When Anthony's shout echoed through the empty valley, even Wang was momentarily stunned, freezing in place.
After all, as a form of address, that particular word was something the Sui family found rather unfamiliar.
Even from Xiao Yu, you'd never really expect to hear that kind of thing.
So when Anthony called out those words, Wang's first reaction was: Who is he even calling?
Even Jie took a moment to register it, turning back to look at Anthony in surprise — only to find Anthony standing there completely unabashed, without so much as a flicker of embarrassment, glancing around casually as if nothing had happened.
Still, the effect of that form of address could only be described as instant.
In the blink of an eye, a canvas unfolded in the empty air. Then Xi carefully poked half her head out from within the painting, and after a long moment, spotted Anthony standing before her.
As if confirming the source of the voice, she met Anthony's smiling gaze. After a good while longer, she finally spoke in a tiny voice: "You called for me?"
"Mm, Xi-jie, I need your help with something."
Anthony said it openly and without the slightest hesitation, the smile at the corner of his mouth not shifting one bit — which only made Wang stare at him with increasingly odd eyes.
Beside them, Jie had already turned her head away and was desperately fighting back laughter.
And upon hearing that form of address from Anthony's mouth a second time, Xi found herself swallowing back whatever she'd been about to say, at something of a loss for words.
It took quite a while before she managed to stammer: "Ah — oh — okay… what did you need?"
"I'm calling my big sister out to help. We need to deal with the Year Beast — I need you to lend a hand."
Anthony's voice remained perfectly steady. It was Xi who, amid the steady stream of jies, gradually lost herself.
She even began inching back into the canvas, as if she'd never in her life encountered such an overwhelming situation.
In the end, only after Anthony had finished laying out the plan did she suddenly come back to herself — and even then, she replied while scooting further toward the inside of the canvas:
"The Year Beast situation can actually be resolved?"
"Mm, we have a way now. It's just that ideally everyone needs to contribute a bit."
Anthony nodded as he said this. Xi seemed to wake from a dream, and gave a firm nod of her own.
But a moment later, she sank back into that state of being lost amid a sea of jies, lowering her head and saying in a voice so small it was almost inaudible:
"…Okay. Just call me when the time comes."
She said it and was about to retreat back into the scroll — but Anthony's hand shot out and caught her arm, rattling off words at high speed:
"Don't go back in, jie — let's get moving. Last stop is Shu-jie and Jun-jie, and then we're almost ready to set off."
Xi opened her mouth. Looked back at the scroll behind her.
Then, as if steeling herself for something, she finally slipped out of the painting — temporarily shedding her homebody identity and planting both feet on solid ground.
Under the assault of jie, she'd surrendered something.
Anthony murmured a few more things to Xi, then handed her a beacon, sending her ahead to wait aboard the Stygian Vessel.
Xi stood holding the beacon, silent for a moment, watching Anthony and the others walk away.
…
Her head was spinning a little.
Xi already felt somewhat dizzy and turned around. After a good while, she suddenly looked back and spotted Wang standing beside her.
He seemed to have doubled back with a chess piece just now, and was looking at Xi, then at the beacon in her hand — visibly hesitating as if wanting to say something.
"Something on your mind, Second Brother?"
Xi collected herself and asked.
"Nothing really. Just — looking at the situation back there, I felt like I wanted to say something. Stayed a moment and realized there wasn't anything to say after all."
After a long silence, Wang sighed and spoke:
"Xi — what do you make of Little Thirteen these days?"
"Little Thirteen? He's a good person."
He calls me jie.
Xi thought about it and gave that answer. Wang seemed to go quiet — but the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily. Twice.
He found himself at a loss for what to say.
"Fair enough. Not wrong, I suppose."
In the end, Wang let out a long sigh, his figure gradually dissolving into the wind.
Letting Xi and Pò mess around like this — it was actually kind of nice.
At least no one was getting hurt, and everyone seemed pretty happy about it. The only question was, if some of the other siblings were around — say, Nian — and that earth-shattering jie rang out…
Just how many wide-eyed, barely-holding-it-together moments would that cause?
Wait — actually, if Nian were there, would Pò really still have said it?
Wang snapped out of his thoughts mid-stride, suddenly pausing with a start, having spotted a blind spot in his reasoning.
He turned the thought over, then glanced back at Anthony — who was whistling cheerfully, strolling through the mountain woods, checking the next beacon's location.
Anthony seemed to notice Wang's gaze and looked back with a smile:
"Something up, Second Brother?"
"Nothing. Just suddenly thinking about something to do with you."
Wang turned his head back, speaking mildly: "Funny thing — thinking it through, it's actually not bad at all."
Here they were, on the eve of the Year Beast's defeat, and the Sui family had gained a Little Thirteen.
An outsider originally, but now — everyone seemed to have gradually started accepting this new little brother.
After all, if it were anyone else in his place, would Xi have ever acknowledged them with that jie?
And truthfully, Wang had noticed clearly: that sense of distance Anthony had always carried around him seemed to have been fading lately.
He was slowly, genuinely integrating himself into the Sui family.
As if he'd finally begun to accept his current identity.
That was probably a good change, wasn't it?
He watched Anthony — but in the next moment, the image that surfaced in his mind was still that scene of Anthony calling Xi jie, and so he fell silent once more.
Finally, with a sigh, he said:
"So — how exactly did you come up with this approach?"
"It's fun, isn't it?"
Anthony shrugged and answered: "If it makes everyone happy, and I find it entertaining — why not?"
Wang went silent for a moment, with a vague sense of foreboding.
It was like the rowdy little kid in the family — who already had three troublemakers at seventh, eighth, and ninth — was about to gain a Little Thirteen to add to the chaos.
He felt a genuine, unironic dread for what post-Year-Beast family life was going to look like.
Was there any hope of it ever being quiet again?
"Compared to when we first met — you've really changed a lot."
"You've changed even more, actually."
Anthony shot back with a sideways glance at Wang:
"Who was it that just quietly slipped away and went to have a little chat with the family?"
Wang's little move had been completely invisible to the old Anthony — but not to this one, who now had the Stygian King at his disposal. One sweep of that soul-sense, and everything within a hundred li was crystal clear.
Honestly, Anthony blending into the Sui family was surprising enough. But Wang actually voluntarily going out of his way to express care for his family? That was somehow even more remarkable.
"Things have been getting better, haven't they?"
Anthony smiled warmly. Wang's mouth opened soundlessly — but before he could get a word in, Anthony waved a hand, cutting off whatever he hadn't said yet:
"Alright, beacon's locked."
"Get ready — we're going to find Shu-jie. Hope you can keep up that energy you just had — the kind where you actually reach out to people."
Wang chose, cleanly and decisively, to shut his mouth. He looked up toward the distance.
And said nothing more.
Two hours later.
When Wang was standing in a rice paddy planting seedlings, he would begin to reflect seriously on just why he had followed Anthony out here.
If he'd known it would come to this, he would have just rotted away in that ancient temple.
In short: deep, profound regret.
That thought flashed through Wang's mind. And then he heard Shu's voice:
"Second Brother, that seedling's crooked."
Shu had been watching Wang plant rice shoots for a while before she finally spoke up, causing Wang's expression to stiffen slightly.
Then Shu straightened up, looked out over the paddy, and shook her head helplessly:
"Second Brother, if I hadn't been watching you the whole time, I'd think you were slacking on purpose."
"The seedlings are crooked and thin on the ground. Little Thirteen finished his entire section already — look, he's on his way back."
Shu said this and nodded in Anthony's direction, sending Wang back into silence, uncertain what to say.
"Jie…"
He turned his head toward Jie, who was standing to the side. Jie let out a small laugh and said to Wang:
"Sorry, Second Brother, there's nothing I can do."
"I'm still just a soul, after all. It's not like I can come down and help you plant rice, is it?"
Wang had reached the point where he genuinely didn't know what to say anymore.
Meanwhile, Anthony had finished planting his section and was making his way back, now standing on the raised path between the paddies, watching Wang's predicament with a smile.
To be fair — transplanting rice shoots was, for Anthony, an absolute walk in the park.
No matter how tedious it got, couldn't he just cheat with the Stygian King?
All one could say was: if the Stygian King had a self-awareness, and knew it had been brought into existence only to help plant rice — it would probably choose to rust on the assembly line rather than cooperate.
Feeling the increasingly aggrieved weight of Wang's stare, Anthony's smile only grew brighter.
Earlier, when Anthony and the others had found Shu and explained the situation, she had agreed to it all without a second thought.
But then — upon hearing that Anthony had specifically dragged Wang along, and had quietly told Shu he wanted to help shake Second Brother out of the reclusive funk he'd been in lately — well, things had naturally evolved into the current state of affairs.
Of course, whether there was a little personal satisfaction mixed in there on someone's part — that was none of Anthony's business.
"All sorted?"
Shu turned toward Anthony and asked. Anthony nodded openly.
Then he felt something ruffle through his hair. He instinctively reached up — but whatever had just settled over his head was already gone.
It had even carefully smoothed his hair back down, gentle as anything.
"Mm, well done."
Shu smiled and said it. Anthony opened his mouth.
Whatever words might have been forming — possibly not entirely appropriate ones — were swallowed back down. In the end, only one sentence came out:
"Thank you, Shu-jie."
He said it honestly and obediently, and then was given another gentle ruffle of the hair. She smiled, her expression warm and unhurried.
The attentiveness she showed toward family was always like that — thorough, down to the smallest detail.
Wang watched the scene unfold, said nothing, and in a soundless exhale, lowered his head and went back to his arduous seedling planting.
"Alright, Second Brother, you can stop."
"Take a rest — we weren't actually planning to make you finish this whole plot."
Shu suddenly called out to Wang. Wang blinked, then without a word set everything down, wiped the mud from his hands, and walked out of the paddy.
"How are you feeling now, Second Brother? This was punishment for someone who's been away from home too long, you know."
Shu said it with a smile. Wang looked back but didn't reply. It wasn't until much later that he heard Shu's gentle question:
"Second Brother — do you feel, now, maybe just a little bit closer to home?"
"Yeah. I think so."
Wang finally spoke, voice rough, eyes carrying a trace of something faraway. But Shu didn't press any further on that, and instead shifted the subject:
"Are you in a rush? If not — let me make you all a meal."
"It definitely won't be as good as Xiao Yu's. But still — eat one more before you go."
Wang and Anthony exchanged a glance, then Anthony clapped him on the shoulder and cut in:
"We're not in a rush. The preliminary prep still needs a little while — waiting a bit is fine."
"We'll head out first — you've got the rest, Shu-jie."
And so Anthony naturally steered Wang away from the scene. Shu watched the backs of the two as they left, then finally turned to look at Jie — who had been smiling quietly from start to finish.
"Jie-jie."
Shu suddenly called out and said: "You — you're going to be revived soon, aren't you?"
"Yes, and really, I have Little Thirteen and Second Brother to thank for that."
Jie gave a small nod, her tone carrying a faint note of feeling: "If anything, I'm the one who hasn't done much this whole time — I feel a little ashamed, honestly."
"What are you talking about."
Shu shook her head, then said: "Once the Year Beast is dealt with, they said you can come back."
"And when that happens — our family will finally be whole again."
Complete, in every sense of the word.
She watched the two figures disappear into the distance, thinking that to herself.
They'd really waited such a very long time.
Ever since Jie died, the twelve brothers and sisters — it was hard to call them a complete family.
Jie's death had caused Second Brother to gradually withdraw into himself, until by now, he had been separated from the family for a long time.
Even though everyone knew he still loved this family dearly, they could only watch him grow more and more clumsy around them — and so he had grown distant.
As a result, the whole Sui family had felt like it was missing a connection — suddenly scattered and loose.
And now, at last — Jie was going to be revived. Second Brother had started coming back. After so long, Shu could feel that old sense of home again.
Not only did they have a new Little Thirteen — Second Brother was returning, and Jie-jie had seen the hope of coming home.
The only thing standing between now and that moment was dealing with the Year Beast. And after that — the family would truly be whole again.
Watching Anthony run around tirelessly on everyone's behalf, Shu had naturally come to understand at least part of his purpose.
Dragging Wang along on this journey was also about helping Wang let go of the distance that had built up over time — and find his way back to the family.
And equally, it was Anthony's own attempt to fit into this family.
He was trying to find some anchors for himself. Within distant, horizon-less goals, to find a harbor where he could rest and set down his weariness.
And so he threw himself tirelessly into keeping everyone connected, and worked hard at settling into the identity of "Sui Family's Little Thirteen."
Before resolving the Year Beast — first resolve this last lingering loose end. So that once the Year Beast was gone, all that was left for the Sui family would be quiet happiness.
Shu took it all in.
So — what reason was there not to welcome this tireless, hard-working little brother who had accomplished so much?
And not to welcome back the Second Brother who had been away from home for far too long?
Give them a small trial to pass through — and that was enough. More important than anything was that feeling of being able to bicker and mess around, the way family does.
"Come back soon, Jie-jie."
In the end, Shu said it to Jie with heartfelt sincerity and anticipation:
"You're the only one left."
"I will, sooner or later."
Jie smiled and said: "I still want to have one more of Xiao Yu's meals."
"Then I'll be waiting for you too."
Shu laughed as well, looking out over the vast waves of wheat rippling across the Great Desolate City, and meant every word.
After staying to share the meal Shu warmly put together, Anthony and Wang didn't linger — they left the Great Desolate City and set off to find the last delegate.
Anthony had roughly calculated it: the time left for them to enjoy this warmth with family was just about exactly this much and no more.
Under the behind-the-scenes coordination of his main body, the several delegates aboard the Stygian Vessel had already completed their plan discussions, blueprints included — all designed and finalized.
Given that the Artificer's technology could build even enormous equipment in just a few hours, the prep work would be wrapped up within this small window of time.
So, without further delay, Anthony took Wang and Jie and immediately headed to the last location — Jun's place.
Of course, this time, Wang absolutely refused to carry the conversation again.
On one hand, perhaps he was genuinely a little worn out from social exertion. On the other hand, the reason was…
"Jie — you go ahead."
Wang turned to Jie and said: "Last time at the gathering, Jun seemed to hold back because there were a lot of people who wanted to talk to you. She didn't get to say much."
"This time around, you two must have a lot more to say."
Jie paused, then nodded at Wang. Anthony, hearing this, slowed his pace, and a moment later, nudged Wang twice with his elbow, asking quietly:
"Really not going to join in?"
Wang glanced at Anthony and said nothing.
"Is it enough now?"
After a moment, Anthony asked again: "How are you feeling? Do you think you can go back — to the way things were when Jie-jie was still alive, back into the family?"
"Should be okay now."
Wang finally let out a sigh and said: "Once the Year Beast is dealt with, it's about time I went home, isn't it? Can't keep locking myself up in that ancient temple forever."
"What about you, though?"
Wang looked at Anthony and finally said it.
In this regard — setting aside Jie — Wang was the one who understood most clearly that Anthony had absolutely no prior connection to the Sui family.
Which was also why he saw things more clearly than Shu. Anthony was, in truth, a passing traveler here. The reason he stayed and did all of this came down to one single thing.
He had genuinely begun to feel a wish to linger here for a while.
At the very least, Wang was clear about this: at the beginning, this guy's plan had probably really been nothing more than — finish the Year Beast business, get what he came for, and leave.
As for when the change happened — perhaps at that Sui family gathering.
"Me? I feel pretty good, honestly."
Anthony looked up at Jie's back ahead of them and said calmly: "Hasn't this whole journey made it clear enough what I'm thinking?"
"Don't worry — this will all be resolved properly. I'm not likely to stop moving forward, but I can also stay here for a while."
Anthony gave that answer, which also made some of his intentions plain.
Pò and he were, after all, not fundamentally different. Pò was the manifestation of his main body's soul. Anthony couldn't be said to be entirely the same as Pò — but Pò could be said to be Anthony.
He would indeed never stop moving forward. But Pò could.
From a purely utilitarian standpoint, having Pò eventually leave Terra and continue grinding away elsewhere was the maximum-profit option. But you couldn't do everything purely for profit, could you?
Like this — walking along, he knocked on the door at the entrance ahead of them, holding Jie's little dragon bubble and standing at the doorstep, waiting for someone to answer.
Wang watched Anthony's actions and said no more.
Before long, the door opened, and out stepped a person with purple hair, radiating an air of noble elegance. Then she looked past the door, and a trace of surprise crossed her face.
"Jie? And Little Thirteen — what brings you both here?"
Jun looked at the two of them and offered that greeting, then glanced up at Wang standing behind Anthony.
Wang gave Jun a small shake of his head — meaning: I'll explain later. Let me just rest for a bit. Pò's been torturing me all day and I'm genuinely exhausted.
So Jun's face naturally took on a smile with just a hint of mockery, and she let Wang be.
"Jun-jie, before we catch up, let me explain why we're here."
Anthony spoke up and took the reins of the conversation for the moment.
And so, as Jun led them inside, Anthony explained the Year Beast plan and the current status of preparations.
Jun nodded along repeatedly, and after hearing Anthony's rundown, she suddenly asked:
"Where does everything stand right now?"
Anthony answered:
"Everything's in place — just waiting on the wind."
"Once that last bit of fine detail work is done, we'll be entering the Year Mausoleum. A good number of people are already aboard the Stygian Vessel, waiting."
Anthony said this, then turned to Jun:
"So — this is the last bit of leisure time we've got."
"Leaving it till the very last moment — almost like you're deliberately building up some dramatic tension."
Jun shook her head and delivered the quip with mock seriousness. Anthony coughed twice and said:
"Next time I'll definitely come to you first. Mainly it was because Second Brother wasn't willing to… "
Wang: ?
How did this loop back around to me? What does this have to do with me — wait, actually, I think I might have said something along those lines.
The slow-on-the-uptake Wang said nothing further. Kept quiet. That was fine then.
Jun's gaze shifted to Jie, and she gave her a small nod: "Well, we don't have much time — is there anything you'd like to do?"
"Mm — can you eat things right now?"
She asked with genuine concern: "I've been experimenting with some new things lately. If you're able, would you like to try some?"
"I heard about pineapple pizza from the Columbia side — and on a whim, I made some buns with pineapple filling wrapped in strawberry-flavored dough."
Before Jun finished that string of words, before Jie could even react, Anthony reacted first.
Sure, his Stand didn't have a sense of touch — but this kind of thing, look — before he died he was at least a person from the mainland, and just hearing it was deeply, viscerally wrong.
What the hell even is that?
"Jun-jie, that's a bit too experimental, isn't it?"
He said it with a twitch of the eye. Jun said nothing, but raised an eyebrow.
But at that point, Jie delivered her response, after careful deliberation:
"Jun-jie — could you play me a song instead?"
Jie said it earnestly: "It's been so long since I've heard you play. Thinking back on it now, I actually miss it."
"Going into this without hearing one of your songs — I feel like something's missing."
Jun paused, then nodded: "What would you like to hear?"
"Just please, not the kazoo."
Jie laughed at that, and so, for once, Jun broke into a genuine smile as well.
Then she retrieved an instrument, raised it to her lips, and began to play softly.
It was an xun.
Not the trendy rock instruments popular lately, not anything newfangled — instead, she had chosen this ancient thing.
A long, far-carrying melody flowed from the opening, and Anthony closed his eyes, quietly listening to the piece Jun was performing.
The melody had no name — possibly something Jun had improvised on the spot. But at the very least, Anthony felt there was something within it that reached across time — a longing that had outlasted the years.
Like a song of remembrance that had finally been given voice after a long, long journey through time.
Except the person being remembered was right here. And the thing being remembered — was finally coming back.
The music moved from piece to piece, wearing away the long stretch of time, gradually crystallizing into something resolute.
It was almost time.
Then — let us draw a close to all of this.
As the last note faded, Anthony came back to himself and opened his eyes.
Then, through the shared perception he had with his main body, he confirmed one thing.
The final preparations were complete. All the commissioned equipment had finished fabrication.
In other words — everything was ready.
"Jun-jie."
Anthony spoke gently and called her name. Jun set down the xun, and then understood:
"Time to go?"
"Mm, yeah — it's about time."
Anthony said it with something like a sigh, eyes slightly narrowed, the smile on his face easy and glad.
"Then let's go."
Jun said, and stood.
Now — it was time to write the most complete ending of all to this.
The Year Beast elimination plan began, right on schedule.
Aboard the Stygian Vessel, Anthony first modified the phase-transit engine according to the blueprints, ensuring it could enter consciousness space and sub-dimensional pockets and other such chaotic locations.
Then, using the chat group's teleportation ability, he rapidly locked in coordinates inside the Year's consciousness space — dropped a waypoint — and followed the pull of the Primordial River straight back out.
No pauses. No hesitation. Riding the raw output of the Stygian King, it was done so cleanly and silently that not a soul noticed.
It made Anthony feel, in a rare moment, something like genuine appreciation.
Not going to lie — being the biggest stat-check monster in the room really did feel good.
Of course, what came next — actually fighting the Year Beast — would require an even bigger stat-check monster.
And first, someone would need to draw out whatever was lurking inside the Year's consciousness space.
As for who that task naturally fell to — wasn't that already obvious?
In the midst of churning, endless turbulence, Wang slowly opened his eyes, holding the book-blade Jie had left behind.
In his ears, Anthony's instructions still echoed.
"No matter what — don't overthink it. Just hold on. You don't need to deal damage. You just need to tank hits — and tank them with understanding."
One hundred and eighty-one black stones.
Perhaps it really was as Anthony had said.
He recalled the second half of what Anthony had told him:
"Just draw it out. That's all."
And so Wang raised his head, looking out into the endless stretch of time before him. Within the turbulence, countless fragments of the past surfaced and converged here all at once.
Strange noise flooded his ears, gradually sharpening into clarity — filling with something mocking.
And moreover, it seemed to carry a trend toward solidifying, to the point where coherent meaning could begin to take shape within it.
But it was precisely at that moment that a miniature shrine at his waist — a gift from Little Thirteen — began to glow faintly.
It transmitted the soul's information relentlessly, feeding it to the distant, largest soul port.
Artificer's Frame — Stygian King!
And so, at Yumen Gate, Anthony opened his eyes in turn.
"This much soul information… it's a bit sparse, but it should be enough."
He murmured softly, then @'d Carmen again in the chat group, and turned to look at Chongyue — who had been standing at his side at Yumen Gate, waiting.
"How does it look?"
"All set. Everyone's at their positions and ready."
Anthony replied evenly: "All we need is for the plan to begin. Which means, Brother — it's your turn to perform."
In an instant, Chongyue understood.
"What do I need to do?"
"Hold on a moment."
Anthony said this, reached into his pocket, and pulled out that glass window pane. He held it out in front of Chongyue.
"Please, look into this."
So Chongyue lowered his gaze.
And at the same moment, deep within the long river of time, Carmen looked up, gazing at the full tapestry of possibilities spread across the sky like stars — and raised an eyebrow.
With the points Anthony had been supplying, Carmen could now reach just a little further outside the Leaf Company, extending her hand into the beyond.
Except — in principle, Terra should have been completely out of reach.
Ah, but then! Why not ask about the wondrous flow of things?
Having visited the world of Terra once before, Carmen smiled, then reached out both hands and touched one of the stars in the sky.
Full spread.
"To think — even within the river, I can still find your existence."
Carmen said it as if in surprise, and then tapped that star open.
The star named Terra!
Yes — this was, impossibly, official canon — a genuine possibility properly incorporated into the river's domain.
What needed to be done next was entirely self-evident.
And so Carmen reached out, and layered this one possibility over the surface of the glass window pane.
In the next moment, on the surface of the glass pane before Chongyue, a face materialized — solemn and imposing.
It was him.
It was not him.
But regardless — in this moment, only one thing was certain.
And so — in the next instant, Chongyue opened his eyes again, and within them, something fierce had risen.
Even though his memory was unaffected, the possibility had already been overlaid.
The possibility known as Shuo had descended.
And then, following the connection, his gaze turned — and was cast toward the interior of the Year Mausoleum.
____
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