The man from Wugeng's family is indeed reliable

"Inside the box are the things that Michiru left behind after I rushed back and got the consent of Mr. Hyodo who rushed back from abroad. I think some of them are things she left for you specially."

"The things that Michi left behind for her, were specially left for me."

Repeating the old man's words, Hiroshi lowered his head and looked at the cardboard box in his hand.

What is going on here?

"Hey, Grandpa, where do people go when they die?"

"She won't go anywhere. She will always be by the side of the one she loves."

There was a warm, tangible scent on her neck; it was Michiru's scent.

"You're possessed by a ghost, Hiroki-kun"

Chapter 89: The Way of Gogen Hiroki's Possession

"You're possessed by a ghost, Hiroki-kun"

It was as if he were trapped in an endless icy cave. Even the warm sunlight on his body no longer felt warm. The box that was once light in his hands now felt like he needed all his strength to lift it. Everything that happened around him, the clear memories in his mind, told Hiroshi that what had happened was not a dream.

If you ask why, his presence here at this moment is the greatest proof, declaring the truth of all this.

The brief time he spent with her over the past few weeks turned into a long, still picture that kept replaying in Haoshu's mind. The stubborn girl's smile was like an invisible arm gently pushing his swaying figure from behind.

He let out a breath and his eyes gradually returned to calm.

Is it really a ghost?

Even if he was possessed by a ghost, Hiroshi's desire to see her again would not change.

He gently opened the box in his hand, and a tape lay quietly on top of a pile of documents. It looked familiar yet strange. Was it several years or just a week? This tangled and contradictory feeling made Haoshu feel suffocated.

"At the beginning, I packed in almost everything that was intact and could be taken with me, but I haven't looked at it."

The old man stared at the dazed Hiroshi with his cloudy eyes and sighed softly.

"Because I know these things don't belong to me, I've been waiting, waiting for the person who comes to look for them. And now, you're finally here, Hiroshi-kun."

pop

He waved his old arm and patted Hao Shu's shoulder heavily.

"What are you still daydreaming about? You can't listen to tapes here. Go back first."

A light rain fell in the mountain stream, and the hazy water vapor condensed on the eaves and dripped onto the ground. Hiroshi sat in the house blankly holding the bowl of rice that had already gone cold. The photo of Michiru laughing cheerfully in front of him had already turned a little yellow and lay quietly in the frame.

Just looking at her, this real proof of existence.

Hiroshi remained bent over, occasionally eating a few mouthfuls of cold rice without noticing, looking at the table a few centimeters in front of him, and speaking out the conclusion of the past few hours.

“It’s definitely not a dream”

In order to prevent forgetting, I wrote her name in the notebook I carried with me, which had become blank.

"Little boy, if you don't eat well, your health will become unhealthy."

The old man who had just taken a shower walked in with a refreshed look on his face. Seeing Hiroshi's dazed look, he glared at him unhappily, snatched his bowl and started lecturing him.

"It's already so cold. I'll go heat up the food. You go take a shower first."

Seeing that Hiroshi still had an unmoved expression, the wrinkles on his forehead cleverly condensed into a well shape at the corner of his forehead. He put the things on the table back into the box and held it in his arms.

"Hey, that"

The old man looked serious at Hiroshi's struggle.

"Now, immediately, take a shower! Otherwise, I won't give you anything anymore. Don't forget that this thing is from me. Take a shower!"

"Yes"

He responded reluctantly, looked at the box in the old man's hand reluctantly, stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

Wow

Water gushes out from the shower nozzle, and the water droplets carry their own heat and the warm water flows over the whole body.

"So comfortable"

The water splashes connected together like a waterfall, and they themselves glowed under the white light.

“When they’re connected, it looks like a waterfall.”

The sound of the water in the maple forest, the fragrance of wildflowers in the mountains, the scent of shampoo in the bathroom.

"this is"

With eyes wide open, as if grasping some key point, the scenery blurred in my memory.

The image of a waterfall in the maple forest and a girl practicing silently on a bench with scarred fingers suddenly emerged in my mind.

creak

He turned off the shower, grabbed the towel beside him and wrapped himself in it, then rushed out of the bathroom in a hurry, wet.

He opened the map of the town, which was kept in the old man's shop to commemorate the town before the disaster, and searched the map with his eyes.

“If that’s the case…!”

If I go to that place, if I stay there, maybe I can leave something behind.

噗啦

His body was pulled up by a powerful claw. The old man behind him was obviously very old but his body was still so strong. As Haoshu was struggling, he hit him hard on the forehead.

"You idiot, dry yourself off after taking a shower. You've made the floor wet, you idiot."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

He was obviously hunched over and not even as tall as Hao Shu, so how could he have so much strength? Could this old man have been a martial artist? Hao Shu didn't want to hurt the old man because of his struggle, so his strong body was as docile as a little lamb.

The sharp-eyed old man saw the opened map and seemed to have realized something. He unconsciously loosened the strength in his hands and put Haoshu down.

"Where else do you want to go?"

"I want to find her whom I haven't met yet."

"Looking at Hiroshi with a determined face in astonishment, the old man moved his lips as if he wanted to refute something but no sound came out.

Kuhe swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and the hand that was holding Haoshu's collar should be stroked gently. He patted Haoshu's back, turned around and left sadly without saying anything, blending into the darkness.

I don’t know why, but at the moment when the old man merged into the darkness, Hao Shu had a feeling that the old man should have belonged to the darkness.

I wanted to meet someone but reality abandoned me. With this feeling of loss, I looked at the scenery outside the car window with some trepidation.

Although he looks serious on the outside, he is actually a very kind old man. Hiroshi thought to himself as he looked gratefully at the hand next to him that was tightly gripping the steering wheel.

Yesterday, she sent Hiroshi to that town and generously allowed him to stay at her house for one night. This morning, after hearing what Hiroshi said last night, she drove him here without a single complaint.

I have to say that it is a blessing from God that I met such a kind-hearted old man.

On the bumpy road, looking out the passenger window, you can still see the ruins of the dilapidated town. The heart-wrenching scene makes people clench their fists.

What kind of mood should I use to face what is going to happen next? Hao Shu silently looked at the gloomy sky. What happens next depends on myself.

Finally, the car stopped steadily. The old man pulled the handbrake and turned to Hiroshi and said.

"I am an old man with a weak leg, so I will not accompany you over the mountains and across the ridges. You have to walk the rest of the way by yourself."

He looked up at the same sky and lowered his voice.

"It looks like it's going to rain soon, come down early."

"this"

A large bag of snacks was stuffed into Hiroshi's hand.

"There's nothing an old man like me can do. It would be great if I could find her and bring her back."

She muttered incoherent words, and seeing Hiroshi's bewildered expression, she stopped talking and leaned back in her chair, as if she was waiting for him in the cab. She nodded slightly, took the bag in her hand, and put the important things in the box into her schoolbag. So, let's go.

The road ahead is one that you have to walk on your own.

He insists on persisting even when things are difficult, this is what Hiroshi does when he is possessed.

Chapter 90 Hiroki Gogen's Silent Cry

Last night's rain had left the mountain path slightly muddy. Hiroshi, carrying his large backpack, felt the slippery sensation, forcing him to be extra cautious. The mud-soaked trees and fallen rubble from the jungle on either side hinted at the devastation this area had suffered in the past.

Hiroshi walked slowly along the messy path. He stopped at times, using the map borrowed from the old man and the GPS on his phone to

"Yeah, no problem, we're getting closer."

The surrounding scenery did seem familiar, but it was a place he had only been to once, so there were no road signs or anything like that, and the terrain had changed. Therefore, Hiroshi relied on the map in his hand to guide him.

The vague sense of familiarity in his surroundings and a sense of security comforted Hiroshi himself, so he slowly approached his final destination at a steady pace.

The cool air kissed my skin in the morning after the rain, just as Michiru had felt the day she opened her eyes—hunger and cold were probably what this felt like. But now, the faint traces of what had once been a streetlight could be seen ahead. Although only a dark iron rod remained, Hiroki breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, we're here."

As he exhaled lightly, his tense spirit softened. He pulled the food the old man had given him from his backpack. As expected of a grocery store, the food he had provided was just milk and bread with some high-calorie chocolate. It was a decent breakfast, though. He slowly chewed the food in his hand and swallowed it into his already hungry stomach. He felt the food slowly digesting, and his body began to warm and lighten.

This feeling of being combined into one reminded Hiroshi of Michiru. The feeling of the soul and body blending together made people feel inexplicably happy.

While eating breakfast, we walked towards our final destination.

Before I knew it, the trees on either side had vanished, leaving behind a rocky landscape covered in moss and weeds. Here, in the initial stages of secondary succession, the mountain park remained empty.

The original small waterfall has become a stream due to geological movement, dividing the park into two halves and winding down the other side of the mountain through the park.

The place Hiroshi was looking for was right beside the stream.

Wooden bench.

The place where he finally changed his body, and now he has come to this place as Hiroshi.

The stream gurgled before me, a gentle, tranquil scene. The park was just as peaceful as it had been yesterday. Hiroki's arrival seemed to shatter the stillness, the clatter of his footsteps echoing through the empty park. He ran his index finger over the slightly prickly handrail, then gently sat down on the stool. Memories slowly surfaced: Michiru, sitting on the same stool the previous evening, clumsily playing the same tune over and over under the streetlight.

The same song.

"If all of this really happened, this kind of time travel is definitely not a one-way passive thing."

He took out a small tape recorder from his backpack, into which the tape in the box had already been inserted, and took out his headphones and put them on.

"If time could really go back, I would like to see her, even just once."

Return to that guy's body!!! Praying this, he pressed the play button. The tape began to spin, unusually loud. The girl's soft singing voice rang out, her gentle whispers piercing through him like a physical substance. It reached the base of his ears, spreading this strange sensation from top to bottom.

"..."

But, nothing happened.

Hiroshi was just sitting there in a daze for the time being. If you asked why, it was probably because he was immersed in the singing.

This wasn't the song Hiroki played and sang that day, but rather a tape of a young girl named Michiru Hyodo practicing diligently. Her gentle voice, imbued with a special feeling for someone, made you immerse yourself in the dreamlike beauty woven by her voice. Then, closing your eyes, you'll find only the girl's voice echoing in your ears in the quiet space.

The silence collapsed, and the clanging sounds coming from the tape recorder, like the sound of destroying the world, rang in Haoshu's ears so clearly, and approached him little by little. Haoshu could fully imagine the terrible scene at that time. The girl's panicked voice sounded and stopped abruptly, which made Haoshu's whole body covered with goose bumps, and his heart was inexplicably filled with sadness.

So that's how it is. Was this song recorded on that day, the day the disaster struck? Is this her last song left in this world?

The sound of collapse continued, as if surrounding Hiroshi, little by little, just as the feeling of the world collapsing was clearly transmitted to Hiroshi's body.

Closing his eyes, unknown fragments floated before Hiroshi. He saw the world crumbling, the sun and moon fading. Faced with this relentless natural disaster, no one was powerless to stop it, only to be swallowed up helplessly. The earth shifted, mountains collapsed, sunken, and flattened, as if an invisible hand were reshaping everything. Cracks opened and closed, and countless lives were lost.

The scene shifted, and the scene before me changed again. As time passed, a settlement formed within the basin where the mountain had become. The hills brought animals, and the rising earth's crust lifted up mineral veins, bringing wealth. The settlement prospered. Time again stirred, and the earth shifted again, its crust expanding and contracting, a devastating sight.

The feeling of weightlessness as if falling from the clouds surrounded Haoshu's body. As the white perspective changed again, what came to his ears was the crying of a baby.

"Your name is Michiru."

The mother's gentle voice sounded.

Then, accompanied by a strong touch, the umbilical cord was cut.

Originally, the two were one, connected together, but man severed the connection and fell into this world.

"You are your father's little cotton-padded jacket."

Looking at the children in their arms, a group of young couples smiled happily at each other.

"Dad is out there making a living, Michiru, stay home and listen to Mommy and don't let her be the one doing it."

Gently stroking his child's soft hair, during the Great Depression, the unemployed father decided to leave the mountains and travel across the ocean with the help of his friends to fight for a happy future for his child and family.

Afterwards, the family spent less and less time together. Although the mother often cried secretly in the corner, she always had a warm smile on her face in front of her children.

The peaceful days passed slowly, each with a touch of sadness.