Chapter 195

Chapter 195

A blind man who could not see, and a dying mute who could not speak.

The promise that all lovers would be united was nothing but a joke.

Huo Lanxu reached toward Yang Nanqing. Every swallow sent thick blood down his throat.

How desperately he wanted to speak, to confess, to tell Yang Nanqing ten thousand times,

*I truly love you.*

*I truly want to be with you.*

*You are truly all I want.*

*I truly don’t want to leave like this.*

*But I have to go.*

All human plans yielded to fate. The god Huo Lanxu had waited for took pleasure in toying with human hearts.

He had been too foolish–foolish enough to believe Loki.

Yet whether he obeyed or not, this world would ultimately have become whatever Loki wanted.

How could mortal strength resist the power of a god?

Huo Lanxu would leave for somewhere Yang Nanqing could never find him.

He would die alone, one day before his dream came true.

With trembling hands, Huo Lanxu removed every medal from his chest and laid them on the ground. Then he turned and walked toward the gate of the Yang Residence.

Every step nearly brought him to his knees, but he would not fall here.

He had to get far away from Nanqing. Whatever happened, he could not leave his corpse behind here.

That would be… far too cruel.

Loki fought back his laughter. “Oh my, no one is there. Young Lady, you must have misheard.”

“But I smell blood.” Yang Nanqing walked forward.

He could see nothing. He stumbled, and with no one to catch him, he fell hard to the ground.

His slender hand touched the cold earth, but at that moment, his fingers encountered something warm.

Blood.

He felt through the pool with both hands until he finally found the medals.

Yang Nanqing’s pupils contracted. Clutching the medals, he cried, “He’s back, isn’t he? He came back, didn’t he?”

He lurched to his feet and shouted Huo Lanxu’s name several times.

His voice drew Butler Yang’s attention. The man ran toward Yang Nanqing. “Young Lady, who’s back?”

Loki tilted his head and watched Butler Yang, murmuring to himself, “Mm. Someone must remain to preserve this little thread of hope.”

He tapped Butler Yang between the brows. In that instant, the man’s eyes cleared.

He could see! The person he saw was Huo Lanxu!

“Young Lady! He really did come back! I’ll call him. I’ll call him back!” Butler Yang shouted ahead, “Young Master Huo, please wait!”

Huo Lanxu’s steps faltered. He did not turn, but at some point, a line of tears had begun trailing from the corner of his eye.

He clenched both fists and vanished into the fog.

Butler Yang had taken only a few steps when Loki folded his arms and smiled faintly. “He cannot return just yet, Butler Yang.”

The instant he finished, Butler Yang collapsed to his knees. In a single second, both his eyes were gouged out.

“Aaaaah!” Butler Yang screamed in agony. He knelt on the ground, pain cutting to the bone.

Yang Nanqing rushed to him. “Third Uncle, what happened?”

Loki patted Butler Yang’s shoulder. Divine power stopped the blood pouring from his empty sockets.

Loki whispered into his ear,

“Only by becoming completely blind can you remember that he returned. Tell Yang Nanqing to keep waiting.”

To wait for a day that would never come.

After speaking, Loki hid the clown mask and watched the curse gradually spread throughout the world, laughing softly.

His voice sounded inside Butler Yang’s mind. “Butler Yang, guests will often visit from now on. The more of them who die, the less your young lady will suffer.”

The story ended there.
Huo Lanxu died in the fog. Huo Dieyi found his corpse while trying to cross it.

He was her own brother. Even dead and blind, she would still recognize him.

That day, she nearly lost her mind.

She had no family left.

She truly… had no home anymore.

She wanted Huo Lanxu to rest in peace. After struggling to lift his corpse onto her back, she heard something fall to the ground.

A wooden plaque.

One with words carved into it.

Only three characters.

*Please cremate me.*

It turned out that when grief reached its deepest extreme, a person laughed.

Huo Dieyi raised her face to the sky and screamed helplessly, roaring out her anger and blame.

But life had to go on, did it not?

…

Everything went dark. When Xiao Huai opened his eyes again, Huo Lanxu had released them from his world.

That was the story Huo Lanxu wanted him to see.

Xiao Huai lowered his eyes.

So that was the meaning of the clue engraved with *God*.

The *Town of the Blind* had been born from the evil god Loki’s boredom. He had used divine power to twist the world.

Xiao Huai’s eyes were cold by nature. Wind swept up withered leaves before letting them drift slowly back down.

When he raised his gaze, his face held no expression. His eyes carried a death-by-a-thousand-cuts chill, and all creation seemed frozen beneath frost.

Only a few minutes remained. He and Lu Yuanshi had to leave the world of the dead at once.

Huo Lanxu did not stop them or force them to linger any longer within his world.

Xiao Huai turned away and headed down the road. He was almost out of sight.

At the last moment, he said what he had wanted to say.

Even though he knew the words could change nothing.

“He’s still alive, and he misses you terribly.”

Only eight words. Eight brief words, yet they made Huo Lanxu turn around.

His hands trembled. In the moments before his death, his thoughts had held only Yang Nanqing.

He had wished for nothing but a lifetime of peace for Nanqing.

Xiao Huai did not see Huo Lanxu’s final expression. A faint smile touched the dead man’s lips, at once yearning, nostalgic, reluctant, and desolate.

* * *

“Ah! You’re finally back! Are you all right? Did you get hurt? Is your soul missing any corners? Do I need to tape it together?”

When Xiao Huai opened his eyes, Lu Qian was blinking down at him and talking without pause.

Lu Qian had even thoughtfully covered Xiao Huai with a blanket. Naturally, none of it had been shared with Lu Yuanshi.

Zhong Jiangyuan and Shen Yun breathed sighs of relief when the two men woke.

Xiao Huai pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m fine…”

“Did you find the person you wanted?” Lu Qian asked.

“Mm,” Xiao Huai answered softly.

“Great.” Curious, Lu Qian added, “What was he like? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Xiao Huai calmly shook his head. “He wasn’t a bad man. A little foolish, like you.”

Lu Qian arched a brow. “What do you mean, like me?”

“What do you think?” Xiao Huai countered.

“??” Lu Qian’s confusion deepened. He was one of the Foxslayer organization’s little foxes, sly as they came. Xiao Huai had called him a fool to his face. How was he supposed to preserve his dignity if word got out?

Xiao Huai rose and looked at Lu Yuanshi, who was still dozing nearby. He patted him twice. “Pretending to sleep, or did you die?”

The corner of Lu Yuanshi’s lips rose. “I died.”

“Let’s go.” Xiao Huai wanted to pinch him.

“All right.” Lu Yuanshi opened his eyes and slowly stood.

Night had fallen. By the time they returned, they might already be too late for the dinner Butler Yang had promised.