Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 167

"She..." Xiangzi was speechless at the question.

Chu Hua doesn't have a skirt. Shall we chat about the two children's furniture?

No, it was precisely because Chu Hua had told them why she didn't go home that Xiangzi couldn't bring himself to say it now.

I'm afraid to go back. I'm afraid I've become different from before, that people won't accept me, and that I won't be able to accept my backward hometown.

These were Chu Hua's original words at the time.

When faced with Mio's questioning, Shoko felt for the first time the same turmoil that Hatsuka felt when she said those words—a tangled mess of blood vessels, nerves, and muscle fibers.

Xiangzi sighed.

"She really wants to go home... It's better to let her tell us the specific reasons herself."

This is Chu Hua's own business.

Just as no matter how many helpers she sought, Xiangzi himself had to solve the final rebirth, Xiangzi could only offer limited assistance with Chuhua's own problems.

If the message is conveyed through Xiangzi's mouth, then it becomes an excuse for escaping.

"I will. That's why I'm leading the way for you." Mio pouted and quickened her pace.

"Um, Mio," Shoko caught up with Mio, "may I ask that question now?"

"explain."

"I'd like to ask, have you heard the story of the sea witch?"

Mio stopped in her tracks.

"Of course I've heard the story of the sea witch. Aunt Lin told it to me and Chu Hua. It's a story that only Chu Hua and I have heard."

She turned around, looked at Xiangzi, and slowly asked.

"What, did Chu Hua tell you this story?"

========

"What exactly is the story of the Sea Witch, Chu Huahua?"

"It's just a very ordinary story used to scare children, like the boy who cried wolf or the kappa." Chu Hua shook her head. "There's nothing particularly noteworthy about it."

"Is it the sea witch from The Little Mermaid? The one who's ugly and can make a potion that can make the Little Mermaid grow legs?"

"No, my mother said that the sea witch is very beautiful, beautiful enough to bewitch those with weak hearts."

"That's like the siren, but the siren uses her song to seduce passing travelers, while the sea witch only needs a face?"

"Maybe so. I don't really remember the story, except for the part about eating children."

"Hey, so this story is more than just that."

"I think so, but I don't remember."

Chu Hua didn't really want to continue this topic. She raised her high-powered flashlight, shone it around left and right, and turned to the group behind her.

"Everyone, stay close and don't fall behind!"

"Let's take a short break; those carrying the equipment are getting tired," the director said.

To reshoot the sinkhole scenes, the filming time was much later than expected. They were carrying heavy equipment, so they had to work overtime and walk at night. They are now in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.

The way back was completely dark, and the rustling of the wind kept Chu Hua on edge.

She began to regret agreeing to let the director reshoot the scenes.

They shouldn't have even agreed to let them come to the island to film. They might miss the scenery, but they only have one life... If anything happens to them, it's their own responsibility.

Chu Hua swallowed hard.

However, nothing unusual has happened since they arrived on the island, so perhaps Xiangzi is just overthinking things.

Hopefully, Xiangzi is overthinking it.

Chu Hua prayed silently.

"Okay, I'll just have some water." Chu Hua nodded. "If you want to rest, it's best to go aboard the ship."

"Mana, go to the back of the line and take a look. I'm a little worried."

"Okay." Mana gave an OK sign and walked to the back of the line.

Unable to suppress her insecurity, Chu Hua raised her flashlight and counted the number of people following behind her.

One, two, three, four, five, six...

After counting them one by one, everyone was still there.

That's good.

Chu Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

"Has everyone had enough rest? If so..."

Rustling.

A series of footsteps came from behind Chu Hua without warning.

Chu Hua stopped counting. The footsteps weren't those of anyone in the group, because everyone was now in Chu Hua's sight.

With her free hand grasping the Soul Gem, Chu Hua silently completed her transformation.

She gripped the sword tightly, her muscles tense to the extreme.

Because, along with the sound of footsteps came a strong, pungent smell of fish.

"Chu Hua." The person behind me opened his mouth, his rough baritone voice mixed with bubbly sounds, "You're back."

Chu Hua's pupils shrank to their smallest size in an instant, and her heart was struck heavily by that voice.

She recognized the voice.

"It's been so long since we last met, why don't you give Daddy a hug?"

The voice urged her to turn around.

"Or is it that you don't like the smell of your father?"

It’s dad.

Dad knew he was back.

Chu Hua bit her lip, her teeth piercing it, her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood.

Chu Hua said emotionally, "I want to look back at my father. After all, I haven't been back for so long."

However, the rational mind within her was constantly sending out warning signals, repeatedly telling her...

Don't look back.

The Lost Tale: Youthful Spirit - Chapter 204 Traveling by Land

"The forest is just beyond the pile of rocks."

Mio walked to the end of the pile of rocks and patted the tree closest to her.

Beside this tree, there is a path worn into the depths of the forest.

“No one usually travels this road, but it goes around the village. If it were Chu Hua, she would definitely come out from here.”

"Then let's move on."

Xiangzi nodded and was about to take a step, but before his feet could touch the ground, he was stopped by Mio's hand.

"I don't recommend you go in. Just wait here for Chu Hua to come out with the people," Mio said.

"Why?" Xiangzi tilted his head.

"It's getting dark, the road is hard to find, and you might miss it. Why don't you wait here?"

Mio shrugged.

"Of course, I have no objection if you want to go in yourselves, but I won't lead the way anymore."

"...Is it because of danger?"

“Yes, you have to be very careful to survive on an island like this, since there are monsters everywhere.” Mio crossed her arms and leaned against a tree trunk. “I haven’t been into the forest once since I discovered they turned into monsters. It’s really too dangerous.”

Without someone to guide you, entering the forest is like being a headless fly; you won't even know where to go, and you might just miss your way.

Indeed, Mio makes a good point; it's better to wait at the exit.

Xiangzi thought for a moment, exchanged glances with the people behind him, and then said:

"Let's do it your way."

Mio nodded in satisfaction, then used her hands, which were behind her back, to brace herself against the tree trunk and push her back into the pile of rocks submerged in seawater.

She wasn't wearing shoes; she was barefoot in the water, feeling the cool seawater go up to her ankles.

There was a time when she would walk along the beach like this with her family.

"How could they suddenly become like this? Although they are usually talkative, stubborn, troublesome, and annoying, they shouldn't be like this."

Mio suddenly said.

She pursed her lips, put her hands behind her back, and gazed at the waves churning in the moonlight.

Since falling out with my family, we haven't walked together on the beach again, and even if I wanted to in the future, it would be impossible.

"No, even the dead should become monsters."

Xiangzi and his group stood aside, watching the girl by the sea looking melancholy under the moon.

Mio turned around and looked at them with a confused expression.

"Or would it be easier to live like them, giving your whole heart and soul to something that doesn't belong to you, without having to think about anything?"

“If that’s the case, then perhaps it can no longer be called ‘living’,” Hailing said.

“Maybe we can get rid of it.” Miao Meng shrugged and spread her hands. “That kind of thing is just a walking corpse.”

"People from the city really do make a lot of sense," Mio shook her head and turned back to look at the sea.

Xiangzi silently watched her retreating figure.

It's unclear what Mio meant by that statement—whether she agreed or disagreed, but she offered no reason to refute it. I guess only Mio herself knows the answer.

Although they had only known each other for a short time, Xiangzi had already made a deep impression on this unique girl.

They yearn for the outside world, yet cannot bear to part with their narrow and remote hometown that causes them pain.

She would be jealous of Chu Hua for "escaping," complaining that she didn't come back when she needed her most, and worrying about her. She would use the excuse of "I want to confront her face to face" to lead the way to meet up with Chu Hua.

Aside from the fact that a person can survive in such an environment for several months,

Surprisingly, he's a very ordinary person.

Just as Xiangzi was thinking about some random things.

hum-

That wave returned, passing through Xiangzi's body and resonating with the seeds of sorrow.

The restless seeds of lamentation tried to expel her from her body.

It wasn't the pain that emanated from the body, but from the soul, that gave Xiangzi an anxiety of wanting to scratch at it but being unable to.

Xiangzi bit her tongue hard, enduring the stinging pain for a moment. This was the only clumsy way she could create pain that her body could feel, in order to distract herself a little.

She was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief after the stinging pain subsided.

“This is the fourth time.”

Xiangzi murmured.

"The first time was at sunset, at the planetarium on the mountaintop, around 6:30," Xiangzi recalled, counting on his fingers. "The second time was in a cave, around 6:40. The third time was at 7:00, on the road. It's 7:15 now, so this is the fourth time..."

This fluctuation, which can resonate with the Seed of Lamentation, occurs approximately every fifteen minutes.

Without careful timing, it's unknown whether there's a trend of gradual acceleration.

However, this time the pain was much more severe than the previous three times. The Seed of Nirvana's Lamentation struggled even more fiercely within the Soul Gem, as if it had received a call from the source of the fluctuation and wanted to approach that source.

"Qiubi, are you there?" Xiangzi whispered.