"Sorry for making you watch that."
Suo Ying looked at Feng Xiao and the others before him. His expression had eased considerably. The hatred and resentment buried deep in his heart for six years had finally been released, and he suddenly felt much lighter.
Feng Xiao said nothing, only patted his shoulder. The meaning needed no words.
At that moment, Suo Ying looked at Feng Xiao with an indescribable expression. Then, he suddenly dropped to one knee and said, "From this day onward, my life is yours. I, Suo Ying, swear to follow you unto death!"
However, Feng Xiao smiled faintly and pulled Suo Ying to his feet. "I have a surprise for you later."
Then, Feng Xiao turned his gaze to Tina. "Come on. Let's deal with the matter in your village first."
Feng Xiao's words left her completely stunned, and she instinctively asked, "What matter?"
Feng Xiao gave no response. He merely looked silently at Feng Yu. Feng Yu nodded, and spatial ripples rose once more. The three vanished directly, leaving behind corpses that would soon be devoured by soul beasts.
When the three reappeared, they were already standing before Tina's village.
Feng Xiao gave Tina a mysterious smile. "Didn't you want to know what I meant? You'll find out soon enough."
Feng Xiao acted directly. With a wave of one hand, light immediately enveloped Tina's entire village. Once the light faded, Feng Xiao smiled. "It's settled. Go take a look for yourself."
Still puzzled, Tina stepped into the village. The moment she entered, she noticed something was wrong. The entire village was silent, utterly quiet. Just as she grew confused and anxious, cries of surprise suddenly rang out from every building in the village.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
A series of doors flew open, and one excited, joyful person after another rushed out. There were children, middle-aged adults, and elderly people. The instant they saw Tina, they all rushed toward her in excitement.
At the village entrance, Suo Ying stared blankly at the scene inside.
"What's going on?"
Hearing Suo Ying's unconscious question, Feng Xiao smiled. "You still don't know? Six years ago, a strange illness appeared in Tina's village. It caused parts of the body to rot away. Aside from Tina, nearly everyone caught it. To prevent the illness from spreading and to search for a cure, the village chief sealed off the village and had Tina leave to find a treatment."
"But Tina never found a cure. Since no one in the village was allowed to leave and no one was allowed to enter, life in the village quickly became difficult. That was why Tina became a thief. She used the money from selling stolen goods to buy supplies and provide for the villagers."
"That was what allowed the villagers to survive until now. So, in order to keep them alive, she had no choice but to resort to any means necessary. After all, behind her stood the people who had raised her. By the way, Tina was actually an abandoned infant. The villagers were the ones who raised her."
After hearing Feng Xiao's explanation, Suo Ying finally understood everything. He did not ask how Feng Xiao knew all this. After everything he had experienced today, even if Feng Xiao claimed he could resurrect the dead, he would believe him.
"Come on. Let her enjoy her happiness on her own. Now it's time for your surprise. But prepare yourself first. If your little heart can't take it and you die, I'll be at a huge loss."
Feng Xiao brought Suo Ying to the former site of Suo Village. Suo Village was still in ruins, but after six years without visitors, it had become covered in thick grass. Even so, one could faintly see that this had once been a prosperous place.
For a moment, an unbelievable guess rose in Suo Ying's heart. A voice inside told him it was impossible, yet his heart was filled with anticipation.
"Suo Ying, watch closely. Here's the surprise I prepared for you!"
Feng Xiao silently called out in his heart, My dear treasure, I'm leaving everything to you!
[Don't worry, Host. Leave everything to me!]
The next second, a golden meteor shower descended from the sky. Beneath that golden meteor shower, Suo Village began to recover at an astonishing speed, as though time were reversing. The weeds vanished, and the buildings began to restore themselves...
Suo Ying's body immediately began to tremble at the sight. The scene before him gradually overlapped with the village in his memories. After a long while, he faintly heard voices—voices engraved deep in his mind, voices he knew all too well.
That was right. Those voices belonged to the villagers who had once died, and...
"Xiao Ying, is that you?"
Suo Ying's lips trembled slightly, and tears instantly blurred his vision. Yet the figures within those tears became clearer and clearer.
"Dad, Mom..."
The golden meteor shower slowly faded away. Everything Suo Ying had lost six years ago had returned. Yes, Feng Xiao had asked the system to resurrect everyone in Suo Village who had died six years ago, including, naturally, his parents.
"Feng Yu, let's go. Let Suo Ying enjoy this recovered family bond on his own."
Without a sound, Feng Xiao left. As Suo Ying clung to his parents and wept bitterly, Tina beside him also shed happy tears. She finally understood what Feng Xiao had meant by resolving the matter.
Only at sunset did Feng Xiao see the two again.
"Well? Did you like the surprise?" Feng Xiao smiled as he looked at them.
However, the instant they saw Feng Xiao, both of them dropped to their knees with a thud before him. Without another word, they kowtowed three times. Feng Xiao did not stop them, because he had no reason to.
After the three kowtows, the two exchanged a glance, smiled, and stood up. "Thank you, Young Master."
Feng Xiao was amused by that form of address. He had originally intended to recruit companions, yet he had ended up gaining two subordinates instead. That was rather awkward. Fortunately, he no longer planned to seek out any companions. He would simply let things take their course.
"All right, enough of that pointless talk. Just prove it to me through your actions in the future. I'm leaving. I'll give you one year to spend properly with your families. One year from now, report to Spirit Hall. I hope to see you then."
Tina and Suo Ying naturally understood what Feng Xiao meant. Neither objected. They merely nodded with sincere expressions. "One year from now, we will arrive at Spirit City on time."
"All right, I'm leaving."
Under the two's watchful gazes, Feng Xiao and Feng Yu's shadows stretched longer and longer beneath the setting sun until they finally disappeared from sight.
Suo Ying glanced at Tina. "Meeting the Young Master was the greatest fortune of my life. I will follow him unto death. What about you?"
Tina smiled as well. "I'm his maid. Of course I'm the same as you."
Both of them understood that everything they had gained through such difficulty had been bestowed upon them by Feng Xiao. Naturally, they now had reason and faith to follow him.
As for Feng Xiao himself, he was leisurely making his way toward the Star Luo Empire. To him, everything Suo Ying and Tina now possessed was merely the result of a casual gesture.
System: "Resurrecting a bunch of mortals and curing a bunch of mortals is far too easy for me~~"
Feng Xiao: "This is my precious system—so considerate~ and so warm-hearted~~ I absolutely love it!"
Off to the Star Luo Empire to find Trickster Cat~
Before you continue