Many days had passed since that young man bid farewell.
During this time, no one else had entered the village.
Another person had died in the old man's neighbor's house.
How did he know?
Because in the past, the person in the neighboring house, though rarely going out, would peek through a slightly opened window every day.
Observing the situation outside.
But for the past two days, no eyes had been watching from that window.
No more coughing sounds emanated from within.
After waiting two days, the old man knocked and went inside to check.
The person had already breathed their last.
He sighed, took the remaining rice the deceased had, and then covered the person from head to toe with a straw mat.
"This old man has no strength to bury you, so this will have to do. May you rest in peace..."
After leaving the neighboring house, the old man brought the food back to his own room, hid it in a corner, and covered it with杂物 (miscellaneous items).
Then he returned to his doorway and sat down.
Gazing at the sky, he calculated how many days he had left to live.
Either he would die first, or the grain in his room would run out.
Sometimes, memories of the past would surface in his mind.
Scenes of his family members sharing food when they were still alive.
Scenes of crying children.
Scenes of locusts flying over the fields, leaving nothing but bare earth.
And also... not long ago, that young man who boasted.
He had probably died already...?
Or perhaps, after seeing the situation over there, he had been scared away.
As the old man was lost in his thoughts, a child of about eleven or twelve suddenly ran into the village.
Wearing patched cloth clothes, with hands cupped around their mouth like a megaphone.
While running, they shouted loudly:
"The plague in Xiangshui Village has been cured! The plague in Xiangshui Village has been cured!"
"Anyone infected with the plague can go to Xiangshui Village for treatment!"
The child was small and thin.
But their voice was not small, and when running, there was a vibrant energy about them.
They ran from one end of the village to the other, and from the other end back to the first.
Shouting the same words repeatedly.
The old man, who had been dozing by his doorway, sat bolt upright, murmuring in disbelief:
"The plague has been cured?!"
Xiangshui Village was where the plague had first appeared.
Such a severe plague, and it had been cured?
In his daze, the old man felt as if he were hearing a dream.
He quickly pinched himself; it hurt.
What was going on? Who had cured it?
Had someone from above come?
No, impossible!
For some reason, the image of that young man suddenly appeared in the old man's mind.
He had said he wanted to try; had he succeeded, or had he died?
When the child ran past again, the old man quickly called out:
"Child, are you from Xiangshui Village? What's the situation there? The plague was cured just like that??"
The child stopped. Perhaps they had been instructed before leaving, and facing the old man's question, they replied earnestly:
"I wasn't originally from Xiangshui Village; I came from another village to be treated."
"Now that it's cured, that brother asked me to shout to the surrounding villages so everyone can get treatment."
"Brother?!" The old man's voice rose, "Was he handsome, and this tall?"
He stood up and used the nearby door to gesture the height.
His withered hand trembled slightly from excitement and disbelief.
The child nodded, "About that."
"He didn't die, he actually didn't die..." the old man murmured, lost in thought for a moment.
He had actually succeeded?!
The child glanced at him and said, "Old grandpa, if you are sick, hurry and get treated. That brother is very kind and doesn't charge us."
After saying this, seeing the old man unresponsive.
The child didn't say any more, turned, and continued running through the village.
While running, they shouted:
"The plague in Xiangshui Village has been cured, the plague in Xiangshui Village has been cured. Anyone who is sick can go for treatment..."
...
...
"Could that person be a wise ruler in the future?"
"I think it's possible!"
The viewers, typing on their keyboards, watched and posted bullet comments.
Although the scenes of thirty years of war were shown quickly, like a fast-forwarded playback.
They were enough to make them understand the cruelty of war.
War... had destroyed everything for the common people.
Their homes, their fields, their loved ones...
They had almost nothing left.
Due to natural disasters, they often couldn't eat enough or wear warm clothes.
After winter passed, dead bodies lay in the fields.
Some had starved to death, others had died from eating dirt.
Though the scene flashed by, it was shocking and hard to look at.
It was unbearable to witness.
Even people back then were afraid of such scenes.
Let alone the modern viewers who even have mosaics when watching anime?
Some felt psychologically uncomfortable, while others sighed with sorrow and a sense of desolation.
Yet, despite this, they did not leave the live stream.
They just wanted to see when this chaotic era would end.
Who would be the true wise ruler?
"Please, let a wise ruler appear soon!"
"I want to cry... my grandfather's generation also came from wartime."
"My father also retired not long ago, missing an arm."
"May there be no more war in the world. (Praying emoji.)"
...
"Heroes emerge in troubled times..."
Xu Nan murmured to himself.
As a ghost from modern times, his thoughts were not much different from those of the viewers.
In times of chaos, heroes emerged, gathered talents, and contended for the world...
Although it sounded imposing and was indeed exciting in stories.
But in times of chaos, how many people would die?
Their souls with nowhere to go.
Thinking of this, Xu Nan recalled the book with the green cover in the captain's hand.
Being intelligent, he could now roughly guess the origin of these scenes.
He just didn't know... how it was recorded in the end.
Was that young man truly the wise ruler that Qilin mentioned?
In the silence.
Beside him,
Jiang Lin, upon seeing that young man, slightly raised his eyebrows.
Beneath his calm expression, a hint of surprise was faintly revealed.
...Was it as he thought?
...