Chapter 74.1 – A Wonderful Night
The xuejian flowers bloomed one after another, and the sky was filled with shimmering light, drowning the child’s small figure.
Lu Tinghan estimated that he had been walking for four or five minutes, and the voice he heard and the existence he felt were still far away from him.
‘Can’t go on anymore,’ he thought. He had to go back to the convoy and find other soldiers to help, and he must bring that person home.
He turned around suddenly—
The sea of flowers was so vast that there was no way to turn back.
He took out the communicator and saw that there was no signal.
The signal coverage of the convoy was very large. If a child walked for four or five minutes, he would definitely not be able to go out of the range. According to the status of the convoy preparation, it would take at least half an hour for them to set off again.
Could it be that something happened? Or… did he go so far unknowingly?
Lu Tinghan didn’t know that he was thousands of kilometers away. He walked back, from walking quickly to trotting to running, he didn’t know how many petals splashed, and his clothes were covered with a light fragrance. He clearly remembered where he was when he came, but he couldn’t see the convoy anymore.
He stopped, panting.
There was nothing except for the xuejian flowers, this beautiful flower made people so desperate for the first time.
It was raining.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and his clothes were drenched, which quickly took away the heat from his body. The rain was extremely cold, he wore only a single coat and soon shivered.
He took out the communicator and wanted to try again, but a thick shadow fell on him. He looked up—
He saw himself in countless pairs of compound eyes.
It was a huge butterfly, with translucent wings with the same flowing light, like a glowing girl’s gauze skirt. It slept in the sea of flowers, awakened by an uninvited guest, and now longed for a feast.
A feast of flesh and blood.
Run!
The child turned around and ran away. The potential that a person had when life and death were at stake was infinite. He had never run so fast, faster than the wind, and the butterfly was following him like a shadow.
He was about to be caught up.
The young body was still too fragile, his legs and feet were numb, and his heartbeat was as heavy as a hammer, hitting his chest one after another.
He didn’t notice that the tentacles of the butterfly touched the corners of his clothes, and then retracted suddenly. It stayed in the distance and never dared to chase again. And Lu Tinghan was still running forward, running into the vast sea of flowers, until he—
Until he stepped on the air.
The white flowers obscured his sight, and he didn’t see that there was an abyss under his feet. He reacted quickly after stepping into the air, turned around, and grabbed several flowers. There was a tearing sound of roots, the flowers broke, and he fell down with a large bunch of white flowers.
A dense black mist wrapped around him, darkening his vision as if an eternity of death.
At first, there was a sense of weightlessness and wind, but soon they all disappeared without a trace.
He thought he was going to die.
However, he did not.
The black mist gradually turned into substance, holding him and making his fall soft. After an unknown amount of time, he landed gently on the ground.
Looking around, the earth was gray-black, and there was nothing else.
He actually came to the bottom of the abyss.
And the strange thing was…he knew that the person he was looking for was here. He arrived at his destination.
It was pitch black all around, and the only light source was the xuejian flowers in his hand, a gentle mass of shimmering light. Lu Tinghan took a few steps forward holding the flowers, and the black mist above his head looked at him from above, as if observing him.
Observing his expression, movements, and appearance.
More than ten minutes later, the black mist flowed violently. Through the glimmer of light, Lu Tinghan saw a figure appear in front of him.
It was a young man with devil horns and black scales at the end of his eyes. He had a delicate appearance, and his eyes were jet black like an abyss.
No one would have thought that the abyss would become human.
Lu Tinghan couldn’t think of it at that time. He only said in surprise: “Why are you here? Did you fall off too?”
The young man didn’t speak, he had curiosity and caution in his eyes, and a little bit of timidity.
Lu Tinghan took a few steps forward and said, “Great, do you know how to go up? As long as we go up, we can find the convoy and leave here.”
He got closer, and the young man took a few steps back unconsciously.
“Don’t go,” Lu Tinghan said, “I’m here to find you.”
He stretched out his hand, trying to hold Shi Yuan, but Shi Yuan backed away abruptly and disappeared into the darkness.
So, the child could only hold the flower to find someone, and called out in a tender voice: “Hey – hey – where are you?”
“Come out quickly! Let’s go back together.”
“I’m here to find you! I know you have been here alone for a long time!”
No matter how he shouted, the boy did not show up.
Lu Tinghan’s mouth was parched, and the exhaustion from running away just now came back. After walking for a long time, he finally couldn’t support himself and sat on the ground.
He was very cold and sleepy.
This was not a good sign. Once he closed his eyes here, he might sleep forever. He took a deep breath, patted his cheek, and was about to get up, when a thick and long black tail flashed across the edge of his sight.
He raised his head, and the young man squatted in front of him, tilting his head and looking at him.
The gaze was still inquisitive and curious.
The child reluctantly said, “Don’t be afraid of me, let’s go back together and go to the ground.”
Young man: “……”
“You…can you understand me? My name is Lu Tinghan, how about you?”
The young man remained silent and unmoved. In his eyes, there was no semblance of hearing and understanding.
So Lu Tinghan understood that the young man didn’t understand the language – at least he didn’t understand the Alliance language.
For a child, it was too difficult to show kindness without using words. Lu Tinghan thought for a while, and divided out a few xuejian flowers in his hand: “For you.”
The shimmer fell in the young man’s eyes, and he widened his eyes slightly.
“Have you seen flowers?” Lu Tinghan continued, even if he knew that the young man didn’t understand, “This is the Alliance flower, which represents hope, and everyone likes it.” He handed the flowers forward again.
This time, the young man cautiously stretched out his hand.
The slender fingers first touched the flower leaves, then the flower stems, and then the soft white petals. He took the xuejian flower from Lu Tinghan’s hand and held them in his arms.
He had never seen such a thing before, he looked at it with wide eyes, admiring it.
The fragrance of flowers was faint, gentle and beautiful, and it had a soft touch.
Young man: “……”
He smiled.
Seeing this smile, Lu Tinghan also looked relieved and said, “You like flowers, don’t you?”
The young man held the flower without speaking, and looked at him with joy in his eyes this time.
Lu Tinghan suddenly felt that the young man wanted to be touched by him.
—This feeling came suddenly and inexplicably, but he just knew it. He stretched out his still tender hand and touched the boy’s black hair very lightly.
This time, the boy’s eyes opened wider.
Lu Tinghan touched it again.
Young man: “……!”
The tip of his tail began to sway happily.
So Lu Tinghan rubbed his soft black hair into a mess, and the boy’s tail swayed like a colorful flag, looking at him with bright eyes, full of joy.
“Are you not afraid of me now?” Lu Tinghan asked tentatively, “Do you have a way to get back to the ground? Ground. Surface.”
He pointed to the top.
The young man followed his fingers and looked up.
“We must go back,” Lu Tinghan continued, “see where there are stones or places to climb. You have been here for a long time, right? I will accompany you, let’s go to the city together, and then…huh?”
Before he could finish speaking, he floated up.
The young man turned into mist in front of him and carried him up.
All the way up.
Until he saw the gray sky again, the messy rain, and the blooming sea of flowers.
Little Lu Tinghan’s eyes widened in surprise.
The young man stood in front of him, standing next to the now empty abyss, still holding the flowers he had given him.
“Are you…human?” Lu Tinghan asked.
He was not sure what the young man was, not like a pure human being, but he had never heard of a monster that could turn into a human form and possess reason. Seeing this power beyond that of mortals, he wasn’t too scared.
The young man’s tail curled up in confusion.
He stood alone in the rain, his forehead wet, and still lonely. In him, the eternal loneliness had not disappeared.
At this moment, the child made up his mind.
He took the young man’s hand and said, “No matter what, come with me. Let’s talk when we find the others. If you’re afraid of them, run away. If you like them, you can stay with me. I, I seem to know what you’re thinking, you just want someone to keep you company, don’t you?”
He pulled the young man with a bit of force and walked towards the way back in his memory.
It was said to be with a bit of force, but the child didn’t have much strength, and the young man could easily break free.
But he didn’t.
He followed Lu Tinghan silently, looked around from time to time, and most of the time stared fixedly at this little human being.
The physical exertion was too much, even if he knew that the surroundings were not safe, the child had to stop and rest after walking for a while.
At this time the rain stopped, he sat in the sea of flowers, and the young man sat beside him with his tail curled up.
“…look.” Lu Tinghan took out the communicator and brought up a picture. “This is a garden with roses, moonflowers, tulips, and this blue flower… I don’t know what it’s called. Uncle Cai is usually taking care of it – oh, Uncle Cai is a logistics officer.”
The young man looked at the flowers in the picture.
Lu Tinghan felt a burst of fire burning in his lungs, and felt a burning pain.
He coughed a few times, and then switched to the next photo: “This is a city street. It was taken in front of my house. Isn’t it very lively? There are people everywhere, as well as those who sell food and drink, kites, and clothes.”
The young man bent his tail, a little confused.
Lu Tinghan showed him many photos again.
He didn’t like to take pictures. Most of the photos were sent by friends and family. He saved some of them, and only had 20 or 30 of them.
But for the young man, it was novel enough. Holding his tail, he nestled beside Lu Tinghan, and saw the magnificent sunset, the beautiful sky, the scattered woods, and the towering city walls.
Even if the language was not clear, Lu Tinghan explained to him one by one.
He knew that the young man liked these very much.
However, the world was so big and had many things, how could a few photos cover it? But he saved a few of his favorite pictures and showed the young man his favorite sceneries, hoping to heal his loneliness. When he told the story, there was light in his eyes.
They finished looking at the photos.
“We, we have to keep going, we haven’t found the convoy yet. I said I would take you back.” Little Lu Tinghan wanted to stand up, but his feet softened, and he almost fell.
The young man held him up.
For most of the day, they walked in the sea of flowers.
The white flowers, who sent Lu Tinghan here, were no longer restless, and could no longer take him away. They could only move forward on foot. His body was getting colder and colder, and his limbs began to be weak. When he touched his face and behind his ears, it was frighteningly hot.
It was unknown if it was caused by the rain, pollen, or the phosphorus powder of the butterfly, Under the pressure of hunger and cold, he had a fever.
Black shadows floated in front of his eyes, and his pace became slower and slower, stopping every now and then to rest. But no matter what, he continued holding the young man’s hand tightly and did not let go.
He told stories intermittently.
He told the boy how lively the city was, and they could go and see it together.
Fortunately, they never met monsters again along the way.
— In fact, there were monsters that coveted them earlier, but they were scared away by the young man.
The young man took his situation into consideration.
When Little Lu Tinghan sat down to breathe again, his face was already sickly pale. The young man squatted in front of him, reached out, and stroked his slightly sweaty hair.
“Let me take a break.” The child coughed and shuddered a few times. “Let’s keep going.”
The young man still looked at him, intently.
Black mist gushed out of his fingertips, and wisps of it passed across Lu Tinghan’s cheeks. If the convoy was nearby, then the infection detector would be screaming and warning crazily.
At this moment, Lu Tinghan looked at him and understood what he meant.
[Let me infect you] The young man said, [So you won’t die, we can be together forever.]
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