Chapter 1876 - 1469: The Shi Clan’s Tragedy, Half the Truth Revealed

"No..." Finally breaking the silence, Shi Wujue sighed, looked at Gu Changsheng and Zhou Mu before him, and spoke in a deep voice, "It’s not what you think; this is a matter even Shang Xie cannot help with!"

As he spoke, Shi Wujue stood up from the ground, gently waved his black sleeves, and smoothed out nonexistent creases on his brocade robe.

"The disappearance of my vitality is not because I saved you back then, so you don’t need to feel guilty or blame yourselves."

"I don’t believe it!" Almost as soon as Shi Wujue’s voice fell, Gu Changsheng shook his head and shouted, "This feeling, I’m too familiar with it. Shi Wujue, you were doing well, your complexion was fine, your body was fine before I met you, but after I woke up in your Linyuan City, you turned gray-haired and became like this! You still want to deceive me!"

"I did not deceive you!" Shi Wujue turned back, interrupting Gu Changsheng’s words, and amidst the turmoil of his heart, he finally spoke again, "This is a secret of my Shi Family! The world knows that the Shi Family, rulers of Linyuan City, has few descendants; perhaps they do not know, my Shi Family is not tolerated by the heavens, destined to have no long-lived people!"

Gu Changsheng and Zhou Mu were stunned upon hearing this.

Their hearts simultaneously thought of the Evil Gathering Formation in Linyuan City, and the Heaven Deceiving Hall in the City Lord’s Mansion...

Not tolerated by Heaven?

Destined to have no long-lived people?

"Why... why?" Gu Changsheng was shocked, asking intermittently.

"I want to know more than you why! My clansmen, my ancestors, generations of us all want to know, why is all of this happening!" Shi Wujue faced Gu Changsheng and Zhou Mu, a sorrowful and bleak smile formed, as he opened his mouth, "Do you think what Ta You said, what is my obsession? What truth do I want to pursue?"

Speaking to this point, the air around Shi Wujue was filled with desolate breath, deeply helpless, spreading like barrenness...

Looking at this Shi Wujue, Gu Changsheng and Zhou Mu for a moment did not know what to say...

"Not only me, my clansmen, my people, none have the fate of longevity, Gu Changsheng, Zhou Mu, I know you don’t understand, I understand even less. What I can tell you is, although there is no record in historical annals, our Shi Family has existed for long years... My ancestors once led our people, creating an endlessly glorious Chapter, yet the past has become past, and we now unexpectedly have become people not tolerated by Heaven; throughout long years, our clansmen in their most prime moments, would die one after another, can you feel that feeling? That feeling of being abandoned by Heaven? But why? Why on earth is all this happening?" Saying this, Shi Wujue raised his hand toward the top of the pagoda, "Who can tell us why all this is? Did our ancestors do something intolerable to Heaven and earth? Yet we did not do anything! We did nothing, and yet ended up like this!"

"In endless time, what my clansmen seek is only to live safely until old age, to experience life, aging, illness, and death, but this for us is luxury! Luxury! Do you understand? We have never seen what it looks like for us to age; our years always freeze in the prime and turn into skeletons! Do you know the feeling of watching strong and healthy people suddenly fall, die inexplicably? Do you know the desolation of those endless graves, burying countless prime skeletons? You do not know! You can never feel that feeling..."

"Do you know, the existence of my Shi Family is related to the life and death of the He Clan? I cannot even die; I can only rely on the blood of my clansmen to maintain life, Gu Changsheng, Zhou Mu, do you think, why did I leave Linyuan City, leave the place where generations of my ancestors lived, and accompany you northward?"

"I..." Hearing this, Gu Changsheng opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

In fact, she was already stunned by the secrets Shi Wujue spoke about!

"Because I want to seek the truth, I want to ask the deities why has our clan become like this! The Divine Demise Land is the last relic of divine disappearance; I hope I can uncover the truth shackling my clansmen for generations there!" Shi Wujue spoke, a miserable laugh surfaced, mocking himself, "Sorry, I didn’t mean to hide from you, let you think I was helping you; it’s my fault, for hiding my selfishness, it’s also my fault, all of this, all is my fault..."

Saying this, Shi Wujue squatted despondently on the ground, hands holding his head, unspeakably miserable.

In the end...

He still doesn’t dare to tell her the truth...

Doesn’t dare to tell her, all the news about the Divine Demise Land was spread by his ancestors, doesn’t dare to tell her, their appearance here was all calculated by him...

He doesn’t dare!

He doesn’t dare again to face Gu Changsheng’s unfamiliar and distant gaze...

He doesn’t dare...

Doesn’t dare to tell Gu Changsheng that their He Clan not only can’t live long, but are neither human nor wolf...

He said part, but ultimately didn’t have the courage to say it all!

Looking at Shi Wujue in this state, Gu Changsheng was momentarily at a loss, anxiously looking at her evildoer, only to see shock and worry in his eyes...

Indeed!

Shi Wujue is their benefactor, someone they treat like family. Even if he has concealed his own intentions, is there truly any fault in that?

"Shi... Shi Wujue... don’t be like this..." Gu Changsheng finally stepped forward under Zhou Mu’s encouraging gaze, reaching out to pat Shi Wujue’s shoulder. "You see, we don’t blame you... Who doesn’t have a bit of selfish intent? When you followed us north, I thought, having such a skilled master with us boosted our confidence greatly. Actually, you should have told us earlier, then I could ask Little Monk Bu Jie if he could assist you. He knows a lot more about the world of strange powers and enigmatic spirits than we do..."

"He can’t... Our clan exists alongside the Human God Shang Clan for ages. Even he can’t help us..."

Gu Changsheng, upon hearing this, felt choked, watching Shi Wujue overwhelmed by sadness, momentarily unsure how to comfort him.

After a while, Gu Changsheng regained his words, his bright face showing an arrogant smile, raising his hand to slap Shi Wujue boldly, proclaiming defiantly, "It’s not such a big deal, you’re just seeking a truth, aren’t you? So we’ll seek it together. Anyway, I also want the treasures of the Divine Demise Land. Our goals are quite aligned. With our skills, can’t we turn that damnable Divine Demise Land upside down? Rest assured, be confident. I won’t let you die young. When I find the Tears of the Goddess, each time you die, I’ll revive you!"

"You..." Shi Wujue, hearing this, looked up with a bewildered expression. For a moment, he hesitated to confront the entirely trusting Gu Changsheng!

In Gu Changsheng’s heart, his people are just the thousand or so in Linyuan City, right?

But in truth, that’s not the case...

In the Land of the Far North Desert Sea, his people are thousands upon thousands. He is truly the one who can sway all the winds and clouds, the one hiding among them, stirring up boundless storms!

"I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have concealed everything from you..." I shouldn’t have hidden everything from you...

All the unspoken deception, exploitation, and manipulation...

"Come on! It’s no big deal, no need to apologize. You’ve helped us far more than what you’ve concealed! Besides, people say the Prime Minister has a stomach that can hold a boat; I am, after all, the Southern Emperor. Surely an Emperor’s stomach can hold two boats, right? My heart is quite big!" Gu Changsheng said, tugging at Zhou Mu’s sleeve with a mischievous grin. "Evildoer, isn’t that right?"

"Yes." Zhou Mu replied in a deep voice, reaching out to pull Shi Wujue off the ground, his divine-like face showing a bit of helplessness, speaking solemnly, "I always knew you were hiding something from us. Just because you didn’t want to say, we naturally wouldn’t ask. We trusted you. So today, since you spoke out, we’re relieved. No matter what happens, we’ll face it together. It will pass."

Zhou Mu was never skilled with words, and even with Shi Wujue whom he knew since childhood, he never spoke so much.

In that moment, Shi Wujue was shocked as he looked up to see the astonishment in Zhou Mu’s eyes...

Zhou Mu, the son of destiny!

Indeed, he discerned there was something I was hiding!

But, due to absolute trust, he chose not to ask!

Not asking is the greatest trust!

Without a reason, Shi Wujue suddenly felt a twitching pain in his heart, as if cut by a sharp blade, unbearably painful!

Gu Changsheng trusts him!

Zhou Mu trusts him!

They have complete faith in him...

However...

He ultimately betrayed their trust!

At that moment, Shi Wujue hated himself intensely, with a hatred that cut him to the bone!

"Gu Changsheng, Zhou Mu, I..." At that moment, Shi Wujue wanted to spill everything without restraint, yet the words clung to his throat, swallowed down...

"Alright! The Master of Linyuan City acting all guilty like a young girl is quite awkward to watch!" Gu Changsheng waved his hand, giving Shi Wujue a disdainful glance, then pouted, his expression shifting from disdain to sympathy, "But Shi Wujue, you and your people are rather pitiful. I feel that being disliked by Heavenly Father is bad enough for me, and yet you’re even more miserable, even unacceptable to the heavens! But why is this?"

Shi Wujue looked at Gu Changsheng in front of him, saw the undisguised confusion on her face, his world-shattering face curving slightly at the corners, revealing a smile marked by helplessness...