Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 386 The Little Match Girl

"Adventure?"

Li Zhongren looked at Ye Linya.

"What's the meaning."

"That's what I mean."

Ye Lina leaned against the test bench and glanced at Li Zhongren.

"The success of my experiment on you cannot be replicated. It stems from your own uniqueness. You know this, and I know this too."

"However, yesterday, when the half-elf who came with you was undergoing an experiment, I discovered that the curse she suffered could help my experiment succeed to a certain extent. So I want to explore that ancient tomb, but my ability is more inclined towards scientific research. I am not very good at fighting. It just so happens that I plan to hire you. What do you think?"

"of course can."

Li Zhongren nodded. Anyway, he also wanted to try his ability. It was like a child who got a toy and always wanted to play with it.

"Is the half-elf going?"

"Of course we have to go. She will be responsible for leading the way for us. In exchange, I will do my best to treat her and remove the curse for her."

"By the way, what kind of curse is that?"

"To put it simply, it will mark all grave robbers. As time goes by, the curse will continue to climb along her body toward her heart. When it reaches the heart, that is when death will arrive."

Hearing this, Li Zhongren nodded, but what came to his mind was the curse in Ghost Blows Out the Light, probably something similar.

Early in the morning.

Corpse Beast Bus Station.

Li Zhongren, Ye Lina, and the half-elf girl Leah, all three of them were ready to go and got on the bus.

Soon, the tracks of the Corpse Beast Bus rolled over the gravel of the scarlet desert and headed off into the distance.

Li Zhongren sat by the window. A gust of hot wind blew past, and the smell of preserved herbs drifted through the carriage.

Ye Lina sat next to him, wrapped in a black robe, so her face could not be seen clearly, but she was operating a tablet computer in her hands. Her long legs wrapped in black stockings were crossed, and her fingertips occasionally brushed across the rune model on the screen, making a slight buzzing sound.

As for Leah, she sat silently next to Yelena with her eyes closed and concentrated. She had saved her life in the last transformation experiment, but because of the curse, she was now extremely weak. However, no matter how weak she was, she had to grit her teeth and persevere. The reason was simple: she wanted to live, and she still had her own mission that she had not completed.

We sat in the car for about two days, with the sun rising and setting.

"The next stop is Goldshire Town."

The driver's voice came from the front of the carriage.

Li Zhongren stood up.

"how?"

"Get off the bus and rest for a night before continuing on our journey."

Li Zhongren looked at Ye Lina and spoke.

Ye Lina was slightly stunned, glanced at Leia who seemed to be unable to hold on any longer, and couldn't help but raise the corner of her mouth.

"Okay, that's great. I want to take a bath, too."

As the sun set, the corpse-camel beast stopped at the post station outside the town.

The buildings in Shanjin Town were covered in a layer of twilight, standard Faerun-style buildings. However, occasionally one could see solar water heaters on a roof. To this, Li Zhongren could only say that after enjoying the convenience of Blue Star technology, even the extraordinary world could not escape the common practices.

It’s not that the extraordinary world can’t do it.

Bluestar Technology is indeed more cost-effective.

This is like the fight between the rabbit and the bald eagle in the previous life.

The Bald Eagle has always wanted to rebuild its industrial system, but has always failed. Is it because it lacks the technology?

No, the technology and drawings are all captured and preserved, they are ready-made.

It's a matter of cost.

The same thing, a rabbit costs 28 cents, a bald eagle costs 28 dollars, you still produce it, what the hell?
On both sides of the street, hanging lanterns glowed dimly.

Li Zhongren, holding Ye Lina's hand.

Ye Lina did not resist, but rather enjoyed it.

After all, she had been in the Red Mage Tower for so long, and people were only afraid of her, but she knew that in her life, she had never forced anyone, nor had she actively harmed anyone. She hired all the experimental subjects with money, and they were all willing. She would even confirm it again before going on the operating table.

So, she has actually always been lonely.

Until he met Li Zhongren, a Blue Star person.

Things just happened suddenly and step by step.

It's incredibly fast.

"So, this is what the Blue Star people call fate?"

"Excuse me, sir, do you need a guide?"

A little boy came over. He was wearing shabby clothes but was clean and tidy. There was no strange smell on his body. On the contrary, there was a faint scent of wild flowers.

"Of course, I need a place to live. It doesn't matter if it's rich or poor, but it must be a place where I can live comfortably."

"Then you must go to the Oak Inn."

The little boy turned sideways and stretched out his hand as if to invite someone.

"The Oak Inn is the only hotel in the entire Faerun Union opened by the Harper Alliance. It has the most complete quality assurance. The bed sheets and quilts are changed every day, and it provides three meals a day. Most importantly, it has a special car that can take you to the Corpse Beast Bus Station."

"Okay, that's it."

Li Zhongren nodded and ejected a silver coin.

The monetary system of the world of Faerun is metal currency, gold, silver, copper, plus a magic crystal.

Magic crystals and gold coins are major trading currencies that ordinary people cannot see.

The largest thing an ordinary person has ever seen in his or her lifetime is a silver coin.

The purchasing power of one silver coin is approximately equivalent to one hundred dollars in the Eastern Kingdom of Blue Star, around the year 2042.

"Thank you for your generosity, and may you and these two beautiful ladies be blessed with as much happiness as the thundering sea, and live as long as the Gregorian mountain."

"what"

Hearing this, Li Zhongren smiled. It was obvious that this was a cultural invasion from Blue Star.

“It’s quite interesting.”

Shangjin Town, a town that is not big but not small either.

It was once famous for its gold mines. After the gold mines were mined out, iron mines were discovered.

It can be said that this is a town that is blessed by God.

Li Zhongren was lying at the window, looking at the night outside.

It can't compare to the nightlife on Blue Star.

But because this is an industrial town, you can also see the night market.

The vendors were hawking food.

In the next room, Leah was lying on the bed, already fast asleep.

She is so tired.

Ye Lina was taking a bath in the bathroom.

Not long after, she came out in a bathrobe, with long hair draped over her shoulders, and she looked somewhat similar to Yennefer.

Don’t say it, don’t say it, if you don’t think about it, you won’t know. But when you think about it, they really are a bit similar.

"So, are all you Blue Star people so kind?"

Ye Lina sat on the sofa, her smooth white feet resting on the glass coffee table, and the hot and humid steam immediately condensed into an attractive mark on it.

"what?"

"Come here to rest, or what do you think of that woman?"

Ye Lina's voice was not loud, but it had a slightly sour taste.

But Li Zhongren was not surprised by this. After all, he found out that this woman was also a 230-year-old single woman after they had sex. Of course, for a mage, the age of ordinary people is meaningless. It is normal for a mage to live for hundreds of years.

What the mages pursue is eternal life.

True immortality.

"In the Eastern Country of our Blue Star, thousands of years ago, an ancient man said, 'If you see a creature alive, you cannot bear to see it die; if you hear its cry, you cannot bear to eat its flesh.'"

"What does that mean?"

"It doesn't mean that a person should be too saintly."

“It means that people have empathy.”

“Empathy?”

"Yes, this is a special emotion that only intelligent life has. It is also called empathy and thinking from other people's perspectives."

"I don't think I'm a very good person, but I don't think I'm a bad person either. So, as long as it doesn't hurt myself, it's worth being nicer and kinder to the world. It's like a bonfire burning in a cold dark night, and everyone is warming themselves around it."

"Most of us can't jump into a bonfire to burn ourselves and warm others, but if we pick up a piece of wood while taking a walk and throw it into the bonfire, isn't it beneficial to both others and ourselves?"

"At least, I think that even a heinous person would want to be surrounded by good people in a realistic sense when he is resting, right?"

"interesting."

Ye Lina was slightly stunned, then nodded.

"I have always been interested in your Blue Planet, especially the East Country. I feel that your civilization is really interesting. I once went to the small town below the Stargate and traded with your people. From their eyes, I saw a kind of emotion that I have never seen in my life. I don't even know how to name it."

"Family and country feelings."

"This kind of emotion is rare in the entire Blue Star. Our Eastern Country is one of the few nations that have a sense of home and country."

"If I have the chance, I will definitely go to Blue Star to have a look."

"welcome."

"Go shopping with me."

"I thought you would stay in bed and watch your computer."

"Now that we're out, let's walk around."

The night was dark, but it was getting more and more lively outside.

why?

The workers in the mine went off work.

The miners in Shanjin Town work in three shifts.

The crowd also makes the town more bustling.

Although Yelena was wrapped in a robe, she looked like a young girl.

After all, she had stayed in the Red Mage Tower for too long, even longer than other people's lifetimes.
Before he knew it, the noise faded away, and Li Zhongren turned around to find that he and Ye Lina had already walked out of the night market.

At the corner, a faint firelight attracted Li Zhongren's attention.

The little girl huddled beside the stone steps, her tattered linen skirt stained with mud and her bare feet turned purple from the cold.

She held a handful of matches, the flame was a faint blue, making her pupils flicker like will-o'-the-wisp.

"Sir... buy a box of matches."

Her voice was as light as a spider's thread in the wind.

"Earthbound spirit."

Ye Lina's fingertips touched her temples, and her pupils glowed with the silver light of analyzing magic.
"His obsession persists, but his soul is abnormally pure. It's interesting. For an earthbound spirit, he doesn't even have a single grudge. It's really rare."

"Earthbound Spirit"

Li Zhongren repeated Ye Lina's words, looked at the little girl, and couldn't help but take a deep breath. His psychic perception penetrated the girl's shadow.

"She didn't know she was dead."

he whispered.

"No, she doesn't even know she's alive. It's like... a repetitive process."

"let's go."

Ye Lina grabbed Li Zhongren's hand, but didn't pull it.

"My dear, the number of children who die every day in Faerûn could fill a lake."

The match suddenly went out.

The girl raised her face, her eyes hollow.

"Mom said...I can't go home until I sell all the matches."

Li Zhongren picked up a box of matches. The blue flame danced in his palm, but there was no temperature.

"Yelina, remember what I just said? I can't bear to see him die when I see him alive."

"So, you want to intervene?"

"why not?"

Li Zhongren raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

"I have worked so hard to gain such great power, isn't it just so that I can do whatever I want? Otherwise, what is the meaning of me gaining power?"

Hearing this, Ye Lina raised her eyebrows.

"But don't forget, Blue Star's 'principle of non-interference in Faerun's internal affairs' is engraved in your contract. This contract is directly engraved in your soul."

"Of course I know, but my current identity is the Blue Star Expeditionary Force. As long as the natives of Faerun hire me, I will do whatever it takes."

As he spoke, Li Zhongren placed the matchbox in Ye Lina's hand, opened it, and found a copper coin inside.

"This is the core of obsession."

Looking at the copper coin, Ye Lina couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The core of obsession is the core of the earthbound spirit, a precious material. It is precious not because it is rare. As she said before, the number of children who die in Faerun every year can fill the Steam Lake. How many of them will be transformed into earthbound spirits?
However, if you want to get to the core of their obsession, you have to be sincere and help them fulfill their obsession without any utilitarianism.

In other words, the man in front of him was telling the truth. He wanted to help this girl who had been dead for who knows how long, and he did it without asking for anything in return.

"Why? There's no benefit in doing this."

"I will tell you one more thing that our ancient people in the East have passed down to us, our descendants."

"what?"

"Being poor cares themselves, being wealthy cares the world."

"Most of the memories in her crystal have been lost."

in the hotel.

Ye Lina read the remaining memories in the core of obsession.

"As for the rest, if you really want to investigate, you can look into a fire that occurred in the town of Shining Gold. The clearest memory she has is of a big fire. Although she was not a victim of the fire, she seemed to have witnessed the whole process. Then, you can go to the Shining Gold Tavern. Generally speaking, taverns sell intelligence."

"it is good."

Li Zhongren nodded, and then he sank directly into the ground.
"Have a glass of wine."

In the pub, Li Zhongren sat at the bar.

"What kind of wine would you like?"

"Did you know that there was a big fire in Goldshire?"

"A gold coin."

The bartender pushed a glass of wine in front of Li Zhongren.

Li Zhongren threw over a gold coin.

"Twelve years ago, the gold mines in Shanjin Town were mined out, but soon people discovered iron mines. However, when they were mining, they were too hasty, and a landslide occurred. Many miners died underneath. The families of the miners in the nearby villages gathered together, and then the hotel where they lived was burned down."

(End of this chapter)