After Acheron went out for a stroll, today's heart-to-heart talk between father and daughter quietly came to an end.
Ye Guizhou collapsed weakly onto the bed, a complex sigh rising in his heart.
"I accidentally ended up learning some quite incredible things."
He had intended to clarify his relationship and have a showdown with Acheron, but not only did he fail to get his wish, he was instead gently comforted by her and unexpectedly learned some shocking facts.
At this thought, Ye Guizhou's brow furrowed slightly as his gaze drifted aimlessly toward the ceiling, murmuring to himself:
I didn't want Mo Qing to worry, so I thought I'd talk to Acheron alone first... but now, the words are even harder to say...
After some deep thought, Ye Guizhou's eyes suddenly became serious and solemn.
He decided that the contents of today's conversation with Acheron must be kept secret for the time being.
Otherwise, if what Sister Acheron had told him today were made public to the family, it would not only cause Mo Qing heart-wrenching pain but might even bring about irreparable harm.
Thinking of this, Ye Guizhou's gaze swept across the gloomy window like a hawk, alertly catching every hint of unusual sound.
Even if he wasn't an Ability User himself, he knew exactly how shocking everything Sister Acheron said today was.
If these secrets were known by those within the supernatural circles, Sister Acheron would surely fall into endless conflict and danger.
And that was not something he wished to see.
After checking several times and confirming everything was in order, Ye Guizhou pondered for a moment, his mind made up: in the future, he would have Mo Qing pay more attention to Acheron.
Regarding everything Acheron had recounted, he did not deliberately offer words of comfort.
After all, for Acheron, who had walked so far and experienced so many vicissitudes, he only needed to provide a warm harbor to dock at during her brief stay, doing whatever small things they could...
"..."
Acheron stepped out of the house, her eyes lightly closed, standing quietly in place like a statue.
A breeze drifted by, her red dress swaying gently, outlining that flawless curve as if time had frozen at this moment.
Just then, the sky that had been clear in the morning quietly lost its warmth.
The blue sky and white clouds were replaced by a gloomy curtain; a cold wind swept past, and dark clouds spread like spilled ink. It was likely that raindrops would soon tap upon the earth.
The cool breeze brushed against her face, and her purple bangs rose with the wind like butterfly wings, revealing a pair of cold and beautiful purple eyes.
Acheron gazed at the inexplicably changing weather on the horizon, where clouds hung low and the wind scattered them.
She remained silent, her gaze like the still water of a frozen lake.
Although the talk with her father was within Acheron's expectations, the timing caught her by surprise.
Perhaps it's because the influence of "IX" on myself has weakened after unlocking the system that today's conversation happened.
After all, having lived together for several years, the subtle changes in Acheron over the past few months had likely long been keenly noticed by the family.
Drip...
A raindrop quietly slid down.
A continuous drizzle, like threads of silk, gradually wove into a hazy mist.
"Sister Acheron... are you okay?" Little Yao asked softly.
Her gaze fell on Acheron's flickering expression, a hint of unease rising in her heart.
Little Yao respected the privacy of Acheron and the family, so she hadn't eavesdropped on the conversation between Sister Acheron and Ye Guizhou earlier.
However, after Acheron stepped out of the house, Little Yao felt that her mysterious aura seemed to have quietly changed, in a way that was subtly indescribable.
But as for how exactly it had changed, Little Yao couldn't seem to put it into words.
Thus, the simple and silly Little Yao decisively chose to ask what she didn't understand.
Hearing this, a sweet, shallow smile appeared on Acheron's face, but she didn't answer the question.
"Hmm... the weather was so nice, why did it suddenly start raining?"
Little Yao rubbed her eyes with her furry little hands and looked toward the hazy curtain of rain, her heart full of curiosity.
She noticed that Acheron kept staring at the rain, her eyes holding a faint, barely perceptible focus.
"Could it be... Sister, you want to take a walk in the rain? Do you really like rainy days?"
Sister Acheron's cold gaze swept over the rainy scenery outside the door.
She slowly took out her red oil-paper umbrella. The canopy bloomed in the rain, like a blood-colored rose in full bloom against the gray background.
Her red high heels stepped out in an elegant arc, each step landing on the ripples of the rainwater, splashing fine droplets.
The raindrops hit the umbrella with a dense, soft pitter-patter; a cold breeze swept through her hair, carrying a faint chill, as if even the air was stained with her coldness.
"Listening to the rain fall from red leaves, the sound of droplets on the umbrella is a rustling whisper... from it, I gain a moment of peace."
Little Yao: (;o_o)
Little Yao blinked her large, round eyes, showing a cute and confused expression.
Then she couldn't help but mutter in a low voice:
"Sister Acheron is starting to say strange things again. No wonder the videos online always say they hate riddle-makers the most."
Although she felt that what Sister Acheron said seemed to hide some profound truth, Little Yao's little brain couldn't wrap itself around it; she simply couldn't understand.
Little Yao, who disliked being wet, shivered as the cold wind blew. Her tiny body instantly curled into a ball, her fur standing on end from the cold.
She hurriedly glanced at Sister Acheron, and after confirming that the latter was indeed fine, she turned around without hesitation, kicked her short legs, and ran back into the warm house in a flash.
Little Yao (๑꒪▿꒪): 'Ugh... on a cold and wet rainy day, it's most comfortable to curl up in a soft home and read novels or manga~! Walking in the rain... Sister Acheron can just go by herself. I'll wait at home for her to come back and make hot cocoa~.'
Acheron looked at her suddenly empty shoulder and watched the little white creature fly back home. She could only shake her head helplessly, not forcing the other.
After the small interlude, Acheron slowly stepped into the curtain of rain.
The sound of rain fell like a bead curtain, washing over her ears and filtering the noise of the world into a clear silence.
Because of this, her heart also gained a moment of peace.
In the long folds of time, Acheron was always like a drifting fallen leaf, wandering in the gap between her past life and the present.
Those memory fragments peeled away by years or nothingness were like scattered stars; they had clearly once filled her sky, yet it was difficult to piece them back into a complete path.
She once thought she was but a speck of dust in the universe, drifting in the void, muddily following the current.
Until her father's words brushed over the frozen earth like a spring breeze, and his figure cast a warm silhouette in the morning light; only then did those forgotten and buried things quietly awaken like a stream beneath the ice.
Acheron's heart-lake rippled with a long-lost feeling—a sense of being caught, a groundedness, a peace of finally finding a place to belong.
"Even if my life now is but an insignificant footnote, everything I experience will be a real existence."
At this thought, Acheron finally fully integrated into the life of this world.