Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Patchouli Knowledge. A woman who suddenly disappeared without a trace not long ago.

When Alice saw her, she pursed her lips and gave Alice a warm smile.

A few minutes later...

After a brief self-introduction and polite greeting, Juliana left, leaving Alice and Patchouli alone at the church entrance. Occasionally, a few believers seeking the bishop's confession would politely walk around them when they saw them, and the two would then move away from the church entrance to stroll leisurely on the side balcony of the church, where they could see into the distance.

"How was your conversation with Luo Ye?" Patchouli's voice was as gentle and soft as ever, like a breeze brushing against Alice's ear. "You seem to have gained a lot?"

"You really know me, Patchouli." Alice shook her head slightly. She wasn't surprised that Patchouli had arrived before her, since she shared all the information she knew with Patchouli. As for Luo Ye, she planned to discuss it later, since time wasn't particularly urgent at the moment.

“Of course I understand you, Alice. Because we are one.” Patchouli took her hand, just as the main body around the table did. “If there are any doubts, let’s resolve them together. If it’s not appropriate to reveal them, then you can rest on my shoulder and relax by my side.”

“I don’t think we should waste this precious holiday like this.” Alice tilted her head slightly. “We need to do something meaningful.”

"For example?" The person tilted their head in agreement.

Then--

——'Chirp'

Section 5: Simple Fishing by the Lake Under the Moon

Yharnam is a peaceful city, a warm and welcoming city—it truly deserves this description once the chaotic elements of ancient gods, parasites, arcane arts, and religious fanaticism have been completely stripped from this world. The Healing Church, which once caused countless tragedies, has now become an ordinary, positive church. And the hunters who hunted monsters, who lived among slaughter and madness, have become unconventional adventurers specializing in dealing with beasts. Life may still be tough, but it's far better than in the old days.

Before sunset, Alice and Patchouli, strolling through the streets, saw more than one weary former hunter. They also repeatedly encountered adventurers who had shed their hunter identity and returned to civilian life. Gascoigne, Irene, Maria, and others, who were originally destined to die in the Bloodborne scenario, belonged to the latter group. The slightly more radical Simon, Alfred, and others continued their hunt. Their targets shifted from monsters to unusual beasts in the forests and sewers outside the city, and their hunts proceeded quite smoothly.

After all, a hunter is a hunter, even if he wakes up from his dream, he is still a hunter.

Alice and Patchouli also took on the role of hunters during their trip. They bought hunter's attire in the streets of Yharnam and, in their ordinary forms, hunted a mutated giant serpent that had retained its mystique even after being stripped away. After cleaning the naturally occurring parasites from the snake's body, the two enjoyed a hearty roasted snake—Alice roasted the head, and Patchouli roasted the tail. The head was then completely devoured by other scavenging beasts after they left. The tail… well, it could probably survive in the forest for half a month, even in summer.

Well, it was just a minor incident, not worth worrying about—after that, the two explored the city ruins in Yharnam. And they found the famous Hunter's Workshop from the Bloodborne scenario without much effort. The abandoned doll lay quietly in the deepest part of the workshop—her craftsmanship was excellent; when Alice found her, she didn't even notice a single structural flaw.

"It's quite an interesting manufacturing process. Although it's an automatic mechanism based on the power of the ancient gods, it can still be powered by a different energy source. If we make some adjustments to its internal structure and fill it with a few information rituals, it might be able to move around like in the original script and even have its own consciousness." - Alice concluded after examining the abandoned doll's internal structure.

Then Patchouli just watched her quietly, looking as if she was expecting something.

Alice thought for two seconds, then immediately realized she had focused on the wrong person. This was a secluded, private space, completely isolated from the world and free from any external interference. And she had actually focused her attention on other 'women' besides Patchouli—this wasn't just dull-witted, it was downright foolish. Fortunately, she realized it in time; better late than never.

What followed was a roughly two-hour period of remedial work. The details are omitted here, but before the two left, Patchouli, in a much better mood, personally set up an information array within the abandoned doll that could be used even in this magic-free environment—after all, while information magic is magic, its materialistic aspects are quite scientific. About ten minutes after the two left the abandoned workshop, the newly formed doll opened its eyes.

This might lead to an interesting story and an intriguing adventure. The encounters of a living doll, burdened with destiny and possessing a unique supernatural power, in a now-ordinary fantasy world, could easily be written down and make for a fine story. But that's no longer the journey the two who initiated it will be.

—Perhaps not.

In short, after the two left the ruins of Yharnam, it was already afternoon. Having ended their hunter careers, the two witches headed to Byrwarkins, a place in the Bloodborne universe that holds a vast amount of knowledge—a gathering place for scholars. In the original scenario, these scholars were corrupted by the knowledge of the Old Gods, transforming into monstrous creatures resembling slugs or flies. Meanwhile, an ancient spider capable of freezing time in a region was imprisoned in Moonlit Lake near Byrwarkins. Defeating it would trigger a key plot point in the entire Bloodborne scenario.

Of course, all these chaotic things have now completely disappeared with the stripping away of the mysterious power. The celestial phenomena and history studied by scholars can no longer bring them power or disaster. And the ancient spider and the sealed ritual have also been completely erased, as if they had never existed.

As a witch who loved knowledge, Patchouli quickly obtained her library pass upon arriving at the Citadel and began to immerse herself in the ocean of knowledge. Alice spent several hours with her in the library, and after doing some things that girls should do, she was successfully thrown out of the library window and landed with a splash in the mirror-like lake.

It was standard procedure, nothing to discuss. However, after Alice climbed out of the lake and changed into a scholar's outfit at the nearest clothing store, she encountered a somewhat unexpected fellow by the moonlit lake.

She saw Chu Xuan, wearing a sun hat, sitting in a chair fishing with a rod. Just as she saw him, Chu Xuan pulled a large fish, about a foot and a half long, from the lake with his long rod.

"Surprised?" Wearing a sun hat, Chu Xuan pushed up his resin-framed glasses, which he had replaced with blackout sunglasses, and once again cast his fishing rod, loaded with bait, into the lake.

"It's quite unexpected." Alice looked Chu Xuan up and down, his casual attire causing a huge sense of incongruity to surge within her. She subconsciously glanced around, only to find that apart from a few scholars who were also keen on fishing and were casting admiring glances at them, there was no familiar figure she had expected.

“Zheng Zha left an hour and a half ago,” Chu Xuan replied casually. “He called himself the ‘Fishing Prince,’ but the number of fish he caught in half an hour was less than what I caught in half a minute. So he awkwardly made an excuse and ran away. Now that I think about it, he should be back in Yanan City. I estimate he’ll be going to experience the life of a hunter.”

—Another big fish was caught by Chu Xuan, this time it was two feet long. He took the struggling creature off the hook and threw it back into the lake.

Alice turned her head and saw about fourteen fish, native to the Bloodborne world, in the fish basket at Chu Xuan's feet. Each fish was about a foot and a half long, and their weight and color were roughly the same.

Alice could roughly guess why Chu Xuan had been able to stay here for so long, given his fishing skills—having figured this out, Alice moved a small stool from nearby and sat down. She also got a fishing rod and started fishing like Chu Xuan.

Her technique wasn't great because she wasn't focusing on the act of fishing itself. Even so, she caught a fresh, local fish a little over a foot and a half long two minutes later.

It wasn't long, nor short. But its size didn't match the other fish in Chu Xuan's basket—she shook her head, intending to throw the fish into the lake as well. But before she could raise her hand, Chu Xuan extended his fishing rod to stop her.

"This one's fine." Chu Xuan said calmly, casually placing the fish Alice was about to throw into the fish basket. He had thrown out three or four more before Alice caught this one. The mirror-like surface of Moonlit Lake rippled with neat, regular waves.

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think of fishing?" she asked, putting away her fishing rod.

“Very interesting.” Chu Xuan’s answer was brief and quick. “You don’t know what kind of fish you’ll catch, when you’ll catch one, or how many you’ll catch. The feeling of the unknown is very interesting.” He abruptly changed the subject just as Alice was about to continue his line of thought. “But using chaotic algorithms to create intelligent AI and using random functions to develop materials is just as interesting.”

"...Are you just enjoying the process of exploring the unknown?"

"It's not just about exploring the unknown. But figuring out things I didn't know before makes me feel... my thinking flows smoothly," Chu Xuan replied calmly, carefully choosing his words as he summarized. "Once I unlock the fourth-tier, no, the third-tier, or even the deeper second-tier gene lock, I'll be able to see the movement of tiny schools of fish in a complex sea at a glance. I'll know what kind of fish I can catch, how many, and when. So until then, I plan to experience this feeling of exploration."

"Is this one of the reasons why you are unwilling to unlock the fourth level of the gene lock?"

"The past counts, but the present doesn't." Chu Xuan cast his line again. And then—

“You’ve actually seen similar scenes in the ‘future,’ Alice. Scenes of me and Zheng Zha fishing by the river or the sea.”

The girl's fingers stiffened slightly.

"Don't be surprised, a little deduction will tell you. Excluding the two unexpected factors of you and Patchouli, Zheng Zha would only act if the Zhongzhou team suffered heavy losses and he was the only one left alive. At that time, he would at most unlock the third stage of the gene lock, and according to his personality, he would only be able to barely trust me if I showed human emotions. And with his shallow social skills, it would be nothing more than drinking, fishing and telling stories."

He pulled another two-foot-long fish out of the lake and threw it back in. At the same time, he cast his fishing line again.

"He wants to use my brain, but he also fears my intelligence. So he must find a field where he thinks he can surpass me to compete with me and assert his authority. Out of pride, he won't use his hands, and out of self-awareness, he won't use his brain. So fishing, an activity that requires little skill, will become his first choice."

"The fishing prince, resurrection, and the legend of gods and ghosts—these three combined make it highly likely that he'll have a fishing contest with me on the banks of the Nile. Then I'll retaliate fiercely, albeit somewhat emotionally, as a form of consolation for him, and as a counterattack to awaken me from my slumber of death—but then you appeared."

“But we appeared.” Alice repeated softly, then a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

"You foresaw that you would die in the Curse of the Ninja, and you prepared for it?"

Chu Xuan turned his head and continued fishing.

“I spent thirty minutes learning how to fish before the end of Ju-on,” he said casually. “But since I woke up, Zheng Zha has never asked me to go fishing—until today.”

Alice wasn't quite sure how she should respond to that statement.

"You guessed right, I value Zheng Zha very much." Chu Xuan's tone was as calm as ever, sounding somewhat like Luo Ye's not long ago. "When I first met him, I had a feeling that I would inevitably have to deal with him in the future. After his resurrection, this feeling became even stronger. Although we haven't spent much time together, I always consider him a close friend with whom I can entrust my life. And this feeling reached its peak when he first touched the boundary of the middle stage of the fourth tier."

His tone faltered slightly. This time, the fishhook thrown into the lake remained submerged for an unusually long time.

"Gu Hejun, is that right?"

Alice's stiff fingers gradually regained their softness.

"...You've been to the Abyss of Death." Alice's tone was serious and certain.

“I’ve been to the Abyss of Death, more than once.” Chu Xuan admitted without hesitation, then replied, “I’ve seen many things and learned many things. Once, I even saw your mother.”

Alice hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

"Whether you admit it or not is irrelevant, because objective facts cannot be denied. Just as I cannot deny my past life, nor can I deny Zheng Zha's past life. And Gu and Jun are connected."

"...Zheng Zha is no longer ancient; his path of pioneering is completely different from the path of the ancient human emperor."

“Yes, with your help, he is no longer Gu.” Chu Xuan nodded slightly. “Just as I learned many things in advance because of your influence, I am now trying to avoid becoming like Jun. And it is precisely because of this that the connection between him and me has only changed, but it has not been severed.”

With a flick of his wrist, he pulled a plump, round fish from the Moonlit Lake. Its length was a perfect 1.5 feet, and he promptly tossed the rather clumsy-looking fish into his basket. This brought his total number of fish to sixteen.

A natural and unpretentious smile appeared on his face as the corners of his mouth turned up. He quickly packed up his fishing gear, turned around, and strode towards the sunset in the direction of Yanan city.

"Dusk will arrive soon, and it won't be long before that idiot insists on dinner time."

"It's time to go back."

Section Six: Respectful Gathering

As dusk fell, Yharnam showed no unusual signs under the setting sun. Patchouli, having finished reading, brought back a two-horse carriage from the Citadel, laden with scrolls and Citadel-specific spices. The journey from Byrgenworth to Yharnam was not far.

The journey took half an hour, during which Chu Xuan rode with the two witches. Not far from Byrgenworth, the makeshift team encountered Zhang Heng and Ming Yanwei, who were hunting in the outer forests of Yharnam—formerly known as the Forbidden Forest. They no longer looked like lovers, or even former lovers, but simply comrades-in-arms.

Zhang Heng hunted a bull, while Ming Yanwei killed a wild boar with an arrow. The carriage's speed undoubtedly decreased by thirty percent as they hung their prey on the back of the carriage. However, Chu Xuan didn't seem to think this would slow their return to Yanan.

If he doesn't care, then naturally everyone else will too.

“I used to have a dream: I wanted to participate in the Olympic Games and win the individual archery championship.” Zhang Heng said self-deprecatingly as he put his coat, which was stained with cow blood, out of the carriage window to dry after getting into the carriage. “Now I could win the Olympic championship with my eyes closed and my toes, but my past dream has long been thrown into the dust.”

“You can find a parallel world of Earth and hold a sports meet, then let the final champion come and compete against you.” Sitting across from him, Ming Yanwei shook her head, too lazy to even gather her long hair that was draped behind her. “I guarantee you’ll encounter some unexpected surprises then.”

"Come on, I can't beat you at archery alone. Don't try to trick me with this." Zhang Heng shrugged; he knew exactly what Ming Yanwei meant from her words. The two exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.

Ming Yanwei's laughter was natural and pure, while Zhang Heng's smile held a hint of disappointment—it's said that women subconsciously smooth their hair when they're around someone they care about, to emphasize their charm. And Ming Yanwei clearly no longer saw him as someone she considered more than just comradeship.

A broken mirror can never be mended, and even if the timeline is altered, the impact of past events doesn't disappear entirely. Perhaps for Ming Yanwei now, those tragic experiences from back then have been reduced to the level of tripping and falling on the street. But similarly, her relationship with Zhang Heng has also been reduced to a memory not much different from a highly immersive ADV game.

He understood and acknowledged this. Because as his spiritual level rose, gradually touching the realm of the extraordinary, the same change also surfaced within him—emotions, if not nurtured, would inevitably wither away. A truly extraordinary being needs no superfluous emotions, no social validation, for they are civilization themselves, they are society itself.

"After this mission is over, I plan to use my creation quota to create a soulmate for myself. Although I think I might not need it, it doesn't seem like a big problem to give it a try," Zhang Heng said calmly, the previous hint of disappointment almost completely erased from his mind. Only a trace of obsession remained.

“If we’re having a party, I’ll bring my family.” Ming Yanwei’s voice remained unchanged, and the smile in her eyes didn’t fade. “After all, I’ve already used up my baby-making quota. Huizi has helped me a lot.”

—Huizi is the name of the little girl that Mingyanwei adopted in the world of Ju-on's memories. She quickly recreated this little girl after her resurrection. Although this girl doesn't have much of a presence, one can occasionally sense a faint orange scent emanating from Mingyanwei.

And so, the last trace of obsession vanished without a trace. Something that had bound their path detached itself completely from them. And when this mission comes to an end, the Central Continent team may gain two more members capable of reaching higher realms.

The carriage paused briefly, and as the tracks widened again, the number of passengers increased from five to six. Zhan Lan, who had hired someone to transport several boxes of fresh vegetables, boarded the carriage at a farm on the outskirts of Yanan City. A clear look of surprise crossed her face when she saw how many people were already crammed into the carriage.

"I didn't expect we'd all thought of the same thing! Is this some kind of teamwork?" She directed the porters to attach the vegetable cart to the back of the carriage, and then, with Alice's help, converted the two-horse carriage into a four-horse carriage. This meant four horses were pulling one passenger compartment and one cargo compartment. The previously slowed-down speed was thus restored to normal.

“Yes, it’s tacit understanding.” Alice glanced at Chu Xuan, then nodded—as Zhan Lan sat down and the carriage started moving again, she asked, “Where are the others? Have you seen them?”

“Yes, I saw some of it—Luo Gandao and Cheng Xiao supposedly discovered a rather famous fishing village. Its shellfish and various seafood are quite famous. As for Ba Wang and Zhang Jie, they went to Hanwick and Yahgur respectively. It is said that these two towns are famous for their wines.” Zhan Lan tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, and then continued.

"I heard from Ba Wang that Xilin somehow got hold of an invitation and went to visit a castle called Cainhurst a long time ago. It seems that Xiao Honglu and Ying Kong haven't left Yanan. I don't know where Brother Zheng went... Hmm, but I think he should show up on time as the initiator."

"I see." Alice lowered her eyes and nodded. The carriage picked up its pace slightly and headed towards the city, as the setting sun gradually cast layers of golden light in the distance.

It seemed everyone in the team had a good understanding, including the fact that Zero always seemed to have no presence – a long-standing, established pattern. She considered trying to activate the consciousness of the objects around the table to see what Zero was doing. But then she decided to put this small matter aside for the time being.

—If you see things too clearly and know too much, the joy will naturally disappear. During a precious holiday, there's no need to take everything too seriously.

She largely agreed with Chu Xuan's statement, at least during this holiday when she only had a fleeting thought of him. Of course, this was only part of the reason. Another reason was that Patchouli, having finished reading, had somehow turned her head to the side and fallen asleep, leaning against her shoulder.

To be distracted in this situation would be incredibly insensitive and lack of romantic understanding.

Alice thought to herself, and carefully reached out to smooth Patchouli's slightly disheveled hair. Warm sunlight streamed through the carriage window, bathing Patchouli in a soft glow, illuminating her peaceful sleeping face. The rolling of the carriage wheels on the cobblestone street seemed to create a rhythmic melody. Gradually, Alice felt a deep, hidden weariness silently welling up within her.

Perhaps... taking a short nap... wouldn't hurt...

..............................

She awoke to the sound of a melodious organ performance. When Alice opened her eyes, a bright, clear moon already hung in the sky above Yharnam. Pure moonlight bathed the Victorian-style Western European city, and the night breeze stirred, causing the once sacred trees and white flowers to sway and dance to the music.

The piece being played was "Ballade pour Adeline," and the performer was, unsurprisingly, Patchouli. Alice glanced around and realized she was at the very top of Yharnam, on that temple-like city platform used in the original Bloodborne scenario to house the Elder God's infant son, Megol.

Her companions had chosen a good spot. She gently rubbed her forehead, folded the coat she was wearing, and set it aside. The faint aroma of various ingredients being cooked wafted in the night breeze. She looked up and saw her companions bustling about in the makeshift open-air kitchen.