My mobile game wife came knocking.

What made the girl even more uneasy was that strange purple patterns had appeared on Ye Ming's hand at some point, and were slowly spreading.

The girl began to feel uneasy and fearful. She had become accustomed to living with Ye Ming, and she was afraid that something would happen to him, that he would disappear. At some point, her worry for Ye Ming had surpassed her fear of death.

Ye Ming seemed to sense the girl's unease and explained with a smile, "Don't worry, this is just a special phenomenon caused by frequent use of power. It's not harmful. I'm just a little tired lately. I'll be fine after a day of rest."

"However, the monsters that have appeared recently are indeed a bit stronger, Hua. I think we should leave early, given your foot injury..."

"I'm all better now, I can leave anytime," the girl said hurriedly, even standing up and taking a couple of steps to show that she was perfectly fine.

Ye Ming smiled and nodded, pretending not to see the girl's furrowed brows due to pain.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Direction of the Rising Sun

Ye Ming's health did not improve as he had claimed.

Despite Ye Ming's best efforts to conceal it, the observant girl still noticed the weakness hidden beneath his calm demeanor. She also discovered that the purple lines that were originally only on the back of Ye Ming's hand seemed to have spread to his neck.

The girl was very uneasy, but she could only try her best to suppress her emotions so as not to affect Ye Ming.

The night before her departure, the girl was busy packing her things after finishing her meal when she suddenly heard Ye Ming, who was sitting next to her, ask her, "Hua, after leaving this city, what are your goals or wishes?"

"desire?"

The girl hesitated and shook her head. Right now, all she wanted was for Ye Ming to be safe and sound, and for her to leave this place with him. She hadn't thought about anything else yet.

Ye Ming smiled: "You can't live without a goal. Everyone should have a goal to live in this world. Only with a goal can people unleash strong courage and motivation, and even when faced with cruel and desperate situations, they can muster the courage to live on tenaciously."

"After all, the anthem of humanity is the anthem of courage."

"Huh, now's the time. Set a goal for yourself."

I want to continue following you.

She almost blurted out this wish, but the naive girl ultimately lacked a bit of courage.

"I, I don't know."

The girl's voice was very low.

"I see."

Ye Ming looked at the girl with her head down, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Then, I'll give you a goal."

"Huh?" The girl looked up in surprise, only to find Ye Ming's expression more serious than ever before.

"Hua, I saved your life, didn't I? Without me, you would be dead. So, try to complete the goal I gave you, as a way of repaying my life-saving grace, how about that?"

"Mmm," the girl replied obediently.

"Then—let us protect the land of China."

Ye Ming gazed intently into the girl's eyes and said in a deep voice, "I come from a place called Huaxia. Huaxia is a country located on the land of China. That is my hometown. I hope you can strive to become stronger, and after you become strong enough, go and find the land of China, and then protect it."

"You must always keep our promise, strive to live on, strive to become stronger, strong enough to protect the Divine Continent, until we meet again or you die of old age. Are you willing to accept this goal?"

"I……"

I am just an ordinary person, and I have no ability to protect a continent.

Reason told the girl to say this, but when she looked into Ye Ming's clear and deep eyes, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"I'm willing. I hate people who break promises the most, so I will definitely keep this promise."

The girl made a serious promise.

"Really? I'm relieved."

Seeing the girl's serious expression, Ye Ming breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction.

"I also want to make a promise with you."

The girl bravely raised her head and looked at Ye Ming, her firm gaze tinged with a hint of shyness.

"Oh? What agreement?" Ye Ming asked curiously.

"Live!"

The girl stared intently into Ye Ming's eyes. "No matter what, you must live well."

Ye Ming smiled: "Okay, I promise you, I will live well. You and I will definitely leave here safely and live well."

"This is a promise! I hate people who break promises the most, so you must live well."

"Yes, I promise, I will definitely keep my promise."

Ye Ming nodded seriously, then said, "It's getting late, let's get some rest, we still have a long journey ahead tomorrow."

"When we wake up tomorrow morning, we will head in the direction of the rising sun."

"Head towards the direction where the sun rises."

"Why do we have to repeat it again?" the girl asked, puzzled.

"Because important things should be said three times, and I still need to say it one more time." Ye Ming looked at the girl. "Alright, stop packing. There's no rush. We have a long road ahead, and we can slowly do what we want to do."

After spending a few days together, the girl had gotten used to Ye Ming saying strange things from time to time, and didn't think much of it. She made up her bedding and lay down on the floor.

Ye Ming also laid out the bedding and lay down next to the girl.

The air suddenly became quiet.

The girl secretly glanced at Ye Ming. Ye Ming was motionless under the sheet, breathing evenly, as if he had fallen asleep.

The girl couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Although she was exhausted both physically and mentally, her mind seemed to be filled with a jumble of thoughts, making her feel restless and agitated.

She turned to look out the window; the night sky was still glowing red from the firelight, and the chaotic, oppressive darkness had become the city's eternal landscape.

Ye Ming, who was fast asleep, seemed to be awakened by the sound of her turning over. He hugged the blanket and rolled over to look at her quietly.

The girl gazed back at those deep eyes that seemed to see right through people, remaining silent and unusually quiet.

A subtle emotion lingered within the tranquility.

A long-lost sense of sentimentality.

What will tomorrow bring?

Will the night end? Are there still living people in the outside world?

"Want to hold hands?" Ye Ming suddenly asked, his hand already extending from under the sheet.

After a while, the girl grasped it.

It's so heartwarming.

…………

"Wow, I didn't expect there were still people alive in this city."

An unfamiliar female voice rang out above her head, startling the sleeping girl, who abruptly sat up in a defensive posture.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person," the woman said.

The girl looked closely and saw a woman with red hair standing in front of her, smiling at her.

The girl paused, then looked around, only to find that there were only the two of them in the room; Ye Ming, who had been sleeping next to her, was nowhere to be seen.

A tremendous panic consumed the girl's heart.

"Excuse me, have you seen a young man carrying a sword?" The girl's voice trembled.

"No, you're the only survivor in this city," the woman said after a moment of silence.

Upon hearing this answer, the girl felt as if she had fallen into an abyss, her whole body turning ice-cold.

The red-haired woman's voice continued.

"There's no way around it. Honkai is such a terrifying thing. Once it erupts, no matter how strong or weak it is, as long as you don't have resistance to Honkai, you will be corrupted by it and turn into those monsters outside."

"Come with me, and I can teach you how to fight against the Honkai, giving you the power to protect those you care about."

The power to protect those who are important to you.

The girl raised her head, and a glimmer of light appeared in her dull eyes.

Okay, I'll give you a goal.

Protect the land of China.

You must always keep our promise, strive to live, strive to become stronger, strong enough to protect the Divine Continent, until we meet again or you die of old age. Are you willing to accept this goal?

What a despicable guy.

Surprisingly, surprisingly—

Fu Hua stood up.

Where are we going?

“Let’s go to the base, the direction the sun rises from, that’s where I came from.” The red-haired woman scratched her head. “It’s strange, I haven’t encountered a single living Honkai Beast along the way. I don’t know what happened. Let’s hurry up and leave to avoid any danger.”

"Hey, why are you crying?" The red-haired woman looked at the tearful girl and hurriedly tried to help.

"No, it's nothing."

The girl wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve again and again, but she couldn't wipe them away.

"I'll go with you. I want to fight against the Honkai. I want to have the power to fulfill my promise."

The girl was right behind the red-haired woman.

No one knew that the girl who was determined to keep her promise was about to embark on a journey that would last tens of thousands of years.

………………

In reality, in the bedroom, the invisible fluctuations slowly disappeared. Behind Ye Ming, Yae Sakura and Okita Souji, who had read the entire memory, had tears in their eyes.

“This is our past.” Fu Hua’s voice was very soft. “Now, you can believe me, right?”

Okita Souji and Yae Sakura nodded repeatedly.

"Then, you should go back first. We can talk about it tomorrow."

Yae Sakura and Okita Souji left, but Fu Hua stood behind Ye Ming, quietly watching him for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.

She grabbed Ye Ming's arm and carried him on her back, just like Wu Wannian.