Going Home! (5K)

"That's it, Captain!" The Devil Knight pointed ahead.

In fact, he didn't need to remind him. Even from dozens of meters away, You Li could still see the faint light that the thick fog and torrential rain couldn't block out, like a gem that would always shine brightly.

You Li knew that it was the Purification Source Crystal.

He quickened his pace and soon entered the area covered by the faint light of the Purification Source Crystal. Then he felt his previously somewhat cloudy mind become clear, as refreshing as pouring a bucket of ice water on his head on an extremely hot summer day.

This made You Li realize that even after ten years, the Purification Source Crystal had not been damaged and was still effective to this day.

That's... truly amazing.

As You Li approached the Purification Source Crystal and observed the faint, blood-like light flowing beneath it more closely, his admiration for the Holy Sound's technical prowess grew even stronger.

It stands here somewhat abruptly, but the pollutants in the abyss dare not approach, thus leaving it a small "dust-free land" in this most dangerous and polluted place.

No wonder Xiaoxing was able to get here with it back then, while without it, the Devil Squad, which has more advanced equipment, would have taken ten years to travel the same route.

Finally... I found it.

You Li slowly reached out and touched the Purification Source Crystal that had been lost for ten years.

Even with thick gloves on, You Li could still feel a cool sensation spreading from his fingertips throughout his body.

"Pretty good, isn't it?" someone asked.

"Yes," You Li replied instinctively, "Very good."

After answering, You Li suddenly realized something was wrong.

That voice... didn't belong to one of the Knight in his party.

But he felt he had heard it somewhere before; it sounded very familiar!

He turned his head sharply and saw the Knight in the Night Star uniform standing quietly among the Devil Knight, as if he had come with them. The other Devil Knight, however, did not notice anything amiss and were looking at You Li with slight confusion.

"What's wrong, Captain?"

You Li immediately felt his hair stand on end.

How so?

This was different from the previous situation. He did not fall into a hallucination like last time, because he could still clearly hear the "click-click" of the Emergency Device on his neck, but his subordinates did not react at all to the suddenly appearing ghost.

What exactly happened?

"Don't be nervous." The Knight of the Evening Star pointed to the Purification Source Crystal beside him, and his deep voice came from under the heavy mask. "You are still covered by the crystal and have not been contaminated."

If it weren't for the Knight's reminder, You Li would have almost forgotten that he was still covered by the Source Crystal.

Given the Purification efficiency of the source crystal, it should be impossible for it to be contaminated.

So here's the question: if he wasn't corrupted, then what about this Knight of the Evening Star?

"Captain, what's wrong?"

The Devil Knight became nervous when You Li remained silent for a long time.

"Did you see Jie La Er again?!"

"It can be seen even under the Purification Source Crystal?!"

At this moment, the team, which had finally found the Purification Source Crystal and relaxed slightly, instantly became tense and oppressive again. They looked around, but still could not see the Evening Star Knight standing among them.

You Li realized that they were now in the deepest part of the Contaminated Land, and the team was in a state of extreme tension because of a series of events that had happened in the past two days. If they were told at this time that there was a Knight of the Evening Star standing among them, but they could not see him, it would definitely not be a good thing.

After taking a deep look at the Evening Star Knight, You Li made a decision. "No, there's nothing there. I must be seeing things. I saw a dark shadow, but it should be that thing."

You Li pointed to the mountain of polluted corpses in the distance.

"I felt it twitch," You Li said. "Send two men over to keep an eye on it, make sure it doesn't suddenly wake up."

You Li's words immediately put the team members at ease.

Although the pollutants in the abyss are powerful and difficult to deal with, they are still tangible, and the hunters have hunted them many times before.

Compared to these pollutants, they are more afraid of those things that cannot be seen or touched.

Because anything that can be seen and touched can be killed, and things that can be killed are not worth fearing.

So two Devil Knight immediately took the order and went to keep an eye on the giant pollutant.

"A very wise decision." The Knight of the Evening Star also witnessed this scene and immediately praised You Li.

This surprised You Li somewhat.

Because all the Knight of the Evening Star he had seen before, whether it was the rotting corpse at the beginning or the phantom of Jie La Er later, were beings with disordered memories and no basic logic.

But this one in front of me is different. He clearly has a very clear logic and can even take the initiative to communicate with me.

You Li immediately realized that this was a rare opportunity.

So he ordered his subordinates to continue the inspection, to see how to bring back the huge crystal that had been rooted in the Land of Corruption for ten years.

He stood calmly beside the Knight of the Evening Star, and then asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Are you... Jie La Er?"

You Li felt that this question was really strange.

But he had already seen a Jie La Er before, and he wasn't the only one who had seen him, so he subconsciously assumed that the Evening Star Knight was speaking to him was still Jie La Er.

But the other person asked in a puzzled tone, "Jie La Er? Who's that?"

You Li's heart skipped a beat, but before he could react, the other party waved his hand and said, "Sorry, the Jie La Er you mentioned may indeed be someone I'm related to, but I think I've forgotten about him."

"Forgot?" You Li was even more surprised. "How could you forget that?"

"Yes." The other person nodded and said, "In my current state, I can't remember too many things, so to stay awake and alive, I need to constantly forget. In fact, it's not just that Jie La Er, um... how should I put it?"

Click.

He suddenly took off his mask.

Removing the mask in the Abyss Land was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous act. You Li instinctively wanted to stop him, but then he suddenly realized that the person in front of him should have been dead for many years, so the mask should have been useless to him long ago. Therefore, he suppressed the urge to speak up and then watched as the other person removed the mask, revealing his complete face to him.

"In fact, I've even forgotten my own name." The other person pointed to his face and asked You Li, "Do you know who I am? If you do, please tell me."

It was the face of an ordinary young man, You Li had never seen before, yet it felt strangely familiar.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the first mutilated corpse he had seen the day before yesterday.

It was that mutilated corpse that was holding his hand while shouting, "The Source is Contamination."

The face of the mutilated corpse was already so rotten that it was unrecognizable, but for some reason, You Li had a feeling that the mutilated corpse and the Evening Star Knight in front of him were the same person.

Their voices are also 90% similar.

"Do you recognize me?" The other person seemed to be able to see through You Li's expression beneath his mask.

You Li hesitated for a moment, but still told the other party about the corpse, wanting to see their reaction.

Then, he saw the other person's expression suddenly realize something. "Oh... no wonder you could see me. It seems you encountered my corpse, so that's when you made contact with me?"

Did we encounter... a corpse?

You Li found this explanation truly bizarre and unbelievable.

"What exactly happened?" he asked. "When I came here just now, I also saw two Evening Star Knight giving me directions."

"Is that so?" He didn't seem to care.

"And who are they?"

He shook his head again. "I don't know."

"... How come you don't know anything?"

"There's no other way," he said. "I have to lose more of my memories in order to remember the most important things."

"The most crucial thing?" You Li asked. "What is it?"

"That's it." He pointed to the Purification Source Crystal again.

"What's wrong with the Purification Source Crystal?" You Li asked.

"There's something very important down there," he replied.

Something very important?

You Li was slightly taken aback, and before he could react, he heard a Devil Knight shout, "Captain! We've found it again!"

After a brief moment of surprise, You Li realized what it was, so he temporarily abandoned the Evening Star Knight and hurried over.

Sure enough, he saw it being suppressed under the Purification Source Crystal.

Tongue.

"That's about enough, isn't it?" Bai Wei's voice rang out slowly. "You can't even hold on to him anymore."

Bai Wei was referring to Ian's body.

This body, which should have decayed ten years ago, was forced to remain intact for another ten years by [Domination], and finally dissipated at this moment.

It completely dissipated, becoming even finer than the pollutants that turned into oil.

Even though Jie La Er maintained that embracing posture, there was still nothing left in his arms.

"I know." Jie La Er withdrew his hand very gently, as if afraid of hurting Ian. Then he stood up, looked at the "corpse" in front of him, and suddenly said, "Also, thank you."

"Thank me?" Bai Wei raised Jie La Er's eyebrows. "Thank me for helping you take away Yong Xin's soul?"

"Not only," Jie La Er said softly, "There are many, many more. If it weren't for you, there are some things I would never have known in my entire life."

"Don't worry about it," Bai Wei said calmly. "It's just a matter of each getting what they need."

He paused, then asked.

"So what do you plan to do? As your son said? The key to breaking the deadlock lies in Purification Source Crystal?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Jie La Er sensed something amiss in Bai Wei's tone and asked, "Do you think there's a problem?"

"Well..." Bai Wei said slowly, "If it were me, I would probably prefer a more direct solution."

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, after spending so much time together, Jie La Er had come to understand what Bai Wei meant by "a more direct solution."

But...

Jie La Er lowered his head again, looking at the mangled corpse, and said softly, "I don't want to see another Ian."

"I knew you'd say that," Bai Wei said. "Then let's do it."

I thought you would stop me.

"Why would I stop a father who wants to fulfill his son's last wish?" Bai Wei said calmly. "Don't forget, we're one body and mind now, aren't we?"

Jie La Er's lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh, but at this moment, he couldn't manage a smile and could only say again, "Thank you."

"Now that we've decided to use the Purification Source Crystal to solve the problem..." Bai Wei asked, "Then there's an even bigger problem: how are you going to find the Purification Source Crystal? Are you going to go to the Contaminated Land again?"

"No, the Devil Squad will bring it back."

"You trust your juniors that much?"

"It's not about believing in the Devil Squad."

Jie La Er slowly closed his eyes.

After his fragmented Soul Return, he not only recalled his lost memories, but also had some new images appear in his mind, which were what his fragmented soul had seen during the ten years he wandered in the Contaminated Land.

"I just believe... they."

They actually found it!

The tongue is located directly below the Purification Source Crystal.

You Li directed the Devil Knight to seal the tongue, preparing to transport it back along with the Purification Source Crystal, before walking back to the Knight of the Evening Star.

"Is that what you wanted to tell us?" You Li asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

You Li recalled the journey he had taken, and the two Evening Star Knights had guided him earlier, and asked, "Was it you who showed us the way?"

"Point the way? No." He shook his head. "I'm just here to tell you that it's below the Purification Source Crystal."

"What?" You Li didn't react immediately.

"Giving directions is probably something other people do," he explained. "What I'm going to do is wait here and tell you that thing is under the Purification Source Crystal."

You Li was a little stunned. "That's all?"

"Yes, that's all."

"... But what's the point?" You Li didn't understand. "If we find the Source Crystal, won't we definitely be able to find the tongue?"

"Hmm... what you're saying makes sense." He scratched his head. "So what I was doing was meaningless? Sorry, these are all the things I can clearly remember now."

Upon hearing this, You Li felt as if something had grabbed his heart.

He finally understood what was going on.

Those Knight of the Evening Star have forgotten too much, remembering only their mission—to bring this tongue back to Lyra, a mission they had undertaken ten years ago.

But they had been wandering here for far too long, and their memories were fading rapidly, to the point that they could no longer even provide a proper guide.

That's why they transform themselves into something like road signs, where everyone only remembers the fewest things, such as left and right.

They were like the two guiding Knight he had seen before, or like those he hadn't seen but who had led the other Devil Knight here.

And the one in front of me.

Just to tell him that his tongue was under the source crystal.

The tongue is under the source crystal.

This was a completely meaningless reminder to You Li, but it was the most important thing to him.

Thinking of this, You Li fell into a long silence, and then softly said, "I'm sorry."

"Um?"

"What you've done is very meaningful." You Li looked at the other person very solemnly and said, "Thank you for everything you've done for Lyra."

"What is Lyra? Uh, okay, okay." He waved his hand, then sighed. "I really don't remember much, but it's enough to know that what I do remember is meaningful."

He paused, then asked.

"Shouldn't you all leave now?"

You Li nodded.

"I see." He finally showed a relieved expression. "It seems I no longer need to remember this."

But he hesitated when he brought this up.

"But I've forgotten everything else."

You Li pursed his lips.

You Li wanted to do something for the other person, but he didn't know what he could do, because the other person had died ten years ago, and he had seen the other person's rotting corpse with his own eyes.

"Hmm... it seems I haven't forgotten everything." He suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to You Li. "Can you do me a favor?"

You Li immediately perked up. "Go on, tell me."

"There's always a melody in my head, a ticking sound, like it's coming from a little box." He gestured as he spoke to You Li. "I can't remember what it is, but I vaguely remember that I promised someone... I think it was a woman. I promised her that when I got back, I would give her something like this. But I can't remember who she is. I just feel that... she must be very important to me."

He seemed a little embarrassed when he said this.

"Wasn't that too vague? If it doesn't work, then let's just forget about it."

"No... I will do it," You Li said. "I definitely will."

"Oh, thank you so much."

"... Is there anything else you need me to tell her?"

"Anything else... This is really difficult. I can't even remember who she is." He raised his head and stared blankly at the dim sky, which seemed to be shrouded in a thick fog that would never dissipate. "Really, I never expected this."

"If I really have to say..."

He paused.

"Please tell her for me, I love... no, I'm sorry."

Just then, You Li heard footsteps beside him. He turned around and saw a nervous-looking subordinate.

"Captain." He lowered his head, but mustered his courage. "There's something I've been afraid to tell you. I didn't find this Purification Source Crystal; I saw a monster..."

Before he could finish speaking, You Li grabbed his shoulder.

"No, it's not a monster."

You Li turned his head again and looked at the spot where the Evening Star Knight had stood, but now there was nothing there.

He took a deep breath and said, "He is a hero."

Then, under the questioning gaze of the Devil Knight, You Li turned around and addressed all the Devil Knight.

"Pack your things!"

"The mission is over!" he shouted as loudly as he could, as if he wanted everyone else to hear. "We... Going Home!"