Going Further Back in Time

"How early do we need to go back?" Jingxing asked.

"Two paths." She held up two fingers. "The first is to return to the era of the Twilight Wars. Back then, many Aeon hadn't yet ascended to godhood, and humans and Ancient Beasts were fighting each other in the universe—but without the help of Path, you can imagine how difficult it would be there."

"This doesn't sound like a good place," Jingxing said.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like it at all." Polka Kakamond shrugged. "How many people died in that era? Even the Primordial Intelligent Species, capable of using galactic spiral arms as weapons to slaughter Ancient Beasts to near extinction, is nowhere to be found. So you have a second option: go to the era of the Swarm Disaster."

"What can we bring?" Jingxing asked.

"You can't take anything else with you except your own body," Polka Kakamond said. "Essence, talismans, and firearms were all worthless in that era."

After silently noting it down, Fu Xuan asked, "Including the tools for creating tools?"

"That's right, after all, it's facing the Aeon of Propagation head-on." Polka Kakamond raised an eyebrow. "Any few words you write might turn into insects and fly out."

Fu Xuan lowered his head and thought for a long time.

"How will we find each other once we get there?" Jingxing pressed.

"You will be together," Polka Kakamond said, "Unless you plan to go back to the past from different locations."

"If I had to choose between the two, I would still prefer the Swarm Disaster," Fu Xuan said.

"Reason?" Polka Kakamond asked.

"Because the Twilight War is too far removed from the past, a time before the Xianzhou even set sail," Fu Xuan answered bluntly. "Although the Xianzhou wasn't fully integrated during the era of the Swarm Disaster, we've already collected a lot of data—where Aeon of Propagation ascended to godhood, where the Swarms emerged from, which star system and when the Swarms appeared... It's better than going to the Twilight War and knowing nothing about it."

Jingxing added from the side, "Moreover, with the Swarm Disaster, we might be able to find something to solve the problem of the Vidyadharas."

"You're really kind-hearted." Polka Kakamond raised an eyebrow.

Fu Xuan looked at Jingxing: "What is that?"

"The ruins of the Permanence Aeon," he replied. "Someone told me that the Permanence Aeon 'Dragon' fell before the locust plague; and that 'Propagation' possessed a portion of its power stripped from the Permanence."

Jingxing paused for a moment, then said, "If we can find traces of Permanence in Propagation, perhaps we can find a way to allow the Vidyadharas to Propagation again."

Polka Kakamond looked at him, didn't reply, but simply withdrew his finger and slowly nodded.

"Let me remind you of something first," she said. "If you can't hold out there, you'll just die. Once you've made up your mind, call my name, and I'll hear you."

Polka Kakamond placed his hands on his knees and sat up straight. He didn't look like he was discussing a deal; he looked more like someone waiting for someone to hand in their homework.

When they returned to the Starskiff, Yaoguang was already waiting outside the cabin door. She didn't go in, but stood on the steps.

After listening to the two recount their meeting today, Yaoguang remained silent for a long time.

The lamp hung on the cabin door, casting her shadow on the steps.

The Jade Abacus in Yaoguang's hand lit up once. But she didn't even look at it, letting it shine until the light dimmed on its own.

"I'm out of the picture now," she finally said. "So if you're heading somewhere further ahead, I probably can't help you."

She took out a blank divination slip from her sleeve, wrote two lines of small characters by the light of the lamp, folded it up, put it in a sachet, and handed it to Fu Xuan.

"These are two divinations I performed before I came. Keep them with you—they might be able to help you find the right answers in a crucial moment."

"Senior Sister," Fu Xuan put the sachet into his robes, "When we return, we'll bring you back to the 'present'."

"But after we go back, will you still be able to stay 'in the present'?" she asked again. "Are you sure about that?"

"I will be there," Yaoguang said. "As long as I retrieve the Heavenly Wisdom Jade Knot, I will be anchored to the current point in time."

"No wonder I offered you the Heavenly Wisdom Jade Knot back then, but you didn't take it," Jingxing muttered to himself.

He stood behind them, listening to the two Senior Sister talk without saying a word.

Back in the Starskiff, Jingxing and Fu Xuan began packing their luggage.

Jingxing took out the Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer and other painting tools from the sachet, and touched the Heavenly Wisdom Jade Knot in his arms—it had now absorbed his warmth. Considering that the sachet might not be able to travel back to the distant past with him, Jingxing gazed at the sachet with reluctance.

Fu Xuan wrapped the old inkstone in cloth, stuffed it into his bag, and then put the booklet into the other side.

The box was empty. Fu Xuan closed the lid, fastened it, and placed it in the most conspicuous spot on the table—a spot where an inkstone had originally been placed.

"Should we bring an inkstone?" Jingxing asked. "We might not be able to bring those with us, right?"

"Didn't you say you were going to bring this pen? I was thinking of preparing the inkstone for you as well," Fu Xuan replied.

Jingxing chuckled. He glanced down at the inkstone; a small watermark remained on the stone after she had wiped it clean that morning. "I wasn't planning on bringing Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer with me."

"Alright, I'll keep it too." Fu Xuan touched the inkstone, pouted, and stuffed it into the package.

The two of them carried small packages, with not much room to put in them. Fu Xuan draped the straps over his shoulders to test them, then gazed out the window, seemingly looking at something.

Jingxing picked up his share and weighed it in his hand—it was lighter than he had expected.

"Keep the invitation," she said. "I'll keep the brocade pouch my Senior Sister gave me."

Jingxing tucked the invitation into his pocket and pressed his finger against the design.

The lights inside the Starskiff were still on, but the space itself had begun to distort.

Before leaving, Jingxing took one last look at the stone steps. There was a faint inkstone mark there, like a fingerprint pressed on paper.

Fu Xuan also turned around and glanced at the pavilion. She clutched the booklet containing various intelligence records to her chest, as if it were half her life.

The next second, the familiar smell of candy wafted over.

Polka Kakamond's shadow emerged from the corner, tilting his head to look at them.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Let's go," Jingxing answered on behalf of Fu Xuan.

Gray crept up from beneath their feet again, slowly devouring all the colors that belonged to them.

The pillars of the Tidewatch Pavilion also lost their color, followed by the stone steps, the water surface, and the lamps; finally, even the night in Fanghu faded away.

What remained in Jingxing's eyes in the end was that night—lights, fog, the sound of water, and the distant Yaoguang as he stood on the stone steps.

In the end, even she disappeared.