Shen Fei nodded and stood next to the stone lion at the door. Xiao Ning'er turned around and entered the door. His figure passed through Front Courtyard and headed towards the inner courtyard hall. Shen Fei leaned against the stone lion and looked back from the door to the street.
Winged Dragon Family The main entrance faces the main street. The road at the entrance is wider than elsewhere, and there are more people coming and going.
An old man selling candied haws pushed a straw target filled with red fruits and walked past, followed by a few half-year-old children, noisily digging out coins.
A woman carrying a load of vegetables turned out of the alley. The pole was bent under the weight of her shoulders, and the vegetables in the baskets at both ends were still dripping with water.
Two young soldiers wearing City Guard short armor walked over from the other end of the street, talking and laughing as they walked, and passed by Shen Fei without recognizing him.
Farther away, the steamer of the steamed stuffed bun shop was emitting white steam, the bellows of the blacksmith shop was whirring, and a man was squatting at the door sharpening a knife, with tiny splashes of water splashing on the whetstone.
Shen Fei looks at these. He has stayed in this city for almost two years.
From lying on the big carved bed and staring at the beams in a daze on the first day after time travel, to later looking through the account books, checking confidential letters, taking pictures of Shen Hong's table, being banned, going to Dark Forest, guarding City Wall, taking over Sacred Family, and fighting Witch Ghost Family side by side with Nie Li.
He has walked through every street and alley in this city, guarded every section of the city wall, and remembered which bricks on the city wall were cracked and which sentry posts were changed half a quarter of an hour late.
He didn't know any of these vendors, clerks, or soldiers on the street, but they lived their lives on this street every day, separated by a layer of bricks from the City Wall he was guarding. What he guarded was the life these people were living.
He was about to leave this land. Go to a bigger place, to Nether Domain, to a world he had not seen yet, and whose name he only heard from Nie Li's mouth.
This journey can take as short as one and a half years, or as long as three to five years.
When he came back, he couldn't tell whether the old man selling candied haws on this street was still there, whether the steamer at the bun shop was still emitting white steam, or whether the sentries on City Wall were still the same group of people.
He looked at the street in a trance. What came up in his mind were fragmentary fragments: In his previous life, he stayed on City Wall until the last moment, the sharp angle of Demon Beast penetrated his chest, Beacon Tower was smashed to pieces by Legendary Demon Beast, and gravel and flames fell from the sky; he walked into Holy Orchid Institute for the first time after rebirth, and stood on the playground and listened to the instructor's roll call; in the City Lord's Mansion Back Courtyard hid behind the pillars, watching Nie Li support Ten Thousand Demons and Spirits Array and Abyssal Troll to confront each other; in Black Prison World's square, Duan Jian punched Sikong Yi away.
These things went through my mind one by one, not very clearly, but each one was still there.
He stood next to the stone lion at the entrance of the Winged Dragon Family, looking at the people coming and going on the street, and felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.
Are you nostalgic? Probably yes. But I still have to move forward.
He has already defended this city, and the remaining things are Second Elder, Ye Zong, and people from various aristocratic families are watching. He has finished what he can do here, and it is time to go out.
After an unknown amount of time, someone from behind gently tapped him on the shoulder.
Shen Fei turned around and saw Xiao Ning'er standing behind him with a faint smile on her face. She had probably been standing there for a while, seeing that he was in a trance and not calling him, so she waited for a while before reaching out and patting him.
She spoke in a very soft voice, "You can't bear to part with it."
Shen Fei glanced at her, then turned back to look at the street, then withdrew his gaze and said in a calm tone, "I can't tell. Although I miss you, you still have to move forward."
He paused, straightened his back against the stone lion, "Let's go and see Su Ming."
Xiao Ning'er looked at him and smiled softly. She didn't say anything more and followed him at a trot, her steps lighter than usual.
The two walked south along the main street. When they passed City Guard Third Brigade's station, the soldier standing guard at the door recognized Shen Fei, straightened his back and gave a military salute.
Shen Fei nodded to him, walked to the guard box at the gate of the station, stopped, and asked, "Is Su Ming here?"
There was a young clerk sitting in the guard box, lowering his head to register something. He raised his head when he heard the voice, recognized Shen Fei, and stood up immediately. "Family Head Shen. Captain Su took the team on a mission two days ago and was attacked by Demon Beast. He is now recuperating in the hospital in the military camp. If you want to find him, I will have someone show you the way."
After hearing this, Shen Fei frowned. "Were you attacked by Demon Beast? Were you seriously injured?"
The clerk quickly replied, "I don't know the specific situation. I heard that the injury was not serious, but he is fine. There are medical officers at the hospital watching over him."
Shen Fei nodded and said in a calmer tone, "Lead the way."
The clerk waved to the side, and a young soldier who was cleaning his weapons in the yard ran over.
The clerk told him a few words, and the soldier stuffed the rag into his waist and made a "please" gesture toward Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er: "Family Head Shen, Miss Xiao, go this way."
The two followed the soldier out of the side gate of the station and walked south along the City Wall root. The military camp hospital is located in a row of gray brick bungalows on the inside of the south City Wall, not far from the station, and it took about a quarter of an hour to walk there.
There is a wooden sign hanging at the door of the yard with the words "Military Medical Clinic" engraved on it. There are rows of washed bandages hanging in the yard, and a middle-aged man who looks like a medical officer is squatting by the well platform washing medicinal materials.
The soldier who led the way went in and said a few words. The medical officer stood up, wiped his hands, came out and bowed slightly to Shen Fei: "Family Head Shen. Captain Su is on the bed near the back. His left arm and back are injured. The medicine has just been changed, and he is awake."
Shen Fei nodded and walked in.
The hospital is not big, with seven or eight beds arranged. There is a bed in the back. Su Ming is half leaning on the head of the bed. His left arm is hanging on his chest with a cloth strip. His back is wrapped with a bandage. His face is a little pale, but he is in good spirits. He is looking down at a booklet in his hand.
When he heard the footsteps, he raised his head and saw Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er walking in. He was stunned for a moment, then put the booklet on the bed and sat up straight with his hands on his hands.
"Don't move." Shen Fei walked to the bed and stood still, reaching out and pressing his shoulder, "Lie down."
Su Ming didn't hold on any longer and leaned back on the bed with a bit of embarrassment on his face. "Big Brother Shen, why are you here."
"Let's take a look at you." Shen Fei sat down on the stool beside the bed and glanced at his hanging left arm and the bandage on his back, "How is the injury?"
"The left arm was bitten and the back was scratched by the claws, but no bones were injured." Su Ming said in an understatement, "The medical officer said that he will be able to return to the team in ten and a half days."
The medical officer standing next to him interjected. "Captain Su put it lightly. When it was delivered, the wound on the left arm was so deep that the bone was visible, and the cut on the back almost hurt the spine. Fortunately, the internal organs were not injured. It will be better after a while."