Chapter 54: Guard Officer Lin Xuefeng
Zhou Qian bent down and carefully picked up the small ice sculpture.
Despite being in a room with a slightly warm temperature, the sculpture showed no sign of melting. The snow-like frost patterns on it were still clear and dreamlike.
Only an exceptionally powerful water-type ability user could have done this.
The sculpture was icy cold to the touch—bone-chilling—which only confirmed his suspicions further. Then he stared at the line of characters on it, his gaze suddenly sharp:
“Thank you for the rose — Lin Xuefeng.”
“Lin Xuefeng? Officer Lin?!” Zhou Qian exclaimed. “How do you know him?!”
In that instant, a flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind—Huai Yu living alone in the wilderness, those wealthy and possibly powerful relatives of hers… All the scattered suspicions started intertwining.
Huai Yu, however, looked a bit surprised—Officer?
She wanted to ask about it, but if Lin Xuefeng was someone widely known, asking questions might reveal too much about herself.
After thinking it over, she finally said in a soft voice, “That night it rained heavily… he passed by here. He bought a handful of soybeans from me for 200 points and asked if I could give him a rose. Said it would be romantic.”
“Then he left that behind.”
A heavy storm… a silent night… and the next day, a fugitive mysteriously appeared at the camp entrance with a shriveled-up head…
Zhou Qian immediately pushed aside all his earlier assumptions. Only one series of clues connected in his mind now.
Even if he didn’t know the full scope of what went on behind the scenes, he knew that even if Lin Xuefeng retired due to injuries, he should still be in the imperial capital.
Six years into the Cataclysm, he was the strongest water-type ability user—no, the strongest ability user, period.
It was said he retired by choice.
But if that’s the case, why would he suddenly travel so far to Huacheng… and do it in secret?
Zhou Qian suddenly looked up, his gaze landing outside on the Rose Corridor.
That corridor, as solid as a city wall, guarded Huacheng from the vast wilderness that stretched out toward the rest of Xia Country.
Injured and retired… That was all the news ever said. But now he realized—
The hero had already made his choice.
To fall in battle, unnoticed by the world—so this is Lin Xuefeng?
Everyone exchanged glances, and the atmosphere grew heavy.
After a while, Zhou Qian gently crouched and placed the small ice sculpture back down with extra care, making sure the angle was just right.
Huai Yu hesitated, then asked cautiously, “Will he… be in danger?”
Zhou Qian shook his head and forced a smile. “No.”
Before she could ask more, he quickly changed the subject:
“The flower—you got it from the Rose Corridor?”
If so, then her plant affinity was seriously high. In all these years, they’d never managed to get close to it.
Huai Yu nodded. “She was so beautiful, I just tried asking… and brought one back to put in a vase.”
Zhou Qian was speechless.
But his mind was anything but calm. Finally, he waved his hand, and everyone silently began filing out of the house.
Just as they were about to leave, he suddenly asked, “Where are the ginsengs you planted?”
Huai Yu paused, then pointed to a gray square brick on the floor.
There was a neat row of them. Each brick had a hole filled with dark soil, out of which sprouted a few thin stems with scattered leaves—looking absolutely nothing like ginseng.
Everyone turned to look and then fell into an even more awkward silence.
Zhou Qian couldn’t help but ask, “What’s their mutation level?”
“Twenty-three,” Huai Yu said cheerfully. “I bought eight for only 20 points!”
Twenty-three. That’s… a cursed number even dogs wouldn’t chew on. No wonder those plants looked more like sickly weeds or malformed carrot sprouts than actual ginseng.
Everyone fell into deeper silence.
Zhou Qian asked curiously, “Where’d you get the soil?”
Huai Yu lowered her voice and pointed outside. “Um… under the Rose Corridor… I thought the soil might be more fertile there…”
Everyone: …
The tension in the room finally broke. Zhou Qian let out a long sigh and instructed, “Record the cause.”
Then he turned to Huai Yu and half-scolded, half-advised her:
“Plants are unpredictable. Don’t rely too much on your affinity and take such bold risks. If something really happens, you won’t even have time to call for help.”
Huai Yu nodded obediently, realizing that tonight’s trouble was her doing. She softly replied:
“Sorry, big brother… I won’t dig anymore next time.”
Zhou Qian sighed again.
After finishing the report, everyone filed out of the hut one by one.
Huai Yu trailed behind Zhou Qian, head down, following him step by step. Suddenly, a warm hand pressed on her head and tousled her hair like petting a puppy.
“These ginsengs are pretty nice.”
“But don’t plant them again next time.”
Huai Yu thought of the ginsengs buried in the bricks, then remembered how, just as she started stimulating the first one’s growth, she had to pour all her power into calming the Rose Corridor…
She sighed deeply.
So exhausting.
Just as she finished purifying and speeding up the growth of the ginseng, the alarm went off. To calm the Rose Corridor, she had used up all her strength.
She didn’t bow, but it felt even more draining than bowing.
Afraid the ginseng would be discovered, she quickly buried it in the brick with mud before the Defense Forces arrived. Now, at least, it was over.
The Rose Corridor is way too greedy.
Next time… yeah, no way I’m doing this again.
Everyone got back in the vehicles. As Zhou Qian was about to close the door, Huai Yu finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “Big brother, Lin Xuefeng…?”
She trailed off.
But Zhou Qian seemed to understand. He reassured her:
“It’s alright. He came here for personal reasons. It has nothing to do with you.”
“You’ve done a good job keeping things secret. We’ll report it quietly, without drawing attention. We don’t want other retired soldiers following his example…”
“And also…”
“Huai Yu, Lin Xuefeng fought on the frontlines for six full years of the Cataclysm. He’s been injured countless times. Even though… he retired due to injury, to all of us, he will always be our Guard Officer.”
His expression darkened, voice nearly a whisper:
So he likes flowers… If you’re lucky enough to see him again… if we’re lucky enough to ever find his—
He swallowed his words, then smiled at Huai Yu. “Grown-up stuff. Kids shouldn’t worry. You won’t grow tall that way.”
Huai Yu looked down at herself, trying to lighten the mood. “I should be around 165 cm now, right? That’s tall enough, isn’t it?”
Zhou Qian laughed. “You still look like a skinny teen, like you’re sixteen or seventeen. Poor thing! Take better care of yourself and eat well.”
He got in the car and reminded her again:
“Don’t train your ability. Don’t go near any heavily polluted sources. Every power increase comes with endless pain.”
“Huai Yu, a new life has begun. You need to live as long as you possibly can.”
“Surviving is what matters most.”
