The Spirit World

Chapter 9: The World of Hope

[2015 Years of the Principality of Arlan]

[Outskirts of Wenti County]

A lizard dragon carriage made an impatient creaking sound as it moved quickly through the rugged mountains. The wheels clanged against the rocks, and the sound echoed in the valley. The square wooden hut on the carriage was cast under a magical spell, making it so smooth that not even the water was rippled. There was dense dry grass on both sides of the mountain road.

"Faster! Ansha!" The driver seemed to be calling the lizard dragon's name, looking quite urgent. His long black hair fluttered in the wind, and blood mud stuck to his hair, making his smooth hair messy in the wind like dead grass.

"Ralfa! How long will we have to run away?" A blonde woman in the small wooden house asked at the window. A tiny baby was sleeping on her lap. In fact, there was nothing else important in the room. There was only a mat, a quilt, and a few small toys that seemed to be for the baby to play with.

They were on the run, and for two whole months, the lizard dragon ran tirelessly, on roads, small roads, mountain roads, and waterways, and could do anything. Other means of transportation were either too expensive or could be traced to magical traces, so they were absolutely not allowed to use them. This lizard dragon was originally cultivated as the best means of transportation, but now it was on the verge of collapse.

Ralfa couldn't answer his wife's question. Where could a fugitive find safety? He had escaped from Rastar and had survived a difficult time, but where would it end? Perhaps only by fleeing to the ends of the earth could he escape their pursuit!
Ralfa lit a Rastar cigarette, holding the reins while putting the cigarette into his dry, thirsty mouth. His face, which had been tanned recently, was already cracked and no longer as vigorous as it was two months ago. A long puff of smoke rolled out of his nose slowly, rhythmically speeding up. This was also the last Rastar cigarette, and I was afraid I would never have the chance to enjoy it again.

"Alia, dear, do you regret it? I mean, do you regret following me?" He asked calmly. The man's psychological defenses had undergone subtle changes. Perhaps only an insignificant straw would be enough to break the already exhausted "camel".

"What are you talking about! Ralfa!" Elena squatted on the windowsill, stroking the baby's cheek. The little baby slept peacefully with his mouth pouting. The baby's eyes had some angles. He must be a great beauty when he grows up. "As long as I can be with you, I will be satisfied. Although I was born in a noble family in Rastar, I was arranged to grow up since I was a child. I have no freedom, but now I understand that only with you can I feel happy! With you, I understand the true meaning of life. You have given me unprecedented love, which is so precious. I never regret falling in love with you, and I will never regret it, not now, and not in the future!" Elena's golden long hair was blown by the passing breeze. She had just become a mother and still had a girlish dimple. Her slightly weak lip color did not make her look weak, but extraordinary greatness. "Ralfa, do you know? I am still happy now. Even at this time, I still feel that I am the happiest woman in the world!" As she spoke, her tender eyes were blurred, and tears dripped on the child's chubby face. But she didn't make a sound. She was crying not because of herself, but because of this little life.

"Once we pass this mountain, we will reach Wenti County. I don't want to run away anymore!" Ralfa understood Aria's current mood. She was very weak after having just given birth. For the sake of her child, she naturally couldn't wander around like this helplessly. And he thought the same thing. It would be best if he could settle down!
How important is a stable home to a woman!
Having a family is a lifelong responsibility for a man! He couldn't continue to flee.

"Let's hide our identities and live in the countryside of Wenti County. I will erase the magician's mark and live as an ordinary person." Ralfa threw away the cigarette and drove the lizard dragon faster: "For you and the child, I must make a choice." Ralfa stared at the road ahead firmly, a strange light flashing in his eyes: "Are you willing to remarry an ordinary person, Ralfa? My dear Alia! Even if I have nothing, even if I will only be an ordinary person! Even if I am a desperado!" On the rocky road in the mountains, the singing of the birds in the valley was startled and scattered, like a wedding blessing cheering for the newlyweds in the open fields.

"I do, of course I do, my Ralfa!" Alia came to the dragon carriage, sat next to Ralfa, and snuggled up to him. She leaned so close to him that nothing could separate them.

Birds were flying in the blue sky, spreading their wings around them and singing cheerful songs. The happy couple leaned their heads against each other. Ralfa held Alia's hand tightly with one hand. Neither of them spoke anymore. The lizard dragon car was panting heavily and slowed down its pace tacitly to make the car stable and without bumps. The two months of escape were really hard to endure, and even a moment of rest now seemed like a luxury.

The two of them leaned close together, enjoying each other's warmth.

How wonderful it would be if this moment lasted forever. But cruel things still slowly came. The cruel reality should not come so quickly, but it is unavoidable!
The scarlet light covered the entire sky like a curtain, and soon the surroundings were filled with red.

It was fire! Fire that shot up into the sky! Like a huge fireball from outer space with a long black tail of flames, the flames it brought rolled across the sky above the two people! The scorching heat wave messed up the hair of the two people.

"Be careful! Alia!" Ralfa crossed his arms and protected Alia from the impact of the air wave. The lizard dragon carriage was almost overturned by the strong heat wave! Ralfa pulled out his hand and steadied the reins! The flammable hay around was instantly ignited. At first, it was sporadic fire points, and then it burned in large areas. The flames raged around the lizard dragon carriage!
Like crazy! Aileya rushed into the wooden hut and picked up the sleeping child. She gently rubbed her face against the baby's face. The baby slowly opened her eyes and hot tears fell on her face. The little girl didn't know what it was, but when she opened her eyes, she saw her mother. She babbled happily and made a lot of noise. The little hand touched Aileya's red nose. It was as if she was comforting her.

Aria finally couldn't stop crying. She had never cried during the past few months when she was hunted by the people sent by her brother. She didn't even groan in pain when she gave birth to little Erica during the escape. She thought she could always be strong, and even if the hardships broke her body, it would never break her spirit. But now, as a mother, she cried and hugged her child tightly.

Just seconds ago, she and her child were facing the threat of death!

Ralfa watched all this, unable to calm down for a long time. His heart, which had just calmed down, was suddenly pierced by a sharp sword, and suddenly a stone that could not fall down was hanging. It seemed that he had just had a beautiful dream a few seconds ago! In the dream, they were snuggling together, but now he woke up, the raging flames were so real that they would be burned to death in just a few minutes! He began to panic, more panic than ever before. This fire seemed to kill the three of them!

This really can't go on any longer! We can't let them and their daughter continue like this!
As a magician, his intuition told him that this huge fireball was obviously not coming for them! The fireball went straight in the direction they were heading, which was the direction of [Wenti County]!

There was no time to think too much! His tense nerves told him that the most urgent task now was to get the mother and daughter out of this hell of fire!

Don't panic! Ralfa! Don't panic!
"Water!" "Water!" "Ralfa, water!!" Ralfa shouted to himself!

He stretched out his hand, and the scepter appeared. On the way to escape, the wand had been broken and the Philosopher's Stone engraved on it was dim. This scepter was once his glory! The current breakage was inevitable.

[Wow]! Blue magic lines run through the whole body! A low buzzing sound is emitted.

The water flowed around the magic wand, and the water column that rushed into the sky was evaporated by the flames in an instant, emitting thick mist, which mixed with the surrounding smoke and could no longer be distinguished. [Wow]! The water column, which was already like a super dragon, surrounded the lizard dragon car. Its body was constantly consumed by the heat wave and constantly replenished by Ralfa. It stood tall, and its surrounding body was enough to wrap around the three people beside the dragon car, blocking all the smoke and flames. However, the water dragon only had the appearance of a dragon, but was far less powerful than a dragon.

The giant water dragon was controlled by Ralfa, who tried to spray water to extinguish the circle of flames that had formed at one end. Alia was sitting on the dragon cart holding the baby, and Ralfa was leading the dragon cart and trying to move forward close to the giant water dragon, but the rolling flames did not retreat at all, or in other words, had no effect at all.

This was a matter of course. Ralfa's magic energy was almost exhausted, and with the broken wand, the water dragon couldn't even exert its full strength. And it was starting to get weaker due to the consumption of fire.

"Oops! This fire has a great origin!" Ralfa shouted. He quickly controlled the giant water dragon to wrap the three people to prevent them from being burned by the high temperature. Aileya followed him quietly with the baby in her arms, and her eyes seemed to have realized that she was going to die.

The sudden wildfire was like a disaster from heaven, a huge fireball that landed on Wenti County, and caught Ralfa defenselessly in the mysterious flames, leaving him helpless. Even if it was an enemy, they should have shown up!

Heat waves came one after another. The water dragon's recovery speed could hardly keep up with the strong heat flow and was dissipating bit by bit.

Ralfa raised his hand and a huge wall of ice appeared before his eyes, surrounded by blue magic patterns, blocking the water dragon and the flames.

Two seventh-level magic spells might be a waste of resources to deal with a small forest fire, but the fire showed no sign of weakening.

"Ansha!" Ralfa grabbed the reins of the dragon cart and slowly moved along the ice wall. The water dragon's feet turned into water when it condensed, and it slid and moved on the ice wall, slowly following closely, using its huge body to block the flames and smoke. The water dragon and the ice wall were like a base and a moving sculpture.

When Alia closed the doors and windows, she saw Ralfa struggling to move forward. The huge supply of magic power to maintain high-level magic made him look painful. Even though the temperature of the flames was blocked, there were still beads of sweat on his cheeks, and the sweat flowed down the dry and cracked skin that had not been taken care of, bringing Ralfa's painful sighs.

"Lalfa"

The fire burned everything around it, and the fire surged and hit the water dragon and the ice wall fiercely. Fortunately, the area surrounding them was not too long, which was a small mercy from God. As Ralfa moved, the ice wall gradually condensed at his position and quickly formed a new ice wall.

"It's okay, Aria, we'll be out soon." There's no point in complaining. The mysterious fire has already happened, and the most urgent thing is to leave safely.

In this way, the giant water dragon slid slowly, and the dragon car moved slowly, initially walking out of the range of the wildfire, but the wildfire was still spreading, and soon this safe area would be surrounded by the wildfire.

Can't stop for a moment!
Ralfa gritted his teeth and climbed onto the dragon cart. "Ansha, thank you for your hard work, get on with it!" With a shake of the reins, Ansha started to run, stepping over the rocks with his hard feet. The water dragon and the ice wall were still moving around it, but the water dragon had become very small and could only wrap around the square wooden hut and the dragon cart. The ice wall also began to become sparse, and occasionally a stream of flames rushed into the ice wall and hit the water dragon's body, and smoke began to come in.

"Fight! Ansha! We need to go faster!" The dragon cart ran on the rugged mountain fire road, like a desperate ant, escaping the threat of death.

They were desperadoes.

The surrounding flames and thick smoke merged into the sunrise. If it weren't for the dancing flames, the all-encompassing red would have really looked like the beautiful sight of the morning sun shining on the earth, bathing everything here in the sunshine.

The sound of the lizard dragon chariot's feet hitting the ground became louder and faster. Shouts, cries, and screams were heard not far away. That was the village that was hit like a fireball by a meteor!

That was also the village that this mountain road had to pass through! There might be more danger ahead. Ralfa made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and looked at the small house behind him, and then looked at the scene of the fire in front of him. He felt that a greater crisis was coming.

【Wenti County Mousse Village】

The flames were burning up into the sky. Everything was so abominable. Thick smoke was billowing and wailing was everywhere. Everywhere was the tragic scene of a huge fire. Shouts, cries, and screams were heard one after another. Even the marble walls were burned by the charcoal. The humble fire-fighting measures could not put out the flames from the sky. The tiny low-level magicians could not even save themselves together. They could only let the strong wind rage and the flames roll. The red flames and the rising sun together made the whole place look abnormally gorgeous.

The culprit that caused such a tragedy was standing upright in the square in the center of the village. It was floating in the air, spinning in the huge hole created when it fell. The flames rolled around it. Looking closely, it actually had a smooth texture. Flesh and blood rolled inside it. Soon, two hands were born from the fireball, and then a strong white light that repelled the red light covered everything that was just red. A long-haired man with huge red wings limped out, holding a baby in his arms, and his broken arm was half hanging in the air. He had a dignified look, eagle eyebrows and sword eyes, and his erect pupils were piercing even at this time. The close-fitting red Chinese long robe dragged on the ground full of flames without a trace of damage, but it was as if the flames were decorations on the long robe. The wings behind him drooped weakly, hanging behind him, without the slightest vitality. He looked around, the pain in his body made him grit his teeth, a trace of pity flashed in his eyes, the scars on his body were about to defeat him, he limped and looked for a way forward, the pain spread more and more all over his body, and the dizziness came with it, like a dense and stubborn insect biting his spinal cord. Even so, he still murmured: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

The fire was started by him, but it was too late for him to feel guilty now. He didn't know if he could find a safe place. The baby sleeping in his arms, his white clothes were white and clean, but they looked like they were torn from some tiny clothes.

He walked slowly, limping with each step, and sometimes almost fell down, staggering, but ultimately not falling.

My little master, my little master

On a dusty hill, before the fire spread to the area, he fell with a thud, and the baby in his arms was thrown out. Fortunately, the baby was lucky enough to avoid the sharp rocks buried by the years in the dust.

A lizard dragon car drove by quickly and stopped steadily on the sand dune. The dragon-shaped water column was like a thin film attached to the square wooden house. A blonde woman noticed a small baby and a dying red-browed eagle in the car. She quickly got out of the car and picked up the baby, almost stumbling. The black-haired driver picked up the eagle and came to her side, looking at this little life. Tears wet their eyes because they saw a scene that they would never forget in their lives. Not far away, it seemed like a hell on earth, knocking on their already fragile psychological defenses bit by bit.

"Ralfa!" She sobbed and leaned on the man's shoulder for comfort. The man stroked her long hair and hugged her tightly.

Perhaps this is how the world is. A sudden change in fate caused her to embark on a journey of escape that lasted for several months. She had suffered too many injuries and encountered too many hardships. Sadness seemed unable to express her feelings at the moment. Suddenly, she stopped crying because she saw the rising sun was as red as a flame and so moving.

Just like hope.

Hope is a hug after surviving a disaster, nothing more.

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(End of this chapter)