bookbashuk Page 129
Page 129
Lydia perked up and gave a soft hum. Indeed, just as Touko had said, she wanted the person who told her this to be Kuonji Yuzu. This wasn't because she disliked Aozaki Touko, but because she didn't want to think that her relationship with her best friend had become distant.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Yuzhu was also thinking about Lydia.
It was just past noon, and Youzhu, who had just finished lunch, looked at Ling lying on the hospital bed with a slightly hazy gaze.
This hazy feeling is a physiological reaction. After all, she had just eaten, and a lot of blood was concentrated in her stomach to help with digestion, resulting in insufficient blood supply to her brain, so she was a little confused. In addition, since Ling woke up that day, her biological clock has become a little disordered. Although she could use magic potions to refresh herself, it felt like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Moreover, looking at Ling's sleeping face, I suddenly felt sleepy again.
Looking at her face, which looked less rosy than when she had been asleep for so long, Yuzhu couldn't help but recall Orange's harrowing surgery that day.
She ripped open his chest, disassembled his ribs, and removed his heart. In just ten seconds, she completed this operation, which even the world's top surgeons would find impossible. Then, Orange took out a replacement organ that she had prepared beforehand from her familiar and parasitized Ling's body to complete the regeneration.
Ling, who was in so much pain that he couldn't even faint, looked at the removed heart with a strange expression. But not only him, everyone's eyes were focused on that heart.
The heart, which was wrapped in a thin black film, began to crystallize the moment it was taken out, eventually turning into the thing that Aoko and she had seen not long ago.
If the crystal formed from the heart of the Black Princess is the most beautiful ruby artwork in the world, then the Heart of the Listener is an obsidian that has weathered many storms and exudes an ancient aura.
Even though it was wrapped in a thin black film, it still looked like it could break at any moment. Anyone who saw this "heart" felt at the same time that this thing had long exceeded its expiration date, but had been forcibly used for a very long time.
At the same moment, after seeing this [heart], Black Cat Ren appeared from some corner, her eyes fixed on the heart.
As an expert on the life system tree, Nero Chaos said at the time: "So that's how it is. No wonder the boy has a heart problem. This is not a human heart at all. Could it be a mystery that has been passed down from the ancient times of the gods?"
Upon hearing this, Youzhu's pupils contracted slightly, and then she lowered her head without saying a word.
Orange, who seemed to have anticipated this, had her familiar put the item away. Then she walked to Ling's side, reached out and touched his forehead, and said in an unprecedentedly gentle tone, "Ling-kun, sleep a little longer. Everything will be alright when you wake up."
Ling, who had been awake for less than fifteen minutes, stared at the orange for a long time before finally nodding and slowly closing her eyes.
Afterwards, the people present discussed for a long time and finally decided that Orange, Aoko and Yuzhu would take turns to accompany Ling. After all, even if it was a small part of Nero Chaos, it was still inappropriate for him to stay in the hospital. Although Black Cat Ren did not say anything, everyone noticed that magical fluctuations came from her body after Ling fell asleep. It seemed that she had sneaked into Ling's dream.
Ling woke up a day later. She remembered that Chengzi was watching over her. Although she didn't know what they talked about, when they changed shifts, Youzhu noticed that Chengzi was in a good mood.
When it was his turn, Ling actively started a conversation with him, sometimes asking about common sense, sometimes about other people, but never about his own past.
Furthermore, Ayumi noticed that Rin seemed to have no doubt about the fact that he had told her his name was Kuonji Rin.
Youzhu also knew whether Ling was able to avoid topics about her past or had already realized that the question was too sensitive and therefore did not ask casually. In any case, in these few days, Youzhu felt that the relationship between the two of them was gradually getting closer.
Chapter 284 The Puppet of the Plan (Part 2)
This feeling wasn't bad. After all, for Youzhu, as long as Ling didn't leave her sphere of influence and could bring her peace, everything was fine.
As for what Orange is planning, and what Aoko is hiding, none of that matters to Ayumi.
Just like now, she fed Ling the porridge she had cooked, used magic to check on his slowly recovering body, chatted for a while, and then he fell asleep while still a little weak.
Youzhu covered her mouth, yawned slightly, and looked at Le Zhengling's face one last time. She couldn't help but put her hands on his pillow, rest her head on her arms, and take a short nap.
Black Cat Lian jumped in through the window, looked at the two people in the ward who were already fast asleep, and swished its tail, seemingly plotting something.
After thinking for a while, she decided to do nothing. It was a rare sunny day, and taking a nap with them was the best option.
Having figured this out, she jumped to the other side of Ling's pillow, curled up, and, smelling the faint minty scent on Ling, drifted into a lazy afternoon nap.
The clock on the ward wall ticked away, half an hour passed, an hour passed, and an hour and a half passed.
Suddenly, with a loud "bang," the ward door was pulled open forcefully. Although the sound wasn't loud, it still startled the person.
Lian jumped three feet high and landed on the ground, while Youzhu also suddenly raised her head from her sleep, her eyes red as she looked in the direction of the sound. Ling also opened her hazy eyes, turned her neck to the door, and looked at Qingzi who was panting heavily.
"Aoko! What are you doing!" Yuzhu's tone was low, and anyone could hear the displeasure in it. After all, being woken up is an unpleasant experience for anyone.
Ling also frowned, a hint of reproach in her eyes.
When Aoko realized she had woken them up, she immediately apologized and explained, "Yuzhu, you can switch shifts now. Someone came to your house looking for you, and your sister is taking care of her."
"Who is it?" Upon hearing Aoko's words, Yuzhu frowned. It was impossible for an ordinary person to come to her door directly. Not to mention that she was currently in seclusion, how could Aoko allow someone who came to her door to enter her house?
This alone instantly soured Yuzhu's mood.
"She claims to be your childhood sweetheart, and she's so rude. The first thing she said when we met was that I wasn't qualified to live with you! What kind of person is she?! She's completely unreasonable!" Having lived with Yuzhu for half a year, although she used to call Yuzhu "Ice Face Ice Face," Aoko can now read the few expressions on Yuzhu's face.
Undoubtedly, Aoko was very unhappy, so she immediately embellished the story and told her about Lidel's every move at the Kuonji residence.
When Yuzhu heard the other person call herself "Alice," she already knew who it was; she had never imagined it would be Lydel.
Because Yuzhu knew Lidel's personality very well, after how she treated her that day, the awkward Lidel wouldn't come to her first before she apologized.
Similar situations had occurred in the past, with whoever approached the other first conceding defeat—a tacit rule between the two. However, in the past, it was usually Yuu-ju who went to Lydell first, since Lydell usually left crying after Yuu-ju had bullied her.
But this time it's completely different. Yuzhu deliberately didn't want Lidel to get involved, but now Lidel has come to her on her own.
What's going on? Yu-zhu stood up from her seat, turned to Ling, and said, "I'll go back now and come back tomorrow."
"and many more."
Ling propped herself up, reached out to Youzhu's face, and gently brushed away the hair that had accidentally stuck to the corner of Youzhu's lips while she was asleep, all while Youzhu was looking puzzled. She then tidied it up and finally said with a smile, "It's okay now."
Youzhu touched the hair he had just touched, and looking at his gentle smile, her heartstrings couldn't help but tremble slightly. Finally, she took a deep breath to suppress this sudden feeling, and left the ward under Ling's watchful gaze.
"Wow, Ling-chan is amazing!" Qingzi rushed to Ling's side with her eyes shining, put her hands on the edge of the bed, leaned forward, and carefully looked him over.
"I never knew you had the potential to be a playboy! Didn't you see how Yuju looked when she passed by me just now? She actually blushed! That ice-cold Yuju actually blushed!"
Ling looked at Qingzi, who was excited, with confusion, not understanding why she was so excited. However, he understood what Qingzi meant. He gently tapped Qingzi's forehead and said, "What are you talking about, Qingzi? Youzhu is my sister. What I did just now was just family interaction, like an elder to a younger generation."
Hearing Ling's explanation, Qingzi's round eyes widened. "What are you talking about, Ling-chan? You and Yuzhu—"
Before she could finish speaking, Ling slapped Qingzi on the forehead again. "Don't call me Ling-chan. I've told you so many times. I'm older than you, and I'm not a woman. Don't use such a feminine way of addressing me. You should call me Ling-nii, or at the very least, Ling-kun!"
"Ah, here we go again. To me, whether you're a boy or a girl, whether you're called Rin-kun or Rin-chan, you're always Rin-chan in my heart!" Qingzi ignored Rin's troubled expression, stretched out her hands, and pressed her face down onto Rin's thighs.
"Oh right, did you regain your memory today?" Aoko then rolled over, stuck out her tongue, and made a face as she asked.
"That's not the kind of expression a girl should make." Ling pinched her cheek, then reached out and picked up Lian, stroking her soft fur as she answered Qingzi's question with difficulty.
"Memories? Those aren't my memories at all, are they? You know, I'm a boy, but the 'me' in those memories looks like a girl, doesn't she?"
Yes, Rin, who has awakened again, is gradually regaining her memories. Only Aozaki Aoko knows this, because only Aozaki Aoko has the memories of [Hime Rin].
Just three days ago, Ling told her with distress about her memories of meeting Aozaki Aoko when she was thirteen and she was ten. At that time, Aoko knew that Ling was regaining her memories.
"It's okay, it's okay!" Aoko kept this secret to herself and told Rei not to mention it to Yuzu or Touko. Although she couldn't explain anything to Rei, Rei still chose to believe her.
"Never mind, as long as you're happy, Qingzi." Ling affectionately touched the spot on Qingzi's forehead where she had just tapped her. "For someone like me who has nothing, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters."
Chapter 285 The Heartless Person (Part 1)
Since waking up, Ling has stayed in the ward as requested by Chengzi and the others, because they said she hadn't recovered yet and couldn't go out casually.
Although he had no memory, it didn't mean he was stupid. Common sense told him that although he wasn't exactly healthy, he wasn't incapacitated either, and that he should be able to leave the ward without any problems.
As a result, whenever he asked to go for a walk with any of the three people he was alone with, they all refused without prior agreement. Eventually, he stopped mentioning it altogether.
Moreover, as he spent time with Aoko, Touko, and Yuzu, some things gradually appeared in his mind. Sometimes it was the memories of a girl named Ji Ling growing up, sometimes it was in a huge stone chamber where he was telling stories to a giant, and sometimes it was in a forest where a silver-haired girl was pulling on him and shouting something.
In short, these memories will gradually emerge when you are with different people.
However, apart from mentioning Ji Ling to Qingzi, he did not share the other two memories with Youzhu or Orange Sister.
Because in Ji Ling's memories, there is a Qingzi, and their relationship is quite close. The Qingzi who is much younger than in her memories and is now by her side seems to have the same memories, which makes her feel much more familiar with her than with the other two.
In fact, from his perspective, it seemed that Ji Ling had ulterior motives from the very beginning in getting to know Qingzi. Moreover, Ji Ling's mental age was completely inconsistent with her physical age. Whether it was her usual solitary monologues or her skillful way of dealing with people, there was a feeling that she seemed to know something.
However, Ling saw this memory from a third-party perspective, and he had no idea what Ji Ling was thinking or what those seemingly abnormal behaviors represented.
When he asked Aoko about it, she was very surprised and kept asking him questions. After he answered all the questions Aoko asked, she became unusually clingy and would often act coquettishly like she is now.
"Good girl, good girl~" Following her memory of the actions, Ling gently stroked Qingzi's hair.
Although it was a bit strange to do this, seeing Aoko's satisfied expression filled him with a sense of fulfillment.
"Ling-chan is such a good older sister, unlike Orange, who's always stealing my things!" Aoko relaxed, her body showing a comfortable expression like a cat.
"Ah, yes, it's because Orange stole your birthday doll that you ran so far away that day to find an identical one, right?" Ling recounted the scene based on Ji Ling's memory, and remembered that Ji Ling and Qingzi officially exchanged names after this incident.
The reason why Qingzi became so close to Ji Ling was because after this meeting, Ji Ling invited Qingzi into her shop, let her eat her fill, and didn't charge her.
Because Ji Ling runs a Chinese restaurant, I remember that in order to feed Qingzi, Ji Ling's hands were sore from making fried rice. While eating with Qingzi, she listened to her complaining, and as a result, their relationship got better and better.
"Yeah, yeah! I searched for it all day, but I still couldn't find it. I clearly remember the address on the receipt was there. I was so hungry and tired in the end. Luckily, Rin-chan found me, or I would have starved to death!" Aoko said angrily, recalling something that had never happened in this timeline, her face full of reminiscence.
“Yes, I remember when you were so hungry you were weak, you kicked the mailbox outside the restaurant and broke it. Anyone would have gone out to see what was going on after hearing such a loud noise, right?” Ling told the truth of what happened. Qingzi immediately turned her face away, blushing with embarrassment, and punched Ling’s knee with her hand.
The knee-jerk reaction made Ling's foot move slightly, but Qingzi pressed it down, making him feel a little uncomfortable. So he reached out and pushed Qingzi, "Okay, get up quickly. It would be too embarrassing if someone saw you like this."
"No way! Ling-chan's bed smells wonderful~ Besides, no one but the three of us will enter this ward. And Yu-zhu just left, so my sister won't be here anytime soon. I'm going to do whatever I want during this time!" Qingzi said these words that made Ling extremely distressed, and then rolled around on his lap.
"The smell?" Ling raised her hand and sniffed it. It did indeed have a reassuring minty scent.
"Qingzi, did you add any additives when you washed my clothes? This mint scent smells really nice," Ling asked curiously, putting down her hands.
"Huh? Ling-chan, didn't you notice? This is your scent, um, you know, your natural body odor." Qingzi stopped in surprise, took off her shoes, spread her legs, and sat down on the bed.
"Body scent?" Hearing Aoko's words, he realized this blind spot. After all, he had been smelling this scent since he woke up, and he had gotten used to it, so he hadn't paid much attention to it. But now Aoko said that it was the scent emanating from his body, which surprised him.
Suddenly, an image flashed through Ling's mind of a dark-skinned woman pouring lamp oil on him; the wet, cool sensation gave him goosebumps.
"Resistance?" He unconsciously uttered the word, his eyes a little dazed, until Qingzi waved her hand in front of his eyes, and he came back to his senses.
"What's wrong, Ling-chan? What resistance? Are you feeling unwell?" Qingzi became more and more worried as she spoke, unconsciously pressing down on Ling's shoulders and asking anxiously.
Ling leaned back without showing any emotion, creating distance between herself and Qingzi. "There's nothing wrong with my body, Qingzi. I was just surprised that I have a natural fragrance."
If he smelled of mint, he could also smell a faint fragrance of hair from Aoko, who was now close to his face. More importantly, from this angle, he could see her well-developed, fair skin through the gap in Aoko's collar.
Of course, he looked away without making a sound just a moment later, with no intention of looking any longer.
After all, what Aoko needs is "Rin-chan," because to meet her expectations, Rin can only be "Rin-chan" now.
After hearing Ling's answer, Qingzi breathed a sigh of relief, but still didn't think there was anything wrong with their current position. She yawned loudly, then rested her head on Ling's shoulder and wrapped her arms around Ling's body. "Oh no, I suddenly feel sleepy. Ling-chan, let's sleep together."
Chapter 286 The Heartless Person (Part Two)
"Okay, okay~" Like coaxing a child, she gently hugged Qingzi back, lay down, and slowly closed her eyes to adjust her breathing, pretending to start sleeping.
Soon, Qingzi's breathing became slow and rhythmic. Ling slightly opened his glasses to make sure Qingzi was really asleep. He then gently released his arms from Qingzi's embrace. The tenderness and doting on his face gradually disappeared, leaving him expressionless and listless. He stared blankly at the ceiling.
- Emptiness, emptiness, emptiness.
He felt empty inside, as if his thoughts had stopped. He would automatically enter this state when no one was interacting with him, or when no one needed him.
This scene was once again witnessed by Lian, who had been watching Ling's every move since he woke up, but had no intention of interfering.
Reality is not her domain; she can only become herself in dreams. Without the active summoning of her master, even in dreams, she merely watches her master in that pure white space, gazing at the ambiguous memories that could be said to belong to him, yet also not to him.
The time is not right. Lian knows what her mission is, or rather, she is the only one who knows everything between Yue Zhengling and Ji Ling.
Since her reunion with Yue Zhengling, her memories have been reawakened. She knows that this world has been reset twice. This reset is not just about two extremely similar parallel worlds, but a complete restart of both time and space.
Her creator created her for Yue Zhengling. Although she didn't know about the first reset, she saw everything about the second reset and could even be said to be one of the participants.
However, knowing all this is of no use. She can't explain it to Yue Zhengling. But even the person who created her probably didn't expect that Yue Zhengling would be this special. Not only does she know many things that the person who created her doesn't know, but she has also completely gone astray from the path that should have been arranged, and ended up like this.
The Creator clearly only wished for Yue Zhengling to live a peaceful life and deliberately removed this world from the cycle of world selection. However, because Yue Zhengling knew too much and the causal entanglements were too intense, Gaia and Alaya, who had no chance to intervene, were instead caught in the crossfire.
Lian meowed twice in Ling's ear, prompting Ling, who had been lost in thought, to get back to work [start].
Ling put her finger to her lips in a "shh" gesture, then reached out and grabbed Lian, lifting her up.
The man and the cat stared at each other until Ling felt his hands were getting tired. He then placed Lian on his pillow. He knew this was no ordinary black cat, but apart from being able to communicate with her in his dreams, he seemed unable to talk to this black cat when he was awake.
Although you can see some emotions in its eyes, that's about all.
If the malignant "id" centered on Yue Zhengling's "self" and devoured the evil of this world in another world is a distorted, amplified extension of the "self," then the existence called "Ling" is the automatic reaction mechanism of Yue Zhengling's physical birth. In other words, it is Yue Zhengling's unconsciousness, which is completely his true "id."
As the earliest and most primitive part of personality, without the restraint of the "self," it should unconsciously become a reflection of biological impulses and desires.
But long, long ago, because Yue Zhengling's soul was incomplete, the so-called three souls and seven spirits, the three souls refer to Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, and You Jing.
The term "Tai Guang" means the light of life, but Yue Zhengling is special. He has never had such a thing as Tai Guang, or rather, his Tai Guang has not yet been born.
The ability to control wisdom is the most important component of the "self".
A concrete example is that many people have the ability to do mental arithmetic, including some intellectually gifted individuals. Give them any date, and they can tell you what day of the week it is. This cannot be deduced through logic; it's an innate instinct. Mental acuity determines a person's intelligence, wisdom, and reaction speed.
They are now in a part of another star-sea specially set up by Gaia, and are about to participate in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
As for the final spirit that governs everything related to physiological instincts, in other words, the "id," it was torn apart from the moment Yue Zhengling's soul was transferred, with only a very small portion remaining in the body.