Seeing the sky above her neighborhood covered in thick smoke, Sister Hong collapsed on the spot.
"Xiao Yu... Xiao Yu..." Sister Hong called Xiao Yu's name, feeling a pain in her heart.
Xia Qi gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go!"
Sister Hong nodded in agreement, and the two of them turned around and prepared to run back.
“Wait!”
Suddenly, Ye Di's voice came from the carriage. He ordered the guards to untie the ropes that tied the horses to the carriage and said to the two men, "Go on horseback."
After Xia Qi thanked Ye Di, he and Sister Hong each got on a horse.
"Gee!" Xia Qi rushed out of the street on horseback.
The horses in the underworld are different from the living horses we imagine. They are as docile as rabbits and run steadily. They do not require very high horsemanship. Xia Qi quickly adapted to the feeling of riding a horse.
He patted the horse's back to urge it to run faster.
The wind whistled in his ears, and soon he was back near his neighborhood.
Above the street not far away, countless black smoke rose into the sky, mixed with thick flames.
This time, it seems that the Tianji person has invested a lot of money and is determined to make a big move.
Different from the thick smoke above the vortex near the Nai River, this time they chose to place the formation in a residential area, and there were more human body scraps floating in the wind than by the river.
Looking at the pieces of skin and clothes floating before his eyes, Xia Qi felt a dull pain in his temple and his heart began to ache as if being pricked by needles. Cold sweat was oozing out of the palms of his hands that were holding the reins.
After waking up three years ago, his emotions have been stable without too much ups and downs. But for some reason, ever since he was involved in the sinful game, his mood has fluctuated greatly, and all kinds of emotions have been constantly impacting him.
It used to be love, now it’s family affection…
Why is that
Without having time to think about the reason, Xia Qi first arrived outside Meng Po's courtyard. He saw that the sky above the small courtyard was pitch black, and it seemed that it had been completely occupied by black fog.
"grandmother!"
Xia Qi choked up in his throat and quickly jumped off his horse. He rushed to the door and kicked it open.
"Ahem."
Thick black smoke billowed in his face, choking Xia Qifa and causing him to cough violently, but he ignored it and rushed inside with a flashlight in hand.
Just like what happened near the Nai River, his small courtyard was completely destroyed by the pervasive black smoke, and devastation was all he could see.
Several pieces of the white walls and black tiles in the courtyard collapsed, and other decorations were also in tatters. Including the small stool that Xia Qi sat on, the vegetable basket that Meng Po often used, and the broom that Ye Di used to sweep the floor, they were all shattered by the black smoke and turned into pieces of paper flying in the wind.
Xia Qi's eyes were twitching wildly and he kept groping in the dark. Every time a piece of paper flew past him, he would grab it and take a closer look.
However, every time he grabbed the piece of paper, he would be terrified for a while, fearing that he would see fragments of Meng Po's skin.
"grandmother!"
Xia Qi pushed open the door of the living room and found that the furniture originally placed inside had begun to break into pieces, with only the chair in the corner still having three legs left.
On the chair there was an embroidery basket that was about to break, and in the basket there was a pile of embroidery and a pair of gray cotton socks.
This pair of gray cotton socks looked very familiar. Xia Qi took one look at it and felt like he was possessed.
Xia Qi slowly walked to the side of the embroidery basket and stretched out his trembling right hand.
When he picked up the pair of socks with fine stitching, a layer of blurry mist appeared in front of his eyes.
"Baby Qi, are the socks grandma made for you comfortable to wear..."
"When are you coming home? Grandma will cook you some meat..."
"Qi baby, when will you bring the person you like to show grandma..."
Deep in his memory, grandma's kind voice surged like a tide, constantly impacting Xia Qi's blank memory.
Although he can no longer remember what his grandmother looks like and has forgotten everything about her, these unforgettable emotions seem to have always remained deep in his heart.
Before he knew it, Xia Qi's face had already turned cold.
“… Grandma.”
He sniffed, stuffed his socks into his pocket, and continued to rummage frantically in the living room, kicking down one old paper-covered piece of furniture after another, even breaking the mahjong table in the corner.
Finally, all the objects in the living room turned to ashes in front of him, and Xia Qi rushed into the bedroom like a madman again.
When he saw the empty bedroom, Xia Qi felt like his whole world was collapsing.
Where is grandma
On the carved lacquered wooden bed in the bedroom, there is still my grandmother's favorite jasmine-patterned quilt. The outer edge of the embroidered quilt cover is wrapped in white cloth, and the corners are sewn with fine needlework.
Xia Qi's legs went limp and he fell to his knees, crawling on his knees to the lacquered wooden bed.
"This bed is older than you. It was the bed my grandmother slept on when she got married..."
With trembling hands, he touched the familiar quilt.
"Grandma, why do you need to sew a layer of cloth outside the edge of the quilt?"
"Because you have been sweating a lot since you were a child, sewing cotton cloth on the edge of the quilt will keep it clean..."
"Baby Qi, when will you come home? Grandma has sewed a quilt for you..."
The moment his hand touched the quilt, due to the effect of the black smoke, the quilt instantly fell apart in front of him and turned into colorful pieces under his palm, just like people who had passed away, gone with the wind and could never be retrieved.
Xia Qi felt that his heart was broken into countless pieces along with the quilt.
Watching the familiar bedroom furniture disappear in front of him, Xia Qi burst into tears, tears falling to the ground drop by drop.
"Grandma..."
A painful whine came from his throat.
…
Xia Qi didn't know how he walked out of the room.
He searched all the houses, but still couldn't find any trace of Meng Po.
Xia Qi walked out step by step with unsteady steps, feeling that he had become a walking corpse in the city that never sleeps.
His mind felt heavy, as if he remembered something, but also as if he could not remember anything.
When he stepped over the threshold, he accidentally tilted his body, felt dizzy, and fell to one side. At this moment, a tall figure suddenly flashed outside the door and quickly grabbed him into his arms.
The man put his arm around Xia Qi's waist, then rubbed his chin against his forehead and whispered, "Your grandma, she's fine."
Xia Qi had a blank expression on his face and let him hold him like a wooden stake.
He felt like he was already dead, and everything that was happening before his eyes seemed like a passing cloud, yet it was terrifyingly real.
Is this really a game world
Xia Qi opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice: "You don't have to... comfort me."
After he finished speaking, he realized that his voice was extremely hoarse, as if it had been damaged by a high fever for several days.
"Really, I didn't lie to you." Although Xia Qi didn't show any expression, Ye Di could feel the pain in his heart.
Ye Di gently raised his right hand and wiped away the cold tears on his face.
Xia Qi still leaned stiffly in his arms, looking ahead with a dazed look, and did not react for a long time.
"Believe me, I am the Sun God Lamp of the City That Never Sleeps... Your grandma is fine..." Ye Di rubbed his ear and kept talking, his heart aching and broken.
After a long time, Xia Qi slowly came back to his senses.
He suddenly raised his head and looked at the man who inexplicably appeared at his door with a puzzled expression.
"Is she really okay?" Xia Qi calmed himself down and regained his normal expression, as if the vulnerability he had just revealed was only a momentary illusion.
"Really? If I deceive the Moon God, I will go to the eighteen levels of hell." Ye Di raised his hand and swore to the "moon" in the sky with a serious face.
“…Pfft.”
Xia Qi was completely amused by him and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
The City That Never Sleeps is a city of ghosts. Some people even believe that it is the Eighteen Levels of Hell. So, which hell can the Night Emperor go to
Just as the two were hugging each other, Sister Hong's shrill cry was heard from afar.
"Xiaoyu! Where are you?"
Half of the courtyard where Sister Hong lived was swept up in the storm, and countless debris was blown into the sky by the wind. The situation in her courtyard looked even worse than Xia Qi's.
Sister Hong rode slower than Xia Qi. When she arrived at the door of her house, she couldn't bear it and accidentally fell off the horse.
After falling to the ground, Sister Hong limped towards the door, shouting Xiaoyu's name loudly.
She ran towards her front door like crazy, but accidentally tripped over the threshold and hit her head on the stone bricks.
"Go and help." Ye Di pulled Xia Qi out of his arms and said to him solemnly.
This is a war between Xia Qi and outsiders.
Xia Qi looked at Ye Di with gratitude, then turned around and strode to Sister Hong and helped her up from the ground.
"My child, my child!" After being helped up, Sister Hong let out a shrill scream.
There was a hole on Sister Hong's forehead, and blood was gushing out of it. The bright red blood mixed with her tears and flowed down her cheeks, making her look helpless and desolate.
Xia Qi picked her up and shouted, "Let's go in first, maybe Xiaoyu is okay!"
"Xiao Yu!" After being awakened by Xia Qi's yell, Sister Hong seemed to be energized. She didn't even wipe the blood off her face and ran straight into the door.
The two shouted Xiaoyu's name and squinted their eyes to search carefully in the dark.
Suddenly, a faint voice came from not far away: "Mom!"
When Sister Hong heard Xiaoyu's voice, she ignored everything and ran forward.
Xia Qi quickly took out a flashlight and followed in a hurry.
Xiaoyu's location happened to be the area where the storm was concentrated. The further they went, the thicker the black smoke became. Xia Qi stumbled forward and finally arrived near where the sound came from.
I saw that the small house in front of me had collapsed halfway, and a vortex exactly the same as the Naihe River appeared at the collapsed site, and thick black smoke was pouring out of the vortex.
“…Mom.” A pale hand slowly stretched out from under a collapsed cabinet.
Perhaps Xiaoyu was destined to die, as she was located upwind, and the cabinet perfectly blocked most of the black smoke for her. However, if they had arrived a little later, the cabinet and Xiaoyu would have been shattered together.
Seeing that Xiaoyu was still alive, Sister Hong almost fell to her knees.
The two of them quickly opened the cabinet in front of them and pulled Xiaoyu out from under the cabinet.
Xiaoyu's costume was already tattered, and the paint on her face had been smoked into a kitten-like shape by the flying ash. Even though she almost lost her life, she still held the peach blossom fan tightly in her hand.
"Xiaoyu, wuwuwu..."
Seeing that Xiaoyu was fine, Sister Hong hugged her and burst into tears.
"Mom, don't leave Xiaoyu." Xiaoyu sniffed and hugged Sister Hong's neck tightly with both hands.
"Mom swears that she will never abandon you again." Sister Hong said with a sob.
Looking at the mother and daughter hugging each other, Xia Qi couldn't help but think of his grandmother.
"Go out first, there's too much black smoke here." Worried that the black smoke would have a bad influence on Xiaoyu, Xia Qi urged as he stood aside.
Sister Hong quickly picked Xiaoyu up from the ground.
Xia Qi took off his outer robe and covered Xiaoyu's head with it to prevent her from being contaminated by the black smoke.
The two avoided the direction of the black smoke and ran out from the other corner of the yard.
After arriving outside the courtyard and confirming that Xiaoyu was safe and sound, Sister Hong finally felt relieved.
Ye Di stood aside with his hands behind his back, generously offered his carriage, and said, "Take your daughter to the palace. They dare not enter the palace."
Xia Qi and Hong Jie's homes were destroyed by the Tianji people, and now they have no place to stay.
Sister Hong turned around and looked at Xia Qi, wanting to ask for his opinion.
Xia Qi knew that they could no longer stay outside the palace, so he nodded and said, "Let's go to the palace."
Sister Hong carefully stuffed Xiaoyu into the carriage.
After closing the carriage curtain, Sister Hong turned around and asked hesitantly, "Xia Qi, your grandmother..."
Since she didn't see Meng Po appear, Sister Hong was worried that Meng Po had met with an accident. When she asked questions, she looked a little cautious.
The sky above Xia Qi's yard was filled with black smoke, and Sister Hong deeply suspected that Meng Po was gone.
Xia Qi frowned, looked at Ye Di who was directing the guards to clean up the mess, and replied: "We haven't found it yet."
"That proves that everything is fine. Don't worry too much." Sister Hong comforted her in a low voice. Putting herself in Meng Po's shoes, she hoped that nothing would happen to her.
Xia Qi whispered "thank you", then straightened his expression and asked, "Sister Hong, do you still remember the matter of your child in the real world?"
Hearing this, Sister Hong frowned and her expression gradually became strange.