At night in Pati City, in a corner no one noticed.
Dressed in rags, Jialuo lay quietly in a deep, dark alley, surrounded by heaps of garbage. For a moment, it was hard to tell which was the refuse.
Unconscious, Jialuo returned to the past, to that land steeped in mist and gunsmoke.
Every inch of Lupo's yellow earth was stained with its people's blood.
He saw a barefoot child running across yellow earth heated by shells, his mouth open as he shouted something Jialuo could not make out.
The next moment, something cold touched his face, jolting him out of his dream.
Jialuo barely managed to open his eyes, but he could see only half a blurred world.
My left eye must be blind, and my sword hand is gone. And Jack-
Jialuo gave a bitter chuckle, his voice hoarse.
Judging by the sky, not much time had passed since he escaped that nightmarish building. Had snow or rain just fallen on his face?
With almost nothing left in him, he could not tell.
He felt around and found that the broken Yuan Zhi was still beside him.
At least-at least I still have my sword-
Jialuo murmured inwardly. He had never considered giving up. He even felt that he had lived for this very moment.
Clang.
Something iron struck the ground, accompanied by a rough curse:
"Eat, you ungrateful stray!"
"Woof!"
A dog's snarling bark followed, and Jialuo slowly raised his head.
The eyesight he had once taken such pride in now barely let him see what was in front of him.
A defiant black old dog was baring its teeth at a fat man in a chef's uniform. A bowl of dog food sat on the ground.
Seeing this, the fat man cursed some more, saying things