From the end of the world

Chapter 652 Love and Illness

Saying the name of a deity abruptly would be sensed from afar, and Jiao Shu probably thought of this, which is why he dared not continue. Under normal circumstances, the deity being mentioned would likely be treated as background noise, heard but ignored; but now he might have encountered the deity himself, and daring to continue would be tantamount to courting death.

Before I became the Great Impermanence, there was a short period of time when I was careful not to casually explore things related to fate. Now it's my turn to become the object of deep fear. It's true that fortunes change.

Jiao Shu's face was clouded with anger. She muttered bitterly, "The shelter and all my companions were wiped out by those Peach Blossom Spring cultivators who inexplicably attacked. And now we seem to have encountered a god from the opposing faction... Is this what they call misfortunes never coming singly? Why is my luck so bad..."

Her luck was indeed quite bad, but the misfortunes she encountered were probably not isolated incidents.

They brought me to the shelter one minute, and the next minute it was completely wiped out by the enemy forces. This misfortune was most likely caused by my influence. I remembered the mountains of corpses and seas of blood I witnessed in the shelter, the few Ming believers and dozens of ordinary survivors who died there. They didn't even see me before they tragically became victims of the jinx's power.

Because she died at the hands of the cultivators from Peach Blossom Spring, she wouldn't be resurrected due to the reboot phenomenon; her soul would only become a component of the dream network. The mountains of corpses and seas of blood still piled up in the same spot after the reboot are evidence of this. If she were to be resurrected, her remains would likely be used as material for reconstruction. Therefore, the remains of Xiao Qiao, the junior student who died in the fast food restaurant at the beginning, were not found there.

Even if I hadn't been there, the Xuanming believers, led by Jiao Shu, already harbored malice towards those ordinary survivors, intending to use them as living sacrifices for some unknown purpose. In the end, those ordinary survivors would still be doomed to die, but perhaps that death could be reversed by the restart phenomenon.

Even if the believers were to employ a sacrificial method that cannot be reversed by the restarting phenomenon, the cause and effect of the deaths of those ordinary survivors would ultimately still be attributed to me. The argument that because a person is destined to die, it is innocent to kill them prematurely with one's own hands is nothing but sophistry. Everyone in this world will die one day; there is no reason to arbitrarily implicate others for this reason.

I was somewhat frustrated by this. However, I wouldn't get deeply entangled in it, much less fall into an inescapable psychological predicament; I could easily put it behind me. But Asahi must have faced similar, or even more severe, circumstances than I have, and the number of times she's encountered them is far greater than my own.

Asaho isn't the kind of heartless person I am. How did she get over all her sins? I tried to put myself in Asaho's shoes, and a few days ago, I also asked Xiaowan about it during a casual chat.

"Sister Mazao has never gotten over it, and she may never get over it in this lifetime." That's what Xiaowan said at the time. "But as long as Brother Zhuangcheng is by her side, no matter how dark and cold the place is, it's like she has a warm stove that she can hug tightly, so she's fine now."

"According to your logic, if she didn't have me, she would be broken and unable to go on... Isn't that kind of overly dependent love unhealthy?" I countered. "Do you think this kind of love is healthy and in line with your beliefs?"

"Of course, such love cannot be called healthy, but, Brother Zhuangcheng, romantic love between men and women is a kind of mental illness. It's normal to be sick." Xiaowan said bluntly. "And putting aside Sister Mazao, it's unlikely that someone like you, Brother Zhuangcheng, who is full of adventure, would develop romantic feelings for someone as young as Sister Mazao. It's probably not like you're not having an episode. It would be a bad thing to completely eradicate the root of the problem."

"How do you usually view me and Mazao?" I complained.

Xiao Wan smiled and said, "It's like a lie that becomes the truth when it's carried through to the very end. I just hope you can stay sick forever."

My attention returned to Jiao Shu. She ran a little further away from the subway station, and then, seemingly feeling she had run enough, stopped in a narrow alley. She leaned against the wall and sat down on the ground, panting heavily with cold sweat on her face. It was just some movement; as a level-one demon hunter, she was certainly still full of energy. Her heavy breathing at this moment seemed more like a way of releasing internal pressure.

As if afraid of being discovered by unseen patrols, she murmured softly, "Once we get to this place, it should be..."

"—What should it be?"

I deliberately spoke to Jiao Shu's ear at this particular moment.

Jiao Shu let out a terrified scream, as if he had accidentally touched a high-voltage wire, and jumped up from the ground. He looked around in a panic, but could not find me anywhere.

I took a step from the edge of the city center and instantly teleported into the alley where she was. Her tense gaze immediately swept over me, her whole body tense up as if her hair had been pricked, and her pupils nervously contracted and dilated.

"You—who exactly are you?" Jiao Shu asked, his voice trembling. "Speaking of which, although you introduced yourself before, you never once asked me what my name was. Was it because you felt it was unnecessary to know who I was?" I said. "You should have more or less realized my true identity by now. Tell me my name."

Jiao Shu swallowed hard, then said, "Luoshan Dawuchang, Zhuang Cheng..."

“You’re right,” I said. “Since you’re wearing the Black Impermanence uniform and carrying the Impermanence Sword, you must also be a demon hunter from Luoshan. Are you a follower of Xuanming who has infiltrated Luoshan?”

Jiao Shu nodded with difficulty, then looked at my body and couldn't help but ask, "But why... why are you like this? You're completely different from what the rumors describe..."

"...That's not important." I skillfully changed the subject. "I'm here to ask you for information. Do you know where my followers who are lurking in this city are right now?"

If I can find those Zhuangcheng believers, I might be able to find a way to unleash my full power here. This idea initially came from intuition, but now I have a clearer picture. If prayer can establish a channel for me to transmit my power into the city's barrier, could even more intense prayer expand that channel?

Perhaps even that level wouldn't be enough. According to the information Jiao Shu provided earlier, there are only a dozen or so Zhuang Cheng believers active within this city. Even if all of them were at the Cheng level of Wuchang, it's hard to imagine that the channels their prayer power could construct could support even one percent of my power, let alone break the sky.

Furthermore, although I do not know how many survivors remain in this city, I estimate it to be less than one in ten thousand. Even if they were all converted to my followers, how could they possibly help me exert my full power here through prayer alone? To accomplish such a great miracle solely through prayer is unthinkable unless Little Bowl is here.

That being said, this is the only direction I can find right now, so I can only seize the opportunity to explore it.

Jiao Shu shook his head vigorously and replied, "I wasn't just giving you a perfunctory answer before. I really don't know where those Zhuang Cheng believers are..."

“I’m not asking you to pinpoint a specific location, just a general direction will do. And I don’t expect your clues to be absolutely accurate; even a guess is fine. Let me think…” I said, “For example… based on the clues you’ve gathered about them in the past, in which district of this city might they be located now?”

As I spoke, I pulled out the city map I'd casually pilfered from the subway station and continued, "Just draw a rough outline based on your gut feeling. It's okay, even if it turns out to be wrong later, I won't punish you. Feel free to point it out."

This can be considered an attempt by me to actively utilize the power of the jinx. With my "luck," Jiao Shu could just close his eyes and point randomly, and he might even be able to point out the correct area for me.

Actually, I could try pointing randomly with my eyes closed, but I think having Jiao Shu, who has more information, point it out for me would result in a smaller range, saving me more time.

Xuanming also emphasized that our time is not infinite, and Meng Zhang, the lord of Taoyuan Township, will not remain inactive forever.

Jiao Shu's emotions seemed to be gradually calming down. She first glanced at me cautiously. When I was still playing the role of a middle school boy, she would express her dissatisfaction with Zhuang Cheng's followers, and she was clearly quite dissatisfied with me, a god who also wielded the power of fire. But now, she showed no such signs at all.

She pointed to the map and drew a rough area. This was in the eastern part of the city, just across from the city center. The area she drew wasn't small; it looked like it would be a long search.

I grabbed Jiao Shu's shoulder and took another step, instantly arriving in the eastern part of the city.

Looking at the rapidly changing scene, Jiao Shu stared blankly and said, "How could this happen... without using any magic power, spatial transfer was completed?"

(End of this chapter)