The bright blue sky was clear, and the wonderful scent of the forests filled the air.
A vast and sprawling city, its stone and concrete buildings lined the wide streets.
The gray and brown buildings ranged from one and two stories to three stories high.
The captain and Kogan arrived beside a modest one-story house.
There were many similar houses along the road.
After taking a glance outside, the captain and Kogan entered the house.
It wasn't luxurious, but it was still beautiful—three rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It wasn't something easily obtainable.
'Nice,' Kogan thought. Compared to his previous -home-, this was a luxurious house.
In the kitchen, there was a table with three chairs in the corner, along with a cooking stove, a washing sink, and a wooden shelf mounted on the wall.
The bathroom had a squat toilet with a water bucket and a bowl beside it, while a bathtub sat in another corner.
Every house had an underground drainage system.
As for the three remaining rooms, one had a double bed, another had a single bed, and the last room contained only chairs and a table.
*****
On a bench by the roadside, under a modest building, Mi Lan sat with a mood heavier than a mountain.
She still hadn't forgotten the sight of Shan Yu's severed hand, nor could she bring herself to go back and check his body. Just imagining the scene made her heart burn with pain.
"Mi Lan," a girl spoke.
Mi Lan looked at her. "What?"
"The captain, Rai Kang, sent me. He asked you to come."
'Hmph, my life is already ruined.' Mi Lan shook her head and followed the girl who had called her.
The city housed dozens of inns, ranging from two to three stories high.
Each floor contained six one-room apartments, with a single bathroom and only one restaurant on the ground floor.
Anyone who had not reached the first rank was destined to live in these cramped spaces.
Mi Lan and her partner, Shan Yu, had been living in one of these inns, working hard to reach the first rank and move out of this confined place.
But before they could achieve that, her partner was killed, leaving her all alone.
A person who fails to protect their partner cannot be trusted.
This was the creed of this world.
After walking through the city streets for some time, Mi Lan and the girl arrived in front of a single-story house.
"The captain is inside, waiting for you," the girl gestured toward the house before leaving.
"I wish I could live in a house like this," Mi Lan sighed and stepped inside.
"We're here. Come in."
The captain's voice reached her ears, coming from one of the rooms.
She went to the room where the leader and Kogan were seated on chairs covered with fabric and wool, with a window overlooking the street.
"Captain," Mi Lan bowed her head respectfully.
"Sit." The captain gestured toward a chair.
Mi Lan stepped forward and sat down quietly.
"Shan Yu has been killed. You know what that means," the captain spoke.
"Yes," Mi Lan nodded.
"Kogan has also lost his partner, so I thought the two of you should be together." The captain looked at her before continuing calmly, "Of course, you can refuse and go on with your life."
Mi Lan was surprised by his words.
'Does this mean my future isn't ruined? I still have a chance to live.'
'But... to be his partner...'
She stared at Kogan, who sat silently on his chair.
A deaf person, weaker than her—he would be a burden.
But as long as this gave her a chance at a better life, she would accept it with an open heart.
"I agree. I agree, for Shan Yu, who sacrificed himself for me," Mi Lan lowered her head.
"Good," the captain smiled.
Before she could rebel over losing her life's purpose, she was given a new one to pursue. This way, they could continue to make use of her.
Now, the captain had solved the issue that weighed on him. Kogan lost his partner because of him, and Mi Lan lost hers for the same reason. Thus, the idea of pairing them together came to him, and that was the end of it.
Of course, the separation of death was not the same as the separation of life. As long as a pair remained alive, fate could always bring them together again.
Even the severity of the curse was entirely different.
While pairing them wasn't a complete solution, at the very least, it could lessen the curse's effects on them.
It was a way to deceive the heavens.
"You will live here from now on," the captain said as he stood up.
"What?!" Mi Lan's eyes widened in shock.
She had not yet adapted to the idea that she still had a chance to work for her dreams, and now she was hearing yet another surprising thing.
"Your partner, Shan Yu, gave his life for us. Is it wrong to reward his partner?" The captain raised an eyebrow.
Mi Lan couldn't find the words to respond. She remembered the moment Shan Yu sacrificed himself for her, and tears began to flow from her eyes uncontrollably.
"Just do your best. Don't let his sacrifice go to waste," the captain placed a hand on her shoulder before leaving.
'And just like that, I've solved multiple problems at once. People won't be too upset about giving them a house. On the contrary, it will motivate them to work harder and follow orders more efficiently.'
The captain sighed in relief.
Granting a home to a newcomer and a girl who hadn't even reached the first rank—and who had lost her partner—would normally cause an uproar among the workers.
There were people who worked harder than Mi Lan and Shan Yu but were still stuck in cramped inns.
However, by covering it with a story of sacrifice, no one would dare to complain.
Does your work equal the sacrifice of a person who gave their life for their homeland and comrades?
No? Then shut up.
If you want the same privileges, then perform deeds equal to self-sacrifice.
And of course, without mentioning, you had to be lucky enough to have circumstances similar to Mi Lan's.
But the real reason for giving Mi Lan a house was Kogan.
A stranger like Kogan reaching the first rank could stir up a lot of noise. However, the problem wasn't letting others know—it was keeping it hidden from Kogan himself.
So, they gave him a house with the woman who had found him. She already knew him, knew he was just an injured, weak person.
That way, she wouldn't question it, nor would she make Kogan question it.
And so, the captain returned home to rest. He had done a lot of exhausting work in a short time.
***
Shan Yu knew that his death would cause Mi Lan's life to collapse, but despite that, he chose to bet on the possibility that she still had a chance.
As long as a person is alive, they still have a chance to pursue their dreams.