Chapter 1244: I Heard Mister Chen Needs a Doctor?

I Heard Mister Chen Needs a Doctor?

Others might just be guessing, but the first time Chen Ling saw this article, he was almost certain that this was the doing of the Bitter Flesh Forest.

The location of the Bitter Flesh Forest was already very close to the Hidden Clouds Domain, and Chen Ling had personally seen the Bitter Flesh Forest's methods of invasion. This group of flesh-and-blood plants was not adept at frontal assaults like the Sighing Wilderness. Instead, they were more like a continuous drizzle reeking of putrefaction that incessantly seeped into the target. By the time everyone realized what was happening, intricately entrenched root systems would have already occupied their hearts.

Even if the Hidden Clouds Domain knew that the Bitter Flesh Forest was behind this, there was nothing they could do, because the main bodies of the Calamity of Corruption and the other Calamities of the Bitter Flesh Forest might all be thousands of miles away. They didn't dare actively leave the Hidden Clouds Domain to attack the Bitter Flesh Forest; such behavior would be tantamount to courting death. They could only grit their teeth and repeatedly clear away the underground root systems. However, this consumed an enormous amount of the Domain's combat power. In a war of attrition, how could humans possibly defeat the entire Bitter Flesh Forest?

From the very beginning, the Hidden Clouds Domain had already fallen into a disadvantage, and currently, Chen Ling couldn't see the slightest hope of them turning the tables.

Sometimes, an invisible war was far more despair-inducing than a head-on clash with the Sighing Wilderness.

Chen Ling flipped through other newspapers, and most of the subsequent reports were related to the Tianshu Domain.

Generally speaking, the Sighing Wilderness was still in the siege phase and had not launched an attack. Among these reports, three articles promoted that the Tower to Heaven was fully prepared and even disclosed some information about secret weapons, making it sound very impressive... Two more were exclusive interviews with the Lord of the Red Dust, in which Su Zhiwei stated that she had recovered to her peak state and did not fear the Cessation Calamity.

The rest were related reports on the Tianshu Domain having ample supplies, the unity between the military and civilians, and greatly boosted morale.

After reading it, Chen Ling casually tossed the newspaper into the trash can.

Judging from the newspaper, the Tianshu Domain seemed to have the determination to win, making people feel that a World-Ending siege was just a piece of cake... But Chen Ling was very clear that the truth was not like that at all.

Not to mention how strong the Calamities of the Sighing Wilderness were, the Cessation Calamity itself was the nemesis of the Path of the Artisan. Under its dragon breath, all civilized creations would turn to dust. The Tower to Heaven was almost completely suppressed, so how could they possibly look like they were bound to win?

As for that interview with the Lord of the Red Dust, it was even more nonsensical. Chen Ling knew that was absolutely not Su Zhiwei's tone of speaking; it was highly probable that the newspaper agencies of the Tianshu Domain or South Sea Domain had fabricated it out of thin air... Even if a Nine Monarch in their prime were to fight a World-Ending Calamity one-on-one, their chances of winning would be below thirty percent.

Chen Ling believed that whether it was the Tianshu Domain or the Hidden Clouds Domain, the actual situation was far more severe than what was seen in the newspapers. These articles in the newspaper had long been guided by an invisible hand, no longer focusing on the truth itself, but rather serving to stabilize the people's hearts.

Chen Ling didn't linger outside for long. After buying some food for Little White and Little Peach, he returned to the guest house.

Little Peach had still not woken up. She lay on the neat bedsheets, her brows furrowed tightly, breathing heavily. Dense beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, making it look like she was having a nightmare.

"You haven't eaten for a day, you must be hungry." Chen Ling handed the bread to Little White.

Little White shook his head,

"Great King, I can't eat right now..."

"Being anxious is useless." Chen Ling spoke calmly, "There's still some time before nightfall. If you don't eat something, you won't be able to hold out."

Under Chen Ling's almost commanding tone, Little White ultimately still took the bread. He took a mechanical bite and chewed it as if chewing wax:

"Great King... if no one comes by nightfall, what do we do?"

Chen Ling glanced at a certain direction out the window and fell silent for a moment.

"Then I will go find the Lord of the South Sea."

When he went downstairs to buy newspapers just now, Chen Ling had also inquired about the whereabouts of the Lord of the South Sea. It was now well-known that the Lord of the South Sea had awakened, and currently, he resided in a small pavilion in the middle of a lake in the center of the South Sea Domain.

Chen Ling had saved Chu Changqing and believed there was still some friendship between them. Although so many years had passed and Chu Changqing might have changed a lot, Chen Ling felt he was not an ungrateful person... If it weren't for Teacher Ye's unwillingness to interact with him, Chen Ling would have directly gone to find Chu Changqing the moment he entered the South Sea Domain.

Hearing Chen Ling's answer, Little White's heart was instantly put at ease.

"As expected of the Great King." Little White broke into a smile, "Even the Lord of the South Sea has to give face to the Great King!"

Chen Ling: ...

Chen Ling didn't waste his breath explaining, but waited quietly in the guest house.

As the sunlight gradually dimmed, the dusky sunset illuminated every corner of the South Sea Domain, seemingly gilding the streets with a warm golden edge. No matter how anxious the atmosphere was, it seemed to melt into this golden hue like snowflakes. After taking Chen Ling's reassurance, Little White had already leaned against the wall and fallen into a deep sleep.

Chen Ling suddenly came back to his senses!

Wait, that's not right...

Chen Ling had come from the outside, and he knew that the South Sea Domain was sheltered beneath a steel dome. That being the case, where did this sky and sun come from?

Could it be that the South Sea Domain also had an organization of the Path of the Arts like the Floating Life Painting, which had painted the sky and sun here? Or was it something created by the Tower to Heaven? But this change in twilight lighting was a bit too realistic...

Just as Chen Ling was deep in thought, a rhythmic knocking sounded from the door.

Knock, knock, knock—

Chen Ling's body instantly tensed, and his gaze looked vigilantly outside the door... Even Little White, who was dozing off nearby, woke up and nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Chen Ling signaled him not to move, then slowly got up and silently walked towards the door.

The ones knocking on the door at this time were either Police Officers of the South Sea coming to arrest them, though this possibility wasn't high since all of Chen Ling's movements along the way had been very well hidden, or it was...

[Audience Expectation Value +3]

[Current Expectation Value: 43%]

Chen Ling slowly opened the door.

The dusky sunset shone through the window in the corridor, illuminating the old door eaves. In this halo of light, a figure wearing a white Woolen Overcoat and a blue Scarf was standing quietly outside the door. His silver thin-framed glasses seemed gilded under the sunset.

Seeing Chen Ling open the door, that person gently raised his hand and greeted with a smile:

"I heard Mister Chen needs a Doctor?"

Seeing that long-lost face, Chen Ling was first startled,

And then a faint smile curved up at the corners of his mouth.