"I don't know about that."
The old woman shrugged helplessly. "I don't really understand the specific mechanism, but the thing you took out will definitely help you. If you don't understand, just keep it. I believe it will be useful soon."
"… Okay."
Huai Shi put away the items and said nervously, "Actually, that's not the main reason I came here."
"Yesterday's illusion, right?"
The old woman nodded. She had obviously seen through the Mountain Ghost Sacred Mark on Huai Shi. Huai Shi breathed a sigh of relief and looked forward to it.
"It's so troublesome. When the Utopia was still around, I should have been able to cross the Rainbow Bridge and get it done —"
The old woman scratched her head and pondered for a long time. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers.
The scenery outside the window suddenly changed as if they had arrived in front of a snowy mountain.
"Okay, you can go out," she said. "You should be able to see it when you go out."
Huai Shi got up in confusion, pushed the door open, and saw the familiar snowy mountain outside. He seemed to have seen it somewhere before. But he soon realized that this was the snowy mountain he came to when he first entered the Night of the Witch.
When he looked back, he found that the hut behind him had disappeared.
So he walked forward on the narrow path, passing the cave where he once woke up and the place where he fought with the hyenas in the past.
Finally, he stopped at the edge of the river.
When he looked down at the waves in the water, he saw his reflection. It was no longer the appearance of the husky but had become his own appearance.
It was just that his appearance was so unfamiliar that it was difficult for him to distinguish.
In the reflection, the young man's face did not change much, but … the meaning between his eyebrows was different from before.
It was as if he had been reborn.
As if there was a faint flame, his black pupils were quiet and deep, and the immaturity revealed by his age was swept away.
Even if it was the same face and the same expression, no one could treat him as a child.
Unknowingly, he seemed to have changed, but it also seemed that he had not.
He just became different from the past.
Perhaps it was just growth.
Just a little, just a little, just a little bit more mature.
When a ripple slowly drifted past, Huai Shi's reflection slowly changed, revealing his former silhouette, causing him to freeze in place.
This was yesterday's illusion.
It was already completely different from today.
What surprised him even more was that there seemed to be the sound of a bubble bursting in his consciousness. Then, in a trance, the broken pieces of memories in his memory resurfaced from the darkness, mending and filling up every inch of the gaps.
Those childhood memories that had long been lost were actually recovered. Not only that, they even continued to be unearthed and extended.
In the end, everything from birth to now was still vivid in his mind.
The child who once carried a cello and walked alone on the streets seemed to have become a completely different person. But something was still the same. It ran through his short seventeen years, and it would continue to come back …
The past, the present, and the future.
He was still alive.
After a long, long time, Huai Shi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
He didn't spit out plasma sparks or destroy everything, but he felt that the anxiety and depression in his chest were drawn out of his lungs along with his exhalation.
A comfortable coolness spread in his lungs along with his breath, and he couldn't help but stretch his body. He heard a crackling sound in his body.
It seemed that he had finally stepped into maturity from a long seedling period. The Mountain Ghost's Sacred Mark was growing rapidly. In the end, layers of dark green colors overlapped in the crack on his chest, as if it was about to bloom.
"Isn't this a little more like it?"
Huai Shi lowered his head and stared at his former self in the reflection. He couldn't help but grin and give his former self a thumbs up.
"Keep up the good work, Huai Shi!"
So, the young man in the reflection smiled and gave his future self a thumbs up.
.
In the hidden hut, the girl who had been leaning against the window from beginning to end looked at a certain someone who was laughing foolishly at his reflection. She couldn't help but shake her head and sigh.
"In the end, there's no sense of existence."
Fu Yi shrugged helplessly. "It feels quite fitting for my character."
"There are always side effects of evolution. It should be fine after leaving this place."
Compared to that, the old man beside her was rather surprised by another thing. "There's no ascension?"
"Could I have been wrong?" She pondered. "Presiding over the operation of the Silver Sea, even if it's just an experience, should be enough to complete the ascension."
"Hmm? That feeling like I'm floating? "Fu Yi was stunned." I thought I had caught a cold … but it's not? Ah, I feel like I've missed out on a lot of money! "
"… If your own consciousness doesn't reject the change, the ascension won't stop."
The old man saw through Fu Yi's disguise at a glance. He was not unhappy about it, but just curious. "I have to say, it's rare for you to insist on being a normal person to this extent. Are you the kind who hates Ascenders?"
"No, I'm quite envious."
Fu Yi thought for a moment before saying seriously, "But it's that kind of … superficial envy. You can understand, right? Compared to Ascenders, I think it's more convenient to be a normal person. "
Envy, longing, desire.
It was true that he had such emotions before, but at most, it was the kind of emotion that he felt through the television. It was like admiring handsome explorers, respecting people who had become heroes, and envying those handsome characters who could still light a cigarette in the midst of a storm of bullets.
She knew that she would never be such a person. She did not have that kind of talent, and she did not have a dream that must be realized.
Although there were some small impulses occasionally, in the end, it was just that.
"What's wrong with the children nowadays? One or two of them are either frighteningly stubborn, or insufferably rational. "The old man raised his eyebrows." I thought … "
She was silent for a moment before saying seriously, "You will need some changes."
"I actually think so too."
The girl sighed softly. "But not long ago, I realized that in fact, the thing I don't desire the most is change."
She did not need to change.
Even if her father and mother's relationship was broken, and they divorced, even if her mother planned to remarry and have a child …
Even if her efforts were not rewarded, and reality was getting farther and farther away from the scene she had hoped for.
Things in the world were not as one wished.
But she could understand all of this.
The reality that belonged to her was already perfect enough. Everything was predestined. In fact, everything had already been set in order a long time ago. There was no need for her to add any more unnecessary details.
No matter how difficult it was to accept, it was not an excuse to resist and deceive herself.
She just needed some time, a little space of her own, a place where she could temporarily escape everything.
And a friend who could help her leave all of this.
Just like running away from home, there would be a day when she would have to look back at the way home. She was well aware of this, and she did not intend to delay this day for too long.
Just for a while.
As long as she had a short night of freedom, she could go back and face everything she needed to face.
Like a child who had left home, willfully playing, running on the streets, trying everything her parents did not allow.
This was her night of freedom.
Now, the night of the witch was over.
She should go home.
Even if the outside world was magnificent and huge.
"I understand."
The old man chuckled softly and touched her hair lovingly. "You are stronger than I thought … But, are you sure you don't need my help?"
As she spoke, she looked out of the window at the young man who was smiling foolishly by the river. She shook her head and sighed. "You don't know if he has a strange brain circuit or is a natural scumbag. Even if the world ends, he won't understand, right?"
"No need."
Fu Yi looked away from the back of the figure. "I changed my mind."
"Hmm?"
"He is really a good friend, better than I expected …" She was silent for a moment and suddenly said, "Unfortunately, I am not."
It was too easy to deceive such a person.
Fu Yi had a deep understanding of this.
As long as you smiled at him, he would smile back. As long as you were his friend, he would not guard against you … As long as you asked, he would give.
He would do his best.
He would never disappoint.
Because of this, she did not want to say her most embarrassing request.
Would he agree? No, it should be asked, would he refuse? And then, would he be loyal to this relationship? No, would he betray her?
And then what?
Would she be happy?
The most important thing was, would he feel happy?
This was not right, right?
Wasn't love mutual?
If it was one-sided demand and one-sided dependence, wouldn't it be like a beggar?
Thinking about it carefully, from the past until now, she seemed to be constantly trying to rely on others.
Relying on her father's doting, relying on her mother's support, relying on her appearance to get love, relying on her authority to ignore the rules, and then relying on her glib words to get friends … when she was at her loneliest.
Maybe she was good at this, maybe even if she relied on others, no one would say anything.
But she did not know why, she did not want to rely on those things anymore.
Just looking at the back of the figure outside the window, as long as she compared them, she would know that such a parasitic life was not happy at all.
It was just begging …
In the silence, the old man seemed to notice the girl's disappointment. He raised the box in his hand and handed it to her. "Smoke?"
Fu Yi stretched out her hand, but the box was taken back.
"No."
The old man grinned, like a child who succeeded in a prank. He patted her head. "You are still a child. Have some tea."
The fragrant and warm teacup came to Fu Yi's hand.
"Evelyn."
The old man suddenly said.
"Yes?"
"My name is Evelyn, Evelyn of the Chachel family."
The old man smiled and told her, "The registered name is [Cycle]. Although I am a little late to introduce myself, I hope to be your friend. "
"I, I …"
Fu Yi was stunned for a long time. After a long time, she lowered her head. Her eyes were filled with tears and seemed to be a little red. "My name is Fu Yi. It means rely on …"
"Fu Yi, I know."
The old man stretched out his hand forcefully and held her hand. He shook it and nodded happily. "Then we are friends. Please rest assured and rely on me, even if the time we spent together is so short."
She paused for a moment, and her expression became solemn. She was serious and dignified. She asked in a deep voice, "Then, in the end, I have a question to ask you —"
In the short uneasy silence, the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up, revealing a gentle smile.
"— Did you have fun?"
Fu Yi was stunned. After a long time, she nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Then, the smile became gratified, full of joy and satisfaction.
The old man reached out and gently hugged the girl in front of him.
"Then smile, my friend."
She kissed the girl's forehead and said goodbye softly, "I hope that we can meet again at the source after a long time.
You are about to embark on your own journey, and I will return to my home.
But before that … "
She squeezed her eyes, like a child preparing for a prank, and told her with a smile, "I have prepared a surprise for you —"
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