Chapter 889: Star Sky Performance Martial Arts Ceremony (44)

"Yi Ge Er, that tall red‑haired boxer, just appeared on the ring like this. Every time he throws a punch it seems as if he bears the weight of a world. After the match he has a strange habit: he refuses all prize money and gifts, and tells everyone watching his fights about his afflicted hometown, warning people to guard against attacks by the Antimatter Legion, and hoping that someone capable will help him."

"And so, he fought his way through countless battles and finally stood before me… just as you appeared before Yan Qing this time. He silently threw punch after punch, fighting me in a way that was hard to separate. Yet toward the end of the battle he suddenly stopped, and left the arena…"

……

The young Jing Yuan stepped behind the man, saw him staring fixedly out the window, and said heavily: "Yi Ge Er, the Alliance's senior officials have heard your story, and the plight of your hometown has moved many Cloud Rider friends."

"Anything besides sympathy?"

Jing Yuan shook his head: "They cannot dispatch troops. The Yaoqing Celestial Vessel sent a beacon signal, foretelling that a great war between the Celestial Vessel and the Bountiful People will erupt soon."

Yi Ge Er understood immediately: "I see, thank you, Jing Yuan."

"Where will you go next?"

"I'm going home. My hometown needs me… I once thought the galaxy was vast, that a way to save it could be found, that someone would be willing to hear my plea. But I was wrong; the tragedy of Yalilo-Ⅵ is insignificant. It plays out in every corner of the universe—if not here, then there; if not today, then tomorrow. People have long become accustomed to a tiny star vanishing without a word."

"Each time I throw a punch, my family and friends bleed and die from the Legion's invasion. Each time I throw a punch, their hope gradually fades."

"Now is the time to return. If a child cannot throw a punch for his mother when she needs protection, what right does he have to call himself her child?"

"Farewell, Jing Yuan… no, given my age, we probably won't meet again."

Jing Yuan lowered his head gloomily.

"Wishing you victory, Yi Ge Er."

Silver hair fell, covering the last glimmer in his eyes. At this moment, all words and all emotions could only condense into a weighty prayer.

"I also wish you victory, Jing Yuan!" Yi Ge Er turned, forcing a smile at the corner of his mouth. He strained to regain his usual carefree optimism, but the unmistakable sorrow in his eyes plainly betrayed him.

"If there's a chance, I truly hope we can fight again!"

——

Qin's bright moon.

……

Tian Ming clenched his fists tightly, opened his mouth as if to speak, but his throat felt blocked as if filled with a soaked wad of hemp. Watching Yi Ge Er's solitary silhouette, he felt a choking pressure in his chest, a heavy, oppressive helplessness that made him feel extremely uneasy.

I know it's hard for the Celestial Vessel to send troops; not sending troops… is also the right thing. But… really can't we help Yi Ge Er a little? Like the Vessel's weapons? Swords? Cannons? The Vessel's technology is so advanced; even if they can't dispatch people, they should be able to give some weapons, right?

Duan Mu Rong's gaze shifted from the sky canopy to the campfire, a faint trace of pity flashing in her eyes.

As a healer, she had witnessed countless pains of those struggling in the cracks of fate, but this time the pain was magnified countless times, reflected on a planet's destiny, and she could not help but sigh softly: "Tian Ming, the world often has no many compromises. Moreover, this is already a story from seven hundred years ago… all the regrets and suffering have been buried in the snow of Beiluo Bo Ge. Now spring is about to come, and the snow will melt into water."

"Indeed, Tian Ming." Gao Yue quietly extended her hand, grasped Tian Ming's clenched fist, and said softly: "You see, despite all the hardships, Beiluo Bo Ge ultimately survived, didn't it? Mr. Yi Ge Er's efforts and the people's perseverance were not in vain."

Moreover, Yue felt that the incident with Yi Ge Er had always left a regret in General Jing Yuan's heart. He wasn't a general back then, but today he is. The decision he couldn't make then is now the time.

"Indeed, Yue's words are correct." Gai Nie said slowly, "World affairs are like a game of chess; choices are always hard. As Lu Ka understood, the most important thing is always the next punch. The past is gone; no amount of nostalgia can bring Yi Ge Er back to life, but now another red‑haired iron‑armed boxer has arrived at the Celestial Vessel… perhaps destiny truly works in mysterious ways."

——

"…I'm coming back, Mother."

"I won every boxing match. But this time, I can't win."

……

"To make friends through martial arts—that is the founding principle of the Performance Martial Arts Ceremony. Yet at that time I was only a Cloud Rider Dawn Guard, unable to change anything, only able to watch his desperate silhouette, unable to utter a word of comfort. He left like that. Time rushed by… in the blink of an eye, three hundred years passed."

More than four hundred years ago, a Counselor of the Heavenly Ship Office asked Jing Yuan: "Excuse me, General, what is the name of that world you just mentioned?"

"For this edition of the Performance Martial Arts Ceremony, send an invitation to the world called Yalilo-Ⅵ. Hopefully its descendants will respond."

"General, the star chart route of the Heavenly Ship Office shows… this world has already gone out."

Jing Yuan froze for a moment.

"General?"

"Send an invitation. Consider it a wish that will never come true."

Lu Ka then learned that the invitation sent over four hundred years ago actually had such an origin.

"Yi Ge Er gave me a small souvenir before he left."

Jing Yuan took out a carefully preserved, yellow‑edged photograph and handed it over.

Lu Ka took it, his breath catching slightly.

The photo showed a portrait of two youths, a fresh‑look Jing Yuan and Yi Ge Er side by side, smiling at the camera, as if sunlight melted the lingering frost on their brows and dispersed the heavy burden of a world's survival they bore on their shoulders.

The solidified bygone moments, carrying the warm afternoon sunshine and laughter, seemed to traverse the long galaxy and over seven hundred years of silence in an instant, silently crashing into Lu Ka's palm.

…very warm.

"This is a photo of us together before parting. Though that day he bore heavy disappointment, he still forced a smile. Now, I want to give his descendants a gift."

"Seven hundred years ago I had no chance to help his hometown. Now, it's not too late."