Chapter 351

One hundred and fifty-ninth page Pursuing Hope’s Meeting (Part Two)

Lord Hái’s letter would cause the situation that Grandfather described.

It was a special tool that utilized the restraint between Xiao Kai and Xiao Qianxia to achieve mutual connectivity between the mortal world and the Divine Court.

Every time Xiao Kai used it in the Sea of Knowledge, I couldn’t feel his presence at all. Now, thinking about it, isn’t this similar to what’s happening now?

Grandfather asked, “Oh! From your expression, did you think of something?”

“Yes, now that I think about it, something like this has happened before, but the feeling of losing contact with him was too unsettling.”

“So there’s a high possibility that Xiao Kai is still safe!”

“No, it’s just a possibility. We’re still missing key evidence, right?”

Lubifang turned the tablet back and said, “The key evidence you mentioned is what we need to discuss next.”

“Can we reach any conclusions just by discussing? We don’t have any leads…”

Zǐ Jiàng interrupted me.

“No, we’ve already caught a lead. There are clues.”

“Clues? What clues?”

Sister Lěi didn’t understand, and Zǐ Jiàng didn’t answer.

But Lubifang smiled at the idiot and explained, “I’m talking about the restraint. If the restraint between Xiao Ying and Xiao Kai still exists, then as long as we find a way to remove the blockade set by the Heavenly Path, we can find him… or her.”

Lubifang’s statement seemed reasonable at first, but its absurdity was no less than the three steps required to put an elephant in a refrigerator.

“This can’t be done, right? Not to mention how to verify if the restraint is intact, relying on a group of mortals to suddenly break the Heavenly Path’s blockade… This is just wishful thinking.”

“Really! Xiao Ying!”

A loud cry came from under the table in front of Sister Lěi.

Yòu Zi jumped onto the meeting table and walked up to me in front of everyone’s eyes. It puffed up its fur, held a small expression, and stood upright.

For this sudden little animal, Miss Lingqing instinctively wanted to pick it up off the table, but Lubifang raised his hand to stop her and signaled for Yòu Zi to continue speaking.

With its short claws, it waved in the air and said to me, “I can’t bear to listen anymore! You’re being too pessimistic! Everyone is acting with hope, yet you keep pouring cold water! What are you thinking? What do you want to do? Even if I can’t help, it’s better than causing trouble!”

Daring to get angry at me, I prodded Yòu Zi’s pink nose with my finger.

I knew it didn’t like being touched like that.

I said, “Sorry, I’m not trying to pour cold water. I just don’t see any hope.”

“If you can’t see it, then go out and look for it. Hope won’t come knocking on your door by itself.”

Lubifang reached out and pinched my earlobe.

I also disliked being touched like that.

But the rare gentleness and compassion in her eyes made me not resist.

“Xiao Ying, I see nothing in your eyes. It’s been a week, and you’re still stuck in that forest?”

“…Perhaps.”

I sighed despondently.

Then I pinned Yòu Zi down on the table and rolled it around with its freshly cleaned body.

“My time is frozen at that moment. As long as I close my eyes, I’ll see that divine punishment’s white light… This is divine punishment, right? The punishment for the one who survived.”

Under my push, Yòu Zi was forced to roll on the table. Although it had given up struggling physically, it still verbally advised, “To regain your spirit, Xiao Ying, you should let go of guilt and despair and bet on the fact that Xiao Kai is still alive! Only by trying can you have hope… Stop rolling! I’m going to throw up!”

I propped it up, but it wobbled and couldn’t stand steadily.

“Letting go of guilt and despair? Regaining your spirit? You talk so beautifully, but it’s not easy. I watched my mother and half of myself evaporate away due to divine punishment. If I hadn’t been separated at the last moment, I might have disappeared too…”

Perhaps evaporating together would have been better than enduring the torment of being left alone until numbness took over. I once didn’t want to think about anything.

“It’s okay, not seeing hope isn’t a problem.”

Lin Hua got up and came behind me. She lightly leaned against the back of the chair, her hands wrapped around my neck, her delicate chin resting on the swirl of hair at the top of my head, her hanging black hair swaying gently in front of my eyes…

This was the posture she often used when interacting with Xiao Kai. Perhaps she subconsciously treated me as a substitute.

She continued to comfort me.

“You just need to watch us act, Xiao Ying. If you can’t move forward, just watch us advance. When you can regain hope and break free from these restraints, you can catch up!”

While Lin Hua was cheering me on, Sister Lěi dragged the dizzy Yòu Zi away by its tail.

I wasn’t here to dampen spirits, but there were some things I needed to remind them about.

The hope they embraced seemed to me to have less than a thousandth of a chance.

“Lín Huā, Yòu Zi, I know you’re trying to encourage me, but false hopes can lead to deeper despair. I can’t bear it anymore…”

“Then put aside the complaints and listen to our plan. Lín Huā, go back to your seat. Don’t move around during the meeting.”

Lubifang interrupted me, bringing the conversation back on track.

…But, are we being too complacent?

Lín Huā pouted and sat back next to Zǐ Jiàng.

Lubifang continued, “Our actions are based on the assumption that Xiao Kai is still alive. Before we confirm his status, we need to find out where he is. I’ve already mentioned the plan earlier—using the restraint between you and him to trace him back.”

Not only I have a restraint with Xiao Kai.

Here, there are also Sister Lěi and Lin Hua. Those who aren’t here have even more. If the Heavenly Path really wants to cut off Xiao Kai’s connection with us, all restraints must be severed.

Bà Hé raised her hand and asked, “Boss, the Heavenly Path uses the most advanced divine techniques, right? How can we break its security measures with only magic spells?”

“Isn’t someone already showing us how to use magic to exploit the Heavenly Path’s weaknesses? It may be difficult, but it’s not impossible.”

Mother’s actions shattered the Heavenly Path’s authority in the minds of witches, making her start to consider exploiting the Heavenly Path’s weaknesses.

“But, Sister Qianxia’s magic level is much higher than ours…”

“So she left us the seeds of hope, Xiao Xue.”

The immaculate white cat gracefully leaped onto the meeting table. Even in the fluffy winter coat, its body appeared graceful, slender, and elongated, making people want to stroke its fur from the neck all the way to the tailbone.

“I will do my best to help everyone.”

Unlike Yòu Zi’s shrill voice, Xiao Xue’s tone was closer to human speech. This obedient appearance made Lubifang pat its head in approval.

“It has the knowledge of magic taught by Níng Yīng, making it a living dictionary for our research institute. To find Xiao Kai, I need to form a special research team. Under Xiao Xue’s guidance, we’ll search for a way to reconnect the restraints. Zǐ’ér, I’ll leave this task to you. As for the team members…”

“Let me join! I’m good at finding loopholes!”

Bà Hé raised her hand, and Lubifang looked at Zǐ Jiàng for her opinion.

“I was planning to find her even if she didn’t raise her hand.”

“Good, then after you, introduce two researchers.”

Seeing Zǐ Jiàng assigned a task, Sister Lěi raised her hand and stood up.

“Hold on! So finding Chairman only requires four people?”

Lubifang rested her chin on her hand and smiled, “Young lady Lěi, having too many people in the research team would reduce efficiency. Besides, I have another plan. Zǐ’ér’s side is just a backup.”

Even I couldn’t figure out where Boss’s fondness for Lěi came from.

Little Lěi didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t know what to say. She stared at Zǐ Jiàng’s face anxiously for a long time.

“That, that, they don’t even have a sample with a restraint! Even if they find a method, they won’t be able to verify it, right?”

Lubifang glanced at Zǐ Jiàng and then asked, “…Yes, that’s true. What’s your opinion?”

“Let me do it!”

The fool’s voice grew louder.

“I can’t do much else, but I’m ready to be a test subject for Chairman!”

Zǐ Jiàng reminded her, “Participating in magic experiments is very dangerous, especially those never practiced before… Anything could happen. Is that okay?”

After saying that, she kept staring at Lěi.

“…It’s okay! Do whatever strange things you want to do to me!”

The latter hesitated for a while, although the lines were awkward, she still accepted the role of the test subject.

“Hmph, since you didn’t agree rashly, it seems you’ve thought about the consequences?”

Although Zǐ Jiàng spoke bluntly, a few layers of ice on her face melted.

Since Xiao Kai disappeared, she had closed herself off emotionally. She didn’t go to school and spent her days buried in endless magical research. Unlike Shí Huǒróng, who was a workaholic, Zǐ Jiàng did this to escape the unbearable reality.

But she still pulled herself together and joined the search for Xiao Kai… But I couldn’t do it.

Lín Huā asked Lubifang, “So, what’s your other plan? Is there anything we can do?”

“That’s what I want to talk about next.”

Lubifang looked at me again.

“Xiao Ying, can you contact your master?”

“…Huh? Lord Hái?”

If Lord Hái was willing to help, we might be able to find Xiao Kai’s location directly. Although she is in the Divine Court, she has the power to observe any corner of the world… But haven’t I thought about this many times?

“I can’t contact him. Even when Xiao Kai was still around, I never talked to Lord Hái.”

“Oh? Even you can’t do it?”

“Unfortunately, seeking help from Lord Hái might not be possible unless she contacts us first.”

Although she is trapped in the Divine Court and cannot leave, if Lord Hái is willing, there might be a way to send information to the mortal world.

“Um, um…”

At this moment, a faint voice came from the tablet.

“…Even though you all don’t take me seriously, I am still a current deity!”

Lubifang and Grandmother exchanged glances and asked, “Cāng’ěr, do you have a way to contact Lady Hái?”

“Although we’ve never contacted her, theoretically, it’s possible! After all, I’m a great deity with a temple!”