I woke up in the morning but didn't budge. I fantasized about what it would be like in the Chancery if I were absent for the whole day.
I know very well that nothing at all will happen. The Xianzhou will keep sailing on through space no matter who leaves, just as Reignbow's arrow will always shoot toward its intended target.
I've been growing more and more impatient these days with trivial junk at work. Every time a new task comes in, I'll curse it alongside my colleagues both up and downstream who've been involved in it, then I'll grit my teeth and get on with the task. It's impossible to delegate to a subordinate, because young people are so carefree and only do what they want. They dream of taking a work trip out to distant planets, but do not care about the bits and pieces of work going on around them.
The work we do at the Realm-Keeping Commission is meaningless. In my
I don't want to work. I want to be just like a dog, rolling around in front of the Chancery's office as I bask in the fake sun, people-watching and dreaming up life stories for everyone. If a tourist chucked me a biscuit, I'd wag my tail at them.
It's a pity that all the dogs aboard the Xianzhou are work dogs. Even Diting is far more resilient than me.
People say the first signs of aging in short-life species is when we grow nostalgic for the past, and the Xianzhou natives are no different. These bodies of ours may not grow old, but our minds have long been hollowed out by all those past memories.
I once dreamed that I was back on the battlefield. Wielding crossbows with my Cloud Knight brethren, this giant sword followed around behind us, searching out enemies. We went back to Xuange; went back to the Giant's Arm system; went back to the islands of Thalassa; fought all kinds of Abominations of Abundance along the way.
I dreamed that I was surrounded by inhuman beasts. The sword swirled around beside me, slicing and dicing before they shatter into pieces. Fluid from the enemy corpses smeared me on the face. I didn't expect it to be not cold; I didn't expect it to be so red.
The dreamscape went completely red, and huge monsters with chitinous silicone shells roared loudly, crushing all the approaching squads into a pulp. The Abominations rolled up their insect-like wings, and a chilly, painful gust blasted them straight in the face.
I wanted to see what my brethren looked like again. But nobody was around me. Looking down, I saw acquiescent faces on the ground, expressions frozen as screams of wishes left unfulfilled. Every eyeball was like a scratched marble as it fell to the dust, firmly gripping the skies.
Long-life species... This joke made me laugh out loud and woke me up.
My right arm is burning right where it's torn off, as though I'd just been plucked from a monster's maw. Turning over my elbow, I still can't forget that pain that has made me reel at the entire world, even if my arm can grow back. Three hundred years have passed, and the pain is still yet quelled.