Chapter 441
.
.
.
PS: Chapter 119 mentioned Xiao Shu's birthday, Qing Bao has never forgotten it.
P. S.: Please stop asking why I'm updating so late every time. This irregular sleep schedule is bad for my health, and I don't want to do this either, but I'm having writer's block as the story nears its end. I've been debating whether to update weekly or take a two-week break and finish the story with a final chapter.
P. S.: I suggest letting it sit for a week to allow time for the story to unfold. Don't drag out the plot; it'll only be a few chapters until the end.
Volume 1: 416. Little Moons's Growth, Shattered Realms, Final Stop. (4K6)
Ripples on the lake and the bustling crowds at Hongyadong drowned out the gentle evening breeze and the swaying branches. The sunflowers' bubbles shimmered with arcs of light, bursting one by one as the sound faded, leaving no trace except for a few wisps of soapy water fragrance.
The Birthday Song had long since ended, and the sunflowers had dimmed, reverting to their cheap Plastic Toy appearance. The boy, holding his mother's hand, tilted his head back curiously and asked with concern:
"Big sister, why are you crying?"
Chu Wangshu was stunned by his words. She reached up and touched her face, only to find it covered in tear stains. The emotions that had sprouted in her heart had completely vanished; there was neither sadness nor joy. Clutching the sunflower toy in her hand, she squatted down, handed the child a gummy candy, and politely asked:
"Thank you, little friend. Can you tell me who asked you to give this to me?"
The boy glanced at his mother, and seeing that she didn't object, he happily accepted the candy. He replied:
"She's a very pretty and beautiful older sister; she's over there right in front of you."
The boy turned back and pointed to the distant, dimly lit streets, but in the crowded sea of people, he could no longer find any trace of her.
After thanking him, Chu Wangshu glanced apologetically back at her teammates on the pleasure boat. Without further hesitation, she hugged the sunflower toy in her arms and ran quickly in the direction the boy was pointing.
September 13th.
In my memory, this is the date she was adopted by the national welfare institution.
However, due to issues with her household registration and ID card, her birth date on her documents was more than a month later. Therefore, whether it was her actual birthday or the birthday she publicly announced, it was the date on her documents.
Chu Wangshu only remembered this incident after hearing the Birthday Song. She felt something was missing today, and perhaps that was the reason.
But... who is that person? How did they know the date? And why did they send me a gift?
Are you a fan? If so, why didn't you deliver it yourself?
Also, why did I cry when I received this gift?
The girl grew increasingly confused. She had almost forgotten the thrill she had felt earlier, but it only made her more anxious. Like someone holding onto the tail of a shooting star, she wanted to make a sincere wish. Her mind was in turmoil as she squeezed through the crowded throng, anxiously looking back and forth, aimlessly searching for a stranger whose face she didn't even know.
For a long, long time.
It wasn't until she left Hongyadong and entered another street with an even larger crowd that her phone kept vibrating in her pocket, and her teammates kept calling. Only then did she snap out of her daze and stop walking.
Chu Wangshu stood there, bathed in the neon lights and moonlight. Her eyelashes drooped in a daze, and she slowly squatted down, hugging the sunflower toy, and hugging herself as well, like a child lost in a sea of people, lonely and desolate.
The Witch, riding on a paper umbrella bought from a street vendor, stood on the eaves of Diaojiaolou, gazing at the silhouette of Little Moons in the distance, and whispered:
"Aren't you going to see her? Next time you meet, you won't even have a chance to speak."
The Pure White Witch's expression was complex. She watched silently as her daughter, amidst the worried gazes of passersby, regained her composure, stood up, and defiantly walked ahead. Only then did she reply with a mixture of relief and regret:
"Xiao Shu has grown up."
Now that the opponent has completely devoured the [Child of Man], and without being eroded by the Entropy of Chaos, has seized the position of the Shadows of Many Realms, it is only through these scattered clues that it can retrieve a few fragments buried by the [Void] and generate emotions and a sense of déjà vu that should not exist.
This is proof of her daughter's growth and strength, but it is also the reason why Chu Yuanqing suppresses his longing and cannot meet her.
If this child, like the Green Eyed Cat, has neither been blessed nor given any power, then perhaps there's no need to worry about the other breaking through the blockade and receiving true [empty] attention, allowing for a few more meetings.
But there are no "what ifs".
Moreover, rather than seeing her daughter more often, she hoped that her daughter could have the power to control her own destiny.
It's fine as it is now.
Before long, this incident will become a dispensable interlude in her life.
As for that sunflower toy, it will gradually fade from use and become a forgotten and discarded decoration in the home.
Chu Yuanqing watched the girl's figure gradually disappear into the distance, until it was no longer visible, before it melted into the neon lights and moonlight. He then prepared to leave with the Witch.
But the next second, the entire mountain city was swallowed up by the lotus pattern. Invisible rules, along with the surging disaster energy like a tsunami, controlled the local spacetime, instantly freezing all things in the universe.
-- Lotus Realm
The Witch's steps faltered, like a beautiful sculpture suspended in the moonlight.
Chu Yuanqing looked back and saw the Little Moons, in the form of a Disaster God, ascending to the sky and looking down at the heavens and earth. It was immersing the entire mountain city in a golden ocean of magical energy and boiling, burning Black Mist, instantly drawing a line on the ground, locking the entire city, and dividing the territory.
But that's not all; she even sensed the chains of cause and effect and destiny, which were trying to anchor the true nature behind the sunflower toy.
Chu Yuanqing retrieved the Witch from the cherry blossom tree rooted in the void dimension. She stood still, not moving an inch, letting the golden magical energy, the pitch-black calamity energy, and the combined power pass by like a howling wind, unmoved, and whispered softly:
"The powers of [Tathagata] and [Herdi]?"
"He only remembered to use force after calming down; what a clumsy child."
"But you're still too inexperienced. Perhaps you'll be able to touch this barrier after you devour the true forms of these two Disaster God."
Chu Yuanqing watched quietly as Little Moons searched the entire mountain city. She stood there, but unless she actively resisted the encroachment of [Void], even if the entire disaster group gathered together, it would be difficult to see through this cover.
Time is the cruelest and most stubborn disease.
Given the potential Chu Wangshu displayed in her future dream, perhaps in a few months she will be able to transcend the boundaries of this universe, digest the accumulation of countless eras of the Shadows of Many Realms, and directly confront the root of [nothingness].
But now, neither the [Child of Man] nor the Magical Girl can fulfill this child's expectations.
180 seconds later, Lotus Realm began to crumble, and the locked local spacetime began to connect with the outside world, with ominous black cracks appearing in the sky above the edge of the mountain city.
The [Child of Man] ultimately only inherited a portion of the [Tathagata's ] power. If this sequence had not incorporated numerous time-based blessings, it would have been a pipe dream to solidify such a vast local spacetime.
180 seconds, 3 minutes.
This is Chu Wangshu's current limit.
Unless she accepts the infinite dimensions belonging to the swarm and receives the blessing of the Shadows of Many Realms, every extra second will be consumed by magic.
Having chosen Idealistic Being as her form, there is a chance that if she consumes too much magic, the source of the calamity will reverse its permanent Life Form and evolve into a conceptual life form with innate entropy reversal.
Therefore, the Lotus Realm shattered.
The golden patterns that had blurred the horizon crumbled with a deafening roar. Countless fragments flowed back as the cracks spread, and a howling wind instantly extinguished the clouds over the entire city, making the moon's high-hanging form crystal clear. Its cool, mercury-like light slanted across the earth, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
Time resumed its flow.
Before Chu Wangshu could react, she exited Disaster God mode and transformed back into Magical Girl. Her Magic Armor slowly crumbled, like withered bouquets, and disappeared as she descended and swirled away.
The girl stood on the river in a daze, gazing at the shimmering waves reflecting the full moon and the neon lights of the ancient town. Reason returned to her mind, and her red-rimmed eyes were filled with confusion; she could no longer understand what she was thinking.
Why am I so excited?
Thinking about it carefully, this is most likely a gift from a fan.
Today, even though it's my birthday, for someone like me who lives alone, it's not really something to care about, right?
Those sudden bursts of emotion come intensely, but also dissipate quickly.
Chu Wangshu stared blankly at the sunflower toy in her hand, feeling like a neurotic idiot.
Before she could continue thinking...
The voices of his teammates had already reached his ears one after another:
"Xiao Shu! What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Your magic power is greatly depleted. Did you encounter Calamity Beasts?"
"Are you hurt? Let me see."
Xie Qingxuan, Tang Liuli, and Kiriwake Yayoi, like mothers surrounding their Little Cotton-padded Jacket, anxiously checked on her condition while pulling her onto the painted boat. At the same time, they each used their own spells to examine her body.
Before Chu Wangshu could even react, she was overwhelmed with embarrassment by the three little seniors' concern. She quickly retreated to a safe distance, wiped her eyes which were no longer red, and inwardly rejoiced at the Magical Girl's resilience. Then, with a serious expression, she lied:
"I did encounter Calamity Beasts, but I wasn't injured at all."
The Green Eyed Cat scrutinized the somewhat nervous Little Moons with suspicion. Extremely perceptive of emotions, she immediately sensed the other was lying, but she didn't call her out on it. She simply said:
"We had the Dream Weaver Rabbit pinpoint your location, and just as we were about to go find you, we saw you teleport to the sky above the riverbank."
Kiriwake Yayoi asked with a hint of envy:
"Xiao Shu has already learned space-time magic? Did she learn it from Charlotte?"
It is said that users of Spacetime Magic are divided into two types: academic geniuses and intuitive types. The former can use their Supernatural Senses to verify spacetime matrices and sequences. With these rigorous real-time data, they can use them as rituals to reduce magic energy consumption and reach a desired reality.
The latter are pure geniuses who rely solely on intuition. They can jump through space however they want with an error precision that is infinitely close to zero. Charlotte, who dislikes studying, belongs to this type.
As for Xiao Shu, she spends all her time studying advanced mathematics, so it should be the former, right?
Xie Qingxuan examined Little Moons's clothes closely, and finding no damage or wrinkles, he skipped over these details, took out a tablet, and had her input her body data to match the available clothing on the pleasure boat for her to choose from.
Chu Wangshu a sigh of relief. She picked up the tablet and explained softly:
"I... I smelled an aura of calamity in the crowd just now. The situation was urgent, so I didn't have time to tell you. It was a newly hatched C-Class Calamity Beasts, and I've already quietly activated the [Mortal Realm Barrier] and taken care of it."
Although there are still many flaws, she can indeed randomly crush a C-Class Calamity Beasts in the [Shadow Throne] and retrieve its corpse as evidence, so she is not afraid of being exposed.
As for the Dream Weaver Rabbit accessing the surveillance footage and seeing itself acting strangely, it can be attributed to the manipulation of a mentally-based Calamity Beasts.
The girl blinked her emerald green eyes, lost in thought.
Xiao Shu's lies couldn't fool her. Long ago, she had already compiled a semi-permanent communication formula using Soul Manipulation and distributed it to her three teammates. They only needed a thought to communicate with each other.
In such a situation, even in an emergency, it's unlikely that not a single word would be passed on.
So... why is that?
Tang Liuli, being understanding, didn't expose her. She always felt like an elder in front of Little Moons and subconsciously wanted to be tolerant of her.
Moreover, as a socially awkward Green Eyed Cat, it always respects other people's privacy.
Thus, apart from the unusual air currents that swept across the sky and were recorded by satellite, everything in the mountain city was calm and peaceful today, and the farce that had just occurred was just a minor incident.
Chu Wangshu quickly integrated into the group, and surrounded by novelty, she began to choose ready-made clothes here, intending to wear the same style of clothing as the younger seniors and take photos on the painted boat as an extra business activity after tonight's tour.
As for the sunflower toy, it was placed in a separate space created by the spell, along with the rest of the luggage, and it was unknown when it would be taken out again.
At the same time, a food street more than ten kilometers away from Hongyadong.
The Witch maiden ate her skewers angrily, still feeling ashamed of being frozen in time by Little Moons. She muttered to herself:
"Is this kid cheating? Even when I'm back to my peak, I won't be able to beat her in a while."
Chu Yuanqing curled her lips into a smile. She stroked the girl's raven-feather-like hair, then took out a discounted bottle of cola she had just bought from the plastic bag, handed it to her, and sat down beside her, saying softly:
"The concept of the 'Disaster Cluster' was first derived from data collected from hundreds of billions of souls, then from my records of the blessings bestowed upon all of humanity, and finally, by fusing the power of other Disaster God and at least seven figures' worth of world debris, the [Child of Man] was created."
"His power is all-encompassing; it wouldn't be surprising if it contained abilities exactly like [Heart Forging]. It's normal that you won't be able to beat Xiao Shu in the future."
The Witch turned to look at Qing Bao's profile, smiled, and said:
"Hmm, if that's the case, then according to what Liuli said, isn't Xiao Shu like the achievement bonus you get in your second playthrough after completing the first game? It's specifically designed to help players speedrun."
The Pure White Witch pondered this statement and agreed with some pride:
"Even I, back then, only used myself as a vessel to seal the calamity. If it weren't for [Immortality], I would have perished halfway through. But this child can easily integrate the power of [Child of Man]."
As Chu Yuanqing finished speaking, a glint of light appeared in his golden eyes, and he said with satisfaction:
"So, perhaps from the very beginning, she was the chosen Savior of the New Era."
The Witch sipped her cola, gazed at the night sky, and sighed softly, filled with anticipation for the future:
"Truly a child worthy of you and Charlotte."
"Unfortunately, we won't live to see that day."
Chu Yuanqing didn't feel regret. When she was young, she had thought about whether she should really end her life in the face of such despair. But she had met too many people who burned themselves out and died with hope in their hearts, so that the flames of hope that she didn't want to see were extinguished.
So, without realizing it, she clutched that handful of remaining firewood, stepped over countless corpses, and persevered to the very end.
And now, his own daughter, the Savior of the New Era, the one chosen by the disaster group to be born supreme, can finally bear this hope, let it continue to burn, and never be extinguished.
Thus, this brave soul, who had used his own body as fuel and risked burning himself to ignite hope for others, the stars, his loved ones, civilization, and many other things, was finally able to let go of his inner turmoil and die with hope in his heart.
This is the best gift imaginable.
The Witch understood Chu Yuanqing's thoughts perfectly well. She showed no sadness, but instead gazed at the clear night sky and softly asked:
"Xiao Qing, you went to Charlotte's concert, said goodbye to Sister Ellie, visited Liuli's father's grave, met with my and Xiao Xuan's families, and celebrated Xiao Shu's 18th birthday."