Chapter 5706: Former Life Extra - Also Missed It
The young man, clad in black armor, walked step by step up the slope, treading over the remains of countless puppet corpses. He gazed into the distance.
All he saw was devastation, withered branches and fallen leaves; not a speck of green met his eyes.
Behind him, his retinue of guards dispersed tacitly, searching all around.
"Your Highness." Hui Feng used a branch to poke at a still smoldering campfire. His face was weary. "It seems the puppet corpses suddenly attacked this camp. Those who were alive probably all fled."
Mo Lian pondered in silence, looking up at the faint crescent moon. "Let's go take a look."
"Yes." Hui Feng and the others clasped their fists in assent, following the young man deeper into the hillside.
Along the way, all they encountered were corpses or the active puppet corpses.
After searching for most of the night, tired and worn, Mo Lian turned to look at them. "Set up camp and rest."
"Your Highness." Hui Feng stirred a clump of withered branches, gazing at the slowly burning campfire. "If this chaotic era ever ends, what would you most want to do?"
Mo Lian's eyes flickered. "It's been a long time since I've seen the color of blooming flowers and green willows."
This bleak world truly filled one with despair, as if everything before him held no vitality, not a glimmer of hope.
The world seemed like a faded, ancient painting, stripped of all its original colors, worn out to the point of instilling fear.
If this tedious life of endless slaughter could just end, he would find a small courtyard, shed all burdens, cultivate flowers and plants, and live a life of serene contentment.
Seeing that his Highness hadn't fully answered, Hui Feng didn't press further. Instead, he smiled and said, "If one day this chaotic situation can end, your subordinate wants to go to the countryside to farm and raise chickens!"
"Chickens?" A guard, half-asleep and disoriented, couldn't help but exclaim, "Haha, chickens are good, good! Raise more, so we can slaughter them later. I, I haven't known the taste of chicken, chicken soup, for so long."
Hui Feng wanted to go over and hit the rascal, but Mo Lian reached out and stopped him.
"Rest early. We'll search the vicinity again first thing tomorrow morning. If we don't find any living people, we'll return to the Imperial Capital."
"Yes."
"...It's Mo Kingdom soldiers, don't make a sound." Fan Qiu He reached out to cover Ge Mei's mouth, shaking his head at her. "These soldiers are probably searching for supplies nearby."
"We can't go out. Our supplies won't last much longer. If they confiscate everything, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"But Qiao Qiao?" Ge Mei worriedly turned her head, glancing at the unconscious Qiao Mu.
"The puppet corpses attacked our camp last night. Qiao Qiao was overexerted from fighting and collapsed from exhaustion. She'll be fine after a few days of rest."
"Don't worry, the most urgent thing is for us to avoid these searching soldiers and get Qiao Qiao out of here."
"They look like they're leaving!"
Ge Mei lay flat in the bushes, watching a tall young man walk down from the hillside.
The young man was extraordinarily handsome and striking, even though he was covered in dust from his journey, and his dark long robe had several smudges.
But standing there, he seemed so dazzling that thousands of stars couldn't obscure his brilliance.
"Are we really...?" Ge Mei's sentence was cut short as Fan Qiu He covered her mouth again.
Mo Lian seemed to sense something. He turned his head and glanced at the thorny bushes in the distance.
"Return to the capital." He mounted his horse, gently patted it, turned, and led his men, galloping down the mountain path like the wind.
When Qiao Mu slowly regained consciousness, she felt an inexplicable emptiness in her heart, as if... she had lost something.
(The End)