Shi Wu is alive.

Miss Qi has not changed, not at all. She may have suffered a lot of injuries during this long time, but Shi Wuqi has always been able to restore her to her original state. As for him, nothing has changed...... At least in appearance. The long black hair was as smooth and supple as a black cat's fur, maybe it was longer, or maybe it wasn't. He leaned back in a chair with a backrest, and next to him lay a candlestick, an empty cup. He clasped the fan next to the cup in an old-fashioned gesture that gave them the same feeling as before.

A few months is not a long time, but this brief parting gives them the illusion of a world away. Everyone else walked into the house, and there seemed to be an invisible wall behind Shanhai, and none of them stepped forward. Mu Wan even had an illusion: Is this really Shi Wuqi himself?

Shan Hai's cold gaze searched between his brows, trying to find something unfamiliar with him, in order to find traces of Shi Wuqi's life alone—Miss Qi could not be counted as a companion. In particular, he remembered that Kapok had clearly said that the two men "came from hell". And the Futou River is the place where the three roads meet. Although with his character, it is normal to make such a joke that is not of a standard, but Rin Yamakai still hopes to find out the part that is not a lie.

Frivolity, or rather cynicism, and so on, is less of a feeling, and nothing else. But the most striking thing is his eyes. There was a strange sense of light in his dark golden pupils, as if there was a slow flow of brown gold sand. Shanhai didn't know if others could see such a phenomenon - Shi Wuqi's eyes were like fluids, even if he didn't make other movements, and there was no slight side of his face, they could still refract psychedelic streamers. He didn't dare to look at it for too long, always feeling that there was something in it that he couldn't see through.

"You have fire in your eyes."

That's what Dai Luan said. Mu Wan didn't seem to see anything.

Shanhai suddenly realized that her description was more appropriate, but the light in his eyes burned slowly. Then he understood that he should compare this texture to lava. He'd dealt with a youkai before, able to melt stones, and the red and black liquid glowed with a terrifying golden glow that made people look chilled.

"Really?"

Shi Wuqi placed his left hand on his lower eyelid, his confusion visceral. Maybe he hadn't looked his eyes closely. Then, he stood up, and Yamakai noticed that his gaze would move back when he got up. It was a state of high alertness, or possibly a habit, which he didn't have in the past. Shi Wuqi took two steps forward, with the kind of smile that could not be called "old and cunning". It's all the same as it used to be. Strange things, they no one felt kind. Now he is not a stranger, and he does not feel strange to anyone, but he ...... Not so kind.

This may have more to do with the recent experience of the three of them, and the relationship between them has deepened, but Shi Wuqi is not included in this, so they feel alienated. It was too late to notice this, and both Shanhai and Mu Wan subconsciously took a step back. Soon, they realized that this was wrong and looked apologetic.

Shi Wuqi's smile seemed to stiffen for a moment. But he still stretched out his arms. Dai Luan ran forward and hugged him gently. It made them all feel a strange warmth, and the night was not so cold.

The more actions without abandonment, the more a "flaw" can be exposed. This is not some kind of weakness, but an inherent characteristic that cannot be disguised. More sensitive, more mature, more ...... Hoary.

He didn't really want to use that word. Shi Wuqi's appearance did not change, and there was not a trace of fine lines on his face in the firelight. It was a change in temperament, as if it had been more than a few months since he left them.

Subsequent conversations corroborated his view.

"I don't know how long it has been...... "Wu Qi said slowly in the faint candlelight, "there is no concept of time. Maybe five years, maybe ten years. ”

His movement to lower the glass was light, and there was no sound at all. This stems from the prudence he has cultivated. Kapok handed the kettle to Miss Qi, and she refilled another cup. She still didn't feel anything about the temperature, but Kapok didn't seem to notice.

"The flow of time is chaotic. The passage of time is irreversible, and the six paths of impermanence can circumvent the places that cause errors. I probably can't, I can't even judge. I was trapped with Seven for a long time. At first, I kept looking for a way back, and I became more and more impatient, and this unspeakable loneliness was maddening—no one listened to you. ”

Shan Hai was well aware that what he was saying could only be the truth. He may have been trapped with Miss Qi for a longer time, even more than ten years. There was no resentment in him, no restlessness, no anger, no restlessness when he broke away from the collective. Some are just some kind of unspeakable indifference, detachment, and meaninglessness. It seems that after going through hell, everything in the world is meaningless. Especially those eyes that seem to see through everything, can make him show his temperament of being out of the world for a long time.

Time, time strips everything. Time consumes redundant negative feelings and sculpts a person pure. Stripped of the shell derived from all emotions, the current Lord of the Hundred Bones is more real.

It's like...... He was born there.

Suddenly, Mu Wan pulled out his umbrella in the electric light and flint, and stabbed straight past the others in front of Shi Wuqi. All this was unprepared, and Shanhai and Dai Luan felt a tingle in the skin of her umbrella and body. Turning her head again, Shi Wuqi's closed fan pinched the tip of her umbrella precisely, right in front of her eyebrows. The fan almost touched his forehead. All of this was done with one hand, and his body didn't move at all.

"Hey, what are you doing here!" Kapok was a little nervous and persuaded to the left and right. She looked at Miss Qi, but she didn't make any moves, and she was always so confident in Shi Wuqi's strength.

"You ......" Mu Wan tried to pull out the umbrella, but it was clamped very tightly, and she took it back without giving up the fan, "What have you experienced?" ”

"What the hell did I go through?" He let out a familiar sneer, "Who knows." ”

This calmness makes people feel a strange sense of shame. Mu Wan put away the umbrella and sat back.

"You've surprised me. Your movements are faster and more accurate than before. Wu Qi continued, "What is it that makes you progress so fast?" ”

Both the master and apprentice looked at Kapok, and she was a little overwhelmed. But this gaze had no other meaning, they just felt that they should not set their eyes on any of the other two. That's rude.

"I ...... Something was cut off. Her tone was lighthearted, "After losing them, my body is lighter." They don't drag me down anymore. ”

"But you've got something more, too. What's going on with the glow on the back of your neck? ”

"Glow?"

She subconsciously touched it, and there was an illusion that the local skin was getting hot, just an illusion. Now, everyone else looked at her. She was the same as ever, nothing had changed, and no light had spilled from under her long hair. Shi Wuqi smiled tiredly.

"I see that you are used to this, and I don't think you can see it."

"That's ...... It was a special kind of fire. Shanhai tried to explain.

"It's the fire of the Immortal Moon Lord."

Mu Wan's directness made Shanhai stop speaking, and she was willing to say it herself. Shi Wuqi's eyes widened slightly, a little surprised, but then showed an expected expression.

"Hellfire...... In Hell Road, I also get something. ”

As he spoke, he stretched out two fingers and easily snuffed out the candlelight. The room was immediately plunged into darkness and was unexpected. In the darkness, someone snapped his fingers, and the room was bright again. A flash of fire burned in Shi Wuyi's fingertips. He moved the flame back to the lamp, and everything was back to its original state.

"What does hell look like?"

This is a somewhat childish question, and it was asked by Dai Luan. But before Shi Wuqi could speak, Kapok interrupted him.

"I asked too. He said there was nothing special, it was better than the human world. ”

"It's better than the human world." Wurenqi repeated.

"Is that all?" Dai Luan was unwilling, "There is no oil pot, what fire, what ghost who stabs people with a fork?" ”

"Poof...... No, neither. That's all a trick in the book. But...... I don't think anyone will like it. By the way, why are you here? ”

Mu Wan asked him, "Why didn't you leave?" ”

Why didn't you look for us?

"I knew you were coming."

"Then why are you asking this question?"

The confrontation between the two was as aggressive as ever, which made Shan Hai feel strangely relieved. He intervened in the dispute as he had always done.

"We're here to find Ruyue-kun. Because of something...... We'll tell you slowly. ”

"Ruyue-kun?" Shi Wuqi raised an eyebrow, "I know." Here she is. She and Kanna-kun are here. Kami-no-kun only told me not to leave in a hurry...... If it weren't for him, I might still be eating ashes in hell. But that guy is not likable, and he always has a stinky face like a mountain and a sea. ”

"Do I have ......?"

"Okay, you don't."

"Ruyue-kun here?" Dai Luan asked anxiously.

"Yes."

"Two impermanence?" Shanhai couldn't help frowning, "Is there anything going on in this place?" ”

Shi Wuqi shrugged his shoulders indifferently and said to them, "I'll take you to meet tomorrow." It's a bit complicated and can't be explained. ”

The night went by quickly. In addition, they successively explained to each other some of the things that had happened. If it is not mixed with personal feelings, it does not take time to simply report the matter itself. They were as natural as they had been exchanging information before, as if he had never left. In the same way, he is not silent about what he has experienced, but it is also highly generalized, and this is as shrouded in a layer of plausibility as he has always been.

The actual sleep time was not too long, it was still late in the morning, but it was already faster than before.

Mu Wan urged him to hurry up and take them to find someone, but Wu Qi said that she was always so impatient, but this did not change. But he was still slow and leisurely, not in a hurry at all. I didn't take them out until noon. He went out into the courtyard and pointed to the dry well.

"Well, just jump."

Dai Luan felt that this scene was familiar.

"Again?"

"Lie to you I have candy to eat?"

Shanhai didn't speak, but took the compass closer. He looked at it for a long time and just said:

"It's not a dry well. There's water down there. Could it be that it's a dark river again? ”

"Ah, it's not quite the same. It was supposed to be shallow, but I connected it to the groundwater. Groundwater is the degree to which the roots of the kapok tree can touch. It is clean, but flows into the Burial Head River. It's also a form of spiritual vein, but as a 'gate', it's much wider. Underground is the real realm of life and death. ”

Mu Wan lowered his head and looked down at the bottom of the well. The well was dark and deep, and it didn't reflect any light. When she leaned her ears, she did hear some faint sounds, I don't know if it was the sound of water, because it was too far away. Dai Luan yelled into the well, but there was no response, maybe the sound was really absorbed by the water.

"Do you want to jump?" Wu Qi smiled playfully, "It's okay to help you." ”