Chapter 405 - 353: Fu Tailan: Spliced Person and Memory Fragments

Chapter 405: Chapter 353: Fu Tailan: Spliced Person and Memory Fragments

Fu Tailan sighed.

He placed his hands on his hips and thought for a moment in the darkness, then let out another long sigh.

"Sister Liuyue..." he said in a low voice. "If you have a next life, don’t blame me for watching you die."

The large, hazy, indistinct shadow in the darkness, which had nearly lost its human form, naturally couldn’t answer.

In the boundless darkness, it felt as if he were all alone.

"I don’t dislike you, and I probably shouldn’t be doing this to an older sister figure, but at the end of the day, you’re a Core Hunter of the Kai Family." Fu Tailan thought for a moment before continuing, "If you and Chaisi were both gone, the Kai Family would probably fall into chaos. After all, you’re one of their most capable members..."

The shadowy mass continued to float ethereally in place.

"You used to be such a sharp and decisive person... This process of slowly dissipating alone in the darkness must be unpleasant, right? Not that I personally mind. I actually quite like it."

’Those who wish to dissipate cannot, while those who wish to live can only die. Isn’t that just how the world works?’

Fu Tailan asked, "Is your consciousness still there? Do you still know you’re Han Liuyue?"

’She must have fallen in here after getting hit, her spirit no longer her own.’

It wasn’t surprising that Han Liuyue, having been alienated by a Noh mask, couldn’t think of a way to resist. He just wondered if she felt confused or afraid as her body melted away like snow.

He suddenly felt a pang of pity.

"If you’re scared, I’ll stay with you for a while," Fu Tailan said, sitting down to face the shadow. "I’ll leave after you’ve completely dissipated."

’It was both a way to see her off on her final journey and a way to ensure Han Liuyue truly dissipated.’

’Can’t let Chaisi stick his nose in and actually save her. But how could he save her, anyway? He’s on the verge of dissipating himself. Even if he found Han Liuyue right now, how could he possibly save her?’

Fu Tailan thought for a while but couldn’t come up with a solution. He couldn’t focus all his mental energy on the problem; he also had to repeatedly reaffirm his own existence just to barely resist the darkness’s dissolution.

He couldn’t ponder any single problem for more than a few minutes before being interrupted and having to set it aside. Even with a mind like Fu Tailan’s, it was difficult to analyze or deduce any significant truths.

’Whatever. I don’t need to figure out how to save anyone anyway.’

He just needed to ensure Han Liuyue would dis—

’Huh?’

Fu Tailan narrowed his eyes, trying to pierce the darkness with his gaze.

Sight wasn’t very effective here. He just had a vague feeling that ever since he arrived, the shadow in the depths of the darkness hadn’t changed at all.

’That can’t be right.’

’Isn’t it supposed to gradually disperse until it vanishes? Is it an illusion?’

"...Sister Liuyue?" he called out. "Is your consciousness still there? If it is, can you give me a wave?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Fu Tailan felt the request was absurd. ’How could a huge, dissipating shadow that’s lost its human form have a hand? Where would its hand even be?’

’I am Fu Tailan, I am Fu Tailan, I am Fu Tailan.’

The shadow itself was made of particles on the verge of scattering and melting into the darkness, like a school of countless fish loosely held in an invisible net. As Fu Tailan reaffirmed his own existence once more, he suddenly sensed the particles on one side of that massive "net" sway back and forth a couple of times.

...Huh?

’Is Han Liuyue... actually waving?’

’Wait, her consciousness is still intact?’

’In that case, it wasn’t an illusion. Han Liuyue really has stopped dissipating. It’s because—’

Fu Tailan slapped his forehead hard.

’Am I an idiot?’

’Sitting here calling out Han Liuyue’s name, telling her she’s a Core Hunter for the Kai Family, and even reminding her she has hands... wasn’t that the same as helping her confirm her own existence?’

’Didn’t I just do Chaisi’s job for him?’

’No wonder that massive shadow stopped dispersing. Its momentum was halted by me, Fu Tailan, personally. What now?’

Fu Tailan sat stunned for a few seconds before finally getting to his feet with a heavy sigh, as if his seventeen-year-old bones had aged to seventy. He slowly ambled over and said to Han Liuyue, "Sorry about this, but I’m going to have to get rough."

This time, as he once again raised his arm and forcefully swatted at the large, floating shadow to disperse it, he was mentally prepared—

"GET DOWN!"

The roar had barely sounded before it was drowned out by the deep, rumbling explosions in the distance.

Sand and dust blotted out the sky, and the ground began to tremble incessantly. Han Liuyue clamped her hands tightly over her ears, prone on the ground. She could feel the body of the comrade on top of her growing heavier and heavier, as if it were about to sink through her and deep into the earth.

During those long dozen or so seconds, her comrade’s body would shudder from time to time. She knew then that it was the aftershocks and ripples of shrapnel piercing flesh and blood.

Fu Tailan flinched and stopped, catching his breath.

’So Han Liuyue had been to a battlefield... He couldn’t console her by saying that part of her history was in the past. He couldn’t say anything right now if he wanted to ensure she continued to dissipate.’

He carefully patted down his entire body, making sure none of Han Liuyue’s memory fragments had merged with him.

In this dark place where everything was constantly dissolving, not only did he have to reaffirm his own existence to resist dissipation, but he also had to avoid absorbing others’ fragments and unwittingly becoming a patchwork person.

Fu Tailan simply pulled his arms into his sleeves, grabbing the fabric with his hands—

’Huh? Wait, I can still feel my clothes? That’s not right. They should only exist in my consciousness, a product of my imagination, right?’

But he didn’t have time to think deeply about it and had to set the suspicion aside, first reaffirming his own identity several times.

Once "Fu Tailan" had coalesced again, he resumed his task, grabbing his sleeves and swatting vigorously into the cluster of "Han Liuyue" fragments.

Sure enough, the invisible "net" seemed to be disappearing. Countless fragments and particles began to float and drift gently upward, like a firework display darker than the darkness itself, about to ascend to its peak before the final curtain call.

A fragment slightly larger than its companions suddenly struck him on the forehead. Fu Tailan froze for a split second, unable to react. The world spun, and by the time he came to his senses, he was lying on the ground.

...No, it was Han Liuyue lying on the ground.

Her consciousness seemed to be gradually suppressed, sinking into darkness, but her five senses still remained, faint and blurry.

The floor tiles were cold. Above her was a flat, expansive concrete ceiling. She seemed to be lying in a large underground exhibition hall; in the corner of her vision, she could faintly make out exhibit descriptions posted on the wall.

Fu Tailan didn’t brush the fragment away.

He held his breath, remaining perfectly still as he "watched" from behind Han Liuyue’s eyes.

Floating in the air were phantom-white objects, each about the size of a small fingernail. They were like a great deal of cotton fluff scattered in midair, yet they didn’t fall, only bobbing and drifting incessantly.

’What are those?’ Fu Tailan subconsciously wanted to squint for a better look, but this was all a memory left behind from when Han Liuyue was losing consciousness. If she couldn’t see clearly, neither could he.

"...You really are a useless thing,"

a low, gentle male voice said softly, tinged with an almost indulgent smile. "After all the trouble you went through to enter the human world, you actually got caught by humans and sent back."

’Is he talking to Han Liuyue? No—’

The next second, Fu Tailan heard another, unfamiliar voice say with a hint of panic, "H-How did you know to come here? I-I was calling for my comrades... You can hear our internal calls?"

"My words and actions aren’t like those of a resident. Did you really mistake me for a human?" the pleasant male voice chuckled again. "You should take a look at what I’m skilled in. That sharp, piercing cry you Vultures make when you circle the dying... it annoys me to no end every single time."

"So the other Vultures didn’t come to my aid because you interfered?" The unfamiliar voice seemed to gain a hint of anger. "This female Hunter has already fallen for your trick. What more do you want? You can let me go now, right?"

’Since when did Vultures become so clear-headed and articulate?’

The Vultures Fu Tailan had encountered before were all like low-level creatures with muddled minds, driven only by instinct. Even when they mimicked human form, they were just a mob of base creatures with human faces.

Han Liuyue lay on the floor, unable to move. Her five senses were present, but the consciousness that recorded them was gradually slipping away. Through her, Fu Tailan could only vaguely sense someone walking step by step toward the talking Vulture.

"What are you doing?" the Vulture asked warily.

"The Ruling Game allowed you to enter the human world and gave you a mind and self-awareness. But I didn’t expect you to become my opposition, entering the human world with the sole intention of killing all the players in the Ruling Game."

"Wait, wait, big bro." Unsure what it had seen, the Vulture’s tone suddenly became docile and friendly. "Don’t you want to kill them? If they win the game, we can’t afford another An Lu..."

"Don’t play dumb."

The Vulture shut its mouth, but after a moment, it couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Aiya, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, big bro," the Vulture said evasively. "How about this, you tell me what to do. Do you want me to enter the human world again? I can call all my comrades—"

"I no longer need you," the male voice interrupted. "I’ve found something much more useful."

With those words, one of the sparse, drifting white tufts bobbing before Han Liuyue’s eyes floated gently down, slowly passing in front of her.

...It was a tiny, snow-white Noh mask.

Countless tiny Noh masks drifted leisurely in midair, like snowflakes that refused to land.

Their black, curved, smiling eyes stared unblinkingly at Han Liuyue. Every fingernail-sized face was squeezed into a high, expectant smile, as if awaiting her rebirth.

"...Those Noh masks?" the Vulture’s voice sounded very distant now.

The low, pleasant male voice chuckled and said, "Besides you, there are many other things that can enter the human world... Noh mask spores..."

"Why let us... enter..."

Han Liuyue’s hearing began to cut in and out.

"...Enter from the Nest... penetrate, squeeze... Black Abyss Belt... where it’s thin, can also... drill a hole, seep in..."

Even though Fu Tailan knew this was all Han Liuyue’s memory, he couldn’t help but prick up his ears and strain to listen. But soon, the memory ended.

When Han Liuyue drew a breath as the "Noh mask," he opened his eyes within the darkness.

After a moment of thought, he took one last look at the dissipating shadow behind him, and then Fu Tailan turned and left.

He was still clutching that memory fragment in his hand.