Farewell to President Hong

"What is this?!"

Chu He immediately jumped to his feet and patted himself down all over.

But after searching his entire body, he found nothing wrong with himself. The red light vanished the moment it entered his body.

Hong Shou sat crouched atop the ruins, coughing violently several times and spitting out clots of congealed blood. At last, a trace of color returned to his ashen face.

Yet a faint aura of death began spreading around him. His robust body seemed like a deflated balloon, withering away until he was little more than skin and bones.

He looked at Chu He, who was hopping about in agitation. There was comfort in his eyes, along with shock and gravity—and, more than anything, regret hidden deep within them.

"Master, I'll go find Old Zhang right now."

After finding nothing, Chu He suddenly remembered what mattered. Just as he was about to help the slumped Hong Shou up and take him for treatment, Hong Shou waved him off.

"It's useless." Hong Shou smoothed his disheveled white hair and smiled freely. "With the injuries I have now, Old Zhang can't heal me."

"I'll take you to town right now!"

Chu He's swordlike brows rose as he spoke with absolute conviction.

Hong Shou shook his head, then changed the subject. "Compared to me, you're the one who needs to go to town. You should even go to Jianye City. That's the only place you'll be safe."

Chu He placed a hand on Hong Shou's wrist, and his heart sank. He stuffed the half-eaten old mountain ginseng from his pocket into Hong Shou's hand and frowned. "Whether it helps or not, eat this blood-replenishing medicinal herb first. Wait here. I'll drag Old Zhang over right away."

With that, he turned to leave.

Smack!

A large hand seized Chu He's wrist from behind, pinning him in place. Chu He wanted badly to shake it off and leave, but he still could not help turning back.

Hong Shou pulled a stern face, his deathly pale features revealing the authority of an elder.

"I said, it's useless."

"But..."

"Enough. I know my own body. If you really want to do something for me, carry me to the top of the wall by the village entrance."

Chu He was choked speechless, his eyes brimming with reluctance.

"Little He, listen to me..."

Chu He paused, then finally lifted Hong Shou slowly onto his back.

The old man's body was light, as though he were carrying nothing but a mass of air.

Yet every step Chu He took was heavy, as if a mountain whose summit could not be seen rested on his back.

Hong Shou's head lay limply against Chu He's shoulder. Those broad, sturdy shoulders inexplicably put the dying old man at ease.

The fledgling eagle who had once needed shelter had finally grown up.

He forced open his weary eyes, his lips moving faintly.

"Have you ever wondered why, despite having such formidable strength—enough to wipe out all the nearby Resentment-rank minor ghosts—we still trembled with fear whenever we opened the gates, afraid that other ghosts would break into the village..."

Suppressing his sorrow, Chu He lowered his head and replied, "Yes, Master. Why was that?"

"Heh. It's because a great ghost exists in this land. It's a piece of human skin that drifted here from who knows where. This entire region is actually its hunting ground. The Skin Ghosts around us were all split off from it, puppets made specifically to hunt for it."

At this point, Hong Shou lowered his head and looked at Chu He with concern. "Li Fang was so bold as to capture a Skin Ghost and stitch it onto that body. Now that the Skin Ghost has shattered, its soul threads have hidden themselves in you. Sooner or later, that great ghost will find you."

"Cough, cough..." Hong Shou spat several streaks of blood, his face growing even weaker. "So you must run! Get out of the village! The farther you run, the better!"

Chu He's expression darkened, but he still forced himself to rally. "If I run, what will happen to the villagers here?"

"Don't worry. This village is itself an array core. As long as the gates remain closed, that great ghost can't force its way in easily."

Hong Shou wanted to tell Chu He more, but the congestion in his chest forced him to make a long story short. "Once you leave the village, that great ghost naturally won't keep its attention on the village."

As he said this, bitterness appeared on his face again.

"Child, the road ahead of you will be difficult..."

Chu He shook his head. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "The road lies beneath my feet. What is there to call difficult?"

The unexpected answer left Hong Shou momentarily stunned.

Comfort filled his face. He began speaking again, but this time it was no longer about the great ghost. Instead, he told Chu He of the village's hidden secrets and things he had seen and heard.

At that moment, Hong Shou was like a father worrying over a child about to venture into the world, tirelessly nagging him with the lessons of life.

Nor did Chu He show the rebellion or impatience of youth. He quietly listened to every word his master said and committed them to memory, until Hong Shou's voice grew weaker and weaker, Chu He's expression became increasingly grim, and his pace quickened.

"Master..."

Limping along with Old Zhang's support, Wu Feng saw the disheveled Chu He and Hong Shou, who was as thin as kindling and on the verge of death.

Wu Feng's heart clenched. He called out softly, tears welling in his eyes.

He did not ask Old Zhang to treat him.

Anyone with eyes could see that Hong Shou's end was near.

"Mm... Feng..."

Hong Shou's voice had already been fading, but upon hearing Wu Feng, his exhausted consciousness seemed to awaken. He turned and glanced at him.

"President Hong..."

Old Zhang wore a bitter expression as he too saw Hong Shou's miserable state. As a physician, no one understood Hong Shou's condition better than he did.

Only a wisp of vital energy remained. The fact that he was still alive was already a miracle.

Chu He did not stop walking. Supported by Old Zhang, Wu Feng followed behind him as they headed together toward the village gate.

Just as they were about to enter the main road at the western end of the village, Chu He suddenly froze. Looking up, he saw that at some point, all the villagers had emerged from their homes and lined both sides of the road, watching Hong Shou on his back with grief and complicated emotions.

"President Hong..."

"President Hong..."

"President Hong..."

With every step Chu He took, the surrounding villagers could not help calling Hong Shou's name. Their eyes held respect and sorrow, but even more than that, grief.

Wave upon wave of calls gathered together, shaking hearts for no reason at all.

The soul on the verge of eternal sleep seemed encouraged by everyone's voices and awoke once more. He forced out a smile and calmly faced each and every one of them.

The villagers followed behind Chu He along with Wu Feng. By the time they reached the village gate, several hundred villagers had gathered behind them.

Many of them had watched that brutal battle unfold from their rooftops. They all knew that Hong Shou had ended up like this for the sake of the village.

With a light tap of his toes, Chu He leaped onto the wall.

Ahead lay the boundary of dense fog and a narrow goat trail swallowed within it. The top of the wall beneath his feet was several times wider than the other sections of the village wall.

A massive altar stood before them.

"Master..."

Chu He called softly, but received no answer for a long while.

His heart twisted. Then, just then, a hoarse voice drifted faintly into his ear. "Put... put me down..."

Chu He immediately and gently laid the withered Hong Shou upon the altar.

Staring into the fog ahead, with Li Fang's venomous curses echoing in his ears, Hong Shou muttered, "I hope... I was overthinking it. But before I die, let me still serve one final purpose."

Hong Shou took half a bronze token from his robes and laboriously placed it atop the altar. Then he suddenly spat out a mouthful of old blood onto the bronze token.

In an instant, a brilliant light flashed.

Every stone spike on the walls stretching for miles around began trembling faintly, radiating blazing white light that enveloped the entire village.

Earth River Village's grand array had activated.

Seeing this, Chu He was glad he had not acted on his earlier thoughts of tampering with the wall.

"Hiss—"

Just then, a fierce shriek erupted from a corner at the southern end of the village. A shadow was blasted away and rolled back into the dense fog.

It was a human head.

It was identical to the head in the Land God Temple statue of Earthhead Village.

"Master, this..."

Chu He turned around, but his questioning voice stopped abruptly.

At some point, Hong Shou had lowered his head upon the altar.

Beside him, Wu Feng covered his face and wept, overwhelmed by grief.

The hundreds of villagers before the gate all revealed sorrowful expressions as well.

An elderly villager slowly stepped out from the crowd and cried out in grief.

"See President Hong off!"

Several hundred villagers fell to their knees in unison.

Facing the towering figure upon the altar, they slowly bowed down.