Chapter Thirty-Seven: Leaving the City

Cradling his already sleeping little sister in his arms, Long Yu returned home. His parents had finished dinner early and were already resting. Quietly, he laid his sister on the bed, tucked her in, and gazed at her peaceful sleeping face, where a faint smile played at the corners of her lips. The sight filled Long Yu with profound contentment.

To be able to give his family a good life through his own efforts—was this not the greatest achievement in life?

Leaving his sister’s room, Long Yu returned to his own. Silver moonlight streamed in through the window, the stars faint in the luminous sky, while the sparse calls of insects and birds outside created a dreamlike atmosphere. It truly felt like a fairyland.

How wonderful it would be if life could always remain like this! This was what life was meant to be.

He heaved a deep sigh, and as his mind drifted, Long Yu soon slipped into slumber.

Early the next morning, Long Yu, still fast asleep, was woken by his sister. The little rascal had climbed on top of him, bouncing up and down while he slept, making sure he could not ignore her.

“Luo Wanqing!” Long Yu’s voice stretched with a trace of annoyance from being woken.

It had been so long since he’d slept so soundly. Out in the world, he was constantly on edge, always anxious. At last, he could rest well, only to be rudely awakened—not by his own body, but by his little sister.

Seeing that her brother was a bit angry, Luo Wanqing pouted, feeling aggrieved. “It’s already so late, and you still won’t get up, and now you’re scolding me.”

The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt, until she was on the verge of tears.

Watching his sister on the brink of crying, guilt washed over Long Yu. He hadn’t seen her for so long, and now, after just a short reunion, he was already scolding her. He knew he shouldn’t have.

“All right, all right, it’s my fault. I’ll come play with you, okay?” Long Yu couldn’t bear to see his sister cry and hurried to comfort her.

“Yay! Yay!” The moment she heard her brother would play with her, Luo Wanqing’s mood shifted instantly to delight, as if she hadn’t nearly burst into tears moments before.

Long Yu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly; once again, he’d been tricked by this little one. Children truly are natural actors—especially pretty little girls, who are born knowing how to act spoiled. He wondered where she could have learned it.

After a quick wash, breakfast was already prepared and served by the household staff. The family gathered happily around the table, laughter ringing out now and then—mostly thanks to Luo Wanqing’s infectious energy.

After breakfast, Long Yu took his sister out to play, keeping the promise he’d made that morning. Their parents both went about their own business—his mother tidying the house, as she preferred to do things herself despite the staff, for idleness bored her.

His father, too, returned to his room to busy himself with who-knows-what.

Long Yu had only just reached the front door with his sister when he was startled to find a crowd waiting outside. As soon as he appeared, Song Lei hurried over to report.

These people had all come to visit Long Yu: army commanders, political officers, and leaders from various departments. In fact, nearly every official of importance in the safe zone was gathered at his door. They had heard Long Yu was resting, so none dared disturb him, quietly waiting outdoors.

With so many people, Long Yu knew it would be impossible to see them all. Seizing the moment before they noticed him, he instructed Song Lei to find some reason to send everyone away—meeting each one would drive him mad.

Only after Song Lei had led the crowd away did Long Yu dare step outside.

“All right, we can go out now. Where would you like to go, Wanqing? Today, your brother will do nothing but accompany you.”

On his second day home, Long Yu had decided not to do anything else—just to spend time with his parents and sister.

“Brother, I want to go outside the city.”

“Why do you want to go outside?” Long Yu was puzzled by his sister’s request; outside were only mutant beasts—what could be so appealing?

“I haven’t left the safe zone since I came here. Mom and Dad always say it’s dangerous outside and never let me go out…”

Hearing her explanation, Long Yu finally understood. His sister was simply curious after being cooped up for so long. Curiosity, after all, is a child’s nature.

“All right, all right. Today, your brother is all yours. Wherever you want to go, we’ll go.”

…

A short while later, Long Yu was already outside the safe zone with his sister. The further they walked, the fewer beast-hunters were around. Eventually, there was no one else in sight.

Luo Wanqing was completely unaware of any danger, wandering here and there, inspecting everything with childlike wonder. To her, it was like a spring outing.

She didn’t realize that any dangerous creatures had already been quietly dealt with by Long Yu.

They walked on, and soon gunshots echoed from not far away. Within Long Yu’s range of perception, he detected several familiar presences. “Who could it be?” he wondered. The auras were vaguely recognizable but not entirely clear.

Since the people were acquaintances, Long Yu decided not to leave and instead moved closer to see what was happening.

He hadn’t gone far before he saw a group of people engaged in battle.

Among the two fighting groups was Li Guangjin and his companions—the very people Long Yu had met upon first arriving in the safe zone, which, in fact, had only been yesterday.

“Li Guangjin, hand over the mutant horse, and I’ll let you live,” a burly, bald man growled in a thick accent, his expression fierce.

“Why should we give you the prey we hunted? If you want it, come and take it!” Li Guangjin retorted defiantly.

“You hunted it? We found that prey first—you just stole it from us!” the bald man lied without batting an eye.

In truth, the prey had nothing to do with him; his group hadn’t found it first. They had merely seen Li Guangjin’s team bring down a mutant horse and, knowing their own group was stronger, decided to seize it by force.

Such robberies were common among hunting parties—might makes right.

“You… you’re shameless!” Li Xiaolu, unable to contain herself any longer, cried out. She was still young, always protected by her father, and had never been hardened by the world. After suffering such injustice, she could not hold back her anger.

Her pretty face puffed up in outrage, as if she had suffered a grievous wrong.

Seeing her so upset, the others in her group grew even angrier, each wishing they could charge forward and fight. But reason held them back.

To act rashly now would only make things worse—they might lose more than just a mutant horse.