The Spirit World

Chapter 343: Return to Bailing Mountain
I never thought that I was living in Rajel's home, I never felt distant from others, and I never thought that what I lost was only the kindness I had for my enemies.

Before this, I had never thought that the current Wenti County and Emerald City are only separated by a mountain, and the severe cold and heavy snow are actually a world of difference.

Chang Yufeng looked at the people gathered on the street, even some familiar faces were there.

Old Tom sat blankly beside the crowd, smoking quietly. The smoke from his body seemed to be circling around his sorrow. In the bleakness, he was in contrast with everyone else, because the eyes of the people here were lifeless as if they had experienced a catastrophe. This seemed inevitable, like something that must be accepted when living in such a world.

That is death.

The blockade of the entire Wenti County City was not so complete. I heard that a few demons still escaped. The number of casualties is being calculated, which will take some time, but it is obvious that many people did not escape.

Those standing here are all people who have passed the demonic energy detection. In layman's terms, they are the humans who have been screened out and can survive. Even those who are slightly injured are blocked at the edge of the teleportation array. The teleportation platform has been destroyed. Of course, there are also troops specifically responsible for protecting those who are injured and not demonized to reach the designated location, but no one knows where they will be sent.

However, Chang Yufeng was surprised at his own thoughts. He actually stopped and looked at these sad and frightened people. Many patrol teams and medical personnel were treating or examining them.

I don't know why such a thought is so horrifying, and at the same time, it is so cold-blooded and heartless.

He suddenly felt a little frightened.

He walked through the crowd. The snow in the Emerald City was very thin, and it didn't feel cold even when it fell on everyone's face.

Chang Yufeng lowered his head. The cotton jacket made him feel hot. His face and hands were red. After the Emerald City became hot, his hands actually felt a little itchy.

He couldn't scratch it, so he could only scratch and let go to let the blood flow freely. He couldn't stop sweating.

Under normal circumstances, he only needed to mobilize a small amount of spiritual power to adjust the air around him, or even just adjust himself to a state where neither cold nor hot was too extreme.

But now, whether it was sweaty hands, strange itchiness, or redness and swelling, it all made him feel itchy.

Yes, he was the same as everyone else here. How could he care about [selected people who can survive]? If he were infected at this time, he might be locked up in the main city of Wenti County and unable to escape.

Thinking about it this way, I feel a little scared.

"Child, I've been looking for you for a long time..." A hand held her. Looking along the hand with a sapphire ring on the little finger, Lili Marlene seemed to see herself in the crowd. It was someone who was chasing after her.

"Have you found your parents?" Lili Marlene wanted to squat in front of him and look him in the face, but that would be awkward in the crowd, so she leaned slightly toward where there was no one.

"without……"

How should I answer this question... She probably doesn't recognize me. Although I can't rule out the possibility that my appearance has changed.

Now he has restored his black hair and cut it short himself. Although it looks a bit rough, you can still tell that it is carefully trimmed. Of course, it is not very short, but just slightly trimmed to cover part of his forehead so that people cannot recognize him by his facial features. He left all his belongings at home and did not keep any of them.

"What are your parents' names? Let me check for you..." Lili Marlene took out a list from her white robe. She looked at Chang Yufeng as if she really wanted to help, but Chang Yufeng felt a little awkward and didn't know how to answer her.

"Her name is... Hua Yinglan." Chang Yufeng blurted out a name.

"Ah... Imperial people..." Lilimaren looked at Chang Yufeng with some fear.

"Um……"

"Then there's nothing I can do. Then... I may not be able to help you..." Lili Marlene muttered as she put the book back: "Ah... I was thinking I could help you, but you surprised me by not making any noise."

She glanced at the children. Because their parents were quarantined, they could only be looked after by the patrol team. Their crying made people feel uneasy.

For a child like this, who had no expression at all when seeing such a tragic scene, but was so calm, Lili Marlene was a little surprised.

She was also a little confused as to why this child from the empire was here, and the pause just now made her feel that the child was a little shy.

"Investigating imperial personnel requires the approval of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I can't help you." Lilimarlene looked at Chang Yufeng with some sadness.

"It's okay, sister. I can find it myself." Chang Yufeng answered in a baby voice with squinted eyes.

He didn't know whether he should leave now or let the conversation continue. Although he didn't have anywhere he wanted to go, he shouldn't stay in this place or be attached to it.

"How should I put it... I'm really sorry that I couldn't help you..." Lili Marlene said apologetically.

Children of the Empire who were not accompanied by their parents would be taken to a concentration camp, a place that all children feared, not only because of the difference between the Principality and the Empire, but also because the Principality would not take the initiative to raise abandoned children for the Empire. They would be adopted or even sold.

Maybe Chang Yufeng didn't think of this, but Lili Marlene had.

"Don't apologize." Chang Yufeng continued to smile. No woman would refuse a cute little guy with dimples smiling at her.

Lili Marlene put her hand on Chang Yufeng's shoulder and whispered in his ear: "You have to be careful, don't say you are from the Empire. The investigation is very strict now. You can just say a name at random. You must not say you are from the Empire, or you will be caught and spanked. Do you understand?"

Chang Yufeng looked at her, and was surprised that she would tell him this, but in Lilimaren's opinion, his surprise should be due to the fact that she had told him something, and it was a surprise out of gratitude.

"Thank you..." Chang Yufeng was a little shocked that he had actually forgotten about this.

It looks like the situation is not friendly.

Combined with the situation at the Dragon Assembly, this situation may just be one of the inducements to be exploited.

The empire and the principality are at odds with each other, and the tension in their relationship may have begun to affect normal communication.

"No need to thank me, I didn't help you. I thought I could have a good vacation after coming back from school. Now it seems that I am really exhausted." Lili Marlene sighed and stood up.

"Then I'll go first..." Chang Yufeng waved gently like Lili Marlene. The red hands were taken out of the coat and waved gently, like a red flag.

"Wow...what happened to your hand..." Lili Marlene looked at his hand.

"It's okay... I'll go first..." Chang Yufeng quickly retracted his hand.

"Ah... Is it cold in Wenti County? How pitiful. I have some ointment here, you can use it." Lili Marlene touched her hand with the magic wand, and a small box appeared in her hand.

She handed the ointment to Chang Yufeng.

Chang Yufeng was a little reluctant and just looked at the small box.

She grabbed Chang Yufeng's hand from her robe and placed the small box in Chang Yufeng's hand.

"I'm going to help others. You have to be careful if you're alone." Lilimaren stood up and waved to Chang Yufeng.

Chang Yufeng could only watch her leave.

I was overwhelmed by the sudden concern.

Well, Lili Marlene's kindness had to be accepted. Actually, it wasn't that sudden. On the white horse, Lili Marlene was talking to herself with concern. Chang Yufeng answered her in a babbling voice.

She came from Downton Institute of Technology in Rastar to do the annual social practice, which is the most important evaluation indicator of Downton Institute of Technology and accounts for a large part. This year, she encountered the situation of Wenti County and joined the rescue team of Wenti County. The rescue team responsible for sending her team had all been killed by the citizens of Wenti County who were suffering from the disease. She escaped by chance and saw Chang Yufeng squatting under a tree and shivering. Although Chang Yufeng explained that he was not afraid, Lili Marlene still felt that such a young child would be frozen to death. She could not ignore it, so she rescued him.

He rushed to Emerald City and joined the rescue team as soon as possible.

Seeing Chang Yufeng struggling among the refugees again, she couldn't bear it and took the initiative to come over to help him find his parents.

But...it didn't seem to be what he wished. This black-haired boy was from the Empire, and the Wenti County member manual she distributed didn't seem to be of any help.

Chang Yufeng accepted her kindness, not only because he had no direction, but also because he felt an inexplicable similarity to this kind of person.

Chang Yufeng didn't know how to refuse her kindness.

He watched her leave and put the small box in his pocket.

Some people say that there are very few girls who are still pure and kind. Generally, when they reach Lili Marlene's age, kindness will be a very introverted thing, not only because they are not experienced in the world, but also because of the influence of their family education. Before she came into contact with other bad people, everything about her was kind. In any case, Lili Marlene reminded herself of her current situation. A child of an empire should not appear here, and if caught, he would be thrown into a concentration camp, or adopted by some families, or sold.

I have to be more careful.

If this situation occurs, there is no way for me to resolve it now.

Although they are not at the mercy of others, they definitely cannot cause any rebellion.

There are no crowded crowds, only a dead silence.

The people gathered from Wenti County seemed to be shocked, even their mentor, Old Tom.

He stayed in a remote place and smoked, without any sound, like a silent piece of wood.

Chang Yufeng looked at him, sitting on the stairs in a daze.

Is this the total number of people living in the entire Wenti County City? This is too few... There must be more than this number.

What is the situation now? What decision did the Ministry of Internal Affairs make that led to the current situation? If there was a third person present in Hatulin, could this incident be related to them?

It's bad.

Looking at it this way, maybe I shouldn't leave Rajel's family at all, even though Lin'er is there.

……

Is this what they call courage?
It's kind of funny.

Chang Yufeng took out the small box and looked at his swollen fingers, which looked like small carrots. When he held them together, he could feel the swelling of blood and flesh.

Inside the box was a small iron box, and the ointment inside was green.

Apply on your hands.

Old Tom seemed to notice the kid applying medicine to himself and glanced at him.

"Are you from Wenti County too? Why haven't I seen you before?" Old Tom asked as he spit the cigarette to the side and avoided the crowd.

"Ah... I just moved here." Chang Yufeng replied. The ointment was very effective when applied on his hands. It immediately felt hot and painful, making the itchy area even more itchy.

Wow... this ointment... hurts more than ever... Although it has the scent of fragrant grass, its effect is simply devilish.

"Just moved here...how come I haven't heard of it?"

As expected, there was no way to deceive his master.

"Ah... maybe you forgot..." Chang Yufeng touched his hands and spread the ointment evenly. The sweat on his hands made the ointment a little sticky and slippery.

Old Tom placed a piece of cloth in front of his eyes, looked at it, then threw it into Chang Yufeng's hand and continued to take a puff of his cigarette.

"Here, use this to wipe off the ointment. You are having frostbite. It's best not to apply medicine indiscriminately. Frostbite is difficult to cure. You need to protect your hands well." Old Tom grabbed Chang Yufeng's hand and looked at it carefully.

"It's something that has only recently appeared..."

"Um……"

"Then there's nothing we can do. Don't let the epidermis crack and don't let it get blown by cold wind. It's best to soak it in warm water for a while. If frostbite still occurs, it's not too late to apply medicine." Old Tom sighed: "You guys... it's difficult..."

Old Tom let go of Chang Yufeng's hand.

Chang Yufeng continued to wipe off the ointment. He smiled and was seen by Old Tom.

He originally laughed at this thing called fate, which always held on to people. Even if meeting was fate, it was also part of fate.

Escape... you can't escape.

"What? You suddenly started laughing again..." Old Tom also asked him with a smile.

He naturally didn't know why Chang Yufeng was laughing, but he laughed because this little kid could also laugh in this environment, which made him laugh inadvertently.

"I feel like I've met too many good people... along the way." Chang Yufeng wiped his hands carefully, looking at his still red and swollen hands, and the small box.

"I'm not a good person..." Old Tom took a puff of his cigarette and exhaled to a place where no one passed by.

"I know……"

"You talk like that, kid?"

"Hahahaha..." Chang Yufeng looked at the ointment placed next to him and put it away.

"You little brat. You have no respect for your elders." Old Tom looked at the sighing crowd. In the smoke and white world, the little boy walked down the stairs.

He watched the child slowly walk away. He didn't know where this poor creature came from. He took another deep puff of his cigarette and extinguished it on the ground.

Chang Yufeng left the crowd. When he was about to leave Wenti County, he was destined not to stay in a city close to Wenti County.

He had made up his mind. He now needed to go back to Bailing Mountain, which was the starting point of all the puzzles. Jack Nyman and Chang Yufeng did not need to have any doubts. These were the identities he had to accept. At that moment just now, he seemed to understand that the people he met were all such wonderful people, whether it was Rajel Amina, Erica, Chun, the King, Old Tom, or Lili Marlene just now, they were all such people.

He knew that there were many bad people in this world, but for the people he met, no matter where they were, whether they met him or not, they were all such wonderful individuals.

No matter how far the journey is.

He needs to face reality.

Everything he did was not to comprehend some truth, not to save the world, and not just for Lin'er.

He had failed so many times, and finally understood why Yi Longzhi failed. Xun Huangying's various hints were clear.

Because from the beginning, the purpose of reincarnation was not for Lin'er.

But for one's own understanding.

The existence of these beautiful individuals in the world will not be stingy in giving.

Just like yourself, you should not be stingy with your abilities.

The greater the ability,

The greater the responsibility.

I know it is very exciting to comprehend the truth in desperate situations, but I still think that the truths people understand in desperate situations are too useless.

For example, if you realize the preciousness of life the moment you are hit by a car, you will have the same realization as Anna Karenina under the railroad tracks, but by then it will be too late.

Perhaps I am closer to reality this way, because many of people’s insights do not come from major disasters, but from small details of life.

For example, some people say that we should cherish everything around us and not wait until we lose something to appreciate it. But in fact, many people don’t even have the opportunity to cherish something. Their concept of cherishing comes entirely from other people’s understanding of cherishing, not from really losing something.

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(End of this chapter)