NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 125:
Chapter 125: Go Eat, Go Live:
Ah…
Uh-huh…
Lips trembling, throat dry and hoarse, and faces dull with disbelief. The people of Qingniu Town stared at the rising flames in the distance. Their throats felt scorched, incapable of producing clear sounds, leaving only raw whimpers and pain. Their eyes were filled with despair.
People at the bottom of society endure the harshest hardships. A life of suffering clings to them like a shadow. Even when exiled to the borderlands, living near dangerous monsters, they accept it without complaint. For them, it’s just another chapter in their miserable lives becoming a little darker.
When the Daqian Empire exiled the people of Qingniu Town to the border, they didn’t break. Living next to terrifying monsters didn’t break them either. Like weeds, they clung tenaciously to the borderlands, doing everything possible to survive.
But people were n’t heartless machines. No matter how strong their resolve, there would come a time when the weight of suffering becomes unbearable.
At this moment, at this place, the people of Qingniu Town reached their limit. Watching their homes consumed by flames, they shed tears of despair and helplessness.
“Brother Xu, my family is gone…”
“My family is gone…”
Once, he was a dark-skinned man with a simple, silly smile, always carrying his elderly mother on his back. Now, he cried like never before, his voice hoarse with pain.
That was his home. The place where he grew up.
A precious sanctuary, a symbol of beauty in his heart.
Now it was gone. Everything was gone.
Aniu cried like a child, helpless and heartbroken.
“Get up, Aniu.”
Xu Xi stepped forward, steadying the old man and placing a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder. Meeting his blank, desolate gaze, Xu Xi spoke softly.
“Let’s go.”
“Brother Xu, where are we going?”
“Go eat, go live.”
Those simple words carried immense weight.
For people who had lost everything, those words became a beacon. They didn’t understand ideals or the grand meaning of life, but the promise of eating and living stirred something deep within them.
Unconsciously, they followed.
Through the biting wind and snow, Wu Yingxue silently watched the scene. She stood still for a long time, her gaze fixed on the retreating group until they nearly vanished in the storm. Only then did she snap out of her trance and hurry to catch up.
“Sir, wait for me!”
…
[Qingniu Town was no more.]
[Physically, it had been reduced to ashes by a flock of ferocious fire crows, leaving nothing behind.]
[You watched the flames engulf Qingniu Town and the despair in its people’s eyes. You decided to lead them away from the winter border.]
[You left.]
[The people of Qingniu Town followed.]
[Wu Yingxue once asked why the people listened to you so willingly. You denied her assumption.]
[Eating and surviving are instincts everyone desires. All you did was guide them in that direction.]
[Monsters roamed the borderlands in winter. Along the way, you encountered demons multiple times. Luckily, your strength was sufficient to fend them off each time.]
[You decided to follow Wu Yingxue’s suggestion and lead the group toward the hinterland of the Thirteen Prefectures of Daqian.]
[It was the only way you could see to keep more people alive.]
[The journey wasn’t long for you and Wu Yingxue, but for the people of Qingniu Town, trudging through the wind and snow made it feel endless.]
[You had to remain vigilant, ensuring no one was left behind along the way.]
…
[En route, you came across another border town.]
[It was in an even worse state than Qingniu Town—broken limbs lay scattered, blood stained the snow, and the collapsed ruins of crooked buildings told of utter destruction.]
[The demons had already left, leaving the town eerily empty and silent.]
[You searched the town but found no supplies. However, you discovered a handful of survivors who had narrowly escaped the demons.]
[Standing before you, these survivors barely resembled humans. Their clothes were in tatters, their hair disheveled, and their empty eyes seemed broken beyond repair.]
[“…”]
[No matter how you called to them, they didn’t respond. The trauma they had endured was clearly far greater than that of the people from Qingniu Town.]
“Yingxue, bring me some dried meat.”
The girl quickly handed over a piece of demon meat.
Xu Xi tore it apart bit by bit with his fingers, wrapping it in his internal energy and blood to warm and soften it. Then, he carefully fed it to the survivors.
As the food entered their mouths, they finally reacted, chewing mechanically.
“This world…”
“It really doesn’t give people a way to survive,” Xu Xi sighed.
Winter brought an abundance of demons, and thus, demon meat was plentiful. Food, for now, wasn’t an issue.
But there were limits to what Xu Xi could do.
He was merely an innate warrior at the realm of observation and principle. He could kill demons and even people, but he couldn’t rebuild destroyed towns or bring the dead back to life.
“It’s time to move on.”
…
[You distributed food to other survivors.]
[Your food reserves were sufficient, even during this demon-infested winter.]
[The true challenge wasn’t food but surviving the harsh cold.]
[The survivors you fed eventually stumbled after you, their faces filled with despair and emptiness. Yet, the sickles and iron forks in their hands stood out.]
[They asked where you were going and what your ultimate goal was.]
[Your answer was simple: “To survive.”]
[You declared openly that you might end up opposing Daqian, the very Empire everyone feared.]
[Some were shocked, calling you a traitor and warning that you’d face execution by the court.]
[Others were confused, unable to understand how survival connected to such grand matters.]
[Your response was straightforward.]
“The world is sick, gravely sick.
Daqian is sick, and so are you. That’s why no one can survive.
What I intend to do is cure this sickness so that everyone can live.”
In the fierce wind and blizzard, Xu Xi spoke these words to the survivors following him.
Some seemed to grasp his meaning, while others remained bewildered.
A few stayed behind in the ruined town, choosing not to move forward.
But most joined Xu Xi’s group, carrying sickles and forks. They didn’t have grand reasons; they simply believed his group offered the best chance of survival.