Under the clear sky, Sun Hang lay sprawled in a patch of mud, staring blankly at the sun overhead.
The sunlight was somewhat dazzling, but it was warm—Shuzhou, which had been deprived of that warmth for several months, was rapidly warming up. The frozen rivers in the fields began to flow again, the frost clinging to glass curtain walls and the tiles of city ramparts gradually melted away, and people living in both run-down old neighborhoods and expensive villas stepped out of their homes onto streets illuminated by sunlight once more.
The martial law order had yet to be lifted, but the peacekeepers and soldiers stationed on street corners did not immediately take action against these citizens violating it—all of them, themselves included, greedily basked in the long-lost sunshine and drew deep breaths of air that still carried a trace of chill.
"Fuck," Old Yu muttered around his cigarette. "I've lived most of my life, and this is the first time I've thought blue skies and white clouds could look so fucking good."
The city that had been shrouded in darkness for hundreds of days came back to life.
"How do you feel?" The girl in the white dress stood behind Sun Hang's head. Barefoot, she stepped directly into the filthy mud. Gray-black spatters stained her ankles and calves, yet only further accentuated the jade-like fairness and luster of her skin.
Sun Hang glanced backward. From his angle, he could see the hem of her dress fluttering in the breeze, revealing and concealing those breathtakingly pale thighs.
"What do you mean, how do I feel?"
"How it felt to have a third of your soul taken away."
"I don't feel anything." Sun Hang closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the rich fragrance of wet earth. "I