If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

The firelight flickered in the courtyard.

The headquarters of the Earthly Fiends Sect was like a beehive on fire, with people running around in panic. The agents of the Eastern Depot, like a pack of well-trained hunting dogs, were cleaning up the mess. Screams occasionally rang out, only to quickly disappear again.

Zhou Yang walked out of the storage room.

The strong smell of gunpowder on his body was carried into the blood-soaked air.

He didn't watch the fighting. It was no longer his concern. His eyes were searching, like an eagle stalking a rabbit in the sky. He was looking for a path. A path a mouse would take to escape.

Zhao Kun, that old fox, would never be foolish enough to sit in the hall and wait to die.

His footsteps were light, barely making a sound as he trudged through the blood. The shadows cast by the pillars enveloped him. He moved like a ghost through the chaotic courtyard.

A squad of Eastern Depot agents rushed past, stirring up a gust of wind. The wind carried blood and fear. Zhou Yang pressed himself against the wall, waiting for them to pass.

He saw a side door.

The door was inconspicuous, hidden behind the artificial hill. There were some fresh scratches on the hinges. The dust there showed signs of having been rubbed off.

Zhou Yang's lips twitched slightly.

It is here.

He pushed open the door. Inside was a small courtyard. In the corner of the courtyard, a bluestone slab had been moved aside, revealing a dark hole. The hole wasn't large, just big enough for one person to crawl through.

There were fresh traces of soil being brought out near the cave entrance.

Zhou Yang didn't go down immediately. He stood at the cave entrance, listening to the sounds below. There were rapid breathing sounds and the rustling of clothes against the rocks. The sounds were getting deeper into the cave.

He didn't shout.

They didn't pursue it.

He simply drew his knife.

The blade gleamed coldly in the torchlight. He gripped the knife and leaped into the cave.

The secret passage was very narrow and low.

The air was thick with the dampness and musty smell of earth. Slippery moss grew on the stone walls. Zhou Yang slowed his pace, his leather boots making a soft "patter" sound on the wet, slippery ground.

The breathing in front of him grew increasingly frantic.

The man knew someone was coming from behind. He was climbing desperately.

"stop."

Zhou Yang's voice wasn't loud, but in the narrow passageway, it sounded like a thunderclap.

The sounds ahead stopped.

A deathly silence.

Several seconds later, a trembling, incredulous question came through.

"Zhou...Zhou Yang? Is that you?"

A flame lit up the scene ahead. Zhao Kun's face appeared pale and distorted in the firelight. He held a tinderbox in one hand and leaned against the wall with the other. His brocade robes were covered in mud and water, and his hair was disheveled; he was nowhere to be seen as the imposing figure of a sect leader.

"Why are you running?" Zhou Yang approached step by step. "I haven't settled accounts with you yet."

Zhao Kun made a "hoarse" sound in his throat, like a chicken being strangled. His legs were trembling. He leaned against the wall to keep from collapsing.

"You...how did you get here?"

"I'm here to settle accounts," Zhou Yang said. "You burned down Liu's Pharmacy and killed someone. It's time to settle this score."

Mentioning Liu's Pharmacy, Zhao Kun's eyes suddenly twitched. He remembered the old doctor. And the old doctor's daughter.

A crazy idea popped into his head.

"money!"

Zhao Kun suddenly shouted in a shrill voice, "Zhou Yang! You want money, don't you? I'll give you money! I'll give you lots of money!"

He pulled a heavy cloth bag from his pocket and hurriedly untied it. Golden light leaked out of the bag, illuminating his sweat-covered face.

"Gold!" Zhao Kun clutched the cloth bag to his chest as if it were his own life. "Ten thousand taels of gold! If you let me go, all this gold is yours! Ten thousand taels! You couldn't earn that much money in your entire life!"

The light from the tinderbox flickered.

The golden light mingled with the firelight, reflecting off Zhao Kun's face. His eyes were filled with greed and pleading. He believed no one could resist gold. In his eyes, Zhou Yang was a madman who would do anything for money.

Zhou Yang did not look at the gold in his hand.

He didn't even stop walking.

He simply walked over and stood in front of Zhao Kun.

The two were less than a foot apart.

Zhao Kun could smell the gunpowder and blood emanating from Zhou Yang. He was so frightened that he shrank back, his back slamming heavily against the stone wall.

"You..." Zhao Kun's voice trembled uncontrollably.

Zhou Yang suddenly turned his head.

His gaze passed over Zhao Kun and landed on the entrance to the secret passage.

In the darkness, a thin figure stood there.

It's Dr. Liu.

He followed closely behind Zhou Yang. He walked slowly, each step feeling like walking on a knife's edge. But he came anyway. He wanted to witness his enemy's fate.

Zhou Yang's gaze fell on Doctor Liu.

Then he spoke. His voice was as calm as a stagnant pool.

"He bought his life."

He asked that question to Doctor Liu.

Are you selling?

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Zhao Kun whirled around, looking at the dark figure. He recognized the hunched back. It was Doctor Liu. The old man he had personally destroyed everything for. Fear instantly overwhelmed his reason. What he feared most wasn't Zhou Yang's knife, but the eyes of the man whose family he had ruined.

Dr. Liu's body was trembling.

It was shaking violently.

He looked at Zhao Kun, at this man whose face, once full of menace, was now ashen. Hatred gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake. His wife, his daughter, the pharmacy he had run his whole life… all flashed before his eyes.

Then, his gaze fell on the gold in Zhao Kun's hand.

Ten thousand taels of gold.

It was golden and dazzling.

With this money, he could leave Anyang County. He could go somewhere no one knew him and start over. He could forget the hatred, forget everything. He could live a good life.

He raised his hand.

Trembling, he reached for the bag of gold.

Zhao Kun's eyes instantly lit up with wild joy. He saw hope! He was going to live! He forcefully pushed the gold bag forward.

"Here you go! It's all yours!"

Dr. Liu's fingers almost touched the cold gold.

But his hand stopped in mid-air.

He remembered his daughter's last moments. Her small body, so cold. He remembered his wife, as she collapsed, still protecting the bag of pastries she had given him.

Can money bring them back?

No.

What use would I have for this money?

Dr. Liu slowly, very slowly, withdrew his hand. Then, he shook his head vigorously.

The movements were small, but resolute.

The ecstasy on Zhao Kun's face froze instantly. The light in his eyes gradually faded, turning into pure despair.

Zhou Yang saw the person shaking their head.

He nodded.

It was as if that was an answer he had already anticipated.

He turned back and looked at Zhao Kun.

"Then we won't sell it."

The moment the words fell.

His knife moved.

There were no unnecessary movements. Just a simple, clean wipe.

A thin line of blood bloomed on Zhao Kun's neck.

Zhao Kun's eyes were wide open, filled with resentment and disbelief. He seemed to want to say something, but only a gurgling sound came from his mouth. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

"Thump."

The gold bag in his hand fell to the ground. The gold scattered everywhere, gleaming alluringly in the firelight, but no one paid any attention to it anymore.

Zhao Kun's body went limp, and he slipped and fell into the muddy water. He was still convulsing, but his eyes were already unfocused.

Zhou Yang sheathed his knife.

Not a single drop of blood stained the blade.

He didn't even glance at the corpse on the ground, and turned to walk towards the entrance of the secret passage.

He walked past Doctor Liu.

Doctor Liu stood there, like a stone statue. He looked at Zhao Kun on the ground, then at the gold scattered everywhere. Tears finally fell, silently streaming down his wrinkled face.

He cried, silently, his shoulders trembling.

The pain that had been suppressed for so long finally found an outlet at this moment.

Zhou Yang did not stop.

He walked out of the dark secret passage step by step.

The flames outside grew even larger. The entire headquarters of the Earthly Fiend Sect was ablaze. Flames shot into the sky, turning the night sky red.

He stood at the entrance of the cave and glanced back at the small courtyard.

The firelight illuminated his face.

His face was expressionless.

He simply lifted his foot and put the moved bluestone slab back on.

With a "bang," the entrance was blocked.

Everything inside the secret passage was left in darkness.

It includes hatred, it includes gold, it includes a past that has ended.

Zhou Yang turned around and walked towards the towering flames.

His shadow stretched long in the firelight, then shortened, finally merging into the chaos and light. He stepped over scattered weapons and fallen corpses, like someone who had just emerged from hell, ready to face a new storm.