Chapter 1271: Mountains and Nectar
It was neither surprising nor truly unexpected at all.
Lin Sanjiu slowly stood, her spirit lifted as if her soul had been blown into the sky by a long gust of wind. Ahead, the scene melded into a tableau of dark clouds, faded lane lines on gray-white lane markings, pitch-black pavement, Ji Shanqing with his flowing hair and robes dancing in the tumult.
"Sis," he called again in a hoarse voice, raspy yet resonant, disturbing the stillness like ripples on a deep lake, obscuring its depths with a mere glance.
It was him...no doubt. When he approached, Lin Sanjiu felt a wave of nostalgia, like being thrown back to those early days when she first set out with Ji Shanqing. Back then, it was just the two of them, every day brimming with the new and the unknown. Ji Shanqing, always on edge, would leap to her side at the slightest hint of danger.
This feeling of familiarity, she realized, was probably because Ji Shanqing looked exactly as he did back then, down to his smile, his clothes, and even the length of his hair were exactly the same as the grand prize during that period in her memory.
"Sis, I've finally found you," he said, tilting his head, his eyes shining with joy. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"You... were looking for me?" Lin Sanjiu found her voice again and asked. His straightforward admission of looking for her surprised her so much that she came back to her senses.
"Didn't you say last time that you wanted me to visit more often? So, since we split up in the Astral Plane, I've been trying to figure out how to see you again," Ji Shanqing said, glancing at her hand. Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized that there two or three steps were between them.
"Actually, you aren't really seeing 'me' right now," he said, somewhat sheepishly. "I created this body based on my previous appearance."
As she understood, she was taken aback and asked, "Is this like... that time with the potato brothers in the Salvation of God?"
They created two human bodies, then put some of their consciousness inside them, using them to walk among mortals. In a sense, it was indeed a real incarnation. However, they could do that because the Data Stream Library was not far from the Salvation of God—she had no idea where this planet was in the vast universe. Ji Shanqing was able to send the created body here, and compared to the sibling gods, the difficulty was certainly not comparable.
The grand prize nodded slightly. His smile gradually faded from the corners of his lips, but his eyes, as clear as moonlight, still gazed at her without blinking.
"How did you find me?"
"Didn't I read Bohemia's memories?" The grand prize raised his chin slightly and said, "From her memories, I found clues about this planet, learned its name, and then it wasn't difficult to send the created body here with a visa. The most challenging part was making that body pretend to have spent 14 months so it could be sent away with the visa... By the way, sis, this planet is not called 'Lava' as indicated on the visa."
"What is it called then?"
In just a few sentences, Lin Sanjiu forgot how long they had been apart. It felt as if they were just continuing an occasional chat between the two of them.
"It doesn't have a general name. Whatever name is shown on the visa, the person will land in that area. I call it 'Nine Palaces'..."
As the grand prize spoke, his voice lowered. At this moment, Lin Sanjiu pulled his hand and led him to the fence. She sat down first and then motioned for him to sit beside her. She didn't forget that Ji Shanqing disliked dirtiness, so she took out a coat and spread it on the ground for him, saying, "Sit and talk slowly."
Although the coat wasn't particularly clean, Ji Shanqing looked at it and suddenly smiled, "Sis, you sat down right after seeing me."
'So what? Isn't it more comfortable to talk while sitting?'
Lin Sanjiu didn't understand, and he didn't explain either. He obediently sat down beside her, looking like a satisfied little lamb. After chatting, he looked at her expression, leaned over, and rested his head on Lin Sanjiu's shoulder.
Lin Sanjiu gently brushed his hair away from her face and asked softly, "Then, can you join me in our activities later on?"
"Do you want me to follow you?" he replied.
She sighed. She looked around; only the two of them were on the empty road.
If this was the price to see the grand prize, she was willing to pay it.
"Of course," Lin Sanjiu said and felt his body relax suddenly with this answer, leaning gently and heavily against her. "They will all come back after a while, you know?"
Ji Shanqing didn't ask, "Who will come back?" he just responded with a soft hmm and nodded on her shoulder. His hair brushed against her, causing her to itch a little.
If she made certain things too clear, it would be like she was blaming him. But if she didn't ask, she would be leaving half of her heart hanging.
Just a moment ago, she couldn't understand why Yuan Xiangxi knew that Magus was in Puppeteer's mind. Where he had found out? But shortly after seeing the grand prize, she seemed to understand some of it.
It wasn't just Yuan Xiangxi who acted unreasonably; J7 was the same. It was always curious about everything and couldn't help asking about the taste of a chocolate cake. When Yuan Xiangxi said that four of them had formed a five-member lineup, it didn't even utter a word or ask, "Where is the fifth person?" Everyone's thoughts were occupied by Yuan Xiangxi, and no one noticed the silent J7.
Machines didn't conceal their thoughts like humans did. Since it didn't ask, it meant that it already knew.
Thinking about it now, apart from her, Puppeteer, Bohemia, and Dr. Hu, those who knew about Magus also knew about Ji Shanqing. If Meowie Hu wasn't considered, none of the others had ever mentioned it to outsiders. Yet, J7 knew, and Yuan Xiangxi knew, too. That was why Yuan Xiangxi believed that he had to stay.
"Sis," Ji Shanqing asked softly, as if murmuring, "Where do you want to go next? Let me prepare a visa for you?"
A visa? She couldn't help but turn to look at his expression and then instinctively refused, "No need; Puppeteer has found a consular officer. He said he would bring the consular officer over."
As soon as the words were out, she was taken aback. Since they parted ways in the Astral Plane, she had thought there was no need for any more suspicion or doubt between them—why did she still have to wait for the consular officer Puppeteer found?
However, the grand prize just made a sound, seemingly not taking it to heart.
"Okay, let's wait for him to come back then," His tone sounded casual, without a trace of concern, "but even if you want me to stay, I won't be able to stay for long."
"I know you're worried that staying too long will be discovered by the Veda," she said, "but why can't you move somewhere else? Why do you have to stay in the same space as them?"
When the Veda were mentioned, she couldn't help but think of Yu Yuan turning into one of them—but she knew that now wasn't the time to ask about Yu Yuan, just like it wasn't the time to ask about the five stages of Bohemia.
The grand prize raised his head and leaned against the railing. "No, I can't leave, sis. I can't be away from there."
Lin Sanjiu turned around and stared at him. "Why? Are you in trouble? Is it because of the Veda?"
"Neither." Ji Shanqing looked up and gazed at the sky. "Sis, the amount of information I obtained from the Veda is more than any type of brain can hold. Now, that vast amount of information has become a part of me. No, that's not accurate. I should say I've already become a part of them. Because their existence depends on that space, I can't leave that space either."
The wind blew from far above the sky, raising the light sand and causing Lin Sanjiu to squint slightly. He leaned closer, tucked his hand into his sleeve, and wiped her face with the cuff before whispering, "Now, what's with you is just a tiny fraction of my consciousness."
"Are you saying that... that space is already your brain? You can't take it with you?"
"More or less."
Lin Sanjiu sat dazed for a while, not knowing what to say.
"I know it's probably difficult for you to understand my current form, sis," Ji Shanqing said and hugged his knees, not looking at her, and spoke softly. "You don't know how it feels for me... Only one-billionth of me is with you, and only this tiny part of me is enveloped in light, finally experiencing a sense of release... The endless rest of me is suffering in that dark universe."
It was the first time he had been so candid—perhaps Lin Sanjiu's words last time gave him a little more confidence.
"What... what can I do to help you?" As she spoke, she realized her voice was trembling.
"You can't do anything," Ji Shanqing replied, shaking his head and chuckling softly. "I feel like a colossal beast capable of swallowing mountains, but I can only survive on drops of honey the size of fingernails... I originally wanted to become your anchor, but it turned out to be like this today. Sis, the Veda propagate themselves as gods, all-powerful and omnipotent, but even the Veda cannot escape the cruelty and unkindness of fate. Why is that? And what is this so-called HeavenGod?"
He leaned back into her embrace. He really was like a child, needing to continuously absorb Lin Sanjiu's breath to feel at ease.
"I don't know," she said, reaching out and gently embracing his frail shoulders. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to control her emotions. If Ji Shanqing could still stay, then let him stay. She just had one more doubt and wanted to confirm it.
"Is your current body the grand prize or a human?"
Ji Shanqing paused, realizing the profound meaning behind her question. Indeed, someone as intelligent as him wouldn't fail to detect the underlying thoughts in her question.
"It's the grand prize," he replied.
Lin Sanjiu was taken aback, then nodded as she held him tighter.
If she remembered correctly, the grand prize's body was equivalent to an item, meaning it didn't need a visa, nor could he use one. It wouldn't be difficult for him to come to this world if someone teleporting over grabbed him. He did say he had created a body and sent it here with a visa, but he never specified that it was his own body.
The real J7 was probably living in some apocalyptic world, unaware of everything, right?
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