On the phone screen, Ruan Mei's incoming message carried undisguised pride and a desire for recognition. Its ambiguous yet direct descriptions left Daziel momentarily speechless.
His fingertips hovered over the screen for a moment, eventually typing out a line of text.
"[Daziel]: You should negotiate with the Xianzhou side first. It's best to send her back. I can represent the Astral Express and safely escort her back."
The message was sent successfully.
Daziel leaned back on the sofa, rubbing his brow. He could almost imagine the look of disappointment on Ruan Mei's face, a face he had already molded into a sow, when she saw this reply.
However, this was the trajectory of the original storyline.
Daziel still decided to try and maintain the original state as much as possible.
Sure enough, moments later, a new message popped up.
"[Ruan Mei]: But I originally wanted to add another 'Forbidden Offspring' for Master…"
The words reeked of obvious grievance.
Daziel sighed helplessly and quickly replied.
"[Daziel]: Haven't I already got a similar one? You know that, her body was even created by you.
"[Daziel]: Stop talking nonsense! Send her back!"
This time, the reply from the other side came extremely quickly, as if she had been waiting for his command all along.
"[Ruan Mei]: Understood, Master."
Four concise words, devoid of any superfluous emotion.
Daziel put his phone aside and closed his eyes to rest.
Not long after, his phone vibrated again.
It was Ruan Mei.
"[Ruan Mei]: The Xianzhou side has been contacted. They heard about this matter and expressed their utmost gratitude to both you and me. They also agreed to the request for the Astral Express to escort her back."
"[Daziel]: So, when can you wake her up and bring her over?"
"[Ruan Mei]: In about two days. At that time, I will personally hand her over to Master."
Seeing Ruan Mei's reply, Daziel let out a long sigh of relief.
Although he had indeed taught her what "love" was…
her understanding seemed to have gone awry.
He didn't know if this was good or bad, he could only take it one step at a time.
"[Daziel]: Alright, see you then."
Two days later, in Penacony's Golden Hour, beside a dazzling street, nestled in a deep alleyway.
Daziel quietly stepped into the alley entrance, turned around, and calmly gazed at the flow of people and vehicles a hundred meters away.
Where he stood, there was no one else around.
This was the agreed-upon location for his handover with Ruan Mei.
After sending Ruan Mei a message saying he had arrived.
Not long after, a familiar figure emerged from the alley, entering Daziel's sight.
She stood gracefully, her cheongsam embroidered with exquisite subtle patterns perfectly outlining her lithe figure, yet her steps were not as composed as usual, instead carrying a subtly imperceptible hesitation.
Upon seeing Daziel, she stopped at the alley entrance, her chest heaving, seemingly adjusting her emotions.
Behind her followed a Foxian woman dressed in a pure black Xianzhou one-piece dress.
The woman was slender, her face identical to Tingyun, the missing Emissary of the Blaze Merchant Guild.
However, her eyes, which should have been lively, were now vacant, as if covered by a layer of dust, silently following Ruan Mei, like an exquisite puppet that had lost its soul.
Ruan Mei took a deep breath, finally leading "Tingyun the Lost Soul" inside, stopping before Daziel.
She lowered her gaze slightly, a somewhat unnatural blush rising on her fair cheeks, her voice so soft it was almost drowned out by the surrounding clamor.
"Master, long time no see."
Her demeanor seemed hesitant, as if concealing something unmentionable, completely unlike the confident and composed genius scholar she usually was.
Daziel was taken aback…
This shouldn't be. Even if he had modulated her into a sow, she shouldn't be acting like this.
Daziel's gaze moved from her to the silent Tingyun behind her.
"She" just stood there quietly, completely unresponsive to her surroundings, as if merely a creation refined to the extreme.
Daziel's gaze lingered on the puppet-like Tingyun for a moment, his brow imperceptibly furrowing.
He withdrew his gaze, looking back at the flustered genius scholar before him.
"What's wrong with her?" Daziel's voice was flat, betraying no emotion, "Did something go wrong? Why isn't she saying anything?"
Ruan Mei seemed startled by the question, her shoulders trembling slightly. She averted her gaze, not daring to meet Daziel's eyes, her voice so low it was almost carried away by the wind.
"Because, because it seems I could only bring this one Tingyun."
Daziel's eyes showed a hint of confusion. "What do you mean?"
Ruan Mei didn't answer immediately. Instead, she raised a hand, and with a slender, white finger, she pointed hesitantly yet firmly into the deeper shadows of the alley.
"Master, look inside."
Daziel followed her gaze, his pupils suddenly contracting.
Deep in the alley, dim light outlined dozens of blurry silhouettes. Once his eyes adjusted to the light there, he clearly saw that the densely packed figures were all Tingyuns.
They stood or sat, each with different expressions, each doing their own thing, as if independent souls had been crammed into identical bodies.
One Tingyun faced the wall, gesticulating passionately, muttering to herself, seemingly declaring the Sky-Faring Commission's business strategy to a non-existent client.
Not far away, another Tingyun gently cradled her fox tail, meticulously combing its fluffy fur with her fingers, humming a strange little tune about tail care.
Further in the corner, another Tingyun squatted on the ground, like a four or five-year-old child, drawing circles on the dusty ground with her finger, occasionally letting out a silly chuckle or two.
This bizarre and peculiar scene made Daziel freeze on the spot.
Seeing Daziel's shocked expression, Ruan Mei seemed to find the courage to explain. She took a deep breath and quickly said: "Because you hadn't arrived yet, I thought I'd take her around to see if Penacony had any desserts worth researching. On the way, we met an enthusiastic Pipilian who said he was recording some 'Don't Laugh Challenge' and insisted we try a candy that would make us laugh loudly…"
At this point, Ruan Mei's voice paused, and a hint of vexation and regret appeared on her face.
"Driven by the idea of research and experimentation, I took Tingyun to try it. As a result, not long after Tingyun ate the candy, she started sneezing continuously, and then, and then she haphazardly transformed into this many [Tingyuns] right before my eyes."
She lowered her head, like a child who had done something wrong and was awaiting punishment.
"I tried to restore her, but found that this seemed to involve issues of dream and mental planes. I don't know much about this field, and resolving it would be troublesome. Master, do you have any insights?"
After listening to Ruan Mei's explanation, Daziel immediately understood. He looked at the group of Tingyuns, each going about their business, and his tightly furrowed brow relaxed instead.
Isn't this what happened in the original plot?
Fortunately, it was still a recognizable problem.
"So that's it."
He spoke calmly, "The Dreamscape is a world composed of 忆质 (Memory Substance). This situation is most likely because her brain was particularly sensitive to the stimulation from that candy, causing her scattered memory fragments to temporarily detach from the main body, each forming an independent entity."
Daziel paused, giving Ruan Mei a somewhat reassuring look.
"The good news is, there's no need to worry too much. Similar incidents are not uncommon in the Golden Hour's Dreamscape."
Hearing this, Ruan Mei visibly relaxed, the rise and fall of her chest softening slightly.
"The bad news is," Daziel changed his tone, rubbing his hands, "I can't solve this. The person I know who can solve this is probably still in Isolation Zone, and I don't know when she'll be released."
After all, although Jade promised Robin she would get the 'imprisoned one' out, there had been no response yet.
And due to changes in the timeline, the matter of escorting Tingyun back to the Xianzhou seemed to have been moved up.
Daziel couldn't think of a second person who could perform 'attunement' to resolve this matter.
The glimmer of light that had just appeared in Ruan Mei's eyes quickly dimmed again, a hint of disappointment surfacing on her exquisite face. But she quickly rallied, clearing her throat, and assured Daziel.
"I'll just have to research it more. Don't worry, Master, I promise you, it won't be too long."
"Mm." Daziel nodded, his gaze returning to the group of Tingyuns, "The immediate priority now is to find an individual who is relatively lucid and most resembles the original body for communication. If I remember correctly, the steps for handling such matters should be this way."
Having said that, he stepped forward, walking deeper into the alley.
He first approached the Tingyun who was giving a business speech.
"Hello?" Daziel cautiously spoke.
That Tingyun immediately turned around, a perfectly professional smile on her face, and spoke rapidly: "Hello, sir! Interested in the Sky-Faring Commission's latest interstellar shipping package? We guarantee 100% safety and efficiency! Book now and enjoy a 15% discount, plus a complimentary set of Xianzhou specialty gift packages! Don't miss this opportunity…"
Robin's words, she didn't seem very good at this.
Daziel cut her off expressionlessly: "I'm not here to do business."
"Then are you interested in our financial products? We've launched a joint venture with the Interastral Peace Corporation…"
Daziel turned and walked away directly, heading towards the Tingyun who was grooming her tail.
Before he even spoke, that Tingyun looked up, her eyes casting a resentful glance at him. "Are you also here to mock my tail for not being fluffy enough? I'm telling you, the best way to care for it is to comb it three hundred times from the root outwards with a Jade-Seal Comb, then apply the secret conditioning oil from Aurumaton Gatehouse…"
Daziel silently watched her, choosing to leave again.
He walked towards a Tingyun who had lifted her skirt, her body trembling continuously, her back to everyone, seemingly intentionally concealing something, not wanting others to see.
But even so, Daziel immediately understood what this Tingyun was doing…
He chose not to disturb her 'good moment', and instead silently walked away.
He walked up to the Tingyun who was giggling like a child and crouched down.
"Hey." He tried to greet her with a gentle tone.
The childlike Tingyun looked up, her empty eyes curiously gazing at him, then she opened her mouth wide, drooling and giggling foolishly, making "ah-ah" sounds, and even reached out with a dusty hand to grab Daziel's clothes.
Daziel quickly dodged…
Thus, Daziel went around asking every Tingyun in the alley, trying to ascertain their mental state.
However, to his surprise, he found that not a single Tingyun had a relatively normal thought process.
This completely baffled Daziel.
"This shouldn't be. How can there not be a single normal one?"
Daziel muttered to himself, his brow filled with an unresolvable confusion.
Ruan Mei watched his helpless expression, and a sudden, unnatural blush rose on her fair cheeks, her eyes also flickering somewhat.
She seemed to recall something, and spoke somewhat embarrassed: "Master… that… I think I know what happened."
"Just tell me directly, stop equivocating."
Daziel commanded directly.
"Yes."
Ruan Mei nodded slightly, no longer hesitating, "When I was trying to awaken Miss Tingyun, I found that her mental state was indeed somewhat damaged, and her personality seemed to be missing a part. If I were to let her wake up like that, she might directly become a vegetable."
She paused, her voice even lower: "So I infused her with some common knowledge she hadn't had before, adding some of my 'cognitions' after Master modulated me into a sow. I suspect that the one 'self-soothing' in the corner… is probably her."
"What did you say?!"
Daziel froze completely upon hearing Ruan Mei's words.
He widened his eyes in disbelief: "Such a thing happened?!"
You really are something, Ruan!
Daziel had completely not expected events to twist to this extent.
He instinctively glanced back at the figure in that corner, feeling a strong mental shock.
Ruan Mei met his shocked gaze and calmly continued to explain.
"Master, I have studied your bodily fluids. You can even correct mental distortions. Perhaps, by just doing that thing to Miss Tingyun, she can recover."
Daziel's expression became somewhat peculiar.
What Ruan Mei said was true. He himself had used this method to awaken Robin from Sunday's attunement.
But, did he have to resort to this method now too?
Robin's situation then was to resolve a major issue concerning Penacony's safety, a critical situation.
Tingyun's situation this time didn't seem to require such hasty and risky action, did it?
Ruan Mei seemed to have seen through Daziel's thoughts and said softly: "Master, I asked her. I infused her with my cognitions. She expressed no dissatisfaction. She said I gave her a second life and only gratitude towards me.
Tingyun's situation this time didn't seem to require such hasty and risky action, did it?
Ruan Mei seemed to have seen through Daziel's thoughts and said softly: "Master, I asked her. I infused her with my cognitions. She expressed no dissatisfaction. She said I gave her a second life and only gratitude towards me.
She took a step forward, her eyes showing a newfound clarity unique to her.
"If you don't do this to her now, she will come looking for you later."
Daziel looked at her, feeling a headache, and also a sense of helplessness.
"You really... consider things for me."
Ruan Mei's lips curved into a faint, yet incredibly sincere smile.
"Master taught well. This is the 'love' I've learned!
"For Master, nothing is impossible…
____
Unfortunately, two of our stories were removed... so I created a new account to post them: MikuDayo.
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