I Slay Gods and Demons in the Deceit Night
Chapter 99 - 87: The Truth Behind the Scenes!【Third Update, Please Subscribe!】_2

Chapter 99: Chapter 87: The Truth Behind the Scenes!【Third Update, Please Subscribe!】_2

Han Commander waved his hand, "No need, let Wu Chang handle it."

Xu Qing said, "There’s another matter, the people listed here, aside from those who vanished, there are two... from the southwestern area of the outer city, reported to have died of illness."

"What about it?"

"Normally, in High Willow City, whenever someone dies, be it of illness, old age, or an accident, they are to be sent to Liu Zun Temple to dispel the resentment!"

"These two bodies, were they not sent to Liu Zun Temple?"

"I have my suspicions about that," Xu Qing said. "But without a personal letter from the General Flag Envoy, it’s impossible to verify with the Temple! Moreover, that General Flag Envoy from the southwestern district of the outer city, the one with a feud with you, will certainly not cooperate!"

"I will immediately order someone to go to Liu Zun Temple to pull the records! As for the Outer South Government Office, we’ll bypass Zhou Kui and ask the Observatory to directly send the files!"

"This will make Zhou Kui furious, considering the enmity that already exists," Xu Qing said.

"Then let him be even more angry, and see what he can do about it!" Han Commander said. "Summon all the clerks from the Outer South Bureau, get ready to cross-check the names! Especially the names on the wooden tags!"

——

Meanwhile, within the city defense tent.

Zhao Zhou, the Great Commander, had both wrists severed, breathing weakly.

But he had slowly opened his eyes.

Compared to before, his aged but spirited eyes were now extremely cloudy and weary.

"Was it worth it?"

City Captain Wang Yuan sat beside him, sighing, "I could understand if he were one of your own soldiers, but he’s from the Observatory, not your subordinate."

"First, for the sake of this young Flag Commander, you didn’t hesitate to offend the Liu Family of the inner city."

"Then, for his sake again, you turned back and plunged into the flesh of Tai Sui."

"You knew you might risk your life, yet you still went to save him."

"Even with both hands severed, you still forced yourself to carry out this young man, who’s sometimes as cold as ice and sometimes as hot as fire."

"To those unaware, they might think he’s your long deceased adopted son."

With a sigh, Wang Yuan pointed to the severed limbs, saying, "Even if his future is boundless, even if he might become the next Li Shen Sect, but at your age, to end up like this for his sake, was it worth it?"

"It seems you have changed as well," the voice of Zhao Zhou, the Great Commander, was somewhat vague and deep, "Do you all think that I value him so heavily, going so far as to offend the Liu Family, risking my life, because his future is boundless, so I must curry favor with him at all costs, even to the point of ingratiating myself?"

"Isn’t that the case?"

Wang Yuan, with a cold expression, said, "This person is young but has revealed a peak Refining Essence Realm cultivation, and with a rate of progress rarely seen, indeed his future is boundless... Various forces in the marketsphere all think that by showing him goodwill today and investing in a relationship, you can reap infinite benefits from him in the future."

"But I am old."

"..."

"I won’t live many more years," the Great Commander Zhao Zhou sighed. "I won’t see the days of his growth, nor will I wait for his immense gratitude and riches to repay me."

"Brother Wang, I don’t have your good fortune, unable to break through the Refining Essence Realm."

"With your Refining Essence Realm cultivation, you might live another thirty to fifty years, but I have reached the end... In recent years, I have become increasingly powerless."

"I also lack your tactics and schemes to pursue more things."

The old man lowered his head, looking at his broken wrists, his tone extremely solemn.

"..."

Wang Yuan remained silent for a long while before he spoke, "What are you trying to say?"

The Great Commander Zhao Zhou did not respond, but just stared at Wang Yuan with an extremely grave tone and spoke again.

"The future I cannot see, perhaps you can see it."

"You, who hold high positions, for the sake of power and status at hand, do you truly not wish to look further ahead?"

"Even if you continue to maintain your strength, in another thirty years, this flame of yours will have burned out."

The Great Commander Zhao Zhou said this, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

Wang Yuan fell silent again, then finally said, "I don’t quite understand the meaning behind your words."

Zhao Zhou closed his eyes slightly, looked up at the sky, and said in a low voice, "We should always protect the growth of the younger generation."

"If, for the sake of power and status, you ignore the future and extinguish hope, once you have grown old... with no one to succeed you, the Human Clan will truly fall into complete darkness."

"He may die in the midst of darkness, which is the struggle between the Human Clan and the darkness, but he should not die at the hands of the clan’s own strong."

"It’s not that you can’t see the future; you just don’t want to give up everything you currently hold."

As Zhao Zhou opened his eyes, he found the old man’s eyes full of sorrow.

Wang Yuan sighed and said, "Is it just because, when reporting achievements, his was omitted? You think I deliberately suppressed this young man?"

He stepped forward, patted the shoulder of the Great Commander Zhao, and said earnestly, "But you must understand, you were all unconscious, I did not know how much he had contributed in the slaughterhouse, I could only put it aside for now! But believe me, brother, we can still re-report in the future and verify his achievements!"

Zhao Zhou paused, then said, "Actually, I woke up two days ago. Deputy Commander Zhou Kui has gone missing. He has been confirmed by the Observatory to be remnants of the Tribulation Ash, likely having died in the slaughterhouse."

"Deputy Commander Zhou’s residence was sealed by the Outer South Government Office, but he was a student of mine, some habits are hard to change."

"I had people search his residence, and they found some things, among them more than ten wooden plaques inscribed with names."

"In the records of our city’s defenses, these people have all progressively left the city, and coincidentally, the records were from the days when Deputy Commander Zhou was on duty."

"It seems that these people all died in the slaughterhouse."

After a pause, Zhao Zhou spoke in a low voice, "Among these people, eight were from High Willow City... All their birth dates were registered, and while they were not of the same age as I, according to the Temple’s calendar calculations, this month, like me, they were afflicted by the stars."

Wang Yuan stiffened and slowly released his hand, remaining silent.

"Brother Wang, you know I was involved in the construction of the city’s defenses, those nine Sacrificial Towers dedicated to the positions of the Nine Luminaries, I can discern that."

Zhao Zhou sighed and said, "So, actually, I went to the slaughterhouse to serve as a sacrifice! The person who lured me there must be under suspicion..."

He looked up slowly and said, "This incident, you reaped the greatest benefit. Actually today, I only want to ask you one thing..."

Wang Yuan took a step back and said under his breath, "Do you want to know if I’m connected to Tribulation Ash?"

Zhao Zhou spoke gravely, "I really cannot imagine that the man who fought alongside me in the past, who saved my life many times, who devoted his entire life to this city, would want to destroy it!"

"Actually, those few strange lanterns, I had someone bring them in, killing twenty people to finally draw forth the embodiment of the strange lanterns."

Wang Yuan’s expression became solemn as he said, "It was for the purpose, in the final moment, to trigger Liu Venerate, to destroy the corporeal body of the Jiazi Tai Sui, to prevent Linjiang Square from being completely ruined!"

He looked at Zhao Zhou and said with a heavy voice, "I have never had the intention to destroy High Willow City."

After a pause, his expression turned complex as he said, "Though I have achieved the Refining Essence Realm, over recent years, my body has gradually weakened, and the old wounds from earlier years have also flared up many times."

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death, truly is the most terrifying curse that has ever existed from ancient times to the present!"

"I understand in my heart that if I cannot establish more achievements, cannot receive greater rewards, I will never glimpse the power above the Refining Essence Realm."

"If I cannot break through, actually, I will not last ten years, tangled by old wounds, they will take my life."

He looked at Zhao Zhou and earnestly said, "I don’t want to die!"

Then his voice became agitated as he spoke, "When I die, the Human Clan will lose a Venerate of the Refining Essence Realm! This time, the incident at the slaughterhouse did not cause too much damage, yet it could create an existence with the potential to break through above the Refining Essence Realm! Isn’t that worthwhile for the overall situation of the whole Human Clan, for the future?"

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