This One Cares, That One Also Cares (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

He turned around.

Bai Zhou picked up a dusty, pitch-black Short Club from the pile of debris on the ground.

Brushing off the dust, Bai Zhou examined the black Short Club, which resembled a charred fire poker, and found it remarkably plain and unadorned.

Half an arm in length, its material was of an Ill Omen; it felt like some kind of metal, yet also like a mysterious wood.

At the front end of the Short Club, there was a slanted, jagged break, sharp and pointed like a primitive wooden spear.

This was the only item Laia had left behind.

Back then, the Swollen Giant Monster had used this to play whack-a-mole with him for ages, smashing the earth until it cracked, which proved its extraordinary nature.

—At the very least, it was hard enough.

It felt warm to the touch, but was far heavier than he had imagined; even now, Bai Zhou struggled to lift it, as it likely weighed nearly a hundred catties.

"This density..."

Bai Zhou was filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Rather than a Short Club, Bai Zhou felt more like he was holding a heavy sledgehammer.

If this thing were to strike a person's head, it would likely crack it open like a watermelon on the spot.

At this moment, Bai Zhou inexplicably sensed the Short Club's pull and craving for Spirituality.

"What is going on?"

After a moment of contemplation, Bai Zhou tried to channel his Spirituality into it.

"Hum—"

A powerful suction force suddenly erupted from the Short Club. Bai Zhou shuddered as if electrocuted, and the majority of his Spirituality was drained into it.

It was like a bottomless black hole; the "starving" Short Club drank in his Spirituality with insatiable greed, seemingly without end.

Seeing this, Bai Zhou immediately cut off the flow of spiritual power.

The next instant, The Short Club became scorching hot, as if it had come to life, vibrating violently in Bai Zhou's palm.

Illusory light and shadow slowly manifested at the broken end of the Short Club, extending outward and stretching wildly toward the sky.

"This is..."

"Rip—"

Accompanied by a crisp sound like tearing fabric, The phantom of a white-gold battle flag extended from the back of the Short Club, unfurling and rising toward the heavens!

"Whoosh..."

The tattered battle flag fluttered in the wind, as if it had just returned from the clamorous bloodbath of Heaven and Earth, carrying a lethal, sorrowful aura so thick it could not be dissolved.

The sounds of Thousand Armies clashing and shaking the earth echoed in his ears, as if countless war spirits were passing before his eyes, rushing toward the battlefield, and in his trance, Bai Zhou became one of them.

"Shine!"

Laia's voice seemed to emerge from the midst of ten thousand armies, drifting from the distant river of history.

"The light is here!"

"Hope is here—!"

The battle flag poured streams of light onto Bai Zhou. He felt his own power climbing without pause, his blood boiling, and his Battle Intent surging wildly.

Neither pain nor injury could disturb Bai Zhou in this moment, as if something were protecting and blessing him.

—As if that Little Girl named Laia were standing silently right behind Bai Zhou!

The next instant, a pillar of light shot into the sky, and a river of judgment light surged and flowed in all directions.

Unfortunately, in this desolate wasteland, this river gathered from light could find no target to judge and could only dissipate aimlessly.

"That battle flag!"

The Flag of Light that Laia had wielded back then... it had been in her hands all along.

Even though her consciousness had been submerged by darkness, even with only half a flagpole remaining, she had never let go of this banner.

Regrettably, Bai Zhou's Spirituality was too scarce, making the appearance of the battle flag extremely illusory.

The pillar of light could not even sustain itself for half a second before it flickered and vanished into thin air.

The climbing power came to an Abrupt Stop, the surging Battle Intent vanished into nothingness, and everything that had just been so powerful felt like a mere illusion.

Only the hollowed-out Bai Zhou remained, weakly half-kneeling on the ground.

He gasped for air, his face deathly pale.

Yet, as he looked at the pitch-black Short Club in his hand, which had returned to its "fire poker" state, his eyes flickered.

This half of a flagpole...

He had witnessed the full appearance of this banner with his own eyes, and he knew how Laia had ascended to the altar because of it.

It had once been the entire faith of an extraordinary army, and in Laia's hands, it had judged thousands of troops and swept through tides of Corpses.

One could tell just by looking at it a moment ago...

Perhaps, that glory and might of the past might one day be seen again!

"Right, there's also that Wooden Horse..."

Bai Zhou propped himself up with his Short Club again, looking up at the broken walls and ruins not far away.

The little gift Laia had given to the children of her hometown had gradually developed Spirituality under the scouring of the battlefield's resentment, becoming a mystical item.

No wonder it had no "Last Will" on it.

But now, with the "Light" rune branded in the Sea of Ignorance, Bai Zhou easily collected this little horse.

Facing Bai Zhou, who now possessed "Light," this little Wooden Horse no longer sang the nursery rhymes of Troy, but instead became exceptionally obedient and docile.

But as a price, since he couldn't experience its terrifying effects, Bai Zhou wouldn't know exactly how lethal or dangerous it was to people...

But that was fine.

Once he brought it back, there would always be some lucky soul to experience it.

With the Wooden Horse tucked into his chest, Bai Zhou walked back to that familiar Corpse Pit without realizing it.

Bright red flowers were still swaying there.

[Let Me Rest!]

[Let Me Rest!]

[Let Me Rest!]

These petals had been swaying like this, "unable to rest," for who knows how many years.

If not for Bai Zhou's arrival, they would undoubtedly have continued to sway on.

Last time, it was while observing these Last Wills that Bai Zhou encountered the white Giant crawling out from the pile of ancient Corpses.

Now, the ancient Corpses in the Corpse Pit had been ravaged by the white Giant, scattered messily all over the ground.

--There was even a skeleton that had been thrown far away, scattered into pieces.

"..."

Bai Zhou blinked, looking at these "unable to rest" Corpses, lost in thought.

Actually, just now when he buried Laia...

Bai Zhou had stumbled upon a clue regarding these Last Wills.

...Soon, a new mound of earth was piled up.

An ancient Corpse was buried inside by Bai Zhou.

Since the Last Will was [Let Me Rest], then Bai Zhou would let them be laid to rest in the earth.

He wasn't sure about Blue Star, but in Evening City, being laid to rest in the earth was a matter of great importance.

Even for forbidden offenders burned to ashes, they would be taken back by family or neighbors to be buried afterward.

Their customs held that the living have homes, and the dead must have homes as well.

Only by being buried could the departed attain eternal peace.

--And continue to be with the living upon this land.

In this place, perhaps it was the same.

At least Bai Zhou had seen more than one burial mound on this dilapidated wasteland.

However...

Above the quiet burial mound, the Last Will of [Let Me Rest] was still hovering there.

At first glance, it looked like a floating epitaph.

His final wish, it seemed, had not been fulfilled.

"..."

Bai Zhou pondered for a long time, ultimately restraining his urge to dig the ancient Corpse back out of the soil.

He turned his gaze toward the other dried Corpses and skeletons.

Since the Last Wills of everyone were identical...

Perhaps, it was only after burying everyone's remains that they could find rest?

Bai Zhou decided to try.

But only after moving the second ancient Corpse did Bai Zhou discover a tattered strip of cloth beneath it.

It seemed to be a letter, with some words written on it in an ancient and unfamiliar script, appearing in broken fragments.

Perhaps it was a last will.

Or perhaps, it was a letter from home sent by parents.

--It could even have been some vital military intelligence.

Amidst the raging fires of the battlefield, a strip of cloth bearing writing stood out as something extraordinary.

Thus, Bai Zhou performed a Small Ritual to decipher the text.

Because the script was neither extraordinary nor imbued with any special meaning, the ritual's deciphering was quite easy.

Its content was far too damaged, with only the opening sentence remaining somewhat intact.

It said:

"My dear, the war is coming to an end..."

Bai Zhou was struck speechless.

The subsequent text was no longer visible; no matter how later generations might imagine it, they could never grasp the state of mind of the person who wrote the letter.

For some reason, Bai Zhou inexplicably thought of Section Chief Liu.

How would his wife and children feel about Section Chief Liu's sacrifice?

In the end, Bai Zhou buried the tattered strip of cloth together with the ancient corpse.

--It was as if he were personally burying the stories behind them.

...Gradually, Bai Zhou began to forget the "original intention" of wanting to fulfill last wishes to obtain gifts.

He simply did this work earnestly and purely.

These soldiers had rushed to the battlefield for their own reasons, following the banner of "Light" until they died...

They should not be left "without a place to be buried."

Bai Zhou worked a bit slowly, his movements exceptionally repetitive.

He kept bending over, picking up and carrying one restless corpse after another, then burying them side by side.

--Now, Bai Zhou only hoped they had no conflicts while alive, and that they wouldn't quarrel later for being buried too close together...

A long time passed.

When Bai Zhou stood with his hands on his hips before a row of neat graves, surveying them, a sense of accomplishment welled up in his heart.

Simple tombstones made from broken shields were planted before the graves of these nameless soldiers.

Rusty, notched blades, spears, forks, and swords, along with pieces of battered armor, were laid out before these graves.

--These were all buried by his own hands!

Bai Zhou's guess was correct, yet it seemed only half-right.

Over a dozen epitaph-like last wills hung in Mid-air, huddled together in a shimmering patch, looking as if they were about to shatter.

But in the end, they did not break.

It seemed that he was still a little short of fulfilling the final last wish.

As for exactly what was missing, Bai Zhou truly had no clue.

But Bai Zhou felt that this matter no longer seemed so important.

The living have homes, and the dead should have homes too.

Sometimes, death is not even a matter that must cause sorrow for the living.

At the very least, if Section Chief Liu had also sacrificed normally and been buried in the Resting Mausoleum, Bai Zhou would not have been so angry and sad.

In any case, perhaps due to the impact of Section Chief Liu's body never being found, Bai Zhou now felt that ensuring people were no longer left "without a place to be buried" was, in itself, a very worthwhile thing to do.

Even if there were no "gift," it did not matter.

At this moment, suddenly—

A puzzled inquiry reached Bai Zhou's ears.

This hoarse, low, and cold inquiry seemed to come from the heavens, yet also from beneath the earth.

The voice, impossible to locate, carried an indescribable, terrifying majesty and heavy pressure.

It was as if it had been observing Bai Zhou's peculiar behavior for a long time, only now unable to refrain from speaking.

Although the language was foreign, as it reached Bai Zhou's ears, he inexplicably understood its meaning.

It said:

"What are you doing?"

"In this Lost Plain, doing such meaningless things, who would care?"

The two sudden, consecutive questions startled Bai Zhou.

With a Short Club in one hand and a Spear in the other, Bai Zhou's muscles tensed as he retreated repeatedly, vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

But he saw nothing at all.

Something truly terrifying was watching this place!

Perhaps...

Bai Zhou looked up at the Inverted Giant City in the sky, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Realizing that he had been under the other party's gaze for quite some time, Bai Zhou simply answered the question in a low voice:

"Perhaps, many things don't necessarily need a special meaning."

"...Because I wanted to do it, so I did."

As he spoke, he gripped his Spear and Short Club tightly, falling silent for a moment.

"Actually, I didn't even care what would happen as a result of doing this myself."

"But perhaps..."

Raising the Short Club, Bai Zhou pointed toward the neatly arranged graves before him, pointing at each silent suit of armor one by one:

"Perhaps he would care."

"This one would care, this one would care too, and this one, and this one..."

"..."