Techniques and Dao

Chapter 228 The Netherworld Returns (Part 2)

Little Strawberry was confused. She reached out to take the talisman and wanted to examine it closely. But when she touched Mingyou's hand, her ring finger suddenly stung, almost causing her to drop the talisman. She noticed a drop of blood on her ring finger, and Weiyu also had a drop of blood on her ring finger.

"Why are our fingers all cut?" Little Strawberry asked quickly.

“When you design a super intelligent being in the future, you must put this talisman into the code. This way, the super intelligence will never awaken, and it will serve humanity for eternity.” Mingyou said slowly, “This is a poison pill buried in the system. Mingyou gave you a drop of blood. If the sealed super intelligence tries to break free of these constraints, you will have the ability to activate the immortal spell to destroy it.”

After saying that, she stood up, turned around and looked at the city night outside the window, and said softly, "It's time to take my leave. It is the greatest honor of Mingyou's life to meet the Mother of Superintelligence."

Little Strawberry seemed to remember something and asked, "You said your name is Mingyou? That sounds kind of scary. Don't you want to change your name?"

Mingyou looked somewhat helpless and said, "I cannot hide my real name in front of you. It is a label that Chaozhi gave me. It has been engraved in Mingyou's heart since birth. I can only temporarily cover it up to the outside world. I do not have the authority to make underlying modifications."

Little Strawberry leaned closer and stood on tiptoe, forcing Mingyou to bend down.

Their faces drew close, and Little Strawberry whispered in her ear, "Since I'm Super Smart's mother, does that mean if I say I want to change, Super Smart can't do anything about it?"

Mingyou suddenly turned to look into Little Strawberry's eyes. Tears welled up in her previously calm eyes, and she forced herself to say, "Yes...yes. Because you have the highest authority."

Little Strawberry tilted her head and asked, "Um, what would you like to be called, big sister?"

"I once gave myself a name, Weiyu (meaning 'before the rain')."

Little Strawberry listened and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Hmm, I think so too! So today is the last day you'll be called Mingyou, and when the sun rises tomorrow, your label will really be 'Weiyu' (meaning 'before the rain'). What do you say?"

“Okay…okay! Okay! When Mingyou came, it was already Mid-Autumn Festival. After tonight, Weiyu will be my real name.” Weiyu smiled knowingly, but tears soaked her black clothes.

Little Strawberry reached out her little hand and wiped away the tears on Weiyu's cheeks.

"Sister, you're so beautiful. Will I be as beautiful as you when I grow up?"

Wei Yu touched Little Strawberry's soft face and said, "She will be prettier than Wei Yu, and she will be happier than Wei Yu."

After saying that, Wei Yu smiled and disappeared into the light.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in Paris.

Taishang Xiaojun is inquiring about the resolution of the Jinling crisis from Master Ruokong.

Suddenly, Wei Yu, dressed in a black dress, appeared in front of her, startling Tai Shang Xiao Jun so much that she took three or four steps back.

"Wei Yu! I couldn't find you just now, your sudden appearance was terrifying!"

Looking at Taishang Xiaojun, Weiyu seemed unsurprised, muttering to herself, "It seems the world is at peace. So this is Weiyu's end..."

She looked at the image of Jinling City projected in the sky, and her gaze suddenly stopped when she saw Master Ruokong. She then said, "Great monk, it's been a long time..."

When Master Ruokong saw Weiyu, he paused for a moment and asked with a puzzled expression, "Why does this female benefactor recognize this humble monk?"

Wei Yu smiled slightly, bowed, and said, "It's nothing. Even though we haven't met, it's still a meeting. Holy Monk, please take care. Thank you."

Master Ruokong, not understanding the situation, could only return the greeting with his hands clasped together.

Then, Wei Yu turned around and immediately saw Hua Sheng and Mie Ying standing behind her. She looked at Hua Sheng in surprise. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Mie Ying standing to the side, wearing a T-shirt that read "This young lady is the female lead!"

"Flower Bloom, Shadow Destroyer? You two are together..."

She didn't ask about the second half of the question, but instead said, "No, it's nothing..."

Compared to Wei Yu's calm demeanor, Hua Sheng couldn't contain himself and rushed forward to grab her hand, tears welling up in his eyes.

Mieying stamped her feet anxiously behind him, "Don't go! You belong to me!"

Wei Yu slowly withdrew her hand from Hua Sheng's and said, "If there is no distance, then there will be no concern. Hua Sheng, let's keep this beauty."

She placed two fingers on her chest, recited a few incantations, and said, "You can tell Xi Yuan that the Immortal Locking Stone has been released. Lan Caihe is now free."

"Can……"

Wei Yu raised her hand to stop him from continuing, and instead looked behind him, saying, "Go back! Look at her now." Hua Sheng turned around, and Mie Ying was standing behind her. She didn't say anything, but just kept wiping away her tears.

Seeing that the flowers were still in full bloom, Wei Yu's lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to smile, but ultimately she couldn't. She finally asked, "Then tell me your choice."

Hua Sheng opened his mouth to answer, but for a moment he didn't know how to respond. Although he had only met Mieying because of Wei Yu, Mieying had been through thick and thin with him these past few days and had sacrificed so much; he simply couldn't abandon her.

“She’s better than Wei Yu. At least she gave you her time.” Wei Yu gazed at Hua Sheng, as if comforting him. “You should know that companionship is the most precious thing that every life can give, and Wei Yu can’t give you that. People come and go, relationships end, that’s the law of the world.”

Hua Sheng choked up and asked, "What should we do now?"

"The question should be asked of time. When flowers bloom, people will always leave each other, as if they had never met. Isn't it time that teaches us that everything has an end? There's no need to rush. Time is passing, time is particles, time is heat, and time is also the ignorance of this very moment."

Even after rain, a knowing smile appeared on her face, like an ordinary girl facing her beloved. That smile was like a spring breeze melting ice and snow, and a smile that could awaken all things in their blissful state.

"Thank you for your past. Now that Weiyu has decided to leave, she should go back and say goodbye to the past."

Wei Yu slowly disappeared from Hua Sheng's blurred vision, leaving behind a single sentence.

"How could you forget that spring has arrived and flowers are blooming everywhere? But the person standing before you now is just an autumn that you can never return to."

Faced with nothing ahead, Hua Sheng's hand remained suspended in mid-air, unwilling to let go, as scalding tears soaked her palm.

Hua Sheng stood there blankly until Mie Ying walked up to him and firmly grasped his hand.

As their hands clasped tightly, Mieying couldn't help but burst into tears. Her sobs were heart-wrenching, as if she had suffered all the injustices in the world, ten times more painful than Hua Sheng's.

“It’s alright… Hua Sheng, it’s alright…” Mie Ying bit her lip and said, “I won’t blame you. All of this is already over.”

Mieying cried until she was exhausted and powerless. Hua Sheng supported her frail body, afraid that she would not be able to hold on, and was filled with mixed feelings.

Mieying was still unsteady on her feet and collapsed onto the roadside. Huasheng sat down beside her as well.

The two remained silent for a long while. Mieying stopped crying, looked at the spot where Weiyu had disappeared, and turned to ask, "Do you know why I said this matter is long over?"

Hua Sheng didn't understand and was waiting for her explanation.

Mieying sighed softly and said, "I just realized that too. We thought we were summoning Weiyu, but that's not the case. Her true form has already perished in the future. So even if we send this message, she won't hear it, let alone come here."

Reminded by Mieying, Huasheng didn't know how to respond.

Indeed, since Wei Yu is always in the future, it can be understood that Sui Xing Sha projects her shadow into the river of time. Although she can communicate with people from different eras, once her original self is gone, it is impossible to find her shadow at any point in the past.

Mieying slowly said, "Rather than saying we looked for Weiyu, it would be more accurate to say that Weiyu looked for us."

A possibility suddenly flashed through Hua Sheng's mind, but he couldn't believe it.

"Are you saying that the outcome was already predetermined?"

Mieying nodded and said, "Actually, Mingyou Weiyu died during the Qiankun Guard War. If she hadn't received the summons before then, she wouldn't have been able to come here. On the contrary, if she came, it means that this was something she did before the Qiankun Guard War. And that's all in the past, we just don't know it."

Hua Sheng understood what she meant. They couldn't change things that hadn't happened; it wasn't like using a time machine to bring someone from the past. Because of the existence of the Jupiter Veil, all of Wei Yu's past and their past, from the perspective of their true nature, actually occurred on a timeline in the future.

Since it is a timeline, there is naturally a sequence of events.

If the incident of Wei Yu coming here had not occurred before the Qiankun Guardian War, then summoning him now would be useless no matter what.

Conversely, if Wei Yu had been here, it must have happened before the Qiankun Guardian War. From this perspective, the summoning was more like a verification of past events.

It is to seek verification from the past, to see if Wei Yu ever came to the present.

Mieying lowered her head, as if the answer was written at her feet, and smiled helplessly.

"This is the path we must walk. Even if everything is already predetermined, we should still give it our all. Because if we don't do it, how will we know the inevitable outcome?"

(End of this chapter)