Chapter 83

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Xuan Ge

The silhouettes of the Shen Wu Army on campaign streaked across the horizon, leaving behind trails of blue-gold light.

Inside the Bu Li people's Yue Lie Qun colony of Ku Lu, the scene remained one of desolate ruin.

Here there were no orderly houses, much less any breath of cooking smoke....

Only crude stone halls and dilapidated shacks lay scattered in chaotic disorder, as wild and desolate as a primeval forest.

Besides these, there were caves resembling mountain grottoes, and pens fenced with coarse rope and wooden stakes, like livestock enclosures, exuding a stifling despair.

Viewed from the ground, one could see dense clusters of tiny dots — the scattered Bu Li tribes, each on guard against the others, yet jointly exploiting the slaves they had captured.

Beneath a dilapidated shack, frail fox-people were packed together.

Some lay down, some crouched, some dozed in a stupor, and some had already breathed their last, their corpses casually discarded to the side, a sight too miserable to behold.

Among these fox-people was a particularly special white-haired fox-person — Salan; the tips of her hair bore a faint cyan gradient, and unlike the other fox-people, she had no tail.

Salan tilted her head back, gaze fixed straight on the sky above, her eyes full of expectation, as if waiting for a shooting star to appear, utterly heedless of the wretched surroundings.

Even though her stomach growled with hunger, sending waves of cramping pain, it did not in the slightest diminish the anticipation for a shooting star in her eyes.

That pure expectation shone especially dazzling in this land of despair.

"Salan~ I... I still have a tiny bit of biscuit left, you eat it quick~ don't let anyone else see~"

An extremely faint voice sounded by her ear, carrying a hint of carefulness, pulling Salan back from her immersion in expectation.

She turned her head and saw her friend Ning Li clutching a small piece of dry, hard biscuit, eyes nervous as she looked around, afraid of being discovered by patrolling Bu Li people.

Warmth rose in Salan's heart; she replied in a gentle yet firm tone: "Ning Li, you're frail, you eat it, I'm not hungry."

"But..." Ning Li still wanted to persuade her, her eye rims reddening slightly; she knew Salan had also been hungry for a long time.

Salan lightly pressed down on Ning Li's hand that hid the biscuit and tried to offer it, gently shook her head, cutting off her words, her tone tinged with longing:

"Ning Li, what do you think a shooting star looks like?"

"Ah~? A shooting star... isn't it just a 'whoosh~' drawing a blue trail?"

Ning Li blanked for a moment, then raised her hand and gestured in midair the way a shooting star streaks across.

The black-blue fox ears atop her head trembled lightly with the movement, looking a bit clumsy, making Salan unable to hold back a low laugh, the fatigue of recent days seeming to dissipate a little.

"A shooting star? How laughable!"

A hoarse voice heavy with blood-qi suddenly rang out, shattering the brief tenderness between the two; Ning Li's whole body instantly trembled, her face turning deathly pale.

Salan also tensed up instantly; her cyan-blue eyes swiftly flicked toward the speaker.

It was Abu Li person, clad in crude armor, a ferocious scar on his face — precisely the patrol squad leader on duty today.

"Salan~" Ning Li immediately clutched Salan's sleeve tightly, signaling her to lower her head and stay silent, her eyes full of fear.

She knew all too well the cruelty of the Bu Li people; if they were discovered whispering privately and hiding food, the light punishment was a beating, the heavy one could mean having eyes gouged out, or even losing their lives.

The two dared not breathe, heads bowed low, until that patrolling Bu Li person's footsteps gradually faded away, only then letting out a slight breath of relief.

Salan slowly raised her head, her gaze falling on a mud puddle on the ground; the puddle reflected the gray sky, and she quietly stared at the reflection, sinking into silence.

She didn't want to live like this, penned and exploited like livestock.

Fox-people were born free and unrestrained, never anyone's slaves, and should never be trampled so wantonly.

"Shooting star.... did you hear it...."

Salan's lips moved faintly, her voice light as a murmur, concealing endless grievance and unwillingness, and a thread of expectation hard to detect.

Suddenly, Salan's eyes blinked lightly; the bewilderment on her face gradually faded, only to see the water surface in the puddle suddenly ripple with fine waves — clearly a vibration had arrived.

She abruptly lifted her head toward the sky, only to see one streak, two streaks... countless streaks of gold-blue light shadows swiftly slash across the horizon, extremely fast, carrying dazzling radiance.

"Ning Li, quick look, those are shooting stars!"

Light instantly kindled in Salan's eyes; she joyfully grabbed Ning Li's hand, pointing at the gold-blue light shadows in the sky, her tone full of excitement.

Ning Li looked in the direction Salan pointed, and saw those gold-blue light shadows moving in neat unison, like sharp spear tips tearing through the gray sky, beautiful enough to make one lose oneself.

She couldn't help but murmur: "So beautiful....."

Salan gazed at those light shadows, palms pressed together, silently making a wish in her heart.

As for what wish she made, no one knows; only she herself understands the weight of that expectation.

"Beautiful my ass! All of you scram back!"

That patrolling Bu Li person from just now suddenly turned back.

He waved the curved blade in his hand, shouting harshly at Salan and Ning Li, his tone fierce, yet he had no extra time to punish them.

His gaze locked dead on the gold-blue light shadows in the sky, his face turning exceptionally grave; another Bu Li person beside him wore a greedy, grinning expression and said:

"Leader, isn't this just an ordinary shooting star? Only with a bit of gold, maybe there's something precious~ hehe"

"Shooting star my ass! That's the Shen Wu Army!"

The Bu Li squad leader roared in rage, kicking that Bu Li person, his tone full of panic.

"Hurry and report to all tribes! Prepare for battle! Otherwise we're all fucking dead!"

Several Bu Li people instantly panicked, no trace of their previous arrogance left; they frantically turned and sprinted toward the various Bu Li tribes, terrified that a single step too late would cost them their lives.

After the Bu Li people had completely gone far, Salan slowly raised her head; the joy in her eyes had long faded, replaced by an incomparably steadfast light.

She tightly held Ning Li's small hand and said in a determined tone: "Ning Li, let's escape!"

"Salan...." Ning Li looked at Salan's determined face, a flicker of hesitation flashing in her eyes; she feared failure, and even more feared the fate if caught by the Bu Li people.

She fell silent for a few seconds, gazing at the gold-blue light shadows still streaking across the sky, then at Salan beside her with her steadfast gaze....

Finally gritting her teeth, she nodded firmly, and a thread of hope kindled in her eyes: "Alright, let's escape together!"

The two clutched each other's hands tightly, gazes alert as they scanned all around; taking advantage of the gap while Bu Deshou flusteredly went to report, they quietly shifted their steps, groping toward a concealed spot outside the shed, their hearts holding only a single thought:

Escape from here, rush toward freedom.

And the blue-gold light and shadow in the sky drew ever nearer — it was the Shen Wu Corps warship fleet led by Xuan Ge.

A rumbling sound gradually approached, shattering Ku Lu's deathly stillness, and also bringing a thread of hope of salvation to this land of despair.