noveltune Chapter 173 Aftertaste: A Pleasant Night
Chapter 173 Aftertaste: A Pleasant Night
Chapter 173 Aftertaste: A Pleasant Night
The Divine Tree fell, and Sir Skull's flames dissipated beyond the barriers of the Inverted World, but in the real world...
The embers of the netherworld have not yet been extinguished.
By the time they truly returned to civilized society, it was already the next day.
Inside the flower shop in the mountain city, Tan Zhixin, who had just finished showering, walked to the long table while drying her wet hair, picked up the teapot and poured two cups of tea.
Then her gaze fell on Tang Zijun not far away, and a smile appeared on her face.
Hearing the noise behind her, Tang Zijun adjusted her glasses and turned her attention away from the newly developed photos in front of her.
"You really have a lot of free time; you even have the mind to take pictures in that kind of scene."
The photo shows a sky covered in dark clouds.
Amidst the apocalyptic scene, Tan Zhixin, Tang Cao, and others faced the torrential rain, their backs to the camera.
Before them, a towering tree engulfed in flames was slowly collapsing.
Tan Zhixin smiled gently, picked up her teacup, and walked over to Tang Zijun's side.
"It's obvious from any angle that I didn't take the picture. I was so scared at the time, I didn't even have that thought."
"Who took that picture?" Tang Zijun turned around, smelling the fragrance in the air, and asked casually.
"I don't know, I just suddenly found this photo on my phone when I got back."
Tan Zhixin shrugged and then handed the teacup to Tang Zijun.
"Try it."
Tang Zijun paused for a moment, then looked down at the teacup in Tan Zhixin's hand.
He could clearly see his reflection in the teacup; in the warm water, a few petals rose and fell.
After a pause, Tang Zijun reached out and took the teacup, then took a sip.
"It's good, quite delicious."
Tan Zhixin smiled sweetly, gave Tang Zijun a deep look, then turned and walked back to the long table, casually picking up a hair tie.
"...What happened to those flower fairies?"
"I sent them to the Reverse World. The secret realm has disappeared, and the divine tree has fallen. If they were to enter human society, there would probably be some trouble again," Tang Zijun replied softly.
When Sir Skull possessed the Divine Tree, it did indeed appear to be a formidable force. Moreover, due to the erosion of the energy of the heretical demons, the entire 'body' of the Divine Tree was hollowed out by negative energy, and it could no longer even maintain the boundary of the secret realm.
But precisely because of this, when the divine tree descended into the real world, a brand new tree of life was also born in the reversed world.
Sir Skeleton, who possessed the Heart of Life, was very powerful; he had indeed touched upon a level worthy of being called "god." However, he merely exploited a loophole. He could seize the power of a god, and he could also seize the body of a god.
But what he lacks is the authority of God.
When merging with the Reverse World, Sir Skull will no longer be facing Tang Zijun herself, but rather the rules, or laws, of the Reverse World.
His power will be stripped away inch by inch by the barrier. This impact may seem small, but for Sir Skull, it is many times stronger than being hit head-on by a maglev train.
The Divine Tree's body will be reshaped in the Reversed World, but Sir Skeleton's "true form" cannot be compatible with that law—ultimately, he was just a high-ranking official.
"Regarding the Flower Fairy race, I don't think we should prejudicially categorize them as being on the 'righteous' side."
"Sir Skull is right about something: Flower fairies are companion life forms of the Tree of Life, but in the real world, the Tree of Life is just a parasite. Those life forces should originally belong to nature."
"The balance has been broken, and no one knows what the future holds. For now, perhaps the best option is to isolate those flower fairies in the reflection of reality."
Listening quietly to Tang Zijun's words, Tan Zhixin nodded thoughtfully.
Then she smiled with a complicated expression.
"This is really troublesome. You have no idea how many calls I've received in the past few hours. So many of my girlfriends have been asking me what happened."
"So how are you going to answer?" Tang Zijun asked.
Tan Zhixin steadied herself and slowly turned her head.
"...To be honest, what do you think?"
Tang Zijun stroked her chin. "It's...not a bad idea."
"Perhaps they haven't experienced enough. My sisters have all become lazy. This incident should make them realize that if they are lax in their daily lives, they will regret it when it comes to the crucial moment."
Nodding slightly, Tang Zijun's gaze fell on Tan Zhixin's fair shoulders, at the edge of her bathrobe.
A twisted scar was revealed.
"Your injury might give those flower fairies something to do."
Upon hearing this, Tan Zhixin was slightly taken aback, and then pulled up the collar of her bathrobe.
With her back to Tang Zijun, she let out a soft breath.
"Um."
On the second floor of the flower shop, a heavy thud was heard.
Qin Nan wiped the sweat from his brow, sighed deeply, and then pulled up a small stool and sat down.
Hyacinth and Little Grey stood on her shoulders, looking curiously at the rather old-looking large box in front of Qin Nan.
"What's this?" Hyacinth asked, pointing to her lips with her finger.
"This is."
Qin Nan took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
"These are things I left behind when I stayed at Sister Tan's place, and... my family's belongings."
Hearing Qin Nan's slightly trembling words, Hyacinth blinked, and her eyes dimmed as if she had thought of something.
Two lives from different worlds are now connected by the same person. Gazing at the worn-out objects in the box, Qin Nan and the person in Hyacinth's mind slowly merge.
"Mr. Qin..."
Hyacinth gently bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, and the antennae on her forehead bent down.
Even the usually talkative Little Grey fell silent, and the atmosphere in the cabin gradually became somber.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but Qin Nan's unfocused vision gradually cleared. She gently sat up straight and picked up the diary she had never opened before.
"...You know, I understood a principle when I was very young."
"Whether something is miserable or not isn't determined by comparison. Even if someone is worse off than me, so what? Good is good."
"Bad is bad. Saying that won't comfort people; it will only make them more paranoid."
"When I learned that my loved ones had died at the hands of those monsters, I knew exactly what I had to do—force myself to pull myself together and keep smiling as long as I was alive."
"Pretend nothing's wrong?" Hyacinth turned her head.
"No, I call this the 'professional qualities' of a magical girl."
Qin Nan raised her head and revealed a relaxed smile.
"Either fight to the end with a smile, never give up no matter what dangers you encounter, and live on with the determination to fight to the death."
"Either hide deep in the mountains and never come out again."
"You made the right choice," Little Grey said.
"But I'm also running away, aren't I? Running away from my past, running away from those bad memories."
Qin Nan chuckled and shook her head, her gaze slowly descending.
The next moment, she turned to the first page of the diary...
It felt as if a gentle breeze had swept by.
It blows gently from the distant horizon.
As the morning sun gradually rises, its gentle rays bathe the city.
As the temperature gradually becomes comfortable, swallows peek out from their nests, their clear chirping echoing as the world slowly awakens.
In the warehouse on the second floor of the flower shop, faint laughter could be heard, like silver bells tinkling in a gentle breeze.
"Mr. Qin is so good to me."
"Yeah?"
"He even said he'd take me climbing Meili Snow Mountain!"
"I'll stay with you."
"I want to go too! I want to go too!"
"Little Grey, aren't you afraid of the cold?"
"I can use magic to summon feathers to keep warm."
"Don't tell me you're going to wrap yourself up like you did before."
Hey! What's this?!
"These are things that Sister Nan left behind when she used to live here."
Wow, a harmonica!
"You even know about this?"
"Yes, I know. Mr. Qin taught me. He can even play it with leaves; it sounds beautiful!"
"Is this sheet music? You can write songs!"
"Don't flip through it randomly."
"Let me see, let me see."
"Hello!"
The city at dusk, the cold wind of night, the eternal candlelight dyeing the evening sky crimson, the torrential rain still throbbing, the blue whispers vanishing without a trace.
In the dream world, thoughts surged, the wind and mist blew and stopped moving, the rain fell and awakened, soaking them, and the lingering thoughts of embracing each other vanished into nothingness!
Clang, clang.
The key made a crisp sound as it turned.
The door opened, and Tang Cao and Su Siyao were already exhausted.
Tang Cao casually put the keys back in her pocket and was about to change into slippers when suddenly, her nose twitched slightly.
A rich and mellow aroma wafted over, and there was even a hint of sweetness in the air.
The fragrance felt like an invisible hand, gently caressing Tang Cao and Su Siyao's faces.
At that moment, Tang Cao seemed to have thought of something, her nose tingled, and tears welled up involuntarily.
The two of them rushed to the kitchen door like madmen without even taking off their shoes.
Through their blurry vision, they saw a familiar figure wearing an apron with her back to them, gently stirring the pot with a spoon in her hand.
Upon hearing the sound, Tang Zijun turned around.
"Oh, you're back..."
2
"W-what's wrong?" Tang Zijun tilted her head.
Looking at the smiling man, Tang Cao and Su Siyao could no longer hold back.
"Brother Tang!!"
After only a brief pause, the two girls pounced on Tang Zijun.
As if it were some kind of immense grievance, the joy and the wolf-fox were finally fully released at this moment.
"Oh, what's wrong?"
"Who bullied you?"
"No, no, no, I'm cooking..."
"Oh no! Oh ...
The record slowly turned, the piano music intruded into my sweet dream, the lingering beat of my heart remained in my hand, and the air was already filled with the fragrance of flowers.
In the lonely corner of the moon, who will answer the girl's call? Her red eyes finally bloomed with a touch of blue mist!