Chapter 319

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Chapter 319: An Old Friend’s Delay of Twenty Years

Bai Wei, once again, stepped into the depths of the underworld.

But it was completely different from the previous scenery.

Inside the depths of the underworld, there were several remarkable sights to behold.

Flowers bloomed.

These unique flowers grew along the poisonous gas of the underworld. The higher the concentration, the more vibrant their colors became, and the denser their growth.

Bai Wei followed it as he walked further inside.

The Underworld labyrinth remained incredibly complex, but each flower that bloomed became a guiding sign.

As Bai Wei continued his journey deeper inside.

With each step, one could feel how much time Rokuro Shimura had spent exploring this mysterious realm.

He was not Bai Wei, lacking both mystery and spatial awareness.

Bai Wei could remember everything after going through it once, but he couldn’t. Rokuro Shimura was just an ordinary person.

He ventured into the mysterious realm, despite the erosion and scatteredness of his mind, time and time again.

Perhaps realizing that he was completely engaging in futile efforts, for ordinary people, this labyrinth changed every day. It wasn’t an ordinary maze, as the curvature of space itself was constantly shifting.

So he wanted to leave marks.

After exploring the realm of the unknown for five years, nobody understood this place better than him.

For the next fifteen years, he continued to plant flowers, cultivating them in the mountains where the gloomy air always hung, year after year.

He was slowly marking the Underworld labyrinth, and wherever there were blooming flowers, it meant that he had explored those areas.

But this place was indeed too vast, and for ordinary people, each time they entered the Underworld labyrinth again, it would bring even greater burden.

Just like climbing a tower, wanting to break a record, he needed to climb from the beginning again. Over time, the burden wore down his spirit.

His mind became increasingly scattered, his spirit grew more and more blurry, yet he always remembered what he had to do.

Until half a year ago, Rokuro Shimura had become completely useless, but even so, he still cherished the idea of planting flowers.

Why?

Because his daughter was here.

Regular people would never dare to try and conquer this Underworld labyrinth all by themselves.

But the father could.

Bai Wei walked for half an hour, intentionally slowing down his pace to a speed even slower than ordinary people. He arrived at the deepest part of the Underworld, taking slow and careful steps.

There were no more flowers ahead.

This is also the farthest distance Rokuro Shimura had walked six months ago.

Bai Wei walked forward and covered a distance of less than fifty meters. Just fifty meters. He saw a lifeless body.

Hitomi Shimura.

She closed her eyes, as if she was just sleeping.

It has been a full twenty years, and because of being constantly immersed in high concentrations of gloomy toxic fog, the body remains preserved in its original state.

"It was just fifty steps away."

Just a distance of fifty steps, yet it felt like a cruel mockery of fate.

He didn’t just stop here, but his limits were reached. When Rokuro Shimura reached this point, his consciousness had been worn away to the point of no longer recognizable. He truly could not continue moving forward, nor did he know what lay ahead if he were to continue.

Bai Wei scooped up Hitomi Shimura in his arms, intending to take her back. Even in an imperfect story, there should be a conclusion.

Once again, stepping through the ethereal realm adorned with blooming flowers, Bai Wei effortlessly made his way out of Sengoku Shrine.

…

The old man sat on the doorstep, looking vacant. He held a flowerpot in his hands, but the flowers inside had long withered.

He stayed in place, gazing at the fiery clouds on the other side of the sky, his eyes vacant and lost in a daze.

Hardly anyone knew what he had been doing and working towards for the past twenty years.

A figure in white approached from the distance, stepping through the dim glow of the evening sun.

"Luckily, I made it in time. It’s not too late."

The young man’s words of making it in time referred to before his last thread of life was severed.

Though it was a faint candlelight, there still remained a chance for it to ignite again.

In the world of storytelling, Bai Wei clenched his fingers together and activated the "Exorcism" spell. However, his target was not Hitomi Shimura, as her soul had already moved on after ascending to a higher level. Instead, it was Rokuro Shimura who Bai Wei directed his spell towards. Rokuro, perhaps, had already passed away long ago, but he was stubbornly holding on, unwilling to embrace death.

The light in the old man’s eyes burned brightly one last time. Suddenly, he stood up, remembering something.

"Flowers, I want to plant more flowers, my daughter, Hitomi…"

Then he lifted his eyes and saw his daughter.

Rokuro Shimura extended his hand cautiously, wrapping it around her and slowly knelt down, holding the girl in his arms.

He opened his mouth and a sound emerged from deep within his throat, not piercing but rather filled with a sense of sorrow.

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t come to pick you up and take you home…"

The man knelt down on the ground, holding the girl, and cried out in heart-wrenching sobs.

After a while, Rokuro Shimura finished shedding his tears. He lifted his head and looked towards the young man in the white attire.

"Thank you," he lowered his head. "Thank you, sir," he added.

"Don’t bow your head to me. It was your flowers that led me here," said Bai Wei. "I should be the one apologizing. I’m the one who is twenty years late."

Rokuro Shimura brushed off with a self-deprecating smile.

Bai Wei asked, "Do you have any final wishes?"

Rokuro Shimura said, "Please don’t cremate her, Hitomi is afraid of pain."

"…good."

Rokuro Shimura collapsed to the ground and passed away, his expression carrying a sense of relief before he took his last breath.

Shimura and his two daughters, with the help of Bai Wei, buried the bodies and left behind a gravestone.

After completing all of this, night had completely fallen, and the chilly crimson moonlight spilled onto his shoulders. Bai Wei gazed at the red moon, exhaling a puff of white mist. Golden particles scattered in the air, and that flowing, radiant color seemed as if gold was silently burning.

"Luckily, it’s still possible to have regrets now."

…

Kamitsumi Shrine.

Kuya and Hokusinn Kichyō were waiting. They heard footsteps. Looking up, under the moonlight, a young man with flickering golden flames in his eyes climbed the steps.

Their intention to greet and the prepared script all turned into speechlessness.

Hokusinn Kichyō had never seen him like this before. Though his appearance hadn’t changed at all, there was a stark difference in his demeanor. He no longer resembled the usual, humorous and reliable young man. Instead, he had become colder, more formidable, and exuded a greater sense of authority.

She pressed against her pounding chest, feeling both nervous and excited. She was nervous because Bai Wei brought a strong sense of pressure, causing her heart to accelerate involuntarily. She was excited because she once again witnessed Bai Wei’s uniqueness, and although he didn’t explain, he didn’t hide it either.

"Are you ready?" Bai Wei asked Kuya.

"…everything is ready," Kuya’s voice contained a hint of unnatural respect. She couldn’t understand why she had to speak so respectfully at this moment. Perhaps it was an instinctive recognition of fear, or maybe it was the overwhelming change in the other person’s presence and demeanor, which prevented anyone from being disrespectful.

Bai Wei said, "This time, I will go back alone."

Hokusinn Kichyō naturally didn’t want to return.

"Listen," Bai Wei uttered just two words, and she obediently quieted down.

The girl’s cheeks flushed with a tinge of red, and she obediently said, "Okay, I’ll keep it."

Miko Kuya waved her sacred coin, and the fabric of time and space began to ripple. With some remaining strength, she asked, "What have you been doing during these few short hours?"

Bai Wei replied, "Giving a burial to the deceased."

"Your friend?"

"Not really."

"But you’re angry," Kuya said.

"Not angry," Bai Wei shook his head. "It’s sadness."

…not anger, not sorrow, not even sympathy, but because it reminds me of some unpleasant memories.

…I once spent a long time trying to banish these lower forms of ignorance and inequality, making me believe that I had overcome it.

…and once again, it presented the gruesome reality right before my eyes, even though it wasn’t the kingdom I once ruled, it still wounded my pride.

…As the times changed, I would not hold onto the idea of clarifying the world above and attempt to rewrite the course of history, but there are certain matters that must be clarified.

I once openly vowed to protect the witches for a lifetime, and this oath still stands, even if the king fails to be king, the promise remains a promise.

…unchanged for five hundred years!

Kuya, unable to contain the subconscious feeling of submission deep in her heart, asked, "After we go back, what’s the first thing you plan to do?"

Bai Wei stepped into the rift in space and time, saying, "I shall bury the deceased."