Hero? Are You Worthy?
Chapter 84 - 69: Seeds of Life (3000 Words for You, Asking for Monthly Passes and Follow-Up Reads)

Chapter 84: Chapter 69: Seeds of Life (3000 Words for You, Asking for Monthly Passes and Follow-Up Reads)

Her voice was crisp yet hollow, as if devoid of any speck of emotion.

The girl’s petite fingers touched Qin Chu’s cheek, which, though wrapped in flames, felt particularly icy cold.

The cold fingertips glided down his cheek, across his neck, chest, and abdomen...

She seemed to be searching for something on Qin Chu’s body, her icy fingertips sweeping below his navel, making Qin Chu tremble slightly.

What exactly did Antia mean, and why would she say that there was a seed of life within him?

The fierce flames brought terrifying heat, and the fire even twined around Qin Chu’s body, yet it did not harm him; he swallowed hard, wanting to ask her what exactly she intended to do.

But as soon as he lowered his head, he met Antia’s eyes, and in an instant, Qin Chu shuddered violently; in the depths of those empty, azure-blue eyes, he saw pain, despair, madness...

The eerie images flashed rapidly.

The imposing palace, was it the Imperial Palace of the Oville Empire?

The girl, in her tattered armor, knelt on one knee, petite in stature; and before her was a fat man wearing a crown, his chubby cheeks squeezing his eyes into slits, almost invisible.

But through those tiny gaps, one could glimpse his greed and wariness towards the petite girl below him.

In the sumptuous palace, praises for the girl filled the air, yet the flattery did not bring her joy; instead, she felt irritated because the enemy had not been completely defeated—they were still seeking opportunities to strike back.

She longed to be on the battlefield, fighting to defend the peace of the Oville Empire.

The fat man recognized the girl’s achievements, and named her the National Guardian Valkyrie.

His corpulent body struggled for movement on the throne, searching for a posture that was inelegant yet comfortable for him, his whole body, like a massive blob of flesh, slumped onto the throne.

He inquired whether the girl was willing to become his princess...

The girl responded, "How can one speak of home when the national grudge is not yet avenged?"

The surrounding nobles clustered around the girl, praising her noble character, yet no one noticed the fat figure on the throne, his eyes emitting venom and wrath.

The king’s authority, must not be challenged.

A noble so adored by other nobles was an enemy of royal power.

From the moment the girl refused to become a princess, a label of death was already affixed to her.

They held a grand banquet for the girl, the king himself toasted her, but the girl had no idea that the wine contained a slow-acting but fatal poison.

They couldn’t cope with fierce enemies who trampled on their land, but they were quite adept at dealing with their own people.

Don’t drink, don’t drink, don’t drink...

Qin Chu roared in his heart, as if he saw himself in a previous life.

He wanted to stop the girl from drinking that wine, but this was only a memory he had glimpsed; no matter how much Qin Chu roared, he could change nothing.

He watched helplessly as the girl drank the poisoned wine, and then she fell ill.

Her body became weak, unable to bear the long spear or to lead troops into battle, into the fray...

Her condition worsened, and she was brought to the Imperial Palace for the best treatment, but those doctors and priests had long been bribed; the medicine administered to the girl, just like Qin Chu had experienced before, was all slow-acting poison.

When the girl no longer had the strength to resist, they dressed her in the armor she had worn on the battlefield, brought her the long spear that had pierced through many enemies...

They bound the girl with chains and burned her with flames.

How painful!

Why do this to her?

Watching the girl’s petite body struggle desperately in the flames, their faces showed an excited smile.

They wanted to watch this girl die a miserable death in her proudest posture.

They forged a suicide note, informing the girl’s family that she had left of her own volition, not wanting her family to see her in a pathetic state, seeking a place where she could quietly wait for death.

They held a grand funeral for the girl, and at the funeral, they cried uncontrollably, lamenting the fall of the empire’s pillar.

They named a street after the girl.

They turned the girl’s remains into a statue, with mysterious and complex spells engraved inside, making the statue a prison; the girl’s spirit was trapped eternally within the stone, standing in the middle of the street named after her... They wanted this girl to witness with her own eyes that even without her, the empire would endure forever.

Betrayal seemed like a tradition.

"Are you crying? Why?"

The petite girl stood quietly in front of Qin Chu, her expression innocent; because she was shorter, she had to look up to see Qin Chu’s face.

On his face, she saw the streaks of tears.

As she drew closer to Qin Chu, the girl didn’t seem as listless as before, and her empty eyes displayed a slight hint of liveliness; it seemed she had regained a small ability to think.

Sigh...

Misery loves company!

Qin Chu took a deep breath and a gentle smile appeared on his face; he reached out to pat the girl’s head, but his hand passed through her body without any resistance.

Indeed, it was a ghost.

"Nothing, just... you’re just like me..."

We are both pathetic creatures!

"What do you want to get from me?"

"The Seed of Life?"

"Not the Seed of Life, but the Light Seed. Since light brings life, you also possess the Seed of Life."

The girl stubbornly corrected Qin Chu’s mistake.

She was like a naive girl, yet she spoke of things Qin Chu found hard to understand.

In any case, it meant that both the Light Seed and the Seed of Life resided in his body, but why couldn’t he feel them at all?

"Sorry, I don’t know what that is, but if it’s inside me and won’t cost me my life, you can take it if you need it," Qin Chu said, spreading his arms, exhibiting extraordinary tolerance towards the girl with a similar plight, "Of course, if you could return it after you’re done, that would be even better."

The girl’s small hand still rested on Qin Chu’s lower abdomen.

Her beautiful brows slightly furrowed, she tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face.

It seemed she had located the Seed of Life but didn’t know how to extract it from Qin Chu’s body.

After a long while, the girl, frustrated and dejected, gave up; her tiny face displayed both confusion and gloom. She lacked the experience to absorb the Seed of Life.

"May I, stay by your side?" the girl’s voice shifted from hollow to ethereal.

Qin Chu was slightly taken aback, then nodded.

After all, did he have a choice? This mysterious realm was most likely the girl’s doing, too. If he refused, it seemed he wouldn’t even be able to leave this place.

The girl climbed up onto Qin Chu’s shoulder, grasping his arm like a little cat, her plump and slender legs gently swinging in front of his chest. Her azure eyes, somewhat bewildered, gazed around as if she still didn’t understand her own existence or what had happened to her, nor did she grasp why she had escaped the constraints of the statue.

Qin Chu peered into her memories, yet she herself had sealed them away.

Perhaps because those memories were too painful, too desperate. If she didn’t seal them away, even her residual soul would not withstand it and would completely shatter.

She didn’t know what she ought to do, merely following her instincts in pursuit of the scent of life, feeling comfortable staying by Qin Chu’s side, no longer having to constantly endure the scorching flames.

This sensation, she had endured for over a thousand years.

The weird realm around them shattered like a mirror, and the bustling noise once again penetrated their ears.

"Mr. Brave... Mr. Brave, what’s wrong with you?" Charles’s voice came from the side, the returning Hero suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes quietly staring ahead, unaware of what he was looking at.

These guards, along with the other passersby, none had the slightest awareness of Antia’s presence.

Only Qin Chu could see this ghost...

No, not just Qin Chu, but also Shaye...

The Witch’s crimson eyes widened in disbelief. She could tell at a glance that Antia was not human. She was a spirit similar to herself, a ghost, and moreover, a fragmented lonely soul...

This ghost, abruptly appearing on Qin Chu’s shoulder, and Qin Chu clearly aware and even accepting of her presence, showed no sign of rejection.

Although Shaye was puzzled, she knew this was not the time to ask.

But what she found most unacceptable was that this unexpected ghost was actually sitting on Qin Chu’s shoulder...

Unforgivable!

That was her territory, Shaye’s territory!

Angelica, Catherine, Nadia, Shaye could disregard them all because her relationship with Qin Chu was unique. But now, she felt a strong sense of crisis.

That bastard Qin Chu, he wouldn’t be looking to replace her with a new ghost and kick her to the curb, would he?

Shaye wanted to shove this ghost off Qin Chu’s shoulder, but after some consideration, she gave up. She could feel that she wouldn’t be able to beat the other party... After all, her strength had vanished due to Time Retrospection and was only slowly recovering alongside Qin Chu’s increasing strength.

And from this ghost, Shaye sensed a strength that was in no way inferior to Catherine’s!

Just wait until this Witch’s strength is restored, you’ll get what’s coming to you... Shaye muttered to herself.

Qin Chu’s expression was somewhat strange, too. Who would have thought that by simply stepping out, he’d end up picking up a ghost and bringing it home?

He gave Charles an awkward smile:

"Haha, sorry, nothing happened. I was just distracted."

As the last ray of sunlight disappeared, Qin Chu returned to the palace, thinking of resting in his bedroom, when he saw Catherine.

Catherine looked like she had just taken a bath, her long hair wet and hanging behind her, her cheeks flushed, her long eyelashes adorned with a few droplets of water, her crimson eyes sultry as silk, her gaze seemingly filled with moisture.

Her tender cherry lips parted slightly, her breath sweet as orchid.

This brash woman, at this very moment, exuded a remarkable allure.

She was yearning!