The Villain Just Want to Be a Slacker [Transmigration]

106

The cold winter wind cut through the open city gate, slicing at people's cheeks like a knife.

Shan Chenzhou rode his horse, pausing at the bustling city gate with reddened eyes, observing the comings and goings.

Soon, someone recognized him. The guards approached with questions, but Shan Chenzhou remained silent.

Eventually, he moved. He turned his horse and headed back to the Shan residence.

Shan Chenzhou could neither leave nor remain.

He was ordered back to the capital, and departing now would be defying the order, possibly incurring more severe charges.

If he left, his parents left behind at the Shan residence would face imprisonment.

Shan Chenzhou's eyes were red, and he spoke hoarsely, "Ah Zi, you'll have to wait a little longer."

As winter gave way to spring and another Mid-Autumn festival passed, Shan Chenzhou finally set foot on the road to Ning City once more.

The image of the once-thriving city flashed in his mind, but the past glory had long since vanished.

The city was destroyed, homes shattered, leaving behind only scorched wastelands and endless ruins.

The location of the theater was not hard to find; Shan Chenzhou had walked that path countless times before.

Yet, the scenery was starkly different now—no longer bustling, only remnants of walls and ruins.

A year and a half had passed since the war, and the city had long become a desolate wasteland.

But Shan Chenzhou could scarcely believe that amidst the barren land, he found a dilapidated wooden hut.

His eyes lit up, and with a few deep breaths, he mustered the courage to step forward.

The hut was worn and battered, with a thatched roof now largely blown away by the wind, exposed to the elements. Pushing open the creaking wooden door, inside was only a broken-legged wooden table and a small wooden bed.

Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, as if it hadn't been inhabited for a long time.

Initially, Shan Chenzhou didn't pay much attention. After the city gates were breached, such wooden huts were numerous in Ning City.

It wasn't that the people didn't want to move; they had no choice. Remaining in Ning City at least meant there was land to guard, but leaving meant being branded as refugees, truly displaced.

It wasn't until he noticed a human-shaped lump on the thin wooden bed that Shan Chenzhou paid closer attention.

Without hesitation, he pulled back the thin blanket to reveal a dried white skeleton.

Frowning, he was about to cover the skeleton back up when his gaze fell upon a faint red mark on the wrist bone.

Shan Chenzhou's body stiffened, and his pupils contracted.

It was a piece of red rope stained with blood, tattered and foul-smelling. The red had faded significantly, but perhaps because it was on the white skeleton, it stood out so clearly.

Shan Chenzhou trembled as he reached for the red rope, fearful that his movement might disturb the fragile bones.

Tears streamed down his face, falling onto the dusty bed and scattering murky droplets.

In the end, he carefully removed the red rope from the light, fragile bones.

Despite the bloodstains, Shan Chenzhou recognized it immediately—it was the red rope he had given to Ah Zi.