Hello, Arknights

Chapter 169 1 choice, 1 definition.

Ling Dengxian opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by mist, as if he was lying somewhere in the mountains. He sat up and suddenly remembered that he was injured after being hit by Wei Yanwu's sword. He hurriedly lowered his head to check, but found that he was unharmed.

"Dreaming again?" Ling Dengxian understood.

He stood up, looked around, looked at the top of the mountain, remembered the figure before, and decided to go up and take a look.

The clouds dance like brocade, the mountain fog ebbs and flows, and the flowers in the fields are bright.

"There is a pavilion... on this mountain?" Ling Dengxian pushed away the clouds and mist and finally reached the top of the mountain.

That's right, the one in white who came down the mountain to look for him before...was it a woman or a man? Why is the impression so vague... Anyway, that person seemed to have said that he came down from the mountain.

He looked back and saw the smoke stopped at the last step. He walked forward along the winding path and approached the quaint pavilion.

There was a man in the pavilion, dressed in white, sleeping on a table, with his writing brush in disarray, using his manuscript paper as a pillow, and composing poems in his dreams.

Sleeping in a dream?

This was Ling Dengxian's first reaction. At the same time, he finally saw the person's appearance clearly. It was a woman who looked like a banished fairy. Between her blue hair grew a pair of dragon horns of the same color. And then... he had to mention the rich aroma of wine that he smelled before he even stepped into the pavilion.

The key issue is that he only saw a wine gourd. Although he didn't know much about wine, this was obviously not the amount of a gourd.

The girl frowned, then she took a long breath, stretched her waist, sat up, and noticed him at the first moment.

"Huh... hm? You're here?" When the exiled immortal saw him, his hazy eyes brightened a little, and his slender dragon tail helped him free himself from the scroll of poetry.

"Why...are you in my dream?"

"Also, the person who talked to me in the classroom last time... was it you?" Ling Dengxian thought it would be best to confirm it.

"Oh?" The girl looked at him again and finally laughed softly, "It's quite complicated... Actually, it's not complicated. Never mind. It's still too troublesome. Just think of this as our first meeting."

"As for the title, my name is 'Ling'."

"You... aren't a figment of my dream?" Ling Dengxian felt very strange. The NPC in this dream was too independent to be fake.

"If you think so, then take it as it is. Anyway, I can't leave for a while. If you want to talk to someone, just take a nap and come find me."

The dragon girl didn't explain, she just smiled and said, "Would you like to drink with me? I remember that you couldn't drink alcohol at first, but you still wanted to drink with me."

"So we have met before?" Ling Dengxian's memory of his previous dreams was not very clear, and he seldom had lucid dreams.

Ling smiled without saying anything, stretched out his hand to hold his shoulder and sat down in front of him. Ling Dengxian was a little at a loss. At this moment, the other party's eyes suddenly became very deep:

"Seeing you like this is more refreshing than drinking a pot of 'Spring Breeze'."

"W-what do you mean?" The two men knelt together, and Ling Dengxian felt all the strength in his body gathered in his chest, and his emotions surged again.

"Don't be like this... From now on, we will meet in our dreams." The immortal smiled and entered the mortal world. The smile on Ling's face at this moment was different from the previous one. His cheeks were warm and his eyes were moist.

A white light appeared, Ling Dengxian opened his eyes again, feeling something strange on his face, and two lines of tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.

"Are you crying?" The voice of the Zarak girl came from the bedside. Ling Dengxian moved and felt a sharp pain in his chest.

This was the injury caused by Wei Yanwu's Cloud Lie Sword that broke through his all-out Bai Yan defense. The depleted mental strength caused the passive Bai Yan to heal much more slowly, and now it was only half healed.

But he was much better now, and the white flame climbed up his chest again to heal the wound.

As for the internal injuries, just take your time to heal them. It will be faster with Bai Yan.

However, he did not expect Lin Yuxia to appear. Right now, Longmen was resting and recuperating, which was exactly the time when she was needed.

"I don't know what's going on...how long have I been sleeping?" Ling Dengxian took some effort and finally sat up.

When Lin Yuxia saw his actions, she seemed to want to help, but she held back in the end.

"Not long, just a few hours." Lin Yuxia bit her lip, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

"Commander, if you have something to say, just say it directly... I'm scared seeing you like this..." Ling Dengxian scratched his head and smiled, feeling a little at a loss.

"...I...you take off your vest first." Lin Yuxia shook her head. Ling Dengxian's injuries looked scary, but he didn't even have any fractures or damaged internal organs. He just had a concussion of his lungs and needed rest. The large number of external injuries were slowly healing on their own. After the medical staff checked him, they gave him some emergency bandages. Because there were still a large number of injured people, they allocated a bed for him to recuperate, and the vest was naturally still on him.

"Okay...what's wrong?" Ling Dengxian was confused, but did it anyway.

Lin Yuxia took the vest and took out an object from it in front of him. There was a Longmen logo printed on it.

"What is this..." Ling Dengxian recalled that Lin Yuxia had tried her best to stop him from leaving. Now that he saw what was in the vest, he seemed to have guessed something.

"...I'm sorry for stopping you from leaving. I know you're unhappy...but I can only say I'm glad nothing happened." Lin Yuxia lowered her head, her bangs covering her expression. "Maybe I made a mistake in choosing you...I can only say it's a blessing in disguise."

“…Is this…the Dragon Gate Key?” Ling Dengxian’s eyes changed.

"Yes, there are two parts, one half is in the Dragon Gate Center, and the other half is here. To change the Dragon Gate route, both parts must be there... This is the worst-case scenario. If the Dragon Gate Center is lost and the situation gets bad... We will force you to leave Dragon Gate. We can't let Dragon Gate fall into the hands of others."

"You put something so important in a piece of armor?"

"The material of the Longmen Key is harder than this armor." Lin Yuxia put away the key. It was time to take this thing back.

"...So you were so excited when I went straight to the battlefield?" Ling Dengxian understood a little bit of the whole story.

"..."

"I see. I'm sorry to have caused trouble to Miss Lin." Ling Dengxian shook his head, feeling a little lost for a moment. He seemed to feel that something was missing.

"Next time when you make a choice... choose someone more reliable... As for me, I can't even do myself well." Ling Dengxian showed a transparent smile.

To be honest, he didn't know why this happened... If he were to use his previous standards... he was now incredibly weak.

I would feel disappointed because of a small thing, and I would feel lost because of inexplicable things. I used to walk alone on the edge, and now I don’t know where to go...

What on earth are you thinking?

"This time... it was you who betrayed my trust." Lin Yuxia raised her eyes, "We... will no longer trust each other."

Ling Dengxian was speechless.

"Maybe that's the case..." The boy smiled bitterly. Perhaps their relationship should have been like this from the beginning.

She is the daughter of a gangster who has just come into contact with the gray area, and he is an ignorant traveler who is lost in this place.

It's just a postman and a letter, they accompany each other for a moment, how can it last forever?

A girl like this who is straightforward, doesn't avoid problems, is capable and willing to communicate, and who often hangs out with you on weekdays, occasionally gets a little mad but isn't unreasonable, would be attractive to anyone, right?

Of course, if it is just a thought, any normal person with emotions will subconsciously have such a thought.

What's more, he is just a 19-year-old boy who has never been in love.

The bagpipes and he had more of a friendship.

Mastema is out of reach.

The others were nothing special.

“…Like this?” Lin Yuxia paused as she walked towards the door.

"What?" Ling Dengxian didn't hear clearly.

"What do you mean it should be like this?!" Lin Yuxia turned around and stared at him intently. The veins in her temples were throbbing because of the unreasonable disgust.

“You idiot… why do you always say things that make me think for a long time?! Why can you do your job well while complaining?! Why did you risk your life to save me at that time?! Why… why even after I said this, you can still say ‘maybe like this’… I…” Lin Yuxia watched his expression change, and she slowly calmed down. Her tone also slowed down, and she returned to her usual calmness, just like the day they first met.

Even if I have a splitting headache.

Ling Dengxian couldn't help but smile bitterly. He didn't know what mood he should feel, nor did he know what to say. He could only look at Lin Yuxia to show that he was listening.

Lin Yuxia understood her own thoughts. She was not a person who would drag her feet, and she never had been.

"Ling Dengxian, I... like you."

"But my mind is filled with endless pain. It torments me as long as I have a little love for you. I admit that I cannot endure that pain for the rest of my life."

Ling Dengxian listened calmly, but was actually completely at a loss.

"I backed off. Of course, it might just be my wishful thinking, but I, Lin Yuxia, also want to define this relationship."

The girl reached out and grabbed him, but he didn't realize what she was thinking. His body stiffened, and the next moment, the girl's face moved closer.

When their eyes met, he could see the tears in her eyes. Was it pain? He didn't have time to think about it. He only knew that she had tried her best.

"...I'm probably still a coward." Lin Yuxia let go of him, tidied her hair, and smiled politely, but it was a weak smile.

She only dared to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"After thinking about it, I decided to save your first kiss for your true love." The Zalak girl held onto the wall, seeming to have exhausted all her strength. Ling Dengxian saw tenderness in her eyes.

Softness is fleeting.

"Lin Yuxia..." Ling Dengxian reacted to the sudden change, propped himself up and wanted to say something.

"…Just call me 'Miss Lin', Bai Ge." Lin Yuxia took one last look at him and left the ward.

She is the daughter of the Rat King and cannot be tied down by this.

And this time, it was also her completely subjective choice.

Let the tears flow for another day.

From now on, Lin Yuxia will become more capable of standing on her own feet.