Chapter 142 She cried even harder after being provoked...

The returning merchant asked a series of questions, without considering whether the other party could fully understand them before answering them one by one.

Xie Qingheng showed no reaction when he heard Xie Huaimin being called a beast, but his fingers twitched slightly when he heard how Xie Huaimin was still alive.

"Xiao Ran didn't do it herself, but Xie Huaimin's death was indirectly caused by her, so you could call it revenge. Xiao Ran and I were childhood sweethearts, so why am I still alive? I don't know either. Why don't you kill me, then I won't have to live anymore."

Nan Guishang stared wide-eyed at the other man, and after a long while, he finally uttered, "Are you trying to harm me? To tempt me into killing you, to make Shan Ran hate me, so that they'll have one less competitor?"

As he finished speaking, Nan Guishang glanced sideways at Ganuo beside him.

Gano, Xie Qingheng: ..........

"Although I am also prepared to die, I don't want to be hated by Shan Ran. After all, I like her so much. If she hates me, I will not be able to die in peace."

Xie Qingheng finally turned his head and looked at the red-haired youth, sizing him up.

Nan Guishang puffed out his chest and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Have you discovered my handsome looks and extraordinary demeanor? Too bad I'm about to die, so you'd better take a good look now, because you won't be able to later."

Xie Qingheng turned around, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, not wanting to look anymore. "People who always talk about 'death' are often the ones who don't actually die."

Nan Guishang sighed, his face full of sorrow, "I can't die, but I still want to try to die. I killed my parents, I'm so useless..."

"Pretty much. I'm a Light elementalist, so my body heals itself when I'm injured. It's quite difficult for me to die."

When Nan Guishang woke up, everyone around him said that his parents' deaths were not because of him and that he should not blame himself.

This was the first time that, after he blamed himself in this way, the other person completely ignored the problem and focused only on the issue of "death".

Nan Guishang sighed, "Then don't die. Shan Ran and you grew up together, and you must have a very deep bond. She might even see you as her own brother. If you were gone, she would be heartbroken."

"Just...my older brother?"

"Is that the point? The point is that she'll be heartbroken! There are very few people in this world who would be heartbroken for us, so it's best not to do that."

"And what about you? Would she be sad if you died?"

"I...I don't know, please don't hurt my feelings."

"If you die, will anyone else be sad?"

"Yes, my brother will definitely be heartbroken, I... sigh..."

"Oh, maybe only Xiaoran will be sad for me."

"this….."

"Xiao Ran has always been kind. Even though you're a bit slow, she would still be sad if you died."

"Kind-hearted since childhood? Hey bro, tell me something about Shanran's childhood, I'm really curious!"

Xie Qingheng's lifeless eyes twitched, as if recalling something funny, and he smiled slightly.

For the first time, Ganuo, who had almost quietly blended into the corner, seriously examined Nan Guishang. He realized that no matter what kind of person someone is, they will still have some merits.

Xie Qingheng, lost in memories and smiling, picked out a few things from his childhood.

"When she was five and I was eight, we went to play with fireworks. She somehow got hold of some firecrackers, the kind with a delayed burn, and mixed them into the fireworks and handed them to me. When they exploded, they cut my hand and made me bleed."

I was terrified and kept crying. She tried to apologize, but children are at that competitive age and couldn't bring themselves to do it, so she just laughed at me, trying to provoke me...

"And then you got provoked and fought back?"

"I cried even harder when I got provoked."

"...You're three years older than Shan Ran, and you still got bullied by her and cried?"

"When Xiao Ran was little, she was the little devil in our area. She beat up everyone older than her, and all the kids around treated her like the boss. So what's so strange about me being bullied by her?"

Nan Guishang's eyes sparkled. "That would be so much fun! I wish I could be bullied by Shan Ran when I was little. It would be so interesting."

Gano:..........

Xie Qingheng lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "Yes, Xiao Ran used to be cute and lively. If that incident hadn't happened, she would have grown up carefree and wouldn't have suffered so much."

Nan Guishang curled his lip, "That's not necessarily true. If she had always grown up in an ivory tower and the apocalypse suddenly came, she might not be as strong as she is now."

My brother always said that everything happens for a reason, and we should look forward and not dwell on the past.

Xie Qingheng scoffed, "You can copy other people's words perfectly, but you can't apply them to yourself."

Returning merchants from the south:........

"Leaving aside everything else, tell us more about Shan Ran's childhood."

Stirred by Nan Guishang's words, Xie Qingheng's mind was filled with memories of the past.

He extracted a passage, carefully organizing his thoughts, "When Xiaoran was six years old..."

The two chatted casually like that.

Chandler arrived after receiving the news. He stopped at the door, listened to the conversation inside, but did not push the door open to go in.

After Gano carried Xie Qingheng back, Nan Guishang fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.

Only then did Cheadle step out. "Gano, thank you."

He knew that Gano's purpose was simple: to keep the two overly negative people together, causing each other trouble, so that they would stop bothering Shanran.

But Chandler could tell that Nan Guishang's mood had improved somewhat, and his suicidal thoughts had faded a little.

He was interested in Shan Ran's childhood, and just then, Shan Ran's childhood friend came along, so he began to inquire about her.

One recalls the past of Shanran, the other listens to the past of Shanran. As long as there is something to look forward to, one will not be so attached to death.

He even brought up Cheadle's words to Asham: "Look ahead, don't dwell on the past."

He didn't know how the self-destruction in the dream came about, nor did he know where to begin to stop it. He could only hope that the Southern Return Merchant would figure it out on his own.

After the meeting, the heads of the various large bases stayed for two more days to discuss the details.

Shan Ran doesn't need to be present throughout the entire process; she only needs to make occasional appearances and finalize decisions at crucial moments.

These past two days, Gano has been taking Xie Qingheng to Nan Guishang's place for a while each day. The two world-weary people have been talking for a few days, and their suicidal thoughts have indeed faded quite a bit.

Shanran also learned about this and secretly eavesdropped outside with Cheadle.

She heard Xie Qingheng recount all the embarrassing things that happened to her when she was a child, and she couldn't help but blush when she heard some of the most cringeworthy moments.

Chandler chuckled softly and whispered in Shan Ran's ear, "Ranran, did you really get chased by geese when you were little and then step in cow dung?"

Shan Ran covered her face, replying weakly, "Don't say anymore, don't say anymore..."

"We have to see off the representatives from the various bases early tomorrow morning. Ranran, you should go back and rest first. I'll look after things here."

Shanran couldn't have wanted this more. She had no desire to stay here and secretly listen to the cringeworthy things she did as a child, especially with an audience listening alongside her.

Just as I was leaving, I vaguely heard Chandler chuckle softly behind me.

——

In the dead of night, all was quiet, and most of the residents in the central area were fast asleep.

The central area does not strictly enforce the curfew, but after the last assassination, nighttime travel is managed more strictly, so there are very few people walking outside, mostly just guards on patrol.

Ever since the mist appeared, Shanran hasn't been sleeping well at night.

She always has some strange dreams, but she can't remember them when she wakes up.

Rong Shuyao's death was too easy, which always made her uneasy.

After the fog was cleared, large areas of fog around the area disappeared one after another. After statistics were collected, it was found that the frequency of the nightmare beasts emerging from the fog also decreased.

The fog has lessened, the monsters have decreased, and the world seems to be moving in a better direction.

The First Continent has been completely silent lately, even the online trolls have quieted down; they seem to have accepted their fate and given up all resistance.

But Shan Ran always felt that his intentions were not being put into practice.

They wouldn't feel at ease until they completely drove the other world out; those gods didn't seem like they would give up so easily.

There are also the powerful families of the First Continent; Shanran doesn't believe they would give up so easily.

With these worries in mind, Shanran found it even harder to sleep.

At 3 a.m., she suddenly opened her eyes, her heart pounding.

After sitting up, she checked the time and looked around, but nothing seemed amiss.

After taking a few deep breaths, Shanran wiped the sweat from her forehead and prepared to lie down and go back to sleep.

Suddenly, the entire building shook slightly.

The tremor was extremely weak; if Shanran hadn't been awake, she might have thought it was just a dream.

There was a knock on the door; it was Gano, who lived next door.

The heightened sensitivity honed through years of training as a suicide soldier allowed Gano to remain alert even in his sleep.

He also felt the tremor.

Very few people in the entire central area noticed it; apart from a few high-level ability users who were awake, almost no one else felt anything.

Shanran sensed something was amiss, so she decided against launching a large-scale search.

Gano released the little black snake.

Animals are more sensitive to environmental changes and have more acute senses. Although their consciousness is unified with that of superhumans, it is like a subconscious mind that can delve into many things that humans cannot discover.

Shan Ran also followed Gano's example and released a small black snake.

She also had a Zoan-type ability before, which was a harpy eagle.

However, she almost always uses the wings and claws of the harpy eagle and rarely releases baby harpy eagles, as does Rhine.

After releasing the black snake, Shanran discovered that she could see the black snake's perspective, and also felt its touch and smell. Even more amazingly, the black snake had a part of its own independent thinking, which could guide the thoughts of those with superpowers.

Without giving any orders, Shan Ran saw two small black snakes moving in the same direction.

The two followed.