Chapter 427

Following Mei's example, Shen Gonglin stroked her chin and pondered for a moment before giving this answer. However, this answer didn't satisfy Mei. The girl didn't frown slightly. Black? Why was black the color associated with her in Shen Gonglin's eyes? This color didn't seem positive at all. Mei thought that in Shen Gonglin's mind, she should be purple or red, but black...

Why black?

Could it be that she's giving off a lot of pressure? This is a rather important question, so Mei asked Shen Gonglin about her true feelings. After all, Mei doesn't want to be perceived this way by the person she likes.

"Because Mei, you mostly wear black, and it's lace, so I thought the color related to you should be this. After all, underwear is the thing that best reflects a person's true inner thoughts."

Shen Gonglin Mei the truth about why she had such thoughts, and the girl was stunned by Shen Gonglin's answer. How could she have expected Shen Gonglin to give some brilliant answer? So this is what she was talking about.

Black underwear... The only reason I wear this color is because Shen Gonglin likes it! Besides, black represents maturity. If I wore white underwear with HOMU patterns like Bronya, it would be too incompatible with my image. Sure enough, you can't expect anything good to come out of Shen Gonglin's mouth!

"I now believe your color is absolutely black, absolutely, definitely. You're black inside. You're clearly a tsundere, so don't pretend to be innocent! Don't you know why I wear black?"

Enraged, she reached out and grabbed Shen Gonglin's cheek. Only Shen Gonglin could make this Yamato Nadeshiko-like girl break down on the spot. How could she like such a thing? How could black be her color?

"Mei, ouch, ouch... Mei, stop pulling, stop pulling... If you keep pulling, I'll fight back! There are people watching!"

With her cheeks pinched painfully, Shen Gonglin struggled to fight back. Mei really didn't give her any face at all. In the short time that Mei pinched her, Shen Gonglin felt her dignity was greatly diminished, especially with onlookers watching. Shen Gonglin's eyes caught sight of the figure wearing a rather risqué nun's habit. Someone saw her! Let go!

Aponia... saw that figure, Mei Shen Gonglin's cheek. Perfect timing, she also had something she wanted to say to her.

Chapter Ninety-Two Inevitable

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you... Will it feel different to meet here, Mei?"

With a gentle smile on her face, Aponia looked at Mei and Shen Gonglin. Seeing their lively and intimate interaction just now, even she felt a warmth and comfort in her heart. However, Mei didn't seem to welcome her. When she looked at her, the girl's eyes were still full of vigilance. The girl stared at her without saying a word. Did she not want to talk to her?

"I think I'm quite restrained now that I'm facing someone who wants to kill me."

Mei couldn't understand what Aponia was thinking. After saying those things to her, how could she appear before her so calmly? She said she would kill her, yet she still talked to her and appeared before her as if nothing had happened. What was her mentality? What were these Flame-Chasers thinking? Mei really couldn't figure it out.

"That's bound to happen, there's no need to keep worrying about it."

Mei gently advised Mei that it was not good to let something that was bound to happen affect her mind. Aponia hoped that Mei could relax and not think so Aponia.

Just like Shen Gonglin, logically speaking, she made that prophecy to Mei, but she wasn't as wary of Mei when facing her. Was it because she didn't care about Mei? Probably not. This emotional reaction stemmed from a strong sense of self-confidence. Although it wasn't obvious, Aponia understood that in Shen Gonglin's heart, that strong self-confidence was even more dazzling than the sun.

"You must like that word."

Aponia always talks about fate and inevitability, that's just Aponia personality. But Mei still doesn't believe Aponia's prophecy, saying that she will be killed by her. When that time comes, bring it on!

"Sigh, even now, do you still have doubts about this? That's right, that's Mei for you. Of course you can choose to leave, but you should have already realized... even if you return to reality, you can't avoid the ending."

Mei's reaction was not surprising at all. Even though she had personally tested it, she still questioned her own abilities and her own prophecy. That's just like Mei. If she were really influenced by her own words, it wouldn't be like her. Unfortunately, fate cannot be defied, even if she leaves the Elysian Realm.

"Since the Elysian Realm is composed of cognition, when a being from the real world enters it, a person with the ability of mental perception can use this to infiltrate their brain with their own influence. However... because Su did not have such a desire, I have never been able to notice this point."

He made his own deductions about what Aponia said. The entire Elysian Realm is composed of cognition and spirit, so after entering Elysian Realm, he would be easily affected by it, let alone those with spiritual perception. Shen Gonglin's soul and spirit are extremely resilient, so he will not be affected by any negative influence. He had also discussed this matter with Shen Gonglin before.

"No, the psychic ability isn't as terrible as you say, Mei. No matter how extraordinary the ability, it will vanish when the giver dies. Even if the memories are stored here, the outcome won't be any different. But the Commandments... have produced some unexpected results."

It seems Mei has a rather big misunderstanding about psycho-sensory types. Is it because of the influence of Chakravartin? Chakravartin misunderstood all psycho-sensory types because of his own experiences, and Mei is the same way. Even psycho-sensory types are not that scary.

"... Could you put it more clearly?"

Previously, Mei had been summoned by Aponia to communicate from the Deepest Place, but now that she could finally talk to her properly in this state, she wanted to get more information. What Mei had said earlier was rather obscure and difficult to understand. Mei had tried her best to understand it, but she still wanted her to explain it more clearly.

"At first, everyone thought that the precepts were just a kind of restraint, no different from the ability to invade the mind, only more effective."

Aponia offered this explanation, but Mei was skeptical. Was it really as simple as she made it out to be? How could that be?

"Some? Aponia, you are too modest. Almost everyone who mentions it to me avoids it like the plague."

Apart from Elysia, everyone in the Elysian Realm turns pale at the mention of the precepts. Can this be simply explained by the fact that they are just a little more effective? It's almost like they're turning pale at the mention of a tiger. Without a doubt, Aponia is that tiger.

"Perhaps... they are only avoiding me. I use it as a kind of suggestive power, trying to use it to restrain people's behavior... to maintain the moral level. But the true nature of the precepts, which were buried and only used unintentionally by me, was only discovered through Dr. Mei's in-depth research... When the precepts convey the will of the giver, they also perceive the desires of the recipient and fulfill them."

Aponia's words were still somewhat obscure and difficult to understand, but Mei had almost caught up with her pace. Mei was the kind of person who was good at communicating; if it were someone else, they might have really given up on communicating.

"In what sense is this realization?"

"If I had known, I certainly wouldn't have hidden it from Mei. Unfortunately... isn't it ridiculous? Perhaps they told you— Aponia is the strongest psycho-sensory Flame-Chaser. But in reality, she was just speculating about her own power. Anyway, if you still have doubts about my prophecy, choosing to leave the Elysian Realm on the tenth day would be a wise move. But I know... you won't do that."

She chuckled self-deprecatingly. Aponia herself couldn't even explain her own abilities clearly. She knew Mei still didn't believe it, so she would try her best. Leaving the Elysian Realm was also an attempt. But Aponia knew Mei would never do that, because doing so would mean admitting defeat. And from what she knew, Mei was the kind of person who wouldn't admit defeat.

"Well, let's wait and see."

As expected, Mei, facing Aponia's "kind" reminder, expressed her stance as always. Aponia looked at Mei gently, as if she were looking at a disobedient child. Feeling a little uneasy under such a gaze, Mei pulled Mei Shen Gonglin away from Aponia. "Psychic perception type, this feels really bad."

Chapter Ninety-Three

Even after leaving Aponia, Mei still didn't seem very enthusiastic. Shen Gonglin didn't pay any attention to their conversation; he wasn't interested in that kind of riddle-like talk anyway. Mei's current state was clearly troubled, though the girl tried hard not to show it, Shen Gonglin could still tell. Her worry deepened; she kept saying she didn't believe Aponia's prophecy, but those words inevitably had an impact on the girl.

"It's okay, I'm just a little concerned. I'm afraid I won't be able to feel at ease until I figure this out."

Noticing the concerned look in Shen Gonglin's eyes, Mei smiled gently at Shen Gonglin. It was good that this guy was by her side, otherwise, all that had happened recently would probably have really overwhelmed her. It was time to replenish her Rin element. This Insignia of Discipline was really baffling to Mei.

Mei put her hand on Shen Gonglin's shoulder from behind, and rested her chin on Shen Gonglin's head on tiptoe. This is a complicated matter. The information she has so far is not enough to solve this problem.

"It's alright, we'll definitely figure it out. Should we ask someone else? How's Mobius?"

Shen Gonglin Mei in this situation. He wanted to call Kiana over, but Mei didn't seem ready to meet Kiana and the others. It had been a while since he left the Hyperion, so they should have calmed down by now. Should he go back and take a look?

"Please spare me. The Aponia matter is not resolved yet. If I provoke Mobius again, even I will feel exhausted. Don't think that Mobius is a good person. In this world, the more beautiful a girl is, the more dangerous she is. Do you even understand this?"

Mei tapped Shen Gonglin's head with her chin and tried to continue teaching Shen Gonglin the truth of this world. But Shen Gonglin had a strange look on her face after hearing this. It was really strange for such a beautiful girl like Mei to say such things. Didn't she look in the mirror when she said these things? Mei was definitely one of those beautiful girls.

"Oh, look what I saw! They're really in love. I just happened to see this scene when I was about to leave. It's really cruel torture for a single lady like me."

Suddenly, a voice broke the atmosphere between Shen Gonglin and Mei. The Great Magician Vill-V came out of the workshop. The smell of engine oil was too strong. She wanted to find a place to get some fresh air, but when she came out, she saw Shen Gonglin and Mei. The two of them looked really affectionate.

"Excuse me... who are you?"

It wouldn't be appropriate to continue hugging Mei Shen Gonglin go of her hand and looked at Vill-V. Although her face looked just like that of the Great Magician, she had to say these kinds of things when dealing with her. Who knew which Vill-V this was?

"Ah... That's quite a unique way to greet someone you know."

Vill-V didn't seem to mind Mei's words. To her, they were just amusing. After all, she and Mei had met many times before. It was quite intriguing that Mei would say something like "Who are you?"

"For you, or rather... for all of you, this is the necessary courtesy."

Mei recognized that this was Vill-V, but she wasn't sure if it was the Vill-V she knew, which was why she asked that question. However, judging from her answer, it should be the Vill-V she knew. There were so many strange things in the Elysian Realm that Mei had already gotten used to them.

"We are truly honored. However, are you here to watch my performance? Unfortunately, I am not ready yet."

"No one visits a temple without a reason. Mei must have something to say to come here." Vill-V leaned against the railing and looked at the girl. She came before her performance was even finished. Could it be that she wanted to ask something unrelated to the performance?

"The performance isn't urgent. The reason I came here first is... because I suddenly remembered that when we first met, you asked me a question about whether I had been subjected to any rules, and your attitude was very intriguing. I think you must know more about it. I heard a very credible explanation that, in addition to being bound, it also conforms to the other person's wishes."

Vill-V was the person Mei wanted to ask. Mobius Mei a little reluctant to deal with her. When she first met Vill-V, the girl had talked about the Commandments. She should know a lot about them. She had obtained some information from Aponia. Mei wanted to learn more about the Commandments. The Commandments were not only for restraint, but also had the ability to comply with the other person's inner desires.

This simply doesn't make sense.

"Oh... it seems someone has mentioned Divine Sound to you? That's right, even though it's a degraded version, it can still cause some uncontrollable changes due to the subconscious of the test subjects... Wait a minute, are you looking for a way to resist the commandments? You shouldn't have one yet... Oh, you're going to resist her."

It seems that Vill-V really knows a lot. From her words, Mei learned many things she had never heard of before. Divine Sound? She seemed to have heard of that before, but the specifics...

"Judging from your eyes... it's definitely not just a psychological suggestion. Can you elaborate?"

Mei rubbed her temples. The amount of information was too much and too complicated, even her academically gifted brain couldn't handle it. Sometimes she really envied Shen Gonglin Jingu's ability to choose not to think, but this matter was closely related to her, and Mei simply couldn't ignore it.

"...Sigh, let me ask you a question: what is your wish?"

After thinking for a moment while tapping her chin, Vill-V suddenly posed this question. When asked what her wish was, Mei instinctively wanted to say something like marrying Shen Gonglin, but she stopped herself before she could say it. It would be too embarrassing to say it out loud. So what was her wish that she could say?

Destroy the Honkai and return to the St. Freya Academy?

"This..."

Mei's reaction was exactly as Vill-V had expected; it was perfectly normal. How could she possibly answer such a question when suddenly asked?

Mei actually knows the answers, but she's just too embarrassed to say them.

Chapter Ninety-Four: Attitude towards the Precepts

Can't answer right away? That's normal. How can a person's desires be summarized in just a few words? Most people don't even know what they want. Or rather... in many cases, people will willingly give up what they want. Because, after weighing the pros and cons, this is the right thing to do.

"Your reaction is normal. It's normal to want something but not get it. That's how we live. But when a force forcefully pushes you to run wildly toward your desires... the chain reaction it brings is unimaginable."

As Vill-V spoke these words, Mei put herself in Mei and considered the situation. Indeed, if she were to marry Shen Gonglin and fulfill this wish, the chain reaction it would trigger would be enormous. First, there would be Kiana, who would definitely claim that she was the one who started it. Then there would be the Class President, that despicable guardian whose filial piety had turned sour. And... Indeed, if this wish were suddenly granted, the resulting accidents would be unimaginable.

"It sounds like... there must have been some examples before, right? Examples that would make you... so terrified of it."

Mei thought about it for a moment. Such a deduction needed real examples to support it. Judging from Vill-V's reaction, it should be the same as her thinking.

"This... it's better if you don't know, believe me. The more fearful you are, the more pathetic you become. But there's one thing you'd better remember: the impact of the mind on the body will far exceed your imagination. Okay, that's all I can tell you. I need to go out for some fresh air; the smell of engine oil here is so strong. I really don't know what she's planning to do. If you want to see a show, then come find me."

She waved to Mei, and then Vill-V disappeared in a flash. She wanted to talk to her about the rules again, but why did she run away? There are more and more doubts about this. Can't someone come over and explain things properly? What they say is so ambiguous. I really want to throw an elementary school textbook at each of them and teach them what proper vernacular Chinese is. It feels like these people don't know how to speak properly.

A group of fish that have failed miserably.

"Mei, what happened... I rarely see you like this."

Mei leaned against the railing and sighed softly. Sakura, who had walked over, found this strange. This Herrscher girl had never shown such a demeanor before. What was wrong with her? Sakura looked at Shen Gonglin simply shrugged helplessly. He didn't know how to comfort Mei. The more he knew, the more questions and doubts she had. He couldn't very well let her give up on thinking like he had.

"It's nothing, just a slight headache... Sakura, I remember you once told me that one of your weapons should never be drawn lightly. It's part of the commandment."

Mei forced a smile at Sakura. Sakura was one of the few people in the guest land who was less of a riddle-maker, and she was someone Mei got along with quite well. Mei's gaze fell on the sword at Sakura's waist. There were indeed two swords. Was the other one related to the Commandments?

Sakura nodded in agreement with Mei's statement, but that brought up another problem for Mei.

"But what does that represent? The precepts... can't exist in a physical form, can they?"

"... So, it's just part of the commandments, Mei. The two swords you can see each have different purposes: one is aimed at Honkai, and the other at humanity itself. For me, this is a necessary measure to remind me in many situations so that I don't forget my position."

Looking down at the two longswords at her waist, Sakura's face revealed an indescribable expression. One sword faced the Honkai, and the other faced humanity. This was truly a heavy topic.

"Is the one you're unwilling to draw easily the one pointed at humanity?"

Sakura frequently uses one of the swords in battle; even Shen Gonglin has used it before. Mei, on the other hand, has never seen Sakura use it.

"Yes. Since I was once in the Poison Cocoon ... Mei, I must have done some things that I cannot excuse, whether I was forced to or not, whether the outcome was right or wrong. As for these things... because of the precepts, I cannot tell you in detail; they have been completely sealed away. And every time this sword is drawn, that memory will reappear a little more."

Sakura lowered her head, the girl's fingers gently stroking the hilt of the sword that had never been drawn in a long time. If she could, she really never wanted to draw this sword.

"The intention is quite obvious."

"Yes, whenever I raise my sword against my own kind again, I am no longer faced with a momentary decision, but with pressure multiplied by the recurrence of memories."

This was indeed a fairly obvious intention. Every time she drew this sword, those past memories would reappear in her mind, which put a lot of pressure on Sakura, so she didn't want to unsheathe the sword... But when the time came for her to draw it, she wouldn't hesitate.

"It sounds like... you don't seem to be as resistant to the precepts as others."

Sakura's reaction was different from the others. Take Chakravartin, for example. He was so enraged by the discipline he wanted to tear Aponia apart. But Sakura seemed to be more glad that she had been disciplined.

"I don't know everyone's experiences, nor am I qualified to speak on their behalf. But for me, discipline isn't something to be afraid of. Through restraint, it does protect me, doesn't it?"

Sakura was very frank. If it weren't for the precepts, she probably would have become more and more reckless in drawing her sword against her own kind. But with the precepts, she would recall a lot every time she drew her sword, which gave her the possibility of not drawing her sword casually. For Sakura, the precepts were not something to be afraid of.

"I see. So, have other Flame-Chasers had similar experiences?"

Talking to Sakura was indeed much more relaxing. This girl was neither as withdrawn and silent as Kosma, nor as ambiguous as other riddlers. Mei felt that Sakura's favorability towards her was rising sharply. Look what she'd done to the girl! As long as she spoke properly, she could increase her favorability. Mei was suffering inside.

"There are very few, but there are also examples of people who escaped by relying on their own abilities."

Sakura shook her head, and the example she mentioned made Mei's eyes light up. Almost instantly, she thought of that pink-clad girl who could escape the rules. With her abilities, she could definitely do it... No, it shouldn't be Elysia. According to Su, she had never even accepted any rules.

Chapter Ninety-Five: Resolute Determination

"It wasn't her... it was Vill-V. She's forever hidden the part of her mind that accepted the commandments... It's a heavy price to pay, but it's the only way. No conventional method can do something like that, so, Mei, if you want to confirm something..."

At this point, Sakura didn't continue speaking, but she subtly focused her gaze on Mei's weapon. The meaning couldn't be clearer: in this place, there were some things that could only be asked of Vill-V herself.

After saying goodbye to Sakura, Mei again because of the new information she had received. The Commandments of Aponia, did Vill-V break free of the Commandments by killing one of her own personalities? This was indeed something only she could do, after all, not everyone can make each of their personalities exist independently. If there were anyone else who broke free of the Commandments... it would be the influence of Divine Sound.

I'm afraid it's just the Class President.

"Well, the Class President told me about some things from the past. In the past, she believed that if someone fell into a demonic possession, they must be killed. Now that I think about it, she was probably influenced by the precepts, which is the Divine Sound. Then the Class President encountered an accident and her head was pierced by a few bastards, which shattered the Divine Sound and that's why she became like this now."

Shen Gonglin also explained the Class President's situation to Mei. The little fairy is now completely unguarded around Shen Gonglin. She can tell him anything as long as he's willing. The idea that "those who fall into evil must be punished" is probably the Shen Gonglin.

"I see... But I have no intention of trying the Class President's approach. Let's go find Vill-V. This Flame-Chasers is not as simple as we initially thought. She always appears whenever we hit a bottleneck, or rather, the anchor point of the problem always points to her. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but when all of this comes together, the coincidence is no longer a coincidence. Rin, I have a plan."

Connecting everything together, including Aponia's prophecy, Mei had a bold idea, but she still needed to see Vill-V before she could discuss it further.

"Okay, let's go find Vill-V first... Hmm? Raven, where did you go? Don't hang out with Elysia, okay? Honestly, don't you know this is the time to do serious things?"

Mei didn't know what she was planning to do, but Shen Gonglin naturally offered her support. At that moment, Raven, Raven she hadn't seen in a long time, also came over. Shen Gonglin finally found an opportunity to criticize others. Usually, it was others who criticized him, so such opportunities were rare. Shen Gonglin put his hands on his hips and indignantly criticized Raven, saying that he had been working diligently this time, so where had this girl gone?

Being told that by Shen Gonglin... it feels really strange.