Are you referring to what I mentioned last time, that I might not be a native of the apocalyptic era, but a person with amnesia who traveled from Mr. No. 3's era to the apocalyptic era?" Xiaowan seemed to find it difficult to digest and said, "...you found my sleeping body from that era?"

"No, that's not the case." I said, "Xiao Wan, do you still remember the name 'Zhu Shi'?"

"I remember. It was another 'love strategist' that Mr. No. 3 found." Xiaowan responded immediately.

But the focus of her memory was very strange, and she said very seriously: “Mr. No. 3, you must never be with a girl other than Sister Ma Zao!

"The kind of girl who says she can help you with your relationship problems while sneaking up on you is the most cunning. She will pretend to be harmless and come close to you, accompany you as a listener, win your favor, and quietly occupy a place in your heart. At first, she will say she will help you with your advice, and then she will gradually suggest that you practice confession with her, and later she will even casually welcome you to practice kissing and other naughty things with her... When you want to withdraw, it's too late!

"I feel like you, Mr. No. 3, might be slow to react to this kind of thing, and you might be easily fooled...By the way, how far have you and that person named Zhu Shi developed so far?

"Listening stage? Or confession practice stage? It's impossible that we are already kissing..."

I answered honestly: "I have already made an engagement with Zhu Shi, and she is now my fiancée."

Xiaowan's eyes widened, and he even uttered a sound involuntarily: "What——!!"

It seemed like this was the first time I heard her speak so loudly. When the voice sounded, even No. 7 was startled and looked over here reflexively.

Xiao Wan quickly closed her mouth and asked in a panic, "What's going on? Why why why? Doesn't Mr. No. 3 like Sister Ma Zao? Why did he get engaged to Zhu Shi? Could it be that Mr. No. 3 was recorded with evidence in the hands of that vixen named Zhu Shi——"

"That's not the case. Calm down and listen to me. The point is not about Zhu Shi and my engagement." I said, "Do you remember what we talked about at the beginning? The point is that Zhu Shi is you."

Upon hearing this, Xiaowan suddenly crashed.

After a few seconds, the little girl, who was about ten years old, spoke again: "...The vixen spirit is myself?" Among the people I have met, the ones who are most suitable for the word "vixen" are Yin Yue and Chang An, because they really have the blood of foxes.

"Listen to my explanation first. Zhu Shi is not the person you think he is," I said.

"...Okay, I'll listen to Mr. No. 3's explanation first." Xiaowan nodded blankly, "...What's going on?"

I told Xiaowan the basis for my conclusion that "Zhu Shi is Xiaowan" and the whole story of how Zhu Shi became my fiancée.

At the same time, I also told him that Zhu Shi had no romantic relationship.

Slowly, Xiaowan seemed to digest the shocking information and regained his usual calmness and rationality.

"Mr. No. 3... this should be the so-called 'two-timing', right?" She seemed to reveal a speechless look, "Although Sister Ma Zao is a bit stupid and thinks that the third party is me, so she is happy to accept this kind of thing; and that fox girl named Zhu Shi... can accept this absurd development due to her special circumstances... But Mr. No. 3, you don't have those special circumstances, right?"

"I think as long as Ma Zao is happy, it's enough. And Zhu Shi has also solved his marriage problem, and my fate anchor has been consolidated. At the same time, none of the three of us feel unhappy about it. Is there any problem with this?" I asked.

"I almost forgot, Mr. No. 3, you were the pervert who originally planned to imprison a little girl of Mazao's age..." Xiaowan covered her head with one hand, "I actually accidentally mistakenly thought that Mr. No. 3 was actually a person with common sense and ethical concepts..."

Her reaction now makes me feel like she is Zhu Shi, very friendly.

"Compared to this, how do you feel now?" I said, "After regaining the name Zhu Shi, have you remembered your memory as Zhu Shi?"

Xiaowan followed his instructions and focused on the present. She seemed to be checking her consciousness.

After a moment, she shook her head: "No... The name Zhu Shi does feel very familiar to me, as if I have known this name for a long time... But I don't feel that I am Zhu Shi, and no memories of the past have surfaced."

This answer was not beyond my expectations.

When I gave her the name Xiao Wan in the past, her reaction was like she was being manipulated by a mysterious spell and she fell into a trance. If I gave her her real name, she might have a more intense reaction. But when she heard the name Zhu Shi, her reaction was very calm.

Maybe it’s because “Zhu Shi” isn’t a name she really identifies with. I still have to use my trump card.

"Then... what about 'Zhu Jiuxing'?" I stared into her eyes, "Your real name is not 'Zhu Shi'. That is just the title given to you as the tenth generation descendant of the Zhu family.

"Zhu Jiuxing - this is your original name."

Upon hearing this, Xiaowan was struck by lightning and stood there in a daze.

"I am... Zhu Jiuxing?" she said absentmindedly.

Then she fell into a long silence.

It seems that I finally entered the correct "password" for her this time, and her reaction now is just like the last time she regained the name Xiaowan. I can also relax and feel that I have solved a long-term problem.

However, I will have to face new puzzles afterwards. Why did Zhu Shi turn into Xiao Wan in the apocalyptic era? Is Xiao Wan Zhu Shi's true self or his dream incarnation? If it is the latter, should she return to Zhu Shi's true self? Questions kept popping up in my mind one after another, and I couldn't figure out a solution for the time being.

And at this moment, Xiaowan suddenly broke the silence.

The words she spoke were like a huge rock thrown into a pond, causing the mud and sand to rise and tumble, making the originally visible bottom-filled pond become complicated and tangled.

"I... am not Zhu Jiuxing." Xiaowan said.

"...What?" I was a beat late before I could hear it clearly.

"The name Zhu Jiuxing feels very familiar to me, even more familiar than the name Zhu Shi..." Xiaowan said in a complicated tone, "But... I'm not Zhu Jiuxing."

(End of this chapter)