Chapter 374: Chu Yuanqing, You Have Indeed Become Weaker

The clouds in the sky were heavy, shaped like towering mountain peaks, their pure white, rounded contours blurred and gradually tinged with the golden hues of sunlight, accentuating the clarity and gentleness of the blue sky.

The young idols walked together through the old iron revolving door. Their beautiful, delicate faces, the charm radiating from their hair to their fingertips, and their vibrant, youthful energy all seemed out of place in this rusty community, like fleeting shafts of light among swaying branches.

Tang Liuli took off her beret and sunglasses, revealing her adorable, charming face. Her emerald green eyes shone with a catlike curiosity.

Her soft black hair was tied into a low ponytail. She used Kirimi Miyuki and Xie Qingxuan as shields to avoid being seen while quietly scanning the surroundings. Her gaze passed over a green-painted mailbox, lush banyan trees, old boxes yet to be cleared away, and in the distance, scattered green leaves gently swaying on a swing in the wind.

Kirimi Miyuki was accustomed to the little movements of the green-eyed cat; as long as she treated her as a socially anxious elementary schooler playing a detective game, she could perfectly understand Liuli’s thought process.

The girl carried a box of Shiroi Koibito, a famous cookie snack bought from Hokkaido. It was considered a local specialty of Sapporo, and due to the attractive packaging and its pleasant name, it made an excellent gift for visits.

“Is this where Little Qing lives?”

Kirimi Miyuki was not as meticulous an observer as the green-eyed cat, but she still found this old neighborhood, with its strong Daxia style, quite fresh and interesting. Using the house number as a guide, she actively looked for Honey Qing’s home, stopping and walking along the way, lively and spirited.

Xie Qingxuan was calm and taciturn throughout the entire journey.

Until they reached the base of the building,

the girl suddenly seemed to remember something. She stopped, hands in her coat pockets, a few strands of platinum blonde hair resting on her shoulders, projecting a cold and heroic aura. She turned toward the other two and asked,

“Everyone, have you ever thought about being called ‘Mom’ by Little Shu?”

Kirimi Miyuki stiffened and remained silent for a moment.

Tang Liuli was less awkward; from the beginning, she had used empathic imagination, treating the adorable daughter as Honey Qing’s niece, always positioning herself as an elder. After thinking for a moment, she just teased,

“I have thought about it, but wouldn’t that make the family relationship a bit strange? Little Shu is basically the same age as us.”

Although in Daxia it was common for relatives to call peers “uncle” or “aunt,” it was somewhat awkward among close friends—let alone a relationship as intimate as mother and daughter.

The green-eyed cat glanced at Honey Xuan’s plump, rounded jacket. Feeling a sense of barrenness within herself, she pouted and stubbornly said,

“Little Xuan has a strong maternal instinct. Maybe Little Shu would be willing to call you mom.”

Xie Qingxuan took this seriously. She nodded thoughtfully, stepped forward, and began climbing the stairs, deciding to imitate Charlotte by lifting Chu Wang Shu high and letting her call her little mommy.

Kirimi Miyuki immediately sensed the dangerous intentions of the “golden retriever” and hurried to follow her, anxiously lecturing,

“Little Shu just found out the truth not long ago; she definitely hasn’t fully processed everything yet. Little Xuan, you can’t be reckless like Charlotte!”

Most importantly, if Little Shu really started calling Honey Xuan “mom,” then if she retreated, it would mean she had completely lost, which would be a hateful form of invidious competition!

Xie Qingxuan glanced back at Little Sakura, unsure if she had understood. After nodding slightly, she continued upward.

As they climbed, the echoes caught Grandma Zhang’s attention. When she opened the door, she saw three beautiful girls who appeared utterly out of place amid the dull corridor, ascending the stairs one by one.

One of them hid immediately behind her companion upon seeing Grandma Zhang. Another looked straight ahead without casting a glance, while the last girl—with drooping eyes and an exceptionally pure appearance—responded with a polite smile and knocked on the door of Chu Yuanying’s home.

They must all be friends of that child, Little Shu, right?

Grandma Zhang sighed inwardly. Chu Yuanying hadn’t come back yet, so it was no wonder Little Shu wanted to bring so many friends home to play. She was probably feeling very lonely.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Chu Wang Shu peeked through the peephole, saw the three girls, turned with surprise and said,

“Mom and Dad, Sister Miyuki, Liuli, and Sister Xie are here!”

Then the girl opened the door. While fetching slippers from the closet, she complained about why no one had come to pick them up, her face bright with a sunny, radiant smile.

It was strange how, before the reunion, her mind would wander to all sorts of random thoughts, fearing that meeting again would be awkward because of the tangled relationships. But when she actually saw the green-eyed cat, Little Sakura, and Great Devil, her heart was filled only with warmth and happiness.

That wonderful feeling—a mix of friendship, family, and admiration for her seniors—blended into a mysterious sprout within her heart, planted in the soil of life, making her unconsciously look forward to the future even more.

Chu Wang Shu used to worry that after leaving *Dazzling Stage*, she wouldn’t be able to maintain the same connections with everyone, just like the fleeting friendships from elementary and middle school that slowly drift apart through time and experience.

But now,

Honey Qing was Dad.

Charlotte was Mom.

Liuli, Sister Miyuki, and Sister Xie were all Dad’s former comrades-in-arms and now his lovers.

Even if it felt strange and awkward, they had indeed formed stronger bonds. There was no need to worry that once the medium was gone, the connection would break like a kite severed from its string, never to reunite again.

For Chu Wang Shu, who had always been starved for love, this was a kind of solace difficult to express in words.

Well, perhaps it was just like Charlotte’s theory: after missing 17 years of maternal love, one needed more mothers to make up for it.

Kirimi Miyuki slipped on her slippers, placed the souvenirs on the table, and offered a specially bought gift to Little Shu, giving her a warm hug.

Xie Qingxuan and Tang Liuli also brought gifts—Xie Qingxuan gave the latest tablet for studying, while Tang Liuli presented a gaming console for leisure, a perfect balance of work and play.

After chatting for a while, everyone squeezed into Chu Yuanqing’s bedroom.

The little idols were somewhat curious about the room where a single dad had lived for many years, but the fragile and delicate figure lying on the bed made them lose all interest in examining the surroundings.

Chu Wang Shu sensed the gradually intimate and subtle atmosphere in the room and very consciously stepped outside. She did want to cling to Dad, but standing there as an awkward third wheel was unbearable.

Charlotte showcased her nurturing, motherly side in the kitchen.

For a moment, only Chu Yuanqing and the three others remained in the room.

Chu Yuanqing looked somewhat guilty as she glanced at them, like a cat that had misbehaved, lowering her eyes and wanting to apologize.

But…

“Don’t apologize.”

Xie Qingxuan looked at the white-haired girl who hesitated to speak. Her eyes glowed with piercing emotion, and the dark cross-shaped star shimmered as she softly said,

“It was never Little Qing who was wrong—it was them.”

Kirimi Miyuki gently held Chu Yuanqing’s cold fingers. Suppressing a breathless sorrow, as if swallowing shards of glass, she maintained a gentle smile and comforted,

“All along, Little Qing has done well. You don’t need to blame yourself for anyone, not even for us.”

Tang Liuli looked at Honey Qing, who was stuck and unsure what to say, and thought she was an overly straightforward fool. She touched Honey Qing’s hair tips, translucent and pure like mountain snow in the light, smiled, and spoke earnestly,

“We are all by your side. Little Qing is not fighting alone.”

“We will help you, just like before. Let’s overcome every difficulty together.”

Xie Qingxuan took off the zipper jacket that would have been uncomfortable, and held Chu Yuanqing close, enveloping her in a soft curve. Unable to find comforting words, she pressed her tender lips to Chu Yuanqing’s ear, like a feather drifting into an iron furnace—warm, melting, yet burning—and whispered,

“Don’t worry. I will, just like Ultraman, kill them all.”

“This time, I won’t use that method again.”

Little Sakura declared resolutely,

“I’ve already thought of a new way to use [Tempering of the Heart]. As long as the stage is grand enough, even the [Calamity God] can be challenged.”

Tang Liuli crossed her arms and boldly declared her statement:

“Even if I didn’t have blessings and couldn’t defeat the apostles, I would do my best to be a good cheerleader.”

Chu Yuanqing freed herself from Honey Xuan’s embrace. She happily petted Liuli’s cat head after a long time, coughed lightly with a smile, leaned back on the pillow, and looked at the three of them through the sunlight coming in the window, softly saying:

“I always forgot to mention.”

“It’s so nice to see the original you again in this era.”

That was why she would not make the same mistake again.

Whether it was Miyuki, who forged Levatin with her flesh and soul; Little Xuan, who died by her own sword as the Calamity God; or Liuli, who voluntarily accepted her fate to cover up flaws for a brighter future—

There were many more comrades who risked their lives to pave the way ahead.

To prevent their past tragedies from repeating, she had to find a way to completely resolve the crisis of the Disaster group and the correction of the Sea of Truth.

After speaking, Chu Yuanqing did not bring up the past with the others; her memories were becoming more and more fragmented, and discussing them easily revealed her flaws. So, taking advantage of their daze, she smiled and said:

“Shall we go out for a walk?”

…

…

In Sea City, Nanjing Street, the crowd moved continuously, and floating electronic screens drifted in the air. Among the hustle and bustle, one could find many stores promoting Dazzling Stage, including events linked to some small idol character rights.

In front of a milk tea shop called Doucha, there was an advertisement for Magic Girl Thorn Bird; this was a documentary recently released by the Counter-Magic Bureau.

Hearing about the benefit from movie tickets, thirty percent went to the Countermeasures Bureau’s funds, while seventy percent went to the family of the magical girl. So even though such documentaries came out almost every day, taking up the release slots of other movies, they still received great reviews online, with no complaints.

The boss was drooping his eyelids, idling behind the counter.

The clerk looked at the huge crowd and counted his unchanged salary, feeling deeper resentment in his heart, just wanting to throw a punch, but still had to smile and work hard.

But compared to himself, who could enjoy the air conditioning indoors, that poor guy outside in the heavy Dream Weaver Rabbit plush costume, handing out flyers in the scorching summer, was the real unfortunate one.

Just…

Oddly enough, did the boss hire someone to wear a plush costume to hand out flyers?

“Excuse me, can I have a large cup of Honey Qing’s lemon tea? Can I get a Liuli acrylic card? I already have all the others.”

The clerk’s thoughts flashed by, and he ignored the feeling of discomfort, continuing to smile as he worked at the cash register.

The Dream Weaver Rabbit plush costume was beautifully made; its pupils looked like they were inlaid with agate, giving it an extra touch of transparency. At one moment, countless black lines sparkled, like a crowded mass of worms writhing together.

If one looked closely, one could notice that everyone who received a flyer or made eye contact had eyes that momentarily turned red, showing something strange.

Inside this soft and cute plush costume, the body and limbs moved like a mantis, with scales sliding smoothly like blades, revealing a frightening monster that breathed the scent of many lambs on the busy street, controlling its urge to kill and destroy, fulfilling its duty.

—Beast of Love.

In the Disaster group under Amahl, there was a disaster beast named in the name of love, which blended into the desires of all beings, naturally more capable of fitting into society and pretending to have real humanity than the other disaster beasts.

At the top of this group was the Beast of Love, granted the power of the seven deadly sins, promoted to an apostle; during the time when Amahl was not suppressed, it had seven apostles: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust.

These apostles could match the Supreme Disaster Beast, able to shatter the earth and comparable to natural disasters, a nightmare for all beings.

Gluttony·Beelzebub was a fragment of power that overflowed from the forbidden zone while Amahl awaited the arrival of the savior on the battlefield yesterday.

This apostle, too weak to leave behind any consciousness, instinctively returned to the faith of Amahl, consuming the flesh and gifts that belonged to itself from that bishop, and began to revive, hiding here.

Even when weakened, the whole Sea City appeared to it as a slightly larger plate, easily able to use the rules of gluttony to silently consume a large part, filling its empty body and returning to its original giant beast form.

Unfortunately, even without Amahl’s command, just catching a whiff of that person’s scent made it too fearful to show itself openly.

This was not cowardice; even the Beast of Love only mimicked human emotions and did not truly feel fear. However, the genes hidden within its soul trembled, causing it to instinctively seek safety and avoid danger.

So, hiding, watching, and secretly causing trouble became its only plan of action.

Until…

“Ah! Little Xuan, quickly return Honey Qing’s acrylic sign to me.”

Xie Qingxuan dodged the green-eyed cat’s block; the two circled around the Pure White Witch’s wheelchair. She blinked her innocent eyes and said:

“I’ll trade you my Miyuki keychain.”

Little Sakura felt a mix of emotions; buying her team’s special milk tea with her teammates and fighting for merchandise felt like a very abstract thing.

Chu Yuanqing’s pink lips curled up as she held her warm coconut milk tea. Her golden eyes, dim yet gentle, were focused on the person beside her when pushed through the doorway, completely unaware of the Dream Weaver Rabbit plush costume.

Inside the plush costume,

The Beast of Love, Beelzebub, crushed its own eyes in a split second, cutting off sight and perception.

Even so, that terrifying pressure, deep like an abyss and hot like the sun, still moved through time and history, making the spirals deep in the genes tremble violently, triggering a response like being splashed with hot oil.

The monster showed a fierce, joyful, and admiring smile, whispering to itself:

“Chu Yuanying, you have really become weaker.”