Chapter 422

——

Is it wrong to seek encounters in the Dungeon?

"Ah, although Shajin said this with a smile, hearing it still feels sad." Hestia leaned on the tavern table, "When will he gain something like family? I can't bear to see him all alone."

Saying that, the girl couldn't help but whisper, "I really want to pull him into my Familia…"

"Um… Lord God, this must be your true intention, right?"

Even if Shajin lacks the Foundation Stone and has no combat ability, merely relying on the strategy and courage he now displays, Shajin is more than enough to become the most sought-after existence among the major gods' Familias. Whoever secures him will be able to advance their Familia further.

Even if Shajin comes here, the Lord God would absolutely not be able to attract Shajin. If it were an employment relationship, the entire Hestia Familia's monthly income would probably not even be able to pay Shajin's salary for a single finger.

But if we let him join another clan, it would mean we become his opponents—frankly, who would want to oppose someone willing to stake everything?

——

"…Wake from this dream and go where you belong. Your gamble…has not ended yet."

Shajin took a deep breath: "Before we part, can you answer me one more question? As someone walking that fate, can you tell me…"

"Why are we born into this world just to die?"

Huangquan glanced back at him: "I never thought that. Neither do you."

"But the void truly shrouds you and me…and everyone else."

"And precisely for that reason, it has no meaning."

Shajin turned sideways to gaze at the distant Black Hole behind him: "—but it remains there. If the dice of fate have always been loaded with lead, that is our destined end; we…why then should we resist it?"

Huangquan looked at him quietly: "My answer may not dispel your confusion, for it has accompanied you all along, already part of your life. But you said, 'Sleep is a rehearsal for death'; why does life fall asleep? Because we are not yet ready to meet death."

"So you too must understand why we 'want' to prepare. Even if the ending is already fixed, that's fine—there are too many things people cannot change. But before then, on the road to the ending, people can still do much."

"And the ending…will thus reveal an entirely different meaning."

——

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Unbreakable Diamond.

"Miss Huangquan is so gentle, just like Mr. Shajin's psychotherapist…Could this be her other side?"

Although in this pitch‑black space, the white‑haired apparition of Miss Huangquan looks dangerous, her words unexpectedly make Josuke feel gentle. Compared with her usual blue‑purple haired state, she now seems like a caring older sister.

"Josuke, do you understand what she's saying? I don't really get it…Can you explain it to me?" Okuyasu scratched his head; he could understand each word Miss Huangquan said, but when put together he didn't quite get it.

"Hmm…Let me think how to explain it to you."

Josuke raised a finger, dead serious: "It's pretty much like changing underwear."

"Changing underwear? What does that have to do with changing underwear?" Okuyasu's expression grew more bewildered.

"It's a metaphor! I used a metaphor!" Josuke insisted, "Shajin's point is, if we have to change out of our old underwear every morning, why bother wearing underwear at all?"

"Oh oh oh! I see, Shajin makes sense!" Okuyasu's face lit up with realization, "Then Josuke…let's just stop wearing underwear altogether."

"Don't derail!" Josuke shook his head and continued, "But Miss Huangquan is an experientialist; she thinks: even if you have to change your underwear the next day, you should still wear it, because underwear brings a comfortable experience—that's the meaning of wearing underwear! The point isn't the result of changing underwear, but the experience of wearing it."

"So, Okuyasu…did you get it?"

Okuyasu from Morioh froze, then opened his mouth wide and let out another "oh oh" sound.

"Josuke, I totally get it!" Okuyasu pointed at Huangquan in the sky, eyes shining: "You mean…Miss Huangquan changes her underwear every day, right?"

"…hiss."

Josuke covered his face and took a deep breath.

"…Okuyasu, maybe you should just drink your milk tea."

——

"Look in your pocket—your friend has already handed you the answer." Huangquan left without looking back, "…Good luck."

Watching the other's retreating figure fade away, Shajin took out the prescription Laatio had given him from his pocket, opened the lid, and inside was a rolled letter.

The note contained only two short lines:

"The impossible thing in a dream is not 【death】, but 【slumber】."

"Live on. Good luck."

Shajin gave a light smile, folded the letter: "…Then I should be going too."

——

Ne Zha: The Devil Boy Churns the Sea.

"Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Don't jump to conclusions so hastily! Do you still claim Professor Laatio is a traitor?! Huh?!"

"We are cultivators; do you know what cultivators value? Be tolerant, don't jump to judgments, don't let anger cloud your mind."

"Where was I in the count? 837! Oh right, the next is 838."

Outside the cave, Zhenren Taiyi sat on a large rock, counting on his fingers; the stone beneath his buttocks was slightly rocking, and looking closer, Nezha was underneath, doing push‑ups with the rock and his master on his back.

"Kid, I didn't force you—you and I made a bet that Professor Laatio is a traitor; loser does a thousand weighted push‑ups, and you can't skip dinner if you don't finish."

Taiyi Zhenren held a watermelon in one hand, eating and spitting out the seeds, the rinds piling up into a small hill.

Nezha gritted his teeth, furious yet unable to retort: "I…I how could I know he and Shajin were acting? Those two performed so convincingly they even fooled Xingqiri. Hiss…just eat, don't fart!"

"Kid, my digestion's been off lately; my treasure pouch has detox‑revival pills—I'll eat them after you finish those thousand push‑ups." Taiyi Zhenren suddenly snapped to attention, "Ah, it's all your fault for interrupting…where was I in the count?"

"I don't know."

"Then let's start over, one, two…"

"I…I…" Nezha's forehead veins bulged, "If you're bad at math, don't count! Get off me first!"

——

"Kakakwasa walked over slowly, looked up at him: 'Sir…are you leaving? Did you ultimately choose…to leave this dreamscape?'"

Shajin let out a soft sigh, speaking gently: "…Yes. Because they're not here…Father, Mother, Older Sister…"

"'Where are they then?'"

Shajin gazed at the distant Black Hole: "They are in the place everyone will go, a very far, very far place."