# 897
Chapter 898: Wang Mian's Whereabouts
The wind and rain drifted across the deserted mountain path, where a figure in pure black kimono held a red paper umbrella, ascending the stone steps.
Rainwater dripped from the edge of the paper umbrella. As it tilted slightly, the surface of the water droplets reflected a handsome face.
Ding ding ding——!
The crisp ringtone of a phone pierced the air.
The figure paused slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he still took out his phone from his bosom and brought it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello?! Amemiya-oniichan!"
"Yuzuri Nana? What's wrong?"
"I went to that cliff again today! Guess what I found!!"
Hearing Yuzuri Nana's excited tone, Amemiya Haruki was stunned. He thought of a certain possibility, and a glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes.
"Is he back?!"
"No, I found an old man!"
"……"
"This old man also drifted over with the ocean current, and when I found him, his time was also frozen, exactly like it was with Qiye-oniichan back then!" Yuzuri Nana became more and more excited as she spoke, "I think he might be from the same place as Qiye-oniichan!"
An old man from the same place as Lin Qiye?
That would mean Great Xia, right?
Amemiya Haruki raised an eyebrow.
"Can he understand us?"
"Doesn't seem like it. After he woke up, he just sat in the corner silently. No matter what I said to him, he ignored me."
"……I understand. When I'm done with what I'm handling, I'll go check on him at the Kazari residence."
"Amemiya-oniichan, haven't you found the last Magatsu Blade yet?"
"Not yet."
"Okay, then I'll wait for you at the Kazari residence."
"Mm."
Amemiya Haruki hung up. After walking along the mountain path for a long while and searching the entire mountain, he sighed helplessly.
"Another incorrect prophecy from Hoshimi today……"
He shook his head, held up his paper umbrella, and turned toward the下山 path.
……
"Yesterday at four in the afternoon, another group assault incident occurred at Shinsaibashi. Eight drunk violent residents rushed into a jewelry store with knives, stabbing the store manager sixteen times. They stole all the valuable gold items in the store. The manager collapsed to the ground and asked passersby for help, but no one extended a hand. He ultimately died from excessive blood loss……"
"……As of yesterday, this week alone has seen one hundred and thirty-two consecutive malicious assault incidents on passersby in Osaka, with casualties involving thousands. The Osaka Police Department lacks sufficient peacekeeping personnel. Currently, the Black Killing Squad has armed intervention, replacing the police to suppress all malicious riots in the Kansai region and maintain order……"
"……Here at Dawn Broadcast, we remind all residents to avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary. If you find yourself experiencing symptoms such as red eyes, insomnia, or inexplicable rage, please rush to the nearest hospital for isolation treatment……"
Snap——!
In the Japanese-style courtyard of the Kazari residence, Yuzuri Nana turned off the radio switch and stood up from the tatami.
Not long ago, the Night Watch squad had slashed through Pure Land with their blades, shutting down 92% of electronic devices inside the Human Enclosure. All televisions, electronic screens were unusable, and broadcast stations had all ceased operations. Now throughout all of Japan, only radios—relatively the most energy-efficient broadcast method—could be used to transmit information.
"This world really is getting more chaotic by the day……" Yuzuri Nana sighed. She went to the kitchen to brew a cup of tea, held it in her hands, and walked to the corner of the room.
There, an elderly man with white hair was gazing up at the cherry blossom tree swaying outside the window, lost in thought.
The breeze brushed past, lifting his ashen temples. Several pink cherry blossom petals fell onto his wrinkled hand dorsum. He sat there in a daze, his eyes dim and lifeless, like a despirited stone statue.
In his hand, he clutched a mask inscribed with the character "王" (King), with a fine crack running through its center, as if it had struck against something.
"Old grandpa, have some water?" Yuzuri Nana handed the teacup in her hands to the old man, speaking softly.
Wang Mian showed no reaction.
Yuzuri Nana pouted. She placed the steaming teacup beside him and patiently gestured with both hands, essentially trying to tell Wang Mian that the tea wasn't poisoned and he could drink it.
After gesturing for a long while, Wang Mian still ignored her, motionless.
The flustered Yuzuri Nana, now sweating profusely from the effort, seemed somewhat angry. She stood up from the tatami, pouting her lips, and murmured resentfully: "How can this person be so dense? I gestured for so long and he still doesn't understand……看来大夏人，也不都像七夜哥哥那么聪明。" (It seems not all Great Xia people are as smart as Qiye-oniichan.)
Upon hearing the last half of that sentence, Wang Mian's body slightly stirred.
He turned sharply to look at Yuzuri Nana, opened his cracked lips, and asked in somewhat rusty Japanese: "Great Xia? How do you know about Great Xia?"
This time it was Yuzuri Nana's turn to be stunned.
"You can understand Japanese?!" Yuzuri Nana stamped her feet in frustration, "Then why didn't you respond to anything I said?"
Wang Mian stared directly into her eyes, repeating his question: "How do you know about Great Xia?"
"Because Qiye-oniichan drifted over from the sea. And at that time, his body was also frozen in time, exactly the same as when you arrived……Qiye-oniichan told me he came from Great Xia."
"Qiye-oniichan?"
"Asaba Nanafusa." Yuzuri Nana paused, adding: "His real name is Lin Qiye."
Lin Qiye?
Hearing this familiar name, a spark of light flickered in Wang Mian's eyes. He leaned against the wall in a daze,苦涩的苦笑 (bitterly smiled).
What a coincidence……
After being awakened by Yuzuri Nana, it took Wang Mian only a very short time to realize where he was.
As the captain of the Mask Squad, he knew that various divine kingdoms within the mist all had Human Enclosures. Moreover, he had recently heard news that Night Watch had just returned from Japan's Human Enclosure, and he roughly understood the situation inside the Human Enclosure.
Most importantly, as a God's代理人 (agent), he had promised the God of Time to retrieve an item from Takamagahara for them.
In order to retrieve this item, Wang Mian had long begun preparations, which of course included learning Japanese and a superficial analysis of Japanese culture. He knew that one day he would have to embark on a journey to find Takamagahara.
Only he never could have imagined that before he could actively seek out Takamagahara, he would be directly swept into Japan's Human Enclosure by the ocean current. And the first person he saw upon opening his eyes actually knew Lin Qiye……
All of this was simply too coincidental.
If it were before, Wang Mian would have been filled with curiosity to explore this Human Enclosure, and，顺便 (on the side) search for traces of Takamagahara. But now……he didn't have the mood.
The Human Enclosure也好 (也好 = whether it's……or), Takamagahara也好, the promise with the God of Time也好—none of it mattered anymore.
The moment Yuzuri Nana had awakened him on the shore, releasing him from the state of time stagnation, the first thought in Wang Mian's mind was to immediately reverse time to before the Mask Squad entered the fishing village, to stop all this from happening, to save his brothers' lives.
But he discovered that he couldn't……
Because,
his lifespan was no longer enough.