Chapter 148: Section 149: No Distinction
“How’s the situation?” Zhenjin entered Bai Ya’s dwelling.
On the straw bed lay a young man, his face deathly pale, his life hanging by a thread.
Zhenjin used ultrasound to probe and, with ears capable of detecting internal structural mutations, listened to find that Bai Ya still had a trace of breath.
But that breath was too faint, barely perceptible, almost nonexistent.
“The situation is quite grim,” Cang Xu replied, looking back.
Zhenjin fell silent.
...
Bai Ya…
This young man had made significant contributions to the exploration team. He was young, innocent, and full of admiration for being a knight.
Now, he lay here, eyes tightly closed, the scythe of Death God already embedded in his throat.
After so much, he still ended up here.
In recent times, the number of casualties in the valley camp had increased, death not being uncommon.
If it had been before, morale would have plummeted. But now, with Zhenjin present, whose prestige was unparalleled, the team still maintained high spirits by relying on his presence.
Regarding Bai Ya, Zhenjin was not surprised by his condition; rather, he felt regret.
With the right background, with the right bloodline, relying on his fighting spirit and perseverance, things might have been different.
Bai Ya, he was really too ordinary.
He was just an ordinary person, a commoner, young with vitality and enthusiasm, with naivety, and with foolishness too.
Yet sometimes, this “foolishness” seemed so precious.
Bai Ya was always willing to help others, a trait that stemmed from his nature. While in the exploration team, during the outbreak of poison, he took care of others, which earned him good relations.
During the break from the Acid Liquid green lizard swarm, he foolishly went to save Cang Xu, nearly trapping himself in a fatal predicament, only saved by Zhenjin returning to rescue him.
At the Oasis, he once again saved Lan Zao, unafraid of being poisoned himself.
His worship of Zhenjin was almost blind; he was one of Zhenjin’s most fervent followers among everyone.
“I’m sorry, I’m late,” came the voice of Zi Di from behind.
“Zi Di, quickly diagnose him,” Zhenjin’s heart kindled with new hope.
But after Zi Di examined him, she responded only with silence.
Hope quickly faded from Zhenjin’s eyes.
“Ah,” Cang Xu sighed deeply, “Lord, please look at this.”
He had just discovered a stack of letters under Bai Ya’s straw bed.
“These seem to be all written by him,” Cang Xu briefly scanned through them, his brows slightly furrowed, and even the calm and rational him now showed a rare anger.
According to his judgment, Miss Xi Qiu had toyed with Bai Ya’s feelings, deceiving a young man with little worldly experience with a false romance, luring him into danger, and letting him die for her own amusement.
Zhenjin shook his head, “Cang Xu, we cannot be sure until the truth comes out.”
The young knight, from the bottom of his heart, did not wish for Cang Xu’s speculation to be true.
Taking the stack of letters from Cang Xu, Zhenjin scanned them quickly.
The handwriting in the letters was terrible, messy, lacking any aesthetic appeal, but it was evidently Bai Ya’s writing. Clearly, he had not been writing for long.
Many places in the letter were intentionally left blank, words Bai Ya likely did not know how to write.
The text within the letters had also discolored, turning purple as if the ink had deteriorated.
In the letters, besides expressing his love for Miss Xi Qiu, there was mostly admiration for Zhenjin.
And in the last letter, he wrote of regret.
Seeing Bai Ya’s regret, Zhenjin’s heart trembled involuntarily.
Without being in a life-and-death crisis, there wouldn’t be such a profound resonance!
Zhenjin’s face grew solemn as he gazed at the unconscious Bai Ya and declared with seriousness, “I promise you, Bai Ya. If you unfortunately perish, I will personally deliver these letters to your beloved. If Miss Xi Qiu sincerely loves you, I will tell her everything, that she did not misjudge you, that you possess the spirit of a knight. You fought bravely, giving your all, always walking the path of kindness and justice, never retreating. But if she was just toying with you, then I shall seek justice for you, and she will face the judgment of a Holy Temple Knight!”
After speaking, Zhenjin solemnly placed the stack of letters into his chest.
Bai Ya’s fate seemed sealed as everyone left the cave.
“Lord, please wait,” Zi Di suddenly spoke, and at the same time, she gave Cang Xu a look. Cang Xu bowed to Zhenjin and quickly departed.
Only Zi Di and Zhenjin were left in the corridor.
A moment of silence.
“Lord, let me keep these letters safe. After all, you’re often at the forefront,” Zi Di said.
“Please take good care of them,” Zhenjin nodded and handed the letters to Zi Di.
“Lord, I…” Zi Di began.
Zhenjin smiled, “No need to comfort me. Indeed, my heart is heavy now. My comrade has fallen. But I wasn’t able to save him, and too often, my abilities are limited.”
“Lord, we are only human, after all, not gods. Even gods have their domains of expertise and their deficiencies,” Zi Di took Zhenjin’s hands, “Lord, please do not blame yourself too much.”
“How can I not blame myself?” Zhenjin replied with a bitter smile, “I overlooked him too much. He was a meritorious Knight, but later, as more people came around, his abilities were overshadowed by others, and I neglected him.”
“Now, I reflect: Did I treat him as a tool? And when this tool became less useful or redundant, did I cast it aside?”
“Am I a qualified leader? I often give public speeches, claiming I treat everyone equally, but have I truly done so? If I had paid a little more attention to Bai Ya and noticed his unusual condition earlier, would the outcome be different now?”
“Sir!” Zi Di softly called out, stepping forward and throwing herself into Zhenjin’s embrace.
Her arms wrapped around Zhenjin’s waist, tightly hugging the young knight, “Lord Zhenjin, you are definitely qualified, no, an outstanding leader. You are a Knight, my… Knight, please don’t doubt yourself.”
Her soft body and firm encouragement slightly eased Zhenjin’s crestfallen expression.
The young man lifted his hands, resting them on Zi Di’s shoulders.
At that moment, the young man felt as if a warm current emanated from Zi Di’s body. This warm current kept flowing into his heart, melting the ice that had accumulated in the dark corners of his heart.
The invisible barrier seemed to be dissolving.
Zhenjin felt a surge of impulse again, wanting to pour out his secrets to Zi Di.
But the next moment, his expression changed slightly as the ultrasound detection picked up an urgent situation at the front.
The Communications Soldier had already run toward the shipyard in the small valley clearing.
“We need to go. I still need to keep an eye on the Big guy,” Zhenjin said gently, pushing Zi Di away.
“Mhm,” Zi Di released her arms, her Purple Crystal eyes deeply gazing at Zhenjin, watching him turn and leave, his figure vanishing around the corner.
When the Communications Soldier arrived at the valley clearing, he successfully found Zhenjin.
Zhenjin took action and, not long after, repelled the Demon Beast Army again, stabilizing the defense lines.
That same night, he once again acted alone, seeking trouble with the Demon Beast Army.
However, the casualties he caused became increasingly limited, as the defenses around the Blue Dog Fox Wolves were very strong. Each death of a Blue Dog Fox Wolf was a bloody lesson that made the survivors even more experienced.
Although Zhenjin could also produce an odd fragrance, this phenomenon did not disrupt the Demon Beast Army.
Zhenjin fought with all his might, killing many Magic Beasts, and dragging his exhausted body back to camp to rest.
The watchful warriors cast admiring and loving gazes at him.
Zhenjin’s rest periods were very short. Among the high-rankers, he was the most laborious.
However, these gazes, filled with adoration and frenetic praise, did not give Zhenjin the pure warmth and motivation he needed. They were like cold, temperatureless lights, making him feel irritated.
As usual, the next day the Demon Beast Army launched another offensive.
People held their ground, and under Zong Ge’s command, they fought against the Demon Beast Army with all their might. If they didn’t, given the Demon Beast Army’s constant reinforcements, the situation would quickly deteriorate.
However, despite people fighting with all their might, and the Demon Beast Army suffering heavy casualties, their forces seemed to increase over time.
People then realized that there were so many Blue Dog Fox Wolves on this island.
Yet, upon reflection, it made sense. The island was large, with vast jungles and deep forests, which provided a proper environment for the Blue Dog Fox Wolves to thrive and breed.
The situation reached a temporary stalemate.
The intensity of the earthquakes diminished, but the frequency increased, sometimes shaking three or four times a day.
The Big guy was also having frequent outbreaks.
Roar.
The Big guy bellowed furiously.
“Run, he’s having an attack!” the people panicked and fled.
Zhenjin moved like lightning, leaping straight for the nape of the neck.
Bang.
Just after the Big guy roared, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
Roar.
“Run, he…”
Zhenjin had already made his move.
Bang.
Just after the Big guy roared, he thunderously fell to the ground.
Roar.
“Quick…”
Bang.
The Big guy hit the ground.
Roar.
Bang.
The Big guy had just opened his mouth, attempting to roar.
Zhenjin acted swiftly.
Bang.
As the times he subdued the Big guy increased, Zhenjin’s technique grew more proficient. He even began using thrown rocks as a substitute. Each rock hit the Big guy’s nape exactly right, with just enough force to knock him unconscious.
So much so that later, every time the Big guy saw Zhenjin, he felt a tingling pain in his neck.
Each time Zhenjin suppressed him, initially the Big guy was filled with fear towards Zhenjin, which later turned to numbness, and eventually, the numbness gave way to acceptance.
The Big Guy had a look that said, “Go ahead and knock me out, do whatever you want, I can’t resist anyway; I always end up unconscious.”
And in the end, his calm demeanor even began to take on a hint of fondness.
It was as if he took the shipwright’s saying “to hit is to love” to heart.
But indeed, Zhenjin had never hurt him. Each time Zhenjin timely stopped the Big Guy from having an outburst, allowing him to avoid harming the new ship or others’ lives, which created a more tolerant social environment for him.
As the Big Guy repeatedly collapsed with thuds, the new ship became more and more complete.
The planks of the hull were smoothly joined, the rudder at the ship’s stern was completed and reinforced with iron bars.
Most of the deck had also been finished.
The new ship had two layers of decks; after completing the second deck, the next tasks were the ship’s bow and the ship’s stern.
Currently, people were rushing to finish the essential cabins.
To build this sea ship, everyone had exerted their utmost effort.
Meanwhile, the frontline was continuously retreating. sea??h thё N?vel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
At first, the defenses were repaired, but as the situation developed, people only had the choice to abandon them.
The defense line retreated from the foot of the mountain to the slopes.
Initially, in order to protect the small valley clearing, people suffered heavy losses.
Mu Ban came up with a plan that was beyond anyone’s imagination. After getting a confirmation from the shipwright, they moved the new ship up, dragging it to the slope.
Thus, by shrinking the defensive area and consolidating the troops, the defense line finally stabilized.
The retreat was due in part to the fact that Zhenjin’s side kept losing men while the Blue Dog Fox Wolves kept receiving reinforcements.
The scales of victory were slowly tilting in favor of the Demon Beast Army.
On the other hand, several Blue Dog Fox Wolves rounded up the Underground Sand Worms to use them. Zhenjin and Zong Ge could not quickly kill these sandworms and could only watch as they withstood countless attacks and forcefully demolished the defenses.
Zhenjin performed his duties as a leader.
Despite the constant defeats on the frontline, he continually boosted morale and led by example.
And the continuous improvements to the new ship also preserved hope for everyone.
Everyone persevered, gritting their teeth.
Like iron in a large kiln, continuously heated and hammered, people gradually coalesced into a true group, becoming closer and more in tune with one another. Estrangement, disgust, and doubt disappeared, replaced by the camaraderie of comrades-in-arms, by trust.
From beginning to end, not a single deserter appeared.
There would be no deserters, for they had nowhere to flee.
Finally, at the cost of nearly fifty casualties, the new ship was completed.
The weather was clear on that day.
An earthquake had just occurred at noon, so the Demon Beast Army did not launch an attack. After an earthquake, the Demon Beast Army would always calm down for a while.
On the slope, a simple ceremony was underway.
“Sir, please wield this hammer for the final blow,” the shipwright solemnly offered a hammer to Zhenjin.
“No, you have the greatest merit. You should deliver the final blow,” Zhenjin shook his head.
The shipwright tried to decline, but Zhenjin insisted, “Go ahead, this is an order.”
The shipwright had no choice but to comply, and in full view of everyone, he swung the hammer forcefully, driving the specially left iron nail into the plank.
A cheer rose from the crowd.
With misty eyes and teary, the shipwright returned to Zhenjin’s side, his voice somewhat choked up, “Sir, my lifelong dream has been to build a sea ship. I never imagined, not in a dockyard, but on this island, I would fulfill my heart’s desire. Of course, this ship has many flaws. Like the masts, we only have short ones, and after splicing them together, they just reach an acceptable height. Like the sails, our canvas is too small, and we can’t harness much wind power. Also, the underside of the deck and both sides of the ship’s body need to be reinforced with iron bars, the current structural strength is worrying. Oh, and the anchor, we still lack a proper anchor…”
“Alright, alright,” Zhenjin laughed, patting the shipwright’s shoulder to interrupt him, “We can make up for all these things while we sail.”
“Now is the time for celebration, go ahead, eat well, drink well.”
“Today, you’re the brightest star!”
“Many people are waiting for you, eager to toast to you.”
Zhenjin pushed the shipwright toward the people.
Moved almost to tears by Zhenjin’s respect, the shipwright joined the crowd as the cheering crescendoed.
For months, this was the only feast.
The new ship was completed, although it was only a basic completion, barely reaching the passing line for sailing the seas.
But it was significant! From now on, Zhenjin and his people could advance or defend as needed.
Of course, launching the new ship into the sea still required a slipway. The original slipway had been destroyed by the Demon Beast Army, but on the other side, there lay another pair of slipways just beneath the surface.
This was Zong Ge’s suggestion. Everyone had to thank his foresight as a leader.
Apart from the slipway, when the new ship was launched, they would need to attract the attention of the Demon Beast Army, to draw their forces to another side.
There would inevitably be a great battle!
“Stop thinking about these things now, today, all I need is rest,” Zhenjin too wanted to catch his breath, as the pressure on him as a leader had undoubtedly been the greatest in recent days.
The shipwright was surrounded by people at the center, shining bright in the highlight of his life.
Of course, Lord Zhenjin was never neglected.
Xi Suo knelt on one knee on the ground, one hand on his chest, the other raising a shell that served as a wine cup, his emotions running high, “My Lord, it is because of your leadership that we’ve been able to hold on. You are a role model amongst the Holy Temple Knights, the guiding light for us all!”
“My Lord, please allow me, the lowly one, to offer you this modest piece of roasted meat.”
“Lord Zhenjin, all words of praise fall short to describe you. Being led by you is the fortunate blessing we’ve aspired to all our lives.”
Seemingly infected by the celebratory spirit, in the cave where the wounded were being treated, Bai Ya’s eyelids slowly opened.
However, the flattering words, the words of praise, the atmosphere of celebration, none could touch Zhenjin.
He sat in the place of honor, watching the laughing people. Although he was joyful, although he also wore a smile, he felt a barrier, a deep chasm. He was among them, yet apart, as if he and they were people from two separate worlds.
Since that last time, he was unable to confess his secret to Zi Di, he never found the words to say it.
The feast continued, and taking advantage of the jubilant crowd, Zhenjin silently left the group.
He made his way to a distant hillside, where he saw a grass hut.
In this hut, unable to shield from wind and rain, crouched the Big guy, lying on a bed of grass.
“Here.” Zhenjin handed the roasted meat he had brought to the Big guy.
The Big guy took it without a word.
Zhenjin walked a few steps and sat down on a huge stone.
He looked up at the sky, above was a pitch-black volcanic cloud, deep and thick. It seemed that because of them, there had been no rain for this recent period.
The construction of the ship was new, and thus one major obstacle had been lifted.
Zhenjin looked off into the distance.
The hill rose above the jungles; he could see the sea.
The sky above the sea was not obscured by volcanic clouds. At the horizon, where sea and sky met, the sun was setting.
The sea’s surface was calm, under the fading light, shimmering with a fish-scale brilliance.
And on the hillside, a new ship had just been constructed.
Once the obstacles were cleared, it would follow the slipway on the hillside, plunging downward.
It would surge faster and faster, tearing through all in its path, until it plunged into the sea and splashed up towering waves.
This wonderful scene, not only imagined by Zhenjin, was also the dream of others, the greatest motivation sustaining them until now!
The sounds of the Big guy eating the roasted meat reached Zhenjin’s ears, rough but bringing calm to him.
He found himself preferring this place over the feast.
In his heart, there was a thin thread of joy.
Zhenjin himself was puzzled, why at this moment, he did not seek out Zi Di but came to the Big guy’s side.
Under the glow of the setting sun, the shadow of the young knight stretched long and reached the grass hut.
Inside the hut, the Big guy finished the roast meat and looked towards Zhenjin, who was sitting with his back to him, and slowly crawled out.
He squatted in the distance, imitating Zhenjin’s action, gazing towards the setting sun.
Zhenjin noticed the Big guy’s movement, glanced at him, and gave him a faint smile.
Then, the young Knight looked back at the sunset, the scene before his eyes splendid and beautiful, but his brows remained slightly furrowed, harboring a sorrow that was hard to dispel.
The Big guy looked at the sunset; very soon, he grew bored.
He glanced at Zhenjin and tried to shift his bottom, inching closer to the young Knight.
Zhenjin did not react.
The Big guy stayed silent for a while as he watched the sunset, then he moved again, now closer to Zhenjin.
Zhenjin still did not react.
The Big guy shifted, then shifted again. At first, the intervals between his movements were long, but then, they became more and more frequent.
Zhenjin suddenly turned his head to look at him.
The Big guy was in the midst of moving, his bottom off the ground, hands supporting him on the earth.
Caught by Zhenjin’s gaze, he stiffened like a statue.
A sea breeze came, moving his hair ever so slightly.
Zhenjin was amused, a laugh escaping him as he patted the stone he was sitting on.
The Big guy immediately grinned foolishly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
He finally completed the rest of the movement, this time sitting directly next to Zhenjin, right up against the boulder.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
The Big guy shook his head, mumbling, “Big guy stay with you.”
“I’ve knocked you out so many times, don’t you hate me?”
The Big guy shook his head again, “You’re the same as Big guy.”
A shock went through Zhenjin’s heart, and he froze on the spot.
Under the setting sun, the shadows of the two were stretched out diagonally, pressed together.
At first glance, there was no distinction between them.