o you want to do?"
The moment she caught something on her face, Yu Qintu's expression changed slightly.
"...I said I would take responsibility for AMu, but I failed the promise... I'm going to find him and bring him back..."
The corners of Ruan Mei's lips curled up abnormally, carrying a disturbing and eerie quality.
She was willing to pay any price!
The other two guessed her intention immediately upon hearing this without needing to think.
Black Swan only frowned deeply, her reaction still somewhat restrained.
Yu Qintu was not as restrained as her; her face changed almost instantly.
"Do you want to continue being crazy!"
"What you wanted to do before was your own family matter, and I, an outsider, had no right to interfere."
"But the Little Fellow calls me Senior; I will absolutely not stand by and watch, nor can I tolerate you messing with him. You'd better give up on this idea as soon as possible."
"..." Ruan Mei's pace paused.
She did not look back or respond; her slumped shoulders and lonely silhouette exuded a sense of desolation.
Yu Qintu's voice was cold and hard: "When a person is dead, they are dead. That is reality."
"I don't know what you're thinking, but don't you know what the Little Fellow thinks?"
"A life compiled from numbers, data, and sequences, even if it possesses all the memories of the deceased, even if it's a perfect replica with no difference—"
"It is still an empty shell without a soul. Why don't you understand yet?"
"Why is the creation the Little Fellow left behind identical to him in appearance, yet refers to itself as 'I' and calls its own creator by name?"
Speaking to this point, Yu Qintu raised her hand and pointed toward the distant plum tree.
There was an automaton still picking plum blossoms.
"That was all for you to see. He wanted to tell you: no matter how identical the appearance is, it is not the original him."
"You want to use the method you are currently studying to find your parents and find Qi Zhimu; it is a task destined to be impossible."
"Even if you truly reach the end of this path in the future, what you get will forever be a fake. In essence, it's nothing more than a pathetic electronic pet!"
"A dead soul will not return unless Finality reverses time, or unless Qi Zhimu has a next life."
Sentence after sentence was like sharp thorns, mercilessly piercing into the depths of Ruan Mei's heart.
She was silent for a long time, and finally looked up slightly toward the sky.
The winter sunlight was rare and clear, yet she could not feel a trace of warmth.
AMu back then... must have felt the same way... Ruan Mei turned around again.
"What?" Yu Qintu stared at her face, seemingly confirming something.
"As Member #55 of the Genius Society, can you answer a question for me?" Ruan Mei asked in a hoarse voice.
"Go ahead."
"What is the original essence of life, and what is the essence of birth?"
"There are many answers, but none are universally recognized. If I knew, I wouldn't be a mere genius; perhaps only Nous can answer that."
"...I see."
Ruan Mei nodded silently, said no more, and walked toward the working automaton.
Black Swan narrowed her eyes and continued to remain silent.
Yu Qintu's words just now had struck a chord in her heart.
Now, as a Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection and having grown for hundreds of years, she could easily 'resurrect' him using Qi Zhimu's memories if she wanted to.
But would the Mr. Qi resurrected through this method still be Mr. Qi?
The answer in her heart had always been firm—
No.
No matter what, he would not be.
That was just a selfish and foolish delusion, a desecration of Mr. Qi.
Many guesses flashed through Yu Qintu's mind, but she did not stop Ruan Mei, only following a few steps behind.
The automaton noticed the movement and turned its head; that face was still expressionless.
"Ms. Ruan Mei, what are your orders?"
Ruan Mei understood that the words Yu Qintu said were not wrong.
No matter how similar the appearance, it was just a fake.
It would not call her Teacher.
Even if it did, she would only feel uncomfortable in her heart.
She finally personally experienced how Yu Qintu felt when she first saw the fake Ruan Mei had made back then.
"In your meta-instructions, how much authority do my commands have?" Ruan Mei asked.
"Highest level," the automaton replied.
Two simple words, yet they caused different emotions in the three women.
Black Swan had the memories of Qi Zhimu's entire life and was well aware of this, so she was fine.
Yu Qintu sighed.
And for Ruan Mei... it was no different from another stab to the heart.
"Abort the execution of the instructions left by Qi Zhimu, and shut down immediately."
"Understood, protocol modification command passed, beginning execution."
The automaton put down all the items in its hands, the light in its eyes quickly dimmed, and it maintained a standard standing posture, motionless.
Seeing this scene, Yu Qintu breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Do you understand now?"
"It is not him," Ruan Mei said softly.
"It's good that you understand. Put it away, although I don't want to give it to you."
Yu Qintu had to admit that Qi Zhimu had made this automaton primarily for Ruan Mei.
Who the highest-level authority holder was already explained everything.
But now, she would no longer feel unhappy about it.
How much Qi Zhimu used to care for Ruan Mei, treating her as the light of his life and respecting her through his actions, was exactly how much Ruan Mei regretted her past self now.
The bitter fruit today was both a punishment and retribution for her.
Ruan Mei put the automaton away and slowly looked around this plum forest, as if she wanted to engrave all the silhouettes Qi Zhimu had left here over the past hundred years into her eyes.
This feeling could have become a memory, but even then, it was already a sense of loss.
Her AMu was no longer here... and never would be again.
Before leaving, Ruan Mei's gaze fell on Black Swan and Yu Qintu.
"I won't use that method to find him, but I won't give up."
Black Swan was noncommittal and only asked a question back.
"If Mr. Qi has already forgotten you, what will you do then?"
"That will be my business."
A tear of blood fell from the corner of her eye, and Ruan Mei smiled slightly; this time it was no longer eerie, only desolate.