[Comprehensive] Demon Fox Hiding Horse

This is the world of alchemy.

No matter how miraculous and unreal the accompanying phenomena displayed by those alchemists when they activate their skills, in essence, the attributes of this world are [scientific].

And in a scientific world, how could there really be a plot development like stepping through the void and becoming a god forever?

Perhaps the appearance of the Philosopher's Stone is a special case that breaks the boundaries of the world, but what follows is the fundamental principle established in this alchemy world - "equal exchange".

This fundamental principle of alchemy seems to have no constraints on the alchemists who rely on the Philosopher's Stone. At the time, weren't the casters relying on consuming the energy in the Philosopher's Stone to offset the cost of using alchemy?

So in essence, even the Philosopher's Stone has never been able to truly break free from the restrictions of the most fundamental rules of this world, so in the end the villain in the bottle tried to become a god in vain and tried to control the "truth", and it ended in failure, because in this world, From the very beginning, it is impossible to accept that apart from the existence of "truth" which is the incarnation of its own rules, anyone else becomes the truth, becomes the whole, becomes the god, becomes... the world.

——This is a world destined to be "godless".

So similarly, it is doomed to be impossible to have real immortality.

This is determined by the attributes of the world itself. If there is no power strong enough to break free from the shackles of this essential attribute, it is just an unattainable fantasy to achieve immortality.

It's like a villain in a bottle who is as powerful as steel and the plot progresses to the final stage.

At that time, he had almost pulled the "truth" from the sky into the mortal world and into his own body, but in the end, he was defeated without any room for resistance.

His failure can be said to be another unsurprising result under the iron law of the protagonist group's victory, and of course it can also be said to be an inevitable result under the constraints of the world's rules.

Not surprisingly, the villain in a bottle is already the most powerful figure in the local world of Steel Refining.

Even he can't become a god, can't really reach the state of immortality, let alone a little girl like Mei, or her emperor's father who is on the verge of death.

"Trying to seek immortality will only bring disaster."

Facing the little girl's eyes full of sadness and disbelief, Zangma's tone was gentle, but what he uttered were merciless and sharp words.

"...At least, for this world, that's the case."

"But……"

Mei shook her lips, subconsciously wanting to say something to refute Kurama.

However, looking directly at those gentle and quiet green eyes, Kurama's previous words about the artificial man and the man they saw in the secret hall underground in the Central City that the artificial man called "Father" echoed in his ears. Analysis of men——

"In Mei's eyes, do they count as immortal?"

"If it counts, is that what Mei wants to pursue?"

"The cyborg usually looks no different from normal people, but Mei must have noticed it too?"

"In fact, each of them has a lot of problems."

"The paranoia of character is one aspect. The most unacceptable thing is their attitude towards human beings, right?"

"The kind of race that is superior, as if they are superior to others, but in fact, from an angle that we can't see, they will look at us with eyes full of envy and yearning that we don't even realize..."

"They also subconsciously want to become a real 'human being', even though they are created by relying on the energy of the Philosopher's Stone, they almost have an 'immortal' body."

"And that 'father' is not to mention."

"Mei, didn't you yourself make a judgment the first time you saw him, saying that he is 'a human being, but not a human being'?"

"Mei thinks that immortality means becoming the same existence as that person, then... does such immortality really have the meaning of being pursued by you?"

"..."

——The little girl suddenly widened her eyes.

Stubbornly letting the tears swirl in her eyes, but refusing to let them drip down, she tightened her lips and looked at Zangma: "Then what will Mei do!"

If it is true, as Brother Zangma said, that she should not pursue immortality like this, then what is the significance of her coming to this country? what to do?

If she, as a princess, gives up easily here, who else will save her people? !

The little girl raised her face and stared blankly at the Tibetan horse. She blinked her round black grape-like eyes twice, and finally unstoppable tears rolled down her round and lovely apple-like face.

The demon fox responded with a sigh, and reached out to rub the top of the little girl's hair.

"Mei loves His Majesty the Emperor of Xin Kingdom very much?"

he asked softly.

The little girl who was being soothed by the gentle palm shook her head, sobbing.

"Although he is Mei's father, but Mei... Mei..."

—doesn't love him at all.

No.

Or maybe she really loved her father when she was a child.

She still remembers that once she stood in the garden for a long time against the severe winter wind and snow, just to catch a glimpse of her father from a distance.

It's just a pity that her father never cared about her admiration.

--Too.

The father is the emperor, and his children are really too many, too many.

Even Yao Lin, whom he met in the central government before, as the second prince, should have been highly valued and concerned by the emperor, but he never received any love from their father.

It's not just because the father has too many children.

In the end, Mei is actually unwilling to admit that her father doesn't really care about any of his children. What he has been looking for since a long time ago is only a way to live forever.

and so……

"May doesn't love him. May just..." just wants to save her family.

Cangma paused when he heard the words, and then rubbed the top of the little girl's head more vigorously: "Yes. I see."

"plum."

Kneeling down, eyes level with the girl, Kurama curled the corners of his lips and smiled softly: "Then, since Mei doesn't love him, why must she be obsessed with perfect immortality?"

"...Huh?" The little girl was stunned for a moment, and almost forgot to cry.

But opposite her, the smile on the face of the red-haired demon fox became more and more gentle and warm...

"As long as the method brought back looks like a model, and there is a possibility of execution and a precedent of 'reasonably successful', it is... enough?"

Subconsciously raised her hand and rubbed her eyes, Miss Mei seemed to see several fluffy fox tails swaying behind the boy opposite him for a moment? !

***

Of course, not only Kurama and the little girl knew about the conversation with Mei that day and the consensus reached by the two of them in the end. This is evidenced by the change in Dr. Mark’s eyes when he looked at Kuroma from the next day——

Before, he looked at the gentle and harmless young officer in a normal way, but now...

Touching his chin, Yaohu reconfirmed that he had no intention of becoming the Great Demon King.

"I said...doctor."

After trekking in the snow-capped mountains for a long time, and finally dug up brother Ska's research notes under a small cabin in the mountains, watching the little girl happily run out to make dinner for the three of them, Kurama sighed, He shouted to stop the doctor who was facing the diary and was out of his mind.

The other party was startled and almost dropped the precious note in his hand.

Cangma couldn't help but feel a little funny again.

"Doctor, you know, I just want May not to think too much."

Ignoring the anxious expression on the old man's face, Kurama took Bai Tuanzi from his shoulders, stuffed him into his arms and hugged him tightly - this would make the little guy feel warmer, and said in a relaxed and casual manner .

"Such a young girl crossed the desert alone and came to this country to find a way to live forever. Although she really found it, is the Philosopher's Stone really what Mei should be looking for? "

Raising his eyes, Zangma quietly looked at Marco's dodging eyes: "The raw material for making that thing is a crime that even an adult like you can't bear, how can a little girl like Mei not mind?" Just take it back and invite His Majesty the Emperor of Xin Kingdom to reward you?"

"So... I just provided another possibility for May, so that she would not have to make a more painful choice."

"I thought... I did this with good intentions, but your reaction now..."

Blinking his eyes, the expression on Yaohu's face was innocent and helpless:

"It's really embarrassing for me, Doctor."

"You know, I'm no monster."

Hearing this, the old man coughed violently a few times.

Of course he knew that the young man opposite was not a bad person.

Even the few suggestions the other party made to Mei a few days ago, I believe that even the little girl herself will be able to detect that the meaning of joking and comforting is far more serious than serious after recovering.

but……

Unconsciously shaking, the old man smiled awkwardly, but he couldn't say it anyway, he really almost took the other party's "joke" seriously.

——Is it really a joke?

He was so puzzled more than once.

Because, when the young man said those suggestions, the expression on his face was really serious and frightening!

but……

Forget it.

Probably, "I, the old man, think too much."

Sighing, Marco's voice was hoarse and authentic.

"You know, because I participated in the research of the Fifth Research Institute, because I did that on the battlefield of Ishbal, so..."

Therefore, I don't want to see a child like Mei also be blinded by the Philosopher's Stone, and suffer the kind of spiritual torment he feels at this moment...

He silently shook his head, sighed, and suddenly felt that he was really old. Dr. Mark opened the somewhat old notebook in his hand, and began to study it carefully.

***

In the next period of time, the life of the three of them in the snow-capped mountains was quite regular and peaceful.

Dr. Mark and May spent the rest of the day studying the notes left by Ska's brother except for eating and sleeping.The combination of alchemy and alchemy always fascinated Dr. Mark, an alchemist.

With Mei's explanation of alchemy, the research progress of the two is actually not too slow.

But soon, they encountered the first bottleneck in the research - many ancient languages ​​of Ishbal appeared in the notes.

This is an area neither Dr. Mark nor Mei understands. Although Zangma, an outsider with a language translation system because of the existence of Mocona, can understand it, it is difficult to explain the source of this knowledge, so he simply He also pretended that he didn't understand anything, and just quietly followed the two of them to learn - originally he thought that he would not have any interest in alchemy, and he didn't need to spend energy to learn it.

Because alchemy is different from other special power systems, it is not a kind of power that can be cultivated by oneself after mastering the cultivation method.

Although the strength of alchemists partly depends on their talents, the accumulation and profoundness of knowledge also largely affect their strength.

Although Cangma's learning ability is not a problem because of the natural and intelligent physique of the demon fox, but the knowledge that needs to be learned and mastered in alchemy is too many and complex. This cannot be learned overnight, so Cangma simply started from the beginning. I didn't intend to move my mind.

However, listening to the discussion between Dr. Mark and Mei in the snow mountain hut made him learn a lot without knowing it. One day when he was experimenting on a whim, he found that he was actually able to use some alchemy and even alchemy skills proficiently.

Yaohu was silent for a while, and finally had to reconfirm the fact that he was talented...

However, the peaceful life of the three did not last longer.

On this day, Skabi finally arrived at the hut later than expected, and joined Kurama and the others.

At the same time, he also brought a piece of not-so-good news—the soldiers of the Bliguz Army of the Northern Legion had discovered where Zangma and the others were, and for some unknown reason, they seemed to be searching for Mei's whereabouts.

The group immediately decided to move to another location - an abandoned mining area near a certain mountain road.

However, Kurama didn't plan to continue walking with Ska and his party any longer.

"The horn of the counterattack... at this moment, it must have sounded, right?"

Looking up at the clear blue winter sky in the far north, Zangma turned his head and smiled gently at Scar, Mei and the others: "I want to go back to the center."

"——Go back to...Mustan Gu's side."

Because this big scene can only be enjoyed the most by the side of that person, right?

The corners of his lips curled up silently, and there was a long-lost smile full of anticipation on Kurama's face.