Chapter 698

In a place no one noticed, tiny hands emerged one by one along the walls surrounding Chunuan City.

Like wild grass growing from the walls, they swayed in the wind, eerie and sinister, as if Chunuan City itself were encircled by tiny hands.

Suddenly, hundreds of tiny hands converged on the wall, growing like roots sprouting from a tree, forming a human shape—undeniably resembling Fang Yue's current form, with long fingers like antennae sprouting from its head, which soon connected tip to tip, forming a white circular ring.

The Nuomian Gui, now taking shape, blinked its lively eyes from atop the wall, gazing down from afar, curiously observing the crowd gathered below.

Suddenly, as if discovering something, its expression brightened, revealing delight.

Its body dissolved like melting wax, turning into a patch of tiny hands that sank into the wall and vanished.

……

On the street beneath the wall, a group of children aged seven or eight burst out of a large courtyard, cheering.

"Haha! Dad finally let us go out to play!"

"Military Boy, you're the slowest—if we hadn't waited for you, we'd already be at Wu Jue Square watching the spectacle!"

"It's already this hour—the Wu Jue must have started! We'll miss the best part!"

"I heard the Heaven Alliance's leader will appear today—I've never seen him in my whole life! He must be incredibly powerful!"

The boy known as Military Boy, leading the group, ran while boasting: "Of course he is! Who else could be more powerful than the Heaven Alliance's leader? The strongest man in Chunuan City is the Heaven Alliance's leader! My dad says when our ancestors were prosperous, they even visited him!"

Amid the children's cries of "So awesome!" and "No wonder you're Military Boy—your ancestors even knew the Heaven Alliance's leader!" the boy grew dizzy with pride, failed to watch his step, and crashed headfirst into something, stumbling backward and falling to the ground, pain so sharp he nearly cried.

If not for his companions nearby, unwilling to lose face, he would've already been wiping tears.

Clutching his nose in pain, eyes misty, he looked up—and saw a towering Guard standing motionless against the sunlight, staring at him.

Behind him stood other Guard officers—clearly a patrol squad.

"It's the Qing Si Guards!"

The other children instantly recognized them and froze in fear—they were just ordinary kids from Chunuan City, lucky to befriend Military Boy, the wealthy merchant's son, and dared not anger the Guards.

Military Boy was stunned too; his merchant clan had no standing to challenge the Qing Si.

Just as he was about to bow deeply and apologize, the towering Guard suddenly spoke to his companions, telling them to go ahead.

Once they were far away, he crouched down, his stern expression slowly softening into a grin: "Kid, you're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no, I'm fine!" Military Boy quickly shook his head; the other children shouted in unison: "Hello, Guard Captain!"

"Mm, good. Today's Chunuan City's big festival—go have fun."

"Thank you, Guard Captain!"

The children chorused their thanks in high-pitched voices, then sighed in relief and scampered off chattering.

"Gong Er must be this big by now… This year, when I return to the village, I'll hold her tight."

He was Chu Dou, formerly Captain of a village under Chunuan City, later transferred to the city for better pay and conditions—and because the roads were unsafe, he rarely went home.

But he always missed his wife and daughter; it had been five or six years since he left the village.

Every time he recalled the day he left, his daughter wailing heartbreakingly at the village gate, he couldn't help but secretly wipe away tears.

Seeing these children today stirred his emotions again, reminding him of his own daughter.

"After the Wu Jue ends, I'll use up all my leave at once and return to the village for a month or two—to see my wife and daughter."

Serving in Chunuan City meant good pay and status, but the bitterness was known only to him.

Never seeing his wife and daughter, leaving them behind in the village, filled him with helpless pain—luckily, whenever he received his pay, he arranged for the village Guard Team to deliver it directly to them.

His own hardship didn't matter—so long as his wife and daughter were well.

Thinking of this, Chu Dou's mood eased slightly.

He suppressed his emotions and rose to continue patrol.

Whether from squatting too long or recent exhaustion, standing up made him dizzy.

When he steadied himself, his gaze fell upon the distant wall.

In an instant, Chu Dou's face turned ashen, his pupils contracting sharply, eyes wide with terror.

Beneath the blazing sun of Tian Shi, every inch of the wall was covered in tiny hands, swaying like wild grass.

The dense swarm of tiny hands sent chills through his bones; his heart leapt to his throat.

Though the sun blazed above, he felt as if plunged into an ice cave!

Chu Dou opened his mouth to scream—then his heart clenched violently, searing pain surged from his chest, and he collapsed straight backward, eyes bulging as if unable to close.

"... Zhu... er..."

His final whisper was his daughter's childhood name.

As his consciousness faded into darkness, he faintly heard footsteps—the shadow of his earlier companions sprinting back.

But that was all...

"What happened?!"

The Captain of this patrol squad was Feng Yao—he was the first to see Chu Dou collapse and rushed over with his men.

"Chu Dou? Chu Dou! Brother! Brother!!"

Checking his breath, probing his body, Feng Yao's eyes instantly reddened.

This Guard Team had been stable for years; they were as close as brothers, bound by deep, life-and-death trust.

He never imagined Chu Dou would die so silently!

Feng Yao had known Chunuan City had been uneasy lately—but never imagined the danger had reached this level!

They'd all heard Chu Dou's complaints—how he planned to retire after this year and return home to live peacefully with his wife and daughter, how often he spoke of amusing moments with them.

Yet he never got to see them one last time—he was gone forever.

Feng Yao clenched his fist, eyes red, and shook his head silently to the others.

"Dead? How is that possible!"

"How could this happen! We were only apart for a moment—how could he..."

"If only I hadn't left him alone just now! Everyone knows he's soft-hearted at his core, always pretending to be stern. After so many years as brothers, he still… If only we'd stayed together just now…"

The surrounding guards' eyes had all reddened, their bodies trembling slightly, grinding their teeth in fury.

Angry both at Chu Dou's death and at the bizarre, vicious cruelty of it.

(End of Chapter)