RPAGF Chapter 184 Ding
Chapter 184 Ding
When Yu Bai suddenly fell into an emo state, the little ghost lantern sitting on the ground slowly raised its head and began to cautiously examine Yu Bai.
Her face was so beautiful it seemed unreal, her long silver hair swayed gently in the wind like the shimmering surface of a lake under the moonlight, and her dazzling golden eyes shone like the brightest stars in the night sky.
Although his clothes were unusual in style, the fabric they were made of was clearly not ordinary, revealing an indescribable nobility and elegance.
Little Lantern was secretly amazed; this was undoubtedly the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Could such a person truly be just a mortal? And those three guys seemed unable to see him at all.
Monster? Ghost?
These thoughts flashed through Little Lantern's mind.
The person standing before him now, suddenly silent and seemingly a ghost, made Little Ghost Lantern gaze at Yu Bai's lost and sorrowful face. He couldn't help but recall the scene just moments before when this person had shielded him, trying to protect him with his body and shield him from blows.
This was the first time since his parents passed away that he had encountered someone willing to lend a helping hand and extend kindness to him.
Since his parents passed away, Little Lantern has had to face the hardships of life alone. Whenever he is hungry, he goes up the mountain to find food.
However, this land has long been plagued by drought, with scarce rainfall, poor harvests, and even a severe shortage of animals in the mountains.
Little Lantern often felt dizzy from hunger, but couldn't find anything to eat.
In the most difficult times, he was forced to pick some wild grass or tree roots to barely fill his stomach.
This resulted in the fact that although Little Lantern was eleven years old, he looked only seven or eight years old due to long-term malnutrition.
Because neither he nor his parents were originally from this village, not to mention that his parents both died when Hozuki was very young. If Hozuki hadn't been five years old at the time, and because children from poor families mature early, Hozuki, at such a young age, was already able to take care of himself, he probably wouldn't be alive today.
Although the adults in the village harbored some malice or looked down on him, they mostly treated him with indifference and subtle exclusion.
In this era where people can't even afford to live a happy life, they don't have much energy to pay attention to this orphan from another village. They are more focused on telling their own children not to play with that boy named Ding.
This led to many children in the village ostracizing him, and this behavior gradually evolved into another phenomenon.
Childhood exclusion often escalates into bullying; once someone takes the initiative, the other children will follow suit.
Hozuki usually retaliates on the spot, but today he was at a disadvantage simply because the other side had a large number of people.
He just didn't expect to encounter a ghost who wanted to help him today. When Yu Bai tried to shield him from those fists, he naturally saw it clearly.
Although he didn't know why the other party was helping him, this rare kindness touched Hozuki's long-numbed heart, causing a subtle wavering.
Thinking of this, he didn't want the very handsome ghost in front of him to show a sad expression.
Little Lantern gently pursed his chapped lips, his voice still somewhat childish, and tentatively asked, "Who... are you?"
"?!"
Hearing this question, Yu Bai looked up in disbelief. When he confirmed that Little Ghost Lantern was looking directly at him, he said uncertainly, "Are you... are you talking to me? Can you see me?"
"Of course, are there any other people here besides you and me?"
Seeing the happy expression on the person's face because he had seen him before, Little Lantern became even more certain that the person in front of him might be a ghost.
Upon realizing that the person before him was an invisible soul, and though he didn't know why he could see him, a pang of sadness still flashed through the little ghost's heart.
How could such a wonderful person pass away so young? I always feel that this person shouldn't be like this.
"So you really can see me!"
After receiving a positive reply from Little Ghost Lantern, Yu Bai finally showed his first smile since transmigrating.
"I'm Yu Bai, what's your name?"
Although Yu Bai knew that the child in front of him was Hozuki's human form, Hozuki didn't recognize him at that time, so Yu Bai pretended not to know Hozuki and introduced himself first.
"I am Ding." Ding's answer was simple and calm.
Perhaps due to the experience of losing his parents at a young age and the indifference he had witnessed from the villagers, he learned to hide his emotions. At such a young age, Hozuki's face did not show much expression, and even when facing a ghost who wanted to establish a connection with him, his expression remained calm.
“Ding?” Yu Bai repeated the name, slightly surprised.
Isn't it Hozuki?
When Yu Bai heard the name the boy in front of him say, he was momentarily stunned.
However, the name "Hozuki" is a combination of "ghost fire" and "Ding," suggesting that before becoming a demon, Hozuki was called "Ding" instead of "Hozuki."
Furthermore, since Hozuki had previously stated that he became a demon by combining will-o'-the-wisp with his own resentment, Yu Bai could easily understand the origin of the name Hozuki.
Even though he knew Hozuki's name, Yu Bai couldn't help but frown. The reason was simple: in the land of Sakura, the name "Ding" was usually reserved for servants.
"Ding, who gave you this name?"
“I originally had no name. The villagers called me whatever they wanted, and over time, ‘Ding’ became my name. However, I don’t care about it. After all, not many people actually call me by my name,” Ding replied calmly, his tone revealing a maturity and composure beyond his years.
Ding didn't care much about whether his name was that of a servant, since not many people would call him by his name anyway.
Most of the time, the villagers either ignored him or referred to him as "that child" or "an ominous person."
Upon thinking of this, a very kind expression immediately appeared on Ding's face, but only for a second before quickly returning to a blank expression.
With his hands clasped together, Ding silently repeated in his heart: That's right, I don't care at all~ Really, I don't care at all!
……
Yu Bai: That's great! As expected of my trusted friend, he was able to see me!
Ding (Hozuki): He thought Yu Bai was dead and felt sad about Yu Bai's "death".