The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 10 Xuantong

As Zhou Yan's consciousness faded, the portrait of Butcher Zhao on the jade book suddenly blurred, as if a basin of water had been splashed on a freshly painted ink painting, causing the ink marks to spread instantly.

The ink spread and flowed, seeping into Zhou Yan's deeper consciousness.

It was transformed into words, and that was a story.

…………

Zhao Man was a butcher.

Since ancient times, those who could become butchers in villages and towns have always done quite well. Zhao Man was no exception. He had several courtyards, his own granary was full of grain, and he was always welcoming and seeing off customers. He was very fair in his business dealings.

The thugs and gangsters around him flocked to him, calling him Zhao Zhenguan.

Zhao Man waved his hands repeatedly, hurriedly refusing, but still just smiled and did business. He lost his father at a young age, and his mother taught him this personality.

His mother even gave him the abacus she used when she was young, reminding him to be fair and just in his dealings with others. He remembered it clearly and tied the abacus to his waist.

Later, the Holy Emperor wanted to conquer Goguryeo, but suffered several defeats. The Holy Emperor also wanted to build a canal. After several tax collections, the townspeople's homes were like being sifted through a sieve, with very little left.

Zhao Man used his own food to save lives and gave up several of his rooms for the poor people whose homes had been destroyed by soldiers.

Everyone was very grateful to him and called him Zhao Zhengguan.

But eventually, the food in his house ran out. Gradually, the food in Zhao Zhenguan's house was gone, and he became Zhao the Barbarian again. But at least everyone was still getting along well.

After several more times, when war struck, the villagers were not afraid at all. They went to Zhao Manzi's house to eat and drink. Zhao Manzi kept his mother's food rations and did his best to help these poor people.

However, there wasn't enough food, so everyone had to go hungry.

One day, Zhao Manzi went out, wanting to cut down a tree to make a new chair for his mother. The poor people, who had finished eating, thought that Zhao Manzi must have given the food to his mother, so they went to search for it. They couldn't find it, but they were too hungry.

They were hungry and unhappy.

Because Zhao Manzi did not satisfy them this time.

They saw the old woman who raised Zhao Manzi, sitting in a chair.

Suddenly, someone uttered a quiet remark.

"Doesn't Butcher Zhao still have a sheep for meat?"

………………

When Zhao the butcher returned, he saw the villagers cooking meat with great enthusiasm. However, for some reason, their eyes were slightly red, probably because it was too hot. Zhao thought to himself that he had been busy all day and just wanted his mother to be more comfortable sitting down today.

A fellow villager insisted that he eat a piece of meat.

He couldn't refuse, so he took a big bite. As he swallowed, he thought to himself, "It's been so long since I've had meat. It's so delicious. I'll never forget the taste of this meat in the days to come." As he ate, he went inside and called for his mother.

Where is his mother now?

There was only a pile of white bones, all gnawed by wild dogs. Zhao Manzi's chair fell to the ground. It was a solidly made chair; it landed steadily. Behind him, the fire was burning brightly.

People are still cooking and eating meat.

With red eyes and a big belly, she asked him with a smile:
"Uh-huh-huh."

"Zhao Manzi, doesn't this meat smell delicious?"

………………

Zhou Yan reached out and pressed his brow, feeling those words... or rather, the things that were most deeply ingrained in Zhao the Butcher's soul, the things he could never forget. He also realized something: Zhao the Butcher was a good person before he was alive, or rather, before he became a monster.

Good people try to save lives, but this leads to terrible consequences.

The last of their relatives were eaten by the people who rescued them.

After that, all that remained was a hazy memory: the butcher picked up two pig-slaughtering knives and hacked up everyone in the town, young and old, leaving them standing in pools of blood, wailing and howling.

This time, Zhao Zhenguan was truly in charge.

But he was dying soon. When those people resisted him, he was badly injured. He grabbed the abacus his mother had given him, his hands stained red with blood, and crawled to his mother's pile of bones, still calling out for her.

He heard footsteps approaching from behind, followed by a soft, melodious voice asking, "What a monster! How about making a deal with me?"

The remaining textual memories in his soul dispersed, recombine, and transformed into mysterious patterns. Zhou Yan guessed that Zhao the Butcher must have encountered the Master of the Azure Netherworld afterward and eventually became his subordinate.

Buying and selling human flesh and killing innocent people for it is understandable in some ways, but the crime is unforgivable.

Zhou Yan also sensed the power of this jade scroll—by slaying named monsters burdened with karma, one could annihilate their souls, transforming them into supernatural powers, which could then be suppressed within the jade scroll and used for his own purposes.

Zhao Man is a powerful demon with a high position among the hungry ghosts. He did not fall into demonhood simply because of his own desires, and his power is incomparable to that of lesser demons.

Zhou Yan tried to sense it briefly, and tried for a while.

I have come to understand to some extent the various powers of this powerful ghost.

Without needing magic, one can see all food and items imbued with vital energy directly with the naked eye.

It possesses the innate magical ability to devour all kinds of food; to put it bluntly, even Guanyin clay can be used as a digestive aid after consumption.

As hungry ghosts, they can swallow all kinds of things, which are then transformed into vital energy and flow out through their seven orifices, making them even hungrier. Therefore, they are constantly eating and will never be satisfied.

However, Zhou Yan is human, so he won't let these vital energies flow out.

There is also a magical supernatural power.

"The flames of karmic fire and hunger."

"Using magic power can make the opponent feel intense physiological hunger." Zhou Yan opened his eyes. This jade talisman seemed to contain other supernatural powers, but Zhou Yan himself seemed to be lacking something essential, so he could only use this kind of magic. What he lacked was probably so-called magic power and cultivation.

Zhou Yan clenched his fists, muttering to himself:

"No blue bar?"

When I was online before, netizens always said not to randomly form Taoist hand seals.

It's said that if you have mana, you consume mana; if you don't have mana, you consume health.

If you have magic power, consume it; if you don't have magic power, use your life force.

That's roughly the situation right now.

Zhou Yan lowered his hand, his heart filled with curiosity. The jade book was displayed on the page about hungry ghosts. Zhao Man's portrait was blurry and distorted. Between Zhou Yan's two fingers, a jade talisman appeared, but nothing on it was clear.

Zhou Yan had a feeling that only he could see this jade talisman.

With minimal force, the jade talisman dispersed and flowed into Zhou Yan's body. Zhou Yan felt that his strength and stamina seemed to have increased, and his sense of smell had improved, but there was no demonic aura on his body.

"It doesn't seem that great. It's because I lack magic power and cultivation... Ouch!!!"

The next moment, a strong feeling of hunger surged up.

Zhou Yan almost collapsed.

"Damn... I'm so hungry..."

Zhou Yan's face was a little pale. He hadn't eaten anything all day yesterday and had almost given the demon a laxative. With the power of the Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman on him, he almost swallowed himself whole. His gaze swept over the black horse, which noticed him and uneasily shook its hoof.

"No, no, we need to find something to eat."

Zhou Yan clutched his stomach, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings. Before, he had only thought it was a wilderness, but now, in his eyes, it was practically a buffet restaurant, with things glowing faintly everywhere – edible vital energy.

I eat, eat, eat, eat!

………………

Shen Cangming fell into a deep sleep.

In my dream, I seemed to return to Xingxiuchuan and be with the general and the others again. I saw the banners of the Tang Dynasty, and we fought one battle after another, defeating the invasions of the Tibetan army time and time again amidst the whistling of swords.

After the battle, sitting on the earthen city wall, the general took off his helmet, sat cross-legged, and played the erhu. His fingers moved like flying birds, but he sang a majestic Tang Dynasty tune.

Shen Cangming lay there with his arms outstretched, listening to his comrades' songs, the cries of pain from several brothers, the feeling of victory, and the sense of surviving, all of which turned into his laughter.

"We have once again defended the borders of the Tang Dynasty."

The scenes in the dream intertwined, and I arrived at a grand hall. The person in front of me was tall, but I couldn't see his face clearly. I only saw him pointing at me and the general, and he shouted angrily: "You're just a commoner. Reaching the sixth rank is already a great honor. You're just a lowly border soldier..."

"Military achievements?"

"Without our strategic planning, how could you have achieved any merit on the front lines? By relying on your own lives?"

"You still want to compete with the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families?!"

The surrounding lanterns were too bright, the cloud patterns on the man's body were too deep, and the Mingtang (a feature in traditional Chinese architecture) was too profound. Shen Cangming couldn't see the man's face clearly, but he felt that the man was growing taller and taller, and the general who was once invincible on the battlefield became more and more silent.

The general, frustrated and unfulfilled, died of illness; another general also died suddenly.

The treatment of border troops is getting worse and worse.

He wants justice.

Chang'an was too far from the border, and news could not get through.

The military governor, personally appointed by His Majesty, said that treacherous officials were in power in the court, which was why they were oppressing their comrades on the border.

With hearts set on saving the Tang Dynasty, they arrived in Chang'an. Shen Cangming personally led the charge until a general, with his chest bare and wielding a long sword, stood before Chang'an and called them traitors. This finally revealed what he had been hiding in his heart, his resentment and unwillingness. In a daze, he lost his composure.

He was cleaved in the chest by the general's sword.

Although he did not die, he had lost his will to fight. He survived, but was in a daze and could not control himself. In this dream, he thought of the drunken night after winning a battle with the general.

At that time, he lay there, looking at the Tang Dynasty dragon flag that always stood tall on the earth.

The general said.

Well done, kid.

We have once again defended the dragon flag, and defended the Central Plains...

But for some reason, he felt a deep pang of heartache.

The Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty...

Tears streamed from Shen Cangming's right eye as he awoke from his dream.

His resolve to die was unwavering. He knew he couldn't live on in this world. He would send the child to a safe place, return to the Demon Market, and fight the shop owner to the death. Even if it meant sacrificing his life, he couldn't let the spirit of the Central Plains be ruined.

Because of the tears, my vision was inevitably blurred. The dark blue sky, the gloomy forest and the world were blurry. I saw the young man fiddling with something in front of the campfire. Turning to the side, I saw that the young man's expression was gentle and warm.

Then he smiled and reached out his hand.

"Uncle Shen, you're awake?"

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(End of this chapter)