96: Chapter 96 Lord City Lord, Don't Go!

Zhou Yun threw the quilt off his head and took a deep breath.

He suddenly felt a strong urge to hear that snoring.

His chest ached with longing.

Tomorrow... no, in just a few more hours, the Teleportation Array will be activated.

What is the first thing to do after returning?

Help Dad move those crates of oranges by the door inside.

I took a look before leaving last time; they were stacked too high. Dad has a bad back, so bending over to move them must be difficult.

Second, fix the refrigerator.

If it can't be fixed, replace it.

Third...

Have a drink with Dad.

As he thought about it, the corners of his mouth curled up.

As he thought about it, his eyes grew a little hot.

Forget it, it's already this late.

Might as well not sleep.

...

Zhou Yun sat up and got dressed.

It was still dark outside the window.

It was likely the end of the Yin hour; a sliver of gray-white light was just beginning to appear on the horizon.

The Teleportation Array wouldn't activate until the Chen hour, leaving about an hour more.

He stood in the room for a while, looking at the neatly arranged brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table, and the bowl of cold spiritual rice porridge on the windowsill—Nuan Nuan had placed it there last night. This girl left a bowl every day, fearing he would be hungry in the middle of the night.

He picked it up and took two sips.

It was cold, but the fragrance of the rice remained.

When he put the bowl back, his fingers lingered on the rim for a moment.

When he first arrived in this room seven days ago, there was nothing here.

Now, this room was filled with traces—the paint chipped off the corner of the table was from when he bumped it on the first day, the map on the wall was drawn by Wan'er and annotated by him, the coat rack behind the door was casually made by Elder Tie, and the tablecloth had just been changed by Nuan Nuan the day before yesterday.

He wanted to say a proper goodbye.

Not the kind of goodbye where you just wave your hand and say "I'll be back in a few days."

It was to stand earnestly before everyone, speak a few words to each person, and then leave.

They deserved that.

Zhou Yun walked to the main gate of the City Lord's Mansion, preparing to go to the watchtower at the West City Gate.

There were many people on night duty there, and everyone would be present during the morning shift change, which was perfect.

He pulled open the door.

...

The area outside the door was packed with people.

Zhou Yun was stunned.

It wasn't three or five, or ten or twenty—it was a "full" that packed the entire street in front of the City Lord's Mansion.

It wasn't light yet, and there were few torches; the morning light was only enough to illuminate the faces of the first row of people.

Lei Lie.

Wan'er.

Elder Tie.

Minister Wang Fugui.

Strategist Zhu Ge.

Nuan Nuan.

...

Further back, it was a sea of black, nothing but heads.

It stretched all the way to the end of the street, turned a corner, and the end could not be seen.

It was quiet.

No one shouted "City Lord."

No one was pushing or shoving.

No one held up a torch to illuminate themselves.

They were just standing there.

There was no telling how long they had been standing there.

Zhou Yun stood at the doorway, his hand still resting on the doorframe.

He had prepared many words.

When he was in the room, he had thought about what to say to Lei Lie, what to say to Wan'er, and what to say to Elder Tie.

He was very well prepared.

But he... was not prepared to face this.

Lei Lie spoke first.

"City Lord... are you leaving now?"

The voice was steady.

But it was half a tone lower than usual.

Just half a tone lower—but Zhou Yun could hear it.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile: "Why the long faces? I'm just going back for a while; I'll be back in a few days."

He said it very lightly.

At least he felt he had said it lightly.

No one replied.

Wan'er was twisting her cuffs, her knuckles turning white.

She spoke, her voice even steadier than Zhou Yun's—the kind of steadiness that is forced:

"City Lord, a promise is worth its weight in gold. You said you would return... you will definitely return, right?"

"Of course." Zhou Yun looked at her and nodded, "I said I would return, so I will definitely return."

Elder Tie added in a muffled voice from behind: "The New City will be completed in at most two days. City Lord, you must... you must come to inspect it."

When he said this, his eyes were fixed on the ground, his voice rough, and the end of his sentence trembled slightly.

"I will definitely come." Zhou Yun said, "Elder Tie, thank you for your hard work."

Elder Tie grunted an "En," and turned his face away.

Then it was Minister Wang Fugui.

He had been acting strange from the start.

His nose was red and shiny, tears were swirling in his eyes, and his lips were pressed into a thin line, looking like he was desperately holding back.

He opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

Closed it again.

The third time, he finally squeezed out: "Your subordinate... your subordinate knows that City Lord keeps his word, but..."

As soon as the word "but" came out, all his efforts were in vain.

Tears streamed down instantly.

He wiped them with his sleeve, but it only made things worse; his whole face scrunched up, and he blurted out with a sob:

"If, by any chance, you don't return—don't blame your subordinate for returning to his true nature! And oppressing the townspeople!"

People around him laughed, even laughing until tears came out.

Zhou Yun laughed too.

"Don't talk nonsense."

He looked at Minister Wang Fugui, his voice very soft.

"You won't."

Minister Wang Fugui's sobbing hitched.

He froze for a moment, then cried even harder—but this time he didn't make a sound, just kept his head down, desperately wiping his face with his sleeve.

Nuan Nuan walked out from behind Wan'er.

She was holding a cloth bundle in her arms, clutching it very tightly, as if afraid someone would take it away.

When she walked up to Zhou Yun, she kept her head down and pushed the cloth bundle forward.

"City Lord... this is, this is a tablecloth I sewed. It's new. You can use it when you come back..."

Her voice got quieter and quieter, until at the end it was almost a whisper.

But she suddenly lifted her head and said loudly and forcefully:

"I will keep the City Lord's Mansion clean every day! Waiting for City Lord to return!"

Zhou Yun reached out and took the cloth bundle.

The fabric was folded very neatly, with stitch after stitch, and it still held warmth when touched—she must have been holding it for a long time.

"Okay," Zhou Yun said, "Wait for me to return."

His gaze finally landed on Strategist Zhu Ge.

Strategist Zhu Ge sat in his wheelchair, not saying a single word from beginning to end.

His expression was no different from usual; no red eyes, no choking back sobs, just sitting quietly. From the time Zhou Yun opened the door until now, he watched everyone speak, without interjecting a single word himself.

At this moment, their eyes met.

Strategist Zhu Ge still did not speak.

He simply leaned forward in his wheelchair—a movement that was not easy for him—clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and bowed deeply and solemnly.

Silence speaks louder than words.

All around, the sound of silent, suppressed sobbing grew heavier.

Every townsperson looked at Zhou Yun with glistening eyes.

Zhou Yun was leaving; they knew it.

Precisely because they knew, they were afraid.

Afraid that once Zhou Yun left, he wouldn't come back!

Every previous City Lord had been like this.

But they didn't want Zhou Yun to be like that too!

At the thought that this was very likely the last time they would see City Lord, their hearts almost stopped beating!

"City Lord... can you... not go?" a townsperson choked out.

He knew that in such a situation, it wasn't his place to speak, but he couldn't help it!

After him...

"City Lord, stay, won't you?"

"Don't go..."

"City Lord, don't go!"