Now that Yue Hengyi heard his wife's apology, he understood that it was meaningless for him and his wife to be angry, because the past was the past. If he clung to the past, he and his beloved would be the ones to suffer in the end.
Therefore, Yue Hengyi quickly said to Bai Fengying, "Don't worry, I will take care of the two children, and you must hold on. Perhaps you will receive treatment soon. Don't despair!"
But Bai Fengying gave a tragic smile and said, "Actually, what I want most is to return to the mountains and live happily with our family. My desires are not many; I only wish for our family to be safe and healthy. It's a pity that even such a simple wish cannot be fulfilled in the doomsday!"
Yue Hengyi felt even more guilty. He was the one who brought his family out of the mountains, but unfortunately, on the very first day, they were separated by life and death. This made him doubt whether his decision was correct. If he had found a way to resist the locusts in the sky, would their lives have been different?
Bai Fengying's consciousness suddenly blurred. She felt something was wrong with her body, as if many insects were crawling inside her, causing her constant pain.
So, in her final moments, Bai Fengying said to her two children, "Cangshan, Bitai, you must listen to your father from now on. Don't be angry with him. Even if he finds another mother for the family later, you are not allowed to object. In the future, other mothers will come to take care of you."
Yue Cangshan and Yue Bitai, crying, nodded and agreed to their mother's requests.
With that, Bai Fengying finally felt relieved. In her dying moments, she looked at her self-blaming husband and said, "I will never forget the moment I first saw you. At that time, I was living alone in the mountains and had become mentally unstable. When I didn't know what to do, you descended from the sky and landed before the Guanyin statue. At that moment, I knew you were a gift from heaven. I wanted to treat you well, but it's a pity I can't be with you forever. I am not worthy of you!"
Whenever she recalled the first time she met Yue Hengyi, Bai Fengying's eyes would light up with anticipation. This kind of radiance had never appeared in her eyes before. It was evident that she truly cherished those past moments. The first time she saw Yue Hengyi, she knew that this man would be her lifelong companion. Alas, fate is unpredictable. After he recovered his memories, he had gradually drifted away from her.
"In fact, I was the same. At that time, I had lost all hope and felt that there was nothing in this world worth staying for, so I thought of ending my life. I never expected to meet you after my despair and spend so many unforgettable years together. Now I finally understand that the most important thing is to cherish the people around you!" Yue Hengyi quickly replied.
A smile appeared on Bai Fengying's face. Just as she was about to say something, her expression changed, and she fainted again.
Yue Hengyi immediately called out the doctor's name, hoping the doctor would come quickly to treat her. The doctor then rushed into the ward and took her to the emergency room for resuscitation. Unfortunately, this time they were unable to save her. The toxins in the ticks had already penetrated deep into Bai Fengying's bone marrow. Both her brain and her internal organs had been poisoned, and it was now beyond hope.
"Do me a favor and take these two children somewhere else. Try not to let them be too sad. I need to arrange a funeral for my wife!" Yue Hengyi said with great sadness to the staff of Yuzhou beside him, hoping they would take the children away from this sorrowful place.
In fact, the hospital had witnessed many partings of life and death. If you want to see the despair of the human world, go to the hospital. Every day, people there collapse because they cannot afford medical expenses, and many are filled with fear as they watch their loved ones depart. This place is hell on earth.
Yue Hengyi did not want the two children to develop a fear of hospitals, so he could only ask those around him to take the children away first, so they would not witness their mother's death firsthand.
Yue Cangshan and Yue Bitai clung tightly to Yue Hengyi's clothes. They absolutely did not want to leave the hospital because they still wanted to stay by their mother's side.
Unfortunately, the staff's strength was clearly greater than that of the two children. Their small hands were quickly pried open, and they were forcibly taken away, eventually being sent to Fengshen Palace.
Li Keyi was already in Fengshen Palace. After hearing about the situation, she couldn't help but sigh at how cruel this world was. Yue Hengyi had already lost enough, yet heaven was still taking his beloved wife from this world.
Therefore, Li Keyi immediately arranged for Xiao Long and Xiao Hu to take the two children to play in Fengshen Palace, hoping to make them happy and not always look sad. Children should be happy.
Xiao Long and Xiao Hu were also helpless. They didn't expect their third aunt to give them such a bizarre task of taking care of other children. However, they had all grown up a lot and were now teenagers. They were sure they could complete this task.
Yue Hengyi waited in the hospital for the doctor's grim news. Bai Fengying's heart finally stopped beating. The insects on her body were still growing. The only solution was cremation, as only cremation could burn the insects inside her.
Yue Hengyi lowered his head and pondered for a long time before saying, "Let me take a photo of her. The funeral cannot be without a photo, and I also need a photo as a memory."
The hospital quickly fulfilled Yue Hengyi's request. However, most people were not satisfied with the resulting photo because Bai Fengying's face was covered with red bumps. Only by cleaning up these bumps with photo editing techniques could her original appearance be restored.
"Give me two photos. One is the retouched photo, and the other is the one without photo editing," Yue Hengyi said calmly.
"Why do you need these two photos? Does a photo that has been retouched to look ugly have any meaning?" the photographer asked, very confused.
Yue Hengyi calmly replied to the question, "The retouched photo is for the funeral. The unretouched photo is for my memento. I will not forget her appearance today until the day I die!"
Yue Hengyi's thoughts were very simple. Of course, he remembered his wife's appearance in his heart. However, this time, it was due to his own mistake that his wife was implicated. Now his wife's beautiful appearance had been disfigured, and he had to take responsibility for this. The simplest way was to ensure he would always remember his wife's appearance at the time of her death, and never forget it.
However, the photo used at the funeral was for everyone to see, and this could not be taken lightly. Showing others what his wife looked like at the time of her death would undoubtedly be impolite. It would be better to let everyone see what his wife looked like before.
Afterward, Bai Fengying was sent to the crematorium. Yue Hengyi had also considered whether to beg the people there to use the freezing method again, giving his wife a chance to live. Perhaps in the future, they would have the ability to save his wife.
Unfortunately, the doctor's answer was cruel. Currently, the only person who could be frozen without dying was Mu Ying, and she was still in the Dabie Mountains. It would take at least two days to find her. However, Bai Fengying had already died and could not be saved. Even if they found her and froze her, it would only be freezing a corpse.
Upon receiving this answer, Yue Hengyi finally gave up hope.
Yue Hengyi also knew that his wife could only be cremated. Her body was covered with insects. If these insects were not burned, they would surely devour all the flesh. Therefore, she could only be sent to the crematorium and burned with fire.
At the funeral, Yue Hengyi couldn't help but cry. The two children were even more heartbroken. Children in the doomsday were very precocious. They knew what death meant, and they knew that their mother had died and they would never see her again. Therefore, their grief could no longer be suppressed.
Yue Hengyi wanted to see Shen Feng. His mood was very heavy, but he had no one to confide in about his helplessness. The only person he could talk to, after much thought, was Shen Feng. However, in his haste, he had no idea where Shen Feng was.
Chang Jianyi informed Yue Hengyi of the answer: "Shen Feng has gone to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. There are many butterfly nests there, and these butterflies must be cleared out to restore peace to the Chuan-Yu region. So, you probably won't be able to find him during this time."
At the funeral, countless people attended the ceremony. Although many people disliked Yue Hengyi, they had to show respect for Shen Feng's sake. Yue Hengyi was, after all, a good brother to Shen Feng. Although the city lord was not present, they could not treat the occasion casually, so they attended the funeral.
After pondering, Yue Hengyi figured something out. He then found Chang Jianyi and said, "Sister-in-law, I need your help with something. Please agree to it. I plan to go north to exterminate those inhumane locusts. It is because of these locusts that our family was forced to leave our homes and go south, and more people will be harmed. Now, I will avenge those who have died and clear out these locusts. However, I need you to take care of the two children."
It turned out that Yue Hengyi had realized that the reason for the bizarre and tragic events that had befallen him was actually the environment of the doomsday. If it weren't for the mutation of these countless insects, he wouldn't have been forced to flee the city with his family. And after fleeing the city, if he hadn't encountered these mutated ticks, his wife wouldn't have died. In the final analysis, it was these hateful insects that killed his wife.
Yue Hengyi found his direction. As a powerful esper, he had been lost for a long time. Now, he had finally realized that he should protect others. Escaping was useless; disaster would always find him at an unexpected moment. Only by actively facing threats could destiny be changed.
"So, you don't plan to stay in Yuzhou anymore and are preparing to return north? Is that really appropriate? Your parents and cousin are all here. Why don't you stay? Even if you need to fight in the future, you can still be useful, can't you?" Chang Jianyi tried to persuade him to stay.