Chapter 25: Precarious days (6)
If consuming a large amount of Destiny Power shortens one’s lifespan, why did Zihua do it?
Not only manipulating water, but time backtrack also consumes Destiny Power, and it’s definitely a lot!
Then why waste Destiny Power so recklessly?
Zihua didn’t need to repeat it so many times. She could have killed me completely the first time. Why did she choose to squander Destiny Power in meaningless loops like this?
Why?
What exactly are you trying to do?
My mind was filled with questions, and I couldn’t just watch anymore. By the time I noticed, I had already run past the little store manager and toward the supermarket’s automatic doors.
“Ah! Hey! What are you doing?! Weren’t you using me as a shield?! What’s with you suddenly coming out now?!”
“I’m sorry, Manager! I’ve really caused you trouble this time! But I can’t let her continue like this!”
Since I already knew she was committing slow suicide, how could I let her continue?
Although I’m not Juncheng, I will do my best to fulfill Juncheng’s wish.
Whether it’s Juncheng of this era or Juncheng of the future, he definitely wouldn’t want her to waste her life like this and perish.
I rushed out of the supermarket and stood before the water wall that divided the sky like a sliver of heaven. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted towards Zihua.
“Stop! Are you going to die here like this?!”
Zihua’s expression was blank. Her dark, lightless pupils seemed to be looking forward, but they weren’t truly seeing anyone. Ignoring everything, she was merely gazing into the void.
…
“Now is not the time to be angry with me. You’ve already backtracked time so many times, you must have consumed a large amount of Destiny Power, right? Consuming Destiny Power shortens your lifespan! If you truly came back to this era to change something, you shouldn’t be collapsing here like this!”
This paragraph finally caught Zihua’s attention. She slowly lowered her head. Because of the towering water wall in between, I couldn’t see her expression or hear her, but her trembling shoulders suggested she was laughing.
What’s so funny about this?
Then, Zihua’s voice reached my ears through the water wall.
…*Pfft*, *Huff Huff*, What? Are you worried about me?”
“I’m not worried about you! But Juncheng would be!”
Just one sentence made her mocking expression disappear. The name Juncheng indeed had a significant effect.
“…He no longer exists.”
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…
“When I backtracked time to this past, the Juncheng who would worry about me no longer existed. The current Juncheng is not ‘my Juncheng’… I have that much self-awareness.”
“Huh?”
Why would she say that all of a sudden?
Did I misunderstand? Zihua didn’t come back to the past solely to have Juncheng to herself, as if asking me for the Yata no Kagami?
“I don’t need your sympathy, Zi’ai An.”
Zihua said.
But her tone wasn’t intense. It was as if she were stating a fact… or perhaps it was a indifference brought about by seeing through everything. It was just the maximum value. Returning to the past requires specifying a target. Only when the other party ‘knows their choice’ can they return to the ‘point of choice’. As a spirit, I myself cannot use myself as a reference; I can only randomly select a person for the reverse water loop. If I’m lucky, I can return a few hours earlier. If I’m unlucky, I might return just a few seconds earlier. Once time passes again, another opportunity is wasted…
That… must have been an unimaginably difficult journey for me.
I don’t know how many times I would have to go through it, perhaps I would be stuck in place forever.
There was no time for hesitation, no time for discouragement or regret. I had to make a choice immediately.
Repeat, again and again, forced to make choice after choice.
“And to reach ‘here’, I used the reverse water loop over three thousand times… Compared to that, what I’ve spent on you… *Huff Huff*, is nothing at all.”
“…*Huff*… Didn’t you know I’m a F? Can’t you guess where my Destiny Power comes from?”
“…You took the Destiny Power of other Fs?!”
Zihua suddenly became serious, staring at me.
“Please correct yourself. It wasn’t that I snatched it, but that it was ‘entrusted’ to me.”
“Huh? You mean…”
“All units attack! Suppress the unknown anomaly!”
Is that the voice of Director Tanlang of the Control Department that I’ve heard before?
I had just notified Lily, and I didn’t expect them to send a rescue team so quickly!
It was only then that I noticed there were no more pedestrians nearby. It seemed the organization had already set up an isolation barrier unconsciously. Then, seeing that I had attracted Zihua’s attention, they planned for you to make your move now.
But Zihua’s reaction was even faster. The massive water wall immediately shifted its target, attacking the Control Department members who swarmed in. A huge amount of water washed them away like a flood.
SF Light Novel
This almost eliminated half of them, but the remaining half continued their suicidal charge.
Zihua showed no intention of holding back against these people, turning the water into various dangerous shapes and scattering those who attacked her.
Fortunately, the Control Department members had the resilience of cockroaches. I supposed the first thing they learned was how to save themselves. But no matter what they did, it was useless…
Her Destiny Power was bottomless.
As soon as the time came, Zihua would reset time back to the morning, no matter how much…
Being able to backtrack over three thousand times, I couldn’t imagine her limit…
Even in just these few times, I had exhausted all the methods I could think of and struggled frantically to escape. But for Zihua,
She was just waiting for me to say it.
If I didn’t break free from this loop, I would be the one to give up first.
“Lady Zi’ai! Come here!”
“Yu Hui?”
Seeing the familiar figure appear in my field of vision, even I felt a little relieved. I had already gone through dozens of loops, and escaping non-stop had indeed depleted too much of my Spirit Power.
The others have also arrived here… so that means they’ve come over.
With a splash, a huge rift was cut through the flood that engulfed the road. Even the ground and the building opposite were cut open. Only one person could create such a rift…
Xueqing, who emerged from the alley leading to Black Street, was her usual expressionless self. But in my eyes, she seemed more anxious than usual.
“*Huff Huff*, the most loyal guard has arrived… You dare to wander around without suppressing your killing intent, Jiang Xueqing! Because you didn’t kill Juncheng with your own hands, you regret it, don’t you? Is your goal of reviving him to kill him with your own sword again?”
At these words, Xueqing’s expression changed subtly. She frowned slightly, showing displeasure. The dagger in her hand didn’t stop moving, and her scythe-like slashes cut through the water repeatedly. Large amounts of water splashed into the air, but Zihua easily dodged them.
Zihua, who came from the future, had an accurate grasp of Xueqing’s psychology. Shaking Xueqing with just a few words was not something anyone could do.
“Now’s our chance! Lady Zi’ai! Let’s get out of here!”
Yu Hui grabbed my arm, trying to pull me away from the battlefield.
Perhaps the original plan was for Xueqing and the Control Department members to stall for time, and then take me away – but…
I can’t leave now.
“Sor… Yu Hui, I can’t leave.”
I shook Yu Hui’s hand off. The water around me enveloped me, separating Yu Hui and me.
I raised my head to look at Zihua standing on the water.
She looked down at me from above, without speaking, her eyes devoid of any emotion.
Not a trace of wavering… It’s terrifying, yet respectable…
“I’ll go with you.”
“*Huff*, wouldn’t it have been better if you did this earlier?”
The water congealed into a giant palm that grabbed me, and Zihua herself was lifted by the water.
“Lady Zi’ai! Why!!!”
But I had no choice. I couldn’t let this meaningless loop continue.
After Zihua broke through the barrier and took me away, she returned to the abandoned building and enveloped the entire building with water to prevent others from entering.
Back in the room where I was interrogated, I sat on a chair, while Zihua sat on a cabinet next to the chair, with her legs crossed, and said:
“So, where is the Yata no Kagami?”
“Give me some time. I need to recall.”
…
Zihua snorted, but didn’t say anything more, tacitly agreeing.
I closed my eyes and began to recall… If I could connect to my main body’s memories like those few times, I should know where the Yata no Kagami is…
Where did ‘I’ hide the Yata no Kagami?
A scene flashed in my mind. There… Black Street… the Black Qing Mansion?
“Huh?”
“Did you remember?”
“I remembered… but…”
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“I’ve been to that place before, but it wasn’t there… I even specifically asked Miss Qin Lianshe, the Soul Messenger, to search again, but still found nothing. And King Yama was there too.”
“B-.. Just tell me the place, I’ll go look.”
“Black Street, Black Qing Yi… a place used to imprison anomalies.”
“It’s there then…”
Zihua closed her eyes and fell silent. She didn’t question me, seemingly accepting the answer.
I couldn’t help but ask.
“…Aren’t you worried I’m lying to you?”
Zihua opened her eyes, glanced at me with a smile, and her light laughter echoed in the empty room.
“*Huff Huff*.. Please, Anzi Ai, how long have I known you? You’re not the kind of woman who tells lies, are you? You were the one most influenced by Juncheng. You’re the most straightforward among us.”
“It seems you know me very well.”
…
Zihua silently gave a smile, as if reminiscing or perhaps longing.
But after seeing that smile, a thought naturally arose in my mind – she must have been very happy during that time…
“Hmm? Why wait until next time? Don’t misuse that ability called reverse water loop anymore!”
“Don’t worry about me. Since I know the location of the Yata no Kagami, I won’t use it again… Hmm, there aren’t many times left…”
“Don’t worry, I’m not consuming the Destiny Power of this body (Lanhua). And Destiny Power actually restores slowly. Excessive use just burns lifespan… My situation is a bit different, though.”
She propped her cheek with one hand and pinched my chin with the other, saying to me with a seductive smile.
“Erase everything that happened this time, and you won’t be suspected either. This reverse water loop was specially for you, okay? *Huff Huff Huff*…”
… If I were a man, I might have fallen for you.
I admit I was charmed. Her allure was truly captivating.
Zihua heard this and laughed happily.
“Of course! How do you think I made Juncheng, who was avoiding me, fall for me?”
She laughed like a fox, smugly.
