Dominion's End

V3C1: The Guard Tower

Dominion's End Volume 3: Ice-Bound Splendor and Majesty

Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)

Chapter 1: The Guard Tower—translated by Elkin

"Xiao Yu."

I looked up to see that Chen Yanqing had dropped by again.

"Is the boy doing okay?" he asked with concern.

I shook my head, gazing at the slumbering Xiaotian, an unspeakable sadness in my heart.

Ever since the child fell asleep that day, he hadn't once woken up and he even burned with a fever. If not for the fact that he didn't look like he was on the verge of death, I'd have run away with the child. Although people still hadn't figured out the specific conditions for a human to turn into an aberrant, it wasn't hard to reason that the dead turn into aberrants.

Even Auntie Chen, who had originally been quite pleasant, started having her doubts, and she huddled at the other end of the tent with Beibei in her arms. If not for the fact that Chen Yanqing came by three times a day, I'd probably have been chased out of the tent... No, more like been chased straight out of the camp?

These few days, I clutched tightly to Xiaotian and didn't leave the tent except to go to the washroom.

But even so, rumors had spread, probably thanks to the piece of shit Zhang-dàshū. He detested me and would glare at me every day. If Chen Yanqing hadn't warned him, it was likely... I'd have beaten him to a pulp long ago!

This was the fourth day, but I still hadn't managed to get into the military zone. With Xiaotian ill to this extent, there was no way we'd be let in.

"You..." Chen Yanqing looked at me with an aching heart, but his hands were tied.

I said calmly, "I'm leaving."

Chen Yanqing's eyes bulged as he stared at me.

It wasn't like I had a choice. If this continued, sooner or later, the people nearby would gang up to chase out Xiaotian and me, and this would probably happen within the next two days. Recently, that man had been sneaking out for most of the day, secretively doing something or other. But judging from the look in his eyes every time he looked at me, I was positive this guy was up to no good.

Although I wasn't scared of him, right now Xiaotian wasn't well. I didn't want any complications to arise, so I was better off finding some place close by to wait. It also meant it'd be easier to take care of Xiaotian. With the way things were, even if I wanted to wipe down Xiaotian's body with some warm water, I wouldn't even be able to heat up any. It was a pain.

"What're you on about?" Chen Yanqing yelled angrily, "Where d'you think you can go with a kid? Lots of kids have fallen sick recently, but they recovered after a few days, so it's not a big deal. And it's the fourth day already, so he should be recovering soon. If you really are worried, I'll go talk to my bosses and stay the night here."

The children are falling sick, probably because their abilities are awakening? Children didn't have much stamina, so they often fell sick during the ability awakening process.

It'd be great if Xiaotian really was awakening to his powers, but I knew the truth was otherwise. I didn't know how many days Xiaotian would be ill for, and if possible, I still wanted to go hunt for some crystals. Even if it was useless, it'd be good to use the crystals as candy for Xiaotian. Right now, I was almost driven crazy by this feeling of helplessness!

"Really? Okay, then I'll wait. You don't have to stay overnight," I lied blithely. In any case, I had to make sure this guy wouldn't stay and get in the way of my escape.