Chapter 289: Everything Is Calculation

Wusi seemed completely unaware of the turbulence in Huo La's eyes, got up, turned, and walked toward the ShuWu deep within the ancient tree.

That wooden door merged seamlessly with the tree trunk; if she hadn't pushed it open, it would be hard to notice that a space was hidden here.

She lifted her hand, pushed open the heavy wooden door, and said gently to everyone, "Come in."

The group entered the ShuWu one after another; its interior was far more spacious than imagined, perfectly matching the massive ancient tree outside.

The wooden walls were covered with natural grain, dotted with a few glowing stones set in the tree burls; the soft light dispelled the darkness, bathing the space in warm radiance.

Inside, the space was cleverly divided into living, library, and storage areas; the shelves were filled with yellowed ancient scrolls, and a beast‑skin map lay on the stone table, exuding a quiet, weighty sense of ages.

Wusi walked to the main stone bench, sat down, raised a hand to signal everyone to find their own seats, and finally fixed his gaze steadily on Huo La, speaking calmly yet scrutinizing, "I am Wusi. You are the time‑and‑space wanderer who crossed eras, aren't you?"

Huo La nodded calmly, his tone steady, "It is I."

"Mm." Wusi gave a slight nod, a faint relieved smile flickering in his eyes, his tone lightening a bit, "Now that you've come, my mission can be fulfilled."

"Mission?" Huo La's brows twitched slightly, he asked instinctively.

"Yes, a mission." Wusi's tone suddenly grew solemn, each word deliberate, "A mission to save Hisui, and even to protect this era."

As she spoke, her gaze inadvertently flicked toward Ma Jia Mu, carrying a hint of complexity.

Ma Jia Mu felt a chill, sharply catching the deeper meaning in that look, and hesitantly asked, "You are..."

Wusi gently shook his head, cutting him off, "Listen as I speak slowly."

Ma Jia Mu understood, swallowed the question that had reached his lips, and gave a slight nod, indicating for her to continue.

Wusi then spoke slowly, his voice gentle yet undeniably firm, "The Space-time Rift has reappeared; it is a chain reaction triggered by your arrival."

She raised her hand, pointed at Huo La, and calmly pierced the core causality.

Huo La nodded in silence, unsurprised; although traversing time and space was not his own wish, he could not evade the problems his presence caused.

Wusi lifted his hand, brushed the scroll on the stone table, his gaze distant, and said slowly, "The passage from ancient to present is called Zhou, the four directions up and down are called Yu. The time flow from past to future is Zhou; the spatial realm in all directions is Yu."

"You should understand that time and space intertwine, forming the universe we inhabit."

Huo La nodded again; these basic understandings of time and space were naturally clear to him, yet he wondered why Wusi suddenly brought them up.

"And the existence of the Space-time Rift..." Wusi paused, his tone deepening, "To put it plainly, it's an unstable Cave that links multiple times and spaces. Within that Rift lies A Er Zhou Si from a distant shore, another time and space."

Wusi's gaze shifted to Ma Jia Mu, and he continued, "Ma Jia Mu travels with you; I suppose you already know the legend of the Xicui Hero, don't you?"

Huo La nodded in confirmation, "Already known."

Wusi withdrew his gaze, his tone returning to calm, and slowly revealed the sealed secret: "Back then, when we fought Qi La Di Na alongside the hero, besides the two time‑and‑space deities Di Ya Lu Ka and Pa Lu Qi Ya and the ten Pokémon Kings, there was also a tribe—me, a descendant of that tribe."

Her voice carried a hint of melancholy as she continued, "Perhaps because we aided A Er Zhou Si in pacifying the time‑and‑space chaos and saving the world, our tribe received the gods' blessing."

"As long as one stays within the bounds of this ancient life tree, the tribe's lifespan extends several times that of ordinary people. Yet the price of this longevity is that one may never leave this Valley; once stepping beyond the tree's protection, the blessing fails, and the accumulated life force drains at dozens of times the normal rate."

"As time passed, the tribe's descendants eventually could not bear the solitude; generation after generation, some chose to break the taboo and leave. Now, I am the only one left here."

"Divine‑gifted Tribe..." Ma Jia Mu murmured, repeating the name, his eyes full of shock.

Wusi gave a gentle nod, confirming, "Indeed, it is the Divine‑gifted Tribe. Our generations have guarded this place, the ancient life tree, the hero's charge, and a prophecy passed down for a thousand years."

Her gaze returned to Huo La, her tone solemn, "Now that you have appeared, the Space-time Rift has opened, and every sign aligns— the prophecy has come true."

The ShuWu fell silent in an instant, everyone inside shocked beyond words.

Huo La's heart had already been roiled by towering waves, the surging emotions blocked his throat, and he could not speak.

His hand clenched tightly, knuckles white, his eyes filled with shock.

He had always believed that his crossing into Hisui was merely a desperate act forced by the system, caught between Sakaki and Nai Ke Luo Zi Ma, to save his own life—a passive escape in a desperate situation, an unforeseen accident.

Yet according to Wusi's account, this was not a coincidence at all, but a prophecy that had been passed down since the hero saved the world a thousand years ago.

His stepping into this time and space, the emergence of the Space-time Rift, and the rescue of the Pokémon Kings and the world's crisis were all pre‑arranged!

A terrifying thought seized his mind instantly: the most likely mastermind behind all this was the system that had always accompanied him, appearing helpful yet utterly inscrutable!

Huo La subconsciously examined the translucent panel only he could see, the system tirelessly absorbing and breaking down Interdimensional Energy, the panel's numbers ticking slowly, a cold, unruffled display.

This damned system, regardless of which era or time and space it sent him to, chose the peril‑filled Hisui now, hitting precisely the node of that millennial prophecy.

If anyone claimed the system's actions were unintentional, Huo La wouldn't believe a single word!

The more he thought, the colder Huo La felt, a chill rising from his back, spreading along his spine to every limb and bone.

He suddenly realized that he had been nothing but a Pawn placed by the system, and from the moment he crossed from death into the Pokemon World, he had been stepping into a pre‑set board.