"Your vendor permit is for vegetables, how can you sell animals?" the corpulent police officer said, propping his legs on the table and picking his teeth with arrogance. "Since you're selling animals, you must slaughter them, right? Cruelty to animals is illegal..."
However, the officer stopped short. He saw the badge of Junyao Academy on Ye Qingzhu's chest, and the profanity he was about to utter immediately changed its tune.
"This... this is the last time. We won't punish you this time, but be careful next time." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The police station was quiet. In the room at the end of the corridor, there was a gurgling sound, faint, accompanied by the aroma of chicken, sweet and fragrant. This was the taste Ye Qingzhu only got to savor during the New Year.
Not long after, her father was brought out. His eyes were vacant and numb, and he began to cry upon seeing Ye Qingzhu.
"Your family's little boy assaulted an officer and then drowned in the river. We've already buried him, saving you the burial costs. Hurry back."
As if bestowing a favor, the corpulent officer waved his hand. Ye Qingzhu said nothing, picked up her father, and walked home step by step.
"Qingzhu, you must amount to something."
Along the way, her father only said one sentence.
"Dad, why?" Ye Qingzhu didn't understand. Their family had collapsed overnight, yet her father was still smiling, patting her, though his expression was somewhat numb.
"It's okay, it's okay. There are many secrets in this world, and we can't possibly see them all. We haven't even touched the threshold of truth."
There are many secrets in the world; what then is truth?
Ye Qingzhu remained silent. Ye Feng was in a bag hanging from her neck, and her father was on her back. Ye Qingzhu didn't know what her father had experienced, but she knew that her father on her back gradually fell silent, his body growing colder, stinging her spine.
She buried her parents. Ye Feng, just born, knew nothing. He curiously watched their parents lying peacefully, tugging at their clothes, wanting to play with them. Then, he curiously watched his brother plant the two into the earth.
Ye Qingzhu cried all day. Ye Feng just blinked his big eyes, curious and innocent. At that time, Ye Qingzhu looked at Ye Feng and, several times, wanted to bury the infant with her parents.
Why wasn't he sad? Those were his parents. Would he have to take care of this child in the future? During that time, Ye Qingzhu felt her mind was in a fog, unable to think.
Then the Gong family came and took her away. With her barely concealed aversion, Ye Feng was hastily abandoned at an orphanage by them.
"Hahaha... Hahahahahaha! Bai Cha, you really thought you won?" Tuo Ruolan suddenly started laughing maniacally. "Humans are just selfish bastards. After being betrayed and ostracized, you still selflessly returned, but you think you won?"
"Yes, is there a problem?" Bai Cha said indifferently. "Why do you think your trump card can defeat me?"
"What?" Tuo Ruolan's face changed drastically. He looked at Bai Cha in disbelief.
Let alone Tuo Ruolan, everyone else began to stir, or rather, to boil.
The mist dispersed.
Everyone saw a person standing in the sky, gentle, elegant, wise, and mighty. This was how everyone defined him. In the past, he and his wife were the guardian deities of Country Z, and their child had inherited their legacy, becoming the guardian deity of Country Z.
But now, his appearance filled everyone with dread. His presence made all the mutilated zombie asuras kneel and bow. Every move exuded fear and reverence. The asuras of the world suddenly fell silent, gazing from afar towards Bai Cha and Ye Feng.
"I will handle what happens next. You just need to disappear."
As Bai Cha uttered her last word, Tuo Ruolan finally breathed his last. To his death, he searched for the slightest flaw on Bai Cha's face.
But he failed. Bai Cha remained calm and composed, as if the person in the sky had nothing to do with her.
"Boss?" Lang Ya blurted out. Lang Mo was stunned, not expecting this person to actually be Ye Feng, his father's former leader.
"You're a bit later than I expected. I thought when the asuras went out of control, you would too. It seems there's a significant difference between demigods and mutilated dependents. You've managed to last this long."
"But it's alright, this timing is just right."
"I'm here, Dad."
The person in the sky was familiar yet strange. He floated in mid-air, sacred and elegant.
It was everyone, the image etched into everyone's hearts. He too, like Bai Cha, had stood like a true god, protecting the country and its people before the natural disasters.
Or rather, Bai Cha had followed in his footsteps, standing before the people like a true god.
And now, that person was familiar yet strange. His appearance, his demeanor, his aura were all so familiar, perfectly matching the person in everyone's minds. Yet, his aura, his appearance, seemed different from their impressions.
His mind seemed slightly dull, his pupils lacked irises, and the whites of his eyes glowed eerily. His face was numb, devoid of the gentle and kind smile they remembered. He was vacant, cold, as if the person in the sky were merely a handsome statue.
"Bai Cha, is this the trump card you mentioned?" The Boss's face turned pale with fury. He finally lost his composure and patience in front of everyone. He strode quickly to Bai Cha, uncharacteristically disbelieving. "You said we only needed to help you find all the moles in secret, and that you would handle the aftermath. Is this the aftermath you spoke of?"
If he could, the Boss would face any difficulty in the world, even demons or gods. But he never wanted to face his old friend from years ago.
He and that person had been extremely close. The Boss had almost become Bai Cha's godfather. And precisely because of their close relationship, the Boss knew best how powerful Ye Feng was. He was a genius beyond human reach, the only one worthy of the Bai family's eldest daughter back then.
Moreover, the Boss understood the significance of a father to a person.
"Hey, Bai Cha, what does this mean? This is fake, right?" Gong Yuechen finally snapped back to his senses. He stood rigidly, feeling as if all his joints had rusted.
He turned his head stiffly, looking at Bai Cha with eyes full of disbelief.
"This is fake, right? This must be a replica cloned by those mad scientists." Gong Yuechen rushed forward and grabbed Bai Cha's shoulders.
"Bai Cha, say something. What exactly is going on?" Gong Yuechen's enraged roar made Bai Cha a little dazed. Gong Yuechen, his voice hoarse, seemed even more broken than Bai Cha. "Bai Cha, go back. We have the most advanced weapons here. We'll handle it. You go back and rest, immediately!"
"Gong Yuechen."
Bai Cha's voice was soft, as clear and gentle as ever, and as firm and irrefutable as always. Just a name silenced the young Major General.
"What are you afraid of?" Bai Cha smiled helplessly, gently patting Gong Yuechen's hand. "I told you, I will handle it. I'm still here."
"I'm still here."
During Bai Cha's tenure, Gong Yuechen had heard her say this countless times, and each time it brought him a sense of peace. But this time, it made him even more uneasy.
"How can this be solved? How can this be solved? How can you solve this?" Gong Yuechen was almost going mad. He clutched Bai Cha's shoulders desperately, his voice bordering on pleading.
"Cha Cha, let's go back. We won't be heroes anymore! We don't want to be heroes. Brother will take you home!"
Gong Yuechen roared. He didn't even dare to look up at the person in the sky. He had seen how happy and fulfilling Bai Cha's family used to be, so the current scene felt that much more cruel.
Just like he understood the importance of family to everyone.
"How could this happen?" Gong Yuechen's entire body felt drained of strength. He collapsed to his knees with a thud. Covering his face, he didn't know what to say.
How could this happen? Why? No one had an answer, and no one could utter a word. The scene was too shocking, something no one had ever anticipated.
"With Bai Ze as a precedent, it's likely that my father was only seriously injured and not truly dead back then," Bai Cha said faintly. "But it's also possible that his body was used for experiments after death."
And her mother too.
It was highly probable that the remains of all the Bai family members, as long as they were intact, were taken for experiments. Even in death, they could not find peace.
"Alright, stop crying. I will end this era," Bai Cha smiled and looked at Xiang Nan, her eyes filled with undisguised trust. "Save your tears for a more needful tomorrow. Let Noah's Ark set sail on a dry riverbed."
The hidden threads had been laid long enough. Once the net was cast, the world would be reshuffled. Everything had been handed over. Bai Cha believed that the remaining matters would be handled perfectly by the people to come.
Perhaps they would encounter difficulties, but the people she valued would surely carry this era forward.
"A confrontation with a god should naturally be resolved by a god,"
Bai Cha murmured softly.
Her hair suddenly grew longer, extending from her waist to her back, fluttering in the wind. She stepped forward, walking on air, with blooming and withering scarlet hibiscuses, bearing witness to the confrontation between two kings.
Ye Feng moved, and Bai Cha moved too. The two disappeared almost simultaneously and then collided fiercely. Every impact tugged at everyone's heartstrings.
The dark red dual scythes and the blood-colored long spear clashed but did not separate immediately. Instead, they stuck together, the dark red and bright red powers colliding and consuming each other.
Ye Feng let out a choked sob. He flicked his spear, pushing Bai Cha away. He retreated several meters, looking at Bai Cha with caution. At this moment, the effects of the serum in Bai Cha's body reached their peak. Bai Cha's vitality surged, and the dense dark red aura was a full third larger than Ye Feng's bright red aura.
"Should we... should we help?"
Below, someone weakly asked. But before he could finish, he was almost blown away by the airflow. Lucifer quickly repaired the gap shattered by the shockwave, his heart still pounding.
"Still holding on?" Lucifer frowned, looking at Mo Ziye's pale face. Mo Ziye had exerted immense effort to protect everyone on the rooftop, and facing the impact of a divine being, he was clearly struggling.
"Still okay." Mo Ziye took a breath, looking at Lucifer with a complicated expression. "I thought you would rush up, embrace death fearlessly, sacrifice yourself to protect Xiao Bai, and let her live."
"Didn't you not go either?" Lucifer glanced at Mo Ziye and continued to watch the battle in the sky, appearing dismissive of Mo Ziye's words.
"I'm already burning my life force. She privately asked me to protect them no matter what, otherwise I would have rushed out long ago," Mo Ziye said indignantly. "Everyone is willing to sacrifice themselves for her. But look at you, you act as if you love Xiao Bai dearly, yet in the end, you reap the benefits of everyone's sacrifice."
"Foolish." Lucifer frowned.
He felt that his conversation with Mo Ziye was the worst decision he had made in his life. This person should be kept far away from.
"Hey, you!" Mo Ziye was enraged again, almost unable to breathe.
"I truly detest this kind of self-感动式的 (self-感动式的 means self-moving or self-pitying) sacrifice, making her suffer and blame herself for the rest of her life, ultimately forcing her to accept everything because it's for her own good." Lucifer lost patience with Mo Ziye and turned to leave. "If you want to sacrifice, then sacrifice. I won't leave her alone in this world to suffer."