Chapter 261: Wind

~~~

The Storm Dragon’s spatial realm comes down, and chaos spreads over the battlefield. Not a single person is in the same place they were in when the light swallowed them all. Every formation has been broken, and countless lie dead. While high-level cultivators engaged in duels, the regular soldiers slaughtered each other by the hundreds in the endless corridors of the spatial realm.

Even General He Bin’s soldiers, who knew about the spatial realm ahead of time, do not come out unscathed from the experience. No amount of warnings could have prepared them for the constantly shifting dimensions of the labyrinthine realm where one does not know whether friend or foe awaits beyond the next door.

Still, it is better to be left shaken and confused than dead. Now that they are free, they can feel the material world instead of the vast emptiness of the Storm Dragon’s spatial realm.

It shakes Lu Mei to her very core.

“We need to leave,” she hisses. “Now!”

Her reaction is purely instinct-driven. Primal. That is why it is only after she says it that she realizes her words will not be accepted without question.

“I refuse to leave, my lord!”

Sure enough, that is the first and most obvious objection. Lu Mei notes, with no small amount of relief, that she can sense Qing Jin alive and well.

“What? But now that the spatial realm is down, I can finally go to where my Honored Ancestor is!”

That is the second objection. Thankfully, it is easily ignored.

“I thought we were trying to rescue Brother Qing?”

The third. Lu Mei wasn’t sure whether Huang Shing would speak up, but she is certain there is no need to wait for a fourth voice. She may not like Fan Bingbing, but she knows the girl will wait until she’s explained herself before saying anything.

“You can go to him now if you want to,” Lu Mei tells Lei Kong, then quickly adds, “but wait until I have finished explaining! He’s safe here! We aren’t!”

Thankfully, Lei Kong does not disappear in a blur of speed when she is in the middle of her sentence. Were he not dealing with the Curse of the Earth Realm, he probably would have.

“It’s so obvious now,” Lu Mei says, the temperature around her rising erratically.

The Eternal Flame whispers to her. It shows her the truth that had been kept hidden from her due to the spatial realm and the barriers around the palace.

It is terrifying.

“He said it. Remember?” Lu Mei says, pointing at Qing Guo. “The Storm Dragon has been manifested all this time. That’s what this has been all about!”

“What are you talking about?” Qing Guo asks. “The manifestation of the Storm Dragon is a necessary defensive measure to protect my father from the other two generals.”

“But that has not always been the case,” Fan Bingbing points out, finally speaking up. Her gaze shifts to Lu Mei. “It’s only because of the civil war that the Storm Dragon has been manifested this long. As I understand it, that usually wouldn’t have been the case.”

“Of course, it wouldn’t. There is no way something like that could stay manifested this long without consequences!” Lu Mei says, pacing erratically. Her legs want to run, but she contains herself. “Its power has been festering in this palace all this time, changing it. Now, it’s nearly done! It’s beating! Can’t you hear it?!”

“Hear what? Sister Mei, you’re not making any sense,” Huang Shing says.

“I am saying the palace has been acquiring the characteristics of the Storm Dragon! It’s creating a heart! All one giant mass of power, probably the single greatest power source in the entire continent!” Lu Mei shouts. “And this whole place could become a battlefield between emperors at any second.”

Gold flames flicker around her. Her pupils are completely dilated.

“We need to leave!”

~~~

Just as an ant cannot tell the difference between a hill and a mountain, most were unable to notice that Murong Bang was in death throes. Whether at his weakest or strongest, an Emperor remains an Emperor.

However, a dead Emperor is another thing entirely.

When a beggar dies, the world can ignore it. When an Emperor dies, the world must give proof. And so, the earth trembles and the skies darken. Murong Bang’s soldiers fall to their knees, disbelief written on their faces while nearly everyone else cheers. The earth might pay its respects, but they will not. The monster is dead. Let all rejoice!

General Nie Dan breaks into the palace.

His motion is sudden. Instant. A single step takes him right next to Liu Jin.

“Did you deal the finishing blow?” he asks.

It takes Liu Jin several seconds to answer.

“I thought about it. For years, I kept thinking about it. I told myself I wasn’t, but I was,” Liu Jin says. He is still looking at Murong Bang’s corpse. “He was injured. Weak. It was the perfect opportunity… I couldn’t bring myself to do it…I couldn’t…”

“I see.”

There is no condemnation in General Nie Dan’s tone. There is also no approval. The general merely looks at Liu Jin without judgment.

“He thought I was my father,” Liu Jin blurts out. “He wasn’t thinking right. He saw my eyes and thought I was my father.”

Not just his eyes, General Nie Dan thinks to himself. The boy looks so much like his father that it is almost terrifying. It is a resemblance that goes beyond the physical. They have the same expressions, the same cadence, the same presence. It is only natural that a dying Murong Bang would have mistaken one for the other.

“My father is dead,” Liu Jin says. “He destroyed his cultivation and lived as a powerless doctor for many years. Murong Bang attacked our city one day… My father died in that attack.”

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General Nie Dan closes his eyes.

He knew. Of course, he knew. From the moment he saw the boy, he knew it was a possibility. Out of all the scenarios he theorized, it was the most likely one.

Hearing it confirmed makes him feel every single one of his years.

“I wanted to tell him the truth as he died,” Liu Jin says. “For him to die happy…thinking my father came back… It wasn’t right. Why should he die content after making everyone so miserable? I wanted him to realize what his way of life had wrought as he died. I wanted him to die miserable. Hurt and full of despair. That should have been the least he deserved.”

Liu Jin’s whole body shudders. In confusion. In anger. In regret.

All those and more.

“I couldn’t,” Liu Jin says. “At the very end, I saw nothing more than a rabid dog who was just happy his master finally came back. I felt pity for him and let him die happy because of it.”

“Do you regret it?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t.” Liu Jin chuckles miserably. “I guess I am as soft as everyone says I am.”

“You are,” Nie Dan says, making Liu Jin flinch. The general crosses his arms. “However, on this occasion, I am grateful you were.”

“General?”

“Murong Bang is a man I fought beside once upon a time. He saved my life, and I saved his. We shared countless triumphs and occasional setbacks,” Nie Dan says. “No one sane will mourn Murong Bang. No one sane will miss him. Countless will rightfully rejoice at his death. Nevertheless, as a fellow follower of the Black Dragon, I appreciate what you did even if no one else will.”

“To think a beast like Murong Bang would ever be spoken of so fondly. It is far more than he deserves.”