MLiS – Chapter 14.2

For You, I’ll Live On

Chen Sha listened to Chu Mo’s advice. He bought the discharged Luo Lan back to his castle in the First District of Big Gemini. He hoped Su Qi and Su Er could assist Luo Lan with her rehabilitation process.

Luo Lan was courteous toward Su Qi and Su Er. She would answer their questions and converse with them. Lamentably, even for Su Qi and Su Er, Luo Lan wouldn’t do the rehabilitation exercise.

She didn’t even take a step out of her room. She always sat by the window, looking at the garden full of blooming roses in a daze. 

With such blazing red, one would fear looking at it for too long will cause burn to the eyes. And yet, Luo Lan kept looking at it. Looking at it for a whole day. 

Su Er scolded her, “You! It won’t do if you continue to be like this!”

Luo Lan nodded in agreement, “I know.” However, for a person who has no hope of the future and did not know where it would lead her, doing anything or doing nothing made no difference to her.

Chen Sha really couldn’t continue to watch her in this state. Despite Luo Lan’s resistance, he forcibly dragged her to the training ground.

Nevertheless, no matter what Chen Sha said, Luo Lan was unresponsive.

With no alternative left, Chen Sha directly started the training. He ached to force a reaction out of her. 

Just like what he did in the previous special training, he kicked Luo Lan. But, Luo Lan didn’t avoid his kick flexibly like before. She received the kick and flew out like a puppet and fell heavily to the ground.

She got up with a dull expression. She walked towards the gate of the training ground, wanting to leave. 

Chen Sha was immediately in front of her, His hand was reaching out to Luo Lan’s throat. 

Again, Luo Lan didn’t avoid or hide from it. She just stood in a daze, allowing Chen Sha to pinch her neck. 

It only made Chen Sha angrier. He put a little force on his hand. Luo Law was almost out of breath because of it, but as before, she didn’t react even a little. Her eyes were cold and lifeless, indifferent. As if she didn’t care Chen Sha strengthened his grip on her neck.

Chen Sha’s face was as cold as ice. He asked sharply, “What’s with this appearance of yours that is no different from seeking death?”

Luo Lan didn’t answer, her eyes were still indifferent.

Chen Sha scolded, “Right from the start, you have known the secret of heterogeneous humans. You know very well that we could mutate and eat others! What with this now? You have the courage to fall in love with a heterogeneous human but don’t have the courage to face the result of his mutation? If Qian Xu could see your cowardly appearance right now, he would definitely regret accepting you back then!”

Luo Lan’s eyes flickered for a moment, but she didn’t respond.

Chen Sha ridiculed aggressively, “As a heterogeneous human, Qian Xu must have been prepared for a lifetime of loneliness. For both of you to get together, he definitely had rejected you many times, and you definitely had promised him to accept every part of him, for better or worse. Look at you now, is this how you show your ‘acceptance’?”

Luo Lan still guarded her word like treasure, but this time, tears welled up in her eyes. 

“Since you can’t bear the consequences, don’t be conceited and provoke him in the first place! Are you like this to show your deep love for him? Qian Xu didn’t need it at all一”

Luo Lan pushed Chen Sha away. Tears were evident in her eyes. “An iceberg like you, what do you know about emotion or pain?! You chose to cooperate with the Consul’s plan. You used me as bait to lure the Dragon Blood Corps. What right do you have to pretend to care about me now?!”

She darted past Chen Sha and ran out of the training ground.

Chen Sha didn’t follow her. He stood there motionless, like a snow-capped mountain that will never melt. Standing alone for a long time in this world. Between Heaven and Earth, the heavy snow on the snow-capped mountain was like the perfect mask for it. Only allowing people to see the icy snow above and not the mountain under the snow. 

————·————·————

Luo Lan stumbled through the forests on the mountain. She didn’t want to return to Chen Sha’s castle, let alone meet other people. She could only search for a secluded and uninhibited place to be alone.

From far, she saw a cluster of Myth Flowers blooming on the steep mountain wall. She was frozen in place before she realized it. 

It was shady in the dense forest. The sun fell from the crevices of the treetops and it just happened that a beam of light shone on the Myth Flower. The blue petals were glittering and translucent, reflecting the light, as if the flowers were carved from pieces of sapphire.

Luo Lan dazedly stared at it for a long time. Without thinking much, she dragged her body to the nearest tree to the mountain wall and tried to climb up.

She stepped carefully on the uneven rock wall. One of her hands was clutching tightly on the tree, the other was stretched out to pluck the Myth Flower. 

The cluster of flowers was obviously close to her hand. Yet, every time she reached out to pluck it, the flowers appeared to be far away from her and her hand couldn’t reach it, she always missed it. 

Luo Lan didn’t give up, she tried her best, again and again. It was a very simple action. But, even when she had tried her best, she still couldn’t do it. Her whole hand didn’t listen to her at all.

She was both dejected and angry. She bit her lips and leaned forward.

She didn’t reach the flower. Instead, she slipped and fell off the mountain wall.

Subconsciously, she shut her eyes tight.

To her surprise, her body didn’t greet the ground. Someone had caught her.

Luo Lan instantly snapped her eyes open. What she saw was the consul. He was holding her in one hand and helping her to pluck the Myth Flower with the other. 

His movements were steady. 

Gently, they descended to the ground. 

He politely put her down and offered the Myth Flower to her.

Luo Lan didn’t accept it. She turned around and left without saying a word.

The consul has his own responsibilities that come with his position. Every action of his was for Odin’s interest. She had no opinion on him using her as bait to lure the Dragon Blood Crops. However, she had her opinion on him when he killed Qian Xu with his own hands after Qian Xu unfortunately mutated. Luo Lan was not unreasonable, she had no reason to blame him and avenge Qian Xu, but there was no way for her to forgive him. 

“Princess.”

Luo Lan speeded up her pace, wanting to get rid of the consul. The consul was persistent and kept following her.

“I am the fourth Consul of the Odin Federation. The first Consul, You Beichen, had made great achievements and was well known all over the world. The second Consul, Li Rui, maintained the achievements of You Beichen and preserved the stability of Odin. The third Consul, An Rong, was Chen Sha’s mother, she was an extraordinary and outstanding lady.”

Luo Lan said coldly, “I’m not interested in the history of your Odin Federation!”

The consul, as if he hadn’t heard her, continued to narrate it lightly, “An Rong was talented and full of wits. She understood the economy and people’s livelihood well. She was good at being soft while still able to balance the interests of all parties. Of course, if there are strenghts, there are weaknesses. She was an absolute blockhead regarding military affairs. Fortunately, her lover excelled at that. In the whole Odin Federation, none excelled him. He was Chen Yuan, the Commander and the First Duke of the Odin Federation at that time. The two worked together and were sincere to each other. It should have been the most promising era in Odin Federation’s history. Sadly, an unexpected accident happened, they died together in a car explosion…”

Luo Lan recalled the blazing and beautiful sea of roses outside her window. Her steps unconsciously slowed down. Before, she had never been able to figure out why Chen Sha, who was as indifferent as an iceberg, would allow such gentle and beautiful scenery in his castle. Now, she figured it out.

“Chen Sha, who was in the same car with them at that time, miraculously escaped the explosion and survived. For the Federation, the loss of two talented people was of course an extremely heavy loss, but for a six-year-old child, it was a loss of his whole world. Chen Sha suffered from aphasia^[1] and was unable to speak for a long time. Chu Mo’s father took him for intensive treatment and asked Chu Mo, who was similar in age to him, to eat and sleep with him, accompanying him day and night, but it had no effect. Afterward, I guessed the things that happened at that time. In front of Chen Sha, I repeated my conjecture, pressuring him to speak. Only then did I confirm my conjecture. Chen Sha’s parents didn’t die because of the car explosion, but…”

Luo Lan has completely stopped. She subconsciously touched her right arm with her left hand. 

Behind her, the consul’s gaze fell on her right arm. The sun fell on his mask and cold metallic light was reflected from it. His true emotions were obstructed by the mask. 

“Chen Sha’s father had level 3A physical ability, while Chen Sha’s mother only had level B. In the car, Chen Sha’s father suddenly mutated. His mother only had time to push Chen Sha out of the car. She was eaten alive by the mutated beast.”

Luo Lan’s body trembled violently. Her grasp on her right arm tightened. 

The consul’s gaze was still on her arm. There was no temperature in his voice, “Chen Sha’s mother, in order to protect Chen Sha, activated the bomb planted in the car before she died. The beast was killed by the explosion. With his own eyes, Chen Sha witnessed everything. I’m afraid that up until now, the shadow of the accident still haunts him.”

Luo Lan swiftly faced the consul. She spoke harshly, “Your Excellency the Consul, haven’t you calculated enough? Granted that you don’t want me to be angry at Chen Sha, but why should you bring up things that were similar to me and Qian Xu?”

The consul stated calmly, “I’m only telling the truth.”

“You really make me sick, so repulsive! Your body is not the only thing that is rotten! Your heart is also rotten and smells as bad as your body!” Luo Lan berated him and spun around, decisively leaving the place.

In the past, she had fear and hope. She was always cautious and kept her smile on her face for fear of offending them. In the present, she had no fear of death; she had no hope of life. She didn’t care about the consequences anymore. Anyway, no matter what she did, one day her identity would be exposed for all to see, at that time, they wouldn’t bother to be polite with her anymore and nothing else would matter.

————·————·————

The setting sun cast its glow, all over the sky was covered with it. 

Luo Lan sat by the window. Silently looking at the sea of roses below. 

The Lady of the house must have liked this beautiful but delicate flowers very much, to the point she planted them all over the castle. The Lord of the house might not necessarily like the flowers, but he must have loved the Lady who grew those flowers very much. The Lord willingly indulged the Lady’s hobby.

It’s a pity that the roses that symbolized their love would still bloom every year, but their love withered in the most tragic way一 One incarnated as a beast and bit the other to death; One activated a bomb and killed the other.

Luo Lan gently held her right arm.

She seemed to remember something and hastily got up. She marched to the drawer, searching for the 3D photo frame that had run out of energy. The photo frame did not consume much energy. With only an energy block, the photo frame could be used for decades. This means, no one had seen the photos in the frame for at least decades.

When Luo Lan wanted to replace its energy block, she noticed the insignia of First District engraved on the back of the photo frame: An unsheathed black sword with red roses entwined it. 

Two lines of small characters were engraved at the bottom. 

Without the protection of a sharp blade, the beauty of the world cannot bloom to its fullest;
Without the restraint of tenderness, the strength becomes a sheathless sword that hurts others and oneself.

一Chen Yuan & An Rong.

Previous | ToC | Next

Footnotes

1. 失语症 – shī yǔ zhènɡ;Aphasia. Aphasia is a condition that robs you of the ability to communicate. It can affect your ability to speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written. Aphasia can be so severe as to make communication with the patient almost impossible, or it can be very mild and affect mainly a single aspect of language use, such as the ability to retrieve the names of objects, or the ability to put words together into sentences, or the ability to read.↵

Amoeba’s Corner

I know Chen Sha is worried about Luo Lan, but… That’s… really not how you should comfort someone… Chen Sha…!!! 

Ish la.

I’m so disappointed in you, Chen Sha. Jerk.

I’m sad for An Rong and Chen Yuan.

————·————·————

Sneak-a-Peek

Nothing in the world could last forever. But, the feeling of longing would linger deep in the bones, engraved for a lifetime even until the last breath.

Obligatory Closing
If you like what I do, please consider checking my ko-fi! (づ￣ ³￣)づ
No advanced chapters yet because I am rushing Volume 1 lol

This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 2216

Support me on Ko-fi!