boyutpedia Page 236
Page 236
"So you've seen many instances of... cough, training practices like those between Haiyue'er and me?"
"...Of course not as close as this time!" Sai snorted, lightly touching the back of Latis's neck with her illusory little hand. After thinking for a moment, she continued:
"Perhaps they also have a purpose of creating 'new life,' but I'm not quite sure..."
“Creating ‘new life’?” Latis scratched his head, somewhat incredulously saying, “But they’re both dead! How can two dead beings give birth to new life…”
“…Yes.” Seren glanced at the shield Latis was holding and said in a low voice.
"..."
Latis stiffened slightly, instinctively tightening his grip on the shield's handle, and asked:
"So these fish eggs... can't possibly hatch, right?"
Sai Leng remained silent for a moment, then floated to Latis's side, squeezed his palm with her icy little hand, and nodded.
"Ah."
"...No, how could this be?" Latis, unable to accept it, raised his shield, glanced at the now vibrant, dark blue fish eggs, and couldn't help but ask:
"Then what is this? A hallucination?"
“Mr. Bones…” Seren hugged Latis’s arm, gently comforting him, and whispered:
"This is probably a part of the mermaid's memories... As for the fish eggs, they might be related to her childhood experiences, or perhaps they represent all her desires for life and hope in her previous life..."
"why is it like this!"
Latis breathed heavily. Although he had long anticipated Haiyue'er's fate, it did not mean he was willing to see her hopes dashed like a dream. He could not accept seeing her greatest wish fall so easily... as if the dream that supported her had already died out.
"Mr. Bones..."
"Saileng, let me have some peace and quiet..."
He felt a heavy tightness in his chest and involuntarily lifted the shield containing the fish eggs. He stared blankly at the dark blue fish eggs inside for a moment.
"Should we go back and tell Haiyue'er this news...?"
Latis struggled for a moment, but gave up the idea. He preferred to let Haiyueer keep hope for the future... at least live out this white moon.
He sighed and hugged the shield, as if embracing once again the mermaid with whom he had just shared intimate moments.
Suddenly, he frowned, feeling something pressing against his chest. He released his shield, reached into his clothes, pulled out the hard object, and held it up to his eyes.
It was a pearl, completely inconspicuous in the vast world of white sand.
"This is..." Sai Leng floated forward curiously, closed her eyes to sense it for a moment, and then asked in confusion, "The mermaid's things?"
"Haiyue'er's pearl?"
Latis scratched his head, wondering what it was. Just as he was about to put it away, he suddenly noticed a talent light up.
The talent that suddenly becomes available is "Body-like Tear".
"Is it... a teardrop?" He instantly recalled the few minutes when Hai Yue'er buried her face in his chest and cried. He sighed with a bitter feeling, thought for a moment, and then activated his talent.
“…Eh? Eh!” Seren suddenly turned her head in surprise, glanced around, and finally fixed her gaze on the pearl in Latis’s hand. She exclaimed instinctively:
"Mr. Bones... what is this?!"
The pearl slowly etherealized and landed in front of Latis. Then, a graceful spirit gradually condensed and, under Latis's complex gaze, extended a long fish tail and slender arms, transforming into the shape of Haiyue'er.
"Miss Mermaid?" Sai Leng flew up in shock.
The spirit Hai Yue'er did not speak, but instead looked around like a loyal guard.
“…Never mind.” Latis gave a wry smile, shook his head at Seren and said, “This is one of my abilities, but it seems that the spirit I conjure doesn’t have Haiyue’er’s consciousness.”
Sai Leng snapped out of her daze, floated in front of Hai Yue'er and carefully sensed her, then turned around and exchanged a glance with Latis, finally looking at the shield in his hand.
"?"
Latis was silent for a moment, then, as if struck by a sudden realization, he asked incredulously:
"Wait, no way?!"
A hint of shock and joy flickered in Sai Leng's eyes. She nodded vigorously and said loudly:
"Mr. Bones! This might be... the first true 'rebirth' I've witnessed in the Bone Spirit Realm!"
Latis felt a slight tingling sensation on his scalp. He carefully picked up the dark blue fish eggs from the shield and gently reached his hand into the soul body of the spirit Haiyue'er.
After a period of unsettling silence, the fish eggs suddenly floated up and transformed into a cluster of dark blue smoke, filling Haiyue'er's illusory soul.
A solid, dark cyan color appeared on Haiyue'er's fish scales. Then, under the tense gazes of Latis and Seren, a glimmer of light appeared in Haiyue'er's empty eyes.
She slowly raised her hand, rubbed her eyes, then looked at the man in front of her with a confused expression, and asked in her gentle, melodious voice:
"Minor fry... Mr. Latis?"
Chapter 243 Skeleton Knight and Human Cannon Latis
After a surge of overwhelming joy, you hugged Haiyue'er tightly. Although you hugged empty air, the icy touch told you that even as a spirit, she had come back to life.
Haiyue'er was very confused about the current situation, but seeing you in front of her, she quickly calmed down and, under Sai Leng's ill-intentioned urging, sat on your other shoulder...
[You start to wonder if you shouldn't have told Seren so many Soviet jokes. You feel like this originally somewhat naive maid is becoming increasingly cunning.]
You take a step forward and suddenly realize that your pace has quickened considerably. You realize that Haiyue'er has become your "passenger"... Although the increased speed pleases you, you are dissatisfied with being treated like a "public bus," feeling that you should at least be considered a "private car."
Following the direction of the river's source, Haiyue finally understood the current situation from your and Sai Leng's repeated explanations.
Seeing her staring at her illusory fishtail, you assumed she wasn't happy with her appearance and were about to comfort her when, unexpectedly, she suddenly took flight with a whoosh.
Yes, as your spirit guardian, she can fly around you as if swimming in the ocean. The Moon Goddess circled you several times, then began to sing joyfully.
[You find this hard to understand. Being locked up by your side as a guard makes her so happy. Could this little mermaid be a masochist?]
However, you also have a vague feeling that Haiyue'er carried a hint of death when she first woke up. You don't know what memories she has forgotten or what memories she still retains, but looking at her smile now, you feel that none of that matters anymore.
The dead are gone, and you will remember them deeply and cherish the new life with fervor.
In this joyful atmosphere, your trio of "driver," "bus," and "car CD player" began to move forward at full speed, and the unchanging, deathly silence of the Bone Spirit Realm seemed to suddenly become noisy.
……
"Haiyue'er, pause the playback! Come and see, is this the tributary?"
Latis stopped, looked around, and shouted amidst the melodious singing.
"Eh?"
The singing stopped, and Haiyue'er floated out of Latis's body. She floated up a few meters and looked towards the direction of the tributary.
On the opposite bank of the river, a slower-flowing tributary was gurgling into the main stream. The tributary was crooked and often blocked by pale rocks, which broke up the already considerable flow into fragments.
“That should be it!” Haiyue’er nodded and said:
"When I first came into this world, I was swept away by that tributary all the way to the lake I had been in before. At that time, I heard people in the town near the source of the tributary mention Mount Lierman, so I have a very deep impression of this journey!"
"I see." Latis nodded, patted Haiyue'er's head lightly, and smiled, "You can go back now!"
"Okay~" Haiyue'er rubbed against Latis's hand with some enjoyment, floated gracefully to his side, kissed his cheek, and then returned to Latis's body with a rather happy laugh.
She and Seren have walked tens of thousands of steps with Latis and are now quite familiar with each other. Occasionally, she would tell Latis little secrets that he couldn't hear.
Latis touched his face, couldn't help but chuckle, and shook his head. He walked to the edge of the wide main channel of the river, looked at the rushing water, and frowned slightly.
How do I get to the other side of the river?
He was temporarily at a loss for a solution. Since the simulated body was only the physical strength of an ordinary person, he could not simply jump across it in one step. Moreover, the river was so turbulent that he could not expect a small shield to steadily support him.
The two spirit girls wouldn't be hindered by the river, but he wouldn't, unless he wanted to turn back into a skeleton...
"Hey sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
Suddenly, a hoarse voice rang out from behind Latis. He was startled, raised his shield and spear, and turned to look at the source of the voice.
About ten meters away from him stood a skeleton dressed in armor—or rather, a tattered helmet stuffed with iron rods, a broken suit of armor, and a rusty, corroded spear.
Upon closer inspection, the person was not a skeleton...
Latis breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the remaining waist and shoulders of the newcomer and the brown curly mustache on the lower half of his face.
It seems this person still has some residual memories, which means he is able to communicate.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." Latis bowed, and without any formality, pointed to the rushing river and said:
"I'm planning to cross the river, but I haven't thought of a way yet. I was just thinking about it."
"Oh, sir, I just heard a melodious song and rushed over because I was afraid someone was about to fall into the river. It seems I have arrived just in time."
The armored man laughed hoarsely, gave a wide, sweeping knightly salute, and then shouted:
"If you are trying to cross the Bailongchuan River, which has claimed countless lives, I strongly advise you not to even think about trying to wade across it by yourself... I have seen too many tragic deaths! They should not have lost their precious lives!"
Latis scratched his head, and seeing that the man's tone was rather exaggerated, he was a little confused for a moment. However, recalling that the man had just performed a knightly salute, he guessed in his heart that this man might have been a libertine medieval knight in his previous life.
"You are right," Latis nodded, lowering his shield and spear to indicate he was no longer on guard. After a moment's thought, he said:
“I also felt that it would be difficult to cross the river on my own, so I wondered if I should walk a little further to see if there was a suitable place to cross the river, or find some large rocks to use as stepping stones to jump across step by step.”
"Ah, sir, you are much wiser than I imagined."
The knight stroked his mustache, took a few steps forward, glanced at the width of the river, and said with a smile:
"I also need to cross the river, and the thought of having someone to accompany me fills me with joy. As for how I will help you cross the river, I have already made some preparations. I wonder if you would be willing to accept them."
"Oh? Tell me?"
Latis looked curiously at the knight a few steps away. Although the knight had little remaining flesh, he seemed quite organized.
“That is—” the knight planted his broken lance in the ground, making a graceful throwing motion, and said:
"I can just throw you across the river, haha, that's the method I came up with!"
"..." Latis immediately retracted his judgment of the knight. He took a deep breath, shook his head helplessly, and complained:
"How could I have thought someone who was about to turn into a skeleton was perfectly rational... I was so stupid, so very stupid..."
"Hey, you better believe me!"
The knight flexed his biceps, which were now mostly bone, and said:
"I had already dumped people several months ago. They were just like you. At first, they didn't trust me, but later they all praised me!"