Up to now, I've seen quite a few corpses, and of course, I can tell the difference between "sleeping like they're dead" and "dying as if asleep." Though Zhu Jiu lay motionless, her complexion was rosy, and her breathing was steady. She had the warmth of a living person, and you could hear the sound of her heartbeat. She was undeniably alive.

Zhu Shi and Mr. Zhu both breathed a huge sigh of relief. I wasn't sure if I should feel disappointed. A normal sense of morality told me that I should be congratulating the fact that my friend's mother was still alive. Though I wasn't one to strictly conform to normal moral standards, I couldn't help but feel ashamed of my dark thoughts and knew that it wasn't the right time to let such feelings spoil the mood.

We all stepped forward together, gathering around Zhu Jiu's bedside. There was a complex look in Little Bowl's eyes as she looked down at Zhu Jiu's face, seemingly bewildered.

"Little Bowl... is it?" Mr. Zhu cautiously addressed her, "Since you are now... using my daughter's soul, then if you touch her body..."

In some ghost stories related to out-of-body experiences, people who are seriously ill or have undergone near-death experiences may see their own bodies in a state of coma from an outside perspective while their soul exits the body. However, if they make direct contact with their body, the soul might be sucked back into its physical shell.

There are similar records among Luo Mountain's many documents. Even though Little Bowl seems to freely interact with physical matter, she remains a spectral soul body. Unlike a wandering ghost, as I've observed, there is a spiritual connection between Little Bowl and the nearby body of Zhu Jiu. It might really be possible for her to use that body as a vessel, like putting on clothes.

Looking at Zhu Jiu's youthful face on the bed, resembling Sister Zhu Shi, I imagined Little Bowl standing before me with Zhu Jiu's appearance, sweetly calling me "Brother Zhuang Cheng," feeling an incongruous sense.

Little Bowl pondered slightly and then reached out to gently caress Zhu Jiu's cheek.

Zhu Shi watched Little Bowl anxiously.

A faint, ethereal glow appeared around Little Bowl's body, but soon this glow dimmed and disappeared, reminiscent of a home appliance that fails to start due to a power shortage.

She did not automatically enter Zhu Jiu's body.

Under Zhu Shi's puzzled gaze, Little Bowl said something seemingly out of nowhere, "...I see."

"What do you understand?" I asked.

"I have the instinct to return to this body, and I can feel it wants to draw me in," Little Bowl said, "But for now, I'm an entity different from this body. Just like puzzle pieces that can't fit into a differently shaped gap, I can't smoothly enter this body.

"Of course, if using techniques like the Summoning Technique to forcefully embed myself into it, like an evil spirit possession, that's another matter entirely... But that would just be making Zhu Jiu's body move, not truly bringing Zhu Jiu back."

Mr. Zhu suddenly asked, "What about using the Power of Return? If using Mazao's Power of Return, can it bring her soul back?"

"That's still impossible," Little Bowl shook her head. "Long ago, Sister Mazao once reset me with the Power of Return. That was when we first met, and she saved me from near Sin demonization...

"Because Zhu Jiu and the child Zhu Shi both had the obsession to make Zhu Shi happy, an error occurred at that time, and I emerged as I am now after the restoration. If Sister Mazao had already known about this deviating factor back then, she might have eliminated all errors during the repair process and successfully restored Zhu Jiu, but it's too late now.

"The Power of Heavenly Phenomena automatically maintains my existence, and the Power of Return can no longer eliminate this malfunction. Despite Sister Mazao's power, because my Right Positioning Heavenly Phenomena was strengthened by the Power of Divine Seal Fragments.

"Also, even if Sister Mazao had a way to return to the moment we met, it wouldn't help. The power of the Divine Seal Fragments would correct all factors that would possibly 'change history' affecting the 'current Void Envoy.' This is the same principle as the history caused by the human god... and Impermanence cannot be altered.

"There are two methods I can think of to turn me back into Zhu Jiu.

"One method is to first have Sister Mazao become Impermanence, then use the power reaching the Divine Domain's Return to forcibly suppress my Power of Heavenly Phenomena. With the power of Impermanence, even the Power of Divine Seal Fragments would become less absolute."

Mazao remained silent.

Even if she did become Impermanence, it wouldn't be possible to forcibly restore Little Bowl to Zhu Jiu, which would be tantamount to killing Little Bowl.

There wasn't that strong a connection between her and Zhu Jiu.

"Then... what about the other method?" Zhu Shi asked.

Upon hearing this question, Little Bowl looked at Zhu Shi and, for some reason, fell silent, as if contemplating something.

She gazed at Zhu Shi for a long time before suddenly revealing a faint smile.

"Jiuxing, could you come over to my side?" she said softly.

Hearing this, Zhu Shi froze, seeming involuntarily to take a step back. Mr. Zhu also froze, looking at Little Bowl with a suspicious gaze.

"What... what?" Zhu Shi stammered.

"I want to take a good look at you," Little Bowl said.

Zhu Shi became flustered, glancing between Little Bowl and Zhu Jiu who was lying on the bed, as if trying hard to discern something.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Zhu Shi asked, bewildered.

I also raised a question: "Little Bowl, are you sure it's okay for you to come into contact with Zhu Shi?"

In the past, Lu Youxun came into contact with the National First-class Demon Hunter Medal, which he had abandoned along with his dream, and thus transformed back into Lu Chan. The dream avatar of Lu Chan completely disappeared as a result. If Little Bowl came into contact with Zhu Shi, who knows what might happen.

But Little Bowl just shook her head and said, "It's fine."

Then, Little Bowl looked at Zhu Shi again and remained silent, seemingly waiting for Zhu Shi to walk over. After a moment, Zhu Shi swallowed hard, gathered her courage, and walked up to Little Bowl.

Little Bowl tilted her head up to look at Zhu Shi, gesturing with her hand for her to come closer. Zhu Shi hesitated, then slightly bent her waist. Little Bowl gestured again, and Zhu Shi had no choice but to crouch down, making her line of sight lower than Little Bowl's.

At this, Little Bowl was finally satisfied. She first stretched out her left hand, slowly and gently, using her small palm to caress Zhu Shi's cheek.

At first, Zhu Shi seemed a bit resistant, wanting to turn her head away, but she restrained herself. Then, Little Bowl extended her right hand, caressing Zhu Shi's cheeks as if holding a treasure. Both hands slowly moved, and she began to comb through Zhu Shi's hair with her fingers, the fine and silky strands flowing smoothly like a dark waterfall.

Zhu Shi's expression gradually relaxed as she gazed into Little Bowl's eyes, and Little Bowl focused intently on hers. She seemed entranced, leaning forward slightly, as if wanting to embrace Little Bowl.

Little Bowl's hands returned to Zhu Shi's cheeks, gently stroking her eye sockets with the pads of her fingers, looking into those eyes imbued with the power of Buzhou Mountain.

Not long ago, Little Bowl told me that only by seeing Zhu Shi with her own eyes, talking to her, and touching her can she truly know if she wants to fulfill her innate mission.

And now, she seemed to have found that answer.

"Jiuxing, your eyes have become so strong," Little Bowl murmured, "To become so strong, you must have gone through a lot of hardships."

Tears suddenly welled up in Zhu Shi's eyes, and she hugged Little Bowl tightly. Little Bowl hugged her back, patting her back lightly as if handling a child.

"...There's another way, which is to resolve my obsession," Little Bowl then addressed us, "I not only want to make Sister Mazao happy, but I also want to make Jiuxing happy. Just like in her childhood dreams, to be with someone she loves, to enter the hall of marriage, and to live a peaceful and beautiful life.

"Once I complete all of my missions, there's no need for the Power of Return, Zhu Jiu will return. Through the spiritual connection, she will return to this body. And I will naturally exit, like a dream finally awakened."

Mazao wavered for a moment: "But..."

"...But, isn't this somewhat contradictory?"

Mr. Zhu seemed unsure of how to address Little Bowl, ultimately settling at a distance neither too close nor too far, and continued, "My granddaughter doesn't have romantic feelings. Whether she marries or not is one thing, but I don't believe she could truly fall in love with someone. That kind of thing was never realistic from the beginning.

"If you want her romantic feelings to return, you must first dissolve your own existence; and if you want to dissolve your own existence, you first have to let her fall in love... Isn't this a vicious cycle?"

"It won't turn out that way," Little Bowl said, "The person responsible for making the judgment isn't Jiuxing herself, but me. As long as I feel that Jiuxing's life is as happy as she hoped it would be in her childhood, then it's acceptable.

"Don't worry, I won't take shortcuts in this regard. Because I was born for this purpose, it is the reason for my existence."

Who knows how much Zhu Shi heard of the conversation between the two, she just buried her face in Little Bowl's hair that hung over the shoulder, and after a moment, as if in a dreamlike state, she murmured, "...Mama."

"I'm not your mama yet," Little Bowl said.

"Mama," Zhu Shi insisted.

Little Bowl helplessly said, "Alright, alright... I'm your mama, your mama."

Zhu Shi held Little Bowl's small body, unable to stop crying. Little Bowl, like a mother, used her hands to embrace her, stroking her hair, with an expression of tender affection on her young face.

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