Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 431 - 402 Changan Dream Fox

Chapter 431: 402 Changan Dream Fox

Compared to Yinyue’s memory, Changan’s memory is far too small. Although I previously attempted to argue that the length of a memory can’t be the definitive basis for it to be devoured by a larger one, in the battlefield of spirit and consciousness, a vast memory has an undeniable advantage over a small one—that again is undisputable.

Even if the Yinyue side of Changan’s soul has been sealed by me, after all, he once broke the seal placed on him by the Zhu family and was able to roam freely for a while. Perhaps the Changan side has mixed in quite a bit of Yinyue’s hues.

I can’t help but worry, if Changan has memories of Yinyue’s past, will his self-awareness be influenced again, turning into the shape of Yinyue.

Fortunately, Changan gave a negative answer.

"If you’re asking me if I can recall all of Yinyue’s memories... I can’t do it."

Addressing this issue, Changan also turned serious, earnestly explaining: "However, if we’re talking about the memory from when I was captured by that man who looked like he frequents the gym until I was rescued by Ah Cheng... I still remember."

"The man who looks like he often goes to the gym..."

Zhu Shi first felt puzzled, then realized: "Oh, you mean Chen Long."

"Speaking of remembering, it’s actually just that I can vaguely recall." Changan continued, "The memory of that time gives me the feeling of having a terribly bad nightmare, one that, after waking up, I can narrate the general story, but can’t recall many details, or even possibly remember them incorrectly.

"If it weren’t for waking up to find myself lying in a place like this, with my sister asking me all sorts of questions, I’d even doubt if that experience truly existed."

Zhu Shi thought for a moment and suddenly said: "Luckily, if you either can’t remember or can’t recall clearly, otherwise you might just be able to recall from a first-person perspective how your biological mother Yinyue gave birth to you, and how she nurtured our biological father from childhood to adulthood and then fell in love and became entwined with him."

"Ah!?"

Changan seemed to only now realize such a terrifying possibility, suddenly becoming greatly shocked, almost to the point of his eyes bulging out.

And while he was immensely shaken, Zhu Shi first looked at him with an insightful gaze for a while, then turned his head towards me and said: "My brother isn’t lying or acting."

"Wait, you were secretly giving me a lie detector test just now?" Changan was startled.

Zhu Shi said irritably: "How could I not test? You scared me just now. It’s a necessary procedure; you just have to endure it."

Perhaps Zhu Shi was conducting lie detection from the moment Changan woke up. That might also be one of the reasons why she needed to be present when Changan awoke. She just hadn’t said it outright, instead claiming that it started now. Maybe revealing the truth would make Changan unhappy, but it was also for his protection.

"Since you know what happened before, many parts that need explanation can be skipped." I said, "I trust you should also be able to deduce that your father, Ying Lingyun... he is our mortal enemy."

"Hmm... I understand." Changan’s face turned dark.

Then, I said directly: "Ying Lingyun is dead, I killed him."

Neither Yinyue nor Changan witnessed Ying Lingyun’s death, and Changan seemed to avoid asking about it, so I broke it outright.

Chang Se’s expression changed, finally letting out a long sigh.

"Do you hate me?" I asked.

Changan shook his head, then said: "After knowing what he did, I no longer have any expectations of him. He committed so many evil deeds, being killed is his own fault.

"If I had the power to stop and kill him, I would probably make the same choice. Ah Cheng, you merely did what I wanted to do.

"Moreover, the reason you did it was to save me, right? If I hated you, that would truly be ungrateful behavior.

"...No, in fact, I also acted ungratefully towards you. Although it’s said Yinyue’s self was controlling me at the time, yet I kept talking about what an illusion it was, how I misjudged you, when you had already done what I dared not to do... I truly deserve death."

As he spoke to this point, he displayed a complex emotion.

"Those are all things of the past," I said.

"But I still have to apologize to you face to face." Changan looked at me, "Ah Cheng... I’m sorry.

"And thank you."

I accepted his apology and thanks head-on without any niceties. Seeing this, he showed a relieved smile.

A moment later, he finally returned to his usual emotional state. Compared to that heavy look, this lighthearted style suits him more.

So I returned to the main topic and continued to inquire: "How are you now, do you feel any abnormal parts? For example, hearing things that aren’t there, or feeling like your consciousness might be replaced by another kind of cognition at any moment?"

"No, everything is normal." Changan also seemed to be carefully sensing his own state, "But..."

Zhu Shi pressed on: "But?"

"I don’t know if it’s related to my state." Changan said, "Before waking up, I had a strange dream."

Hearing this, Zhu Shi’s expression instantly became extremely serious: "What kind of dream?"

I was a beat slower to realize why she was so serious.

The part of Yinyue’s self-awareness was sealed by me into the unconscious realm with a stone necklace, and dreams reflect phenomena from the unconscious realm. Although, after the last consumption, the part of Yinyue’s self-awareness has become too fragmented to form self-awareness, when it comes to whether it should be taken lightly, it definitely should not be.

Perhaps Yinyue’s heart’s remnants can affect Changan through dreams.

"I dreamt that I became a fox with white fur." Changan recalled, "In a dark forest teeming with venomous creatures and fierce beasts, I was constantly evading danger and struggling to survive. My intelligence also seemed to become no different from an animal’s, ignorant, unable to even remember who I was.

"One day, I accidentally wandered outside the forest and saw some humans passing by in laughter. After returning to the lair, I had a dream where I became a human named Zhu Changan, and was eating hotpot harmoniously with a human named Zhuang Cheng and a human named Zhu Shi.

"After that, I, who had no concept of ’self’, suddenly came up with a thought—am I originally just a white-furred fox who dreamt of becoming a human named Zhu Changan; or am I originally Zhu Changan, who just dreamt of becoming a white-furred fox?

"As I pondered this, I came back to my senses and had already awoken in this room."

After speaking, he seemed still somewhat unsatisfied.

The forest filled with poisonous insects and vicious beasts is likely a reference to the Moon Concealing Mountain from long ago, supposedly the origin place of Yinyue. As a demon, Yinyue might indeed have experienced a time when she struggled to survive as an animal in a perilous mountain forest. At the same time, Changan’s description reminded me of the parable of Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly.

Did Yinyue truly have such a dream long ago, which now Changan recalls as a dream? Or was it simply just a dream composed of Multiple consciousness elements?

In Yinyue’s worldview, is she inherently a weak little white-furred fox, who could only become a powerful Yinyue, and now Changan, in the dreams she had?

The demon’s spirit world may be an enigma that I am destined never to uncover.

The thought that the cheerful young man in front of me and that enchanting, wicked demon girl are actually the same individual feels strange in my heart. They might not even be different personalities, but rather different facets of the same personality.

"Changan, are you happy being friends with me?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

Changan first seemed puzzled, then broke into a big smile.

"Very happy!" he said naturally.

I have a feeling that Yinyue won’t wake up for quite a long time.

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