From the end of the world

Chapter 597 Mom
I have seen quite a few corpses so far, so it is impossible for me not to be able to tell the difference between "sleeping like dead" and "dying like sleeping". Although Zhu Jiu was lying motionless, her face was ruddy and her breathing was even. She had the body temperature of a living person, and one could hear the sound of her heart beating. She was definitely alive.

Zhu Shi and Mr. Zhu both breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't know whether I should be disappointed. Normal moral concepts told me that my friend's mother was still alive, and I should congratulate her no matter what. Although I am not a person who conforms to normal morals, I can't help but feel ashamed of my dark psychological activities, and I also know that I shouldn't show an attitude that will spoil the fun of people around me at this time.

We walked forward together and gathered around Zhu Jiu's bed. Xiao Wan's eyes showed complex colors, she looked down at Zhu Jiu's face, as if she was a little confused.

"Xiao Wan...right?" Mr. Zhu called out tentatively, "Since you are now...you are using my daughter's soul, then if you touch her body..."

In some strange stories about out-of-body experiences, the soul of a person who is seriously ill or has experienced a near-death experience may run out of the body and see his unconscious body from the perspective of a bystander. However, as long as there is direct contact with his body, the soul will return to his body as if it were sucked in.

There are similar records in many of Luo Shan's materials. Although Xiao Wan can now touch matter at will, he is actually still an illusory soul. And it is completely different from a helpless ghost. From my observation, there is a spiritual connection between Xiao Wan and the body of Zhu Jiu that is close at hand. Maybe he can really treat that body as his own container and wear it like clothes.

Looking at Zhu Jiu's beautiful face lying on the bed, which seemed as youthful as ever and as beautiful as Zhu Shi's sister, I imagined the scene of Xiao Wan standing in front of me with Zhu Jiu's appearance and calling him "Brother Zhuang Cheng" obediently. I just felt how incongruous that was.

Xiaowan pondered for a moment, then reached out and gently stroked Zhu Jiu's cheek.

Zhu Shi looked at the small bowl anxiously.

A faint illusory light emerged from the outline of the small bowl, but soon the illusory light dimmed and disappeared, reminiscent of a household light that failed to start due to insufficient electricity.

She did not automatically enter Zhu Jiu's body.

Under Zhu Shi's puzzled gaze, Xiao Wan said something without any context: "...I see."

"Do you understand anything?" I asked.

"I have the instinct to return to this body, and I can feel that this body wants to absorb me into it." Xiaowan said, "But, for the time being, I am a different existence from this body. Just like a puzzle piece cannot be inserted into a gap that is different from its own specifications, I cannot enter this body smoothly.

"Of course, if you use methods such as summoning spirits to forcibly embed yourself in it like an evil spirit is possessed, that's another matter... But that's just trying to make Zhu Jiu's body move, it's not really making Zhu Jiu return."

Mr. Zhu suddenly asked: "So, what if we use the power of return? If we use Ma Zao's power of return, can we make her soul return?"

"That's impossible." Xiaowan shook her head. "A long time ago, Sister Ma Zao used the power of return to reset me. That was the first time I met Sister Ma Zao, when she saved me from the brink of becoming a demon...

"Because Zhu Jiu and childhood Zhu Shi both had the obsession of making Zhu Shi happy, an error occurred at that time, and after restoration, the person I am now is me. If Sister Ma Zao had known about this deviation factor at that time, she might have eliminated all the errors that occurred during the repair work and successfully repaired Zhu Jiu, but it is too late now.

"The power of the Righteous Law of Heaven and Earth will automatically maintain my existence, and the power of return can no longer eliminate my fault. This is true even if Sister Ma Zao is very powerful, because the Righteous Law of Heaven and Earth on my side is an enhanced version mixed with the power of the fragments of the Divine Seal.

"At the same time, even if Sister Mazao has a way to return to the time when she just met me, it will be useless. The power of the fragment of the divine seal will correct all the factors that may affect the 'current Void Realm Apostle' through 'modifying history'. This is the same reason why the historical results caused by human gods... and the Great Impermanence cannot be modified.

"If you want me to retreat back to Zhu Jiu, there are two ways I can think of.

"One of the methods is to let Sister Ma Zao become the Great Impermanence first, and then use the power of returning to the realm of God to forcibly suppress my power of the Heaven and Earth of the Right Position Law. As long as there is the power of the Great Impermanence, even the power of the fragment of the God Seal will become less absolute."

Ma Zao said nothing.

Even if she really became the Great Impermanence, it would be impossible for her to forcibly restore Xiaowan into Zhu Jiu. That would be equivalent to killing Xiaowan.

There is no such a strong relationship between her and Zhu Jiu.

"Then...is there another method?" Zhu Shi asked.

Hearing this question, Xiaowan looked at Zhu Shi and became silent for some reason, as if he was thinking about something.

She stared at Zhu Shi for a long time, and suddenly smiled faintly.

"Jiu Xing, can you come over to me?" she said softly.

Hearing this, Zhu Shi was stunned, and seemed to take a step back involuntarily. Mr. Zhu was also stunned, looking at Xiaowan with a look of surprise.

"How...what?" Zhu Shi was a little incoherent.

"I want to take a good look at you." Xiao Wan said. Zhu Shi became at a loss, looking at Xiao Wan and then at Zhu Jiu lying on the bed, as if trying to distinguish something.

"What exactly are you going to do?" Zhu Shiliu asked in a panic.

I also raised a question: "Xiao Wan, is it really okay for you to have contact with Zhu Shi?"

In the past, Lu Youxun came into contact with the National First-Class Demon Hunter Medal, which he had abandoned and pinned his dreams on, and then he turned back into Lu Chan. The dream incarnation girl Lu Chan also disappeared completely. If Xiaowan came into contact with Zhu Shi, I don't know what the consequences would be.

But Xiaowan just shook his head and said, "No problem."

Then, Xiao Wan looked at Zhu Shi again, but did not continue to speak, as if waiting for Zhu Shi to come over. After a while, Zhu Shi swallowed his saliva and walked to Xiao Wan.

Xiaowan looked up at Zhu Shi and waved down. Zhu Shi hesitated, then bent his waist slightly. Xiaowan waved again, and Zhu Shi could only squat down, making his sight lower than Xiaowan's.

At this point, Xiao Wan was finally satisfied. She first stretched out her left hand, and slowly and gently stroked Zhu Shi's cheek with her small palm.

At first, Zhu Shi seemed to be a little reluctant and wanted to turn his head away, but he endured it. Then, Xiao Wan stretched out her right hand and stroked Zhu Shi's cheeks as if she was holding a treasure. Then her hands slowly moved and stroked Zhu Shi's hair. The two tender little hands were like combs, and the delicate and smooth hair, like a black waterfall, flowed and slid between her fingers.

Zhu Shi's expression gradually relaxed. She stared into Xiao Wan's eyes face to face, and Xiao Wan also stared at her intently. She seemed to be obsessed with him, and her body leaned forward slightly, as if she wanted to hug Xiao Wan.

Xiaowan's hands returned to Zhu Shi's cheeks, and she gently stroked her eye sockets with her fingertips, the eyes that housed the power of Mount Buzhou.

Not long ago, Xiaowan told me that only by seeing Zhu Shi with her own eyes, talking to him and touching his body, could she truly know whether she wanted to fulfill her innate mission.

And now, she seemed to have got the answer.

"Jiu Xing, your eyes look really strong now." Xiao Wan said, "You must have suffered a lot to become so strong."

Tears suddenly welled up in Zhu Shi's eyes, and she hugged Xiao Wan. Xiao Wan also hugged her, patting her back gently as if she were a child.

"...There is another way, which is to get rid of my obsession." Xiaowan then continued to talk to us, "I not only want to make Sister Mazao happy, but also want Jiuxing to be happy. Just like her childhood dream, to be with the person she loves, to get married, and to live a peaceful and beautiful life.

"As long as I complete all my missions, Zhu Jiu will return even if I don't need the power of return. He will return to this body under the influence of spiritual connection. And I will naturally exit, like a dream that I have finally woken up from."

Ma Zao wavered for a moment: "But..."

“…But isn’t this somewhat contradictory?”

Mr. Zhu seemed to be undecided about the tone of his voice when talking to Xiaowan, but he finally adjusted the distance to a distance that was neither too close nor too far, and continued, "My granddaughter has no romantic feelings. It's easy to say whether she will get married or not, but I don't think she will really fall in love with someone. That kind of thing is not true from the beginning.

"If you want her love to return, you must first eliminate your existence; and if you want to eliminate your existence, you must first let her fall in love... Isn't this a vicious circle?"

"It won't turn out like that." Xiaowan said, "The person responsible for making the judgment is not Jiuxing herself, but me. As long as I think Jiuxing's life is as happy as she expected in her childhood, then it will be qualified.

"Don't worry about me making a bad whistle in this regard. Because this is what I was born for. This is the meaning of my existence."

It was unknown how much Zhu Shi heard of the conversation between the two. She simply buried her face in Xiaowan's hair that hung on her shoulders. After a moment, she murmured as if in a dream: "...Mom."

"I'm not your mother yet." Xiaowan said.

"Mom." Zhu Shi said stubbornly.

Xiao Wan said helplessly: "Okay... I am a mother, I am a mother."

Zhu Shi held Xiao Wan's small body and couldn't stop crying. Xiao Wan held her with both hands like a mother, stroking her hair, with a loving look on her young face.

(End of this chapter)