Chapter 1329

Bai'e flipped open the next "King" card, which showed a golden-haired man like a male lion seated on a throne, tilting the cup in his hand… wine? Or blood? Just looking at it was extremely imposing.

The "King" card usually symbolizes discipline, authority, and glory, but it is often also equated with loneliness and warfare.

A voice echoed from the card, Wandi's: "Even if you all wish to support me as the final king, glory will belong to me… but a regicide cannot bear the king's title: let the dying lion walk his own end alone."

Bai'e looked at the man on the card, pondering: "Does this represent a… king who abandoned his subjects? Aolixie is too far from a bloody world… such a legend is impossible not to fantasize about."

——

Death God.

At this point, Bai'e probably never dreamed that one day he would become a companion of these heroes on the cards and their trusted savior.

Inexperienced, innocent, and somewhat inferior as a villager. Having seen Bai'e's heroic side before, now looking at his naive appearance, Xiumu Luqi ya couldn't help but find it interesting.

Indeed, honestly speaking, Luqi ya, I also find it hard to connect this kid now with the future savior who bears the destiny of Wani. Asanji Lianci let out a deep sigh, "But if we look from another angle, enabling a rustic ordinary kid to quickly grow into a trustworthy savior, he has truly endured hardships unimaginable to ordinary people."

But logically, the turning point in Bai'e's fate should have been the destruction of his hometown by the Fire-stealers. Yet now they are all ready to set out, so why haven't we seen any trace of the Fire-stealers?

I'm not sure either; perhaps it will happen later. The 'calamity' the village head mentioned must be the Heichi. Luqi ya's eyes showed confusion, "But I heard Bai'e say that Aolixie was swallowed by the Heichi, and it was precisely because of the devastation the village suffered that Bai'e embarked on the pursuit of fire. Yet looking at the timing… it just feels off."

"It couldn't be that Laigushi got the timing wrong, could it?" Renji picked up his tea cup, took a sip of hot tea, "But if you ask me, the strangest thing is still these little sprites. Each calamity births a new sprite; it seems that Aolixie, which looks like an ordinary village, is actually not simple at all."

——

The next card shows a cat-eared woman wearing a hood, her agile and supple posture seemingly related to speed.

Oh! The 'Bound Guest' card, this is the most mischievous one. It often appears stuck behind other cards, excelling at disguising itself as other cards, and drawing it is not easy!

Sai feier's voice echoed from the card: "…Is it here? Or—here? You've been tricked! Hehe, your eyes and limbs are too slow, you!"

Bai'e couldn't help but sigh: "What a cunning voice… it sounds like playing hide-and-seek with someone; surely only someone skilled at teasing people could pick up this card."

Bai'e flipped over the Shenpai on the second page; leading it was a girl in a white dress dotted with countless petals, a butterfly slowly rising from her palm, surrounded by countless flowers.

The 'Shinü' card is slightly light in weight, carrying the frosty fragrance of the antithetic spirit flower, like stars in the sky. It symbolizes rebirth and hope, yet it also easily evokes thoughts of setbacks, sorrow, and emptiness.

Xiaodie's voice came from the card: "The flowers that my hands can cherish… must they grow in the shadow of death?"

Bai'e softly lamented: "It sounds both solemn and carries an unavoidable sorrow…"

Xilian turned over the next card; the card depicted a pink‑haired girl, and sunlight seemed to pierce the card, turning into countless tiny warm specks that gently fell on her.

"The petite 'Doctor' card, though its background is soft, contains courage no less than any other card, even enough to melt cold, solid ice."

The card echoed Feng Jin: "I will do all I can to help you seal the cracks, striving to let sunlight bathe every corner of the world! This time, when you hook your finger with me, even if we make a promise, you must not renege, okay!"

Bai E let out a "huh" and said, "This card seems close to my idea: to make the area I protect as large as possible… But 'protecting every corner of the world' is something I don't dare to imagine— that would require an unimaginable power, right?"

——

Honkai 3.

Watching Bai E in the sky reveal a slightly youthful smile, Su, whose eyes had been tightly shut, found his eyelashes involuntarily quiver.

"How curious."

With the crisp clink of a wine glass set on the table, Eden rose and slowly walked toward him: "Su, your expression… is like flipping through a book, a book that has been left untouched for a long time and covered in dust."

Su's lips curled slightly: "Eden, you always see through me."

"Let me correct that, it's not seeing through," Eden said, sitting gracefully beside him, "you never intended to hide anything. Tell me, do you miss this period's Bai E, or is it because of Bai E that you reminisce about your student days with Kevin?"

"Perhaps both," Su said softly, "the way Bai E looks now indeed reminds me of the Kevin of the past. Not just because they look alike, but because of that similar temperament."

"Temperament?"

"Hmm, maybe it's that… the unforced youthful freshness that hasn't been hardened by the world, and the ignorance of not yet knowing you'll become a hero. Look at Bai E lying in the wheat field sleeping; it's exactly the same as Kevin back then, after a game, lying on a bench to rest."

"So, now that I see him standing at the starting point of the 'Fushì' road, I can't help but look at him a few more times. Once he soon walks that heavy road again, he'll never return to Aolixie's wheat field."

——

The next card differs from the others. The depicted scholar is inverted with the scene, branches rise from the ground, and countless twigs surround him.

"This is the 'Scholar' card, which carries many titles such as Grand Magician, Great Performer, Wise Left Eye, and the Blasphemer of Se Xisi."

"Ah, so there's only one? It sounded like there were a dozen…"

The card emitted Na Ke Xia's voice: "Just call me 'the Earth Beast in Fine Garments'— at least it's refined enough to most powerfully encapsulate my essence."

Bai E scratched his head: "Uh… this voice sounds as if it can anticipate what we're saying?"