T/N: Heya~ Just want to say a Huge shoutout to Starhero619 for supporting me, really appreciate it!
Chapter 30
When the spaceship reached the preset coordinates and the hatch opened, Ruan Mei stood at the top of the gangway, looking down at the snowy landscape below. She suddenly froze.
Returning to this place after several Amber Eras, she had assumed her old home would no longer exist.
Ordinary buildings left unoccupied and unmaintained could not withstand the erosion of time.
Yet the house was still standing.
It stood quietly amid the wind and snow, clearly visible from above.
Not far away was a bamboo house.
After double-checking the coordinates on the delivery address, Ruan Mei confirmed that the bamboo house was where Tomomu Kanzaki now lived.
He had not moved into her house… hm?
That was…
Through the drifting curtain of snow, Ruan Mei's gaze locked onto a moving figure in the courtyard.
Even though six hundred years had passed since she last saw him, and even though from this distance the figure was only a small black dot, she recognized him at once.
It was her student, Tomomu Kanzaki.
The spaceship began its steady descent.
The lower it flew, the more details became clear.
She noticed that the mountain path extending from the Moon-Crossing River toward her house remained strikingly visible even under the snow and ice.
The cut ends of the tall trees lining the path still showed clear pruning marks.
Had Tomomu Kanzaki been maintaining it?
The spaceship finally landed on an open patch of ground not far from the house entrance.
The moment her feet touched the familiar soil again, a faint ripple finally crossed Ruan Mei's usually calm and refined face.
Without realizing it, several Amber Eras had passed.
Yet she still had not achieved the goal she had set long ago — to bring back the family members who loved her, and whom she loved.
Ruan Mei stopped in front of the house door.
"Energy lock?"
She sensed the special barrier enveloping the entire residence. It was currently inactive.
There was no need to guess. This too was undoubtedly the work of her student.
She stepped across the threshold and looked around at the familiar layout inside. Memories that time had blurred slowly became clear again.
She heard the sound of snow being swept in the back courtyard.
Ruan Mei did not call out. She walked naturally along the sandalwood corridor until she saw the familiar figure.
"A…"
The word "Kan" never left her lips. A trace of confusion crossed her face.
That was not her student, Tomomu Kanzaki.
The reason it felt familiar was because, for nearly six hundred years, an identical figure had accompanied her every day, taking the place of the student who had left and caring for her daily needs.
At the same moment Ruan Mei began to speak, the mechanical doll turned around.
Their eyes met, but the gazes were completely different.
"Lady Ruan Mei, greetings. After several hundred years, you have finally returned."
Ruan Mei saw no scanning traces in the doll's eyes. The moment it saw her, it had completed the identity verification.
"I am a creation of Tomomu Kanzaki. I am a mechanical doll powered by his memories and operating according to primary directives."
"Hm."
Ruan Mei was not surprised.
Although she had never taught him how to build mechanical dolls, he had seen the original design blueprints. It was not strange that he could make one.
Having a doll around could save a great deal of unnecessary time.
"Where is A-Kan?"
Like Yu Qingtu back then, Ruan Mei still had not realized anything yet.
Her expression remained calm as she asked about her student's whereabouts using the affectionate nickname she had always used for him. She never expected—
The doll's next words would instantly shatter the calm she had maintained for hundreds of years.
"Lady Ruan Mei, Tomomu Kanzaki passed away nearly 489 years ago."
"…"
What had it just said?
Ruan Mei stood frozen in the courtyard. An emotion she had never shown before gradually filled her eyes.
It said… A-Kan was dead?
…Impossible!
Passed away nearly 489 years ago… 489…
Thinking of a certain possibility, Ruan Mei suddenly lost her composure.
When Tomomu Kanzaki completed his apprenticeship he was 64 years old. She had confirmed his natural lifespan back then — he could live to 175.
The day his lifespan ended would be exactly 111 years after he completed his apprenticeship. Adding the number 489… it came to 600.
In other words, he had never used any method to extend his life!
"Why… why did even you have to betray me…"
Ruan Mei murmured softly. A shadow fell across her face.
"I told you we would meet again after the research was finished. Why didn't you listen…?"
Ruan Mei instinctively searched for some reason that could explain Tomomu Kanzaki's actions.
Perhaps… it had been an accident?
The chaos in her heart still clung to one last faint hope.
"A-Kan died in an accident, didn't he? Tell me. Who did it?"
Ruan Mei stared fixedly at the doll.
The doll did not have an emotion simulation system. When Ruan Mei asked, it answered in a tone completely devoid of feeling.
"Tomomu Kanzaki did not die in an accident. He passed away naturally when his lifespan reached its limit. Based on emotional readings, the conclusion is that he left this world peacefully and calmly."
"…"
Ruan Mei unconsciously took a step back, her footing almost unsteady.
At that moment, the doll stepped forward and performed an action almost identical to the one it had shown Yu Qingtu many years ago.
It opened its chest compartment, reached inside the folding space, and took out a preservation box.
"This is the only item Tomomu Kanzaki left for you before his passing. Unfortunately, its shelf life was only 150 years."
Ruan Mei's gaze fell on the opened preservation box.
Inside was a single plate of a familiar-looking pastry.
From the appearance, it showed no signs of spoilage.
She took the box, picked up a piece, and brought it close to her nose.
The crisp, distinctive fragrance of plum blossoms was still strong. It did not smell spoiled at all.
But at this moment, she had no mood to taste it, nor any desire to examine it further.
"What else did A-Kan say…?"
"He said nothing else."
Hearing this, Ruan Mei unconsciously pressed her lips together. A flash of disappointment crossed her face — one she herself did not notice.
She had wanted to ask why he had left without even a single word for his teacher.
But then she remembered — she had been the one who told him not to disturb her anymore.
After he completed his apprenticeship, aside from the plum blossom brew he sent every year, he had never written even one letter.
The remark section on every delivery slip had always been blank.
What right did she have to blame him?
…Wait—
That's right — the plum blossom brew!!!
Ruan Mei remembered that the plum blossom brew had continued to arrive on schedule every year, with the same familiar flavor.
If Tomomu Kanzaki had died many years ago, where had these brews come from?
Several possibilities quickly rose in her mind.
The first and most obvious was that Tomomu Kanzaki was still alive.
But the truth she least wanted to consider was connected to the mechanical doll standing in front of her…
"Tell me. What primary directives did Tomomu Kanzaki set in your core?"
The doll answered:
"1. Regularly tend the plum grove, harvest blossoms, brew wine according to the preset program, and finally send you three years' worth of finished product.
Regularly maintain your house and the bamboo house, performing daily cleaning.
Regularly prune the vegetation on both sides of the mountain path that starts from the Moon-Crossing River and leads to your front door.
Outside of the above scheduled tasks, I will remain in front of your house in alert mode to prevent any situation that could damage the residence."
Each emotionless answer struck Ruan Mei's heart with complicated feelings.
The possibility she had least wanted to believe had turned out to be true.
"Why did Tomomu Kanzaki do this?"
"The database contains no related memories. Unable to answer."
Ruan Mei stood silently in the courtyard, her heart filled with a storm of emotions.
The doll continued in its flat, mechanical voice:
"However, based on the final memory records, Tomomu Kanzaki's last words to me before his passing were:
'If my teacher ever returns… please tell her that her student lived a very good life.'"
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Bonus chapters
200 Stones - 1 chapter
400 Stones - 2 chapter
600 Stones - 3 chapters
And so on
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