Chapter 113: CH 61.1

August 10, 2023 by Wyrd

A flower attendant could only nurture uncontaminated flowers.

On that evening, the white-haired flower attendant said he wanted to nurture this withered hand flower, and the Holy Maiden unexpectedly agreed.

At that time, some players speculated that Hua Feng’s identity was extraordinary.

Indeed, it was true.

The surname “Hua” was renowned throughout the entire Shigen Kingdom.

“My brother, he’s a first-generation flower attendant.”

The Hua family’s main influence wasn’t in Furen County. His family was just a small branch and did not live in prosperity. However, Hua Feng had always felt that his brother was the most remarkable young master in Furen County.

When Hua Feng was nine years old, his father perished on the battlefield, followed by his mother. In their family’s decline, his brother brought him, who was withdrawn, to Furen County to seek refuge with their grandfather, allowing him to recover away from the heartache.

Furen County was indeed a beautiful place. They weren’t highly regarded in their maternal grandparents’ home, but they depended on each other and lived happily.

His brother took him through every natural lake in Furen County, letting him hear the sound of the lake’s waves stirred by the wind.

His brother told him about every mountain in Furen County, the sounds of each kind of bird in the woods, and the rustling of the wind through the leaves.

Brother: “Hua Feng, look at how beautiful this city is.”

Brother: “Hua Feng, listen. The wind is the most abundant sound in this world, and you will be a part of it too.”

When Hua Feng looked up at him, he happened to see the wind lifting his brother’s hair, the long hair swaying with a gentle sound in his ears.

During that gust of mountain wind, his brother’s eyelashes curved, his eyes shining brightly and warmly, reflecting a beautiful city.

His brother turned around, and the city transformed into what it was when he was younger.

Five years ago, auspicious signs descended from the heavens.

Brother: “Hua Feng, I’m going to become a flower attendant.”

Hua Feng asked: “What is a flower attendant?”

Brother: “A flower attendant is a person who serves the god, and our god is the Flower God. Our surname is Hua. Aren’t we naturally meant to be servants of the Flower God?”

At that moment, his eyes shone particularly bright. It was only long after that Hua Feng understood that was a resolute light - directed towards himself and towards the Flower God.

Brother: “Brother will surely become the most outstanding flower attendant. Furen County will become more beautiful, and Hua Feng will lead a better life.”

When he was 13, after going through numerous selections, brother entered the Flower God’s temple and became a first generation flower attendant.

A flower attendant had to maintain purity and couldn’t appear frequently.

Every day, Hua Feng knelt before the Flower God’s temple, praying to catch a glimpse of his brother.

Often, he could only see his brother once a month. His brother’s figure grew weaker, his face paler, yet the light in his eyes remained bright.

Kneeling before the Flower God’s statue, Hua Feng looked upon it, hands clasped in prayer over his chest, saying, “Oh dear god, I don’t ask for riches and peace in Furen County. I only ask for your blessings upon my one and only brother’s health. He’s the most beautiful scenery of my Furen County, your most devout follower.”

The last time he saw his brother, a prominent blue vein appeared on his face, extending from his right cheek to the corner of his right eye.

Looking at him, a tear fell from his eye, a mix of sorrow and brightness.

Since then, Hua Feng never saw his brother again.

Not long after, the Flower God bestowed blessings upon Furen County, bringing prosperity and harmony.

Amidst the lively cheers, no one noticed the frantic search of a young boy.

He couldn’t hear their cheers either, only the lonely sound of the wind in his ears.

A Holy Maiden emerged in the Flower God’s temple, proclaiming that the first generation flower attendants had truly gone to serve the god.

The next generation of flower attendants, unlike the first, was no longer chosen from distinguished families.

Soon after, flower slaves emerged.

Impoverished families sold their children as flower slaves, selecting the outstanding ones as flower attendant, sacrificing the rest to the Flower God as offerings.

Flower attendants were no longer as rare as before and occasionally discarded flower attendant could be seen from the flower slave traders.

He had been observing all along, growing increasingly understanding, yet ultimately remaining baffled.

Zhu Shuanshuang: “So, you’ve also become a flower attendant. Do you want to walk the path your brother walked?”

Hua Feng said, “Our god is the Flower God, our surname is Hua, and we are naturally born to serve the Flower God.”

Zhu Shuanshuang remained silent, unable to find words.

The other players were the same, except Dai Dong, who refused to believe, “How do you know it’s your brother?”

Hua Feng’s expression remained calm. “My brother’s hand has held mine over two thousand four hundred times. Even if he turned into bones, I could still recognize him.”

Everyone was stunned, watching him speak these words calmly, not understanding why their hearts suddenly felt so heavy.

In reality, they couldn’t fathom how even after witnessing his beloved brother transform like this, he would still have faith in the Flower God.

Could the Flower God truly exist in the heart of Furen County, worthy of their sacrifices?

Dai Dong’s voice was hoarse. “I don’t care what it used to be, it killed Jia Ying. It’s a monster now, and it will harm even more people!”

Tears welled up in Hua Feng’s eyes again. “No! He’s not! He’s my brother!”

His other hand covered the wrist of the flower hand. “He’s my extraordinarily talented brother!”

“Have you not seen the later-stage flower attendants? Their veins don’t contain blood. My brother doesn’t want to harm anyone; he just wants to hold on to this fleeting blood!”

“His blood, it’s gone.”

Dai Dong: “If his blood is gone, does that mean he can take others’ blood?”

Hua Feng: “He doesn’t want to take others’ blood, he just wants to feel it! You see, when he feels the blood, he calms down. He won’t struggle and hurt others anymore.”

The flower hand truly didn’t move anymore. It quietly remained within his brother’s veins, feeling the warm blood flow through its fingertips.

Two anguished men, one lying down and the other standing, faced each other, both for the people they loved.

Su Wangsheng pulled Dai Dong back again, and this time, Dai Dong’s reaction wasn’t as intense. Su Wangsheng said to him, “You better not harm them. As a member of the Hongyu Guild, you should understand more than us.”

Dai Dong covered his face, tears flowing out from between his fingers. “I’m done for, Su Wangsheng. I’m finished. I can’t go into the swamp again, and I can’t raise flowers anymore. Every time I see those pots of flowers, I wonder if it’s stained with Jiang Ying’s blood and flesh.”

“I love her,” he kept hoarsely emphasizing, “I really love her.”

Zhu Shuangshuang felt uncomfortable watching, and she pierced the blister on his heart, questioning him, “Then why didn’t you insist on keeping her back then, or accompany her to the end, at least bury her in a corner of the Dark Swamp?”

“The Holy Maiden planned to take both of them away, but Hua Feng begged for his brother to be left behind. You didn’t do the same for Jiang Ying.”

Anyone could tell that the white-robed person easily pulled Jiang Ying’s body out from Dai Dong’s arms at that time. He could have pulled her back, but he didn’t.

Only because the Holy Maiden said he could accompany Jiang Ying to the Dark Swamp.

It was midnight then, the darkest hour of the night, and also when monsters were most active.

No one knew what the Dark Swamp was like in the thick of the night.

Dai Dong cried even louder.

He was a high-ranking member of the third-ranked guild in the game base, with a significant status, quick thinking, and calm demeanor. These two days were the most embarrassed he had been.

He was in pain, he regretted, he felt guilty too, that’s why he dreamt of Jiang Ying every night, dreaming that Jiang Ying told him how much pain and cold she was feeling.

Su Wangsheng looked at him for a few seconds and pulled him out of the house.

The other two players, who didn’t know the details, also left.

Ning Su looked at Hua Feng and asked, “You knew he was your brother at first sight, didn’t you?”

Hua Feng nodded.

He bit the towel back into his mouth, held the lifeless hand that no longer struggled, and slowly pulled the fingers out from his arm.

During that process, sweat dripped from his forehead like rain, wetting strands of his white hair, and the blood vessels on his face stood out clearly.

When he withdrew the dead hand, Ning Su wrapped the torn wrist with gauze and saw his thin arm twitching uncontrollably.

“Tha... thank you,” he weakly uttered, his voice muffled by the towel.

At this moment, he should have been in excruciating pain, yet he still struggled to turn over, using his intact arm to weakly embrace the hand stained with blood.

“They said my brother went to serve the Flower God,” he softly spoke in his weakened state. “That’s an honor, so the people of the country came specifically to invite me back.”

“I thought the same way, not sure whether to be happy or sad.”

“When I first saw this hand, I also didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.”

“The happy part is that I can hold his hand again.”

His fair and slender hand held onto the stiff, blood-red hand. “I will take care of him, my brother.”

He said this somewhat naively, his voice trembling with pain, yet sounding strangely powerful.

The night wind from the Dark Swamp blew, wailing softly.

Hua Feng asked, “Did you hear it?”

Ning Su responded with a soft “Mm.”

Wind was the most abundant sound.

When Ning Su left, Hua Feng closed his eyes while holding onto that hand.

Back in the room, Ning Su sat in front of his flower again for a while and said, “I’m the same. I will take care of you.”

The next morning, only one flower showed signs of contamination, and the white-robed people from the Temple of the Flower God took it away.

As soon as the white-robed people left, Jia Chensheng arrived with his group.

Jia Chensheng was the president of the Hongyu Guild, and Dai Dong was his capable assistant. He had been aware of Dai Dong’s situation for the past couple of days and probably knew about Dai Dong’s plans. He came to visit him early in the morning.

Zhu Shuangshuang and Su Wangsheng also came along to discuss the current situation.

Jia Chensheng, upon learning about last night’s incident, first comforted Dai Dong, “Selfishness and cowardice are human nature, Dai Dong. Let’s just let this matter pass. Stop thinking about it.”

He understood Dai Dong’s feelings better than the other players here.

Dai Dong had always been the one leading and guiding others in the guild. He would teach new members how to analyze dungeons, how to read people’s intentions. But he never thought that one day he would shy away from such a situation.

Dai Dong’s eyes were dark, and he nodded, not sure if he was really taking it in.

Jia Chensheng sighed and looked at the others in the courtyard, saying, “What Hua Feng said last night was valuable.”

Su Wangsheng said, “We’ve seen a failed flower attendant at Boss Qi’s place, and we all saw the ending.”

“According to Hua Feng, his brother should have been a successful flower attendant, so why are his hands on the flowers? And why did he become a contaminated flower?”

A person next to Jia Chensheng had an unpleasant expression and said, “Doesn’t that mean that as a flower attendant, whether successful or not, the end result is death?”

No one would find this easy to accept.

Jia Chensheng said, “Let’s not be so pessimistic. Our main task is not to be a flower attendant of some sort. We don’t have to end up as flower attendant. We just need to find a way to communicate with the god or see the god.”

Su Wangsheng really didn’t want to bring him down, but he had to say, “The failed flower attendant at Boss Qi’s place, her veins almost had no blood left, and Hua Feng’s brother is the same. Hua Feng said he’s after the blood.”

“Regardless of failure or success, we might both end up losing blood.”

Zhu Shuangshuang nodded, “This point matches up with our veins hardening, so what are they trying to transform our bodies into? What is it for?”

None of them could provide the correct answer.

As the discussion continued and more plot unfolded, not only did they not feel at ease, but their mood grew heavier.

They all realized the danger of their situation.