Wang Xiaoming heard her and wiped the sweat from his face, then stroked her hair, unable to bear seeing her like this.
At that, Bibi Dong burst into tears. Wang Xiaoming dropped the shovel in his hand and gently gathered her into his arms, letting her cry her fill.
Just then, the person leading the Spirit Hall group came up to Wang Xiaoming. Frowning at the bodies nearby that had yet to be buried, he asked, "Little one, are you here by yourself? Are you from this village too?"
Wang Xiaoming shook his head.
"I was just passing through. A Kamen Rider who happened to pass by already took care of the Evil Soul Masters who showed up here. I'm just seeing to it that these people are laid to rest..."
Hearing that, the deacon nodded regretfully and gave instructions to the people beside him. He left one group behind to collect the bodies, while he led the others to inspect the bandits' hideout.
The massacre of an entire village was no small matter. They had to get to the bottom of it.
With the Spirit Hall's help, everyone here was soon buried beneath a grave mound.
Bibi Dong knelt quietly before her mother's grave and kowtowed several times.
"Mom, don't worry. Those people are all dead..."
Seeing how pitiful she looked, Wang Xiaoming immediately thought of the madwoman she would become.
He simply couldn't picture them as the same person.
When all was said and done, not one of the three involved in that affair was a good egg.
Secret Chamber Douluo Qian Xunji, Yu Xiaogang who ran after using her, and the love-addled idiot Bibi Dong...
Heh, once he figured out the Dimensional Wall, he would make a precision landing and beat all three of them up!
As he silently swore that to himself, someone suddenly tugged twice at the hem of his clothes.
Wang Xiaoming looked down and saw Bibi Dong's dust-covered little face turned up toward him.
"Big brother... where are you going after this? Could you take me with you..."
Bibi Dong looked at Wang Xiaoming with a pitiful expression.
Wang Xiaoming was silent for a few breaths.
"I live somewhere else, very far away... You have to go through my door to get there."
Bibi Dong's eyes lit up, and bits of grass and clumps of dirt pattered down from her skirt.
She took a step forward and stood in front of Wang Xiaoming, chin tilted up and both hands clutching her skirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"Then could you take me with you?"
Her voice was still hoarse, but a little livelier than before. "I-I won't cause you any trouble. I can help you work, wash clothes, make fires, sweep the floor... I can do anything.
"If... if you think I'm too much trouble, you can send me to an orphanage in the city. I can find my own way."
By the end, her voice had grown quiet again, as though she was afraid he would think she talked too much.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she forced them back.
Wang Xiaoming looked at her.
The morning light edged her purple hair in gold. Her little face was full of pleading, but she bit her lip as though she wouldn't ask a second time.
Looking at the homeless little dumpling before him, Wang Xiaoming simply couldn't bring himself to refuse.
He thought of that purple figure who would one day stand at the highest point of the Pope's Palace, looking down on the Soul Masters of the world.
Stern and commanding, cold and ruthless, able to decide a person's life or death with a wave of her hand.
A long, long road still lay between her and the little girl clutching her skirt before him.
There might still be a chance to change things!
He reached out and ruffled her hair. Her fluffy purple hair was surprisingly soft, and the dust in it rubbed off on his hand.
"Sure... Then you can stay with me from now on. I could use a little sister."
Bibi Dong froze. Her eyes, swollen like walnuts, were blank at first, then filled with joy. She could no longer hold back her tears, and they fell with a patter.
"...Really?"
"Of course."
Wang Xiaoming pulled another lollipop from his Soul Tool, unwrapped it, and pressed it into her hand.
"But you have to promise me one thing. After you come back with me, you can't call yourself Bibi Dong in front of people anymore, at least not when we're out.
"Hmm... How about I give you a name for other people to hear?"
Bibi Dong put the lollipop in her mouth. The moment the sweetness hit her, her nose stung again, and she nodded vigorously.
Wang Xiaoming thought for a moment, then said with a touch of mischievous delight, "How about Wang Dong'er? Wang will be my surname, and Dong is from your own name. From now on, I'll call you Dong'er, all right?"
Wang Dong'er.
She repeated the name silently, nodded, and whispered, "I like that name."
Wang Xiaoming smiled, stood up, and dusted off his knees.
The wind blowing down from the mountain carried the scent of pine and morning dew, greatly thinning the smell of blood left from the night before.
He took one last look at the new graves, bowed, and then headed down the mountain.
Bibi Dong trotted after him, her skirt brushing the dewy grass and her purple hair fluttering in the wind.
After a few steps, she reached out and caught the hem of Wang Xiaoming's clothes, just as she had in the village yesterday.
Before passing through the Dimensional Wall back to their original time and place, Wang Xiaoming took a deliberate detour.
The old residence in Heaven Dou City's eastern district was just as he remembered it: gray brick walls, a black-lacquered gate, and an old plaque bearing the Wang family name above the entrance.
He leaned over the wall at the mouth of the alley and peered inside. The courtyard was empty except for two servants halfheartedly sweeping with brooms.
At this time, his dad was probably still in his room, being made to study like his life depended on it, while his mom was still working an abacus at some merchant association.
They hadn't even met yet.
Wang Xiaoming climbed over the wall and slipped along it to the old locust tree in the back courtyard.
He pulled a small dagger from his Soul Tool and carved a barcode into the north side of the tree's roots.
Decade's mark.
When he was done, he covered it with loose soil and kicked a few fallen leaves over it. Only after making sure no trace could be seen from outside did he climb back over the wall.
Wang Dong'er was crouching at the mouth of the alley, waiting for him. When she saw him come out, she asked quietly, "Big brother, what did you go in there for?"
"I made a mark."
Wang Xiaoming dusted the dirt from his hands. "If I can still see that mark in the future, it'll mean I came to the right place."
Wang Dong'er didn't understand, but she nodded obediently.
This time, their passage through the Dimensional Wall went fairly smoothly, without any deviations.
Wang Xiaoming turned to look at the hourglass on the corner of the table.
More than half the fine sand remained in the upper chamber. About four or five minutes seemed to have passed.
He had been gone for a whole night and a morning, yet only five minutes had passed here.
"Does time flow differently... or did I just return at an earlier time?"
He muttered to himself and made a mental note of it.
Wang Dong'er poked her head out from behind him. Her purple eyes darted around as she looked at the room, which was bigger than any house in her entire village, and her mouth fell open.
"Big brother... is this your home?"
"Mm-hmm."
Wang Xiaoming ruffled her hair. "It's your home from now on, too."