From the end of the world

Chapter 273: Date at Moon Hidden Mountain City
Equating the doomsday era with the afterlife can answer many questions, and it also seems to explain why Mingzhu was shocked after invading the doomsday dream and seeing clearly the scene he was in.

However, this explanation also has some points that don't make sense. The most obvious one is why both Ma Zao and Xiao Wan regard the afterlife as the real world after the end of the world. Why do "products with future elements" such as "the great demon of disaster that is rumored to be the result of Xuan Ming's corruption" appear in the afterlife?
Even though Ma Zao, Xiao Wan, and other survivors struggling in the apocalypse have lost their memories of the past, if there are not enough clues in their environment that "this is the apocalypse", they cannot unanimously determine that it is the apocalypse. And no matter in what region's culture or religion, there is no record of describing the appearance of the afterlife as "the real world after the destruction of human civilization".

Moreover, since Mingzhu firmly believed that Maha was related to Naraku, he shouldn't have been so shocked even if he witnessed the scene of the afterlife after invading Maha's dream. At that time, he was so shaken that it was as if he had seen "a scene that he had never imagined before."

Now it seems that there are two sets of clues at the same time. One set of clues points to Ma Zao's past being in the future doomsday era, and the other set of clues points to Ma Zao's past being in the afterlife world of Naraku, and these two sets of clues conflict with each other.

Combined with Gua Tianshi's past prediction that "hell will flow into the world of the living in the future", I even suspect that the truth is that Ma Zao is indeed from the future, and the real world in the future is transformed into the afterlife due to the outflow of hell. In this way, the above two sets of clues seem to be able to coexist, and the past Ma Zao has become "both in the doomsday era and in the afterlife".

"How is it? Is the information I provided helpful to you?" Lu Chan suddenly asked.

“That’s a huge help, thank you,” I said.

"No need to thank me. I have betrayed you before. Even if I tell you this information now, it cannot make up for my mistake. I don't expect this level of kindness to change your opinion of me. I just want to make myself feel better." He said, "So, I am already very surprised that you are willing to communicate with me and accept my insignificant apology. I should be the one to thank you."

To me, the Lu Youxun of the past is already dead, and the current Lu Chan is just a familiar stranger, so I won't count Lu Youxun's responsibility on him. But since he said so, I won't be polite: "Then, if you collect any more information later, remember to hand it all over to me."

He responded without hesitation: "I understand."

"By the way, are all the information you mentioned before confidential? The intelligence on Da Wuchang that I collected before didn't seem to mention those things." I asked.

"Some of them are public, such as Mingzhuo's immortality, but it is easy to miss them when you are collecting intelligence. I have also thought about whether this kind of thing will happen, so I want to tell you specially." He said, "Mingzhuo is conservative and cautious, he does not want too many people to know his intelligence. And as the Great Impermanence, his ideological tendencies will influence people's hearts in the dark.

“Many materials that are clearly not classified are more difficult to investigate than truly classified materials, because investigators themselves will unconsciously forget to investigate those parts of the materials.

"The Chakravartin is a typical example. He is the most secretive of all the Great Impermanence. Logically, the Great Impermanence needs to actively establish connections and anchor itself in the strange world. At the same time, it is equivalent to a moving natural disaster. It is impossible for it to hide itself to that extent. But now he has become the Great Impermanence that many demon hunters doubt whether it really exists. If he is not planning to 'retire', it means that he must be a person with an extremely dark personality."

Chakravartin... Although I am now certain that he is not my enemy, this name still attracts my attention inexplicably.

It seemed that because he had exchanged too much information before his soul was completely at peace, Lu Chan looked a little tired. I also felt that it was time to end the call, so I said it in advance. At the end, Lu Chan reminded me again in a tone of exhortation.

"Although I think you probably won't listen, I sincerely suggest that you don't go head-to-head with Mingzhu. Especially don't be lucky and think that since Mingzhu is still injured, you have a chance to defeat him." He said seriously, "No matter how badly injured the Great Impermanence is, he is still the Great Impermanence. He is not in the same dimension as those who are at the Great Accomplishment level or have the qualifications for the Great Impermanence.

“Moreover, as a Great Impermanence with an invincible body, Mingzhuo is different from other Great Impermanence in that even when his soul is injured, he can still exert 100% of his combat ability.

"Don't ever think you can take advantage of someone's distress - he's not in as much distress as you think."

After the exchange, I silently digested the information I had just heard.

At first, I really had a bit of a lucky mentality, thinking that even if the enemy was very unpredictable, since he was in a wounded state, I might still have a chance to take advantage of him after I fully released my strength.

But if the opponent is not only immortal, but also his combat effectiveness is not affected by injuries, then to be honest, what is the difference between him and someone who has not been injured?
"Zhuang Cheng, are you worried?"

Ma Zao was still hugging me from behind. She seemed to notice that I was lost in thought, so she asked with concern. Maybe because of my smaller appearance, her tone became quite gentle, as if she really treated me as a sister.

I told her about the connection between amnesiacs and the afterlife, as well as my own thoughts on the afterlife and the apocalypse, and she began to think seriously. But there weren't enough clues, and no matter how much we discussed, we couldn't come to a conclusion.

As evening approached, the train finally arrived.

Ma and I left the train station early and entered Yueyin Mountain City. What came into view was a textbook-like quaint town.

Just like what I found on the Internet, this ancient town is not very popular, and there are not many pedestrians on the streets. Maybe it is also because it is not the peak tourist season. Based on my own needs, I don’t want my destination to be a crowded and lively place.

In addition, I noticed that the air here seemed a little strange. This is supposed to be a cold northern town, and it was November, but the air was slightly warm, which didn't seem like winter at all. On the road, I could see some people wearing thick coats, but they had to take them off and hold them in their hands.

When I was on the train, I specifically checked the recent temperature in this area. At least before I arrived, the temperature here was at least 20 degrees lower. The same was true when I went to Fufeng Base before. The temperature there should be even colder, but I didn't feel that way after I arrived.

I almost realized that the problem might be with me. Maybe it was because of my arrival that caused the abnormal climate in the local area.

Since it is related to my own strength, I need to pay attention to it. But now I need to deal with the things in front of me. I will take Ma Zao to the hotel first. I have already booked the hotel through the mobile phone app before coming here.

This time, there is no need to sneak her in like last time when I took Ma Zao to check into the hotel. With the power of the fake Shui Zhong Yue to manipulate the mind, even if there are some inappropriate places, others can ignore them. Although I can't do such clever work now, it won't be a big problem as long as Ma Zao controls it. Not only that, the fake Shui Zhong Yue can also be used for intelligence gathering. I plan to ask the locals about the information of Yue Yin Mountain, and by the way, I also want to ask what is going on in Hujia Village where Dong Che wants to go.

I tried to research Hujia Village in the Yueyin Mountain area on the Internet, but was unable to retrieve any useful information. The same is true for Yueyin Mountain itself. I only know that it is a beautiful mountain, but I can't tell what suspicious things are there. The "fireflies" I sent here in advance are also searching the mountain, but have not found any clues related to Yinyue and Chang'an.

In addition, because I focused on Yueyin Mountain, I didn't visit the town at the foot of the mountain. Unfamiliar with the road, Ma Zao and I could only move forward while looking at the map software on our mobile phones. We also passed some shops on the road, some selling food, some selling accessories, etc. As the sun set, the streets were lit up with ancient lanterns, presenting a different look of the town at night.

This scenery was very different from the night city full of neon lights. Ma Zao looked at the colorful street scene and slowly opened his eyes, revealing an expression of surprise and trance.

No matter if she lived in the apocalyptic era or the afterlife, it must be a dead, desolate and lonely place. I want to take her to see more warm and vibrant scenery and see her smile happily. Anyway, we don't have any luggage to pack, so we might as well take her out for a walk first.

I took her to a street that seemed to have more pedestrians, and wanted to take this opportunity to buy her some souvenirs. When we were walking through the crowd, Ma Zao took the initiative to hold my hand as if she was afraid of being separated.

I squeezed her hand back.

This looks like a date, I couldn't help but think so, and then secretly looked at Ma Zao's expression. She happened to be looking at me, and when our eyes met, she smiled slightly. I don't know if she would have the same idea as me, maybe she doesn't understand what "date between men and women" means.

People around us looked over at us from time to time. Maybe in the eyes of others, it was a little strange for a "12- or 13-year-old boy" like me to walk hand in hand with a 13-year-old girl like Ma Zao on the street. Even apart from this, the two of us probably didn't look like locals, and the fact that we didn't have a guardian around us might also attract attention.

I tried to look at us from an outsider's perspective, and it didn't seem like we were a couple on a date. I'm a little shorter than Ma Zao now, so we probably looked more like a brother and sister who had known each other since childhood.

In that case, even if Ma Zao knew what dating between men and women meant, she might not consider me a love interest now. Rather than that, I should find a place where no one can see me and change back. But if I change back, I will become "an adult with a perverted preference for little girls" in Ma Zao's eyes again, and she probably won't hold my hand without hesitation like she does now. Frankly speaking, it's a bit difficult to choose.

Ma Zao seemed to be unable to sense the entanglement in my heart. Unconsciously, she walked half a step ahead of me and said with emotion: "Xiao Wan and I used to do this often."

"What do you mean?" I was curious.

"We walked hand in hand on the street," she said. "However, there weren't so many people around at the time, and the street wasn't glowing. So I thought it would be nice if I could walk here with her."

"So, I am now a substitute for the small bowl?" I asked with concern.

“You are not a replacement for Little Bowl, and you won’t be a replacement for anyone else.”

As she spoke, she stopped walking, and I stopped too. She then walked around to my back, hugged me slowly from behind, and said with a nostalgic voice, "To me, you are unique, irreplaceable, and willing to accept everything about me. You are an important person who cannot be compared to anyone else."

"Ah, um..."

Why do I feel a little heavy? I'm not talking about weight. So that's it, is this the "heavy emotions" that Zhu Shi often complained about me before? So that's it.

But it feels good. Well, in this case, I can try to stay in this form for a while longer.

Ma Zao returned to my side and took my hand. Perhaps she was not completely unaware of my thoughts just now, and asked: "Zhuang Cheng, are you going to change back?"

"I'll stay with you like this all day today," I said.

She had a happy expression on her face.

After that, we wandered around outside for quite a while and bought some souvenirs, while it was already completely dark.

Ma Zao suggested that we should stop shopping, after all, we were not here for fun. I agreed with him, and then we moved to the hotel we booked, and stopped at a special restaurant on the way to have dinner.

There were few people in the restaurant. Apart from Ma Zao and I, there was only one other customer. But according to the reviews I found on my mobile app, it was a good restaurant. After placing our order, we waited for the food to be served. Not far away, someone who looked like the owner was chatting with someone who seemed to be a regular customer.

"I heard that some tourists mistakenly entered Hujia Village on Yueyin Mountain."

These words came into my ears from the counter.

(End of this chapter)