Chapter 154:

The sky stretched endlessly, the moon hung high, and the water lay still.

The moon resided in the heart, and the heart reflected the moon.

The clear water mirrored the bright moon, creating a perfect image. But if the moon in the sky disappeared, the illusory moon in the water would vanish too, leaving only emptiness.

Wu Yingxue couldn’t accept the disappearance of her moon. She couldn’t stand by while that fool risked his life again. She wanted the bright, full moon to continue shining in the night sky, not to be silenced forever in the unknown mountains.

“Everyone, please take Sir and leave quickly,” she said. “I’ll go meet the enemy.”

“This time… I truly thank you all for helping me stop Sir from doing something foolish.”

Carrying her spear, Wu Yingxue took unsteady steps forward, her red-and-white tattered clothes swaying with her movement.

The people hesitated, unwilling to leave her to face the monster alone. But Wu Yingxue shook her head, using the one thing that mattered most to them: Xu Xi’s safety.

“Go. The farther away, the better. You can’t help here,” she insisted.

“Take Sir out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. If he’s with you, he won’t be able to do something foolish that might cost him his life.”

Her voice cracked, and tears welled in her eyes.

Torches were lifted by thin, trembling arms, illuminating countless tear-streaked faces.

The people cried out for Wu Yingxue, shouting for her to protect their foolish Mr. Xu Da, the kindest and most selfless man they had ever known.

As the survival army moved farther away, their torches formed a long, winding trail of light—a fire dragon weaving through the darkness.

It was the fire of farewells, the fire of hope, and the fire that bid goodbye to a fool.

“Sir, you must live well,” Wu Yingxue whispered, her expression soft as she watched the fire dragon disappear into the distance.

She turned, gripping her spear tightly, and strode toward the overwhelming aura that loomed ahead.

Her body moved forward, but her heart lingered behind.

Each step on the rough sand brought friction, the sound weaving images of Xu Xi’s face in her mind.

“Sir, you really are a big fool,” she muttered to herself.

…

If someone asked who was the smartest person in the Qiuhuo Army, the answer would come quickly and unanimously: “Mr. Xu.”

And if someone asked who was the stupidest, the answer would be the same.

Everyone knew Xu Xi was both the smartest and the most foolish.

“Brother Xu is so powerful! He can kill hundreds of demons with a single punch!”

“That’s right! Brother Xu makes sure we have meat to eat!”

The people often praised Xu Xi’s heroics in exaggerated tones, mixing admiration with an unspoken sorrow.

But sometimes, Wu Yingxue overheard their quiet, tearful complaints.

They called him foolish for risking his life when he could have lived in safety.

They scolded him for never asking for help, always shouldering burdens alone.

He was the kind of fool who fought demons with his life and asked for nothing more than a few vegetable dumplings in return.

While others bore injuries, Xu Xi suffered most of all. His body, battered and broken, showed signs of irreversible decline. The once-gentle smile on his face now seemed fragile, as though it could fade away forever at any moment.

“Sir is so stupid,” Wu Yingxue whispered as she walked through the dark forest.

She paused, glancing up at the sky through gaps in the dense leaves. The bright moon peeked through, reminding her of Xu Xi’s quiet strength.

Mr. Xu was too foolish, always thinking of others and never of himself.

Her plan to drug the broth that night had been a gamble. A martial master like Xu Xi, so close to becoming a human immortal, shouldn’t have succumbed to the effects so easily.

But he did.

He fell unconscious almost immediately, revealing just how weak his body had become.

“How could I feel at ease, knowing you’re like this?”

Wu Yingxue resumed walking, her steps uneven from the pain in her wounded ankle. The wound throbbed with every step, but the ache in her heart was far worse—sharp and relentless, tearing her apart.

“That fool,” she muttered. “The stupidest fool in the world. The best fool in the world.”

Even in such a fragile state, he still tried to protect others. Just hours ago, despite his pale face, he had bandaged her wound with such care.

“It’s really… so stupid!” she cried, her lips trembling as her grip on the spear tightened.

The moonlight brushed her shoulders gently, but it couldn’t soothe her anguish.

Wu Yingxue couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t let that kind, foolish man face the most terrifying demon alone. The thought made her nose sting and her chest tighten.

She couldn’t lose him. The fool who wished her a Happy New Year. The fool who counted stars with her. The fool who taught her to fold paper flowers.

“Sir, you’re always thinking about everyone else’s safety, but you’ve forgotten that your own safety matters too,” she said quietly.

This time, Wu Yingxue would switch roles. She would go from the “guarded” to the “guardian” and protect the best fool in the world.

“I guess I’ve become just as foolish as Sir,” she muttered with a bittersweet smile.

She glanced at her ankle, where the white cloth Xu Xi had tied was now faintly stained red. It looked like a delicate red string around her foot.

“But knowing Sir, he probably didn’t think about that at all when he bandaged it,” she said softly.

Her smile widened briefly before fading.

Stopping in her tracks, Wu Yingxue raised her spear fearlessly.

She pointed it directly toward the terrifying demon from Daqian, her resolve unshaken.