Larvitar seemed to sense the overwhelming sorrow and despair emanating from the depths of Zhu Zhuqing's soul. It shuffled forward on its short legs, cautiously approaching her, and gently rubbed its hard yet warm head against her cold little leg.
Its crimson eyes were filled with tenderness and a kind of clumsy desire to comfort her, though it did not know how.
Zhu Zhuqing trembled slightly at the subtle touch, startled but she did not pull away.
She kept her head lowered, but her tense, trembling shoulders seemed to relax just a tiny bit because of the little creature's silent comfort.
Silence spread through the night, heavy enough to suffocate.
After a long time, so long that Lin Xia thought she would not speak again, her voice finally sounded, thick with tears and carrying an almost humble plea, carefully breaking the heart-wrenching stillness:
"Brother Lin Xia in the next two days if you're not busy…"
She paused, as if trying hard to steady her voice.
"Can I still come play with you?"
She asked so softly, so uncertainly, as if begging for a brief and precious gift.
Zhu Zhuqing lifted her little face. Though tears still flowed, her black eyes washed clean by them, now held a stubborn, desperate hope.
Lin Xia's heart tightened painfully at that look.
He clearly understood the meaning behind her simple request, these might be the last carefree days of her life.
She was trying to borrow happiness in advance, trying to find a temporary refuge from the shadow that was destined to engulf her.
Refuse?
How could he possibly refuse?
Lin Xia fell silent.
That silence was not hesitation, but the surge of sorrow and helplessness within him.
He could not change the course of fate, not now.
What he could offer this little girl, who was about to fall into darkness, seemed to be only this brief, fragile peace.
At last, he slowly, solemnly nodded.
"Alright."
Just one word.
His voice was low, yet carried the weight of a promise.
This "alright" was not perfunctory, nor merely comforting, it was the only genuine response he could give her at this moment: permission for a brief stop, a moment of rest along her desperate path.
Hearing that word, the despair in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes seemed to fade slightly, replaced by a faint light, like someone clutching at a lifeline with tragic determination.
She nodded vigorously. The forced smile on her face became a little more real, though her tears had yet to stop.
"Mm!"
She responded firmly, her voice carrying a sense of relief and fragile contentment, as if she had just escaped disaster.
Zhu Zhuqing looked deeply at Lin Xia once more, as though trying to etch into her heart the image of this brother who had agreed to accompany her through these final days of happiness.
Then she bent down and, for the first time, gently reached out to stroke Larvitar's small head, covered in its dark red sheen.
"Larvitar thank you for playing with me…"
Her voice was soft, carrying a strange tenderness.
"Larvitar…"
Larvitar responded with a low cry, nuzzling her small hand obediently with its head.
After that, Zhu Zhuqing did not linger, nor did she say anything more.
She turned around, her small figure carrying a loneliness and heaviness far beyond her age, walking step by step toward the courtyard gate.
Moonlight and lamplight intertwined, stretching her shadow long and solitary, gradually merging into the deeper darkness beyond the doorway until she disappeared from sight.
Only Lin Xia and Larvitar remained in the courtyard.
The night breeze seemed colder.
Lin Xia stood where he was for a long time without moving.
He gazed in the direction Zhu Zhuqing had left, his eyes deep as an abyss, emotions churning within.
Seeing him like this, Larvitar tugged at his clothes, letting out a worried, soft cry.
"Larvitar?"
Lin Xia raised his hand and gently stroked Larvitar.
The dark golden dragon-pattern mark on the little one's chest seemed to flicker faintly, conveying a trace of warm, steady strength.
"I'm fine."
Lin Xia spoke in a low voice, more as if to himself.
He took a deep breath of the cool night air, and his gaze gradually became sharp and resolute.
The fate of the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire?
The imperial power struggles of the Dai family?
He neither could control them nor wished to be drawn into them.
But at this moment, the tears and desperate plea of a six-year-old girl had pierced his heart like a thorn.
He could not change her Martial Soul awakening, nor could he stop the possible pursuit and killing in the future.
What he had promised was merely her companionship for the next two days.
Yet in Lin Xia's heart, a vague thought began to take root.
If the day truly came, when Zhu Zhuqing was forced by fate into a dead end, could he reach out and help?
Not for the power struggles of the Star Luo Empire, but simply for that tear-streaked face under the moonlight, trying so hard to smile?
Lin Xia looked up at the dark night sky, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
"Strength…"
he murmured softly.
"It's still not enough."
As if sensing the turbulence and determination in Lin Xia's heart, Larvitar raised its little head and directly took out a piece of Sun Essence, offering it to him.
"Larvitar!"
Lin Xia extended a finger and lightly tapped Larvitar's forehead armor, which had grown harder and now faintly glowed with a dark red dragon-blood sheen. The touch was warm and full of strength.
"Thank you, Larvitar."
His voice was quiet, yet it echoed clearly in the courtyard, carrying a strange sense of calm and firm resolve.
"You're right. We both need to become stronger. Come on let's go 'eat' some ore and replenish ourselves properly!"
"Larvitar!"
Larvitar chirped happily, waving its little claws excitedly.
In the days that followed, Zhu Yu did not come to ask Lin Xia to carry out repairs immediately, so he remained relatively free.
Zhu Zhuqing still came to visit Lin Xia every day.
She seemed to deliberately avoid all topics related to "Martial Soul awakening" and the "Star Luo Empire," as if that conversation with Lin Xia had never happened.
She would simply sit quietly in a corner while Lin Xia cultivated or while Larvitar "ate," holding a book about the continent's geography or Soul Beast bestiaries. Her long eyelashes lowered, and occasionally she would lift her clear eyes, letting her gaze drift over Lin Xia's focused profile and Larvitar's puffed cheeks as it chewed diligently. A faint curve would unconsciously appear at the corner of her lips.
That smile was very light, carrying a calmness beyond her years, and perhaps hiding a trace of subtle attachment.
Lin Xia could sense the undercurrent beneath this silence, but he did not take the initiative to break it.
He knew that some storms had to be faced by her alone.
All he could do was provide a place where she could briefly breathe and be free from pretense when she needed it.
Larvitar also seemed to like this quiet little girl. At times, it would take the initiative to move closer, rubbing its hard yet warm head against Zhu Zhuqing's leg, earning a gentle pat from her and a fleeting warmth in her eyes.
Time passed quietly without notice, until that unavoidable day finally arrived.
Zhu Zhuqing's Martial Soul awakening day.
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