79.2

"How is the situation?"

Kongming shook his head, "Very bad. The rivers carried the poison everywhere, and many uninformed people drank from it. It's harmless to ordinary people, but it poisoned many young children with a double pulse. Fortunately, the water flow diluted a lot of the toxicity so no one died yet. But it's enough to damage them for life... "

Changyi thought for a moment holding his pen. Then he took a deep breath and said, "You've been studying frost poison for many years. Although you haven't yet found a cure, you can still relieve some of the symptoms. Are you willing to travel south..."

"That's exactly why I am here. I want to immediately head south. If I can relieve the pain of even one child, it is better than sitting here and doing nothing." Changyi nodded.

"Ok. I will oversee things here, you take a hundred men and go south. Be careful of the imperial court while you are down there."

Kongming nodded. Before turning to leave, he took a good look at Changyi sitting at the desk. Behind him was the dark screen of the Demon Terrace main hall. His black robe blended into it, making his pale face and silver hair stand out even more.

"You should get some rest," he finally said.

"I don't want to come back to a dead fish. It's not going to help no matter how much you punish yourself." Then he left, leaving Changyi sitting alone in the hall.

Punishing himself wouldn't help...

But he was not punishing himself, he was just afraid to stop. If he stopped for just one second, his mind would flood over with that thin and frail figure.

He had been living for a very long time, Ji Yunhe's appearance was such a brief part of his life. And the amount of time they spent together was even shorter. But strangely...

The dazzling light of her existence overshadowed everything else. So much that Changyi felt her presence even now, between every breath. She haunted him, sometimes breathing softly into his ear, sometimes smiling in front of his eyes, and occasionally calling out to him.

Changyi, Changyi...

Again and again, her voice was a mixture of laughter and sigh. It made him lose his mind. He abruptly dropped his pen and stood up.

"Someone!" he called out.

"Let's go patrol the city..." As soon as he stood up, the early sunrise shining into the hall made his eyes grow dark. He staggered and almost fell.

Only when the servant came in and held him up did he regain his focus.

"Your Highness, you have not rested for a very long time..."

Changyi waved his hand and went down the steps of his high seat. He walked in the light of dawn, each step pulling with the weight of a thousand chains. He felt unsteady and lightheaded, but he had to keep going. No looking back and no stopping, because any slight hesitation would be enough for him to completely lose himself. And forget why this shell of a body was still walking.

.....

It was spring again. A small girl giggled and laughed among the plum blossoms. She ran around and plucked at the grass for a while, then picked at the flowers for a while.

Her eyes were black and her laughter was cheerful, but a pair of black ears on her head showed she was not an ordinary human. A silver pearl hanging around her neck shimmered under the sun, adding to the brightness of her smile.