Chapter 448: with translation of chapter title

The warm voice chuckled: 'What a romantic idea. And you, little doctor, do you agree with your sister's view?'

Xingqiri: 'I think my sister is right… but if we leave it in the wild, it will die in a few days.'

'Hehe, it seems our little doctor is still a bit confused. Like this, children, let me tell you a story.' The voice continued, 'You should know that the Harmony Dove is a bird capable of leaping the atmosphere. When flying at high altitude, its feathers emit a splendid glow from the heat of friction, like streaks of meteors.'

'We have seen this beautiful scenery so often that we assume it is an innate talent… alas, that meteor-like brilliance is the result of their struggle against nature for hundreds of amber ages.'

'The ancestors of the Harmony Dove were too weak to prevail in the ground's survival struggle. To escape the fate of being hunted, they began to look to the sky, flapping their wings and leaping… after countless generations of trial, a bird in the flock finally learned how to flap its wings correctly. It succeeded in taking flight, and ever since has bid farewell to the earth.'

'Hmm…' the little girl lowered her head in thought, 'So, actually birds are not naturally able to fly, but they achieved it through their own will, right?'

'Hehe, that is indeed an idealistic interpretation. So, Xingqiri, what do you think?'

'I…' the little boy earnestly gazed at the small bird in his sister's palm, 'I think people consider flight to be birds' nature because they have never seen a bird that fell to its death.'

——

Dragon Clan.

No wonder this child, at such a young age, could become the head of the Oak family; indeed, he is clever.

In the Japanese-style room of the Jaqi Eight Houses headquarters, several family heads were discussing the two children in the sky curtain; although they could not see the elder's face clearly, they could roughly guess that he was likely one of the family heads of several houses, nine out of ten.

'However, these siblings have had different perspectives on things since childhood.' Fuma Kotaro said, 'The sister seems to value freedom more, while the brother values life more. Could this be the start of their disagreement?'

'Disagreement? The siblings haven't actually disagreed, have they?' Ryoma Ichiro cleared his throat, 'Although Xingqiri is not currently acting according to the Dream Master's "big picture," this doesn't show any contradiction between the siblings. Look, when Xingqiri learned his sister was killed by Garah's hands, that boy almost tore Garah apart and ate him.'

'Loving one's sister is one thing, supporting her is another.' Fuma Kotaro chuckled, 'If Xingqiri knew his sister decided not to perform on the Harmony Dove stage again, the shock would be more than just familial. The several houses are intertwined; when responsibility is questioned, how should he handle his sister to satisfy the Dream Master?'

Fuma Kotaro gave a meaningful glance at Genichirou; now his sister, Uesugi Eriko, is missing, and he has searched almost all of Tokyo without finding her. Once that "ultimate weapon" loses control… it's hard to say how to deal with it.

Indeed… being an older brother is hard.

——

'This line of thought is also interesting. So you should now understand how to treat this little bird, right?'

Xingqiri nodded solemnly: 'I will… well, first put it in a cage, at least until it can survive on its own. Because… I… no matter what, I want it to stay alive.'

'Very good, children, it seems you each have answers in your hearts.' The person was very relieved, 'Your visions are wonderfully fulfilling; I sincerely hope they can be realized in your own ways.'

'However, the little boy still has a question he doesn't understand; he lifted his head: 'However, Mr. Gefei, if this little Harmony Dove never learns to fly, what should we do?'

'I mean, if there truly are some chicks in this world that can never fly in their lifetime… should we still let them return to the sky and watch them fall to the ground helplessly?'

——

Jujutsu Kaisen.

'If it can't learn to fly, just kill the little bird—after all, living is also torment; it would be better to die early and end the suffering.'

Kenjaku yawned; he really couldn't understand why Xingqiri would waste time on such a 'boring' question, only able to say that the child's energy is still too exuberant.

'That kind of little bird doesn't deserve to live in this world, does it? What's the point of saving it?'

Help should be given to valuable things; those worthless, wasteful trash of air simply aren't worth expending energy on—one can only say that 【Harmony】 is still too tolerant… Indeed, he still cannot agree with the Harmony concept.

'Sukuna, what do you think of those two kids?'

'Who?'

'Xingqiri and Zhigengniao.'

Sukuna couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids, propping his chin with one hand against the headboard; since Huangquan left Pinokangni, he's been listless, especially after learning that Huangquan would leave Pinokangni, he can't muster interest in anyone.

'You could eat his brother right in front of his sister; the taste should be decent. That kid is pretty smart, his brain should taste good, right?' Sukuna said lazily.

Kenjaku chuckled, '…So it's a taste evaluation, huh? Quite novel.'

——

'Your dream talk wasn't bad, little bird; it's time to wake up.'

In a pitch darkness, Garah's voice came through.

Xingqiri opened his eyes, looking incredulously at his unharmed body: 'I didn't die?'

Garah gave a cold snort: 'Hmph, are you happy?'

Xingqiri gritted his teeth: '…Tell me where Zhigengniao is. Now.'

'Heh, I knew your first reaction would definitely be her.' Garah crossed his arms, not surprised by Xingqiri's reaction at all, 'She's right here, don't worry, your sister is very safe; now… she's probably still wandering the alleys.'

'If I were you, at this critical juncture I'd be more concerned about myself… after all, standing before you is a bastard who just stabbed you in the chest.'

Xingqiri coldly stared at him: 'If you really intend to deal a fatal blow, you don't even need to give me a chance for pleasantries… state your purpose, lackey of the 【Clockmaker】.'

'Hmph, you even saw through this? No wonder you dare to oppose the Dream Master and the Four Great Families; it seems my choice is correct.'

'Choice?' Xingqiri didn't understand his meaning.

'You know what I intend to do. My 【Fiction】 has also been seen through by you; there's not much time left, no need to keep beating around the bush…' Garah gave a light smile, '……I want to cooperate with you.'