Budi looked at Hajime's unconscious body lying on the bed of ice in the middle of the pond and looked at Kaizen.
"If Xian's body is really possessed by evil spirits, then why can't we remove the evil spirits from his body?" Budi said. "I have tried every method I can think of, but Xian's body seems to be an empty shell with a strong spiritual connection to someone that cannot be detected by any force."
"I tried to connect with the other person, but I couldn't seem to connect," Kaizen said. He thought for a moment, then looked at Budi. "Master, Hajime once told me that he did not steal Xian's body, but Avalokitasvara put him in Xian's body."
Budi said, "If this is the case, then there is nothing we can do. Avalokitasvara's power exceeds ours. If Avalokitasvara puts Hajime's soul inside Xian's body, there must be a reason."
Kaizen said, "Master, what will happen if I remove Xian's soul from my body and then put his soul back into his body? Will this wake-up Xian?"
Budi shook his head and said, "No, when a person's will no longer wants to live, his soul is just another empty shell. The moment he takes his last breath, he can no longer hear, see, and think on his own because his journey to the afterlife has begun. Everything that person left behind are the memories engraved in the living's minds. When we are born into this world, we come alone with nothing, and when we return, we will go alone with nothing." He looked at Kaizen. "Putting Xian's soul back into Xian's body will only restore infinite power to Xian's body but will not bring him back to life. Doing so will only give those who possess Xian's body the opportunity to use Xian's power at will. You know this very well, unless you will not block Xian's memory to prevent his power from falling into the wrong hands." Budi sighed. "Although Xi'an's physical body was somehow well preserved, his soul was devoured by you, leaving him with nothing but the memories you shared with him. His soul has now transformed into your divine power. Removing his soul away from you and you will lose all the abilities you have now, and once Hajime awakens, all those unlimited abilities will be available to him to use as he pleases. Therefore, many demon immortals would rather consume mortal souls to improve their cultivation than practice hard for thousands of years to improve their cultivation."
Kaizen looked at Xian's body lying peacefully on the ice bed. He was so sad that he was unable to restore Xian.
Budi said, "Kaizen, this is the will of heaven, we can't change it. It's time to wake him up."
Kaizen walked to the ice bed and sat on the edge. He held Xian's hand, then lowered his head and got close to Xian's face. He kissed Xian's forehead, placed Xian's hand on his left cheek, and gently stroked Xian's left cheek with his right hand.
Kaizen said, "You are truly a winner. Not only did you defeat your old enemy, but you also won my heart. Even if my love for you becomes a memory, that memory will become a priceless treasure and will always be with me for as long as I live." He kissed the back of Xian's hand, and a tear fell on Xian's face.
Hajime felt his body floating in the air, and the beeping sound of the monitor rang in Hajime's ears. When he heard the familiar voice, he tried to open his heavy eyelids, but after trying with great strength, his eyes could only be half-opened. He rolled his eyes from side to side. Although his vision was a little blurry, he knew where he was.
"Can you hear me?" a voice asked. "Hinode-kun."
Hajime rolled his eyes to the left. With his blurred vision and groggy mind, he judged that the person standing next to him must be a nurse. He tried to speak, but he felt like his mouth had been blocked by breathing tube. He tried to lift his hand and pull the breathing tube out of his mouth, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift his hand.
"Stay with me." The nurse's voice sounded. "Stay with me, Hinode-kun. Stay with me...open your eyes. Hinode-kun... please keep your eyes open."
Hajime tried to speak, but all he heard was a hissing sound coming from his mouth. He felt that he had exhausted all his strength to open his eyes, but due to lack of strength, he decided to close his eyes. Although he could no longer see the people rushing into the room, he heard their voices talking back and forth. So many voices were speaking at once, but he was too tired and chose to ignore the details of their conversation.
"I thought we were planning on taking him off life support," Aimi roared. "I've signed the document."
At first, Hajime tried to open his eyes, but after hearing Aimi's voice, Hajime closed his eyes, hoping that his time here would end soon, and as long as he fell into coma again, he would leave here and go home to his family.
"Don't you want to see her for the last time? Maybe this might be the last time you see her." An angelic voice sounded in Hajime's ears. "Even if she didn't give you the love you expected, she was the one who brought you into this world."
Although Hajime had suffered a lot of pains from Aimi, he could not hate her in his heart. Alvalokitesvara is right, the reason why he keeps coming back here is because of himself. Deep down in his heart, he still hopes that his mother will soften her heart when she sees him in the vegetative stage, but every time he comes back here, he leaves with disappointment. If they had to be separated forever, he would use this time to forgive and forget Aimi and everyone he knew in this world, never to think of them again and never come back here.
Hajime rolled his eyes to the right and realized that among all the people in the room, for some reason, he could clearly see Aimi's angry and disappointed face. Hajime slowly said, "I forgive you and may we never meet again." These were the words that Hajime wanted to say, but all he heard was the hissing and gagging sounds coming out of his mouth. He closed his eyes and felt at ease. "Goodbye mother."
As soon as Hajime closed his eyes, Hajime found himself lying on his bed, the bed he shared with Yul in the temple. He tried to move his body but felt severe pain in his lower abdomen. He quickly touched his abdomen, only to find that it was flat and wrapped in a bandage.
"Meiji..." Hajime muttered in pain and sat up slowly.
Hajime walked slowly to the door with bare feet, but his legs gave up and he sat on the wooden stool next to the table. He held his stomach with one hand, groaned in pain, and breathed slowly to control the pain. At this time, a middle-aged woman walked into the room carrying a bowl of strong-smelling medicine.
"Oh, you finally woke up," Eman said as she walked up to Hajime and placed a bowl of brewed medicine on the table. "Master Yuuto said that if you wake up, you must drink this to control the pain."
"Who are you?" Hajime asked in pain.
"Oh, I'm Eman," Eman said.
Hajime looked at Eman with a pale face and asked, "Sister Eman, have you seen my child?"
Eman pushed the medicine in front of Hajime and said with a smile, "Oh, he fell asleep after I fed him." She looked at Hajime. "I forgot to tell you; I'm going to breastfeed your child for one month."
Hajime said, "I want to see my baby now."
Eman said, "Your child is under the care of Master Yuuto. Master Yuuto said that if you ask to see your child, I should tell you that you can only see him after the quarantine period." As a mother, she felt sad for Hajime when she saw the expression on Hajime's face. "Master Yuuto said, if I tell you this, you should know why you are not allowed to see your child during this period."
Hajime picked up the brewed medicine and said, "I understand."
Eman said, "I'm going to cook something for you." She walked out of the bedroom and disappeared into the kitchen.
Hajime drank the medicine and placed the empty bowl on the table when Kaizen walked in. "Kaizen," Hajime said.
"How are you feeling?" Kaizen asked.
"Good," Hajime said.
Kaizen looked at Hajime and said, "Since you have the ability to heal yourself, Sister Eman will no longer take care of you after today."
Hajime nodded. He looked at Kaizen and said, "How is Meiji? Do he have..."
Kaizen looked at Hajime and said, "So far no, but... for sure, he must stay with Master Yuuto for now. This is what we agreed to." He sighed. "So, you've already given him a name?"
Hajime nodded.
"Why did you name him when you knew you couldn't keep him for long?" Kaizen asked, looking at Hajime, sadness hidden behind his words.
Hajime smiled at Kaizen and said, "Yul once told me; no one knows when our time will come, so let us love him to the fullest, as each day is our last. That's the reason why I named him."