Chapter 84: Meeting
"Zi liu…"
Bai Wei took a sip of tea, gazed into the vast clear sky, and slowly exhaled a breath of relief.
The past self has dug a huge pit for himself.
Why bother leaving anything behind? Yet, an obsession remains here.
What is an obsession? It is the unattainable, the unresolved, the dark history.
It is the moonlight in the depths of the heart; it is the dreams wandering to the ends of the earth; it is the longing that refuses to rest.
Once, someone was hit by a car and flew off, crawling a distance of five meters before fainting, only to have their phone formatted; there were also those whose final dying wish was to have their computer hard drive wiped clean by someone.
This illustrates an objective fact: the consequences of exposing past storage records can be intolerable for individuals.
However, the more it is concealed, the more it piques curiosity, after all, we're all in this together, where is there such a thing as complete secrecy?
Come, let me take a look!
Before finishing the outcome, his own heart had already been pierced by countless arrows.
Obsession, that's what it is. Not necessarily overtly offensive, but its capacity to inflict harm is tremendously potent.
With a special self-destructive weapon, annihilating enemies comes at the cost of sacrificing a million points of self-damage.
The troublesome aspect precisely lies within this relentless obsession.
Without unraveling the obsession, one cannot further recover memories and attain the power of salvation.
To achieve a breakthrough in levels, one must surpass a bottleneck and endure the sting of a blade.
However, the dilemma lies in the fact that even partaking in the pain of the blade doesn't necessarily guarantee liberation from the obsession.
Many obsessions, long before one's passing, have already become knots of death.
After death, the knots tighten even further.
How can one unravel the knots and release the obsessions that have long become fleeting memories?
Perhaps the past self, aware of these aspects, opted to repeatedly seal memories to oblivion.
In this regard, even within the realms of emperors and mentors, there abound a multitude of joys and sorrows, as well as unresolved conflicts.
In the first ninety-eight cycles of life, wouldn't there be such lingering regrets?
Indeed, there will not only be, but they will multiply.
Bai Wei couldn't help but recall the words uttered before embarking on this journey of life.
[May all regrets find reparation.]
[You will gaze upon yourself]
His breath hitched as Bai Wei made a negligible contribution to global warming and instantly felt a chilling sensation in his hands and feet.
If the persistence of hundreds of moments in life were gradually recalled, wouldn't I have to go and get a new mindset?
What a dreadful attrition! Even sitting on a golden toilet like God Emperor in 40K for ten thousand years wouldn't relieve the fatigue!
The obsession remains an obsession, a difficult turmoil to alleviate, naturally prompting one to keep a respectful distance.
The exclamation mark is right here, whether to trigger or not to trigger, is a question; the level has also been stuck for quite some time, whether to break through or not, is also a question.
Unknowingly, Bai Wei found himself entangled in a dilemma and memories, causing his thoughts to drift.
This led to a conversation with Yagyū Simozi.
He is indeed a bit uncertain about who his first 2D waifu was.
But it definitely wasn't Asuka; he didn't like tsundere characters with twin-tails at all.
What? Tohsaka Rin is also a twin-tailed tsundere?
That's alright then.
Simozi, thinking that her older brother was deliberately playing dumb and not responding, rolled her eyes playfully and went to the kitchen to prepare a simple lunch.
Bai Wei ultimately still couldn't make up his mind, so he got up and went to the kitchen to lend a hand, but realized there wasn't much he could help with.
His younger sister has already turned on the stove and asked in the Ming Country's language, "Brother, I'm cooking, would you like to eat?" (Translator: It can also be understood as 'Do you want to lick my pus*y' in Chinese)
Bai Wei's face turned slightly red and he coughed, saying, "Not appropriate, not appropriate… I'll go to the convenience store for a moment."
He waved his hand as he exited the kitchen, quickly changed his shoes, and darted out of the house.
Yagyū Simozi paused for a moment, then continued to knead the dough with her head down. After a while, she finally realized what was happening.
Lowering her head, her ears turned crimson.
"I didn't mean it that way… Brother… Coward, lacking determination… Being hypocritical."
She finished her noodles in silence and waited until around three o'clock in the afternoon when she heard a knock on the door.
Thinking that it might be her brother who had returned, as he had left without taking the key, she approached and opened the door.
"Brother, you're back…"
The voice of Yagyū Simozi abruptly stopped, revealing in an instant the mastery of quick-change technique.
Outside the door stood a dignified girl dressed in a kimono, Hokusinn Kichyō, who politely greeted, "Hello, it is my first visit here."
Bang! The door swiftly closed.
Hokusinn Kichyō, with swift hands and keen eyes, wedged the bag she held at the edge of the door frame, preventing the latch from engaging.
"Wait! Don't close the door, I have something to say!"
"Shut up, you stalker lunatic! How could you possibly know where my house is!"
"I'm not! Last time it was Mr. Bai who forcefully brought me here!"
"Do you think the officers from the Police Department will believe your nonsense? Let go quickly, or I'll call the police. This is trespassing!"
"I'm still outside the door! I really have something very important!"
"My brother is not at home!"
"What? Mr. Bai is actually not here. When will he return?"
"You come and he is never here!"
"…Miss Yagyū, please don't make a scene. I am here for a formal visit and I even brought a token of my appreciation. Is this how you treat guests? Isn't it quite impolite? After all, the Yagyū family used to have a great reputation…"
"My father and mother have long passed away! Faced with a woman who wants to become my stepmother, do I still have to worry about saving face?"
"Who wants to become your step…"
"Elder brother is like a father!" Yagyū Simozi struggled to close the door several times before letting go. "What exactly do you want? Last time you forced a marriage proposal at the train station, and now you want to come with a formal engagement gift!"
"How is that possible! This engagement gift is too meager, at the very least it should be multiplied by a hundred…"
Yagyū Simozi's gaze turned icy… Boom!
"Ouch, it hurts, it hurts! I caught my hand!"
"I know, I did it on purpose!" Yagyū Simozi impatiently stopped the entanglement. "I already said my brother is not here, what else do you want to say? I won't accept the engagement gift!"
"I didn't come to see Mr. Bai, it's just a fortunate coincidence if I happen to meet him, but it's also fine if he is not here." Hokusinn Kichyō adjusted her disheveled sleeve and spoke with grace, "Yagyū Simozi, I came to look for you."
Yagyū Simozi narrowed her eyes, "Oh?"
Hokusinn Kichyō displayed a confident and well-controlled smile, as if holding the winning card, and asked, "I wonder if Miss Yagyū is interested in the Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament?"
Yagyū Simozi, seemingly indifferent, heard these words and for the first time, her expression attempted a change. The ultimate goal of any swordsman is undoubtedly to achieve victory on the stage before the shogun of the shogunate, to establish a school or to restore glory.
She arched her eyebrows slightly and said, "I don't believe you have such capability."
Hokusinn Kichyō nodded and said, "Indeed, I cannot interfere, but I can offer you an opportunity."
"What kind of opportunity?"
"May we have a detailed discussion inside?" Hokusinn Kichyō asked.
Yagyū Simozi remained silent for a moment and took a step back, saying, "I must remind you, it is best not to hold too many illusions."
"You are underestimating me too much. My presence here is not solely for the sake of my own romantic aspirations but also for our mutual benefit," Hokusinn Kichyō said with a sincere expression. It was evident from the earnestness in her demeanor that she was not fabricating lies; her level of moral integrity didn't allow for such deceit to be conveyed through her countenance.
"I will genuinely listen," Yagyū Simozi took a few steps and abruptly halted, "So, until when do you expect me to wait?"
"What are you saying?"
Yagyū Simozi swiftly turned around, gripping a solid wooden sword soaked in tung oil that she had already grasped at an unknown moment. The dark gleam of the sword struck towards the girl's shoulder, clad in a traditional kimono.
The innocent girl, who had just moments ago been beaming with smiles, now transformed into a fleeting shadow. She sidestepped, lifted her sleeve, and grasped the scabbard with her other hand.
Bam! The sound of wooden collision resonated crisply, generating a gust of wind that swept across the courtyard lawn.
"What does this mean?" Hokusinn Kichyō delicately rolled up her ample sleeves, half crouched, and unfastened the concealed fastenings of her kimono that bound around her waist and legs.
"Deceptively insincere." Yagyū Simozi raised her wooden sword, saying, "Since the moment you entered, your intent to kill and your fighting spirit have been steadily rising. You're not here for a conversation at all, but… to pick a fight with me!"
Kichyō smiled gracefully, "Since you've seen through it, then… Hokusinn Itto-ryu, Hokusinn Kichyō."
Yagyū Simozi gestured with her fangs extended, "Mugen Shinmyō-ryū, Yagyū Simozi!"
"Greetings!"
