Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
In the vast wilderness, embraced by an ink-like hue, on the outskirts of an ancient city filled with a sense of nature, a formidable defensive line had formed, built from the accumulation of corpses. The corpses sat silently, facing the city, their wings half-folded. Pure white wings remained untainted, as pristine as the first cloud appearing in the sky after a refreshing rain.
Beyond the city, these clouds descended quietly upon the mountains and fields, connecting into a vast expanse. The entire city seemed like a heavenly city rooted in the pure white cloud layer, where white feathers served as wings to freely roam the boundless world, bathed in the bright sunlight. Even now, shrouded in darkness, the wings remained pure white. Although the wings were half-folded, there would come a day when they could spread their wings again, soaring upward and standing tall in the vast sky.
Beside the wings, green grass danced, meticulously caring for the corpses with its slender leaves, leaving no trace of disorder. Between the grass leaves of the three-leaf green grass, a golden halo surrounded a green core, radiating a gentle light. These miniature lanterns adorned the pure white wings with playful hues of hope. The pure white wings embraced this touch of vibrant green, softening their appearance. At this moment, the three-leaf green grass, which had always presented an image of a caring guardian, transformed its identity, revealing itself as an immature child. However, their vulnerability and delicacy only surfaced slightly in front of the Xuanqiu tribe. In the wilderness outside the city, the ethereal green light orbs fluttered up and down, appearing quite busy.
Shu Xun and his companions had reached the side of the water curtain. The pouring rainwater cascaded like a flood, falling into the broad drainage channels made of blue stones, continuing to rush towards the distance. Passing through the waterfall, the group arrived in the wilderness outside the city. A refreshing sensation permeated the earth, and corpses scattered across the mountains and plains were visible everywhere. Each corpse was accompanied by a dancing three-leaf green grass. The three-leaf green grass skillfully tended to the Xuanqiu tribe’s corpses, then lingered, affectionately brushing against the corpses’ cheeks or palms.
Shu Xun and his companions dispersed to inspect the surroundings and the scattered corpses. However, Meng Muyu and Ye Qian did not touch the corpses of the Xuanqiu tribe. Whenever they approached a corpse, a vigilant three-leaf green grass would be nearby, even threateningly shaking its sharp-edged leaves. The message was quite clear: if you dare to touch, don’t blame me for being rude.
Of course, Shu Xun was an exception. Moving through the dense corpses, he eventually stopped in front of the petite three-leaf green grass. Seated before it was a youth whose youthful appearance had not yet faded. Unlike the other corpses, the youth’s eyes were open, with deep black pupils silently gazing at the Xuanqiu city not far away. Under the care of the three-leaf green grass, the youth showed no signs of disarray. He even appeared lifelike, with his eyes fixed on the reflection of the Xuanqiu city. His lips curled into a smile, a smile filled with pride and warmth as if dispelling the desolation of death that covered the ground.
Shu Xun gently touched the shoulder of the young man. Seeing that the three-leaf green grass did not show any resistance, he continued examining the corpses in front of him. The young man’s corpse seemed intact, but there were still scars on his body, and his clothes were torn. The wounds that couldn’t heal had been wrapped and bandaged by the three-leaf green grass with its leaves. The damaged clothes had also been meticulously sewn and repaired by the fine threads of the grass stems. After the repairs, the clothes looked as good as new, and surprisingly, Shu Xun didn’t notice it at first glance.
Shu Xun then checked the other corpses around him and found that, aside from the young man, all the other corpses showed no signs of battle damage. They remained in a pristine state as if they had experienced instant, powerless deaths. Shu Xun immediately recalled the numerous deaths of Micro City citizens in an instant in “Winter’s End” in a similar manner.
Meng Muyu obviously had no gains. In the wilderness, besides corpses and land, there was nothing else. There was no trace of information about the invaders, making it impossible to guess the reason for the massive deaths of the Xuanqiu people here. The surrounding area of Xuanqiu City was clearly meant to guard the city against invasion, but everything before their eyes seemed to have undergone a war without any visible traces. Faced with this situation, Meng Muyu couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. “It would be great if we could see what happened back then.”
However, this seemed impractical. In a world where science was not the direction of development, there were no audiovisual recording devices, and Shu Xun had no magical artifacts to rewind time. Suddenly, Shu Xun remembered the holographic image recorder mentioned by Meng Muyu, which was attached with an intense sense of despair. “Is there any instrument that can detect emotional fluctuations? In games, hidden tasks would likely involve the use of such auxiliary tools.”
Meng Muyu’s eyes lit up. He took out several crystal chips from the system backpack, scattered them around, and after a moment of arrangement, he then brought out several circular transparent patches. “Emotion Sensing Collection and Analysis Device. These are synchronous sensing patches. Stick them on your forehead, and you can feel the emotions around you. Do you want to use them? If not, the instrument can still analyze, but even the smartest tool can’t fully translate human emotions.”
Shu Xun took the circular sensing patch and placed it on his forehead. “Certainly.” Meng Muyu, Ling Yang, and Ye Qian also applied the sensing patches, while Big Bliss and Little Fortune Bliss quietly observed the actions of the group.
Before activating the instrument, Meng Muyu confirmed with the others again. After all, emotions could directly affect the spiritual body, and considering the complex environment of this planet, this move was a bit risky. After receiving the consent of the others, Meng Muyu activated the instrument.
In the moment when the surrounding chips lit up, a large influx of diverse emotions surged in. Fortunately, the mental strength of the three individuals was excellent, and over time, the emotions had weakened. They only felt a slight headache. With closed eyes, the three carefully sensed and distinguished the captured emotions.
Despair, fighting spirit, heroism, madness, slaughter, resistance, protection, belief, death, contentment, pride, moved, and finally, the undying hope…
Even without visuals, it was as if a holy war unfolded before the eyes of the group. A battle where the fate of Xuanqiu hung in the balance, devoid of flashing blades, without the smoke of war, and even lacking the intense but tragic battle of the extinction war. The invaders were overwhelmingly powerful, and the defenders fought desperately.
In the end, intense emotions came at the cost of lives, intertwining into a massive web. It trapped the world outside the city, hindered the footsteps of the invaders, forming an invisible wall standing unyielding outside the city, enduring through the years.
In addition, there was an extremely intense emotion fluctuating and jumping, clearly transmitted to the group. Even without analyzing with the instrument, they already understood. This emotion came from the three-leaved grass, a vivid and distinct feeling of unresolvable heartache and deep attachment. Like a child who lost their parents, in confusion, crying out and screaming, swiftly growing up to continue guarding the city with its own flexible three leaves, protecting the scattered corpses outside the city.
After a long time, Shu Xun removed the sensing patches and took a deep breath, but still felt those emotions lingering in his heart, not easily erased. Meng Muyu and the others also took off the patches, remaining silent. The silence lasted for quite a long time before the emotions of the group gradually calmed down.
Shu Xun’s voice remained steady, but his eyes were tinted with an indelible sadness and regret. “Xuanqiu not only protected themselves but also guarded the city behind them. The invaders must have appeared in a spiritual state. According to the drawings of Xuanqiu’s sleeping place, although Xuanqiu has evolved to be able to briefly detach from the physical body, the spiritual form is not yet mature, so it had no combat power and ultimately perished. This is also the reason why the bodies outside the city are preserved intact. As for the youth, he probably couldn’t detach his spiritual form from his body yet, hence the wounds on him. But why is he smiling? Why such a confident and proud smile?”
The gaze of the group followed Shu Xun’s voice, turning towards the location of the petite three-leaved grass. At this moment, the three-leaved grass was quietly perched on the shoulder of the youth. As the group focused their attention on the youth, the three-leaved grass proudly shook its leaves.
“Was there once writing here? But it’s too blurry.” Just as the group was entering a contemplative moment, Big Bliss descended, fanning its wings, and landed in front of the youth’s corpse. With its chubby little hands, it brushed away the grass, revealing faint strokes underneath. It seemed like someone had written something here, but with the erosion of time, the writing had gradually faded.
Observing this, Meng Muyu, accompanied by Ling Yang, walked over to the side of the youth. Using his hand, he gently moved away the grass, allowing Ling Yang to have a clearer view. Ling Yang furrowed his small brows and looked for a while but still couldn’t identify the severely damaged characters. He signaled for Meng Muyu to bring him closer. Meng Muyu then grabbed Ling Yang’s tail tip, suspending him upside down in the air above the grass.
Ling Yang maintained a U-shape with his small body, hands crossed over his chest, silently glaring at Meng Muyu. Obviously, he was quite dissatisfied with being carried in such a manner.
Meng Muyu, with a perplexed expression, suggested, “How about I grab the fish head instead?”
Ling Yang: “…”
In the end, Ling Yang coldly snorted, lowered his head to inspect the messy characters beneath the grass, and, after a while, helplessly spread his two chubby palms. “The writing is too blurry; it can’t be recognized. Moreover, the strokes of these characters seem soft and feeble, crooked and twisted, making them challenging to discern.”
Before everyone had a chance to feel disappointed, Ling Yang was suddenly slapped on the forehead by a tender grass leaf that had extended unnoticed. Ling Yang immediately covered his small head and turned back, staring at the petite three-leaved grass with confusion. “Why did you hit me? Can you recognize it?”
Ling Yang was a bit bewildered by the sudden hit, clearly not understanding why he got slapped. His words were just a subconscious utterance. Surprisingly, the three-leaved grass floated down from the youth’s shoulder and gently landed in front of him. The grass leaves covering the characters seemed to respond autonomously, tilting and revealing the surface.
In the astonished gazes of everyone, the petite three-leaved grass extended one of its leaves and began to write on the chaotic characters. It started to replicate the characters with the same strokes, perfectly restoring the writing. It turned out that Ling Yang’s description of softness and feebleness, crooked and twisted, came from this.
The petite three-leaved grass continued diligently replicating the characters on the ground. Ling Yang quietly translated the content of what the three-leaved grass wrote:
“I cannot shield you from wind and rain, cannot accompany you in battle, but I can nurture the last bit of your essence in the heart of the grass. With my three leaves by your side, one leaf guards Xuanqiu City, one leaf guards you, and one leaf bathes in sunlight. In your name, thrive and grow strong. Where I am, Xuanqiu will not fall. Though the grass is small, it can control the wood spirit. As I grow, I will bring you back.”
