Chapter 866: Li Fu

"Li Fu..."

Han Dong whispered the name, as if to etch it into his heart.

The boy in hempen clothes slowly stood up. At this moment, he was still immersed in the shock of seeing 【Two Emperors cast their gaze upon you】, looking as if he were in a daze...

So this was what Zhu Zhong and Wu Qiong had seen?

The boy in hempen clothes quickly recovered from his surprise. He already knew this was inside some Divine Path treasury, so it didn't seem strange for such a magical phenomenon to occur... Combined with Wu Qiong's remark about being more proactive, he vaguely guessed something.

In places they couldn't see, a group of "Emperors" were watching everything, and only by taking the initiative to perform could one gain their attention.

This format was very familiar to the boy in hempen clothes. When he participated in speech and talent competitions at school, it was a similar mechanism... Attracting the attention of more judges and leaders would lead to winning the championship.

So, after gaining enough gazes, perhaps one could also obtain opportunities from this treasury?

After hesitating for a long time, Han Dong broke the flatbread he had been clutching tightly into two and took the initiative to hand half to the boy in hempen clothes.

The boy in hempen clothes was stunned. "For me?"

"I can't stand that Zhu Zhong, using his brute strength to treat everyone like servants, it's just a pity I can't beat him." Han Dong pressed his lips together, his eyes full of stubbornness.

"But you're different. When I was getting beaten, you were the only one who stood up, and you were able to scare him off... Sharing half a piece of bread with you is nothing."

The boy in hempen clothes' gaze fell on the half-piece of blood-stained flatbread. After a moment of silence, he took it.

"Thank you."

After Zhu Zhong left, most of the figures also got up and followed him. Although Zhu Zhong was violent, his strength and courage were unquestionable; following him was the best hope of getting out of here, a point even the boy in hempen clothes couldn't deny.

As the group walked, the boy in hempen clothes looked at the flatbread in his hand, deep in thought...

He didn't eat the bread but broke it into two more pieces and handed the one without blood to Ah Qian.

"Little Li brother, you eat it, you're too tired." Although Ah Qian was starving, she didn't accept it, saying firmly, "I'm not hungry at all."

"Be good, I still have half a piece here, it's enough to eat."

"But..."

"You'll only have the strength to walk if you're full. Otherwise, wouldn't it be even more tiring for me to carry you?"

Ah Qian thought about it and realized that made sense, so she stopped refusing the boy in hempen clothes, took a big bite of the bread, and finished it quickly.

After quietly watching this scene, the boy in hempen clothes didn't eat his own piece immediately but broke it into several portions and handed them one by one to the other boys.

The few boys were trailing at the back and were suddenly handed a piece of bread; their eyes flashed with confusion and surprise.

"You..."

"I remember you all, you're all from the Second District, right?" the boy in hempen clothes said calmly. "My name is Li Fu, and I'm from the Second District too... Since we're all neighbors, we should look out for each other."

"Maybe our parents were friends."

Hearing this, the boys looked at each other, gratitude appearing in their eyes as they looked at the boy in hempen clothes.

In this strange land of wind and snow, no one knew where to find food and water. Everyone had walked until now and was too hungry to have any strength left, yet the boy in hempen clothes was willing to share his food with them—it was truly a timely help.

Added to the identity of being "neighbors," their favorability toward the boy in hempen clothes skyrocketed, especially the last sentence about "parents being friends," which undoubtedly provided a great sense of security to these underage children.

"Thank you, Brother Li, thank you, Brother Li!" everyone said gratefully.

"Don't make a scene. Just eat what I gave you secretly," the boy in hempen clothes glanced at the people walking in front and said softly, "Be careful that others don't get jealous."

The group was startled and immediately nodded like garlic.

The boy in hempen clothes' two sentences subconsciously identified them as a group. The more secretive the actions, the more it could enhance cohesion. Plus, the word "jealous" silently labeled the others as suspected "enemies," making their sense of belonging to the boy in hempen clothes even stronger.

After doing all this, the boy in hempen clothes took Ah Qian and continued forward.

At the same time, the text before his eyes changed again:

【Twelve Emperors approve of your actions】

As expected...

A faint light flickered in the boy in hempen clothes' eyes.

"Just a moment ago you told me you were an orphan, and now you're saying 'our parents might have been friends'?" Wu Qiong's slightly teasing voice came from the side.

"I am indeed an orphan; even my surname and name were given casually by the director back then," the boy in hempen clothes paused for a moment. "But who can say for sure that my biological parents and their parents weren't friends?"

"Then are you really from the Second District? How come I've never seen you?"

"When I was kicked out of the orphanage and was begging on the streets, I passed through the Second District and lived on the road for a few days... so I guess I lived there."

"..." Wu Qiong looked at him deeply for a long time.

"You're a formidable opponent... I kind of regret telling you to be more proactive just now."

"If you hadn't told me, I would have discovered it sooner or later, but after you said it, the distance between us became a step closer... At least now, we are allies."

The boy in hempen clothes smiled slightly.

Wu Qiong opened her mouth but didn't know how to respond, so she could only nod with a complex expression.

"I wonder when this snowy plain will end," the boy in hempen clothes muttered to himself. He looked up at the void above his head. "If they want to test us, what's the point of just wandering around in this snowy plain?"

"You mean..."

"True gold is refined in fire. If this is truly a test, there must be danger matching the opportunity. I don't think letting us freeze to death in the wind and snow is a reasonable test."

"Perhaps there is danger," Wu Qiong paused. "It's just that we haven't discovered it yet."

……

"Just as Red Heart speculated earlier, this is a trial ground used to screen for new [Emperors]."

"The characteristic of an [Emperor] is that their rank is not fixed; their strength ceiling depends entirely on the 'subjects' they have... The more and stronger the subjects, the stronger the Emperor's power."

"The rules in this treasury are the same. Once you gain the 'approval' of other affiliated people, you can, to a certain extent, let the momentum push you forward... Just like Zhao Kuangyin back then, after others donned the yellow robe for him, he was like a god helping him, and he eventually ascended to the imperial throne."

"The change that happened to Red Heart just now should be based on this principle."