WTYTIAAN Chapter 274

Chapter 274

The sight of one hundred and forty-two corpses piled together was shocking.

This small mountain village was quite large, with twenty to almost thirty households, all wiped out overnight.

Yan Yunqing didn’t know what Little Yuli had said to her grandfather, but by the time he returned, Grandpa Jason had stopped crying. He even wore a forced smile on his face, as if afraid Little Yuli would worry, though his eyes were still red and swollen.

Yan Yunqing looked around; everything was a blanket of white, without a single green leaf, let alone any flowers.

He thought for a moment, then walked towards Sylph, “Make a flower for me.”

Sylph: …

Sylph reached out her hand, her fingertip touching Yan Yunqing’s palm. With a subtle surge of magic, an unknown twig rapidly sprouted, growing new, tender leaves. A flower bud adorned the tip of the branch, a delicate yellow color with a hint of pink at its tip, looking extremely charming and lovely.

At times like these, an elf favored by nature was indeed more useful.

Yan Yunqing closed his palm, wanting to hold the flower. Perhaps Sylph also wanted to hold it, as her fingers descended, coincidentally landing inside Yan Yunqing’s closed palm.

Their hands clasped together.

Yan Yunqing:?

Sylph tilted her head at him, revealing an innocent expression.

Yan Yunqing’s eyelid twitched.

Damn… he forgot that this wasn’t the Sylph from before, but the Lillian evolved version of Sylph. She had reincarnated, and even with her previous memories, her personality definitely wouldn’t remain unchanged…

But had Sylph’s transformation into Lillian changed her too much?

Yan Yunqing’s mood was complicated.

*

Cremation in this other world wasn’t as complex as it was on Earth; mainly because they didn’t have the machines for it. A single magic spell and it was quickly ignited, not easily extinguished by the heavy snow.

Oh, and the main reason was that Diviak was the one who lit the fire – dragon flames, those who know, know.

Roaring flames erupted, setting the corpses ablaze. The crackling sound of burning wood filled the air, the flames soaring upwards, painting the already dimly lit sky a deeper shade of red.

The snow continued to fall, but it couldn’t suppress the raging fire. The wind only fueled the flames, making them burn even brighter.

The firelight illuminated everyone’s faces. Dainy and Yuli had unknowingly taken each other’s hands again, watching the flames together.

Yan Yunqing saw that their lower bodies were almost completely transparent.

The miracle… was coming to an end.

Yan Yunqing looked up at the sky, momentarily lost in thought.

The two children floated in front of him, hand in hand.

“Brother A-Yan.”

Yan Yunqing snapped out of his reverie and looked down at the two children, “Hmm?”

Yuli tilted her small head, her smile still as bright as ever, without a trace of gloom, “Thank you.”

As she spoke, she tugged on Dainy’s hand, and Dainy also looked up, saying to him, “Thank you.”

Very sincere.

Yan Yunqing was momentarily speechless, “…Thank you for what?”

With this word of thanks, the sense of guilt in Yan Yunqing’s heart rose again, impossible to suppress.

“Thank you for saving Grandpa, um… and for letting me and Dainy say goodbye to everyone properly.” Yuli thought for a moment, “And, that pendant.”

Yan Yunqing was stunned, “You… know?”

Yuli flashed a cute smile, two sweet dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth, “I didn’t know at first, but Dainy told me!”

She showed off Dainy as if she were a newly acquired treasure.

“Dainy is amazing, she knows everything!”

Yan Yunqing’s gaze fell on Dainy. Towards this descendant of the Felix bloodline, Yan Yunqing’s feelings were even more complicated. He also saw the two words [Prophecy] shining brightly in the talent skill column.

This child with the Felix bloodline had obviously awakened the [Prophecy] skill, and her talent was even powerful… so powerful that she could foresee her own death.

This was very special.

The [Prophecy] talent skill was indeed powerful; after all, Sylvia could even foresee the fall of gods. But no one could foresee anything about themselves, let alone something like death.

This was also normal. If anyone could foresee their own death, they could make different choices based on the prophecy to avoid death, and the predicted outcome would change, contradicting their original prediction.

Such logical problems, once deeply studied, could lead to madness. Even Sylvia had never foreseen her own death.

But Dainy could do it…

He didn’t know if it was because she was young and her thoughts were clear, or if her talent was even stronger than Sylvia’s.

But none of this mattered anymore.

Because Dainy was already dead, and Yan Yunqing couldn’t force them to become undead and remain in this world.

Yan Yunqing reached out and ruffled the heads of the two little girls, “I know, Dainy is amazing, Yuli is amazing too.”

Yuli smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits, as cheerful as a little sun.

Yuli tugged on the hem of Yan Yunqing’s clothes, signaling him to lean his ear closer.

Yan Yunqing helplessly squatted down, and as he leaned in, he heard the little girl say, “Also—I know, Brother is protecting me and Grandpa. That brother over there was arranged by Brother A-Yan, right?”

Yuli pointed to [War Wolf] standing not far away, whispering into his ear.

“So, don’t blame yourself.”

“Thank you, Brother A-Yan.”

After speaking, Yuli, like a little adult, stretched out her hand and patted the top of Yan Yunqing’s head.

Yan Yunqing stood there stunned for a long time. He only felt a warm current brushing across his forehead, knocking off the snow mixed in his hair.

After a while, Yan Yunqing also showed a smile.

“You’re welcome, Little Yuli.”

Yuli withdrew her hand. Dainy thought for a moment, and also reached out to pat Yan Yunqing’s head, but because she was too short, she couldn’t reach, and in the end, she just touched Yan Yunqing’s cheek.

“Thank you, Brother.”

“Hmm… You’re welcome, Little Dainy.”

After a formal farewell, as if a burden had been lifted, Yuli took one last look around, waved to Grandpa Jason and Uncle Rosen, took Little Dainy’s hand, and walked towards the raging fire.

Standing in front of the roaring flames, Yuli looked up at the sky, which showed a hint of dawn, and murmured, “Tomorrow, it will be a good day.”

The wind and snow grew stronger, causing the flames to sway constantly, as if dancing a dance of life.

When will winter pass?

In the last moment before the two children disappeared, a small black figure darted out, diving straight down, but failed to crash into Little Dainy’s arms, missing its target.

Yan Yunqing then realized that this sudden intruder was Finney, who had disappeared earlier.

Finney flapped its wings, lost and helpless, “Dainy! Dainy!”

Dainy took a step forward subconsciously, but then stopped, “Finney…”

Finney tried to rush into Dainy’s arms again, failing once more, but Dainy’s figure became even more transparent.

The phoenix bird was indeed the smartest of birds; it seemed to realize something, and no longer tried to rush into Dainy’s arms, but flew around Dainy incessantly.

Yan Yunqing stopped the others who wanted to catch Finney, allowing Finney to circle around Dainy and Yuli continuously.

“Finney, be good, don’t be afraid.”

Dainy called out to Finney, and with her hand, which was about to disappear completely, made a stroking gesture, “Finney, be good, don’t be afraid.”

As Dainy was about to vanish, Finney responded.

“Dainy, don’t be afraid.”

Yuli and Dainy, disappeared.

Grandpa Jason finally cried out loud, and Uncle Rosen supported him, his eyes also red, tears falling uncontrollably.

Yan Yunqing silently watched Finney still flying tirelessly, stubbornly refusing to stop. Just as he was about to step forward to catch this little bird that didn’t get along with him, he heard Finney’s voice.

It was an extremely childish and clear voice.

It sang:

“The dark sky hangs low,

Bright stars accompany…”

Yan Yunqing was stunned. This was…

The day he met Dainy, Dainy hugged him and insisted that he sing a song for her, so he sang this nursery rhyme, one of the few he knew, to coax the child.

That night, not long after he finished singing, he left the small mountain village, and the one hundred and twelve people in the village were brutally slaughtered.

“Bugs fly, bugs fly”

Dainy was also taken away by the Eternal God Cult. From then on, they were separated, and when they met again, they were worlds apart.

“Who are you missing”

The childish voice swirled in the sky, clear and bright, accompanied by the crackling flames, narrating a story of parting.

Many players in the audience secretly had red eyes.

“Who are you missing…”

When Finney finished singing the last line, it suddenly swooped down and plunged into the raging fire, allowing the surging flames to engulf it.

Yan Yunqing was stunned, finally understanding what Finney meant by “Don’t be afraid.”

Dainy, don’t be afraid, Finney is with you.

Yan Yunqing stepped forward and crouched down, placing the flower that Sylph had created for him in front of the fire. The flower, at the moment it landed, bloomed, blossomed, and unfurled its yellow and pink petals, appearing vibrant in the white snow.

The flames, as if they had life, jumped and curled up the blossoming flower in front of Yan Yunqing, turning it to ashes in a few breaths.

Yan Yunqing stared at the flower turning to ashes for a long time before finally standing up. His legs were still a bit numb, and he staggered before regaining his balance. When he looked up, he noticed that the snow had stopped sometime ago, and a blush appeared on the horizon, gradually dyeing the originally dark sky orange-red.

The wind and snow had stopped.

The sun had come out.

Tomorrow will be a good day.

[The Winter Night Without Dawn · End]

Volume 10: The Return Journey: The Dawn that Cuts Through the Long Night