After midnight

No one knew Lin Xuanfeng's past, even Lin Xuanfeng himself was about to forget it. However, at the moment when the silver wire pierced his chest, he recalled his very important past. Lin Xuanfeng was born in Xidu and took his mother's surname. He was an illegitimate child, and his original surname should be Song.

Lin Xuanfeng grew up in a dilapidated house in Xidu. The house looked the same all year round. In Lin Xuanfeng's memory, it was always gray. There were no flowers blooming in spring, no trees providing shade in summer, no withered yellow in autumn, and in winter, not even a single snowflake refused to fall in the house.

Those days were long. It was not until he was five years old that he was secretly taken out by the old servant who had been taking care of him and brought all the way to Xindu. It was only after he arrived in Xindu that he realized that this was his mother's will. Just a few days ago, when they were on the long journey, his mother died of illness.

No one came to see him, and his mother's worries did not happen. Lin Xuanfeng was also forgotten like his mother, and the old servant who took care of him became his only relative.

When Lin Xuanfeng was six years old, he met the first person who changed his destiny, and also the most important and crucial person in his life. It was midsummer, and Lin Xuanfeng was walking home in the alley while biting a popsicle. As usual, he thought that this afternoon would be another dull and drowsy one.

The accident happened when he turned the corner and was fifty meters away from home. A pot of blooming pink carnations fell vertically in front of Lin Xuanfeng's eyes. Without even thinking, he stretched out his still tender palm, and the pot of carnations turned several times in the air and landed lightly.

Lin Xuanfeng jumped and walked forward two steps in satisfaction before he remembered the popsicle he had thrown away halfway through eating. The popsicle was lying two meters behind him, melting into a pool of water. Lin Xuanfeng pursed his lips, but he didn't think it was a pity.

"Kid, what's your name?"

When he walked back to the door and entered the house, Lin Xuanfeng turned around and immediately became alert. This was a tall and burly uncle with a sloppy beard.

"Why are you asking this? I'm already home and there are adults waiting for me at home."

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly scratched his head awkwardly, and then simply spread his two palms forward. In his large palms, two spheres with light blue light were spinning quietly without stopping. Lin Xuanfeng wiped his eyes and looked again, and the two spheres were still spinning forward and backward.

"Is this a magic trick? Uncle, where did you get them from?" Lin Xuanfeng asked curiously.

The man Lin Xuanfeng called "uncle" laughed. He didn't answer at first, but waved his hand to make the light ball disappear, and then waved his hand again to make the light ball come back. "This is not magic... This is the wind."

Wind? Lin Xuanfeng's eyes lit up. Ever since he could remember, wind had always been his best friend, both before and now.

"Child, if you call me Master, I will teach you."

"Master! My name is Lin Xuanfeng. Please teach me well."

"Lin Xuanfeng, what a good name. Remember, your master's name is Zhou Qing. I will come to visit you early tomorrow morning and be your legitimate master." Zhou Qing continued to walk along the road. Lin Xuanfeng tilted her head to watch him disappear, and then skipped back to the house where only the old servant was. He called the old servant grandma.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. When Lin Xuanfeng was fourteen years old, he met Song Xinjun, who was the same age as him. They first met in Fang Hao's office in Xindu Building. At that time, Lin Xuanfeng had lived with his master for six years. His grandmother passed away six years ago.

It was Zhou Qing who took him to meet Fang Hao that day, so that day was not only the first time he met Song Xinjun, but also the first time he met Fang Hao. The next day, Lin Xuanfeng and Song Xinjun officially joined the revolutionary army.

"Xinjun, my master has been acting a little strange lately. He's been taking medicine secretly and coughing." One autumn afternoon, Lin Xuanfeng and Song Xinjun were walking side by side on the road. Lin Xuanfeng said nonchalantly as he took the last bite of his popsicle.

"It's a season change now, so people are more likely to get sick." Song Xinjun said nonchalantly, and then he continued, "You should stop eating ice cream, because winter is coming soon."

"It's still early, there's nothing to be afraid of. Besides, I won't eat it when I grow up."

Song Xinjun nodded helplessly. Lin Xuanfeng then threw the popsicle in his hand into the green trash can beside him. Why did the master take medicine secretly? This was what bothered Lin Xuanfeng, but he did not continue to talk about it. Instead, he asked, "I heard that you took another mission, right?"

"Yes. Xuanfeng, I'm very confused. Your strength is obviously not inferior to mine, so why don't you want to go on a mission? We are still young. Uncle Fang won't give us extra missions if you don't take the initiative. But only by going on missions with others can you better prove and train yourself."

"Just do your own task well. Why bother about so many things?" Lin Xuanfeng rolled his eyes and didn't want to tell him the reason.

"Are you scared?" Song Xinjun wanted to laugh at him, but because of Lin Xuanfeng's contemptuous look, he said seriously, "Okay, I know you are not here for this, but I see that your master has high expectations of you, so you should act sooner."

"I understand. I'm going home first. Be careful on your mission."

Although he knew that Song Xinjun was telling the truth, Lin Xuanfeng was still hesitant. Because unlike Uncle Fang, his master was extremely obsessed with wind power and did not take care of his body, so if he was not watching over his master, he didn't know how long it would take for his master to remember to eat a meal.

In Lin Xuanfeng's heart, his master's health was much more important than his illusory ambitions. His master did have great expectations for him and had said more than once that he wanted to train him to defeat the Son of God, but the Son of God was nowhere to be found.

Lin Xuanfeng didn't expect that Song Xinjun would be gone for half a month and was injured. Hearing that he was back in Xindu Hospital to recuperate, Lin Xuanfeng rushed over in a hurry. Before he even reached the entrance of the ward, Song Xinjun's cry of "ouch ouch" entered Lin Xuanfeng's ears. It's okay, nothing serious will happen.

Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door, he saw Song Xinjun sitting in the middle of the bed, with one of his exposed arms wrapped in bandages. When Lin Xuanfeng came in, the doctor was still fiddling with the bandages, and Song Xinjun's screams of pain came from this.

"Xuanfeng, you are here. Let me introduce you, this is Doctor Wang. You must not fall into his hands in the future."

"Hello, Dr. Wang, I am Lin Xuanfeng." Ignoring Song Xinjun, Lin Xuanfeng nodded politely.

Doctor Wang simply nodded, but his blows became even heavier, causing Song Xinjun's horrific screams to float out the door again.

"Xinjun, what's wrong with you? Didn't you complete the task?" After Dr. Wang left, Lin Xuanfeng jumped onto the bed in three or two steps and asked impatiently.

"How is this possible? I was attacked again. If it weren't for the prompt response from my partner who was on this mission with me, I would have died."

"Then why were you attacked for no reason?" Lin Xuanfeng was puzzled. Who would want to make things difficult for a young kid?

Song Xinjun said with a smile: "Maybe I am famous now? People are afraid of being famous just like pigs are afraid of being fat. Someone must have known that I am famous, so they came to provoke me."

Lin Xuanfeng was not convinced by this reason, but Song Xinjun's words made sense. In the blink of an eye, they had joined the revolutionary army for more than two years, and Song Xinjun was indeed the most outstanding among his peers. Moreover, he seemed to have been with Fang Hao since he was a child, so he was always more noticeable.

"Okay, I'll believe you this time." Lin Xuanfeng thought about it and decided to satisfy Song Xinjun's pride.

But who knew that this attack was just the beginning. Even Song Xinjun at that time did not expect that the following series of events were due to his identity that had long been forgotten by the past but not forgotten by those with ulterior motives. Song Xinjun's repeated attacks made things develop unexpectedly. Finally, one day, Lin Xuanfeng received a notice from Fang Hao, asking him to meet him alone.

It was the morning just after the winter solstice, and there was a thick white fog early in the morning. Lin Xuanfeng still remembered that day because he was very nervous along the way and the heavy fog caused him to waste a lot of time on the road.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Lin Xuanfeng stood stiffly.

Fang Hao looked at him for a long time until Lin Xuanfeng felt uncomfortable, then he said, "From now on, you can just call me Uncle Fang like Xinjun. I called you here this time because of Xinjun's matter. He went to the New World overnight, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to come back in the future. Before he left, he wanted me to tell you that you can leave if there is nothing else."

Lin Xuanfeng felt his head swell up after hearing this. He was shocked, but he just let inertia and walked out of the Xindu Building in a daze.

Why did Song Xinjun leave so suddenly? Was it because of the previous attack? Lin Xuanfeng walked out of the Xindu Building. The fog on the roadside dissipated a little. He thought again, how could Song Xinjun agree to leave here and go to the new world? He obviously loved everything here so much.

What happened to Fang Hao? He actually agreed? He was willing to let his hard work go? You know, if Song Xinjun went to the New Territory at this time, his talent and efforts would basically be wasted. What about me? When can I see him again?

Lin Xuanfeng stopped and looked up in the direction of Xindu Building. No matter from which angle he considered it, Lin Xuanfeng did not think it was a wise decision. However, in the fog, he could not see the location of Xindu Building and did not have the courage to turn back. In this way, the friend's departure without saying goodbye has been weighing on Lin Xuanfeng's heart.

"Master, I'm back." He returned home, took out his key as usual, opened the door and called "Master" obediently. However, his master did not respond to him, and there was no one in the empty living room.

"Master?" Lin Xuanfeng raised his voice again and shouted.

Still no one responded, so Lin Xuanfeng tentatively pushed open his master's door.

The room was dark, and after the curtains were drawn, sunlight shone in. The quilt on the bed was in a mess, and it was obvious that no one could hide there. After walking around the house, he finally remembered something and quickly came to the shoe cabinet, where the pair of gray cloth shoes were gone.

It was not until he saw the shoes were missing that Lin Xuanfeng was sure that his master Zhou Qing had disappeared again. It was not right to say that he had disappeared. His master would disappear every once in a while, leaving nothing behind before leaving, and saying nothing after returning.

Lin Xuanfeng was a little flustered. Even though he had his master's promise, he was still frightened no matter how many times this happened. Because every time he was afraid that this would be the last time, he was afraid that his master would never come back.

Lin Xuanfeng actually never knew much about his master. He cared about him and took care of him but never mentioned his family or friends. Over the years, Lin Xuanfeng was only taken by him to meet Fang Hao because he wanted to join the revolutionary army.

Lin Xuanfeng's master Zhou Qing had high expectations for him, and even Song Xinjun could see it. But his master never gave him instructions or forced him to do anything, and was even very tolerant of Lin Xuanfeng's willfulness. For example, he never asked about Lin Xuanfeng's choices, and never asked why he didn't take the initiative to complete some tasks like Song Xinjun did.

Therefore, Lin Xuanfeng's feelings towards his master were also very complicated. He had respect and love for him, but more of it was fear. This kind of respect and fear was specifically manifested in that if his master didn't want to tell him something, he would never take the initiative to mention it. Zhou Qing disappeared for a long time this time, but Lin Xuanfeng was lucky to have waited for his master to come back.

As soon as Zhou Qing entered the house, he put away his pair of gray shoes and took off his navy blue cotton jacket.

"You're not going to ask me where I'm going this time?" he asked Lin Xuanfeng.

Lin Xuanfeng stood barefoot in front of his door, looking very happy, and he was still in shock at the sound of the door opening and the voices talking.

"Why are you barefoot in the middle of winter? Put on your shoes first."

Lin Xuanfeng turned around and went back to the house, then ran back with his slippers in his hands, "Master, you just said..."

"Xuanfeng, I went to see a man named Lin Yaoyue." Zhou Qing paused and said, "You may have heard of his name but don't know him yet, but that's not important. What's important is that you have to do something now. Think about it, did you join the revolutionary army just because of my wishes? Lin Xuanfeng, I know what kind of person you are, what your ambitions are, and what kind of person you will become and where you will end up."

Lin Xuanfeng was shocked by his master's confident words. Perhaps his master had always known the obsession buried deep in his heart, so he said solemnly, "Master, I understand. I will think carefully about how to do it."

"Good job, Xuanfeng, you have me, no matter when."

Zhou Qing gave Lin Xuanfeng a hug, then quickly returned to his bedroom and opened the drawer to take out a bottle full of white pills. After swallowing a handful of pills, Zhou Qing tightened the bottle cap. Lin Xuanfeng's grandmother told him everything before she died. Now no one in the world can understand Lin Xuanfeng better than him. He not only wants Lin Xuanfeng to bear his hopes, but also find a path that is most suitable and best for his life.

Lin Xuanfeng looked ahead and walked towards Xindu Building step by step. Lin Xuanfeng was the kind of person who would move forward boldly once he made a decision. He walked in the corridor of the 28th floor of Xindu Building with neat steps. At the end of the corridor was Fang Hao's office.

"Uncle Fang, please let me go on the mission."

"it is good."

Fang Hao agreed so quickly that Lin Xuanfeng almost bit his tongue. He didn't expect Fang Hao to be so straightforward. He had prepared a lot of arguments to ask Fang Hao to trust him.

"Is it unbelievable? I can see your strength, and I've been waiting for you to say this. I've been waiting since the first day you joined the Revolutionary Army."

Lin Xuanfeng touched his head embarrassedly. He had never heard such straightforward affirmation before.

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Your master asked me to do this. Lin Xuanfeng, do your best."

"I will try my best, Uncle Fang."

Fang Hao smiled and nodded. He looked up at the time and said to Lin Xuanfeng, "It just so happens that a new person came today. He has just joined for two months. Don't rush to leave. Wait for him to get to know you. You two will inevitably be partners in the future."

Soon, five minutes later, the newcomer Fang Hao mentioned arrived.

"Come here, Zhou Chen, this is Lin Xuanfeng. He joined the revolutionary army two years earlier than you. You two should get to know each other."

For some reason, when Lin Xuanfeng saw this boy who was half a head shorter than him, his expression changed instantly when he was introduced. He was smiling just a second ago, but the energetic boy was full of hostility towards him.