Xueqing walked up to me, and looking at her unchanging poker face, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
There were still people who hadn’t changed.
I reached out and stroked Xueqing’s head, even my voice became a little more energetic than before.
“Xueqing, are you alright?”
“I’m so glad to see you’re okay. I originally thought you would be the most seriously injured. I don’t mean to curse you, I just wanted to say that I should have let you stay then.”
“I know.”
Before I could finish speaking, Xueqing interrupted me and nodded, continuing, “Don’t apologize. I chose to stay myself.”
Xueqing actually interrupted me!
And her speech seems to have become a little smoother. She used to pause after every two words, but now she can speak a whole sentence in one go.
Her expression seems to have become richer, too? Current Xueqing is lightly biting her lower lip. Although her facial muscles move very little, compared to her previous poker face, her expressions are indeed becoming more apparent.
Is she unwilling?
Perhaps there’s regret too. Deeper and more complex emotions are unreadable.
Xueqing shook her head, bowed ninety degrees to me, and said, “I made you worry. I’m sorry.”
She actually apologized to me proactively!
Heavens, what happened! Is the world ending? Or is humanity going extinct? If it were Juncheng, he would probably be complaining in his mind with such an exaggerated tone.
But I can probably understand why Xueqing has become like this.
When people lose something important, they grow.
This child, although her appearance hasn’t changed much, has become more mature mentally.
She was present when Juncheng died, wasn’t she? She was right there but could do nothing. She must have felt very unwilling.
“It’s okay. Let’s go out first. Have you vented enough? Or do you want to continue venting?”
“Already… enough.”
She reverted to that segmented way of speaking again.
It signifies that her inner state has returned to normal.
“By the way, Xueqing, how did you become so powerful? I heard you lost your Oniification ability.”
However, Xueqing’s hair color remained fixed at white, and her pupils were still blue, as if the characteristics of her Oniification had lingered.
Xueqing opened her hands, then clasped them again. After repeating this gesture a few times, she looked up at me and said, “—I died.”
“What? You died? Xueqing, are you talking…”
I almost blurted out, “Are you talking about Juncheng?”
If Xueqing didn’t know Juncheng was dead yet, telling her this news now would surely cause this entire building to collapse.
Even if she already knew, bringing it up again would definitely displease her, which is why I held back from saying it.
“I…”
Xueqing nodded and said, “At that time… I died.”
“You died?”
“Mm, my chest was pierced, and my heart was gone.”
That’s not a fatal wound! With such an injury, there would be no way to heal it, and death would be certain.
But Xueqing is still standing here, meaning she was ‘revived’?
“Juncheng… revived me.”
“You’re saying Juncheng revived you?!”
I wanted to find out more about what happened, perhaps to find a way to revive Juncheng, but it turns out Juncheng himself revived Xueqing.
Does Juncheng have such an ability?
How could that be?
If he could truly reverse life and death, why did he himself die?
“He made me ‘come back to life’. After coming back to life, I gained… power.”
“You mean the power to sever everything?”
“Mm. I can kill… all existence.”
“I see.”
It seems to be more powerful than severing everything, and Xueqing acquired this ability after being revived.
But what bothers me even more is what Juncheng actually did. That demon maid said most resurrection techniques require a price. What price did Juncheng pay to revive Xueqing?
Is this a clue to reviving Juncheng?
book.SFA
I took Xueqing’s small hand and led her out of the training ground. The members of the Control Department were neatly divided into two rows, making way for us. Everyone stood rigidly, not daring to look directly at Xueqing.
It seems these people were intimidated by Xueqing.
When we returned to Yu Hui’s side, Yu Hui also let out a sigh and patted her chest, saying thankfully, “That’s great. It seems Xueqing is still normal. Welcome back, Xueqing.”
“She’s still the same, no wonder Lord Juncheng trusted her so much-”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect Xueqing, who looks the youngest, to be the most reliable. Then there’s only one left, that brainless zombie with a mental age comparable to an elementary schooler.”
“Senior Li Nai.”
“Yes, but I don’t think she’ll have any major problems.”
Li Nai, she’s probably the only one among everyone who doesn’t have any special feelings for Juncheng.
Even if she likes Juncheng, it’s not to the extent of not being able to live without him. It’s not romantic love, but more like friendship or familial affection.
She might be sad, she might cry, but she wouldn’t fall into madness because of it.
Juncheng and Li Nai’s relationship was very special. For Juncheng, Li Nai was a very unique existence.
During the Girls’ Talk in the summer with Ji Lianbing and Lanhua, they told me about this.
They knew things I hadn’t even noticed. They loved Juncheng wholeheartedly.
Ji Lianbing and Lanhua told me that Juncheng could completely let go and trust without reservation only Xueqing and Li Nai. Now, there’s me.
They even said they envied us.
But I feel it’s different.
Juncheng trusts me, and it’s completely different from trusting these two.
Juncheng trusts me simply because he believes in himself, knowing I would never betray him. But his trust in Xueqing and Li Nai is not just because he likes their personalities.
Perhaps it’s precisely because their feelings for Juncheng are not just ‘love,’ but also Juncheng’s ‘companions,’ that they made Juncheng… Therefore, before they said they were going to meet the Four Calamities, I had already guessed what the situation of these four people would be.
As I expected, Kaoru Tsukiyose and Ji Lianbing were trapped in a vortex of pain, while Xueqing bravely emerged from her grief.
And
.
.
.
.
.
.
I think Li Nai is the same.
However, Nana Yang’s words completely overturned my thoughts.
SF.
SF Light Novel
“I’m sorry, Li Nai is probably the one with the biggest problem.”
“What?”
“Her condition is very dangerous, she might not be able to hold on.”
I never expected Li Nai to become the central figure in this incident.
Beep-beep-
The electrocardiogram monitor beeped rhythmically, but the frequency was much slower and weaker than that of an ordinary person.
It seemed like it would turn into a straight line the next second, so fragile that one couldn’t help but pay constant attention.
Lying on the hospital bed was Li Nai.
She was sleeping peacefully.
An IV drip was attached to her wrist, and blood flowed from the transfusion bag into her body, but it couldn’t awaken any vitality in her.
Her face was completely devoid of color, very pale, and her lips were cracked from prolonged dryness.
It was unimaginable that the usually lively and energetic Li Nai would become so weak.
“What’s going on? Why is Li Nai like this?!”
When Li Nai was discovered, it was when the black sphere dissipated, and Ji Lianbing completely lost control. Li Nai, who was closest to her, was the most affected. We initially thought she had fallen unconscious because of this, but that wasn’t the case.
“What’s going on?!”
Nana Yang hesitated to speak, then hesitated again. After some thought, she still didn’t say anything.
Instead, Xueqing said, “She’s… returning to death.”
“Returning to death? What does that mean?”
“The Zombie Virus is disappearing.”
Just hearing this sentence, I understood what had happened.
For Li Nai, the Zombie Virus was equivalent to ‘life-sustaining medicine.’ It was precisely because there was Zombie Virus in her body that she could move like an ordinary person.
Without the virus, she would…
Returning to death must mean this.
“The cause hasn’t been investigated yet, but it’s likely related to Ji Lianbing’s Death Mist or An Juncheng. The latter is more probable, because Death Mist shouldn’t affect zombies; zombies are not undead. When Ji Lianbing awakened…”
And judging by the timing, the moment An Juncheng died, Li Nai also stopped moving. There might be some connection there.
“The reason is no longer important. What’s more important now is how to save her.”
“Because the reason for the disappearance of the Zombie Virus is unknown, there’s no way to cure it. We can only constantly transfuse blood from other zombies to slow down the rate of the virus’s disappearance.”
“Zombie’s blood? Is that enough?”
“Although all zombies are willing to donate blood to Li Nai, only a part of the awakened and semi-awakened zombies have re-activated their blood-producing functions. But even if all these zombies help donate blood, the virus in Li Nai’s body is still slowly disappearing bit by bit. She can only hold on for one month at most.”
“One month?”
“Only one month?”
I didn’t expect this planned helper to become a problem.
It’s related to Juncheng’s death, so perhaps if Juncheng can be saved, Li Nai will also recover.
And the other Calamities as well.
Therefore, the primary mission is to find Juncheng’s soul.
Under normal circumstances, after a person dies, their soul goes to the underworld. So, Juncheng’s soul should also be in the underworld at this time.
Juncheng also told me that he knew the King of Hell. I’m not sure if he was joking, but if we don’t act quickly, like that demon maid, it will be too late once Juncheng is reincarnated.
However, ordinary people cannot enter or leave the underworld. Unless they originally belonged to the underworld—Kaoru Tsukiyose. If she’s still rational, she should be the best candidate, but now we have to find another way.
“Zi’ai? It’s getting late.”
“Ah, then let’s go back first. Principal, your daughter should be awake by now, right?”
“Perhaps. She’s in the hospital room upstairs. You can go look for her. I won’t be going.”
“Understood. Thank you for leading me. Let’s go.”
After taking one last look at Li Nai on the hospital bed, I gestured to Xueqing and Yu Hui, and we left the room and went upstairs.
Now, I have to ‘go home.’ Before I find Juncheng, I still have the mission of playing Juncheng, and this requires Teacher Lili’s Impression Reversal Magic Circle.
I hope Xinran and Keling won’t notice anything amiss.
Please, let the situation not become any more complicated!
And there’s still that person I haven’t met.
Perhaps she is the key.
Lanhua will see you tomorrow.
