Chapter 35: Dream and Reality Exchange Day (4)
“Her frostbite is severe, she needs to be taken to the emergency room immediately. Honestly, at this crucial moment, what internal conflict are you people getting into now?”
After finding the finger, Yu Hui immediately opened the cold storage and sent Xue Qing to the organization’s medical facility in Black Street.
“It’s not like internal conflict, it’s just a special way of communication.”
Although there was some conflict, it didn’t escalate into irreconcilable disputes. If Xue Qing had really refused to hand over Juncheng’s finger, it’s likely that all of us combined couldn’t defeat her.
“Is this how people communicate? Don’t tell me this is considered physical interaction.”
Nana Yang showed a look of exasperation. The recent events had caused her frowns to increase exponentially. As the leader of the organization’s branch, she had mountains of tasks to worry about, and new troubles kept popping up. She must have been incredibly stressed. Her previously well-maintained skin now showed fine wrinkles, especially noticeable crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes.
Of course, I couldn’t say that to her face, otherwise, even a heartless Succubus would surely lose her temper.
Age is a taboo topic for women. Though, I haven’t reached the age where I need to worry about it.
I’m still a young and beautiful maiden, both in appearance and spirit, only seventeen years old, at the peak of my value!
Not that I’d sell myself, of course. Hehe.
“Anyway, with this, we’ve obtained another clue.”
We’re almost done.
The skein of thread for Ariadne’s Thread has become quite small. Based on its current size, we should get the ‘answer’ if we find just one or two more clues.
The clues we’ve gathered so far are a butterfly-shaped necklace, the Yata no Kagami, one Succubus, Yu Hui’s memory, and Juncheng’s finger.
Although I don’t know how to use most of them, like what to do with the masochistic Succubus, the skein should guide me.
Once all the conditions are met, perhaps we’ll know the specific method to achieve it.
“Zi’ai-sama, so you were here.”
At this moment, Yu Hui also returned. When she sent Xue Qing in earlier, she took the opportunity to have her retrieve memories, hoping to find the needed one.
“How was it? Did you manage to identify which memory we need?”
“I still can’t find it. Although memories from past lives fade, traces remain. It’s too difficult to find a specific segment within memories that are several times more potent than an ordinary person’s. And we don’t even know which specific memory it is.”
“I see. Well, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. We’ll know eventually. I just wanted to see if I could find out more thoroughly.”
“I’m very sorry, I couldn’t help at all.”
“Why are you apologizing? If anything, you’ve already helped a lot by securing one clue.”
Yu Hui looked dejected. So much had happened, yet she felt she hadn’t done anything to help, which must have been quite a blow to her.
She had always stayed by Juncheng’s side, but in the end, Juncheng died, and she couldn’t do anything. Now, to resurrect Juncheng, she could finally offer some help, yet she didn’t know how she could contribute. She must have felt incredibly frustrated.
I can understand that feeling. Because the frustration from my main body still occupies my heart.
But this knot in her heart can only be untied by herself. No matter how many words of encouragement I offer, they will be useless. However, I can assign her some tasks to make her feel ‘useful.’
“Alright, I’ll go find the next clue then. I’ll leave this place to your care, Yu Hui.”
“Zi’ai-sama, you were in the cold storage for so long, is your body alright?”
“It’s fine. The only good thing about this body is its durability; it can handle any kind of play.”
It can even generate heat when near death, truly allowing for a ‘hot’ encounter. But there’s a high chance of melting into it and being unable to pull out.
“Zi’ai…”
I just made a dirty joke, don’t look at me like that.
“Wait a moment, Zi’ai-sama, aren’t you going to change your clothes?”
“Change clothes? Ah, you…”
I’m still wearing a maid outfit, which is a bit conspicuous here.
“How about I change into a nurse’s uniform?”
“Zi’ai-sama!”
“Alright, alright, it was just a joke. There’s nothing wrong with wearing this. It’s a very suitable outfit for ‘welcoming,’ isn’t it? Speaking of which, Juncheng was actually a pervert who liked maids.”
“Huh? Is that true?”
“Hehe, that’s right. So, Yu Hui, you should change into a maid outfit too. When the time comes, we’ll all wear maid outfits and line up in two rows to welcome his return. He’ll definitely perk up immediately.”
Perhaps his lower half will perk up too. No way…
“Is that so? Maids…”
Light Novel
Huh? Is she actually considering it?
Speaking of which, I was the one who tricked her into wearing cat-themed lingerie to give Juncheng chocolate last time. Yu Hui surprisingly tends to take advice in these matters.
As long as I wave the banner of ‘For Juncheng’ or ‘Juncheng likes it,’ it seems she’ll agree to anything.
Oh ho, then I can play a lot of special games and enjoy her blushing expression. Truly wonderful.
Hmm, just kidding (a wry smile).
“I’ll be going now.”
Enough chit-chat. I waved goodbye to Yu Hui and Nana and pulled a thread from the skein, preparing to continue my journey to find clues.
But Nana Yang called out to me.
“Wait, I’ll go with you.”
“Huh? Principal, don’t you have a lot of things to handle? Is it okay for you to come with me?”
“It’s fine. Your matter is more important. I’m also curious about what method can resurrect An Juncheng.”
“If things go smoothly, we can find clues quickly. But if they don’t, who knows how long it will take?”
I thought she wouldn’t follow if I said that, but surprisingly, this time she was insistent on following me.
“No problem, let’s go. There’s no time to waste.”
Her face was expressionless due to her lack of emotion, showing no trace of feeling. It’s impossible to tell what she’s thinking.
I should be a bit wary. Although the organization is our backing now, we can’t completely trust them. Especially since Zihua’s attitude towards the organization is almost hostile. But she was a member of the organization when she was Lanhua. Even if she had no sense of belonging, she wouldn’t act so disgusted.
Something must have happened for her to detest the organization so much.
Following the thread, I was surprised to find the destination within Black Street.
“Why are we back here again?”
It’s the Black Azure Pavilion again.
How many times are we going to visit this place?
DOOKStALG.C 20
“As expected, it’s here.”
“As expected?”
Seeing Nana Yang’s complex expression, she must know something!
If she can predict the location of the next clue, perhaps she already knows the method to resurrect Juncheng!
“Don’t misunderstand. When you mentioned ‘An Juncheng’s finger’ as one of the necessary clues, I merely recalled another residual part of it.”
“Huh? What you’re saying…”
Right!
That’s it!
The clues for Ariadne’s Thread can only be provided one by one. Based on the current information, it seems they are provided in order of ‘importance.’ So, what would be the clue following the finger? I can figure it out.
Since Nana, the leader, is here, we can go directly to the lowest level. This time, it’s her turn to lead me to the location of the clue.
By this point, the answer is already obvious.
We are back in the room where she is confined. The thread points directly at her behind the glass.
Or rather, the crimson dress she is wearing.
Nana glanced at the thread in my palm and said, “See? As expected.”
The material of that crimson dress is ‘Juncheng’s blood.’
“First the finger, then the blood. It seems the final answer will be close to the option of ‘reconstructing the body.'”
“But I recall you saying that method wouldn’t work?”
“Yes, normally it wouldn’t. But blood has many uses. It not only carries human genetics inherited from parents and ancestors, but also a person’s ‘karma.’ All of this can be expressed through blood.”
“In short, Juncheng’s blood is one of the necessary conditions, right?”
“Yes, besides Juncheng’s blood, Kaoru Tsukiyose has nothing else. So it must be the blood.”
Rather than calling it a ‘rare material with extremely high acquisition difficulty,’ it’s more like an ‘impossible-to-obtain dream material.’
Trying to forcibly take Juncheng’s blood from Kaoru Tsukiyose would undoubtedly result in her being cut to shreds like a piece of dry tofu.
Kaoru Tsukiyose’s mental state is still very unstable. Although her body and soul are fine, she has not recovered from the impact of ‘seeing Juncheng die before her eyes.’
To put it bluntly, she’s currently a mental patient.
Trying to communicate peacefully with her and have her give up Juncheng’s blood?
That’s simply impossible!
Moreover, Xue Qing, who could contend with her, is currently undergoing treatment for frostbite. The only one who can contend with the Witch of Calamity is Ji Lian.
That young lady’s ability is ‘death.’ It’s just too dangerous to consider.
What then? Should I release Zihua?
But would Zihua cooperate with us?
Rather, the moment she’s freed, she might escape.
Furthermore, she possesses the extremely dangerous ability to rewind time. If she were to activate it, everything would be lost. Everything would instantly revert to the point of origin. I cannot take such a risk.
What should I do? The situation seems to have reached a deadlock.
“You don’t need to worry about it anymore. This is why I came with you.”
“Do you have a way?”
“Put Kaoru Tsukiyose into the Yata no Kagami.”
The Yata no Kagami?
It’s true that we can do that, but…
“It’s not like you can freely enter the Mirror World just because you have the Yata no Kagami.”
“I know, but I can.”
“Where does all that confidence come from?”
“The Mirror World inside the Yata no Kagami is also a Spiritual World, meaning it’s no different from a dream.”
“That seems to make sense.”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t forget, ‘Succubus’ is also called ‘Incubus’!”
