Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The strange thing was, even after everything they had been through, especially those events that were even worse than the Calamity of Bo City, the words that Zhang Xiaohou uttered easily broke through the defenses in Mo Fan’s heart and touched the deepest parts of it. His emotions were stirred uncontrollably, like ripples before spreading throughout his body.
It sounded like there had been a hole in Zhang Xiaohou’s heart ever since the Calamity of Bo City. The hole had not closed up, despite the amount of time that had passed. As a matter of fact, no wounds or holes in a person’s heart could ever be fixed with time. Time would only make people forget, run away, or give up. The only way to fix these holes was to gather their courage to face their problems.
The sense of helplessness in the past was their motivation to work harder now and in the future.
The same situation or same calamity might happen again. Even though Bo City was not the victim, the fact that they were able to bring hope to people like Shen Qing who truly loved their homes was a way to slowly mend the hole in their hearts. The sense of relief was slowly healing their wounds.
They could not get back what they had lost, nor would the wounds heal over time. The time that passed would numb their emotions, but when the same thing happened again, it would easily blow away the dust that had precipitated in their hearts.
No one could possibly go back in time or stop time. The only thing they could do was to work harder and stop the same incident from happening again!
Therefore, when Shen Qing was in tears expressing her sincere gratitude, Zhang Xiaohou immediately remembered Bo City that he could no longer go back to. He also remembered how hard Mo Fan fought just to protect whatever city he was in, from Beijiang all the way to the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Zhang Xiaohou could not forget the girl lying in the pool of her own blood, while Mo Fan could not forget Bo City soaking in the crimson rain of blood. He loved Bo City more than anyone else. The hole in his heart had motivated him to contribute to the Ancient Capital and Beijiang, but the things he had done would never fill up the hole in his heart.
Zhang Xiaohou did not express his thoughts well, and was rather confused at times. His Brother Fan might seem like a carefree and selfish person, yet he still saw Mo Fan as the most impressive person he knew and enjoyed hanging around him. He finally knew the reason behind it!
“Brother Fan, this might sound a little lame, but I really think you are actually like a hero now,” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly piped.
A real hero truly would save others instead of themselves.
“Really? Heroes normally have a devastating past, which gives them a great sense of justice and formidable strength. They are always surrounded by beauties, too. The first criterion doesn’t really fit me, the second is alright, but I will have to work harder to achieve the third one…” Mo Fan was amused by Zhang Xiaohou’s comment, and soon burst out laughing.
“So according to your logic, the combination of you and Brother Zhao is a hero then?” Zhang Xiaohou smiled.
“Old Zhao?” Mo Fan rubbed his jaw. He immediately corrected Zhang Xiaohou’s statement, “None of us three is a hero. There are certain things we lack, but if you, me, and Old Zhao are combined together, we do tick all the boxes!”
Zhang Xiaohou was startled, and subconsciously scratched his head.
It was indeed the case!
“Don’t always think so highly of me. I’m a selfish person most of the time, but I just can’t help it. I’ve been around you two for a long time. Every time I have the urge to just turn around and leave, I will remember you two and wonder what you would do if you were in my shoes. You will definitely try your best to do something instead of running away!” Mo Fan patted Zhang Xiaohou on the back of his head and added, “I’m limited on my own, too. If you hadn’t saved me from the Viscera Hunters just now, I would be dead by now instead of looking like a hero in your eyes. You are pretty strong now too! You always surprise me!”
“The military has been helping me a lot. I’m basically relying on them, but Brother Fan, you have been doing everything yourself…” Zhang Xiaohou said ashamedly.
“Yu Ang once said that background is considered one’s strength too! Now that I think about it, there’s nothing wrong with his saying.”
“Yu Ang? I heard that you tore him to pieces at Beiyu Mountain!”
“Mm, you should really have seen his eyes popping out. I managed to eat an extra bowl of rice for dinner that night,” Mo Fan confirmed.
“HAHA, you should turn his corpse into a sample and put it in Bo City’s museum. We’ll see if the Black Vatican dares to stir any trouble again!” Zhang Xiaohou laughed.
“You’re right, I will ask the people at Beiyu Mountain if they still have his corpse!” Mo Fan agreed with Zhang Xiaohou’s suggestion.
“Ugh.. .Brother Fan, I was just joking. That’s going to be disgusting.”
“Not at all, it might actually increase my appetite if I look at it when I’m in a bad mood!”
A condo in the Southern Zone of the Pearl Institute…
Zhao Manyan stretched and flung his golden hair around. He felt a lot more refreshed.
He walked along the cozy path in the park and blatantly observed the girls who were having pleasant conversations around him. He enjoyed staying here, as it was close to the girls’ dormitory. He could easily find some beauties when he was least expecting it. The girls would be even more charming and attractive once he refined them with his magical hands!
As soon as Zhao Manyan located his prey, the wooden clapper in his pocket started knocking, as if it was trying to get rid of his evil thoughts. Zhao Manyan was immediately displeased. Why must his Lifetime Vessel be something that was commonly used by the monks? The last thing he would do in his life was to be a monk!
“Stop knocking, how worldly can you be? You didn’t even bother responding when I was still an Advanced Mage, but you’re Summoning me now when I’m just about to have some relaxing moments with a chick after achieving the Super Level. What’s with the rush!?” Zhao Manyan snarled.
Zhao Manyan tried to put the wooden clapper away, yet it started knocking even louder. Zhao Manyan had no choice but to look at it. He suddenly saw a scene transmitted into his mind by the wooden clapper. He was extremely familiar with the place. It was Pudong District, that had been turned into the Pudong Sea after it was flooded.
“Holy crap, when did you come to Shanghai? I’ll go look for you, don’t come any closer! You’re going to cause a lot of trouble!” Zhao Manyan yelled.
Zhao Manyan was startled speechless. The world was so big, so the ancient turtle would usually pretend to be an island in some random ocean. Zhao Manyan always struggled to track it down, yet it had come to the East China Sea when Zhao Manyan least expected it. It had already reached the Pudong Sea!
Zhao Manyan no longer had the mood to have an enjoyable time with some chick. He quickly ran for Pudong Sea, as he was afraid the Magic City would sound the alarm at any second. Knowing Baxia’s power, he knew it would trigger at least a Purple Alert as soon as it approached the safe zone!