Chapter 1020: Eating

The dim sunset filtered through the hazy gloom, casting a long shadow of Chen Ling in the church...

The slender shadow of the cross was like a rotating clock hand, and the bright red opera robe was like the tip of the pointer, motionless through the long passage of time, like a silent corpse.

A full day had passed since he was nailed to the cross. At this moment, Ying Fu’s words were still echoing in Chen Ling’s mind.

"A vortex, huh..."

Based on Chen Ling’s understanding of Ying Fu, there was no need for him to lie at this time, but Chen Ling still couldn't imagine how a vortex stirred up by an Emperor’s Fate could kill the Silver King.

Can an ethereal "Fate" really kill someone?

[Audience Expectation +5]

[Current Expectation: 65%]

When the two lines of audience expectation floated before Chen Ling, he was slightly stunned, his expression one of surprise...

He had merely been nailed here, doing nothing. Logically, it would be good if the expectation didn't drop, so how did it jump by 5% all at once?

Chen Ling had a premonition that something must have happened somewhere he couldn't see.

Creak—

As Chen Ling pondered, the door to the confessional was slowly opened.

He looked up slightly and saw a maid carrying a food tray approaching. He immediately lost interest, lowered his head, and had no intention of acknowledging her.

The maid seemed to be delivering food to Chen Ling for the first time. As soon as she entered the confessional and saw the figure nailed to the cross, she froze.

She pursed her lips, and after a long hesitation, she spoke softly:

"It’s time to eat."

"Not hungry."

Chen Ling replied indifferently.

"He gave instructions that you must eat on time."

"In his eyes, I’m already a dead man... and I still need to eat?" Chen Ling sneered. "Look at me now, how am I supposed to eat?"

Chen Ling’s limbs were controlled and nailed to the cross. Except for his head, which could move freely, he had no control over the rest of his body. Even if the food were placed in front of him, he couldn't eat it.

Chen Ling’s sharp voice echoed in the confessional. The maid stood under the cross for a long time, then brought out a ladder from the side and set it up right next to Chen Ling.

Then, carrying the tray, she climbed step by step to the top of the massive cross...

She scooped up a large spoonful of vegetables and meat and held it to Chen Ling’s lips.

"Is this okay?"

The maid looked into Chen Ling’s eyes and said earnestly.

Chen Ling hadn't expected her to feed him in this way, and for a moment, he couldn't react... He looked at the spoonful of food, and a long-lost sense of hunger surged in his heart!

Chen Ling couldn't afford to think too much. The Silver King wanted him dead, but not yet, so the food wouldn't be poisoned.

He instinctively ate the spoonful of meat, his eyes glowing with a greenish tint, like a starving ghost who hadn't eaten in days.

The maid fed Chen Ling spoonful after spoonful. As soon as she offered it, the spoon would be licked clean the next moment... She was very patient, wrapping every bit of vegetable with rice on the tray. Before long, the entire tray was eaten clean.

The food was delicious; Chen Ling hadn't eaten anything this good in a long time. Feeling the fullness in his body, his constantly tense spirit finally relaxed a little...

"...Thank you," Chen Ling said softly.

The maid smiled slightly, carried the empty tray, climbed down the ladder step by step, and put it back in its place.

She took one last look at Chen Ling, then walked out of the confessional and gently closed the door.

Darkness enveloped the cross once more.

Chen Ling watched the direction she left in, and his eyes slowly closed...

……

In a dim corner of the warehouse, Fang Liangye’s eyes slowly opened.

"You're awake?" Wu Duo’s voice came from the side, her tone tinged with worry. "How do you feel?"

"...I'm okay, just a bit tired."

Fang Liangye dragged his exhausted body up from the corner and looked around.

After parting ways with Chen Ling, Fang Liangye had frantically traveled through the underground sewers. Only after crossing most of the Wuji Domain underground and confirming that the Silver King wasn't pursuing him did he relax and head toward the warehouse.

"What about those people from the Dusk Society?"

"You mean Jian Wubing and the other two?" Wu Duo shook her head. "They heard Chen Ling was in immediate danger and were so anxious that they spent the whole afternoon thinking, then left the Wuji Domain together... They said they were going to ask for reinforcements?"

Hearing that Chen Ling was in danger, Fang Liangye’s heart stirred slightly, but soon, he let out a long sigh and leaned weakly against the wall...

"Don't try to be a hero, okay?" Wu Duo saw through his thoughts.

"Your memories have been returned. Now, you are Fang Liangye, an ordinary person... All you need to do is protect yourself."

"...Yeah."

Fang Liangye nodded gently.

Wu Duo looked at Fang Liangye’s eyes, which revealed helplessness and loss in the dim light, and pursed her lips... She sat beside him, turned slightly, and rested her head in his arms.

"Liangye, do you know... when you had the memories of the Six of Hearts, I was really worried." Wu Duo’s eyes were like black glass in the dim light, looking deeply at Fang Liangye. "Back then, you radiated coldness and depth from your very bones. I didn't dare get close to you, worried that you would eventually become a heartless executioner forever..."

Fang Liangye gave a bitter smile. "That would still be better than being a coward."

Wu Duo frowned and said earnestly, "Liangye, gentleness and cowardice are different... You are just too gentle, but you have never lacked courage. Otherwise, you wouldn't have become a member of the Human Rights Union... wouldn't you?"

"...Perhaps."

A flash of that rainy night with thunder and lightning crossed Fang Liangye’s mind, along with the scarred corpse of the young boy, and a flicker of self-reproach and sorrow passed through his eyes.

He knew very well that he had never been a brave person... Otherwise, Xiao Yu might not have died.

Seeing this, Wu Duo pursed her lips. She lay in Fang Liangye’s arms, her arms gently wrapping around his neck... She leaned to his ear and whispered:

"You cannot be trapped in the past forever. That wasn't your fault... I like the gentle Fang Liangye, now and in the future."

Fang Liangye’s body jolted slightly.

He felt strands of hair sliding across his cheek and was at a loss for what to do.

"Hold me tight," Wu Duo said.

Fang Liangye hesitantly raised his hands and gently embraced Wu Duo. The real touch and warmth of her body reached his heart, making his painful and exhausted heart feel a little more grounded.

In the dim corner of the warehouse, the two figures held each other and quietly drifted into sleep.

……

Until a commotion came from outside the warehouse.

"Help... help!! Old Li is dying!!"

Fang Liangye and Wu Duo woke up simultaneously. It was not yet dawn, and the gloom remained dim and lightless... They looked at each other and immediately got up and ran to the warehouse window.