"Erina?"
Jonathan seemed startled to see her: "And... Danny too!?"
"Jojo, are you alright?"
Erina didn't pay much attention to Jonathan's expression. She was really anxious, hurriedly running over while holding up her dress, and asked with concern, "I heard the Joestar Manor caught fire and I came right over. How are you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm sorry to worry you, but I'm not injured."
Jonathan shook his head and said, "Maybe it's the magic of the Sun Stone. Such high temperatures won't harm me. But what about you, Erina... what's with this outfit?"
"I..."
Erina hesitated, looking at the great sword in her hand, then said, "I want to protect you, Jojo."
"Woof!"
Danny, who was nearby, also barked excitedly, wagging his tail at Jonathan.
"Protect... me?"
Hearing Erina's words, Jonathan couldn't help but show a somewhat strange expression. As a gentleman of the Joestar family, how could he let the woman he loves protect him?
But before he could voice his refusal, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
"Jojo, I'd advise you not to refuse her." Fang Mo smiled at Jonathan, "You might think she's just a weak woman, but in reality, she has awakened the blood of the Red Dragon. She's a noble queen with the fate of all Great Britain in her. One punch from her... and you could very well die."
"Huh?"
Jonathan was completely stunned after hearing this.
"…Mr. Steve?" Hearing Fang Mo's voice, Erina finally came to her senses, looking at him in surprise: "You're back? When did this happen?"
"I just arrived."
Fang Mo smiled, "Sorry, I had to leave in a hurry last time and didn't get a chance to say goodbye… and now you've all grown up so much."
"Mr. Steve still looks the same, as young as ever."
Erina politely said, then turned her attention back to Jonathan, "Jojo, what happened to Uncle George?"
"Father was stabbed by Dio."
Jonathan, hearing this, immediately clenched his fists in anger, "I will never forgive him!"
"It was that bastard Dio, wasn't it?"
Hearing Jonathan's words, Erina nodded and then suggested, "Maybe Uncle George should go to my family's hospital. It's probably not safe to stay here anymore. Is Uncle George badly hurt?"
"Mr. Steve?"
Hearing Erina's question, Jonathan also subconsciously looked up at Fang Mo.
"According to his original fate, he was supposed to die here," Fang Mo said, suddenly pulling out a lighter and snapping it open with his mouth, causing a burst of flame. While everyone looked confused, Fang Mo continued leisurely: "But I played a trick on him."
Everyone was somewhat baffled by this scene.
To be honest, gas lighters were rare in those days, so they didn't know what Fang Mo was up to. Could it be some kind of magical ritual?
"So..."
Finally, Jonathan broke the awkward silence: "Mr. Steve, is my father alright now?"
"Just need some rest for a while."
Fang Mo stroked his chin, thoughtfully saying, "Well... but for safety, I suggest you give him a grand funeral."
"Huh?"
The two were baffled again and couldn't help asking: "Why?"
"Metaphysics."
Fang Mo explained: "Your Joestar family has a history of short lives. You can only survive by deceiving fate, like your grandson, who's over sixty and still having affairs..."
"What?"
Jonathan was stunned: "My grandson? Teacher, what are you talking about?"
"Is this also a prophecy magic?"
Erina reacted, being more clever than the simple and kind Jonathan. She couldn't help but hold her forehead: "How could that child do such a thing... Didn't he inherit the gentlemanly lineage of the Joestar family?"
"If you want to talk about this, I'm not sleepy anymore!"
Fang Mo was delighted: "Your great-grandson is fighting and fleeing, at sixty-five he's still messing with women; your great-great-grandson, a minor, ended up in prison, with the unique talent of smoking five cigarettes at once, eating without paying, beating up a hundred-year-old man in Cairo causing his death; and about Giorno... well, it's a bit complicated to explain his relation to the Joestar family, but he dreams of becoming a mafia boss!"
"Is... is this all true?"
Jonathan was dumbfounded, trembling slightly: "How could the gentlemanly bloodline of the Joestar family turn out like this?"
"Hahaha, so you better live well."
Seeing their troubled expressions, Fang Mo couldn't help but laugh: "Jojo, if you could grow old with Erina, perhaps you could slightly influence their characters?"
"I will definitely try my best to survive!"
Jonathan, hearing this, nodded firmly: "I won't allow them to forget the gentlemanly spirit of the Joestar family!"
"Alright, then strive for that goal."
Fang Mo smiled and then raised his Lumine Sword: "But now, you two go out for a while, I still have to perform a surgery on old Jo..."
"Eh?"
Jonathan was startled: "Isn't he already cured?"
"Do you think just a cenotaph is enough for a burial?" Fang Mo retorted: "You think you can deceive fate with such little sincerity?"
"Then…"
Jonathan was about to say something more, but in the next second, Erina grabbed his hand.
"Jojo, let's go outside to talk."
Erina smiled and said, "You should trust Mr. Steve. I've been hiding many things from you over the years, but now it's time to be honest with you. Aren't you curious about what's been happening to me?"
"Alright then."
Jonathan thought for a moment and eventually left with Erina.
After they left, Fang Mo made his move on George, who was on the ground. Despite George being a gentleman worthy of respect and having expressed his willingness to die over twenty years ago, Fang Mo decided to save him after some thought, as he couldn't bear to see a family member die.
Taking advantage of George's unconscious state, Fang Mo used a beacon in combination with a regeneration potion to recreate George Joestar.
As for the headless corpse on the ground, which was still twitching as if it wasn't completely dead, Fang Mo pondered for a moment and poured another healing potion on it. Surprisingly, it grew a new head soon after.
"What the heck?"
Seeing the two Georges on the ground, one real and one fake, Fang Mo was at a loss.
"This..."
Fang Mo, stroking his chin and talking to himself, said, "What if both wake up? Should I send one to Dio as a father?"
After pondering for a while, Fang Mo decided to seek external help.
So, he took out a small bone knife from his pocket, and with a wave of his hand, accompanied by a burst of dark, cold mist, a skeleton walked out.
This was the Lich that Fang Mo had brought from the Twilight Forest.
Considering the Lich was related to sorcery and the undead, Fang Mo decided to ask it for advice.
"Come here, Nai'ozu, I have a question for you."
Fang Mo waved to the Lich and pointed to the two Georges on the ground, saying, "I have two Georges here, help me see which one is real and which is fake."
The Lich didn't speak but slowly approached to observe.
Almost instantly, the Lich extended its dry skeletal finger, pointing to the George whom Fang Mo had treated from scratch. Its jawbone clicked as it moved.
A dry and deep voice came from its mouth.
"His soul... is here."
The Lich said, "The other one is just... an empty... vessel."
"Oh, I see."
Hearing this, Fang Mo also breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that although the regeneration potion could regenerate the body to some extent, it couldn't replicate the soul. But then, how would this be explained with the people from the world of Bleach, who are supposed to be souls?
So, the regeneration potion couldn't affect a person's subjective consciousness?
"Forget it, never mind."
Shaking his head, Fang Mo didn't bother to think too much about it.
He wasn't a scientist like Orochimaru, obsessing over understanding everything clearly. Fang Mo's people always valued practicality. If it works, it's good enough; why bother with so many principles?
He retracted the Lich back into his bone dagger and gently lifted the two Georges on the ground with a gravitational field, walking outside.
Meanwhile, near the gate of the Joestar mansion.
Erina was explaining to Jonathan about how, years ago, Dio tried to force a kiss on her, but instead, she ended up killing him with a slap.
Jonathan, having heard this, finally realized.
No wonder Dio looked so wronged back then; he hadn't bullied Erina at all but instead got beaten up by her. That explained why he shouted, "Do you think I, Dio, am bullying Erina?"
Since Erina had spoken, she didn't plan to hide anything from Jonathan.
So, she straightforwardly told him about Fang Mo giving her the golden apple and the Sword of Joy, along with the prophecy magic. She revealed that the Joestar family had a history of short lifespans, which made her determined to protect JoJo.
And then there was the battle pet, Danny.
This dog had been sent to another city by George, but since it had eaten the golden apple, it was like the Stand dog Iggy from Part 3; ordinary people couldn't control it. So, it ran away that very night.
Erina said she met it in the forest a few years ago, initially thinking it was just a stray. But the more she looked, the more it resembled the Danny Jonathan had mentioned. So, she tentatively called out "Danny," and the dog, being psychic, immediately responded and got excited.
But when Erina tried to take it to meet Jonathan, it refused to go, biting a table leg and not letting go, probably fearing being captured by George again.
Jonathan quickly accepted this setup.
After all, he had encountered a wizard in his youth, who always claimed that magic was omnipotent. Under such influence, he found it easy to accept this sort of setup.
However, Jonathan was indeed curious about how strong Erina was.
After all, he himself had natural strength, plus the solar magic from the Sun Stone. He didn't think Erina was much stronger than him.
But when Jonathan tried arm-wrestling with Erina, he found that he couldn't match her strength even with both hands, leaving him dumbfounded. Was his girlfriend really that strong?
Just as Jonathan was in shock,
Fang Mo came out, and Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to alleviate the awkwardness with Erina. But when he saw the two Georges following Fang Mo, he was struck as if by lightning.
"That, uh, your father just accidentally fell into the water."
Fang Mo wiped his face and said, "The River God Tamm is an old friend of mine. He just gave me two Georges... So, which one did you lose, this golden daddy or this silver daddy?"
~~~
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