Chapter 768: Star Child

Lu Xun was stunned.

He had anticipated Chen Ling might ask for various things, but he never expected the "reward" they wanted would be such a question...

"This..." Lu Xun hesitated for a full ten seconds before finally speaking. "Director Chen, this question... I... I really don't know how to answer it."

Seeing this, Chen Ling sighed helplessly.

Indeed, this question was too abstract for a normal person, like stopping someone and asking them: if you became the leader of Mars in your next life, what kind of ideal empire would you build on Mars using your professional skills?

Unless, like last time with Su Zhiwei, the question was made specific. But now, Chen Ling knew nothing about Lu Xun's field, so there was no way to ask a specific question.

Chen Ling pondered for a moment before speaking again:

"Or... if you don't mind, I can directly look into a fragment of your past."

Chen Ling's 'Hui Zhuyan' ability granted him the power to see through a person's life script, just as he had seen Yao Qing's past. If he wished, he could also see Lu Xun's past now.

Upon hearing this request, Lu Xun seemed to hesitate, but ultimately nodded:

"Alright, no problem."

Chen Ling closed his eyes. When he opened them again, two streaks of apricot red had bloomed at the corners of his eyes.

His pupils locked directly with Lu Xun's eyes. The next moment, a mysterious red shimmer flashed, and Lu Xun felt a sharp pain in his mind, falling into a brief daze!

A fragmented "drama" surged into Chen Ling's mind through his gaze.

Boom—!

A bolt of lightning tore through the dim sky.

Chen Ling opened his eyes and found himself in a wild mountain forest. Rain poured down from the dark clouds, surging like waves along the mountain path;

Chen Ling paused, looking around in confusion. There were no buildings or houses in sight, only endless darkness, forest shadows, and heavy rain.

A soaking wet boy stepped through puddles and stumbled into the dim shadows of the forest.

"...Hm?"

Chen Ling clearly saw the boy's appearance; it was Lu Xun, still very young. Although he didn't know what was happening, he quickly followed him.

Chen Ling now had no physical form, moving through the forest like a ghost, with even the rain passing through him.

In the darkness, the boy seemed unable to see his surroundings clearly. He fell heavily to the ground several times, then forced himself up with sheer willpower, gritting his teeth and continuing to sprint forward;

He kept looking back intermittently, as if fearing something. His pale face had no color, instead appearing extremely gaunt.

"...Is this one of his most unforgettable memories?"

Chen Ling watched the boy running stubbornly, like a cockroach. His confusion deepened. "What is he afraid of? What's... behind him?"

Chen Ling looked back but could only see a hazy mist. In Lu Xun's memory, that area had not been materialized.

He followed young Lu Xun running wildly downhill until the boy tripped over a stone in the darkness and rolled rapidly down the wet mountainside like a sandbag. After hitting a large boulder, he veered slightly off course and became caught on a tree branch at the edge of a cliff.

Scarlet blood trickled from the boy's temple. His consciousness was already blurred, and he lay among the branches like a corpse, letting the rain wash over his face and rinse away the blood...

Chen Ling watched this scene silently from the side, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Just then, a gentle breeze swept across the land, peeling back a corner of the thick dark clouds. Faint starlight reflected in the boy's pupils, like a delicate veil. Lu Xun's consciousness gradually faded. That corner of dispersed starlight seemed to brand itself deep in his memory, sparkling like a dazzling gem.

Three seconds later, he lost consciousness.

Almost simultaneously, beams of flashlight emerged from the darkness. They seemed to be searching for something, and eventually, one person spotted Lu Xun hanging on the branch and gasped, walking towards him!

"Here! Over here!"

"Is that the child who reported it?"

"It's him! He actually managed to escape from the human traffickers' hideout alone? That place is over ten kilometers from here... and it's raining so heavily in the mountains, how did he do it?"

"This branch saved his life. Otherwise, he probably would have fallen off the cliff."

"Quick, pull him up..."

Noisy voices rang out in their ears, followed by a flurry of chaotic figures beginning to retrieve the boy. Simultaneously, the scene before Chen Ling's eyes gradually shattered.

After a brief pause, a new scene appeared before Chen Ling.

"Is he the only child who survived?"

"Yes... The human traffickers sent the other children to Southeast Asia by boat. Only this child managed to escape before boarding, found a chance to call the police, and then ran over ten kilometers through the mountain roads alone in the rain before being discovered."

"No wonder..."

In front of the orphanage gate, two figures were conversing in low voices under the eaves. One of the elders looked back at the boy sitting alone inside, his expression complex.

"This child's biological parents are still in prison, and his relatives, where he used to live, don't want him. So, we could only bring him here to you."

"So many children were abducted, and only he managed to escape... This child is very intelligent and courageous enough." The old orphanage director nodded slightly. "I like intelligent children. Let him stay."

"Alright... then I'll be going now."

After saying goodbye, the other person drove away alone in the car parked outside the orphanage.

After watching him drive away, the old man walked directly into the house. The boy was still staring blankly at a small mirror on the table.

"What are you looking at?" the old man asked, walking to his side.

The boy didn't speak. He just lifted a corner of his hair, exposing an irregularly shaped scar that looked fierce.

"A scar?"

"The shape of this scar resembles a star," the boy said, his eyes like stars.

The old man seemed surprised by young Lu Xun's answer. After a moment of being taken aback, he chuckled a few times:

"It really does look like a star... After all, you are a child of the stars."

"A child of the stars?"

"Not just you," the old man said, pointing to the Big Dipper on the wall. "Did you know that the zinc in our blood originates from the dust ejected into the universe after two neutron stars collided? The trace amounts of copper in our bodies required witnessing the death of a white dwarf, and even the most insignificant cobalt comes from nebulae billions of light-years away...

"Earth alone cannot foster humanity. All of us... are children of the stars."

Young Lu Xun raised his head, gazing absently at the pattern of the Big Dipper on the wall.