Chapter 1350: Candlelight

When the Xuanyu Domain’s frontline program ended, Chen Ling finally turned off the radio and walked slowly toward the palace.

After a few days of stalemate, the Falsehood Mountains had finally launched a fierce attack again. Although the real intelligence that could be gleaned from this program was very limited, from the fragments of what the citizens said, Chen Ling could vaguely feel that this offensive by the Falsehood Mountains might be even fiercer than the last.

Chen Ling didn't actually care about the life or death of the Xuanyu Domain, but the others of the "6-generation" had finally managed to gain a foothold in the Xuanyu Domain and obtain legal identities. If this domain were to disappear just like that, all their efforts would be in vain.

The Ghost-Mockery Abyss was a Calamity territory and was not suitable for human survival at all, so the "6-generation" would have to go back sooner or later...

And now that the situation in the Xuanyu Domain was critical, the sooner they returned, the better.

Chen Ling calculated the time; at this hour, the "6-generation" should all be asleep. He put away the radio and arrived in front of the palace gate.

Just then, Chen Ling was slightly startled.

Was it his imagination?

Why did it feel like... the aura of this palace had softened a bit?

Originally, the palace felt cold and murderous to Chen Ling, but now the temperature seemed to have warmed up, as if the energy here was being reconciled and changed by some force, giving it a faint human touch.

Chen Ling hesitated for a moment but walked into the palace cautiously. He seemed to have sensed something and looked toward the direction of the "6-generation" room.

"Diamond... why go to such lengths?"

His expression was one of helplessness.

After walking a few steps, Chen Ling discovered that the originally dim palace now had quite a bit of light.

Hundreds of candles were placed in every corner of the palace. The candlelight flickered and connected, and although it couldn't be called brightly lit, the faint candlelight intertwined to dispel most of the darkness in the palace, like a patch of orange starlight from the sky falling and covering the earth.

Chen Ling stood stunned for a long time before walking through it slowly. The bright red opera robe moved slowly along the candlelight. A moment later, a figure in a leather jacket came into his view.

Jian Changsheng was holding a pile of candles, walking through the palace earnestly. His gaze carefully scanned every corner, and if he found a spot that wasn't bright enough, he would immediately add another candle.

He looked at the palace lighting up before him and muttered:

"Now this looks like a place for people to live..."

Seeming to feel that there were enough candles, Jian Changsheng nodded with satisfaction and turned to go back to his room to sleep, only to be startled when he saw the bright red opera robe standing behind him.

"Holy shit, Red Heart! How come you walk like a ghost without making a sound??"

"...What are you doing?"

"Lighting lamps," Jian Changsheng shrugged. "This palace is pitch black, it’s annoying to look at. You don't have electric lights here, so I can only use candles to light it up a bit..."

Chen Ling looked at his arms in confusion, "Where did you get so many candles?"

"From the room opposite ours. I opened the door and saw a lot of candles inside, along with some strange pink whips, ropes, and stuff... By the way, what are those for?"

Chen Ling: ...

He held it in for a long time before he could only reply: "I don't know either, those were used by the previous Mockery Calamity."

"Anyway, I saw there were enough candles, so I lit a few more... How is it? Doesn't it look much better than before?" Jian Changsheng clapped the dust off his hands and said proudly.

"...You didn't need to do this, I'm not afraid of the dark."

"I know, but I don't like it. If I had to live in such a dark and cold place every day, my mood would get worse."

Chen Ling frowned at him, "Are you guys really planning to live here forever?"

"What else? You can't go to the human domains," Jian Changsheng said as if it were a matter of course. "We've already discussed it. That guy Diamond is talking big about how being close makes it easier to protect you, and Plum Blossom says he likes your wine. I don't care where I live anyway... In any case, we can't just leave you here and go to the Xuanyu Domain to eat and drink well, right?"

Jian Changsheng patted Chen Ling on the shoulder, "Sharing weal and woe, that's what brothers are for!"

Chen Ling looked into his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

"The Ghost-Mockery Abyss is not suitable for human survival. You don't have to go to such lengths for me... Besides, I'm doing just fine here."

Jian Changsheng looked at him without answering, but walked slowly to the side, bent down, and placed another candle in the darkness of the corner.

He struck a match, a wisp of flame ignited, and the flickering candlelight slowly approached the candle, casting a golden veil over his cheeks:

"Red Heart, do you know?"

"I grew up in the Yan family and never had friends, only a few relatives who occasionally took care of me... But after the Aurora City was destroyed, I had nothing left."

"When I left the Aurora Domain, I was like a stray dog. Only the Twilight Society took me in, and the person I was most familiar with in the Twilight Society was you, my peer... Although I often found you annoying and you often bullied me, after experiencing the Red Dust together, I had long since considered you a friend from the bottom of my heart... and my best friend at that."

"Later, I met Diamond and Plum Blossom one after another... Even though our personalities are worlds apart, we get along unexpectedly well."

"In the Tian-Shu Domain, when you and Diamond fought to grab the Heavenly Star Position for me, I knew that you guys would be the most important brothers in my life, Jian Changsheng... You might not believe it, but before that, I had never received a gift."

"The Imperial Dao Ancient Treasury, the Wuji Domain, the Fusion Faction... I don't know what you, Red Heart, think, but for me, we've been through so much together that I’ve long considered you closer than family. Seriously... I don't care about the life or death of the human domains. When I was at my lowest and hardest, the human domains didn't help me at all; it was you guys who kept supporting me as I moved forward."

"If you get into trouble, I'll be the first to save you; if you leave, I'll take the initiative to find you. It’s not because I, Jian Changsheng, have nothing better to do, but because you guys are the most important people in my life. If it were Diamond or Plum Blossom in your place, I would do the same, and I would drag the rest of you along with me."

"Call me paranoid or narrow-minded if you want, but in my heart, the bond of the '6-generation' is above all else."

The candle in the corner was gently lit by Jian Changsheng. He stood up and looked back at Chen Ling.

His gaze was more earnest than ever:

"I can't leave you alone in this cold palace."

Chen Ling stood there like a sculpture for a long time, his gaze revealing a hint of complexity...

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something more, but couldn't utter a single word.

"...I understand."

In the end, the bright red opera robe turned silently, walked through the corridor filled with candlelight, and disappeared into the depths of the palace.