The rain kept falling,
As if the heavens themselves were weeping.
Ye Feng, Bai Xi, Yue Yan, Yue Fei Xue, Ling Xi, Leng Yue, Qiao Ying, and Shuang, the seven women, continued to frantically dig through the earth and stones with their hands. The spot where Xiao Xiao had been was now a large pit they had dug out, clod by clod, handful by handful… yet still, Xiao Xiao’s figure was nowhere to be found…
The rain grew heavier. The pit dug by Ye Feng and the others was soon filled with rainwater, yet Ye Feng continued to dig aimlessly…
Bai Xi and the others silently accompanied Ye Feng by his side…
…
No one knew how long the torrential rain lasted; day, night, day, night…
…
In the midst of the downpour,
Ye Feng stopped digging. He slumped onto the muddy ground, a hat woven from flowers and grass, a gift from Xiao Xiao, perched on his head…
The flowers on the hat had long since withered and fallen, seemingly symbolizing Xiao Xiao's lost life… Reading books now.
Ye Feng stared ahead with vacant eyes, occasionally letting out a foolish laugh…
…
Gradually, the rain stopped…
Through the dispersing clouds, a ray of sunlight pierced the thinning layers, landing on the tender shoot of a withered blade of grass, bringing a hint of life to the entire yellow-grey land…
“Splash!~”
Suddenly, a faint sound of splashing water was heard.
“Who?”
Hearing the sound, Bai Xi, who was also slumped next to Ye Feng, her expression changed, and she turned to look in a certain direction.
Upon hearing Bai Xi’s words, Yue Yan, Yue Fei Xue, Ling Xi, and Shuang also turned their heads, and immediately spotted a human figure slowly walking towards them not far away…
The figure was not tall, just of average build. The person wore a bamboo hat and a straw cloak, carrying a hoe on their shoulder, appearing to be a farmer returning from working in the rain…
Notably, below their rolled-up trouser legs, they were covered in yellow mud…
Although the person looked like a perfectly ordinary farmer, Bai Xi and the seven women’s expressions all changed. They were filled with immense caution, as they could not sense the aura emanating from the person…
Moreover, the figure was not far from them, yet before the sound of splashing water, even Bai Xi had not noticed their presence…
As Bai Xi and the others watched with wary expressions, the figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak slowly approached them…
“Little one, don’t stand in the rain any longer, you might catch a cold~!”
The figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak stopped at a distance from Ye Feng. He removed his hat and spoke.
Hearing the words of the figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak, Yue Yan, Yue Fei Xue, Ling Xi, and Shuang all turned their gazes towards Ye Feng, as the person the figure had just addressed seemed to be… Ye Feng…
“Is it you? The supernatural old man from the eerie orphanage?”
Hearing the familiar male voice from his memory, Ye Feng turned his head. Upon seeing the kind and familiar face of the figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak, he couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
“It is me!~”
The figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak smiled slightly, placed the hoe on his shoulder on the ground, stirring up a bit of mud and water.
“Wu… Martial God Senior!”
At this moment, Bai Xi, who had been staring intently at the figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak, spoke. Her voice was filled with disbelief.
“Wh… What?”
“Martial… Martial God?”
“My heavens!”
“Bai Xi, are you sure?”
“Although I’ve heard before that the Martial God looked like a farmer, but… but this… this…”
…
Upon hearing Bai Xi’s words, Yue Yan and the other women began to ask Bai Xi with astonishment, curiosity, and bewilderment.
“Al… Although I haven’t seen Martial God Senior for a long time… but… but he… he really is the Martial God…”
Bai Xi swallowed, her face filled with shock.
Hearing this, Bai Xi, Yue Yan, Yue Fei Xue, Ling Xi, and Shuang all turned their gaze to Ye Feng, because from Ye Feng’s previous words, it was clear that Ye Feng recognized the figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak…
“You… You are the Martial God they speak of?”
Ye Feng blinked, also looking astonished, and with a hint of disbelief.
“Mm… You could say that… but I am also the supernatural old man from the eerie orphanage you mentioned…”
The figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak chuckled and replied.
“This…”
Although it was basically confirmed just now, upon receiving the person’s direct admission, Ye Feng was still greatly shocked.
“Ye Feng… Why… why did you say Martial God Senior… is… is the supernatural old man from the eerie orphanage?”
At this moment, Shuang, with a look of a curious baby, asked.
Hearing this, Bai Xi, Yue Yan, Yue Fei Xue, and Ling Xi also focused their gazes on Ye Feng, their eyes filled with curiosity and surprise.
“Uh… Near the school I used to attend, there was an abandoned orphanage… It was rumored to be haunted…”
“Out of curiosity, I went to explore… and that’s when I met this old man…”
“He even treated me to a meal… At that time, he told me to believe in science… and then he flew away on his sword… When I told people about it, they thought I was crazy…”
“From then on, that eerie orphanage gained another legend of a supernatural old man…”
Mentioning this, Ye Feng felt speechless. At that time, he had even doubted if he had encountered a ghost in the orphanage, or if he had hallucinated…
“I didn’t expect you to be the Martial God!~”
Ye Feng was very surprised, but then he looked at the large pit he had dug around him, and his heart immediately felt empty again…
Bai Xi and the other women also recovered from their shock, their moods once again becoming quite sad…
“It’s almost lunchtime!”
At this moment, the Martial God looked up at the sky, where the rain clouds had almost completely dissipated, and then looked at Ye Feng, “Little one, it’s time for a meal, let’s have lunch together!”
“Someone is waiting for you!”
Before Ye Feng could answer, the Martial God added.
“Someone is waiting for me, who?”
Ye Feng had no interest in eating initially, but upon hearing the Martial God’s latter sentence, he couldn’t help but frown, puzzled.
“You’ll know when you get there!”
The Martial God smiled faintly, not explaining further. He shouldered the hoe again, and with a gentle wave of his left hand, a portal of space appeared.
Unlike the portal formed by the rune teleportation array that Ye Feng and the others had seen before, the frame of the portal before them was a shimmering golden flying dragon…
“God… Dragon Gate!”
Seeing this, Bai Xi swallowed, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.
“Little one, hurry up, or the food will get cold~!”
Seeing Ye Feng sitting there motionless, the figure in the bamboo hat and straw cloak urged him.
“Alright… Alright then~”
Ye Feng glanced at Bai Xi and the other women beside him, who were covered in mud and dirt, and still injured. Finally, he nodded.
…