Forget it, never mind all that. If I ever encounter it again, I’ll just pretend I know nothing.
"Yeah, me too."
The old man nodded slightly and said in a low voice,
"I... I am the general here. Just call me General. My real name has long been lost in the years. My army was almost wiped out when fighting against the minions of demons and gods decades ago. When we retreated here, only six or seven hundred soldiers were left out of the three thousand troops, most of whom were injured by "Doomsday".
This is the case for almost all garrisons in abandoned cities. These injured soldiers cannot approach human territory and can only stay in the wilderness, enduring the pain and torture brought by "doomsday" all the time.
"I thought this situation would continue until the next disaster from ghosts and gods. However, a while ago, a team passed by here and brought the statue of the Goddess of the Nine Heavens." The general said, and saluted to the statue again, with a bit of fanaticism in his eyes.
"The miracle brought by the Queen has cured several of our comrades who were not seriously injured, and also completely relieved several brothers who were already terminally ill. If it weren't for the Queen Mother of the Nine Heavens, we would have been waiting to die in despair in this abandoned city. It's all because of the Queen Mother's grace that we see hope!"
He started to brag in front of the owner again...
Chi Nu looked at Luo Ling with strange eyes. Luo Ling felt his cheeks getting hot and he slightly avoided her.
After all, she was quite thin-skinned, and being praised in this way was something she couldn't bear.
"If you don't have a god to follow, I suggest you all come and pay homage to the Goddess of the Nine Heavens." The general said to Luo Ling and Chi Nu seriously, "Although I don't know why the Goddess didn't perform a miracle to heal your injuries, it doesn't matter. As long as you pray sincerely, a miracle will always appear!"
"Yes, is it?"
Luo Ling pursed his lips and gave a forced smile.
Next to her was the naked girl pulling at her clothes and whispering,
"What's the injury? Are you injured?"
When the girl said this, there was a slight nervous tone in her voice.
I didn't expect that the carefree Akane could actually care about others...
"I'll explain it to you later." Luo Ling replied in a low voice.
"Even if you don't want to believe, don't worry. The Queen Mother of the Nine Heavens is kind and loving. As long as you need something, you can pray to her sincerely and she will respond."
Seeing that Luo Ling and Chi Nu's reactions were somewhat reluctant, the general immediately realized that it was his own enthusiasm that frightened the two girls, and he explained repeatedly.
"Yeah, we all know that."
As Luo Ling spoke, he also pressed Chi Nu's head and nodded.
"Old General, why don't you first tell me what happened on your side in the past month?" Luo Ling said.
"One month... Alas, after the brothers left, we didn't expect that the ghost disaster we had been waiting for for a long time would actually come. Fortunately, the scale was not as serious as what we had encountered in the past. After I raised the battle flag, they were quickly defeated."
The old general waved the battle flag in his hand towards Luo Ling.
Normally, the abandoned city would not open the mystical barrier all the time. On the one hand, it was due to consumption, and on the other hand, there were many soldiers in the city who were affected by the disaster of ghosts and gods. It would be inconvenient to open the mystical barrier rashly.
What's more, when there are a large number of soldiers, it is more efficient to choose to let some of them serve as patrols and sentries.
However, after everyone else left, the old general could only raise the battle flag alone to resist the disaster from ghosts and gods.
As for why the old general stayed alone...
In fact, the old general himself was not injured. He just didn't want to leave the soldiers who had been with him day and night, so he stayed in the wilderness together with them.
The miracles of the Queen Mother of the Nine Heavens are of no use to the old general, but the reason why a statue was left here is actually to wait for passers-by. If an army in a similar situation passes by the abandoned city, this statue can be used to preach.
More importantly, the old general was nearing the end of his life and could no longer move. He did not have the "doomsday" injury to control his life, and could not march intensively with other soldiers.
Due to various reasons, the current situation has come about.
After listening to the old general's story, Luo Ling nodded slightly.
"I see, that's what the old general is doing."
"It's nothing great or unrighteous, it's just..."
The old general shook his head, sighed, and said nothing more.
At this moment, some of the ferocious look on his old face was finally gone, and a heavy sense of decadence emerged.
Birth, aging, sickness and death are the cycles of life in this world. Even Luo Ling can do nothing about those beings whose limited lifespan has come to the end.
But... maybe the old general would rather die in this way, without becoming a pawn of "Doomsday".
Soon, the old general put away his sadness, raised his head and said in a deep voice,
"You can live in any house here, but don't destroy the patterns on the ground. These are formations. You can do whatever you want with the rest."
"Thank you, old general."
Luo Ling saluted to the old general.
This time, Chi Nu didn't need Luo Ling to hold her head down, she just bent down obediently.
"You're welcome. The reason I stayed in this city is that I wanted to help passers-by."
The old general shook his head, then respectfully bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to the shrine, then carefully picked it up and sent it deep into the camp.
Luo Ling and Chi Nu watched him leave, and Chi Nu finally couldn't help but say,
"If he knew you were..."
"Shut up."
Luo Ling said softly.
"oh.
Akane responded.
There's no need to let him know about this kind of thing.
Not just because it's troublesome, but also because... the other party is embarrassed, and she is embarrassed too.
It’s better to just leave it this way and have the best of both worlds.
"By the way, Luo Ling, the injury the old general just mentioned..."
Chi Nu pulled the corner of Luo Ling's clothes and said seriously, "You were not captured by the minions of ghosts and gods, were you? Can't you heal the injury with your ability?"
Luo Ling looked at Chi Nu, who had a stern face but could not hide her nervousness, and a little warmth emerged in his heart. He shook his head and said,
"It's not me, it's you."
"I?"
Chi Nu was startled and quickly checked herself, touching her whole body randomly, but she didn't feel anything wrong. She looked even more suspicious.
"I'm not hurt, Luo Ling. It's time to stop playing tricks on me."
Luo Ling just smiled noncommittally, then took her hand.
“Come with me.
Chi Nu suppressed the doubts in her heart and let Luo Ling hold her hand and walk to a secluded tent.
Opening the curtain, Luo Ling cleared out all the previous owner's belongings - there weren't many things in it, actually. Then he sat on the ground, patted the ground next to him, and said,
"Sit across from me, Akane."
There was a look of confusion on Akina's face, but she still sat down.
"What's wrong?"
Luo Ling took her cold little hand, looked directly into her amber eyes, and said in a deep voice,
"Look me in the eyes and focus."
Although Chi Nu felt quite strange about Luo Ling's silence and head covered, she still did as he asked.
She stared at Luo Ling's eyes carefully, and suddenly felt that there seemed to be a faint golden luster in the depths of Luo Ling's eyes.
The naked girl, who was a little absent-minded at first, was involuntarily attracted to the golden luster after gazing at it.
At the same time, a demon's shadow appeared at Luo Ling's position. The compassionate witch prayed, and her bound wings spread slightly.
-Power: "Savior Witch".
Chi Nu has a physique that is close to "Doomsday" and naturally has some sensitivity to "Metamorphosis". Luo Ling wants to try whether he can use the "Savior Witch" to pull her to the other end of the path.
But... unfortunately, I don’t know whether it’s because the "Savior Witch" that Luo Ling can mobilize now is not strong enough, or because of Chi Nu’s physique, this attempt failed.
Not only that, when a faint gray mist emerged from the surface of the red girl's body, even Luo Ling couldn't help but lean towards "Doomsday". The witch's shadow that enveloped them snorted lightly and then dissipated.
Then, the golden luster deep in Luo Ling's eyes quickly dimmed and turned into a terrifying dark gold color.
Black scales also appeared on both sides of her cheeks for the first time in a long time - this is a feature that almost only appears in her original form, but now it appears in her "fairy" form.
Luo Ling noticed this and immediately interrupted the spell. At this time, Chi Nu also broke free from her attracted mind. Seeing the change in Luo Ling, her face turned pale.
"Luo Ling, you..."
Of course she could sense that Luo Ling had developed certain "ghostly" characteristics, which was a sign of becoming a ghost's minion.
What's going on
Wasn't Luo Ling able to heal the injuries of ghosts and gods for grandparents before? How did he become like this
Could it be that...
"I'm fine." Luo Ling shook her head and said, "Don't worry about me. I had a similar situation a long time ago... It wasn't your fault."
Luo Ling saw the nervous look on Chi Nu's little face, which seemed to contain a bit of self-blame, and he knew what was in the little girl's mind.
"... I know.'
Chi Nu turned her face away slightly, but her expression was slightly flustered.
I want to care about others, but I am afraid that others will know...
Akame’s personality is really weird.
"It seems that I really can't do anything about your injuries." Luo Ling smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Ah? My injuries?"
Akena was stunned and blinked. Was she really injured
"Look at what you look like now."
Luo Ling picked out a smooth vessel from the owner's belongings in front of the tent and gave it to Chi Nu to use as a mirror.
Akane took a look and almost scared herself.
"This, this is..."
The naked woman gently touched her cheek. There were some shocking injuries remaining on her dirty face, revealing some traces of white bones.
But she didn't feel any pain. In her perception, this was not an injury. She just looked like this.
The fact is, this is not really an injury, because Chi Nu used her newly awakened abilities, guided by Luo Ling.
But Luo Ling couldn't bear to tell her that in fact, you are more like a ghost minion than all the ghost minions you have ever seen, because her situation... can almost be said to be born "doomsday" God's choice.
Other beings are merely assimilated by "Doomsday" and become part of it, but Akane holds the power of "Doomsday".
Chi Nu, who has always followed Yao Ji and hates the minions of ghosts and gods, is probably unwilling to accept this reality. This is why Yao Ji had kept it a secret from her before.
Luo Ling knew that this matter would eventually come to light, but... no matter what, at least let Chi Nu get used to it gradually, and then slowly tell her.
"Keep calm and don't get excited." Luo Ling said, and pinched Chi Nu's little hand again. "Then follow my rhythm and breathe together."
Luo Ling was guiding Chi Nu to take back her abilities, and Chi Nu immediately acted according to Luo Ling's words.
After a moment, the hideous half of the face finally disappeared, and the red girl's appearance returned to its original appearance.
She stared at the vessel blankly, touched the intact half of her face, and murmured,
"I, I'm really hurt..."
Akane wasn't scared, nor was she sad, just... in disbelief.
There was still a scary and ferocious little face in her mind, it was herself.
This scene really brought a great shock to her young mind.
"As long as you don't get excited and don't try to aggravate the injury, there will be no problem for the time being." Luo Ling said in a low voice.
"Uh-huh... "
Chi Nu nodded nervously, as if she was thinking about something.
"You've been running for so long, and you just closed your eyes for a short while. You should take a rest first." Luo Ling said, "As for your injuries, don't worry. Since I've promised Yao Ji, I will take good care of you."