Shi Wuqi lives.
Miss Qi has not changed much, not at all. During this long period of time, she may have suffered a lot of injuries, but Shi Wuqi could always restore her to her original state. As for him, he hasn't changed much...at least in appearance. The long black hair is as smooth and soft as a black cat's fur. Maybe it's a little longer, maybe not. He was leaning on a chair with a back, a candlestick and an empty cup beside him. He smoothly placed the fan next to the cup with a skillful movement that gave them the same feeling as before.
A few months is not a long time, but this short separation gave them the illusion of a world apart. Everyone else walked into the house. There seemed to be an invisible wall behind Shan Hai, but none of them took a step forward. Mu Wan even had an illusion: Is this really Shi Wuqi himself?
Shan Hai's cold eyes searched between his brows, trying to find something unfamiliar to him, looking for traces of Shi Wuqi's life alone - Miss Qi could not be counted as a companion. In particular, he remembered that Kapok clearly said that those two people "came from hell." The Zangtou River is the intersection of three rivers. Although given his character, it was normal for him to make such a substandard joke, but Lin Shanhai still hoped to find the part that was not a lie.
There was less frivolity, or rather cynicism, and so on, but nothing else. But what caught the most attention were his eyes. There was a strange sense of light in his dark golden pupils, as if brown-gold sand was slowly flowing. Shan Hai didn't know if others could see this phenomenon - Shi Wuqi's eyes were like fluid. Even if he made no other movements or even a slight sideways movement, they could still reflect a psychedelic stream of light. He didn't dare to look at it for too long, always feeling that there was something inside that he couldn't see through.
"There's fire in your eyes."
Dai Luan said so. Mu Wan didn't seem to see anything.
Shanhai suddenly realized that her description was more appropriate, but the light in his eyes burned slowly. Then it dawned on him that he should compare the texture to lava. He had dealt with a kind of monster before, which could melt stones. The red and black liquid glowed with a terrifying golden light, which made people feel frightened.
"Yeah?"
Shi Wuqi put his left hand on his lower eyelid, his confusion coming from the bottom of his heart. Maybe he never looked at his eyes properly. Then, he stood up, and Shan Hai noticed that his eyes moved back when he stood up. It's a state of heightened alertness, or maybe a habit that he didn't have in the past. Shi Wuqi took two steps forward with a smile that couldn't be called "old and cunning". None of this is any different from the past. Strange thing, none of them felt friendly. He is not a stranger now, nor does he make anyone feel strange, but... not so friendly.
This may be because the three of them have experienced more together recently, and their relationship has deepened, but Shi Wuqi is not included in this, so they feel alienated. When they realized this, it was already too late. Both Shan Hai and Mu Wan subconsciously took a step back. Soon they realized this was inappropriate and looked apologetic about it.
Shi Wuqi's smile seemed to freeze for a moment. But he still stretched out his arm. Dai Luan ran forward and hugged him gently. This made them all feel a strange warmth, and the night was not so cold.
The more Wuqi moves, the more "flaws" are exposed. This is not a weakness, but an inherent characteristic that cannot be concealed. Sharper, more mature, more... older.
He didn't really want to use the word. Shi Wuqi's appearance did not change, and there was not a single fine line on his face in the firelight. It was a change in temperament, as if he had been away from them for more than just a few months.
Subsequent conversations confirmed his view.
"I don't know how long it has been..." Wu Qi said slowly in the dim candlelight, "There is no concept of time. Maybe five years, maybe ten years."
He put down the water glass very gently, making no sound at all. This comes from the caution he has developed. Kapok handed the kettle to Miss Qi, and she refilled it. She still felt nothing about the temperature, but Kapok didn't seem to notice.
"The flow of time is chaotic. The passage of time is irreversible, and the impermanence of the six paths can avoid errors. I probably can't, I can't even judge. Qi and I have been trapped for a long time. At the beginning, I have been looking for a way to come back. It’s maddening, this unspeakable loneliness that’s maddening – no one listens to you.”
Shan Hai clearly realized that what he was telling could only be the truth. He might have been trapped with Miss Qi for longer, even more than ten years. There was no trace of resentment in him, no restlessness, anger, or uneasiness that people feel when they are separated from the group. Some are just some kind of indescribable indifference, detachment, and meaninglessness. It seems that after experiencing hell, everything in this world is meaningless. Especially those eyes that seem to see through everything, which make him show his temperament of being separated from the human world for a long time.
Time, time strips away everything. Time kills redundant negative emotions and carves a person into purity. Having shed all the emotional shell, the current Bai Skeleton Master is more real.
It's like...he was born to belong there.
Suddenly, Mu Wan drew out his umbrella amid the lightning and flints, and stabbed straight past the others towards Shi Wuqi's face. All of this was unprepared. Shan Hai and Dai Luan felt a tingling sensation under her umbrella and the skin that crossed her body. Turning her head again, Shi Wuqi's closed fan accurately clamped the tip of her umbrella, right in front of his eyebrows. The fan almost touched his forehead. All these movements were completed with one hand, and his body did not move at all.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Kapok was a little nervous and tried to break up the fight to the left and right. She looked at Miss Qi, but she didn't make any move. She was always so confident in Shi Wuqi's strength.
"You..." Mu Wan tried to pull out the umbrella, but it was clamped tightly. Wu Qi unfolded her fan before she took the umbrella back, "What on earth have you experienced?"
"What on earth have I experienced?" He let out a familiar sneer, "Who knows."
This kind of calmness makes people feel a strange sense of shame. Mu Wan put away his umbrella and sat back.
"You surprised me. Your movements are faster and more accurate than before." Wu Qi continued, "What makes you improve so fast?"
Both the master and the apprentice looked at Kapok, and she was a little at a loss. But this kind of gaze has no other meaning. They just feel that they should not focus on any other two people. That's rude.
"I...let go of some things." Her tone was quite relaxed. "After losing them, I feel lighter. They can no longer weigh me down."
"But you also have something extra. What's with that glowing spot on the back of your neck?"
"Glow?"
She subconsciously touched it and had the illusion that the local skin was getting warm. It was just an illusion. Now, everyone else looked at her. She was the same as before, without any changes, and there was no light spilling out from under her long hair. Shi Wuqi smiled tiredly.
"I see that you are used to this, so I thought you wouldn't see it."
"That's... it's a special kind of fire." Shan Hai tried to explain.
"It's Lord Kutsutsuki's fire."
Mu Wan's directness made Shan Hai stop speaking, and it would be better if she would say it herself. Shi Wuqi opened his eyes slightly, a little surprised, but then showed an expected expression.
"The fire of hell... In the hell realm, I also get something."
As he spoke, he stretched out two fingers and extinguished the candle easily. The room immediately fell into darkness, which caught people off guard. In the darkness, someone snapped their fingers, and the room lit up again. A flame burned at Shi Wuqi's fingertips. He moved the flame back to the lamp, and everything returned to its original state.
“What does hell look like?”
This is a somewhat childish question, asked by Dai Luan. But before Shi Wuqi could speak, Kapok interrupted him.
"I asked too. He said it's nothing special, it's better than the human world."
"Better than the human world." Wu Qi repeated.
"Is that it?" Dai Luan was unwilling, "There's no oil pan, no fire, no ghost that stabs people with a fork?"
"Pfft... No, none. Those are all tricks in the book. But... I don't think anyone will like it. By the way, why are you here?"
Mu Wan asked him: "Why didn't you leave?"
Why didn't you come to us?
"I knew you were coming."
"Then why are you asking this question?"
The confrontation between the two was as aggressive as ever, which actually made Shan Hai feel strangely happy. He intervened in the dispute as usual.
"We are here to find Kisaragi-kun. Because of some things... we will tell you slowly."
"Ru Yuejun?" Shi Wuqi raised his eyebrows, "I know. She is here. She and Shenwujun are both here. Shenwujun only told me not to leave in a hurry... If it weren't for him, I might still be here. Eating ashes in hell. But that guy is not lovable, he always has a bad face like Shan Hai."
"Did I...?"
"Okay, okay, you didn't."
"Master Ruyue is here?" Dai Luan asked anxiously.
"exist."
"Two wandering around?" Shan Hai couldn't help but frown, "Is something happening here?"
Shi Wuqi shrugged nonchalantly and said to them, "I'll take you to meet him tomorrow. It's a bit complicated and I can't explain it clearly."
The night passed quickly. In addition, they successively told each other some things that happened. If you do not mix personal feelings, simply reporting the matter itself does not take time. They exchanged information as naturally as ever, as if he had never left. Likewise, he did not mention a single word about what he had experienced, but it was highly summarized. This was the same as before, shrouded in a layer of vagueness and vagueness.
The actual sleep time didn't last too long, and it still dawned very late, but it was already faster than before.
Mu Wan urged him to quickly lead them to find someone, but Wu Qi said that she was always so impatient, but this had not changed. But he still took his time and was not in a hurry. We didn't take them out until noon. He walked into the courtyard and pointed at the dry well.
"Here, just jump down."
Dai Luan felt that this scene seemed familiar.
"Again?"
"Lied to you that I had candy?"
Shanhai didn't say anything, but moved closer with the compass. He looked at it for a long time and just said:
"This is not a dry well. There is water below. Could it be another underground river?"
"Ah, it's not quite the same. It was originally very shallow, but I connected it to the groundwater. The groundwater is something that the roots of the kapok tree can touch. It is very clean, but it flows into the Zangtou River. It can also be regarded as a spiritual vein. A form of "door", but as a 'door', it is much wider. Under the well is the real realm of death and life."
Mu Wan lowered his head and looked down at the bottom of the well. The well was dark, very deep, and did not reflect any light. When she listened carefully, she did hear some faint sounds. She didn't know if they were the sound of water because they were too far away. Dai Luan shouted down the well, but there was no reply. Maybe the sound was really absorbed by the water.
"Want to dance?" Wu Qi smiled jokingly, "I can help you too."
