Why can't humans do it too?

Hugging each other can keep each other warm... These words kept repeating in Su'er's hazy mind, and he didn't even know if he had said them out loud or if they had reached Xinke's ears.

Icy.

Is there still heat that can be transferred?

He tried to pull his arms in, and the breath he could hear had become very faint.

Opening her eyes without blinking, Xin Ke stared blankly at the dark gray rock so close to her. Her pupils, which housed Liu Ling, gradually dimmed, as if losing their luster. No one could know what she was thinking at that moment.

"...Just leave me here..."

"...Mr. Monkey..."

It was as if they were whispering secrets, murmuring in Suer's ear.

Silence.

There was no further movement for a long time, and the wind blowing through the area remained unchanged.

Xin Ke lowered her eyelids, as if she were about to fall asleep, until she felt something touching her cheek.

The skin, which was originally soft and elastic, was now so weak that it could hardly even dent slightly, but the force did not give up. It continued to exert its strength and push forward.

It was Suer's right hand that slowly rose, sluggishly, with the difficulty of a centenarian, yet with an unyielding determination. It seemed as if he wanted to clench his fist but could not manage it after several attempts, and could only futilely clench it.

It pressed against Xin Ke's cheek.

It struck gently, causing no harm, only slightly receding outwards, but the next second it hit Xin Ke's face again.

“…Great…”

“...Nirbalan…”

"……Miss……"

The hoarse sounds squeezed out of his dry throat were faint and weak. Every word Suer uttered was incredibly difficult, faint and slow, as if they were taking away his last breath.

It tapped on Xin Ke's cheek.

Chapter 118 Intertwined Two Combinations

It's mockery, yet it's not mockery.

Without any extreme reaction, Xin Ke remained motionless as if she hadn't heard anything.

She knew what the monkey beneath her meant. If he still had the strength to finish his sentence, this was probably what he would ask: "Would the great Miss Nirvalen... also give up?"

Giving up... Have I failed?

When Xinke actually asked herself this question, she found herself to be unexpectedly calm. Even the temperature was not much different from the surrounding environment; it was deathly still, far from the anger or resentment she had felt when she first thought about this question.

Failure...?

Chewing on this peculiar word.

Unable to get a response from Xin Ke, Su Er's body swayed slightly, trembling, like a resurrected stone statue. He slowly and laboriously tilted his body, moving upwards inch by inch, rubbing his back against the rock behind him, like a dying insect.

He exhaled pale breaths from his nostrils. This difficult movement, however, made Su Er seem more alive. Even his pale cheeks seemed to have regained some color. He was gazing at Xin Ke.

Xin Ke, who was lying on her back on the ground because of his movement, could also see him.

The four soul stones on his forehead, which should have been sparkling, had become dull.

She remained silent, perhaps because she had lost the strength to speak. Xin Ke hated her own intelligence.

In those golden eyes, Xin Ke clearly received that question—why.

Even though Suer didn't say anything.

Why was she able to so easily grasp a monkey's thoughts?

Why would she get upset over a mere monkey's question?

Why would she want to explain a question that makes no sense?

It was as if she were defending herself—that she had not experienced a failure.

Is it simply because he is a human from another world, unlike the monkeys of this world?

Don't be ridiculous, would she even care about something like that?

What does her background have to do with her?!

Yes, Hinco Nielbaren was indeed a forest elf, and she was absolutely certain of it.

However, when Xin Ke came to her senses, she had already been muttering to herself in a daze for a very long time.

"...I am the Flower Crown Lord, who rules over the entire forest elf race..."

"...I rebuilt the Forest Elf magic system and led them in a counterattack against the Gophers..."

"...I am the current head of the Nielbaren family..."

"...I am the most talented being in the history of the Forest Elves, the only Eightfold Mage..."

For some reason, even though the monkey hadn't said anything, when Xin Ke saw those golden eyes, she couldn't suppress the restlessness in her heart. She just wanted to say something to defend what she had just said.

The choice she made.

Her giving up, her... failure.

In this desolate place, shrouded in black ash.

"So... if my life depends on monkeys to survive... then I might as well end it here."

Her dry, lifeless summary sounded like a withered branch that had lost its moisture. She abruptly stopped speaking and pressed her lips tightly together.

She wanted to maintain her pride and dignity, which might seem ridiculous to others, but for her it was the bottom line of her personal integrity.

I cannot bear to be a mere burden.

I can't accept myself being so worthless.

If she still retained two or even one level of magical power, that would be good. That way, she could comfortably deceive herself, telling herself that she wasn't simply relying on wild beasts like monkeys to survive, that she still possessed power, power that could be used.

Strength—this weighty word is deeply ingrained in the marrow of every individual of every race that has survived this great war to this day, even if they never utter a word about it, even if they consider themselves different from others.

That is the standard by which the value of a life is measured.

An invisible standard that is universally recognized.

With her eyes closed, Xin Ke could no longer bear the irritation of meeting those eyes. However, the darkness and silence with only the sound of the wind lasted only a few seconds before she broke the silence—why not say something?

Why aren't you saying anything?!

Are you looking down on me?!

"Monkeys probably don't understand, do they?" Xin Ke said through gritted teeth, her eyes wide as she stared at Su Er, who was leaning against the rock, motionless as a statue.

"The complex emotions that only such advanced beings possess—my pride, my soul, and things more precious than life itself!!"

Unlike Xin Ke, who was gradually becoming agitated, all that responded to her was the air filled with the sound of wind... and a gaze that gradually turned to pity.

It felt as if flames were burning in her chest and lungs; anger was burning within Xin Ke's cold body.

Finally, with a slight cough, he responded to the anger. His weak voice carried an undeniable determination; even weakness could not change his will.

"Not a monkey."

"It's human."

He coughed incessantly, but had no strength left to cough. Suer's body trembled as if he were having a spasm. With trembling hands, he slowly pulled a small piece from the pocket on his side of his leg, then slowly pulled Xinke's hand and placed the small piece into her hand.

Suer tried to forcefully pull Xinke's fingers back, wanting her to hold the thing she had given her. She pressed down with all her might, but she couldn't get her fingers to close.

Between her fingers, Xin Ke could see what Su Er had placed in her palm. It was the little food the two of them had brought out from that outpost. In such a cold temperature, it had been frozen harder than steel, enough to break teeth—but it was still hope, the hope to continue living.

"I really... cough cough... don't know how you... non-human races think... about souls..."

The soul and such is a bit too complicated, isn't it?

Suer inexplicably wanted to laugh, but his body did not move accordingly.

He lowered his head and tried his best to get close to Xin Ke. His voice was even softer than a whisper, but thankfully it was quiet enough at the moment.

She could hear it, and she was listening attentively.

"After all... I'm just an ordinary human being... I feel pain, I cry, I break down because of disasters... but I wipe away my tears and stand up again, enduring suffering and moving forward..."

"...It's a person..."

With a long sigh, Suer was utterly exhausted.

Responding to her family's expectations, she carries on with her pain...

This has been true from ancient times to the present.

"If we fail, we fail..."

"We are indeed currently in a slump..."

She tried hard to smile, but her frozen face was too stiff to even move. All Suer could do was numbly tug at Xin Ke's hair, letting her feel the pain.

"There are indeed things more precious than...life..."

"But... in matters that are done out of spite..."