The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 9 This Heartfelt Hatred

Zhou Yan was led out of that strange place.

Even with my eyes covered, I still had a special feeling when I left that place, as if I were surfacing from underwater and could immediately breathe fresh air, making my whole body feel relaxed.

After protecting him as they rushed out of the demon market, the man removed his hand, and Zhou Yan saw the sky outside.

It was evening, and the sky was dark, but unlike the village where all you could see when you looked up was darkness, the night was filled with stars, and the bright moonlight shone down, making everything around you white.

Zhou Yan looked back at the man and saw that his right arm was empty, the arm armor had fallen off, and there was a scar on his left eye. His eye was tightly closed and blood was flowing out, but his face was still resolute.

He paid such a price to save himself.

Zhou Yan felt a deep sense of guilt.

"Don't speak, we haven't left the Demon Market area yet."

The man reminded Zhou Yan that there was a tall, black horse outside. The man helped Zhou Yan mount the horse, hung his sword on the side of the horse, patted the horse's side, and whispered, "Thank you for your hard work, old brother."

"go!"

The horse neighed and galloped off under the moonlight. Zhou Yan was exhausted from the day's events, and the momentary relaxation and peace of mind made him drift off to sleep.

He dreamed that he went home and saw his parents and friends. They chatted and joked around, then played a game. As they played, he got thirsty and his mouth was dry, so he opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of Coke, opened it, and took a big gulp.

The cool, bubbly sensation rushes into my dry throat.

That comfortable and pleasant feeling instantly spread throughout my body.

Zhou Yan gulped down his soda. They say that 80% of the price of an iced cola is in the first sip, and sure enough, the cola became increasingly bland after that, just like water. But he was so thirsty that he still swallowed it down in big gulps.

It's starting to look more and more like water.

"Xiao Yan, come and eat. It's your favorite twice-cooked pork."

"Your dad's cooking."

His mother was calling him. He was about to answer when he realized that his parents' voices were getting farther and farther away. When he turned around, his parents, the familiar little living room, and the warm yellow light had become a spot of light, getting farther and farther away.

In his haste, Zhou Yan choked and began to cough violently.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhou Yan was choked awake and barely opened his eyes. He was sitting against a tree and saw a man squatting in front of him, holding a water bag and feeding himself water. The dark mountain-patterned leaves of the armor rippled gently in the moonlight.

Then all the experiences of that day flooded into Zhou Yan's mind.

The man moved the water pouch slightly away and said, "She's awake."

Zhou Yan said, "Hmm, this is..."

The man got up and sat back down beside him, saying, "You're safe now that you're out of the Demon Market. Who are you, and why were you in such a dangerous place?"

Zhou Yan concealed his true origins, only saying that he had rolled down the mountain and forgotten many things, which were picked up and sold by a man named Wang Chun. Then, he forced himself to speak, saying, "I haven't thanked you for saving my life yet, and I don't know your name."

The man said, "Shen Cangming."

He paused, then said, "It's not exactly saving you."

Zhou Yan said, "What?"

Shen Cangming said, "It's nothing."

Do you remember where your home is?

Zhou Yan said, "I don't remember."

Where are your parents?

When Zhou Yan thought of that dream, even though it was just a dream, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, a suffocating feeling of estrangement yet reality. His expression unconsciously became blank and sorrowful as he said, "...I, I don't know."

"I may never see them again..."

Shen Cangming paused for a moment, then said, "Is that so?"

He made a deal with the Azure Netherworld Master, losing an arm, an eye, and his memory of archery, but without any obvious blood loss, only exhaustion. He wasn't good at comforting people, and after a long silence, he simply said:

"It's late today, and we've finally escaped this predicament. You should get some sleep."

I'll find you a place to stay tomorrow.

Zhou Yan wanted to say that he wasn't tired yet and wanted to inquire more about the world and the era, but his body clearly disagreed. After saying only a few words, he drifted off to sleep again.

Shen Cangming sat under a tree nearby, while the large black horse grazed beside him.

There was a campfire ahead. It was already September, and the temperature at night was quite cold. He looked at Zhou Yan, who had fallen asleep exhausted, and saw that Zhou Yan had instinctively curled up because of the cold. Shen Cangming silently took off the cloak from his armor and covered Zhou Yan with it.

He walked back, paused, and then turned around.

He bent down and used his remaining arm to cover Zhou Yan more securely with the cloak.

Looking at the sleeping boy's face, she suddenly felt a pang of self-mockery:
"Shen Cangming, oh Shen Cangming."

"The Tang Dynasty's border troops, believing they could save the Tang Dynasty, instead became traitors. They originally planned to find a powerful demon, sacrifice their lives to kill a few monsters for the people, considering it atonement, but..."

Having survived the brutal battlefield, but having lost his more fundamental beliefs, Shen Cangming was already determined to die, but after saving this young man today, his will to die has been somewhat weakened.

It always felt like it was an act of atonement.

Saving one person makes it seem as if the sins on one's own shoulders are lightened a little.

If you pay a price in this process, it feels like the weight on your heart is lifted, a kind of self-destructive atonement tendency.

But he saw clearly into his own despicable heart.

Therefore, they became increasingly disgusted with it.

He's just deceiving himself by pretending to save people, trying to survive!
Shen Cangming looked at his own palm, the palm that had once clashed with the Tibetan cavalry at Xingxiuchuan, and then at the palm that held the reins and weapons as it returned to Chang'an. His cheeks twitched with resentment, disgust, and pain.

It slammed down beside it.

"coward!"

he said.

........................

When Zhou Yan fell asleep for the second time, it was like taking a nap. He slept very deeply, but this time he recovered quickly. When he slowly opened his eyes, it was still dark on the horizon.

The fire had died down a little, leaving only a dark red glow, which stood out starkly against the dark blue, still-unlit sky.

He straightened up and sat up, his blood-stained cloak falling down.

"This is……"

Zhou Yan blinked and saw Shen Cangming sitting and resting over there. The latter was extremely tired, and the torment and pressure in his heart were enormous. He had also fallen asleep, and only the black warhorse was still awake.

Shen Cangming held the horizontal sword in his left hand, with his thumb resting on the hilt.

For some reason, Zhou Yan felt that if anyone harbored hostility towards Shen Cangming, this seemingly asleep man would instantly draw his sword.

Rather than being asleep, it was more like a tired, wounded tiger.

Zhou Yan recalled yesterday's experience, and everything was true.

"Is it really impossible to go back...?"

His head rested against the tree trunk, feeling lost and powerless. He seemed to have lost all his energy and didn't want to do anything. This state didn't last long, though, as Zhou Yan quickly rallied himself.

Since we're already here, we can't just wait to die.

He suddenly remembered that when he finally killed the butcher last night, Zhao the butcher's power and soul seemed to have been absorbed and imprinted on that jade scroll. Zhou Yan was very curious about this thing that had inexplicably appeared in his mind.

Perhaps, the key to returning home lies in this jade book; who knows?

With his spirit focused on the jade scroll, it no longer remained unresponsive as it had at first. Instead, it unfolded naturally, the pages turning rapidly before gradually slowing down and finally landing on the next page.

The pages fell, revealing golden text.

The records contain information about hungry ghosts.

Above these words was a portrait, like an ink painting, with a lively and vivid expression. It was Zhao the butcher, with a rough and ferocious appearance. He held a meat cleaver in each hand, and the ends of the two cleavers were connected by a chain.

A pair of bare feet, the left foot on the ground, the right foot raised.

Her every move resembled a dance or a ritual. A delicate abacus hung at her waist, and the red rope tied to it softened the ferocious and solemn atmosphere of the ink painting, making it seem strange and eerie.

"Butcher Zhao..."

Zhou Yan looked at the scroll painting with curiosity.

Suddenly, new characters appeared on the painting, and a sense of mystery arose in Zhou Yan's heart. The information it conveyed made Zhou Yan's eyes widen slightly.

"This is……"

"Supernatural power?!"

(End of this chapter)