Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 133 The day of Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul awakening has finally arrived.

Young Gilas seemed to sense the immense sorrow and despair emanating from the depths of Zhu Zhuqing's soul. It moved its short legs and cautiously approached Zhu Zhuqing, gently rubbing its hard but warm head against her cold calves.

His scarlet eyes were filled with worry and an awkward desire to offer comfort, yet he didn't know how.

Zhu Zhuqing trembled slightly at the subtle touch, but did not pull away.

She kept her head down, but her tense, slightly trembling shoulders seemed to relax a little bit because of the little beast's silent comfort.

Silence spread through the night, so heavy it was almost suffocating.

After a long time, so long that Lin Xia thought Zhu Zhuqing wouldn't speak again, her voice, thick with nasal tone and carrying an almost humble plea, cautiously broke the heartbreaking silence:
"Brother Lin Xia... for the next two days... if... if nothing happens..."

She paused, seemingly trying to make her voice sound less trembling.

"Can...can I still...come to visit you?"

She asked so softly, so uncertainly, as if begging for a brief but precious favor.

Zhu Zhuqing tilted her head back, tears still streaming down her face, but her dark eyes, washed clean by the tears, now held an almost stubborn, desperate expectation.

Lin Xia's heart was gripped by that gaze.

He clearly saw the deeper meaning hidden behind Zhu Zhuqing's simple request—this might be the last carefree time of her life.

She was spending her happiness in advance, seeking a safe haven to briefly escape the inevitable shadows.

reject?

How could he possibly refuse?

Lin Xia remained silent.

This silence was not out of hesitation, but rather a profound sense of bitterness and powerlessness welling up inside.

He cannot change the predetermined course of his fate, at least not now.

All he seemed to be able to offer this little girl, who was about to fall into darkness, was this brief, false peace.

Finally, he nodded slowly and with utmost solemnity.

"it is good."

He said only one word.

His voice was deep, yet carried a weighty sense of promise.

This "okay" wasn't just a perfunctory word or a word of comfort; it was the only genuine response he could give her at that moment—a permission to briefly stop and rest on her desperate journey.

Upon hearing this word, the despair in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes seemed to dissipate slightly, replaced by a kind of almost tragic, desperate glimmer of hope.

She nodded vigorously, and the forced smile on her small face seemed a little more genuine, although the tears still hadn't stopped.

"Ok!"

She responded with a heavy sigh, her voice carrying a hint of relief and satisfaction, as if she had just escaped a disaster.

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Lin Xia again, as if she wanted to remember this brother who had promised to spend her last happy moments with her.

Then, she bent down, reached out her little hand, and for the first time, gently touched Young Gilas's little head covered with a dark red sheen.

"Younggilas... thank you for playing with me..."

Her voice was soft, with a strange gentleness.

"Yoji..."

Young Gilas responded softly and gently nuzzled her little hand with his head.

After doing all this, Zhu Zhuqing did not linger or say anything more.

She turned around, her small figure carrying a sense of loneliness and heaviness beyond her years, and slowly walked towards the courtyard gate, step by step.

The interplay of moonlight and oil lamp light cast her long, lonely shadow, which gradually faded into the deeper darkness outside the door and disappeared from sight.

Only Lin Xia and Young Gilas remained in the courtyard.

The night breeze seemed even cooler. Lin Xia stood there, motionless for a long time.

He gazed in the direction where Zhu Zhuqing had disappeared, his eyes deep and unfathomable, churning with complex emotions.

Seeing Lin Xia like this, Young Gilas tugged at Lin Xia's sleeve and let out a worried whimper.

"Yo-ji?"

Lin Xia raised her hand and gently stroked Young Giras.

The dark gold dragon mark on the little guy's chest seemed to glow slightly, conveying a warm and calming power.

"I am fine."

Lin Xia said in a low voice, as if she were talking to herself.

Lin Xia took a deep breath of the cool night air, her eyes gradually becoming sharp and determined.

The destiny of the Zhu family, like stars in the sky?
The Dai family's power struggle?
He couldn't care less about all that, and he didn't want to get involved.

But at that moment, the tears and desperate pleas of a six-year-old girl pierced his heart like a thorn.

He couldn't change her awakening of her martial spirit, nor could he stop the possible future pursuit.

All he promised was to spend the next two days with me.

But a vague idea began to take root in Lin Xia's mind.

If... if that day really comes in the future, when Zhu Zhuqing is driven to the brink of despair by fate, will he... be able to lend a helping hand?

It wasn't for Xingluo's power struggles, but simply for that little face under the moonlight, tears streaming down her face yet trying to smile.
Lin Xia looked at the dark night sky, her eyes sharp as knives.

"strength……"

Lin Xia muttered to herself.

"We still lack the strength."

As if sensing Lin Xia's inner turmoil and determination, Young Gilas raised its little head, took out a piece of Sun Essence, and handed it to Lin Xia.

"Yoji!"

Lin Xia stretched out her finger and gently tapped Younggilas's forehead carapace, which had become even harder and faintly glowed with dark red dragon blood. The touch was warm and full of power.

"Thank you, Eurydice."

Lin Xia's voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the courtyard, carrying a peculiar soothing power and a firm determination.

"You're right. We all need to become stronger! Let's go 'eat' some ore and replenish ourselves!"

"Yoji!"

Young Gilas responded cheerfully, waving its little paws excitedly!
In the days that followed, Zhu Yu did not ask Lin Xia to make immediate repairs, so he had some free time!

Zhu Zhuqing still comes to Lin Xia's place to play every day.

She seemed to deliberately avoid all topics related to "Martial Soul Awakening" and "Star Luo Empire," as if her conversation with Lin Xia that day had never happened.

She simply sat quietly in the corner where Lin Xia practiced or Young Gilas "ate," holding a book about the geography of the continent or a soul beast encyclopedia. Her long eyelashes drooped, and occasionally she would raise her clear eyes, her gaze sweeping over Lin Xia's focused profile and Young Gilas's cheeks puffed out as it chewed diligently. A very subtle curve would unconsciously appear at the corners of her mouth.

The smile was faint, carrying a calmness beyond its years, yet seemingly concealing a subtle, almost imperceptible, attachment.

Lin Xia could sense the undercurrent beneath the silence, but he didn't take the initiative to break it.

He knew that some storms, in the end, she would have to face them on her own.

All he could do was provide her with a place where she could temporarily catch her breath and not have to pretend when she needed it.

Young Gilas seemed to like this quiet little girl very much. Sometimes it would go over and rub its hard but warm head against Zhu Zhuqing's calf, in exchange for her gentle touch and a fleeting warmth in her eyes.

Time slipped by unnoticed until that inescapable day—the day of Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul awakening—finally arrived.

(End of this chapter)