Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After locking the doors of the renovated clinic, Lu Zhiyu was preparing for opening the next day, as well as for the recruitment of assistants and clerks for the pharmacy. After he took care of those details, he would then find apprentice medics.
On the way home, the skies were already dark and a heavy snow was falling. It was already late winter now. As the snowflakes danced in the air, they covered the earth in a flurry of pure white.
As he passed the stores, many shopkeepers greeted Lu Zhiyu. They had gotten close over the last few days, and Lu Zhiyu was happy to feel that he had already begun to integrate into the community.
Lu Zhiyu wore a navy blue leather trenchcoat, which seemed quite exotic to the locals of Ayer City. After awhile, many people began to recognize his distinctive presence.
Passing through the orc family residential area, all the houses were alight with laughter and activity. The lights emanating from these houses created the most beautiful skyline in contrast with the night.
As Lu Zhiyu arrived home and opened the door to his house, he suddenly heard a noise outside. He traced the noise to a nearby alley, where he discovered a collapsed figure on the ground. The figure lay dead in a pool of blood, but it was holding an infant!
With a deep sadness, Lu Zhiyu frowned, turned around, and returned home. He waved his hand, causing the lights and fireplace to immediately light up. Light and warmth filled the entire living room, banishing the chill of the outer world.
Lu Zhiyu sat for awhile and drank a cup of coffee. He looked out of the window again. At last, he stood up and walked out of the yard, back into the dark, bloody alley. The dead body was now covered by a thick layer of frost, and the tracks of blood were freezing into a layer of crimson ice.
The dead body was a faun, a goat-person orc. It was tall and strong, but both of the horns were broken. Also, its body was covered with seven or eight gaping wounds, of which included some arrow wounds and sword wounds. He had clearly died after withstanding all of these heavy injuries, revealing that he must have been a true man.
Lu Zhiyu looked at the bundle on his chest and opened it, only to discover that it was an infant with golden locks and beast ears! It was extremely cute, and its cheeks were flushed red from the chill.
“A fever?”
Lu Zhiyu took the swaddled baby and rubbed it in a soothing motion. Meanwhile, he cast a healing spell upon the infant. Instantly, the redness of the skin disappeared, and the baby’s cries eased. A pair of large eyes oogled at Lu Zhiyu, as it gurgled for a bit, before falling into a delighted fit of laughter.
The corners of Lu Zhiyu’s mouth crinkled as he looked at the little one. “You really are cute, you little trouble maker.”
Then, around ten shadows darted down the street. Two figures suddenly entered the alley and looked at Lu Zhiyu. The two of them stopped and joined the other ten shadows, swiftly relaying information as they darted between the alley and the rooftops. From the front, back, and both sides, Lu Zhiyu was surrounded.
Each of these figures was dressed in loose black cloaks. Underneath the cloaks, they were in leather armor with longswords. Although a hood covered their faces, it was still possible to discern that they belonged to the wolf orc tribe.
A wolf-man with a scarred face walked forward, looking at Lu Zhiyu. He spoke in brusque Sofawk. “A human? Why is a human here?”
A flash of confusion darted over his face, as the wolf-man hardened his eyes and stated harshly, “Kill him and take the child. ”
All of the people started moving and drawing their swords. Figures descended from above from multiple angles, locking on all of Lu Zhiyu’s escape routes. The technique and cooperation of this team were at the pinnacle of training. This was definitely not a normal troop of soldiers.
Wheew!
Lu Zhiyu lifted his head to look the wolf-man in the eye. The wolf-man immediately tingled, sensing danger and his own impending danger. It was extremely ominous! As he opened his mouth to say something, he heard a wave of light ring out from Lu Zhiyu’s body, covering all of Ayer’s City in an instant.
In a single second, more than half of Ayer’s City was frozen, as all time had stopped. Even the snowfall from the skies was suspended in mid-air. Wherever the halo of light touched, all of the people halted immediately. Even their consciousnesses were frozen.
All of the assassins attacking Lu Zhiyu were frozen in midair. Their longswords were only a few centimeters from Lu Zhiyu, with the closest ones being only millimeters away. Yet, they were completely frozen.
The easy laughter of the other wolf-men was also frozen now, and the surprise on the scar-faced wolf-man was only just beginning to show, as he discovered his consciousness drifting from his body, completely out of his control.
Within Ayers City, the families were stopped also in an instant, all while enjoying their dinners, sitting together, smiling. The shopkeepers, who had been closing up, had their hands on the doors. Several guards’ glasses were seen in the bars, raised in a toast. The servants stopped in the halls of the city manor, and Mayor Elias’s goose quill was still raised, dots of the ink swirled in the air.
Within the radius of several miles, everything was synchronized and dominated by the dream space that was being controlled by Lu Zhiyu. Not even the smallest fly could escape Lu Zhiyu’s notice and control.
“One, two, three, four… twelve!”
After every number that Lu Zhiyu recited, a figure would be set ablaze by a white light. The process would go from the bottom to the top, like glass shattering under high pressure. The figure would then instantly become glittering powder. By the time he had counted to twelve, each scar faced figure would have been wiped out, without leaving a single trace.
“Only twelve.”
Lu Zhiyu checked and discovered that the group had no reinforcements within Ayers City, so he retracted his dream space. The glow shrinked back within Lu Zhiyu’s body. As it did so, the snow continued drifting to the ground, and the people resumed their activities. Busy, bustling, and happy, the city returned to its normal state.
Lu Zhiyu lifted up the infant. As she was held up, she began laughing continuously, as if she was delighted to see Lu Zhiyu. She appeared to be oblivious to the dangers from before. In fact, she seemed to have completely forgotten about the person who had protected her until his death.
“Look at you, still laughing. What a troublemaker.”
The infant had no idea what Lu Zhiyu was saying, but she felt that being raised in the air was extremely entertaining, so she kept giggling loudly. Though he didn’t know why, Lu Zhiyu began laughing with her.
As he laughed, he held the baby close to his chest. After checking the body of the corpse once more, he discovered a badge and a longsword, but nothing else that was worthy of note.
There was an insignia of the lion that was branded on both the longsword and the badge. Lu Zhiyu saw them and immediately recalled the origin of the mark. He stood and used Disintegration to wipe away the trace of the body, then carried the child home.
There was now another person in Lu Zhiyu’s house. It added a welcome touch of life. Though it was only a child, it gave the house a sense of normalcy and warmth.