The snowstorm was still raging, and another layer of snow blew over. The snow immediately turned the little girl's hair and half of her face white, but she kept smiling.
At the last moment of her life, she didn't think about the inheritance of the hero's knife, nor her pitiful background, but the group of children. "This rice … is it enough for them to walk to Zhiyun Village?"
The protector's heart was in a mess, and even his voice became nervous. "It … it should be enough!"
The little girl stared at him. "If it's not enough, can you help them?"
Although she was dirty, her eyes were incomparably clear. Facing these eyes, the protector's heart trembled. He nodded slowly and firmly. "I'll help!"
The little girl smiled again. "Thank you!"
After saying these three words, her eyes slowly closed, and the weak aura also disappeared.
"Little girl, little girl, little girl …" The protector screamed crazily and shook the little girl's shoulders desperately. "Little girl, hold on, wake up, wake up …"
It was a pity that the little girl would never wake up. Her thirteen-year-old life was forever fixed in this barren land.
With a thud, the cloth and herbs in Ding Wenhe's hand fell to the ground. She also rushed over and cried, "Sister, wake up, wake up …"
A group of children also ran over and knelt on the snow, crying silently.
The little girl kept smiling, as if telling them that even if she was gone, there was still hope.
Tomorrow, it would definitely be a sunny day.
The snowstorm didn't stop. Waves of snow continued to fall on the little girl's body, and her small body was quickly frozen into an ice sculpture.
The guardian gazed at the cloth bags on the rock in a daze. The 13 bags of rice and noodles were exchanged by the little girl at the cost of her own life. If someone said that he would exchange his own life for 13 bags of rice two days ago, the guardian would definitely think that he was a lunatic.
But now, there was really such a 'lunatic' doing such a thing. Perhaps, she wasn't a lunatic. She was a real person, because only a real person would do a good deed that they thought was worth it without hesitation. Only this kind of person was worthy of being called a person.
From beginning to end, the little girl didn't say her name. But was it important to have a name or not? This was the protector's own words.
Yes, it didn't matter if she had a name or not. What mattered was whether she dared, whether she would go, and whether she would do it.
What have I been doing all this time?
The protector looked down at his podao. What I've been doing is standing here. In name, I'm protecting the village, but in reality, I'm watching these refugees die tragically one by one, and then feel heartache, indifference, and numbness. That's all.
I've been standing here for nine years. Is what I've done not as a protector as a protector of the protector's protector?
What kind of protector am I? I'm just a puppet waiting to die. I'm not even as good as a child.
The protector looked at the bag of rice on the rock in a daze. His heart was trembling, contracting, and convulsing. The intense pain caused his consciousness to fall into a trance.
The little girl's final voice seemed to ring in his ear again. "I said, you are different from the protectors of other places. You are a good person because you are willing to stay here for nine years to protect them. You are different …"
"How can I be different?" the protector murmured.
The voice seemed to be answering him. "Because your heart will hurt. People who feel heartache are good people. Don't let them down …"
Another gust of wind and snow hit him head-on. The protector cried quietly, his tears blurring his vision.
However, the tears on his face were frozen by the wind and snow. Only then did the protector realize that the cold weather was still worsening. If it continued like this, all the problems could no longer be solved by food. He was an origin ability user and was not afraid of the cold, but this group of children was not.
I can't save everyone here, but it shouldn't be a problem for me to save the remaining children, right?
Thinking of this, the protector turned to Ding Wenhe and said, "Wenhe, pack your things. You will go to Zhiyun Village at dawn."
Ding Wenhe hesitated. "But what about you, Protector?"
The protector said, "I'll be back soon. You wait for me here."
He was also heading in the direction of the main city at the border. He was gone for a long time and did not return until noon.
When he came back, he was in a similar situation as the little girl. He was also staggering and stumbling. The worst thing was that he was seriously injured. There were visible wounds all over his body. He looked like a man of blood.
Ding Wenhe exclaimed and ran forward. "Protector, Protector, what's wrong with you?"
The protector coughed violently. What came out of his mouth was no longer white gas, but blood.
"I'll go get medicine!" Ding Wenhe was frightened.
The protector grabbed her and stuffed an exquisite box into her hands. "Go, go, get out of here quickly!"
"What is this?" Ding Wenhe didn't understand.
The protector panted even harder. "I don't have money … I can't give you travel expenses … and I can't see the City Lord … Today is the City Lord's birthday … I robbed the gifts of those rich people halfway … There is a pearl in this box … Take it to the town in Zhiyun Village to exchange … You must live well … Don't let that little girl down … Treat her hero's knife well …"
"Lord Protector, Lord Protector …" Ding Wenhe wanted to help him up, but he was pushed away.
The protector could no longer stand steadily and sat down in the snow. "Go, the guards will be here soon. If they catch up, we will all die."
Ding Wenhe quickly turned around and called the group of children. Everyone hurriedly packed up their belongings.
The protector also leaned back against the huge rock. The ice sculpture of the little girl's corpse sat beside him. The smile on the corpse's face never faded. The protector also showed a rare smile. "Little girl … cough cough … Did you see?
I helped them … You can rest assured now … They will have a tomorrow … There will be hope … "
Blood had already dyed the snow red. The protector's consciousness was gradually weakening, and his vision was becoming more and more blurry. However, his heart was unusually calm. He had never been so calm in the past nine years because he had done something that a protector should do. It was something that was filled with great significance. It made his life no longer dim, and his life was filled with brilliance. Whether or not he could survive was no longer important.
The meaning of life was whether it shone brightly or not, not how long you could live.
The protector's body was gradually turning cold, and his life force was slowly fading away. Just as he was about to close his eyes, the last thing he saw was that almost all the children had left. Only Ding Wenhe and the child called Xiao Meng remained. The two of them were crying as they knelt down in the distance. They respectfully kowtowed to him three times before they left, holding each other's arms …
The image suddenly twisted and spun. The telepathic thoughts stopped transmitting. Ding Meng withdrew the telepathic link.
Although Lu Qing's eyes were still closed, her face was filled with tears. After a long time, she could finally speak. "That child called Xiao Meng, are you Mr. Ding Meng?"
Ding Meng did not answer her. He slowly stood up and walked to the window. He looked into the distance silently. After a long time, he spoke in a low voice. "We left for a long time, but Sister Wenhe was worried about the protector and ran back."
Lu Qing quickly asked, "What happened after that?"
Ding Meng said expressionlessly, "The protector died. His limbs were cut off with a sharp weapon. He froze to death in the snow."
Lu Qing said, "But you all survived."
Ding Meng was still expressionless. "We had sixteen children. In the end, only Sister Wenhe and I survived."
Lu Qing asked in shock, "What about your other companions?"
Ding Meng said, "The snowstorm was too strong. Many people couldn't hold on halfway. They collapsed and never got up again."
Lu Qing was speechless. She could understand Ding Meng's feelings. Along the way, Ding Meng had been given a chance to live by many descendants of Hero's Knife. These people had written chapters of heroism, unrestrained, bravely moving forward, and survival in a desperate situation.
Many of them were ordinary people, but they had done many extraordinary things. Just like the little girl of the thirteenth generation and the protector, Ding Meng might not even know their names, but they would always live in Ding Meng's heart.
However, Ding Meng was not willing to talk too much about the past. He changed his words and said, "Miss Lu, you should be back to normal now. Try circulating your Origin Energy."
Lu Qing nodded. She closed her eyes again and circulated the Origin Energy in her body.
About five minutes later, she opened her eyes. There was an indescribable radiance on her face. "Thank you!"
Ding Meng nodded. "You're welcome. It was nothing."
Lu Qing stared at him. There was a complicated look in her eyes. Through Ding Meng's telepathic message, she admired Ding Meng's strength and bravery. She also sympathized with Ding Meng's painful past. She also admired Ding Meng's courage and courage.
Lu Qing slowly got up and walked toward Ding Meng. "Mr. Ding Meng, I have a presumptuous request."
Ding Meng said indifferently, "Go ahead."
Lu Qing walked in front of him and said emotionally, "I want to hug you. Can I?"
Ding Meng did not answer. His silence meant that he had acquiesced.
Lu Qing moved closer to him. She opened her arms and gently hugged his shoulders. This was what she had asked for. This also meant that she had been cured. She was willing to trust a man. In fact, Ding Meng was indeed worthy of her trust.
However, this hug was a little awkward because she was much taller than Ding Meng. Even if she lowered her head, her chin was still resting on Ding Meng's head.
Ding Meng was not nervous in the face of this warm and soft body. He could feel that the distance between the two of them had narrowed. He had also witnessed Lu Qing's painful experience through the telepathic message. Therefore, he gently patted Lu Qing's back and stroked her soft hair.
"It's okay. It's all in the past. You're completely better now." Ding Meng comforted her.
However, the next moment, the tranquil and warm atmosphere in the hall was destroyed by a voice from the second floor. "Ah ha, I knew that your relationship wasn't simple. Hugging each other in the middle of the night. Hehe, I caught you."