One person: Lu family bodyguard, who shattered Longhu Mountain with a single palm strike.

Lin Mo and Lu Linglong left the village entrance.

Following the village path paved with bluestone slabs, I strolled towards the small courtyard where Chen Duo lived.

The sunlight was just right, filtering through the gaps in the leaves and casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The entire Biyou Village was quiet. The villagers seemed to be frightened by the brief but terrifying confrontation at the village entrance, and every household kept their doors tightly shut.

Lu Linglong linked arms with Lin Mo, muttering to herself about the commotion caused by the group of temporary workers earlier.

Before long, the two arrived at a somewhat secluded farmhouse at the end of the village.

Pushing open the slightly ajar wooden door, the scene in the courtyard instantly came into view for the two of them.

Chen Duo was still wearing her NaDuTong courier uniform and was sitting quietly on the wooden steps at the door of the house.

She hugged her knees with both hands, rested her chin on her arms, and stared blankly at the sky outside the yard.

He looked just like a lonely old man left behind in a remote mountain village, exuding a sense of isolation from the rest of the world.

Upon hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, a faint light flickered in Chen Duo's previously somewhat vacant eyes.

She didn't get up, but simply raised her head slightly, her gaze calmly falling on the two people who walked in.

Lu Linglong released Lin Mo's arm, strode to the steps, a bright smile on her face, and waved.

"Chen Duo, we're here."

Chen Duo nodded gently, without saying a word, but simply stared at them with her clear but lifeless eyes.

Lu Linglong didn't mind her coldness, and casually found a small stool next to her to sit down, asking with a smile, "Have you had breakfast?"

"have eaten."

Chen Duo answered softly, her voice sounding gentle and sweet, yet as still and undisturbed as a stagnant pool.

"That's good. Lin Mo and I didn't have anything to do, so we came to see you and chat with you."

Chen Duo nodded again, her gaze shifting to Lin Mo, who was slowly carrying a small wooden stool to sit down.

The three of them sat quietly in the courtyard for a while, the breeze rustling through the weeds in the corner of the wall.

Looking at Chen Duo's delicate yet lifeless face, Lu Linglong felt a pang of sadness for no reason.

She hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask the question that was on her mind.

"By the way, Chen Duo, I have a question I'd like to ask. You don't have to say it if you don't want to."

Lu Linglong slowed down her speech and spoke very softly, afraid of disturbing this fragile girl.

"I want to know, why did you kill Liao Zhong?"

Upon hearing the name, Chen Duo's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and her fingertips curled up slightly.

Lu Linglong observed her reaction and continued:

"Because Uncle Liao told us that he was the one who brought you back to the company's bunker for treatment. If possible, could you tell me about what happened in between?"

Chen Duo blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering, concealing the emotions in her eyes.

Upon hearing Lu Linglong mention the words "dark fortress" and "treatment," the last vestiges of doubt in her heart finally vanished like snowflakes.

She knew very well that the fact that Uncle Liao had taken her to the Dark Fortress for treatment was an absolute secret within the company.

Let alone ordinary superhumans outside, even ordinary employees in the company have no idea that the Dark Fortress exists.

And Lu Linglong, who is not a member of the company at all, was able to describe these details so accurately.

This means that it really was Uncle Liao who told her.

Uncle Liao is really alive; he has truly been resurrected by this man named Lin Mo.

Upon confirming this, Chen Duo's heart, which had seemed dormant for a long time, inexplicably skipped a beat, and even her breath paused for half a second.

She lowered her head, looked at the patterns on her protective suit, remained silent for a long time, and finally spoke slowly.

"Actually, I don't want to live a normal life."

Chen Duo's voice was very soft, like a wisp of mist that could be blown away by the wind at any moment, carrying a kind of resigned calm.

"I never thought about actually integrating into your society like ordinary people."

She raised her hand and pointed to her head, her eyes revealing a heartbreaking numbness.

"I am different from all of you."

"The things I experienced at the Medicine Fairy Society when I was young made it impossible for me to understand the kind of joy that you can experience in your daily lives."

Lu Linglong rested her chin on her hands, listening intently.

Lin Mo sat a little further away, with his hands on his knees, quietly acting as a good listener.

Chen Duo lowered her hand, rested her chin on her knees again, and looked at the old tree in the yard.

"Actually, Uncle Liao is really good to me, and I know that in my heart."

"He rescued me from the mountains and taught me to read and write little by little, how to eat, and how to dress myself."

"He also had someone teach me how to control the Qi in my body and how to survive in this society."

Chen Duo's lips seemed to twitch slightly, revealing a fleeting, faint smile.

"He even actively studied the Gu-body Holy Child inside me every day, trying every possible way to cure my illness."

"Uncle Liao is a really, really good person."

At this point, Chen Duo paused, her gaze slightly darting away, as if she were reminiscing about the time they spent together.

"But... I don't think these things are that important to me."

She turned her head, looked into Lu Linglong's sympathetic eyes, and spoke in a calm tone.

"I have never dared to hope to live like an ordinary person, nor can I ever do that."

"What I want is actually very little."

"I just want to have one or two friends I know, so I can talk to them occasionally."

"Then... Uncle Liao was able to accept my choice, even though he thought it was wrong."

"As long as he can accept me, I feel very happy."

Lu Linglong felt a pang of pain in her heart. She pursed her lips and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Then why have you never shared these innermost thoughts with Uncle Liao?"

Chen Duo lowered her head, looking at the ants moving their nest on the ground, and fell into a long silence.

After a long while, she spoke again.

"Because Uncle Liao has been very good to me, I don't want to disappoint him."

"I will do my best to do whatever he wants me to do, because I want to see him happy."

"I'm afraid that if I express these true thoughts, Uncle Liao will feel sad and disappointed."

Chen Duo buried her face in her arms, her voice becoming muffled.

"So, just do as he says, and he'll stay happy."

After hearing Chen Duo's words, Lu Linglong felt as if something was blocking her throat, causing a dry and painful sensation.

She finally understood the tragedy of Chen Duo.

This girl never had any expectations for a so-called normal life or returning to ordinary society.

She was just like a soulless puppet.

In order not to disappoint the person who was good to her, she forced herself to play the role of a normal person.

From the Gu poison of the Medicine Immortal Society to the company's hidden fortress.

Chen Duo seemed to have been rescued and was no longer suffering those inhuman tortures.

But from another perspective, she has actually been living the same life as before.

Previously, it was to obey the orders of the Medicine Immortal Society; later, it was to obey Liao Zhong's expectations.

She never truly had a life of her own, not even for a single day.

Lin Mo sat on a small wooden stool, his fingertips gently stroking the fabric on his knees, a sigh escaping his lips.

In his past life, when he read comics, he felt sorry for this little girl with a tragic backstory.

Now that I've traveled to this world, seeing her like this with my own eyes, and hearing her speak the most desperate words in the calmest tone, the impact is completely different.

This girl is truly pitiful and it breaks your heart.

Lu Linglong remained silent for a long time. She pursed her lips tightly, as if she had made a major decision in her heart.

She turned her head sharply, her gaze fixed intently on Lin Mo, who was sitting not far away.

"Lin Mo".

Lu Linglong's voice carried a hint of pleading, but also a hint of determination.

"Your methods are so powerful, you can even bring the dead back to life, so do you have any way to remove the Gu-body Holy Child from Chen Duo's body?"

"I'll pay this fee as long as you can cure her and allow her to choose her own life like a normal person."

……