Chapter Ninety-Four: A Favor That Was Not a Favor, A Grudge That Could Not Be Stilled

The Purple Emperor is one of the three sovereigns of the Demon Race, the ruler of the Third Heretical Vein. A full ten years ago, she entered the underground nest and devoured the guardian of the fourth level. Having completely inherited the spider’s power and memories, she could conceal her demonic aura so perfectly that even the other six guardians could not recognize her.

After resting only a single day at the inn, Ye Ran and Xia Li left the town.

There were very few horses along the Doomed Great Wall, and it was already a rare favor to borrow one thanks to the good graces of the divine envoy, Xia Li.

Ye Ran, of course, was not so fortunate as to ride. He could only walk ahead, leading the horse by the bridle for Xia Li. A gentle spring breeze swept past them, and both were in excellent spirits.

“You know, your heart is not bad at all. It is only your temper that is odd—so cold, not the least bit endearing.”

Though she had not known Ye Ran for long, Xia Li’s impression of him had already changed greatly, especially after his deed of repaying kindness with gratitude.

Ye Ran said, “So she lay in hiding for so long just for the sake of an ancient divine weapon?”

He suddenly recalled that day at the Prison-Dragon Ridge, when a powerful demon deep in the mountains had abruptly withdrawn without fighting. Perhaps it had already learned Gong Ziyue’s identity then.

Xia Li nodded. “The Seven Ancient Divine Weapons were forged by the ancient martial warriors of the human race at the dawn of their wars. They possess the power to shake heaven and earth and move even ghosts to tears. The war between gods and demons is inevitable. One more divine weapon means one more chance of victory. It is a pity, though, that the demons now possess three of them, while two remain unaccounted for, and the Temple has only the Demon-Exorcising Thorn.”

“Three?”

A thought stirred in Ye Ran’s mind.

Xia Li turned to him with a smile. “Ye Ran, you’re not good at scheming, so of course you would never have guessed that Gong Ziyue first concealed herself in the underground nest, making the six guardians mistake her for a member of the insect race. Then she kept leaking news that ancient weapons were being released within the nest, luring the Temple into an attack. After that, she joined forces with Pandora from within and from without to ambush the divine race experts, forcing Athena and Apollo to intervene, while also driving the insect race out of Furious Torrent City.”

“And that still isn’t all. What comes next is the most brilliant part. The insect race, forced out of Furious Torrent City and with nowhere to go, could only flee to the territory of the Hundred-Foot Celestial Insect, Xisai. But before that, she had the demons stationed in Xisai spread the rumor that the three major insect clans who had left Furious Torrent City had allied with the Temple experts and were joining forces against the Hundred-Foot Celestial Insect. After that, all she needed was to accidentally kill a few Hundred-Foot Celestial Insects while tangled with the Temple experts, and she could ignite war among the three sides.”

“How is it? Isn’t it an exacting and terrifying plan?” Xia Li smiled. “Even we were kept in the dark until just now. Gong Ziyue’s wisdom is truly unfathomable.”

Ye Ran said nothing for a long while. He truly could not admire such step-by-step calculation or such careful arrangement. In his eyes, true strength and a fair, upright battle were what a man should pursue.

Still, as an outsider listening to it all, he had to admit Gong Ziyue’s mind was indeed profoundly deep.

“I understand her design now, but I still don’t understand why she saved me.”

Thinking back on that day, Ye Ran truly could not find any reason for her to have rescued him. The Purple Emperor, one of the three sovereigns, was a genius beyond compare—what kind of extraordinary talent had she not seen before? To say she saved him because she admired his aptitude or endurance was something he would never believe, not in a million years.

Xia Li laughed brightly. “You really are just a block of wood. She had already counted her own life into the final scheme. She knew that to seize the divine weapon, she would most likely perish in the jaws of the Hundred-Foot Celestial Insect hidden in the abyss together with several powerful insect race experts. So she cast a Twin-Life Curse on you in advance, binding your two lives together. That way, as long as you lived, she would not need to fear dying in the mouth of the Hundred-Foot Celestial Insect.”

“Of course, the Twin-Life Curse has both distance and time limits, which is why Pandora had to think of every possible way to bring you to Xisai.”

At this, Ye Ran stopped and gazed at the sparse shrubs ahead. He smiled. “I see. If she had simply put the curse on any random person, it would inevitably arouse suspicion and leak the secret. Only by taking advantage of rescuing me to cast the Twin-Life Curse could it seem natural, without causing the least suspicion—including from me.”

“That’s exactly it. I don’t know whether to call you lucky or unlucky,” Xia Li said with a smile.

But Ye Ran’s smile slowly faded, replaced by a look of sorrow. “No wonder she saved me. No wonder when I was trapped at Prison-Dragon Ridge and on the Phantom Spirit Plank Road, she came to my rescue. I thought she treated me sincerely. It turns out... I was only being used.”

“Heh. In this world, the only ones who have ever truly been kind to me are still Yun Meng, Fu Ruiya... and the former Xue...”

The wind lifted his long hair. Xia Li saw his face without expression, yet sorrow seemed carved into his eyes.

She suddenly realized that, without meaning to, she had touched a wound hidden deep in his heart. This youth, who had grown up in the slums and endured endless scorn, cared so much whenever someone showed him kindness.

Gong Ziyue had been kind to him, and he had been willing to repay it with his life.

She had saved him, and he had likewise been willing to sever ties with Gong Ziyue and Pandora.

Yet who could have known how bitterly ironic it would be for him to learn the truth?

“Ye Ran...”

“Miss Xia Li, let us part ways here. I should be heading to the Wicked Lands of Yibo.”

Ye Ran said this.

He knew Xia Li wanted to apologize to him, and he also knew that the girl had never intended to hurt him. She had no need to apologize.

“The Wicked Lands of Yibo...”

Unknowingly, they had already traveled for three days. Not far ahead lay the Four-Directions Road.

So it was already time to part. For some reason, Xia Li actually felt reluctant. Though still so young, she had already followed the former divine envoy and crossed more than half the continent. She had grown used to the partings and reunions of the world, to the waxing and waning of the moon, yet never before had she felt such reluctance.

That boy standing in the wind, gazing toward the distance, was plainly so simple, and yet as complex as a riddle. She clearly knew at a glance what kind of person he was, and yet for some reason she always felt there were other stories hidden within him.

“Ye Ran, the world is so vast. Why must you go to the Wicked Lands of Yibo?”

she asked.

Ye Ran gave a self-mocking laugh. “Furious Torrent City is also huge, yet aside from the slums and Mud-Brick Street, wasn’t there still no place for Fu Ruiya and me to belong? The world is so vast—would there really be a place that could so easily accept poor nobody’s like us, wild lads, or rough outsiders crossing a river into new lands?”

“Only a chaotic place like the Wicked Lands of Yibo is fit for people like Xiao Meng and Brother Xin, who have nothing but hot blood in their veins to go out and make a name for themselves. Beyond there, I cannot think of anywhere else we can go.”

Only at this moment did Xia Li understand what sorrow he had concealed in his heart, and only then did she realize how deep the wound left by Redleaf Academy’s rejection had been.

He had never been the one in the wrong, yet every time he was the one forced to taste the bitter fruit. The world had been far too unjust to him.

Quietly, Xia Li turned her horse and rode to his side, smiling. “Ye Ran, we’re going the same way. I’m going to the Wicked Lands of Yibo too. Why don’t we travel together?”