“Chen Bugu, do you often take the 64 Road Bus?”
“Chen Bugu, is conscience very important?”
“Chen Bugu, you are different from those people. You don’t need to comfort me, because we are the same kind of people.”
“Chen Bugu, when there’s a chance in the future, I’ll introduce my daughter to you…”
“Chen Bugu, take this. You need this weapon more.”
“Chen Bugu, you must come back. I’m still waiting to drink with you.”
…
Chen Bugu stood rooted to the spot, Liu Shifu’s voice seemed to echo in his ears.
He seemed to see that middle-aged man shedding a tear by the bonfire late at night, he seemed to see that man handing him the Lianxin Crossbow again and again, he seemed to see that man standing on the edge of that platform, blowing the red whistle with all his might…
“Beep… beep…”
Everything, and this small stone tablet in front of him, suddenly overlapped.
The red whistle drifted in the wind, its intermittent sound startling Chen Bugu.
He hurriedly shifted his gaze, only to see Amon walking tearfully, step by step, towards the stone tablet.
Chen Bugu’s gaze followed Amon, returning to the stone tablet once more.
The stone tablet was rough and unadorned, with no words carved upon it, yet the whistling sound, Amon’s tears, and the loose mound of earth behind the tablet, all served to remind him of its purpose.
Chen Bugu felt as if he had sunk into the sea; he couldn’t breathe, and the sounds around him suddenly became very muffled.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Lin Lin’s cries were muffled, the whistling wind was muffled, and finally, even the whistling sound became muffled…
Chen Bugu’s legs felt weak. He came back to his senses and found that Wang Bin, whom he had been carrying on his back, had been taken over by Bai Ting at some point, while Yan Kuan stood beside him, turning his head to wipe away tears from his eyes.
He regained his breath, forcing himself to stay calm and compose himself.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Lin Lin were crying in front of Liu Shifu’s tombstone.
Perhaps because Liu Shifu himself had a daughter, he took especially good care of the two sisters during their month in the Initial Forest, which made both Lin Xiaoxiao and Lin Lin very fond of this family-oriented middle-aged man.
Chen Bugu forced himself to cheer up and turned to leave the place.
He walked faster and faster, running into one stone house after another, and quickly searched the entire ruins from inside out.
The good news was that he didn’t find Lin Ye’s tombstone.
The bad news was that he didn’t find Liu Shifu either…
After a long while, Chen Bugu silently returned to the group. Everyone was silent, sitting casually in front of the stone tablet, and no one knew what to say.
The atmosphere was oppressive, muffled, and deathly silent…
“Lin Lin, heal Wang Bin. I want to know everything.”
Chen Bugu spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.
Wang Bin had already been carried into the house by Bai Ting through the back door.
Inside the house was a stone bed, covered with the fur of some kind of magical beast, which felt quite soft. Wang Bin was placed on it.
After hearing Chen Bugu speak, Lin Lin rubbed her eyes and silently walked into the house, continuing to use Holy Light to treat Wang Bin.
After the wind rose on the plain, dusk deepened, and a light rain began under the setting sun.
The light rain pattered, and the others successively returned inside, leaving only Chen Bugu standing alone in front of Liu Shifu’s tombstone.
He stood against the light, in the rain, holding the Rapid Wind Dagger, cutting the rough surface of the stone tablet smooth, stroke after stroke.
Then, before the rain grew heavier, Chen Bugu scooped up a lot of earth and silently piled it behind the stone tablet.
After all this was done, as darkness fell, Chen Bugu finally walked into the house.
He hadn’t carved anything on the stone tablet, because he was still waiting for Wang Bin’s final answer…
Inside the house, the firelight flickered, and everyone remained silent.
Under Lin Lin’s treatment, Wang Bin finally slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar house, then slowly sat up and saw the silent crowd.
“I’m sorry…”
Wang Bin’s first words made Chen Bugu give up hope.
Liu Shifu was dead.
“Who did it? Shizi Jie?”
Chen Bugu’s hair was soaked with rain and had not yet dried.
He hung his head, his wet hair obscuring his eyes; no one could see those eyes.
Everyone could only hear his hoarse voice.
“Yes, Shizi Jie’s Vice Leader, Dongcheng Xiuwu.”
Chen Bugu handed Wang Bin water and food, then continued.
“You joined ‘Shizi Jie’?”
“Yes, we…”
Wang Bin didn’t finish his sentence, but was interrupted by Chen Bugu.
“Teacher Lin?”
“I don’t know either, we separated three days ago…”
Chen Bugu was silent for a moment, then suddenly his tone became heavier.
“Why didn’t you go to the Unyielding Hall? Why? I clearly gave you yun ling fruit!”
“Chen Dage!”
Han Badou’s voice appeared in Chen Bugu’s mind just in time, causing his emotions to calm down slightly.
Chen Bugu calmed down; he knew that Wang Bin had endured more than he had.
It was just that he hadn’t expected that parting in the spherical space would mean a separation of life and death with Liu Shifu. He had clearly thought that everything would go smoothly in this life.
But now, seeing his companions again, one seriously injured, one missing, one dead…
This feeling of powerlessness once again impacted Chen Bugu, making him somewhat unable to control his emotions in that instant.
“What exactly happened?”
“How did Liu Shifu die?”
“Didn’t you join ‘Shizi Jie’? Binge Ge, why were you beaten like that?”
“And Teacher Lin, why did you separate from him?”
“What were your difficulties in joining ‘Shizi Jie’?”
“Binge Ge, organize your thoughts and tell us one by one.”
Han Badou’s Brain Enhancement allowed him to remain rational, and he threw out one question after another.
Every question was what everyone most urgently wanted to know right now.
Wang Bin nodded and slowly began to speak, recounting what happened after he and Chen Bugu’s group separated.
After Chen Bugu and the others entered the secret realm, Liu Shifu and his group remained on that platform, waiting. During that time, they saw many people appear and then leave.
Unfortunately, they waited and waited, but they never saw Liu Shifu’s wife and daughter, nor Wang Bin’s parents.
On the seventh day, Liu Shifu and Wang Bin both decided to leave. They jumped down from the central pit of the platform with Lin Ye, and according to Chen Bugu’s instructions, they left Lake Zero-Start and arrived at Obsidian Town.
When they arrived at Obsidian Town, it was still daytime. At the city gate, there were several Awakened recruiting new members for their respective forces.
But when Liu Shifu heard that they were from “Shizi Jie,” he refused on the spot.
Wang Bin then asked them for the location of the Unyielding Hall. Unexpectedly, those few people became very impatient upon hearing “Unyielding Hall” and all claimed not to know.
Later, Lin Ye inquired with other Awakeneds in the town, and the group searched all the way, almost finding the Unyielding Hall.
However, at this moment, Liu Shifu saw a familiar back on the road.
Liu Shifu was overjoyed and immediately activated Floating to chase after him.
Because he was very sure that the familiar back belonged to his wife…