Chapter 130: The Path of Starlight, Shining on You and Me

"Sir, did we win…"

"Mm, we won."

The setting sun was like fire, resembling a deep red blood halo.

It calmly illuminated the earth.

Shining upon the desolation of that tragic elegy, as well as the many weapons stuck upside down in the snow.

Corpses paved the path ahead, allowing the living to continue moving forward, occupying the watchtowers, gathering the remnants, and capturing the pass.

With this, the battle ended.

"It's so good…" The Dragon-patterned spear pierced through the earth, like the roots of a tenacious plant, taking root in the blood-soaked battlefield.

Wu Yingxue sat just like that, slumped against the spear shaft.

Her face was covered in blood, and there was a wound on her forehead from which bright red blood continuously flowed, staining her hair at her forehead and her pale lips red.

She lowered her head and smiled, but even more blood flowed from her mouth, drop by drop, blooming and soaking her clothes.

It hurt so much.

She was very weak.

The young girl was a newly promoted Innate.

Lacking experience and technique, she had relied entirely on the grade of her Azure Dragon Astral Qi to barely suppress her opponent and achieve victory.

This was already outstanding enough; after all, her opponent was an Innate martial general who had been fighting for many years.

For this, the girl had truly exhausted every ounce of her strength.

So much so that now that the battle was over.

She could only sit powerlessly on the spot, watching the sunset fall and night descend, unable to move a single bit.

"Patter—"

"Patter—"

Footsteps approached, trampling both the snow layer and the mud; Wu Yingxue barely opened her eyes and offered a laborious smile to the newcomer.

"Sir, I won."

She said.

"I saw it, Yingxue, you did very well."

Xu Xi said gently.

He crouched down.

He reached out his palm to wipe the dirty blood from the girl's face, then helped her body up, allowing her to stand again.

"Wait, wait!"

The girl suddenly widened her eyes.

At this moment, she was still thinking about being stubborn.

"Sir, you don't need to support me, I can stand up by myself!"

Wu Yingxue's voice was so determined.

She pushed away Xu Xi's palm and stepped forward herself, and then—

"Gulu gulu."

"Gulu gulu."

The fire-red figure felt her legs go soft and she collapsed on the spot, rolling several times in the snow before barely coming to a stop.

Huh…

Her delicate face was full of confusion.

Her red and white martial outfit looked even dirtier after rolling in the snow.

Snowflakes flew and splattered.

They drifted down from the sky, landing precisely on the tip of the girl's nose.

"It hurts."

Lying in the snow in a sprawling shape, the girl finally uttered this word, her expression much more honest.

Xu Xi was quite helpless; he reached out his hand to the girl again, but this time, he chose not to support her, but instead chose to carry her on his back.

"Lie still, don't move around."

"Yes, Sir."

Amidst Wu Yingxue's response.

Xu Xi carried the girl on his back, pulled up the Dragon-patterned spear from the ground, and walked toward the inside of the pass.

Behind him, there were still many refugees and starving people following him into the pass, entering a future where they could survive.

The setting sun was shattered.

It was cracked by pairs of cloth shoes covered in yellow earth and mud.

The cold wind was dispersed.

It was blocked by figures in tattered clothes.

The setting sun poured over the earth like molten gold, quickly washing away its last rays, transforming into countless stars that twinkled high in the night sky.

"Sir."

As Xu Xi was walking, the girl's voice came from behind him.

She lay quietly, fixing herself to Xu Xi's back with her arms wrapped around his neck.

Her voice was curious: "For this time today, what grade rating can I get?"

Xu Xi pondered for a moment and gave his answer: "Grade B."

"Grade B, huh? That's an improvement from last time."

Wu Yingxue chuckled a few times.

She seemed very happy.

But her body was truly weak, so much so that as she laughed, she unexpectedly started coughing, so she obediently closed her mouth and buried her head on Xu Xi's shoulder.

I always feel so secure…

This thought popped into Wu Yingxue's mind.

She listened to Xu Xi very well.

She never thought about disobeying.

She stayed obediently on Xu Xi's back, avoiding affecting Xu Xi's walking.

But this didn't mean the girl couldn't do other things.

"…" She narrowed her eyes into slits and observed Xu Xi's neck in a very cute manner.

Then she cast her curious gaze toward Xu Xi's ears.

Watching the cold wind blow his black hair, making it sway.

She also acted like a child, blowing lightly on Xu Xi's hair, laughing as she watched the hair sway from her blowing.

"The stars tonight are so beautiful…"

As she laughed, Wu Yingxue, lying on Xu Xi's back, suddenly noticed that the starry sky tonight was exceptionally bright.

There was no heavy snow falling to block her view.

There were no continuous dark clouds covering the sky.

The vast galaxy shone in the girl's eyes, so bright, so striking.

Much brighter than the night of the paper flowers.

Delicate, like calm river water flowing in the night sky.

Twinkling, like little suns glowing.

"Sir, I remember you said that there are thousands of ten thousands of stars in the sky?"

"Mm, I said that, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

The girl, carried on Xu Xi's back, let out a giggle: "I just want to try counting them one by one, to see if there are really that many."

Counting stars is endless.

Stars are infinite, and the human eye inevitably makes misjudgments.

Yet inexplicably, the young princess who had lost everything really wanted to try it once.

And so.

She begged Xu Xi to help her remember.

They began counting stars, silly and foolish.

"One, two, two, three, four."

"Pui pui pui, that's not right."

"One, two, three, four, five…"

The sky was full of brilliant stars, the Milky Way cast down endless radiance, and the dark world was opened up to a bright path ahead by the stars.

Xu Xi carried the girl just like that, walking into the pass, heading toward the deeper parts of the Thirteen Provinces of Daqian.

The sound of counting stars.

Weakened with time.

Becoming softer and more exhausted, until it completely turned into a light snore.

Wu Yingxue fell asleep while counting stars.

Xu Xi's footsteps paused slightly, then he moved forward with even more subtle steps, and at the same time, he murmured a number: "One thousand three hundred and thirty-five."

This was the number the girl had reached before falling asleep.

To be honest.

Remembering this number was meaningless.

When the next night came, the girl couldn't possibly remember which stars had been counted; she could only start counting from the beginning.

But she had begged Xu Xi so much, so Xu Xi just noted it down.

"Strange, is it an illusion?"

"I always feel that there are two stars tonight that are particularly bright."

Xu Xi looked up.

He discovered that in the vast starry sky, there were two stars very close to each other, and also very bright, illuminating the path ahead for him and the girl, which should have been pitch black.

…

[The battle has ended]

[You have achieved victory]

[This is an incredible feat, a victory that shatters everyone's worldview]

[You led a group of bumpkins, bumpkins who knew nothing and understood nothing, successfully breaking through a pass of Daqian, and followed it into the interior of Daqian]

[On the path forward, starlight shines brilliantly]

[Illuminating the thorny path ahead for you]

[You think, perhaps this is the good luck brought to you by the silly star-counting girl]

[It's just that, if only the girl could be a little lighter, you carried her all night and let out a deep sigh]