Lin Qiye froze. "Why?"
"They called you Skinflint Lin... and they were right, huh? I'm about to die... and you still want me to live in someone else's head and work for you? Dream on!" Xia Simeng flashed a weak grin, then suddenly coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
Her gaze shifted away from Lin Qiye and toward the starry sky overhead, longing surfacing in her eyes.
"Me... what I've wanted most is freedom. I happened to become a Night Watchman in this life... so freedom was definitely out of the question... I want to give myself a really, really long vacation... In my next life, I'd rather be a free bird... able to go wherever I want."
Lin Qiye looked into those gradually dimming eyes and opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry..."
"Oh, I'm just complaining... you only did what you had to do... Honestly, the leave you gave me these past few years... was more than Commander Ye and Commander Zuo gave me combined. You're already the best commander in my heart!" Xia Simeng struggled to raise a hand, seemingly wanting to give Lin Qiye a thumbs-up, but it dropped limply back to the ground.
Her life force rapidly ebbed away. Her eyes closed, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
"Bye-bye... Commander Lin."
Golden embers drifted and faded through the air. Beneath the dark crimson heavens, only the endless roar of the waves remained.
Cradling Xia Simeng's corpse, Lin Qiye knelt motionlessly on the beach like a stone statue.
"Commander Lin..."
The members of Phoenix Squad gathered nearby, their eyes already red and swollen from crying.
Lin Qiye's chest heaved violently. After a moment, he gently set Xia Simeng's body down.
"Who gave her those wounds?"
"A guard. He's already dead." Cao Sha paused,