Chapter 205 Reminiscence of the Ancient Battlefield
This is a black Cadillac with a retro design. The body is thick but the lines are smooth. Behind the perfectly streamlined rear, the flashing taillights are like flames in the dark night.
Such a car is like a suited thug walking among the crowd, its polite exterior unable to conceal its inner violence. It should appear in front of the residence of some important person, with polite waiters bowing and watching it go away, and it should be driven to a club, a conference building, or a beachfront villa a few kilometers away, to any place that befits status.
But now, this luxury car was riddled with bullet holes, its engine roaring incessantly from excessive speed, like the dying wail of a giant beast. Qingxia peered curiously, wanting to see what was going on inside the car, but the man's roar stopped her.
"Everyone, get out of the way!" Chu Hengkong's voice was hoarse.
Everyone quickly moved aside, clearing the way for the battered car. It charged forward like a shark, its momentum telling that it wouldn't stop even if someone blocked its path. Qingxia glanced away as she dodged, catching sight of the driver. He was a man covered in wounds, wearing a blood-soaked coat. His expression was ferocious, as if he were struggling in hell.
There seemed to be someone else in the passenger seat, but it was too late to see clearly. The car had already rushed into the fog, and soon people heard gunshots and explosions, and then there was no sound.
Chu Hengkong kept staring at the direction where the car was going away, without moving for a long time.
"It's my car," he said. "What's going on?"
"That's remembrance," said Sirar. "Too many have died on this battlefield. Their memories have affected the nightmares I already have, causing unimaginable things to happen on the battlefield. Sometimes, the past resurfaces, and other times, fear descends."
He patted Chu Hengkong's calf: "It's a good thing that you can see the memories. It means that your heart is strong enough and will not be buried by fear."
Chu Hengkong didn't answer, because Silar was wrong. That was his fear. His greatest fear in life was what would happen after the car stopped. It was a tragedy that was already doomed, irreversible.
"Let's go," he said. "Don't waste time."
"Wait a little longer." The old man shook his head firmly. "Wait until your heart calms down. Reminiscence originates from the First Abyss. The more you cling to it, the easier it is for you to be swallowed up by the past."
They waited a moment, until there was no movement in the fog, before setting off again. Every so often, a familiar memory from someone's past, or a monster from a nightmare, would emerge from the fog. Whenever this happened, Silar would call for a halt, his long ears twitching as if he could hear the voices in the fog.
Qing Ye was very curious when she saw this. After all, even she and Chu Hengkong, who were as perceptive as she was, hadn't noticed any signs. She thought of the story of Bai Wu Yu and asked, "Grandpa, is this the power you gained by making a wish?"
“No, this is the technique of the forest people, listening to the voice of the earth.” The old man said with a smile.
"That doesn't sound like skill at all, it sounds like talent," said Vander.
"I can do it too~" Qingxia also shook her pointed ears.
"You actually can do that!"
"If you live in nature for a long time, you'll naturally learn. It's more cost-effective to ask for something you can't learn than something you can." Silar scratched his hairy chest. "The gift I asked for wouldn't have any effect normally... Since I was timid when I first arrived in the wilderness, I asked the old man for a gift that would make me brave in battle."
"The second personality?" Qing Ye guessed.
"No, no, that's too extreme... Watch out for your head."
Suddenly, a noise like a rooster's crow echoed, and a streak of green light descended from the sky. It was a lush green centipede, almost as long as a child, with two pairs of bony wings on its back. Chu Hengkong casually tossed a water bullet, piercing the centipede's head. It fell to the ground, twitching a few times before Qingxia stomped on it, breaking it in two.
"It's quite unique. Which kid would be afraid of this?" Vander said excitedly.
"Ah, this is an ordinary exotic beast."
"This place is so troublesome with all the truth and lies mixed together."
Qingxia plucked the centipede's bony wings and put them in her mouth, chewing them with a sizzling sound. She tossed a bone to Silar behind her and asked, "Grandpa, do you want some?"
Silar took the bone and said, "Oh, you still remember to share some with grandpa. You were so reluctant when you were little."
"I was still little then~" Qingxia said with nostalgia, "Grandpa could still hold me then."
As Qingye listened to the conversation between grandfather and grandson, he couldn't help but imagine Qingxia's childhood. She was now a powerful warrior leader, and when she was younger, she would have probably been as tall as an adult man, around 1.6 to 1.7 meters tall... Meanwhile, Silar was less than a meter tall...
How did he hold her like that?! Could it be that Qingxia was a pony as a child and only experienced a growth spurt during puberty? But with a head like that, even a corgi, let alone a pony, would be hard for the old man to hold. How on earth did he take care of his granddaughter back then?!
The more Qing Ye thought about it, the more horrified he felt: "Um, what did Qing Xia look like when she was a child..."
"It's quite a bit different from now." The old man gestured, "Just a little bigger than Vander."
"That's a huge difference! How did it grow back?! Is there only a ponytail left?!"
The old man gestured with his paws: "She was pink at the time, hopping around on her two little feet, and had long claws that could be transformed freely..."
Chu Hengkong was shocked, but he didn't say anything. Fander couldn't stand it anymore: "Old man, are you sure your memory is okay? Even the species has changed!"
"Children always grow up very quickly. You'd never guess they'd turn into an egg when they reach their adulthood stage!" Silar deliberately teased. "They'll suddenly turn into an egg!"
"We can imagine this." Chu Hengkong couldn't help but interrupt, "She's like this outside."
Silar half opened his mouth and looked at his granddaughter with surprise.
"You're still dressing yourself up as an egg? Really?"
Qingxia whistled loudly and focused on scouting the front.
"Child, how old are you..."
"It's so convenient to sneak around when you're an egg! Let's go!"
"You were in a hurry, so you didn't hear clearly." Silar sighed, "Wait a minute!"
The sound of hurried hooves echoed through the fog, as if a cavalry unit was charging. Then, a crimson hurricane burst forth from the mist, charging forward with a strong, bloody aura. It was Qingxia in battle. As she emerged from the mist, a heavy heartbeat exploded, halting everyone's heartbeat and causing them to feel a pang of pain in their chests.
Chu Hengkong watched the terrifying creature go away. Its profile looked like a devil laughing wildly.
"And that's how she was when she first grew up," said Silar. "Girls change a lot when they grow up, don't they?"
"This isn't called transformation, it's simply perversion! What kind of species can grow from a little elf to an egg and then to a centaur?" Vander collapsed.
Qingxia was dejected: "Grandpa...why do you remember the past so clearly..."
"You've never raised a child, so you don't understand. The elders see every day of a child clearly." Silar smiled. "Alright, let's get going. We have to get to Camp One today."
Chu Hengkong shook his head silently. Silar had concealed it well, but the moment Qingxia emerged from the mist, his heartbeat quickened and his ears tensed. This wasn't the right reaction to seeing Hui Yi.
That is Thrall's "fear".
·
The group wandered, stopping and starting until nightfall, finally reaching their first campsite. It was a simple campsite surrounded by a shadowy wall, resembling a large black coffin from the outside. Sirar said it was a reflection left behind by the knights of the past, capable of persisting even without maintenance.
"That's a bit far-fetched. After hundreds of years, it should have been smashed to pieces by strange beasts." Vander questioned.
"I guess Vansalar left this here on purpose," the old man said, "to make it easier for us who come later to defeat it."
Qing Ye thought of the lounge in the previous painting and muttered, "It really can do that..."
They split into pairs to take turns resting: Qingxia and Qingye in one group, Chu Hengkong and Silar in the other, ensuring that everyone in each group could detect Huiyi. The two male members took priority for night watch. They stood outside the shadowed wall, silently gazing at the ever-shifting fog.
"Qingxia has very good hearing." Silar said suddenly.
"With Fander here, she can't hear it." Chu Hengkong said, "You've gone too far, Silar."
Silar was silent for a while. When he spoke again, he looked older.
"She's still a child."
"She's not like that anymore. You know she has her own judgment and sense of right and wrong. You can't keep hiding the truth forever." Chu Hengkong said coldly, "She's been reading false stories since she was little, harboring false dreams and growing up with false cognition. She's put so much effort into these false things. What will she think when she suddenly learns the truth? It won't be as simple as leaving the settlement. She'll be devastated!"
"I know," said Siral. "When I first saw her in the jungle, I knew that day would come. She was so small, yet so powerful. I could sense the ferocity and savagery beneath her skin, and I could see the ignorance and incomprehension in her eyes. She read the salvaged stories, knowing nothing about the world.
For the sake of everyone, I knew I had to kill her. But... she was still a child. "Racial origin has nothing to do with it; a child is a child."
Thrall sat on the sand, fiddling with his paws.
"I know this choice will bring her pain. Away from society and responsibilities, growing up free to hunt in the wild—that would be the happiest way for her. But... in my hometown, the Shenshu City-State, many races now called 'citizens' were once beasts. It's because of knowledge, understanding, and the responsibility and commitment that we have transformed from 'beasts' into 'humans', and from desolation into civilization.
Being a human being is naturally much more painful than being a beast! But can I let her be a happy beast? And not give her the opportunity to come into contact with civilization?
Silar clasped his hands together and said firmly, "I thought this was wrong!"
Chu Hengkong had thought he was going to talk about how difficult it was for him to lead the settlement, how desperately the settlement needed new fighting force, and how they'd even gone to the trouble of "taming" the young Qingxia. But he'd misjudged Silar's thoughts. His thinking was too simplistic. Even at his age, he was still like those little animals. He didn't consider his own interests at all, but instead pondered civilization and freedom in this environment.
How could he rebuke this? To blame an idealist as innocent as a child? To say he shouldn't educate the child he found?
"At least you should tell her the truth step by step." Chu Hengkong said finally, "You can't let her know everything."
"I originally thought I had over a decade to slowly change her, but she grew much faster than I imagined..." Silar smiled bitterly. "In the blink of an eye, I couldn't hold her anymore. When I returned from Nightmare City, she had taken over my position as Warrior Captain. She thrived... and I was at a loss."
Chu Hengkong couldn't bear to blame the lonely old man any longer. He had done the best he could in such an extreme environment as the Desperate Wilderness. But reason prevented him from remaining silent, both because of the information Chongming had shared with him and because of the unusual conditions he had witnessed.
"There's something I haven't had time to tell you," he said. "When I picked up Qingye earlier, I saw three strange creatures in the jungle. They looked exactly like your description."
"What description?" Silar didn't react.
"Qingxia when he was a child."
Silar's face turned pale, and his big eyes were instantly filled with fear.
"No. No. God bless you." It trembled. "Turn back quickly. Quickly-"
The sound of rapid horse hooves cut off Silar's words like a sharp knife. Both of them were startled, and they thought of the worst possible scenario.
Chu Hengkong rushed back to the camp, where Qingxia and Qingye were still resting. Fander stared at him with wide eyes, puzzled. "What are you doing? Don't you trust my craftsmanship?"
Chu Hengkong was stunned. He had expected to see Qingxia running back. But it wasn't Qingxia. Then who was it?
Who is coming?
He turned and galloped into the mist with Thrall. The clatter of hoofbeats grew clearer, and the familiar silhouette of a centaur emerged from the mist. The sleek horse's body leaped out first, bearing the slender figure of a woman in a black robe. She paused, her silver hair swirling in the mist, her face, almost a work of art, a captivating smile on her face.
"I didn't expect there were still people here." Her voice sounded like a fairy singing, "Hello, my name is Wen Yao, and I'm a Blood Knight from the Supreme Fairyland!"
(End of this chapter)
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