The girl didn't reply, merely continuing to hug her stuffed toy.
Xin Yu glanced at the girl's legs. They were encased in some kind of metal apparatus, resembling an exoskeleton.
It should be noted here that Xin Yu would absolutely avoid using his Spiritual Power to probe others' bodies unless absolutely necessary. This was because, currently, he could only mimic the external projection of Spiritual Sense using Spiritual Power. Doing so wouldn't be beneficial for those with poor adaptability to Spiritual Power.
"Sigh! I'm not good with kids. Maybe I should just call the police and let them handle this."
Xin Yu took out his phone, intending to call the police to deal with the situation, when the child suddenly spoke.
"Bronya is not lost. Will return shortly."
"...Understood."
Xin Yu put his phone away. He wasn't sure if the girl was lying or perhaps had run away from home... Though honestly, her way of referring to herself by name felt somewhat familiar.
Do all children talk like that? Or was there someone in his past memories who also referred to themselves by name?
Xin Yu sat down on a bench near the girl. He looked up at the descending twilight, trying to grasp that vague feeling, attempting to find shadows of the past within his shattered memories.
Bronya tilted her head slightly, looking at the silent young man sitting nearby. After a long moment, she stood up without another word and walked off in a different direction.
Xin Yu turned his head to watch the direction the girl had left but didn't follow. That girl was definitely no ordinary child. Although he hadn't extended his Spiritual Power to sense her, he had a vague, inexplicable feeling telling him that something existed around her.
Seeing the girl gone, Xin Yu didn't plan to linger either. He stood up, ready to leave, when a gust of wind blew past, causing a few leaves to drift before his eyes.
"Wind? Fengzi?"
Who is Fengzi?
Xin Yu looked around blankly, but no further breeze came to offer him a shred of inspiration.
"...Going back."
Xin Yu opened his mouth, but in the end, could only resignedly say he was going home. Was this the same kind of confusion his past self had experienced?
He himself was relatively okay; it was just a certain feeling brought about by those fragmented, hazy shards of memory. But if he remembered everything... it would probably be very lonely, very painful.
Searching for familiar traces of the past in an unfamiliar world – it sounded truly sad and pitiful.
As Xin Yu pushed open his front door thinking these thoughts, he saw the disciple he had taken, wearing an apron and busy in the kitchen.
"Master! Welcome back! The food is almost ready, please wait a moment!"
"...Yeah, I'm back."
Xin Yu took off his helmet, changed into slippers, and walked to the dining table. Looking at the various Shenzhou-style dishes laid out, he asked with some curiosity, "You know how to cook Shenzhou cuisine?"
"Ah, no, but I specifically went to learn. After all, Master, you mentioned you might be from Shenzhou, so I made a point to learn the local dishes. It's my first try, so the taste might not be great. Please bear with me, Master."
After placing all the dishes on the table, Ōno Nao bowed deeply to Xin Yu, who was seated there.
"...Thank you."
Xin Yu picked up his chopsticks, took some stir-fried shredded potatoes, and put them in his mouth.
"...Tastes good. You eat too."
"Yes!"
Ōno Nao untied his apron, then brought over his bowl of rice and sat down on the other side.
"Your cooking skills aren't bad."
"Well, I grew up on my own, so I often had to rush to the supermarket to grab vegetables and meat that were nearing expiry or on discount. My cooking skills slowly developed during that time. Although I've made something of myself these past few years, thankfully, I haven't lost this skill."
"...Mm."
"Master, you must be tired."
"...Why would I be tired? Your Master is a cultivator, already far removed from ordinary people. How could something as trivial as delivering food be tiring?"
"Yes, Master is far beyond ordinary people."
Xin Yu felt a bit strange. He hadn't felt anything particular when eating with Kiana earlier, but why did he feel something different, something odd, eating with this disciple he'd picked up so casually?
He ate most of the food, which still tasted bland to him. When he put down his bowl and chopsticks and sat in the living room watching his disciple wash the dishes, he unexpectedly felt a sense of home.
He suddenly felt that this cold, empty house seemed to have gained a touch of warmth, of life.
"...This feeling isn't bad either. Father, I have a place to return to in this world now too."
"Master? What are you saying?" Ōno Nao asked, turning from the sink.
"Nothing. Just that your Master needs to check your homework."
"Uh..."
Ōno Nao suddenly tensed up, his previously swift movements slowing down.
Is this the nervousness a student feels when the teacher does a spot check?
Xin Yu walked the city streets at night. He didn't know where he was going; he just felt a bit aimless after dinner and decided to take a walk.
After walking some distance, Xin Yu suddenly spotted a mobile Oden stall. He wasn't drawn by the food – after all, he couldn't taste much – but because there was a middle-aged man sitting there, drinking sullenly, who looked like he had a story to tell.
And for some reason, the man looked somewhat familiar.
Raiden Ryoma drained the bowl of sake in his hand. Today, he had lost the most important person in his life: his wife.
She died of cancer, an illness incurable by modern medicine. When she was diagnosed, he tried everything, exhausted all efforts to treat her, but ultimately could only delay the inevitable.
He could only delay her suffering.
Raiden Ryoma dared not imagine if he would still be alive in this world had his wife not left him a child.
Today was his last day as a husband. It was a day for him, as a man grieving the loss of his wife, to drink recklessly until he was drunk.
After tonight, he would just be a father. A father who had to take care of his daughter, be a role model for the girl, shoulder his responsibilities.
"Mister, are you okay?"
A young man's voice sounded beside him. Raiden Ryoma turned and saw a white-haired youth sitting next to him.
"You seem to have had quite a bit to drink already. Any more could be dangerous."
"...Thanks for the concern. But just for today, only today remains... I want to get drunk one last time."
Perhaps because he was already somewhat intoxicated, Raiden Ryoma didn't clam up due to the stranger's presence; instead, he became rather talkative.
"My wife left me today. Left me because of incurable cancer. I feel like I've lost everything... Can you understand the pain of losing the one you love forever, kid? Anyway, at that moment, I felt an intense suffocation. I couldn't even breathe."
"If it weren't for the fact that I still have a daughter, I might have chosen to leave this world with her right then... But I can't be that selfish. I still have a daughter. I'm still a father, not just a husband."
"...I know an old man," Xin Yu began slowly. "His wife passed away a long time ago, leaving him with two sons. He raised both sons to adulthood and never remarried, not once. Even when he grew old and lonely, he had no regrets because he deeply loved his wife."
"And just yesterday, I witnessed something else. Two people, also once deeply in love, from high school through adulthood, ended up only tormenting each other. Their love seemed to have vanished long ago, leaving only betrayal, only tears."
"Love is like that," the stall owner interjected, wiping his hands. "Sometimes it's fleeting, like brilliant fireworks – bang! – exploding, leaving behind a beautiful memory, then quickly fading. But sometimes, it's truly long-lasting. So long that even when you're old, you can still recall the smile your loved one had when you first met..."
A drunken young man, a middle-aged uncle cooking Oden, and a somewhat clueless youth – the three began chatting aimlessly. Eventually, the young man got completely drunk and slumped over the table.
"Sigh! Young man," the stall owner said, "we chatted for a bit just now, and you don't seem like a bad person. I can't leave my stall here. If you're willing, could you take my friend home?"
Xin Yu looked at the owner with some surprise. Was he really trusting him, a stranger, so easily and entrusting his drunken friend to him?
As if sensing the youth's surprise, the uncle just smiled faintly and wiped his hands again. "I've been running this stall for over ten years. I've met countless people in that time. What kind of person you are? I can tell just by chatting a bit."
"Sorry to trouble you. This meal's on me."
Xin Yu nodded, helped the drunken young man up, and followed the owner's directions towards the man's nearby home.
But something feels a bit strange, Xin Yu thought. I've walked this way before, haven't I? Why does it feel somewhat unfamiliar now? Is it just because it's late?
Arriving at the young man's house, Xin Yu found the key on him, opened the door, and went inside. He saw a small girl curled up on the living room sofa.
Hearing the noise at the door, the girl stirred as if waking from a daze. She then saw her father being supported inside by someone.
"Daddy..." the girl called out, sounding scared and uncertain.
Xin Yu placed the drunken young father on the sofa. He then looked at the girl standing there, lost and frightened. Noticing her slightly thin clothes, he took off his own outer jacket, draped it over the girl's shoulders, and smiled gently. "It's alright. Your daddy, he's just fallen asleep."
"...Is it like Mommy?"
"... "
Dude, Xin Yu thought, I know you're heartbroken, but couldn't you have at least put your daughter to bed before getting plastered?
Xin Yu picked up the little girl and carried her to the window. He took off his cross pendant and transformed it into a telescope.
He held the telescope to the girl's eyes, letting her look up at the star-filled sky.
"Child, when you miss your mother, just look up at the sky. Every one of those countless shining stars represents someone's longing for their loved ones. Among them, there is surely your mother's longing for you..."
"She loves you; how could she truly bear to leave you forever? So, she's just found a different way to stay by your side..."
"Heihēi de tiānkōng dī chuí, liàng liàng de fánxīng xiāng suí, chóng er fēi, chóng er fēi, nǐ zài sīniàn shuí~"
(Dark, dark sky hangs low, bright, bright stars follow close, bugs fly, bugs fly, who are you missing so~)
Xin Yu gently patted the girl's back, softly singing a nursery rhyme from his memory.
The girl lowered the telescope and looked at the big brother holding her. Hearing the pleasant song, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she drifted off to sleep.
Even in sleep, the girl's hand tightly gripped Xin Yu's collar, as if clinging to warmth...
Xin Yu carried the sleeping girl and found her room. He carefully loosened her grip on his clothes, placed her on the bed, and gently tucked her in.
"Your mother will stay with you..."
After all, you are both in this world.
Xin Yu went downstairs and looked at the young man who was dead drunk, completely unconscious now. He sighed helplessly, hoisted the man up as well, carried him to his room, helped him take off his shoes, and covered him with a blanket.
"Have sweet dreams, young father."
Humming the nursery rhyme from his memory, Xin Yu left the house. Another day of doing good deeds.
Although he got slightly lost again on the way back and it took some time to get home, these were minor issues, not worth mentioning.
And at that moment, Raiden Mei, deep in her slumber, suddenly opened her eyes.