Chapter 116: The Demon Child’s Perspective

“That blame landed solidly.”

Zheng Fan closed his eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

This was probably what people called immediate karmic retribution.

“Although Qian has sealed off the news, at least throughout Qian’s three northern commanderies, quite a few people know about the line Master left behind.

“When Hero Chen reached the village and saw those words, it was perfectly natural for him to decide you were the one who massacred it. Besides, the local officials would probably protect one another. They certainly wouldn’t seriously investigate who truly did it. Dumping the blame on you was the most convenient answer possible.

“After all, once war begins, things like plundering commoners are considered ordinary.”

Hero Chen had seen the inscription, gone to the local yamen, and received confirmation there. Then he connected it with Zheng Fan’s recent exploits—leading cavalry in raids and storming a city.

It truly was only natural that Hero Chen would decide Zheng Fan was the murderer.

“That Brigadier General—find out his surname and name for me. He dares frame me like this? Next time I go into Qian, I’m definitely settling accounts with him.”

Zheng Fan had no intention of settling scores with Hero Chen anymore.

But the bastard who had plagiarized his idea and ruined his reputation?

Zheng Fan had no intention whatsoever of forgiving him.

“Actually, judging from the information our caravans brought back, Master’s earlier deeds have caused quite a stir in the capital of Yan.

“Many civil officials have publicly denounced you, saying you trampled an academy and disgraced civilized learning, and that provoking a border conflict without authorization was outright lawlessness.

“Of course, for every person condemning you, there are just as many who admire you. After all, civil officials don’t hold that much power over public opinion in the Great Yan Dynasty.

“But all this noise and disturbance has actually been blocked off by the Marquis of Jingnan.

“That is why our fort has remained so peaceful all this time.”

“Because the face of a little Garrison Commander can be ignored, but the Marquis of Jingnan’s face cannot?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Heh.”

“Although the Marquis of Jingnan has not made any arrangements for you since your expedition into Qian, the fact that he has taken the initiative to shield you from the resulting storm shows that Master truly has somewhat ‘entered the sovereign’s eye.’”

“If the Marquis of Jingnan really becomes a Prince, that kind of favor in the sovereign’s eye would be even more valuable.”

“This subordinate truly cannot guess whether the Marquis of Jingnan will accept a princely title. I also don’t dare speculate carelessly.”

“Oh? There are things even you can’t guess?”

“This subordinate has never personally met the Marquis of Jingnan.

“In this matter, I think Master has more authority to judge than I do.”

“And if I guess wrong?”

“Then we accept the result of the gamble.

“Once you sit down at the table, regretting the wager afterward only makes people look down on you.”

“Fine.

“Right—how is Hero Chen?”

“He’s recovering fairly well.

“At the very least, his life is no longer in danger.

“This subordinate already gave orders that his living standards are to be maintained at the highest level.”

“You’re always steady when you handle things.”

“Master praises me too highly.”

“Give me the envelope.

“I’m going to see the hero.”

“Master, take care.”

The Blind Man handed the envelope to Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan accepted it and tore open the seal first.

Since the Blind Man had already read its contents aloud, Zheng Fan did not bother reading it again.

He merely waved a hand.

Feng Siniang immediately understood and pushed Zheng Fan’s wheelchair away from the sunny courtyard.

Liang Cheng sighed with some emotion.

“Barring any surprises, we’ve picked up another expert.”

“Master really is lucky,” Xue San said.

The Blind Man smiled.

Then said, “Everyone had better put in a little more effort.

“Shatuo Queshi, that zombie, plus this swordsman—both were brought back by Master himself.

“If Master keeps bringing home more people, we Seven will eventually be pushed to the side.

“We all think we’re somebody, but maybe when the game is finally over, we’ll discover we were nothing more than the free beginner pets the village chief gives you when a fresh account leaves the starter village.”

……

Hero Chen’s room was very clean.

A brazier burned inside.

Two young women sat on stools roasting potatoes.

Hero Chen lay on the bed, and beside it rested a prosthetic leg.

When Feng Siniang pushed Zheng Fan inside, the two young women immediately sprang to their feet in fright and bowed.

“You were sent here to attend Hero Chen, yet you dare sit around slacking off.

“What, have you started treating yourselves like the masters here?”

Feng Siniang’s stern voice rang through the room.

The two girls immediately dropped to their knees in fear.

Clearly, Siniang had accumulated enormous authority in their eyes.

Hero Chen, lying on the bed, was just about to speak when Zheng Fan cut him off and scolded first.

“They’re young girls.

“What’s wrong with eating a roasted potato?

“They’re people too.

“Don’t be so heartless.

“We are all born human and therefore naturally equal.

“There is no such thing as one person being born master and another born servant.”

“Yes, Master.

“This servant accepts your lesson.”

When Hero Chen heard Zheng Fan’s words, approval immediately appeared on his face.

Especially that sentence:

Born human, naturally equal.

It had struck directly into Hero Chen’s heart.

Feng Siniang led the two girls outside.

She also closed the door behind Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan turned the hand rims and rolled his wheelchair closer to the bed.

Hero Chen watched him approach and struggled into a sitting position, propping the back of his head higher against the headboard.

If Zheng Fan’s body was suffering from severe overexertion, then Hero Chen had effectively been hammered from head to toe that night by Shatuo Queshi’s terrifying body—a peerless Martial Artist combined with a zombie.

Those injuries would not heal easily.

Zheng Fan handed the envelope to Hero Chen.

“The matter of Chahe Village has been investigated.

“This is the information we received.

“I truly wasn’t the one who killed them.”

Hero Chen reached out and took the envelope.

He opened it and began reading.

“If you don’t believe what’s written and think I forged it, then stay here until you recover.

“After you return, investigate it yourself.

“There should have been a great many soldiers involved that day.

“Pick one, seize him, interrogate him.

“The truth will come out.”

Hero Chen looked at Zheng Fan sitting in his wheelchair.

For a moment, his expression became awkward.

“I really didn’t kill them,” Zheng Fan repeated.

“I was wrong.”

Hero Chen admitted his fault immediately.

“You weren’t wrong.”

“I was wrong.

“I sought revenge without distinguishing right from wrong, falsely accused someone, and nearly killed you and your two servants.

“I have disgraced my own name.”

“You really weren’t wrong.

“I’m an officer of Yan.

“You’re a man of Qian.

“Not long ago, I led troops galloping through Qian territory.

“As a Qian man, coming to kill me was perfectly justified.”

“I…”

“I’m not exactly a good person either.

“I’ve killed people.

“I’ve set fires.

“When someone schemed against me, I wiped out their whole household.

“When you walk this road, sooner or later the debts come due.

“I’m very open-minded about that.

“As long as a man isn’t dead, once his injuries heal, he’s still a good man again.

“I don’t hate you.

“Truly.

“On the contrary, I admire you.

“You’re the second person I’ve met in my life who genuinely possesses the spirit of a hero.”

“I am ashamed to accept such praise.

“But I truly want to ask— who was the first?”

“The man who beat you badly enough that you’re lying here.”

“That person… wasn’t alive.”

“That’s true.

“He’s dead.

“But through a secret technique of the desert barbarians, he became a zombie after death.

“He was the Left Guli King of the Barbarian Royal Court.”

While they had been traveling together, Hero Chen had said he regretted not getting to see the desert and its scenery.

So Zheng Fan had “called him out” and let Hero Chen meet him.

Hopefully, Hero Chen was satisfied.

“…”

Hero Chen.

“Heh.

“Just joking.

“Just joking.

“Would you like to hear Shatuo Queshi’s story?

“Truthfully, he was very much like you.”

“Would that be appropriate?”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it.

“Before, I used to earn my living by telling stories.”

……

In the courtyard, two other cripples were still basking in the sun.

Two young women peeled sunflower seeds and placed the kernels into the palms of the Blind Man and Xue San.

Feng Siniang sat beside them doing needlework.

Including Shatuo Queshi’s set, she now had four suits of Golden-Thread Soft Hedgehog Armor to repair.

That would take some work.

Liang Cheng sat below her, using his fingernails to help straighten the threads.

They were all metal filaments.

This era did not have machine tools.

Fortunately, Liang Cheng’s fingernails worked well enough.

Xiao Yibo approached.

His gaze swept across the courtyard before he said, “Gentlemen, someone from the Secret Intelligence Department has arrived.”

Xiao Yibo, Hong Bazi, and Ding Hao had been responsible for slowly bringing the young women and other property south.

They had reached Willow Fort later than Zheng Fan’s group.

After arriving, Xiao Yibo normally handled miscellaneous matters inside the fort.

Ding Hao served as Liang Cheng’s deputy.

Hong Bazi led men responsible for the security of the estate in the village outside Willow Fort.

After all, more than ten young women were being raised there.

Along with one wolf cub.

“What did they say?” the Blind Man asked.

“Mr. Bei, the people from the Secret Intelligence Department said Master is to go to Nanwang City tomorrow.

“The Marquis of Jingnan wishes to see him.”

“Understood.”

The Blind Man waved his hand.

Xiao Yibo tactfully withdrew.

“Should I go inform Master now?” Liang Cheng asked.

The Blind Man shook his head.

“Master is busy.

“By now, he should be telling the story of Shatuo Queshi.”

Deep affection has never been enough to keep people.

Only schemes win the human heart.

The Blind Man understood that principle very thoroughly.

“Could going to Nanwang City be dangerous?” Feng Siniang asked.

“If the Marquis of Jingnan really wants Master dead, he doesn’t need to go through that much trouble.

“But given what happened last time…

“Tomorrow, Ah Cheng, Siniang, call A’Ming and Fan Li too.

“The four of you accompany Master to Nanwang City.”

“When Master goes to meet the Marquis of Jingnan, we won’t be able to follow inside anyway,” Feng Siniang said.

The Blind Man waved dismissively.

“No matter.

“If something truly happens, you’ll get to experience sudden death from close range.”

“…”

Feng Siniang.

“Judging by Xu Wenzu’s expression when he came before, he probably hasn’t been in a good mood recently,” Liang Cheng said.

“It would be strange if he were.

“He was nearly assassinated before even taking office.

“And in Nanwang City and all the surrounding forts and stockades, who do you think people listen to?

“Xu Wenzu, the outsider?

“Or the Marquis of Jingnan?

“Still, Xu Wenzu is a smart man.

“He should have his own way of handling the situation.

“Prepare some gifts tomorrow.

“After Master enters Nanwang City, have him meet the Marquis of Jingnan first.

“You lot take the gifts and deliver them to Xu Wenzu’s Commander-in-Chief residence.”

“Good,” Liang Cheng replied.

“Truthfully, basking in the sun like this is comfortable.

“I suddenly feel that if life continued this way forever, it wouldn’t be bad.”

Xue San laughed.

“Blind Man, are you preparing for retirement and becoming passive?”

The Blind Man dismissed the suggestion.

“Passivity is preparation for better advancement.”

Then he sighed.

“Once this matter is settled, we can suggest that Master spend some time focused entirely on closed-door cultivation.

“A’Ming said before that Master seems to have already touched the threshold of Eighth Grade Martial Artist.

“Let’s try to have him cross that threshold before spring begins.

“Then the seven of us can recover another portion of our strength.

“A’Ming should also be close to qualifying for the Embrace, shouldn’t he?”

Xue San turned toward Liang Cheng.

“Ah Cheng should also be able to turn people into zombies now, right?”

Liang Cheng shook his head.

“A’Ming should gain a small number of Embrace slots.

“He can probably turn several people into vampires while preserving their sanity.

“But the restrictions will still be severe.

“They likely won’t survive more than half a year after the transformation.

“As for me, turning people into living corpses is possible.

“But turning them into zombies capable of rational thought?

“I’m still far from that.

“The inheritance process for zombies is inherently much more difficult than for vampires.”

A’Ming’s Embrace and Liang Cheng’s “zombification” had always been things everyone paid close attention to when planning the growth of their forces.

Theoretically speaking, both zombies and vampires were actually somewhat similar to infectious organisms.

They could propagate.

Imagine if they could mass-produce an army of vampires or a legion of zombies.

Hoo-hoo.

How beautiful would that be?

The problem was that the limitations were still too severe.

The restrictions on A’Ming’s Embrace were somewhat lighter than Liang Cheng’s.

But even if A’Ming recovered another layer of his bloodline strength, he still would not be able to create vampires possessing exceptional aptitude and development potential.

A’Ming himself had predicted it.

At the next stage, he would technically be capable of giving the Embrace.

But those people might only get to experience being vampires for about half a year.

Without enough fresh blood, they would lose their sanity.

Even with a sufficient blood supply, they probably still would not live past six months.

And even then, the number he could create would remain in the single digits.

As for Liang Cheng there was even less reason to think about it.

What use was there in creating shambling zombies like the ones in European and American zombie films?

Stupid things that someone with a long spear could stand there and headshot dozens in a row.

If you sent those onto a battlefield, were they there to help fight?

Or to give the enemy morale?

The most awkward point was this:

Suppose one day Zheng Fan reached a realm comparable to Shatuo Queshi before his death—or even surpassed him.

Suppose Liang Cheng and A’Ming recovered most of their bloodline strength.

At that point, whether they mass-produced an army or not would barely matter.

It would be like Nuwa getting bored and kneading mud into humans.

Purely something to pass the time.

Xue San leaned back in his wheelchair and said, “If I recover one more layer of strength, I should be able to enter shadows.

“No matter what, at least we won’t end up like this again.

“Some random expert pops out of nowhere and beats the shit out of all of us.

“Goddammit, that was suffocating.”

That was the shared thought of every Demon King.

They longed to recover more of their strength.

They longed to gain more power.

They longed to reclaim their former glory.

Every one of them had terrifying origins.

Every one had stories behind them.

Yet after coming to this world, they kept taking turns getting beaten half to death by the natives.

Psychologically, it was genuinely difficult to accept.

The Blind Man spoke with rare solemnity.

“Once Master returns from Nanwang City tomorrow, I’ll explain openly that the recovery of our strength is tied to Master’s cultivation realm.

“It’s time we came clean.”

“And tell Master that if he dies, we may all suddenly die with him too,” Xue San added.

“That should make Master cherish his life more.”

The Blind Man nodded.

“Mm.

“We’ll tell him everything.

“There’s no reason to keep hiding it.

“Continuing to conceal it may actually create more problems.”

“Are you afraid?” Liang Cheng suddenly asked.

The Blind Man did not deny it.

He admitted it directly.

“Yes.

“I’m afraid.

“If we do what we did before—forcing Master into Ninth Grade—then it will only deepen the suspicion and estrangement between us and Master.

“There’s no need for that.

“Back then, the only one Master could truly rely upon was his biological son, the Demon Child.

“Actually, I originally thought the Demon Child was an extremely filial son.

“But after several incidents, I can see now that the Demon Child has thoughts of his own.

“At present, he has already acted several times to help Master.

“Furthermore, counting Shatuo Queshi and this hero who may eventually join us, Master already possesses capital that belongs to him personally.”

Feng Siniang asked, “What thoughts does the Demon Child have?

“I always assumed he wanted to be a filial son.”

The Blind Man shook his head.

“For now, nothing threatening.

“At least, the Demon Child’s strength recovery—like A’Ming’s and Ah Cheng’s—has not yet reached that stage.

“In the short term, one thing is certain:

“He does not want Master dead.

“He will protect Master’s life.

“That is enough.”

Xue San wore a meaningful smile.

“You know, all of you only noticed that Master treats the Demon Child like his own son.

“But have you never considered this?

“The Demon Child was personally designed by Master.

“Would Master really not know exactly what sort of nature the Demon Child has toward his parents?

“And despite that, Master keeps carrying him around constantly, never abandoning him.

“The Demon Child has actually saved Master several times too.

“He hasn’t harmed Master once.”

“It is a father’s love, deep as a mountain, soothing the child’s heart,” Feng Siniang said.

“Tsk, tsk.

“Do you believe that yourself?” Xue San asked.

Feng Siniang shook her head.

“No.”

Xue San looked at Liang Cheng.

“You believe it?”

Liang Cheng shook his head.

“Blind Man, do you believe it?”

“I do.”

“You’re telling blind lies with your eyes open!”

“Yes.”

“…”

Xue San.

After calming the urge to curse, Xue San continued, “Exactly.

“If you genuinely believe that, then you’re really fooling ghosts.

“The six of us are fine.

“Our stories all had beginnings and endings.

“Right?

“Though the Blind Man had it rough and lost his eyes, that was because he got hit by a 404, and—”

“You got castrated.”

“Shut up!”

If the bones throughout his body were not still healing, Xue San genuinely wanted to leap off the wheelchair and hammer the Blind Man’s knees.

“We are all people with stories.

“People with experiences.

“Whether we lived well or badly, whether we were happy or bitter, it was still a kind of life.

“Truthfully, none of us really carries much resentment.

“If anything, there is even a tiny bit of gratitude.

“But the Demon Child is different.

“Fuck.

“Think back.

“How did Master treat his biological son?

“Was it a Nine-Lives Resentful Infant?

“Ten lives?

“He made the Demon Child get aborted again and again in the story.

“Abandoned by parents again and again.

“Given hope again and again, then hit with even greater despair.

“He made him experience torture.

“Made him go insane.

“Made him violent.

“Made him display a warped, pathological hysteria.

“Yes, his sales were the highest.

“His popularity was the highest.

“But stand in the Demon Child’s position and imagine it for a moment.

“Hiss…

“Seriously.

“Can this even still be called father and son?

“Even a mortal enemy wouldn’t be that ruthless, would he?

“And yet the Demon Child still saves Master.

“So Blind Man, when you say the Demon Child has other thoughts he’s waiting on, I can understand that.

“But Master wholeheartedly treats him as his own son and is so certain the Demon Child will never harm him…”

The Blind Man took out a metal cigarette case from his pocket.

He drew out a cigarette and tapped it against his hand.

Then slowly said, “Master should be hiding some part of the Demon Child’s character setting from us.”

“Hehehe…”

Feng Siniang suddenly laughed.

“After listening to you analyze it this way, why do I suddenly feel Master has a very sinister and frightening side?”

The Blind Man took out a fire striker and lit the cigarette.

“Of course.

“So frightened he calls me Daddy every night.”

“…”

Feng Siniang.

(End of Chapter)