"Do you know how extensive this beast swarm is? If we really tried to perform the spirit transit ritual for all of them, it wouldn’t be a joke. Places like Yongning City with concentrated populations are manageable, but what about those remote mountain villages? Do you have any idea how many unrecorded little villages there are? To visit each one would probably take half a year."
With Feng Yuan’s straightforward refusal, Mo Ling felt somewhat wronged. Feng Yuan could probably guess that by now, Mo Ling had come to consider him a friend, otherwise she would definitely not have made such a request. However, Feng Yuan truly did not want to be busy with such matters for half a year. At that moment, as the atmosphere turned eerie, the phantom of Agunas spoke up.
"Why not attach the spirit transit spell to the Blue Butterfly Demon?"
"Attach it to the Blue Butterfly Demon?"
Reminded by Agunas, Feng Yuan took a closer look at the Blue Butterfly Demon perched on Mo Ling’s shoulder, his expression a mix of puzzlement and surprise. After a while, Feng Yuan said,
"It’s possible, but would Mo Li allow Mo Ling to wander around Cangyun Mountain Range?"
"Is it possible for Xiao Die to transit those spirits?"
Mo Ling looked at Feng Yuan with some excitement. After observing the Blue Butterfly Demon for a while, Feng Yuan said,
"More or less. That Blue Butterfly Demon possesses a carrying trait, which allows it to bear a spell or a special move. The spirit transit spell could indeed be attached to it, and as long as I maintain a constant energy supply, it will continue to release the transit effect around it."
"I don’t have a problem with supplying energy, but I definitely won’t be traveling with you throughout Cangyun Mountain Range. If you really want to do this, you’ll have to take it with you and transit the spirits on your own."
Upon hearing Feng Yuan’s explanation, Mo Ling answered without hesitation, to which Feng Yuan asked with a hint of surprise,
"Aren’t you going to think it over?"
"No need! I...I want to do something for them, and this is something I can do!"
"Strange, I remember you not being so naive. Could something have gone wrong?"
Seeing Feng Yuan’s puzzled look, Hu Weng sighed and explained,
"When we first arrived in Yongning, it was the commoners who helped us settle down successfully, and during that period, Xiao Ling also received a lot of their help, so..."
"I see. I thought somebody had possessed you."
Hearing Feng Yuan’s words, Yao Yin looked at him with a face full of resignation, as she wouldn’t forget how Feng Yuan had tricked her the same way in the past. Seeing Mo Ling as if about to ask, Yao Yin glared at Feng Yuan and said,
"Don’t mind him, he’s just trying to bamboozle you with a term you don’t understand."
Mo Ling glanced at Feng Yuan and then at Yao Yin before saying meekly,
Seeing Mo Ling give up on her curiosity, Feng Yuan said with slight discontent,
"Hey! You’re killing a young girl’s curiosity here!"
"Because of curiosity I got deceived by you? I still remember everything you fooled me with."
"Tsk, holding a grudge like that."
"Shouldn’t we get going? If we dawdle any longer, we probably won’t make it to Yongning City by evening."
Guo Huai, seeing that the trio was still arguing, couldn’t help but interject. After all, they were supposed to arrive in Yongning around four in the afternoon according to their plan, but now, due to Feng Yuan’s diversions along the way, it would take even longer.
Feng Yuan casually threw a golden speck of light, which landed on the Blue Butterfly Demon’s wings, coating them in a golden glow.
"Spirit transit. Now that the Blue Butterfly Demon has it, on the way it’ll handle the transit duties~"
Feng Yuan said as he patted Xiao Ji,
"Take me for a spin in the sky?"
Xiao Ji chirped joyfully, leaping out of Feng Yuan’s arms. Seeing Feng Yuan climb atop a large black bird and take to the skies, everyone hastily got on the carriage.
"I didn’t expect it to be so severely destroyed..."
Gazing upon the ruins that were once Yongning City, Yao Yin murmured softly. Feng Yuan appeared nonchalant, casually surveying the surroundings, while Guo Huai, who had stayed in Mo Li’s estate since arriving in Yongning, wasn’t as emotionally affected. Mo Ling, holding Yao Yin’s hand, choked up as she recounted what each place used to be and which people used to do what there.
The corpses in the Yongning ruins had been collected by soldiers sent by Mo Li and buried in a newly excavated graveyard outside the city. The soldiers, native to Yongning, widened their eyes, trying to recognize the identities of every single body. Feng Yuan, holding Xiao Ji in his arms, walked alone across the large graveyard that had newly appeared outside the city. Looking at the nameless tombstones before him, Feng Yuan sighed,
"At least, let’s leave your names behind..."
As Feng Yuan’s hand gently swept over a tombstone, it started to crumble. The next moment, a name and life story appeared on the tombstone. Like an infection, many nearby nameless tombstones began to crumble as well, and those without names, incorrectly named, or lacking life stories were all corrected and completed.
Feng Yuan raised his head and noticed a young soldier kneeling in front of a tombstone. He walked over and gently patted the soldier’s shoulder, saying,
"Everyone is busy, and yet you sneak off to slack here? That’s not right."
"What’s wrong with you?"
When he got no response, Feng Yuan was puzzled and after a moment, the soldier said, guilt-ridden,
"Why... why am I still alive..."
Feng Yuan silently looked at him before saying,
"Isn’t it good to be alive?"
"But... everyone else is dead... and... I survived..."
"What are you doubting? They didn’t protect you on purpose, and you didn’t flee from the battle."
With a sigh, Feng Yuan said helplessly,
"You’re alive simply because of the protection charm I left on you back then."
"As for why I didn’t leave a protection charm on the others, it’s because I didn’t know them. You, I just thought were interesting, that’s all."
After persuading the soldier somewhat discontentedly for a while, Feng Yuan said,
"If you wish to continue , it’s up to you. Anyway, I only set a protection charm on you back then because I found you intriguing. Your current state disappoints me; I had thought you would turn out to be an interesting fellow."
Feng Yuan paid no heed and turned to leave. After walking some distance, Feng Yuan chuckled self-mockingly, saying,
"Indeed, every person is unique..."
After making a round of the graveyard, Feng Yuan turned back to look for Mo Ling and the others. When he left the graveyard, he noticed that the young soldier who had been kneeling there was nowhere to be seen.
"I hope he can come to terms with it..."
"What is she planning to do?"
When he returned to Mo Ling and the others, Feng Yuan saw Mo Ling had changed into clothes suitable for travelling in the wilderness and was a bit puzzled. Yao Yin glanced at Feng Yuan and said,
"She plans to help the souls of those who perished in the beast tide cross over."
"Are you leaving now?"
"Yes... Staying here is pointless, so it’s better to go help those poor souls."
Mo Ling looked up at Feng Yuan and said, while he scratched his head and then turned to Hu Weng to ask,
"Does Mo Li know about this?"
"His Highness is not yet aware, but he did say earlier that as long as it’s not a dangerous place, we don’t need to concern ourselves with what Xiao Ling wants to do."
"Then it’s up to you. I’m heading back to my courtyard. If there’s an emergency, you can use this to find me."
Feng Yuan lightly patted Hu Weng and Mo Ling’s shoulders, and a golden rune appeared on the backs of both their hands before swiftly disappearing. Mo Ling curiously checked the back of her hand and, finding nothing there, looked at Feng Yuan with some confusion,
"What did you just do?"
"Just try to activate it with your power, and you’ll know. You should be able to sense the rune, right?"
Curiously, Mo Ling tried to channel her power into the rune, and as the rune gradually lit up on her hand, she abruptly stopped channeling and looked at Feng Yuan with a complex expression,
"Well, I’m off then. You all should go too. Xiao Ji, I’m leaving you to it."
Feng Yuan used his fingers to scratch Xiao Ji’s soft belly. After a while, Xiao Ji hopped out of Feng Yuan’s arms, transformed into a large black bird, and Feng Yuan climbed onto its back. He then said to Guo Huai and Yao Yin,
"Who wants to go with you, it’s not like... hmmph!"
Yao Yin glanced at Feng Yuan and spoke with dissatisfaction.