Xu Taiping naturally remembered Xiao Yu.
Though nearly thirty years had passed for the people within the Mysterious Wasteland Tower, only a few months had passed for Xu Taiping and his companions.
What was more, Ayu had been the first commoner Xu Taiping had met in the Ningyuan Kingdom.
"But I remember Ayu's ambition after he disappeared was to study and earn scholarly honors. How did he end up a Martial Artist in the army?"
Gazing at Ayu's burly figure and his battered armor, Gongshu Nanxing murmured in confusion.
"Miss Nanxing, my ambition as a boy was to become a teacher, but didn't I end up picking up an axe to hack people down?"
Zhai Mo grinned at Gongshu Nanxing.
"Yes. If they had a choice, who would want to fight and kill Demonic Beasts?"
Gongshu Nanxing nodded, her expression somewhat downcast.
The Ningyuan Kingdom was itself the Mysterious Wasteland Tower's reflection of its own current circumstances. Constantly threatened by Guifang, the kingdom's people had long since lost the freedom to choose a peaceful life.
"Ten or twenty years ago, the Ningyuan Kingdom should still have been fairly peaceful. But in recent years, treacherous ministers have held sway at court, and the sovereign has governed poorly, giving Guifang an opening to swallow up vast stretches of land."
Gu Qingcheng suddenly made a calculation on her fingers, then gazed solemnly at Xiao Yu's back and said:
"If my calculations are correct, Xiao Yu's hometown, Seven Sages Town, was already massacred by Guifang ten years ago. The culprits..."
She paused under the astonished gazes of Xu Taiping and the others, then turned her eyes toward Wutu Ba, who stood before Xiao Yu. "The army responsible for the massacre belonged to Guifang's Wutu Tribe."
"That explains it..."
Xu Taiping nodded expressionlessly.
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