Mrs. Nashi's house.
Dashi stood at the doorway of Danasuo's room, tightly clutching an unfinished wood carving in his hands.
Although the body of the carving had not yet been shaped, the smile on its face was meticulously detailed.
It was clear that the carver had poured his heart into it.
Dashi lowered his head, staring at the wood carving as a voice from his memories slowly surfaced.
“Hey, Dashi.”
“Why do you like wood carving so much?”
In his memories, Danasuo looked exhausted.
Yet, when she saw Dashi using his claws to carve the piece bit by bit, she still walked over and gently patted her younger brother's back.
Startled by the voice behind him, Dashi jumped.
“Ah, Big Sister...”
Seeing Danasuo standing behind him, Dashi hurriedly tried to hide what he was carving.
But the more flustered he became, the harder it was to find a hiding place.
In the end, he could only hug the wood carving to his chest, as if protecting a precious treasure.
Danasuo couldn't help but laugh when she saw him like this.
“Hehehe.”
“Of course a big sister needs to understand her little brother's hobbies.”
As she spoke, she naturally reached out her hand, asking Dashi for the wood carving in his arms.
“Let me see it.”
“N-No, you can't.”
“Why not?”
“Because it's not finished yet.”
“Then I want to see it even more.”
“Big Sister!”
Dashi tried to dodge.
But even though Danasuo was in poor health back then, she was surprisingly quick when dealing with her little brother.
With a swift snatch, she grabbed the wood carving right out of Dashi's arms.
“Oh?”
Danasuo looked down at the carving in her hands.
It was a little girl that was still far from finished.
Though the face was still blurry, it was clearly meant to be her.
Looking at the carving, Danasuo's eyes lit up slightly.
Then, she looked up and gave Dashi a somewhat smug smile.
“I'll keep this wood carving safe for now.”
“Once you get past your childhood phase, I'll give it back to you.”
With that, she tucked the wood carving into her apron pocket.
Dashi reached out, trying to take it back.
“Big Sister, that's mine.”
“It's in my safekeeping now.”
“But...”
“No buts.”
Danasuo reached out and patted Dashi's head.
“Once you grow up a bit and get better at carving, you can make an even prettier one for me.”
Looking at his sister's smile, though Dashi was somewhat reluctant, he ultimately nodded.
“Then it's a promise.”
“Mhm.”
Danasuo leaned down and gently pressed her forehead against Dashi's.
“It's a promise.”
But in the end...
She never gave the wood carving back to him.
Standing in front of the door, Dashi stared at the wood carving in his hands, whose face he had now fully carved.
He had never been able to find that original carving.
She had clearly promised to return it to him.
She had clearly promised to return it once he grew out of his childhood phase.
Liar, Big Sister Danasuo was a big liar!
Just then, a knock sounded from downstairs.
Dashi snapped out of his memories.
After a moment of silence, he held the wood carving to his chest and slowly walked downstairs.
When he opened the door, he saw Lin Ling standing at the entrance, waving at him.
“Good morning, Dashi.”
Lin Ling wore a very bright smile.
Leticia stood right behind her.
Phelan followed behind them, still holding his recording board.
“Miss Saintess?”
Dashi looked at the group at his door, somewhat puzzled.
“Why are you here?”
“When the great Miss Saintess sees someone feeling down, of course she has to come and help resolve it.”
As Lin Ling spoke, she knelt down and patted Dashi's head.
Dashi didn't immediately smile like he usually did.
He just stared at Lin Ling.
Then, he glanced at Leticia behind her.
Leticia noticed his gaze.
She hesitated for a moment before crouching down as Lin Ling had, keeping her eyes level with Dashi's.
“Dashi.”
“About Danasuo...”
Leticia paused.
Then, she looked earnestly into Dashi's eyes.
“Last night, I sensed her light.”
She tried to convey through her gaze that she wasn't lying.
Hearing this, Dashi's hands suddenly clenched.
He first looked at Leticia.
Then he looked at Phelan behind her.
Phelan gave Dashi a gentle nod.
“Miss Leticia indeed possesses the ability to see things that ordinary perception cannot detect.”
“As a recorder, I can temporarily guarantee this fact.”
Upon hearing Phelan's words, a tiny flicker of hope seemed to ignite in Dashi's eyes.
“Is... Is that true?”
He looked at Leticia.
“Is it possible that Big Sister Danasuo is still alive?”
His voice trembled as he asked.
But Leticia only shook her head gently.
“I'm sorry, Dashi. I can't be sure.”
“What I saw last night was just a ball of light.”
“So, can we go check again to be sure?”
Leticia didn't want to give Dashi false hope.
Because to the current Dashi, false hope might be even more cruel than no hope at all.
When Dashi saw Leticia shake her head, the light in his eyes visibly dimmed.
Seeing his expression, Lin Ling gently patted his head.
“Dashi.”
“Could you tell us her story?”
Dashi looked up at Lin Ling.
Lin Ling smiled at him.
“Believe in Miss Saintess's miracles, okay?”
Dashi stared at Lin Ling.
She didn't say empty, comforting words like “It's okay” or “Everything will be fine,” which sounded gentle but changed nothing.
Lin Ling just smiled and looked at him.
Since a problem had arisen, they would find a way to solve it together.
Dashi thought of everything this Miss Saintess had done.
She had provided fields for everyone in the Demon King's Castle to farm.
She had saved them from having to endure the constant burning of magic.
She was the Miss Saintess who created miracles.
She was the Miss Saintess who was beginning to change the entire demon race.
So...
Maybe this time, he could believe in her too.
Dashi lowered his head and grabbed the hem of Lin Ling's sleeve.
It was as if he were clutching onto a hope he refused to let go of.
“Mhm.”
Dashi then led them to Danasuo's room.
The door was gently pushed open.
The layout of the room was exactly the same as last night.
Clean and quiet.
Yet traces of a lived-in life were everywhere.
As soon as Leticia entered the room, she saw the ball of light sitting by the window.
The ball of light was quietly staring out the window.
It was as if it were looking at the residential district.
Or waiting for someone to return.
The moment Dashi stepped into the room, the ball of light spun around.
Leticia felt the aura around it suddenly turn joyful.
It was like seeing someone after a long absence.
The ball of light gently drifted over.
It stopped right beside Dashi.
But Dashi couldn't see anything.
He just stood in the center of the room, head lowered, hugging the wood carving.
Watching this scene, Leticia felt an indescribable ache in her heart.
Then, she gently tugged at Lin Ling's sleeve and whispered:
“Lin Ling.”
“Mhm?”
“Can you see that light?”
Lin Ling followed Leticia's gaze.
She narrowed her eyes, looking very intently.
But there was nothing there.
At least in Lin Ling's eyes, there was absolutely nothing.
Lin Ling shook her head.
“I can't see it.”
After saying that, she looked back at Leticia.
A faint light flickered in Leticia's eyes.
Phelan noticed this too and immediately lowered his head to start recording.
“Leticia's vision ability activated once more.”
“Observation target suspected to be Danasuo's residual consciousness.”
“Lin Ling is unable to observe.”
“Recording continues.”
Lin Ling glanced at Phelan.
“Phelan, you're still taking notes at a time like this?”
“Because this is exactly when notes are needed.”
Phelan's tone remained calm.
Meanwhile, Dashi looked around the room.
He gathered his thoughts for a moment.
Finally, he slowly spoke, starting to talk about Danasuo.
“Big Sister Danasuo used to love smiling.”
“Even though she was always in poor health.”
“Mom was always making her lie down.”
“And Dad wouldn't let her run around.”
“But she would still sneak out of her room.”
Dashi lowered his head, staring at the wood carving in his hands.
“Whenever I was carving, she would sneak over and sit beside me to watch.”
“She'd even say my carvings were ugly.”
“But whenever I wanted to give up, she'd say that I'd definitely become an amazing carver in the future.”
As Dashi spoke, the corners of his mouth twitched as if trying to form a smile.
But before the smile could fully form, it vanished.
Listening to this, Lin Ling couldn't help but whisper:
“She sounds like a really wonderful sister.”
Dashi didn't disagree.
He only gripped the wood carving with the carved smiling face even tighter.
“But she was also a liar.”
“She said she'd return my carving once I grew out of my childhood phase.”
“She said when I grew up a bit, she wanted me to carve an even prettier one for her.”
“She also said...”
Dashi's voice grew quieter.
“She said she would watch me grow up.”
Silence fell over the room.
Leticia saw the ball of light hovering next to Dashi.
It seemed to want to draw closer to him.
Yet it didn't dare to.
It could only circle gently around him.
Dashi continued:
“Later, I started having nightmares.”
“And my body always felt very hot.”
“But I didn't dare tell Mom.”
“Because Mom was already so exhausted.”
“And Dad always came home really late.”
“Big Sister's health was already terrible by then.”
“I felt like if I said I was unwell too, everyone would be so sad.”
Leticia's eyes widened slightly.
Dashi had already realized something was wrong with him back then.
He just hadn't said anything.
And Danasuo had noticed it too.
That was why she had gone to see Phelan.
Phelan stood nearby, not interrupting Dashi.
He simply listened in silence, even halting his note-taking.
“But Big Sister found out,” Dashi said in a low voice.
Dashi whispered, “She asked me if I was feeling unwell somewhere.”
“I said no.”
“And then she got angry.”
“She told me that children shouldn't lie.”
Lin Ling: “...”
She looked at Dashi, then thought of how she usually claimed, “Miss Saintess isn't afraid at all.”
She couldn't help but feel like she was being targeted as well.
Dashi's voice continued to echo.
“Then, one night.”
“Big Sister suddenly said she wanted to play a game with me.”
“She said that if I woke up and didn't cry, she would return that wood carving to me.”
Dashi looked at the wood carving in his hands.
“I was so happy then.”
“Because I thought she was finally going to give it back to me.”
“But...”
His voice began to tremble.
“But when I woke up, she wasn't in the room at all.”
“At that time, Mom was crying, and Dad was crying too.”
“But Big Sister was gone.”
Dashi kept his head lowered.
“I asked them where she went.”
“But none of them would tell me.”
“Only later did I find out.”
“She had secretly used a forbidden spell.”
“She gave everything she had to me.”
Dashi gripped the wood carving tightly.
“But I didn't want any of those things.”
“I didn't want to become strong, and I didn't want to outlive her.”
“I just wanted her to return my wood carving.”
“And then keep calling my carvings ugly.”
By the time he finished speaking, his voice was choked with tears.
“She clearly promised.”
“She promised she would watch me grow up.”
“She's just a big liar.”
“I hate her...”
As his words fell, the ball of light beside Dashi trembled slightly.
The light had no voice to cry, nor any expression.
Yet Leticia could feel its profound sorrow.
It grew very dim.
So dim that it seemed like it might vanish at any moment.
Leticia instinctively took a step forward.
“Dashi.”
Dashi paid Leticia no mind.
“Miss Saintess.”
“Can you really find her?”
Lin Ling looked directly into Dashi's eyes.
This time, she didn't give a definitive answer.
Because she didn't know if she could do it either, Lin Ling fell silent for a moment.
In the end, she walked over to Dashi and gently knelt beside him.
“I don't know if I can.”
“But if she really is still here.”
“We will do our absolute best.”
Dashi slowly raised his head to look at Lin Ling.
Lin Ling offered him a smile.
“After all, Miss Saintess is very good at creating miracles.”
“Maybe there will be a miracle this time too, so just believe in Miss Saintess.”
Dashi stared at Lin Ling.
After a long while, he gave a soft nod.
“Mhm.”
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