Twilight is approaching this world.
The dream-like gorgeous sunset swayed on the sky, overflowing with large warm light, pouring on the scattered houses, painting the quaint town with bright brilliance. In the dreamy light, there are bursts of smoke rising from the cooking pots, dimly dyeing this warm scenery, trying to inject the atmosphere of human fireworks into this picture.
The constant flow of people on the streets gradually thinned out, and as the sun set, the residents here also turned around and returned to their homes. When people who know each other meet, they often stop to chat and talk about commonplace gossip. Regardless of the content of the words, the tone and demeanor, or the actions themselves, they all appear vivid and lively.
It's like a well-choreographed puppet show.
Outside this special stage called Qinglian Town, someone was walking towards Taichung step by step along the setting sun beneath their feet. She was not a person on this stage, and she could clearly see the scene and the actors. She knew that everything that gradually enveloped her as she walked was just an illusion. But she still walked into the play and integrated into the play. When the fake people greeted her, she returned the greetings, being polite and thoughtful without being negligent. She didn't have any extra curiosity about those who turned a blind eye to her, and just left with the same indifference. This series of responses is no different from when she faces real people.
It would be wrong to say that she was dreaming at the same time. She knew that all these were illusions and could be manipulated by someone at any time. If she was completely awake, her reaction would be different from that of most sober onlookers. Are not the same. To say that it was a deliberate act would be inaccurate, as she did not have any intention of having fun.
It should be said that for her, fantasy is just a play and a dream, but this is not the case in the real world. Don’t the people who live here follow the rules of what people say and do in the outside world? When the so-called reality of the outside world is projected into everyone's eyes, isn't it essentially still a collection of appearances?
Rather than treating the illusion as reality, it is better to say that reality is another illusion to her.
The person who created the illusion and brought her into it cast a gaze from top to bottom, seemingly intentionally but not intentionally. Kuchtsuki-kun, who was leaning against the window of the tea house, just picked up the tea cup and noticed the shadow on the street that did not belong to this world. He paused slightly in his movements.
She wasn't walking too fast, nor was she walking too slowly. Lord Xueyue thought to himself that it would not be too late to drink this cup of tea after her figure disappeared from sight. With this thought in mind, he watched the woman come into view and then fade out of sight. From the beginning to the end, he had no intention of putting down the tea cup in his hand, and she never stopped, let alone raised her head to meet the gaze she felt.
Lord Xueyue looked away and took a sip of tea. If it was his true intention, she shouldn't go out casually. This was a woman, and she was a cloud of doubt. Everything about her was so vague that even he couldn't understand it. For such uncontrollable factors, we should have more control.
Despite this, she still frequently travels between the two worlds. Lord Xueyue soon discovered that she had no intention of escaping from here, but the thoughts hiding in the illusion were also not seen. To her, this kind of shuttle is as natural as the sun rising and the moon setting, returning home after traveling. It's not that she regards Qinglian Town as her home - but no matter where she goes, she feels as if she's going home, as if this entire land is her destination.
Naturally, she didn't think there was anything wrong with doing these things with such an attitude. What is troubling is that, apart from the concepts of appropriateness and inappropriateness, many other important things do not exist in her consciousness.
Such as the memories she still hasn't recovered.
She still couldn't explain the reason for the vision caused by her sleeping in a sea of flowers. Lord Xueyue couldn't figure out the details either. It's not like he didn't seek the answer from the adult, but the person's words were vague and not helpful in answering the questions. Compared to the possibility that Yama doesn't know the answer, he prefers that the other person knows it, but for some reason, he doesn't give a clear answer.
In any case, the adult asked him to find the answer himself.
And so far, the only thing he knows is the girl's name. Even the name was told to him by that adult. It may be true, it may be false, it may be fabricated by Yama Demon...but these are not important. At present, Lord Xueyue does not think it is necessary to distinguish.
"She Zishu, this is your name."
He told her, the woman called She Zishu, the truth.
Lord Xueyue felt depressed inexplicably, so he put down his cup, jumped down from the second floor, and headed straight in the direction where She Zishu disappeared. He was very fast and soon caught up with her. Now, she was sitting on the bluestone on the bank of the river, looking at the calm water and "looking at herself in pity".
An unpredictable woman...if she could really be called a human being. She looked at the water and looked at the illusory self, her face was dull, and she didn't know what she was thinking in her heart. Are you recalling your unremarkable past? Who knows. When Kushitsuki-kun's reflection appeared in her sight, she didn't react at all, as if she had expected this scene.
This actually made Lord Xueyue even more unhappy.
"The world outside must be exciting, right?" he teased.
"It's no different from here." She replied, "True and false, false and true, all are just a passing cloud."
"What an open-minded idea!" Lord Xueyue couldn't tell whether he was approving or teasing, "It's a pity that you can't even explain whether you are true or false, fictitious or real."
"But I'm here. That's not going to change."
Having said this, She Zishu put his hand on his heart. What kind of heartbeat will come from there, Lord Xueyue doesn't know. Generally, people with amnesia will feel anxious, panicked, eager to know what happened, or at least sit there helplessly, showing a dejected look. But this house is so special, she seems to have her own set of thoughts in her heart, like a woman pretending to have amnesia. But Kuchtsuki-kun also knows that she is not, which is particularly annoying.
I can’t even remember who I am, why are I still so carefree? He actually looked a little panicked.
Boring.
Lord Xueyue ignored her, took two steps forward and stood next to her, and then moved his hands out of the air. The lotus leaves in the pond spontaneously separated to the side, revealing a large piece of clear water. He stretched out his hand and blew away a fiery red petal. It fell gently into the pool, stirring up new ripples on the unsettled water. After the ripples calmed down, a mirror image that did not belong to Qinglian Town was revealed on the water.
It was rare for Shezi to show a little surprise, which made Lord Xueyue feel inexplicably more comfortable.
"Who is this?" she asked the people in the lake, "What kind of spell is this?"
"It's not a special spell." He was a little proud. "Everything presented here is something I know. It's just that I am merciful and clearly display them to relieve your boredom. What appears in it Almost all of them are people who have a spell contract with me, most of them are monsters, but also humans. Or people who I have done some tricks to leave their breath can also appear on the lotus pond. Well, this is There is a guy I am quite optimistic about recently, he will do great things."
So She Zishu stared at the pool seriously. Inside was a man dressed in ordinary clothes, mainly black with straw gold accents. His outfit is not much different from that of ordinary people in the world. The only difference is the weapon on his waist. Ordinary swords are straight forward, but where can I find a weapon that is as curved as a moon hook? Even a scimitar is too exaggerated, not to mention it is very long.
Probably out of curiosity, She Zishu slowly stretched his hand into the pool.
In an instant, the color of the sky changed. Lord Xueyue raised his head in shock and found that the entire sky in Qinglian Town had turned blood-like scarlet, completely devoid of the gentle look of dusk. Everyone in the streets was stunned because of his dazed look. He reacted quickly and immediately lowered his head, discovering that the scenery in the pool was changing rapidly, and each scene never stayed in his eyes long enough to create an impression. The rapidly switching scenery turned into flashing blocks of color, dazzling people to the point of making them want to vomit. All this did not last long, and She Zishu suddenly let out a short exclamation.
"ah!"
She pulled her hand away, and everything returned to its original state, as if it had never changed. But above the water where her hand had touched, there was a burning flame. The fire became smaller and smaller, and after a cup of tea, it struggled to be completely swallowed by the water.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Lord Xueyue grabbed Shezishu's collar, and she looked away after a brief moment of confusion. Lord Xueyue was justifiably surprised, and no one could interfere or interrupt his spells. His magic is powerful, pure, and authoritative, and such behavior is tantamount to a provocation, even an insult, in his eyes. Unfortunately, She Zishu felt helpless that he could not answer this question, and Lord Xueyue also knew that there was nothing he could do. He suppressed his anger, let go of his hand, and rearranged his appearance. He was well aware of his gaffe, because things seemed to be getting more and more out of his control.
Or maybe it wasn't what he expected from the beginning.
"You are very strong." He said calmly, "Although I don't know where your power comes from, there are few great demons in the world whose spells can surpass yours. Maybe before you lost your memory, you were a prominent figure somewhere. But it’s really strange, I’ve never heard of any capable guy missing…”
"I don't know." This seemed to be the most common thing she had said since waking up.
"In this case, it's really a waste of all your demonic power. You might as well let me eat you."
Of course Kuchtsuki-kun was joking. He observed She Zishu's reaction, but he didn't get the panic or anything else he wanted to see. He originally thought that he could find some new fun from this guy who worked hard but now, he had almost lost interest in this unchanging face.
"That's fine." She actually said.
"……Fool."
Lord Xueyue really doesn’t know what to say. He may have even more offensive and insulting words, but he never said them out in the end - he felt they were not worth it.
"The body is just a container. If the heart is still there, the soul will last forever." She Zishu said solemnly.
"I actually feel that this nonsense is something I can say." Lord Xueyue shrugged, "It's just that you said it seriously, and I actually felt a little ridiculous. That's all, look at you, you are thin and small, eating Card Ya. Or...will you become mine? I will enchant you with the spell. From then on, my power will be connected with you and be used by you. However, in turn, you must listen to me in everything. That's right. You don't remember anything anyway, so why not let go of the past and choose a clear path."
This time, She Zishu didn't speak, his eyes as silent as dead water. She was silent for a long time, and then she said softly:
"You can try."
Is this looking down on people? The displeasure of being slighted resurfaced, and what was even more irritating was that he couldn't do anything about it. In this case, then do as you wish! So Lord Xueyue really stretched out his hand and pressed it on her heart, trying to leave his mark on the most dangerous position.
Suddenly, Lord Kutsutsuki's pupils narrowed.
