He changed Tiwat

Furthermore, since Nasita was able to extract memories from Ying and Paimon's previous two "Flora Festivals" in some way, does that mean she can extract even more memories, such as those from months ago, years ago, or even all the memories in the other person's mind?

Can someone who has lost all their memories still be considered the original person?

That's a truly terrifying ability!

Don't let Nasida's young appearance fool you, she's incredibly powerful... The "Seven Rulers of the Mortal World" are indeed all formidable.

"What was that just now...?" Han Fulai looked at Naxida cautiously, keeping himself ready to react at any moment.

His mind was brimming with secrets that would be hammered into Sky Island, and these secrets must never be seen or "extracted" by outsiders. Although Nasita didn't seem to have any ill intentions, one should always be wary.

Nasita blinked.

"This is the 'Seal of Seed'."

She replied in a childlike, innocent voice: "'Since the spirit of plants and trees has already seen the true nature of all phenomena in the void, it can thoroughly investigate the mechanism of the arising and ceasing of causes and conditions in the three periods of time.' -- That's how it's recorded in 'Void,' and it took me a long time to learn it."

"The 'Seed-Accumulating Seal' can retrieve 'seeds' from the 'storehouse of consciousness'... that is, extract stored memories from the 'void,' using a principle similar to 'canned knowledge' to extract or input memories into a person's mind. Ah, perhaps I should return the memories to you in the 'form of canned knowledge,' which would be more comfortable for you?"

As she spoke, two green "canned knowledge" tokens appeared in her hand.

“No, no need.” Ying and Paimon refused in unison.

They regained their memories of fighting the kidnappers during the previous two "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festivals," and had some psychological trauma about the "divine canned knowledge" that would drastically change a person's personality after use—and the "canned knowledge" created by Nasita, the grass goddess, was genuine "divine canned knowledge."

Han Fulai cautiously confirmed with Nasida: "Besides those two, have you returned the memories of the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival' to anyone else?"

“No,” Nasita shook her head. “It should be said that only they can receive the memories in the ‘Seed Imprint’ like this. Because the two of them spoke with me on that island before, and their communication with me at that time was also based on a conversation in their consciousness.”

“My power wasn’t strong enough to connect with people’s consciousness across the ocean, but the island’s unique features and their ‘sensitive constitution’ made the connection successful… I was quite surprised at the time.”

"Because of my previous experience, I was able to easily search for their memories in the 'void,' and I was certain that they could withstand the impact of the memory transfer. That's why I returned the memories to them like this. The connection between their consciousness and those memories was originally just a thin layer of paper, so the success rate of memory transfer was very high."

"If it were someone else, like Mr. Han, I wouldn't do that, okay?"

Naxida clearly sensed Han Fulai's wariness, so she explained the whole story to them in detail, and even specifically mentioned that she would not use the "Seed-Gathering Seal" on Han Fulai, which made Han Fulai a little embarrassed.

However, as Yue Haiting's secretary, you can lack other things, but you must have a thick skin.

Han Fulai ignored the awkwardness and nodded with a matter-of-fact expression: "That's good. I'm a rather introverted person, and I don't like to share some embarrassing memories with others."

Ying and Paimon both glanced at him sideways.

Han Fulai abruptly changed the subject: "By the way, how is Dina Zedai doing now?"

He was referring to Dina Zede, who was lying in the hospital bed.

“As you can see, she is very weak. And… her time is probably running out.” Nasita lowered her eyes, her expression clouded with gloom. “‘Demon Scale Disease’ has been tormenting her all along, and her constitution is much weaker than that of an ordinary person. Coupled with the ‘reincarnation’ of the ‘Flower Goddess’s Birthday Festival,’ her consciousness could no longer hold on, and she has fallen into a coma…”

"Besides her, there are these other people who have also fallen into a coma during the 'cycle of reincarnation'..."

Han Fulai can probably understand the current situation.

In the first two "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festivals", Dina Zede appeared in her own consciousness because Han Fulai lent her the "talisman" made by the Xiao Immortal, which helped her temporarily suppress the erosion of "Demon Scale Disease".

However, as the "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" continued to "reincarnate," Dina Zede's symptoms worsened. The power reserved by the "amulet" was insufficient to help her continuously resist the consumption of the "reincarnation." Therefore, in this third "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival," Dina Zede's consciousness fell into a coma.

Those who fall into a coma appear to be replaced by "dolls" in the outside world.

This is why Dina Zedeh behaved so unusually today.

Those lying in Nasita's "Hall of Maya" are people whose bodies are relatively weak and who cannot withstand the cycle of consciousness, thus falling into a coma.

Nasita seems to have gathered these people together for care. Her "Maya Temple" is a kind of "external" barrier that has the effect of isolating the inside from the outside and can protect these people to a certain extent.

But clearly, if the "reincarnation" continues, these people will still face life-threatening dangers.

Ying then interjected, "What exactly do you mean by 'reincarnation' that you keep talking about?"

Nasida hesitated for a moment before speaking: "All things in the world go through cycles... this is called 'reincarnation'. This ever-flowing 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival' is a 'reincarnation'. The end of one 'reincarnation' is the beginning of the next 'reincarnation', and it never ends."

"We are all trapped in this 'cycle' of one day..."

"What exactly happened..." Paimon said anxiously. "Nassida, you can awaken our memories and seem to know a lot of inside information. Can't you stop this 'cycle'?"

Nasita lowered her head, looking quite troubled: "'Reincarnation' is not the whole truth of the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival,' and the truth... can only be found by yourselves. If you do not realize the truth yourself, but are told it by others, your spirits will be greatly impacted, and I cannot guarantee the consequences."

"I will provide some knowledge-based assistance and subtle hints, and for the rest of the time... I will stay here and do my best to slow down the progression of the Demon Scale Disease on Dina Zede and protect these comatose people..."

Paimon grew even more anxious: "Dinazede looks really bad. Could it be that Dinazede's condition gets worse every time the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival' passes...?"

Naxi Da nodded silently.

She reached out her small hand and gently stroked Dina Zede's forehead. Green grass elemental light flowed in her palm, like a stream flowing into Dina Zede's body.

Dina Zede's expression seemed to have eased a little while she was unconscious, but that was all.

“If I could escape this cycle of the Flower Goddess’s Birthday, I might still have a way to save her.” Her eyes revealed a sorrow that did not match her age. “...But in the current situation, she is like a bird whose feathers are about to be completely plucked out, flying high in the sky, and all I can do is stir up a storm to delay her fall.”

Paimon was stunned for several seconds before he reacted: "What kind of weird metaphors are these..."

Narcida gave Paimon a strange look: "Metaphors are wonderful tools for understanding the unknown with known knowledge! Paimon, have you never been to school?"

Paimon, suffering from educational discrimination, could only stomp his feet in frustration in the air.

Han Fulai had now composed himself and asked, "First, Nasita, I want to confirm with you, does your so-called 'truth' require the parties involved to discover it themselves? If I discover that 'truth' and tell Ying and Paimon about it, will they also suffer a mental shock?"

“Yes,” Nasita answered without hesitation. In fact, most of her words were directed at Han Fu.

After all, Han Fulai is someone who can retain memories in "reincarnation", and Naxida has personally witnessed his various attempts in the first two "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festivals". She believes that Han Fulai may have already discovered the truth of "reincarnation".

That's why she specifically warned him not to reveal the truth directly.

"I understand." Han Fulai nodded thoughtfully.

Ying glanced at the "external brain" that seemed to already know the truth, then at the "god of wisdom" who knew the truth but refused to speak, and finally puffed out her cheeks: "Paimon, I think they're ostracizing us."

Paimon vehemently agreed: "Yeah, they're bullying people!"

Han Fulai smiled and waved his hand, "Don't rush, let's sort out the current situation first. As long as you organize your thoughts, I think you can discover the truth yourselves."

Guiding his Yuheng Star, who possesses "a high degree of ideological obedience and mental manipulability," to make the right decisions is his forte—well, he could also teach Ying like he would Aqing.

As for Paimon… Han Fulai believed she already knew the truth; this little guy had many secrets.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal it here.

He continued, “First, we have already experienced two ‘Flower Goddess’s Birthday Festivals’ and are currently experiencing the third ‘Flower Goddess’s Birthday Festival’. This day will cycle continuously at a fixed time, which we call ‘reincarnation’.”

"Secondly, Nasita deliberately disguised herself as 'Qimia' and gave us a hint through 'alchemical divination': 'the moon' represents 'illusion' and 'lies'."

"Third, I think you still have some kind of 'déjà vu' in your memories. For example, Paimon might feel that Dina Zede will come knocking on the door in the morning, and Ying might remember that the sunset fruit flavored Yalda candy was hidden in box number four..."

"By combining these points, what can you come up with?"

Ying frowned, deep in thought.

Paimon frowned... frowned very hard.

After a few minutes, Ying uttered a word: "Is it... 'time loop'?"

In the "Taiwei Instrument Plate" space beneath the giant abyss of layered rocks, and in the "consciousness space" of the Divine Cherry Tree, she had experienced many wondrous situations related to "time," so she naturally immediately thought of this concept.

Nasita crossed her arms and gave a cross: "Unfortunately, it's the wrong answer."

Han Fulai said encouragingly, "Yes, you are getting closer to the truth. On the surface, this 'cycle of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival' does seem like a 'time loop.' I thought so at first, but I later realized that it was not like that."

“You know, I have the ‘seed of time’ within me and am very sensitive to the power of ‘time’. I can assure you that there is no problem with the ‘time’ within us; the problem is with the ‘sense of time’. The time we are experiencing and feeling may not be the real time.”

"'Sense of time'?" Ying tilted her head in confusion.

She didn't feel any discrepancy in the time she experienced; time was passing by second by second as they talked here. Moreover, unlike the bottom of the Abyss of Laminaria, both she and Paimon experienced the same amount of time; there was no difference between what she felt was a few hours and what Paimon felt was several weeks.

Han Fulai thought for a moment and then said, "Then let me add a few more hints. Now that you have the memories of the previous two 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festivals,' you should remember what I did."

“Now, recall what I did during these three ‘Flora’s Birthday’ festivals, and I can give you some direction.”

"For example, the kidnapping case against Dina Zede."

“During the first ‘Flower Goddess’s Birthday Festival,’ we didn’t know beforehand that someone was targeting Dina Zede, so we encountered the kidnappers head-on when we returned to our residence. During the second ‘Flower Goddess’s Birthday Festival,’ because I had the memories of the first one, I had you and Dixia go back ahead of time to capture the kidnappers. And this time, I simply sent Dixia and Dina Zede away.”

"I deliberately changed the course and outcome of this kidnapping case. Can you guess why?"

Chapter Seventy-Eight: A Dream from Which I Cannot Awaken [4k]

"I don't want to guess! How could anyone else know what you're thinking!"

Paimon pouted, looking unhappy.

Han Fulai is the kind of person who always does things with hidden meanings, layer upon layer like a mille-feuille. You think you've guessed his intentions, but in the end you find that it's not like that at all, and you end up looking like you're the one who's stupid—Paymon has experienced this firsthand.

So she simply gave up on the "riddle".

She's not going to play along with Han Fu and pretend to be a charlatan, hmph!

But Ying did not give up thinking.

Nasita said that this "truth" can only be found by themselves and cannot be relayed by others. The sooner they find this "truth", the sooner they can end this "cycle of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival"... Even if she doesn't want to escape this "cycle" for herself, she has to think about Dinazedai.

Dina Zede's time is really running out.

Only by ending the "cycle" can Dina Zede have a chance to be saved.

Ying silently closed her eyes, recalling her experiences at the three "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festivals," including not only her encounters with the kidnappers but also the events that occurred before and afterward, and the consequences of her three different choices.

During the first "Flora of the Flower Goddess," they defeated the kidnappers and learned from them that the mastermind was Setare, the assistant to the Great Sage. Before they could investigate further, the disciplinary officers of the Faith Council appeared, not only taking away the witnesses but also arresting them as criminals and taking them to the "Hall of Gathering Sand"...

Having finally escaped from the "Gathering Sand Hall," they encountered the Great Sage Azar leading mercenaries to the Grand Bazaar to announce an "art ban." Setare vehemently denied the kidnapping and even turned the tables, accusing them of framing scholars from the Church of Christ. Ying was so angry that she almost wanted to fight back.

Later, Han Fu returned to the Grand Bazaar and had a "debate" with Azar in order to protect the Zubair Theater. However, with the victory in the "debate", the first "Flora Festival" came to an end.

During the second "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival", Han Fulai, who retained his memories, acted like a "prophet" and did many strange things. In retrospect, this should be because he realized the "cycle of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" and began to try to break this "cycle".

Ying remembered that Han Fulai asked her to arrest the kidnappers in advance to ensure that all the witnesses and evidence were in her hands. Then he wrote a play called "Public Trial of the Great Sage". She even wore Nilu's costume and danced on stage with her... Hmm, that costume was super pretty.

According to the plan, at the end of the play, Han Fulai would stand up with the witnesses and evidence to truly "publicly try" the great sage Azhar in front of the people of the Grand Bazaar. But unfortunately, the second "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" ended abruptly at this point.

Then, during this "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival," Han Fulai found a reason to have Dixia take Dina Zedai away. Now it seems that this is also an attempt to break the "reincarnation".

Based on Ying's understanding of Han Fulai, this person rarely does anything meaningless. Since he targeted that kidnapping case in both the second and third "reincarnations," it should mean that the kidnapping case has important significance in the "reincarnations," right?

So, what is the significance of this?

Ying repeatedly searched for details in her memory, recalling every word Han Fulai had said to her in these three "cycles"—thanks to Tonasida, those returned memories were very clear, and she remembered many conversations that should have been forgotten... She even remembered the script of "The Trial of the Great Sage".

Gradually, a vague idea began to take shape in her mind.

She slowly began to speak: "You... are trying different methods to handle this kidnapping case, and then observing the changes caused by the different methods... Yes, no wonder you said the 'Flower Goddess Festival' is not a 'time loop'..."

“If it’s a ‘time loop,’ everything should be repeating itself exactly as it happened during the first ‘Flora’s Birthday Festival,’ like a recurring play. However, reality will change based on our actions…”

Ying felt as if she had grasped the key point, and her eyes suddenly lit up: "You made these attempts to prove that things in the 'cycle' can be changed by humans, and to test the laws of the 'cycle.' That's why you understand the cycle of the 'cycle' so clearly this time! You did some kind of test during the last 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival' and then discovered the 'truth,' right?"

Although Ying has recently gotten used to relying on her "external brain," it's not that she doesn't have an "internal brain"—she just doesn't like to use her brain, not that she doesn't have one. It's just that it's more convenient to solve things with her fists or a certain Han-surname "cheat code"!

Han Fulai gave Ying an encouraging look: "Absolutely right, you're very close to the 'truth'."

Encouraged, Ying continued her reasoning with full confidence: "...If you were already aware of the 'truth' in the last 'cycle,' then you should know that the 'cycle' will continue."

"Even if we find witnesses and physical evidence and make them public, it won't have any impact on reality. When the time comes, the third 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival' will arrive. Whether we perform 'The Legend of the Flower Knight' or 'The Public Trial of the Great Sage,' the result should be the same."

"In other words, the script you specially wrote, 'The Public Trial of the Great Sage,' contains the key to breaking the cycle of reincarnation, or at least a very important test."

"Let me think about it..."

Ying unconsciously propped her chin up with her hand and began to imitate Han's habitual thinking gesture.

"...Is this to make the people of the Grand Bazaar aware of the evils of the Vatican, or to unite them in resistance against the Vatican? No, that's not right. You did just that during the first 'Flora Festival,' but the 'cycle' hasn't ended..."

"So this play wasn't staged for that purpose; it wasn't intended to rebel against the Papal House or protect the Zubair Theatre... You have other motives for doing this..."

As Ying pondered this, she suddenly shuddered, as if an electric current had passed through her body—

"The Public Trial of the Great Sage! The answer lies within the riddle itself!"

Paimon looked at Yingmei, his face showing a mixture of unspoken words and hesitation.

She really wanted to complain that Ying was becoming more and more like that Han guy—it's one thing to imitate his actions and way of thinking, but don't imitate the "riddler's" way of speaking so well too!

Ying excitedly stated her conclusion: "That show was for Hazard!"

"Hazard was unusually concerned about the 'Flora Festival'! He sent people to kidnap Dina Zede to create chaos, and then brought troops to shut down the Zubair Theater and announced an 'art ban'. In short, he refused to let everyone celebrate Nasita's birthday. Moreover, the first 'Flora Festival' ended with Hazard losing the 'debate' and then collapsing to the ground, vomiting blood."

"The 'Cycle of the Flower Goddess's Birthday' is related to the Great Sage Hazar! That's why you conducted the experiment in the second 'cycle,' deliberately using a title like 'Public Trial of the Great Sage' to attract Hazar to watch the show. He was the real 'audience' of that play!"

"Bingo!" Han Fulai gave Yingmei a round of applause without reservation.

During the second "Flora Festival," he changed many events through his actions. For example, he arrested the kidnappers ahead of time, destroyed their "void terminal" positioning systems, and hid them backstage at the Zubair Theater. As a result, the disciplinary officers of the Papal Court were unable to intervene in time to "intercept" and "silence" these witnesses.