Chapter 1081
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Chapter 1081: The Missing Oath
The sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a layer of pale golden light on the distant, snow-white mountain peaks.
Lin Qiye gazed at the swirling gray-white mist beyond the border, sitting atop the mountain like a statue, his deep red cloak spread over the snow, a splash of red ink in a world of white.
A rough hand reached out from behind him, holding a pack of cigarettes, one cigarette protruding from the box, waiting to be taken.
“Want one?”
Shen Qingzhu’s voice came from behind Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye glanced at the cigarette box in front of him, momentarily taken aback. After hesitating for a moment, he absentmindedly took the entire pack.
Seeing the empty palm, Shen Qingzhu froze in place.
“Smoking too much is bad for your health.” Shen Qingzhu sat down beside him, snatched the pack back, pulled out a cigarette, and handed it to Lin Qiye, stuffing the rest back into his pocket.
“Here’s one for you. Next time you want it, come get it from me.”
“Mm.”
Lin Qiye awkwardly imitated Shen Qingzhu, placing the cigarette between his lips.
Shen Qingzhu brought his fingers close to the tip of the cigarette, gently creating a spark. The orange-yellow flame ignited the white paper, and wisps of smoke drifted away.
“Cough cough cough…” Lin Qiye began to cough violently.
Shen Qingzhu patted Lin Qiye’s back like a caring father, wearing an expression that said, “I knew it.”
Lin Qiye took a deep breath, pinching the cigarette between his fingers, looking down at the busy border defense unit, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.
“Zhuo Ge, do you think… I’m a qualified night watchman?”
“If even Captain Lin, who holds two group Sea of Stars Medals and one personal Sea of Stars Medal, isn’t considered a qualified night watchman, then there are hardly any qualified night watchmen in the entire Great Xia.” Shen Qingzhu replied without hesitation.
“I’m not talking about achievements; that’s meaningless…”
“Why is achievement meaningless?” Shen Qingzhu asked, puzzled. “If even your contributions to Great Xia can’t be used to judge a night watchman, then what should we use?”
“I mean in terms of ideological awareness.” Lin Qiye continued.
“Ideological awareness?”
“It’s about being selfless, dedicated, putting others before oneself… things like that.”
“…”
Shen Qingzhu stared at Lin Qiye with a strange expression for a while. “What are you talking about?”
Lin Qiye stood there, stunned.
“We are night watchmen, not saints, and certainly not philosophers.” Shen Qingzhu shook his head. “These things are indeed important, but for us, fulfilling our duties is the most important. To judge a night watchman, we should look at what he has done, not how brilliant his thoughts are…
Why are you suddenly asking this?”
Lin Qiye fell silent for a moment and recounted everything he had seen and heard in the shadows of time.
After listening, Shen Qingzhu looked at him with a complex expression.
“You’re overthinking it.” He said, “Being a night watchman doesn’t have so many harsh conditions. What we believe in are just the four sentences on the back of the emblem.”
Shen Qingzhu pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and naturally exhaled a puff of smoke, a nostalgic look appearing in his eyes:
“The oath of a night watchman is magical. Back when I was in the training camp, I was also a clueless loser, but when I jumped into the cave and swore alone before the endless flames… some things became clear naturally and were deeply etched in my mind.”
“An oath, huh…”
Lin Qiye recalled the scene of himself swearing allegiance to the red flag during his time in the training camp.
His oath was very plain, very ordinary, lacking the profound impact that Shen Qingzhu experienced, and he didn’t grasp anything from it… Back then, he was just a rookie, and the most vivid memory he had was Zhao Kongcheng’s knife and his ten-year promise.
So when he recited the oath, deep down, he only wanted to inherit Zhao Kongcheng’s will and fulfill the promise, without fully committing himself to those four sentences.
Perhaps that’s why, even though he had become a night watchman with achievements, he always felt something was missing inside.
“If you think you’re unworthy to guide the new recruits because of these so-called ideological awareness, then you’re definitely overthinking it.” Shen Qingzhu patted his shoulder, speaking with certainty.
“In this team, no one is more suited than you, Lin Qiye, to guide them.”
“Let’s go back, Instructor Lin.” Shen Qingzhu slowly stood up, extending his hand to Lin Qiye. “Your last lesson for the rookies isn’t finished yet.”
The confusion in Lin Qiye’s eyes dissipated somewhat. He remained silent for a moment, reached out, grasped Shen Qingzhu’s hand, and stood up.
He smiled slightly.
“Thanks, Zhuo Ge.”
Shen Qingzhu tucked his hand back into his pocket, took a look at him while holding the cigarette, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth as he silently shook his head, turning to walk with Lin Qiye toward the border defense unit.
…
Egypt.
Outside the Sun City.
Endless starlight fell from the sky, enveloping the entire Sun City, which from a distance looked like a giant deep blue sphere, silently suspended in the gray-white mist.
Surging divine power and flames flickered within the starlight sphere, and an unprecedented divine kingdom blood battle had reached a boiling point.
At that moment, through the hazy mist, a figure draped in a black cloak slowly emerged.
Loki raised his head, looking at the completely sealed Sun City in the sky, his narrow eyes squinting, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
“Their target is indeed the Sun City…”
He stepped forward, moving leisurely toward the edge of the starlight formation, his eyes flickering with a glimmer as he murmured to himself:
“The Sun City is currently weakened, and it certainly isn’t a match for the Great Xia gods who have just returned from reincarnation and are at their peak. The defeat of the Egyptian gods is only a matter of time… But this makes the situation a bit too boring.”
He reached the edge of the starlight formation, his gaze fixed on the battlefield within the starlight, and extended his hand into the void. An ancient dark golden spear appeared in his grasp.
The spear was surrounded by swirling golden specks, dancing around it like fireflies. The dark golden tip was engraved with intricate runes, seemingly containing some kind of order power. The moment it was exposed to the air, a mysterious and terrifying aura emanated.
This was Asgard’s strongest artifact, the personal weapon of Odin, the king of the gods.
The Eternal Spear, Gungnir.
Loki held the spear, standing quietly outside the starlight formation, squinting as he gazed at the battlefield inside, seemingly waiting for something:
“Not enough… still need to wait a little longer…”
