108 Storytelling
AFTER KNEELING FOR some time, Shen Zui could not take it anymore. Although he was a monk, his resolve over the matter of cleansing the realm was stronger than anyone else.
Zhang Wei thoroughly convinced him.
“Senior, we dare not oppose you, but what we’re doing is for the people of this realm. Senior, do you believe that the people who are suffering deserve the rest that they deserve? Do you believe that the people who are weak and often abused deserve to redeem themselves by claiming eternal rest?”
Yang Lujia still stared at the Death Hydra who was no longer controlled by anyone. Then, his gaze landed on Shen Zui. Expressionless, he said, “I don’t.”
Shen Zui shut his mouth as his expression was rendered in a daze.
Zhang Wei was still wailing so hard for the eyes Yang Lujia had pulled out without even touching them. Bleeding, he kept cursing under his breath. On the other hand, Zhao Dilao and his grandfather were silent all the way..
However, they knew very well that among the four of them, the most sinned would be them. When Yang Lujia stared right into the eyes of Zhao Qiaochen, he also found the same thing. Someone was watching everything happening. “Who are you?” he asked. “The one behind the eyes of the old echinemon,” he referred.
Without waiting for the response, Yang Lujia simply raised his hands and clenched them; and just like Zhang Wei, Zhao Qiaochen also felt the same thing—the throbs of their eye sockets when their eyes were crushed.
Yang Lujia’s eyes then drifted to Zhao Dilao who was kneeling and shaking. If it was before, he would have not feared this man before him. After all, that was only his clone then. On this day, it was, however, his real body. Moreover, his grandfather and the other seniors at the level of his grandfather were even prostrating themselves before this man.
“Because you all made my disciples and my pet puppy suffer, you must also suffer at the same range of time they suffered,” Yang Lujia said and began to talk about his life in Da Sishen. “Did you know? Well, of course, you didn’t.”
“…”
“When I arrived here in Da Sishen, I was sent to a village and there I was trying to fish some information about the Echinemon Race. This was after I found an infant dragon in the Dragon Race whose family was murdered by you all. In order to pull out any of the members of the Echinemon Race, I laid out plans and happened to be suggested with joining the Annual Death Ceremony.
“When I planned to enter the Valley of Gods, it was said that I will be able to meet some of your members, so I did. Who would’ve thought that instead of helping me, it only led my disciples to suffer? My other disciple was even forcefully pulled into the higher realm without my permission and then you, Zhao Dilao, blew your clone up.”
CRACK.
The ground around the four of them began to crack as Yang Lujia released a bit of his aura. Nonetheless, it frightened the hell out of the four people.
“If before, I want to spare some of the innocent lives of your respective territories, now, I don’t mind killing everyone there. However, I realized that I seemed to have become akin to a bloodthirsty person, so I didn’t do so; because if I were in your position now, I would have felt helpless.
“After all, we are all just people with selfish desires, with personal wants to achieve—whether it’d be for our families, our territories, or for our greed for power. You know, even in another world, that’s the same case…”
When the four listened to Yang Lujia’s story, they were shocked by the last thing he said.
‘Another world…’
‘He’d been to another world…’
‘Is it the same world as ours?’
‘But why is this fellow’s character seem unstable?’
They had questions in their hearts but nothing seemed to come out of their lips, afraid of ending up offending the senior in front of them. They truly regretted treating him as some young kid, but he was actually more than they could describe.
Someone unpredictable and he hid so well that no one noticed his existence at all. They did notice him, but they did not take him that seriously and erased him as some essential external variable that might cause their plan to fail. And because of this man, their plan had backlashed on them. Initially, they came here to slaughter pigs, but they became the pigs in the end instead.
“Why does every world have them? It might be because, without these variables, the world would not work properly. In an ecosystem, beasts kill other beasts in order to survive. Perhaps, if this kind of world doesn’t kill, all of us would suffer.
“Shen Zulu, right? You should know that I let go of that creature to officially commence the Death Purge. It’s the Will of Da Sishen that asked me to help. Coincidentally, you have my little dragon as well, so it doesn’t hurt much for me to lend a hand.”
Then, he stared right into the eyes of Shen Zui to recheck whether this monk was also being controlled unconsciously. “Seems like I’m gonna send you on your way first. I kinda like his name, though, easy to remember. You, what was your name again? Shen Zuli? You like to cleanse others, right? How about me wiping you off from the face of the earth so you can redeem yourself as well?”
“…”
In no time, Yang Lujia effortlessly made Shen Zui disappear in the face of the earth and brought Zhang Wei, Zhao Qiaochen, and Zhao Dilao to the separate world of the Echinemon Race. There, there was also Zhao Fenhua who he had initially captured.
He looked at the blood-tinted skies. “I am done with my job. From now on, I have no ties with you anymore. I hope the realm would be more prosperous in the time to come.”
When Yang Lujia disappeared to tend to his little disciple’s condition and the others, three small airships arrived at the same time.
“What happened here?” Bai Qian asked, his mouth agape. “It seems like the Death Hydra and those other folks have gone to another territory. Well, it’s more important that I was able to save some of my people and my daughter.”
Xia Zhiguang then appeared by his side. “I also have my daughter by my side and my two sons as well as my wife. It’s still quite shocking as to what happened here.”
“Greetings, City Palace Lord, City Lord Ancestor Bai Qian,” Wang Lao said as he also arrived at the scene.