Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 136

The spaceship landed on the spacious landing pad. As the cabin door slowly opened, Ling Xiao, holding the bottle, stepped out steadily, with Xiao Hui following closely, two steps behind.

Back on Tianxiu soil, only Xiao Hui heard Ling Xiao whisper to the soul in the bottle:

“Ying Feng, we are home.”

People lined up on both sides, first soldiers, then various civil servants, and finally, the general public. Walking through the corridor formed by the crowd, Ling Xiao carried his hero back to their land.

Fu Yao was waiting at the end of the corridor.

“You completed your mission exceptionally well.”

“Duty fulfilled.”

Ling Xiao opened the bottle lid, and Ying Feng’s soul leaped out but didn’t fly away. It lingered beside Ling Xiao, reluctant to leave.

“Alright, I’ll come find you after handling some things.” Ling Xiao gently touched its head. “Be good.”

Ying Feng’s soul then headed towards the purification pool. At that moment, Huo Luo brought over the people brought back from Huoxiu.

“We were a step too late. Zhu Yue modified Tai Er, but it seems unsuccessful. He’s turned into this,” Huo Luo said.

Tai Er’s red eyes remained, but human emotions had completely vanished from them, making him a different kind of Lone Star.

Tai Ruo clutched his brother’s sleeve tightly. “We’ve destroyed all the codes. No one can create Lone Stars anymore. The people of Huoxiu fear that the history of Tianxiu will repeat in Huoxiu. They don’t allow such ‘monsters’ to stay there, so I had to bring him here.”

He tentatively asked, “May we stay?”

Fu Yao looked at the emotionless brother, then at the anxious brother, and the diverse descendants of ancient Tianxiu and Huoxiu people behind them and nodded in agreement.

“This is your home,” he said. “Welcome back.”

The museum curator also arrived, and Ling Xiao solemnly handed over Bing Can and Red Head’s daggers and the remembrance stone to him.

“I heard mine and Ying Feng’s daggers are also in the museum?”

“Yes.”

“Can you place ours together with them?”

“Of course.”

Ling Xiao, his task completed, sighed in relief. “It’s a pity Yu Ji and Shuang Feng didn’t leave anything behind.”

“We’ve already sculpted their statues. Heroes will always be remembered by people.”

Ling Xiao followed Fu Yao towards the Soul Tree.

“How are the souls retrieved from Huoxiu doing?”

“They’ve been remodeled and are being nurtured. In a decade or so, they will awaken as people like us.”

Ling Xiao remarked, “So many fledglings all at once, Bikong will need to expand its recruitment.”

“Let’s leave that headache to Ta Yun.”

“The principal returned to Bikong?”

“With Fei Jing, but they demanded at least two months of travel leave every year.”

Ling Xiao laughed. “That does sound like Fei Jing.”

They arrived at the tree. The Soul Tree had been replanted. It was unclear if the soil in the churchyard was unsuitable before, but the newly planted sapling had grown quickly, becoming a large tree that required one person to embrace it overnight.

“It’s completely different from when I left,” Ling Xiao said, somewhat doubtful. “Is this really the same tree?”

“It’s the tree that grew from your peach pit.”

Ling Xiao, a bit embarrassed, looked up, making a delightful discovery.

“Look! There!”

Fu Yao also looked in the direction Ling Xiao pointed, and among the dense branches, a small, inconspicuous blue light sparkled in the sunlight.

“Is that a soul?” Ling Xiao asked excitedly, “Is it? Is it?”

“It does look like one.” Fu Yao also couldn’t help but smile.

“New souls are growing. That’s great…”

Everyone looked up at the tree, where hope for the planet was growing. As long as hope continued to grow, their beliefs would be passed down through generations.

“Fu Yao, this person wants to speak with you.”

They turned around to see Nie Yun escorting Zhu Yue, accompanied by the fake Zhen He.

Zhu Yue’s animosity towards Ling Xiao remained, but his eyes held a certain resignation.

“Do you have anything else to say?” Fu Yao asked.

Zhu Yue disdainfully glanced at the glowing bodies in the branches. “I have a request before death.”

“What is it?”

“I no longer wish to be reborn in this land. Grant me permanence.”

“Alright,” Fu Yao promptly agreed. “Go ahead.”

“No need to trouble.” Zhu Yue declined the trip to the Hall of Nightmares. “I want to leave to a place where sunlight can reach.”

Fu Yao agreed and instructed Nie Yun, “Turn off the lights.”

Nie Yun spoke into his terminal, and the distant lighthouse gradually went dark. Someone approached and injected the liquid, symbolizing death, into Zhu Yue’s neck.

Zhu Yue surveyed the land he had lived in, his gaze finally resting on the Zhen He he had created.

The emotionless Zhen He watched indifferently as his former Qizhu faced execution.

Zhu Yue lifted his hand with his last strength, touching that familiar face, but no familiar expression appeared.

“I’m about to dissipate, and you don’t even have a hint of sadness?”

Zhen He remained impassive, not even frowning.

Disappointed, Zhu Yue lowered his hand, his soul disintegrating, leaving this world without any attachment.

The lighthouse lit up again, illuminating the land and guiding its true people on the path to rebirth.

Ling Xiao had two concerns left. “Red Head and Bing Can were sacrificed because of the Peacekeeping Force.”

“Don’t worry,” Fu Yao assured him. “I will seek justice for them.”

He switched languages. “And about Xiao Hui…”

“Leave it to me.” Huo Luo patted his chest. “I guarantee he’ll pass level four in Wolf Star language in a month.”

Xiao Hui looked tearfully at him, wanting to say something but remained silent.

“That’s good.” Ling Xiao had no more unfulfilled wishes and stretched leisurely.

“It’s time for me to go.”

In the Hall of Nightmares, Yu Quan routinely asked him,

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Ling Xiao sidestepped the question. “I knew I had to take two injections this lifetime.”

He pondered. “I now understand Ling Xing’s feelings when he entrusted his legacy before leaving. Lone Stars fall, three lives cold. This is just the first life; how can I leave Ying Feng unattended in the next ones?”

“Ling Xing said only we could endure him. I think so too. His character is so bad, I feel bad letting him trouble others.”

“I’ll keep this Ying Feng for myself.”

The cold liquid was injected into his body.

“Do you have any regrets in this life?”

A white mist clouded Ling Xiao’s vision, and the voice seemed to come from a distant world.

Regrets…

He closed his eyes, and the events of this lifetime flashed backward before his eyes like a film reel.

The farewell journey in Huoxiu, the time leap of four thousand years, the brief sweetness with Royal Sky, the mutual antagonism in Bikong…

If there was any regret…

The scene shifted to Bikong, on that rooftop, where a fledgling Ling Xiao leapt from the high platform, landing right in front of a similarly fledgling Ying Feng.

“Now someone is willingly offering their heart’s blood, and you still don’t accept. What kind of person are you looking for?”

Ying Feng, who usually ignored Ling Xiao, unusually curled his lips in a slight sneer.

“I don’t know. If you offered your heart’s blood, maybe I’d consider it.”

That person, who awakened his feelings yet remained unaware, had an immature face.

Ling Xiao’s thoughts drifted towards him, gazing deeply for one last time.

I am willing.

Ying Feng was startled. “Why are you crying?”

The fledgling Ling Xiao mechanically touched his face, feeling moisture. He stared blankly at the liquid on his fingertips, tears uncontrollably streaming down.

He ran away in a panic, not noticing Ying Feng’s unconsciously raised hand behind him. Only Ling Xiao’s consciousness captured this moment. If he hadn’t fled in haste, could they have realized their feelings for each other sooner?

He leaned in, lovingly brushing his lips against the other’s fingers.

Ying Feng, stunned, looked at his hand as if feeling the illusion of a kiss.

With no more regrets, Ling Xiao, for the first time, left towards his destined direction without any attachments.

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