Chapter 49: Sying as the Path to Redeem Sin

  Annou"Blood Pill Great Medie" has been ged to "Great Blood Pill."“Divine Ability?” “Internal Breath Like Rivers?!” “Kill him—he’s only one person!” “Impossible! He was already strong enough without any Internal Energy. Now that his Internal Breath is Like Rivers, we’re doomed!”

  In a single instant, An Jing cut down their leader. The remaining four demonic disciples of the Heavenly Will Demonic Sect plunged into chaos. Oried to flee backward, one roared madly and pou An Jing, while another colpsed onto the ground, shaking untrolbly.

  “An Jing! With the others, it’s whatever—but I’ve never mistreated you!”

  He was the only oill able to speak. Watg An Jing silently swing his sword once more—ly slig the demonic disciple who lu him into two—he broke down and howled, “Have I not been good to you all?!”

  Seeing the person before him and notig that this man had not attacked him directly, An Jing paused, halting the sword in his hand.

  “Yes, indeed you were good.”

  He ined his head slightly, replying in a gentle voice, “I still remember you gave me an e dy o was my favorite fvor.”

  An Jing’s memory was truly sharp. In addition to the e dy, he recalled how this rider had once furtively handed him jerky when he was overworked in training and had also given dy to other children.

  Yet An Jing also remembered hearing his voi that rainy night; he khis man was one of those guarding the Eastern Mountain Farmnds, responsible for watg over the children who were being sughtered and processed into Great Blood Pills.

  So how exactly had he do?

  Chatting warmly with them by day, then at night butchering child after child—children who might still have been filled with gratitude and admiration toward him only hours before?

  Fueled by a burning curiosity in his heart, An Jing stopped his sword mid-swie knowing this wasn’t the best moment. He lowered his void asked about the doubt roiling within him.

  The rider then revealed his true thoughts: “From the moment the Heavenly Will Demonic Sect bought you all, I already sidered you dead. Everything I did was just to give you fort before death.”

  “When it’s time to die, you must die. You would have died anyway—by storms, droughts, heavy snow, earthquakes, or someone else’s hands. What difference is there if it’s me who kills you? Such is your fate! And by eating you, we bee one. We tinue living in your pce—what’s so bad about that?”

  “Trust me, An Jing! I killed them swiftly so they felt no pain! Far better than starving or freezing to death!”

  “Besides, An Jing, you’re still alive, aren’t you? Your fate was o die. You’re different from those other children. You possess Heavenly Fate. You’re no failure of a mortal…”

  He spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world, without the slightest hesitation.

  He truly believed this. His warmth and had been genuine. Even while knowing the truth about blood essence refi and the human sacrifices, he still sincerely pitied these Children of Camity. Therefore, he wao show them a little kindness before their deaths.

  How terribly human of him.

  This recisely what An Jing hated most—what made him feel a surge of hat the demonic disciples of the Heavenly Will Demonic Sect remained, in some ways, still human. They could still act like people!

  If they had been purely evil, it would have been simpler. Why did they have to seem so human?

  —What kind of wicked world could twist human beings into devils such as these?!

  “You really are a good person… Haha, a good person within the Demonic Sect!”

  An Jing’s heart ed with emotions too tao describe. He lowered his head, but no tears came.

  When he lifted his head again, the youth’s eyes bzed with fierce fmes; a white mist rose from the ers of his eyes, drifting outward. “If you had been born into peaceful times, maybe you really would have stayed that same good person.”

  He gritted his teeth so hard that blood spread across his tongue. “So treat me as a natural disaster! Because I’m definitely going to kill you—all of you!”

  “Sying as the Path to Redeem Sin! Your sins, their sins—I’ll shoulder them! But I… I will not let you tinue down this path of evil!”

  In the moment, An Jing braced his waist and shoulders, and swung the Death Bde in his hand with sudden force. His entire body’s strength merged into one and burst forth, transf into a pierg streak of bloody light, which sshed down upon the demonic disciple who roared and drew his own bde in response.

  The sword light expanded in the man’s vision, looming rger and rger…

  Then, darkness.

  A fsh of crimson. He sughtered every demonic disciple. An Jing looked up.

  He saw the Red Armuards—who had been pursuing this small team of the Heavenly Will Demonic Sect—ly finish off the disciple trying to escape by skewering him to the ground with a spear.

  “Who are you?!”

  They raised their heads as well, gazes hidden behind their helmets, looking at An Jing, who had helped them cut off the demonic disciples’ retreat. They showed a hint of surprise. “A young man?”

  “Could that be… Internal Breath Like Rivers?!”

  The three Red Armuards, each with solid training a strength, instantly noticed that the sword in An Jing’s hand was no ordinary on and that his own power was extraordinary. “Internal Breath Like Rivers… at his age? What kind of monster is this?!”

  “Stay alert—he’s not ordinary. Call for reinforts!”

  “Wait, Captain…”

  One of the Red Armuards seemed to recall something and spoke softly, “Weren’t all the sacrifices in the Heavenly Will Demonic Sect’s ritual teenagers? Maybe the ritual failed aaliated…”

  “And among those we’re supposed to rescue is ander Gu’s granddaughter. She should be part of that sacrificial group…”

  “Given this level of strength, and going by the intel…”

  Though they spoke in hushed voices, even ordinary Internal Energy practitioners at this distance wouldn’t likely hear them. Yet after cultivating the Serene Sword Teique, An Jing’s five senses had grown increasingly sharp, so he caught their whispers: “Red Armuards… They’re here to rescue ander Gu’s granddaughter?”

  “ander… maybe an Ior? A Provincial Governor? I’m not too great with historical titles… e to think of it, who is the ander of our Northern Frontier’s Hanhai Region?”

  “You there, young man.”

  After a brief, wary discussion, the leading Red Armuard turned around. His tone was uedly gentle. “Are you named An Jing?”

  “Huh?”

  An Jing, waiting in silend ready to fight at any moment, felt puzzled. “How do you know my name?”

  He quickly caught on. “So there really was an undercent in the Demonic Sect… My leaked as well.”

  “Yes,” he aowledged, though he did not lower the Death Bde in his hand.

  “We are the Red Armuards of Great , here to rescue you.”

  The captain removed his helmet, revealing an ho, square-shaped face. He signaled his men to put away their ons to show goodwill. “Since you’re An Jing, do you know the whereabouts of a girl named Gu Yeqi?”

  “Where is she now?”

  —So it really was Yeqi?

  An Jing was taken aback. He had suspected something when he heard the name “ander Gu,” but he still never imagi would be Gu Yeqi.

  Isn’t she an apothecary’s daughter? Her father was supposedly just an ordinary refugee in the Northern Frohere’s just no way she could be the daughter of a high official… Unless, of course, she’s actually the illegitimate offspring—a bastard’s daughter, so to speak?

  But that still didn’t quite make sense…

  “Gu Yeqi?”

  While An Jing was momentarily lost in thought, a faintly puzzled voice sounded behind him. “That name seems familiar…”

  An Jing turned slightly and saw several youths—just freed from the dungeon—holding ons taken from the dead demonistructors and disciples. They mustered their ce and opehe manates, wanting to fight alongside An Jing.

  They were clearly a bit te—or perhaps An Jing had simply killed too swiftly. Finding no remaining demoniemies other than the Red Armuards, they looked dazed.

  At that very moment, they heard the Red Armuards mention Gu Yeqi by name.

  Among them was Yi Qing—the very first girl An Jing had rescued—who now seemed to recall something. Her eyes lit up. “ht! Isn’t that the name of Senior Brother An’s tagalong?”

  “Tagalong?”

  An Jing instantly sehe Red Armuards’ gazes heating up as they all turo stare at him.

  (End of Chapter)