After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Returning to Reality

◎I don’t want her to take part of you away◎

Faint traces of red blood still bloomed on Wen Fengyue’s cheeks, but her eyes shone with a brilliant light. Being watched with such a gaze, Jiao Qingyin’s heart softened into a swirl of honey.

This caused her to uncontrollably soften her voice. “Take a closer look?”

Wen Fengyue obediently opened her eyes wide, scanning Jiao Qingyin from head to toe.

Jiao Qingyin suddenly felt self-conscious. Although she was the one who asked the girl to look, Wen Fengyue acted as if she couldn’t see enough; her gaze, seemingly possessing actual warmth, stuck to Jiao Qingyin and refused to move, causing every part of Jiao Qingyin’s body to flush with heat.

Seeing that Wen Fengyue wouldn’t stop if she didn’t speak, Jiao Qingyin had to raise her hand to block the girl’s eyes. “…That’s enough.”

A look of bewilderment appeared on Wen Fengyue’s face. “Caramel…”

Deprived of her vision and unable to see Jiao Qingyin, Wen Fengyue’s entire body grew tense. Fresh red drops of blood gathered at the corners of her eyes, hanging precariously like rubies.

Sensing her shift in mood, Jiao Qingyin hesitated for a moment before lowering her hand.

Wen Fengyue relaxed almost visibly.

“…” Jiao Qingyin didn’t want the girl to pin too much of her emotional well-being on her, but since the girl’s mental state was clearly unstable right now, she kept those thoughts to herself. Those words to create distance should be saved for when Wen Fengyue had completely stepped out of the shadows.

To prevent Wen Fengyue from being too nervous, Jiao Qingyin first took her hand before asking, “Did you recognize me?”

Wen Fengyue looked at the “person” before her. Sunlight pierced through Jiao Qingyin’s body, dyeing her in a layer of pale gold.

“Yes…” Wen Fengyue spoke. Her speech was much slower than Jiao Qingyin remembered, as if she had to weigh every word before saying it. “Caramel… is a ghost.”

Precisely because Jiao Qingyin was a ghost like her, they could touch each other. The difference was that Jiao Qingyin was clean and slightly transparent, while she… was a vengeful spirit covered in blood.

Wen Fengyue suddenly shrank back slightly: Will I have a smell? Will I be wrapped in that disgusting resentment like the other ghosts in the music building? Will I… make her hate me?

From the moment she became a ghost until now, Wen Fengyue had never looked in a mirror; she didn’t know and didn’t care what she looked like as a ghost. But now, she couldn’t help but feel regret. Realizing the blood on her might stain Jiao Qingyin, Wen Fengyue tried to pull her hand away.

Jiao Qingyin took a step forward, tightly interlocking their fingers, refusing to let Wen Fengyue leave.

“…!” Wen Fengyue was even more flustered than before. She tried hard to organize her words, but in her clumsiness, she couldn’t say anything.

Noticing her abnormality, Jiao Qingyin frowned slightly. She raised her other hand and stroked Wen Fengyue’s ice-cold cheek. “What’s wrong?”

Wen Fengyue’s lips opened and closed. Finally, she slumped her shoulders in defeat, her voice sounding lost and aggrieved: “…I’ve become stupid.”

There was no sadness on her face, but the hand held by Jiao Qingyin was trembling. “I… am useless.”

Jiao Qingyin immediately countered, “No, you’re not!”

Wen Fengyue was dazed for a moment. The more she worried about gains and losses, the more she could sense infinite courage and strength from Jiao Qingyin. Just seeing her made her feel an irrepressible sense of peace.

“No need to rush,” Jiao Qingyin squeezed Wen Fengyue’s palm, using the interaction to soothe the girl’s emotions. “Speak slowly, I will listen to everything.”

Wen Fengyue believed Jiao Qingyin unconditionally. She likewise tightened her fingers, holding Jiao Qingyin back, and then laboriously explained her current situation.

She thought it would be difficult, but Jiao Qingyin could guess her unspoken meanings every time. Their rapport was as if they had never been apart.

Jiao Qingyin quickly pieced together the situation from Wen Fengyue’s fragmented narrative: the girl’s soul was incomplete, and she had been trapped in the Day of Death for too long, causing her cognitive abilities to regress significantly. This was why she rarely had expression changes, and her reactions were delayed; the whole ghost was just… dazed.

After saying all she could, Wen Fengyue looked at Jiao Qingyin expectantly, waiting for her judgment. If the other person hated her current self, she… still wouldn’t leave. Even if she had to become the other’s shadow, she would cling to the person before her and never let go.

Caramel was her lost-and-found treasure, her entire world. She didn’t want to lose her a second time. Wen Fengyue vaguely realized that her obsessive personality was not likable—even among ghosts, it was the least popular type—but she had no way to change it.

While Wen Fengyue’s expression was blank and her mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, a soft sensation came from her cheek. She looked up dazed, and Jiao Qingyin retracted the hand that had pinched her face, showing a slight smile.

Only then did Wen Fengyue realize that at some point, she had been led by Jiao Qingyin to a familiar large tree. The place they were in was essentially an illusion created by Wen Fengyue; everything changed according to her subconscious.

And now, seeing the tree, she remembered the black kitten’s corpse. As that thought appeared, a small, dark figure manifested under the shade of the tree.

Wen Fengyue’s pupils constricted instantly, and blood began to seep from the surface of her skin—a sign of her extreme tension.

“No—!” She turned around, quickly clutching Jiao Qingyin’s hand. Her nails, which had suddenly grown long and sharp, sank deep into Jiao Qingyin’s skin.

The pain from her wrist caused Jiao Qingyin’s expression to flicker imperceptibly, but she didn’t let the other go. Her eyes remained fixed on Wen Fengyue, never wavering.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said, her voice carrying a power that made one instinctively want to believe. “I am here.”

Wen Fengyue opened her eyes wide. Despite her panic and fear, she nodded repeatedly as fast as she could.

So obedient, so cute, Jiao Qingyin’s thoughts strayed for a second. No, now is not the time for this, Jiao Qingyin warned herself and straightened her expression.

As it turned out, her serious attitude made Wen Fengyue even more nervous, and crimson tears began to gather slowly again. Because of malnutrition before her death, Wen Fengyue hadn’t reached her proper height. This made her look like an extremely insecure puppy when she looked up.

Truly cute, Jiao Qingyin thought again. Out loud, she said the lines she had pondered for a long time: “I want to tell you about what happened before—”

“I’ve been a ghost since the day I met you. The black cat’s body was just something I borrowed, so…”

Halfway through Jiao Qingyin’s words, a bright radiance appeared on Wen Fengyue’s face. In a sudden burst of excitement, she blurted out: “So—you never died, right…!”

After saying it, she realized the phrasing was ambiguous and quickly corrected herself: “I mean, that body wasn’t you… You, you never—”

Jiao Qingyin rubbed the girl’s hair. “Yes.”

Wen Fengyue loved having her head rubbed by Jiao Qingyin. She unconsciously loosened her grip, and the hostility between her brows vanished without a trace. If she could just rub me more…

Seeing this, Jiao Qingyin smiled, though it was a somewhat sad smile. “What I want to say is, don’t use this incident to punish yourself anymore. If one of us did something wrong, it was me. I should have told you the truth before I left…”

“No!” Wen Fengyue reacted strongly, interrupting Jiao Qingyin. A slight flush rose to her pale cheeks, making her look a little less non-human. “You weren’t wrong…!”

Jiao Jiao is the best person… the best ghost. No matter what she does, even if the whole world is wrong, Jiao Jiao can never be wrong!

Wen Fengyue spoke this somewhat chuunibyou declaration with a stubborn gaze, making Jiao Qingyin unable to hold back a chuckle. Jiao Jiao… actually has a small dimple. Seeing Jiao Qingyin so happy for the first time, Wen Fengyue was helplessly entranced.

Without realizing it, a faint smile appeared on her own long-frozen face as she followed Jiao Qingyin’s lead. Then, as she wished, Wen Fengyue received another head rub and the words: “Smile more from now on.”

Wen Fengyue nodded reflexively, thought about it, and then spoke seriously: “…Mm!”

At this time, the sun, which had been soft, was gradually becoming dazzling. Jiao Qingyin looked at the sky and turned to Wen Fengyue. “Today’s sunset should be very beautiful.”

Wen Fengyue was stunned. Sunset…?

She had repeated this day many times, but she always died in the brilliant afternoon sun. Sunset… she hadn’t seen it for a very, very long time. But Jiao Jiao wanted to see the sunset… Having calmed down, Wen Fengyue’s brain slowed down again. She thought for a long time but didn’t know how to break this one-day cycle.

“Don’t worry,” Jiao Qingyin sat down by the tree trunk before the girl’s mood could shift, pulling Wen Fengyue along with her. “Let’s rest here for a while.”

Wen Fengyue was completely compliant and didn’t notice that the black cat corpse she had imagined had already disappeared. Thus, the two sat under this commemorative tree. They didn’t talk much; they just quietly held hands, watching the sun in the sky and the swaying shadows of the trees. They stayed like this for a long time.

So long that… the sun moved to the very top of the sky.

Seeing the sunlight break through the clouds and shine directly down, Wen Fengyue suddenly remembered that this was the time she should be leaping from the rooftop. She sat up straight and turned to look at Jiao Qingyin beside her.

Jiao Qingyin happened to be looking at her as well. After their eyes met, she tilted her head, and a strand of black hair tucked behind her ear slid down to her cheek.

As if bewitched, Wen Fengyue leaned forward and tucked that strand of hair back behind the other’s ear for her. Jiao Qingyin didn’t dodge, but as Wen Fengyue tried to retract her hand, Jiao Qingyin moved her head again.

Seeing the strand slide down once more, Wen Fengyue was dazed. She hesitantly observed Jiao Qingyin’s expression. Seeing that she wasn’t dissatisfied with the bold action, Wen Fengyue gathered her courage and repeated the movement.

Jiao Qingyin smiled. While Wen Fengyue was close, she pinched the girl’s thin chin and then simply untied the hair tie at the back of her own head. Her black hair fell like a waterfall, making Jiao Qingyin’s aura look less cold and a bit more softly elegant.

Wen Fengyue stared blankly, accidentally missing the exact moment she was supposed to jump off the building. However, time did not reverse like every other time. The sun stayed in the sky, spilling light into every corner.

“I…” Wen Fengyue looked at the sky helplessly, then at Jiao Qingyin.

Jiao Qingyin was having fun teasing the puppy. Seeing Wen Fengyue’s expression, she beckoned to her. Wen Fengyue froze for a long while, and a faint blush appeared on her face.

“What’s wrong—whoa!”

Jiao Qingyin was pulled into a full embrace. Holding the girl who had almost knocked her onto the grass, she shook her head helplessly with a smile. She just wanted to invite her to sit down and watch the sunset together… Forget it, she can hug if she wants to. It was fine to indulge a love-starved puppy occasionally.

After watching the sunset, Jiao Qingyin blinked and found herself and Wen Fengyue inside a gloomy, oppressive building. The environment was dim, dust floated in the air, and countless strange sounds echoed faintly.

After confirming Jiao Qingyin was still by her side, Wen Fengyue let out a heavy sigh of relief. Seeing Jiao Qingyin observing her surroundings, Wen Fengyue whispered, “This is… that music building.”

As she spoke, she kept staring at Jiao Qingyin’s hand, her heart thumping with the desire to hold it. It’s simple; just like when she held me, open my fingers and hold her tight…

“Can you leave this place?” Jiao Qingyin turned her head and asked.

Wen Fengyue’s hand froze halfway. The resolve she had finally built up mostly vanished, causing her to stutter. “C-can, can’t…”

Jiao Qingyin looked puzzled. Seeing Wen Fengyue’s hand hanging in mid-air, she stepped closer. “What do you want to grab?”

“…” Wen Fengyue moved her arm down and held the corner of Jiao Qingyin’s clothes. Without her emotions peaking, if the other didn’t take the initiative, this was the most she dared to do. And she was very afraid Jiao Qingyin would shake her off.

Fortunately, Jiao Qingyin didn’t find her annoying, and she seemed to be in a good mood. This encouraged Wen Fengyue’s proactivity, allowing her to answer relatively smoothly despite some stutters: “I can… but White Orb says time doesn’t flow here. Outside the building… a long time might have passed.”

Wen Fengyue spoke while peeking at Jiao Qingyin’s expression. “Outside… is not good. Don’t go.”

Jiao Qingyin noticed her attitude was slightly off, but first caught another key point: “White Orb?”

Almost the second she spoke, the purified World Consciousness popped out quietly, pushing away Wen Fengyue’s hand that was holding Jiao Qingyin. “It’s me.”

It seemed somewhat afraid of Wen Fengyue, staying far from her, but toward Jiao Qingyin, it showed a sense of closeness like a child seeing their mother.

Jiao Qingyin: “…”

Before speaking to the little white orb, she took a step away and looked at Wen Fengyue, who was blocked by the orb. “Don’t scare it.”

Wen Fengyue, who was currently crying blood tears and making a ghost face: “!”

She didn’t expect her behavior to be caught. The bloody mess on her face disappeared almost instantly, turning her back into an obedient look in a second. At first glance, there was even a bit of grievance from being ignored.

Jiao Qingyin knew this grievance was partly an act, but she was willing to play along—she bypassed the white orb, walked to Wen Fengyue, and took her hand. Wen Fengyue immediately became happy. Jiao Qingyin actually saw little flowers floating behind her. Can these flowers be touched? Jiao Qingyin was distracted for a moment.

However, there was business at hand. Jiao Qingyin restrained her itchy hands. Seeing Wen Fengyue was easily coaxed, she turned to the white orb. “Outside the music building, is there another ‘her’?”

She didn’t name names, but the ghost and the orb present both knew who “she” referred to. Wen Fengyue was instantly shrouded in a dark cloud. Everything from her expression to the air pressure around her showed she was very unhappy.

Jiao Qingyin was somewhat puzzled. Why did Wen Fengyue’s reaction look like she was jealous of her other self? But the two Wen Fengyues were essentially the same person…

“Yes”, the white orb emitted a faint glow. “She has waited for you for ten years. If you don’t go out soon, she might…”

“Ten years?” Jiao Qingyin hadn’t expected this answer. “That long. Then she…”

Hearing this, Wen Fengyue hugged Jiao Qingyin’s waist regardless of anything else. “Don’t go out…!”

This was the first time she had stated her desire so directly. But this specific request was one of the few things Jiao Qingyin couldn’t grant her.

“You are one entity. You need to merge to be complete,” she said softly. Currently, the ghost Wen Fengyue was already showing signs of cognitive slowing. If they never merged, the final outcome would be both soul fragments dissipating forever.

“I am not, I don’t want to,” Wen Fengyue learned how to use tears for sympathy without being taught. “Jiao Jiao, don’t…”

“We can go out together…”

“No, no…” Wen Fengyue cried very sadly. “She will take a part of you away… I don’t want to…”

From the bits of conversation between the white orb and Jiao Qingyin, Wen Fengyue had realized that Jiao Qingyin had also met that “Wen Fengyue.” If they reunited, she would have a rival stealing Jiao Qingyin’s attention.

Wen Fengyue knew herself too well; she knew that part of herself certainly wouldn’t be willing to merge either—they both wanted to monopolize Jiao Jiao. Moreover, she had become stupid and didn’t grow tall. Aside from having a higher combat value and being scarier, she had no advantage over the other. If Jiao Jiao preferred the fragile type, then she didn’t have a single merit.

Wen Fengyue’s tears were like broken pearls, and as they fell, they began to turn into blood again. Seeing her white school uniform stained red by her own blood tears, Wen Fengyue hated herself even more.

“Don’t cry.” Jiao Qingyin wanted to wipe her tears. Her attitude was gentle, but Wen Fengyue sensed that Jiao Qingyin still hadn’t changed her mind.

She knew rationally that if the two of them merged, they would become a complete soul and have a chance to be with Jiao Qingyin forever; otherwise, they would both disappear from the world before long. But emotionally, she couldn’t accept it at all.

In her emotional flux, Wen Fengyue’s mental power began to leak out, spreading from the music building to every corner of the campus.

“Wen Fengyue,” who had just skipped class and was about to climb the wall to leave school, suddenly felt something and looked toward the music building. A thought suddenly appeared in her mind: she had to go into the music building.

Fifteen minutes later, Jiao Qingyin looked at the two Wen Fengyues lying before her, her expression so heavy it made the little white orb tremble.

On the left was the human Wen Fengyue, with a wolf-tail short haircut and a small portion of her hair dyed blue. On the right was the ghost Wen Fengyue, her face deathly pale, with no heartbeat or breathing, and long hair reaching her waist.

Just now, after she chatted with the white orb alone, she turned back to see the human Wen Fengyue appearing in the music building for some reason, with a wound on her neck slashed by the ghost Wen Fengyue. Meanwhile, the ghost Wen Fengyue had fresh blood on the corner of her mouth, as if she had taken a sip of the human Wen Fengyue’s blood, and had fainted beside her.

“It’s okay”, the white orb explained softly. “They both touched the other self’s blood and will inherit the other’s memories. To digest these memories, they will sleep for a while.”

Jiao Qingyin took a deep breath. “Once they wake up, will their memories be shared?”

“Once they wake up, their memories will be blurred for a while. They might forget things… Just like you’ve stayed in the music building for too long, so after you go out, you will also temporarily lose a portion of your memory. But it will be restored within three days.”

Three days. That was acceptable.

“I understand,” Jiao Qingyin made a calm judgment. “I’ll take the human her out first, then come back for the ghost her…” It wasn’t that she had a favorite, but the human Wen Fengyue was weaker and needed her protection.

Halfway through, she suddenly remembered something: when she first transmigrated here, the Wen Fengyue she met was already the reborn version. After she spent a day with that Wen Fengyue, she was sent to Wen Fengyue’s past life by the World Consciousness. As for why she was sent to the past… Jiao Qingyin’s eyes lit up slightly as she said to the white orb: “How much power do you have left to travel through time?”

The seemingly weak white orb stammered: “I can only take one person through once.”

Enough, Jiao Qingyin thought. Her gaze fixed on the white orb, determined. “I need you to go back ten years, take the ‘me’ who was accompanying ‘Wen Fengyue’ and bring her to her previous life. Can you do it?”

At first, the white orb seemed to want to say no, but hearing Jiao Qingyin’s final words, it suddenly gained confidence. “I can!”

Jiao Qingyin curled her lips. “Good. I trust you.”

The white orb became excited. Like a child encouraged by its mother, it immediately jumped into the spatial vortex to find the “Jiao Qingyin” who was standing on the stairs with “Wen Fengyue” observing her aunt.

After the white orb left, Jiao Qingyin looked down at the Wen Fengyues sleeping side-by-side and sighed softly. She couldn’t bear to see either Wen Fengyue sad, but if they didn’t merge, the ending would only be worse than it was now.

With this in mind, Jiao Qingyin possessed the human Wen Fengyue’s body, controlled her to stand up, and walked out of the music building step by step. As she stepped out, her memories were instantly blurred by half as the white orb had said, and she entered a state of sleep.

Thus, the human Wen Fengyue fell, then slowly woke up. She was somewhat dazed as she looked back, not remembering why she had walked into the music building or how she had come out. But as she reached out, she felt a neck full of blood.

Wen Fengyue: “…Tsk.” She stood up and scanned the music building with a gloomy gaze. This place was clearly problematic… Even someone like her, who never believed in ghosts and gods, felt a brief moment of hesitation.

Jiao Qingyin covered her head, her gaze blank. After remembering all her previous experiences, she couldn’t come to her senses for a moment. As soon as the headache stopped, she stood up—she had to bring the Wen Fengyue out of the music building. Even if the ghost Wen Fengyue didn’t seem to remember the past yet, she didn’t want to leave her in that godforsaken building.

“Jiao Jiao.” A low call sounded behind her. Jiao Qingyin immediately turned back and met the ghost Wen Fengyue’s gaze.

“You—”

Jiao Qingyin only spoke one word before she felt a pull on her hand. It was the little Wen Fengyue, whose spiritual body was only the size of her palm. Looking up, the semi-transparent, long-haired Wen Fengyue looked like a storm was brewing. Looking down, the tiny wolf-tail Wen Fengyue was tense, her gaze full of hostility.

Jiao Qingyin: “…”

Because the size difference between the two was too large, she instinctively shielded the little Wen Fengyue in her palm. A tear of blood slid down the ghost Wen Fengyue’s face.

Seeing her cry, Jiao Qingyin took a step forward. “Wen…”

A small storm cloud floated behind the little Wen Fengyue. She tightly hugged Jiao Qingyin’s finger, looking either nervous or afraid.

Jiao Qingyin: “…”

What on earth am I supposed to do now?