Chapter 348

One hundred and fifty-sixth page – Carrying On Alone

I survived alone.

To prevent my mother from exploiting loopholes to nullify the Heavenly Punishment again, the second round of Heavenly Punishment came without warning, instantly eliminating the spatial jewel that could not be destroyed by normal means.

This was an unexpected blow, leaving no room for escape. My mother and Xiao Kai disappeared together.

But.

I survived alone.

That “me” after fusion exerted his last breath to separate me from Xiao Kai. As a divine artifact created by the Heavenly Path, I managed to dodge the devastating Heavenly Punishment.

Thus.

I survived alone.

I should have protected Xiao Kai. I was a tool meant to assist him through the trials of the deities. If he wasn’t here, what was the point of my existence?

Ultimately, can I go back now?

Linhua, Sister Lei, Zijiang, Old Dad, Grandma, and… Grandpa, how will I face them?

No, the solitary survivor that I am, there’s no way I can return…

Why did I have to survive alone…

Wah ah ah ah ah ah!

……

……

Day after day passed, and in another similar night, I heard voices and movements.

“There are traces of divine power nearby! The concentration is high, put on the isolation mask! Be careful of poisoning!”

“I found it! Over here! I found the notebook!”

After blanking out for who knows how many days lying in this forest, I was discovered by witches wearing protective gear and carrying flashlights.

“Why are you so dirty? Will it break?”

“Teeth marks, looks like it was bitten by some animal… Good thing, it doesn’t seem damaged.”

It seemed a wild boar had taken a bite during the day, but gave up when it couldn’t chew through.

……

……

These witches brought me from the western district forest back to the underground research institute.

“Linhua! We finally found something! It’s Sister Ying! The witch ladies found Sister Ying!”

Though it was night, the central rest area was filled with people.

Linhua, Sister Lei, Zijiang, and Yuzu were all there;

Thunder Meow-Meow, Tianqian, Leishan, AJ, and Taojang were also present;

Even Zhao Zhao, Lu Li, Tanghong, and Orange had come.

Such a rare gathering, like having all the characters appear at the end of a story… but the main character was missing.

Everyone gathered around naturally, their faces filled with anxiety and exhaustion. They needed a clear answer about what happened to Xiao Kai, and I had the duty to tell them what happened…

But I couldn’t bring myself to say that Xiao Kai was gone.

“Sister Ying, are you still in the notebook? Please don’t scare us. Where has Kai gone?”

Linhua held me, pleadingly pressing her forehead against mine, as if trying to communicate through this method.

Her dark circles were heavy, her long hair unkempt and messy. Such a meticulous Linhua looked so disheveled.

“Grandma was saved, but you all disappeared. The cost was too great. I can’t bear it, Sister Ying…”

Ah, is that so?

Grandma being saved was the only good news.

Only the enormous cost could have been avoided if I had detected the Heavenly Path’s sneak attack… Was it because I lost my guard after fusion?

“Is Kai really never coming back?”

Seeing Linhua’s emotions spiral out of control, Sister Lei helped her sit back on the sofa.

I was picked up again by Zijiang.

“So, Lingmeng was caught in the Heavenly Punishment and erased, right?”

She asked directly. This conclusion wasn’t hard to infer.

“That guy said he would come back… Sigh, he never does anything reliably.”

My silence made Zijiang sigh endlessly.

Compared to Linhua, she was much calmer.

Yet, even so, her eyes reddened with each sigh.

He was so important to everyone, yet I was the one left behind.

“Sister Ying, we’ve lost someone important, we don’t want to lose anyone else.”

Tanghong also tried to console me: “Sister Wei has locked herself in her room for three days. These past few days, she hasn’t eaten much. If this continues, something bad will happen. Her peace of mind would be a comfort if you’re fine. If you’re alright, please let us know, okay?”

This was an indescribable disaster. Mom must be suffering more than anyone…

After preparing for the loss of his wife, losing his son was an overwhelming blow that shattered his inner defenses.

Orange stood beside Tanghong, her tail hanging limply… Did she notice too?

The “big brother” she wanted to repay was gone.

“Sister Ying, everyone here believes in you. No one will blame you. I believe you’re the most heartbroken of us all.”

Sister Lei took the notebook, sobbing and kneeling on the ground.

“So, just tell us what happened that night? What happened to Chairman? Okay?”

“Xiao Ying, I know you don’t need to sleep or get damaged, but if you don’t speak, we’ll have to use force.”

Lubifang threatened, pulling out a clone bookmark that was previously given to Grandma and is now useless.

“Sorry, I know you’re hurting the most, but we can’t afford to dwell on your feelings. Even if there’s a sliver of hope, we must try.”

She wanted to forcibly enter my clone to interrogate me as a “person.”

Revealing the truth was what the one left behind had to do.

Continuing to wallow wouldn’t change anything.

I separated, snatched the transparent bookmark from the table, and reconnected with divine power and soul.

The bookmark began to transform, the light from its eyes stimulating my memories, reminding me of the white light that swallowed my mother and Xiao Kai.

Could the world sustained by the Heavenly Path not accommodate a mother?

“I’ll talk…”

Before opening my eyes, I spoke first.

“…I’ll tell you everything that happened that night.”

—

—

[December 6th, Saturday]

[8:21 AM]

Knock knock.

“Mom, I brought the food.”

Another weekend.

Xiao Kai had vanished for a week, I had sunk into despair for a week, and Mom had huddled in her room for a week.

Since then, time had paused for everyone.

“Mmm, just leave it at the door…”

After a moment of silence, there was still a response.

According to Wu Qinglan, before I returned, she didn’t even want to talk to her. She spent days in bed under the covers, waking up to cry, crying until she fell asleep again, barely eating, completely becoming a person who lost self-care abilities.

“Sigh, if this continues, Xiao Wei will develop some kind of heart disease… Xiao Ying, can you think of something?”

Wu Qinglan asked anxiously, but I had no idea what to do.

Only finding Xiao Kai could possibly untangle Mom’s heart, but that was impossible. The merciless Heavenly Punishment had taken away half of me, leaving me as a lonely soul.

“Let’s go down. Linhua and the others will be here soon… For now, we can only let time heal her pain.”

We were all the same.

Time wouldn’t stop, life had to go on, and everyone had to recover from losing Xiao Kai.

I went downstairs to the living room.

“Today, are we going to the institute?”

Orange asked me from the sofa.

“Yeah, Lubifang hasn’t given up. She thinks Xiao Kai might have changed his nature due to the Heavenly Punishment, or been sent to some distant place, or perhaps started anew with a new identity taking the deity trials… Yeah, like Mom did before.”

She bet on the uniqueness of Xiao Kai’s identity.

Even if he himself didn’t feel it, as the final divine apprentice, he was an irreplaceable anchor to the world, the last link between the Heavenly Path and humanity. Given the stakes, the Heavenly Path wouldn’t easily erase him.

Such optimistic speculation lacked evidence, but no one would deny this guess. For those in despair, even a floating spider web could become hope.

But this was her hope, not mine.

As his half-soul and assistant artifact, I could always sense his presence and hear his thoughts, as naturally as eating and drinking. But after the Heavenly Punishment, I could no longer feel him… At that moment, I felt like a kite severed from its string.

Yuzu curled up on the sofa, resting her furry head on Orange’s thigh, asking, “So, we won’t hold a funeral for Xiao Kai?”

“Yeah, not until everyone gives up… We can’t treat Xiao Kai as dead. Deities exist, so miracles can happen.”

“Oh, okay.”

A dismissive response, Yuzu didn’t believe a word.

Its mental state had been poor these past two days. Human thinking had made it melancholic, and it had been holding onto Xiao Kai’s perfume bottle, depressed and listless, no longer lively and active, like a middle-aged man who had lost his life’s purpose.

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang, it was Linhua coming to pick us up.

Today, we were going to the institute to discuss ways to find Xiao Kai.

“Chairman… Oh, Sister Ying.”

The vermilion pendant.

In the end, it was Sister Lei who arrived. Though she didn’t look gloomy, she no longer smiled.

“Linhua hasn’t arrived yet, we might need to wait a bit. Shall we go inside and sit for a while?”

I let her hold my hand, she wanted to find some resemblance to Xiao Kai in me, but I was fundamentally different from him. This little fool quickly lost interest in me.

“Sigh, without the spatial jewel, it’s inconvenient… Can Sister Ying not use divine techniques independently?”

Although I wanted to, reality didn’t allow it.

“No, I’m basically just an ordinary person now.”

Even though I was a divine artifact, I was merely a tool to assist Xiao Kai.

Transformation spells, teleportation spells, despite having knowledge of these, I couldn’t use them without his permission.

Though I often said I couldn’t do anything without him, it was the same for me…

However, releasing divine power purely was possible, just like him, who could only create a few light bulbs.

Sister Lei asked, “Is Sister Wei still unwilling to come down?”

“I feel like Sister Wei’s soul also went with him.”

Wu Qinglan couldn’t hide her disappointment, even laughing at herself.

“I thought I’d have a chance to take over since Ning Ying wasn’t around, but I was overthinking it. Mom occupies an unshakable position in her heart…”

She hugged Yuzu to her chest, the latter letting her be manipulated like mud.

“As for me, I’ll just remain a good friend.”

“Have you given up on poaching?”

“I’m happy just staying with your dad. If I can’t be a stepmom, I’ll be a sister… Okay.”

Through this incident, she finally understood her weight in Mom’s heart.

Wu Qinglan buried her face in Yuzu’s fluffy belly…

“Gross!”

Wu Qinglan threw Yuzu to Sister Lei.

“Oh!”

“This little animal smells quite strong!”

Even if Yuzu carried a perfume bottle every day, it was still a ferret, and if someone pressed their nose against it, they wouldn’t be able to handle it.