Chapter 124: Sir, Will We Win?

【The fleeing midsummer brings the cool autumn as it disappears into the night sky.】

【The fallen autumn leaves welcome the harsh winter with the long cries of migratory birds.】

【Wu Yingxue asks you to teach her how to fold paper flowers.】

【You agree.】

【You teach her meticulously, guiding the girl step by step as she follows your instructions. She is very serious, and the paper flutters and folds between her fingers.】

【What she holds between her fingertips is not just paper, but unforgettable memories.】

【Along with the folds, the sorrowful past is also folded away.】

【After this night, the girl still cannot master folding paper flowers, only managing to clumsily shape a “flower bud.”】

【Even with your guidance, those hands that wield a long spear with fierce agility inevitably become clumsy the moment they touch paper.】

【The girl is not disheartened. All her worries and anxieties have been turned over with the folding of the paper, and she returns to the carefree demeanor you are familiar with.】

【”Go to sleep.”】

【At the dawn of the rising sun, you sternly command the girl to return to her room and sleep.】

【The girl obediently agrees, taking with her the paper flower you folded, which she particularly likes.】

…

【Three days later】

【The air at the border becomes even colder.】

【A Niu’s vitality stabilizes, every moment devouring the divine and qi within him, awakening the latent essence hidden in the shadows.】

【His complexion looks much healthier, and his strength has increased significantly.】

【Now, A Niu no longer appears as weak as before, looking quite spirited and able to work all day with a hoe without tiring.】

【The people of Qingniu Town are drawn to this miraculous effect.】

【Many begin practicing the Fool’s Technique.】

【Except for the overly weak elderly and young children, almost everyone in Qingniu Town has learned this miraculous technique that can make them stronger.】

【As the power of vitality surges within their bodies, they feel a renewed sense of life.】

【Some kneel on the ground, weeping loudly.】

【It is both sorrowful and joyful.】

【What kind of emotion is that? You look at the people crying tears of joy and think, it must be the joy of realizing they are also “human.”】

…

【A martial art that even fools can practice, equally disregarding talent and bone structure.】

【Whether a farmer, a mule driver, or even a dung carrier,】

【All can practice it.】

【The vitality surges through their blocked meridians, shattering the humility of the people of Qingniu Town, breaking through the bottleneck of insufficient bone structure and comprehension, and bringing them true strength.】

【The people thank you, their eyes bursting with the desire to live.】

【To prepare for the winter demon tide, you frequently scout the Ten Thousand Mountains, killing many demons weaker than you in the process.】

【The people of Qingniu Town, with their newfound strength, carry the edible demon flesh, preparing to preserve it as emergency rations.】

【If they cannot withstand the demon tide this winter,】

【These demon meats will be their only food when they leave Qingniu Town.】

…

Winter has come.

The end of autumn is so sudden.

In an instant, endless snowflakes fall from the sky, like countless pure white butterflies, gently covering the world in a silver blanket.

For the people of Qingniu Town, for all the humans struggling at the border,

Winter is synonymous with hell.

The biting cold wind strips away the little warmth people have, and demons emerge from the snow, mercilessly taking lives.

In such a hell, tragedies have occurred where human blood stained the snow red.

“The day has finally come.”

The wind howls.

Xu Xi slowly walks out of the courtyard, slightly raising his head to watch the cold snowflakes fall from the sky, reaching out his hand to catch a few.

His hand, coursing with vitality, is warm.

The snowflakes melt into droplets upon touching his palm.

As his hand tilts, the droplets slide to the ground, freezing into ice in the low temperature.

“It’s really cold today…” Xu Xi mutters to himself, another cruelty of winter, but with preparation, it can be endured.

Compared to the cold,

The bloodthirsty demons are the real threat.

“Sir, will we win?” The girl in red and white martial attire, holding a long spear, asks beside Xu Xi.

“We might die…” Xu Xi does not offer false hope, speaking calmly of the winter’s deathly silence.

“But we have no choice.”

“None of us in Qingniu Town have a choice.”

Xu Xi steps forward, his innate Gang Qi materializing, slashing through the snowy sky from a distance.

The wind stops, the snow halts.

The demon dies.

“Screech—!!” A fierce red-feathered hawk demon, diving at high speed towards Qingniu Town, is killed by Xu Xi from afar.

Its death marks the official arrival of the winter demon tide.

The people of Qingniu Town are afraid.

The people of Qingniu Town tremble.

But they still follow Xu Xi, using their meager vitality to resist the demon onslaught.

“I’m not a coward!!!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Bleeding is inevitable, injuries are inevitable.

The battle between humans and demons is fraught with danger.

Fortunately, Xu Xi holds the battlefield, able to provide long-range support with his innate Gang Qi, and Wu Yingxue, at the Fifth Stage of Body Refinement, roams the battlefield, aiding those who are exhausted.

Kill!

Someone roars, their arm bitten off by a demon, yet they still swing fiercely with their other hand.

Kill!

Someone is afraid, terrified, but thinking of their wife and child behind them in the town, fear turns into courage, fueling the Fool’s Technique, erupting with roaring vitality.

【Winter has come, and the demon tide has arrived.】

【You lead the people of Qingniu Town, having prepared various defenses early, though to the demons, they are but minor obstacles.】

【The effect of the Fool’s Technique far exceeds your expectations.】

【Good, very good, excellent.】

【In the face of life and death, many unleash powerful strength, even if only for a moment, it still influences the battle’s outcome.】

【You can focus, fighting demons of your level with all your might, and eventually, you succeed in killing one, a fierce beast like a tiger and leopard hybrid.】

【You feel slightly relieved.】

【If the subsequent demon tides are of this difficulty, you can ensure Qingniu Town’s safety.】

【But suddenly, after the first wave of the demon tide ends, as people celebrate their victory, you sense a great threat approaching from afar.】

“Run, run now!”

No time to identify or explain anything.

Xu Xi’s pupils contract, and he turns to shout at the crowd.

“Brother Xu?”

“Xi-ge?”

The people of Qingniu Town are bewildered.

But seeing Xu Xi’s urgent expression, they quickly realize something, scrambling back to the town.

Gathering their families, food, water, and the pitifully few clothes they have.

Finally.

Led by Xu Xi, they leave Qingniu Town at the fastest speed of their lives, fleeing into the snowy wilderness.

When they are too exhausted to continue and must rest,

Behind them, in the direction of Qingniu Town, a towering blaze suddenly erupts.

“Screech—!”

“Screech—!”

The flames rage, smoke billows, forcefully tearing through the snowstorm, painting the sky red with their heat.

Xu Xi sees it.

Countless fire crows circle above Qingniu Town.

Massive, ferocious, sparks flying with each beat of their wings.

Each one no weaker than a Blood Replacement Realm martial artist.

The collective flames recklessly devour everything, burning their familiar homes in the people’s despairing gaze.