Chapter 807: What Are We?

The black-armored man had fallen into madness.

It came from the violent contradiction, even outright collision, between his self-understanding and the reality before him.

Something beyond faith.

Because the contradiction had already reached the level of his own existence.

At last... the black-armored man glared fixedly at Tian Tian and roared:

“The feudal lords swore their covenant... Those who betray Xia... shall suffer Heaven’s punishment!”

After shouting those final words... the aura around the black-armored man began dissipating rapidly.

Back when they had captured him on the snowfields, this had happened more than once.

Xue San had even described him as:

Half an hour charging, five minutes talking.

Finally... the black-armored man’s eyes closed again.

That sense of being “watched” disappeared with them.

At almost the same moment...

Zheng Fan and the others came flying down the stairs.

Tian Tian looked at Zheng Fan.

He smiled.

Then raised both arms, asking to be picked up.

Prince Pingxi strode over, scooped up the little fatty, turned him upside down, and yanked down his trousers.

“...” Tian Tian.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

This was real spanking.

A real beating.

...

When Tian Tian was little, Zheng Fan had smacked his bottom before.

But that had not truly counted as a beating.

It was more like playing with the child.

He would slap him while saying:

“Aiyo, Tian Tian, your father is Tian Wujing. Smack!”

Back then, after getting swatted onto the bed, the child had loved this “parent-child game.”

He would crawl back over on his own and ask to be rolled around again.

Today... was the first time Zheng Fan had ever beaten the child in the strictest sense of the word.

Right now...

Tian Tian lay face-down on the bed.

His bottom, normally pale and pink, had turned a broad patch of purple and blue.

Zheng Fan had not mobilized his qi and blood.

But he had not held back an adult man’s strength either.

The beating had been vicious.

Even the Demon Kings standing around the room... when their eyes landed on the “injured” area... still looked slightly disbelieving.

Over these past several years, Tian Tian had truly been the sort of child Master feared might melt if held in his mouth.

Which meant...

Master was genuinely furious this time.

Siniang sat beside the bed, applying medicine to Tian Tian.

Tian Tian bit his lip hard and forced himself not to cry out in pain.

But having a whole group of uncles standing around looking at his bare bottom... especially with First Mother applying medicine there... made the good-luck-doll face of this child, who had already developed a strong sense of self and matured early in thought, turn bright red from embarrassment.

Zheng Fan sat nearby with a cup of tea in his hand.

His gaze was dark.

Tian Tian did not hate the father who had just beaten him.

But right now... he still did not dare meet Zheng Fan’s eyes.

The child had keenly sensed something.

Dad... apparently had not beaten him enough yet.

The anger inside Dad’s heart had not completely dispersed.

And Elder Sister, who normally treated Dad with constant disdain, was standing there obediently too.

Both hands hanging at her sides.

Unusually well-behaved.

Because...

Demon Child had seen the talisman clenched in Zheng Fan’s hand.

It was the talisman Yao Zizhan had once gifted him.

Supposedly, it had been blessed by some great sage.

Demon Child did not believe Zheng Fan could do anything to him if he truly chose to resist.

The problem was... the surrounding Demon Kings, these “colleagues” of his, already had undisguised eagerness in their eyes.

There was no need to doubt it.

The instant Master gave the word... they would pounce.

Pin Demon Child down.

Then let Master slap that talisman against his backside again and again.

Truthfully...

Zheng Fan very much wanted to do exactly that.

He was not an overbearing man.

When dealing with the Demon Kings, he rarely put on the airs of Master.

Nor had he ever wanted to turn them into puppets dancing on strings in his hands.

But what the two children had done today had made him extraordinarily angry.

It was the same kind of rage an ordinary father felt upon seeing his children splashing around in a raging river.

It was impossible to imagine... if an accident really happened... what kind of thunderbolt from a clear sky it would be for the father.

Under those circumstances... no beating could be too harsh.

As long as the child did not die from it, the lesson was worth it.

If they failed to learn from this... what they lost next time could be their lives.

Still...

Zheng Fan restrained himself.

The thing had already happened.

More importantly, when they had been forcing open the stone door earlier, they had already sensed the black-armored man’s aura inside.

Truthfully, no sensing had even been necessary.

Unless someone was deaf, anyone could hear those hysterical roars.

Clearly... there had been communication.

Information had been exchanged.

Only three beings had received that information in full.

Tian Tian.

Obviously, even if his backside had not nearly been split open, asking Tian Tian to recount everything that happened in the dungeon was inappropriate.

He was still a child.

His ability to organize language was limited.

Sha Tuo Queshi.

Sha Tuo Queshi had not spoken for a very long time.

And as for this elder who “spoiled his grandson” beyond reason...

Zheng Fan had a headache whenever he thought about it.

A junior could be beaten and cursed without issue.

But Old Sha had saved Zheng Fan’s life multiple times.

There was no possible way Zheng Fan could pull a long face at him.

At most... next time he carried wine down for a chat, he would complain a little.

That left...

Demon Child.

And Demon Child possessed one extremely powerful advantage.

When cooperating with the Blind Man... he could make the whole thing work.

Siniang finished applying medicine.

Tian Tian instinctively tried to pull up his trousers.

Siniang stopped him.

“Wait a little longer.”

“Mm.”

Tian Tian obediently nodded.

Siniang rose.

One hand gently massaging her lower abdomen, she walked to Zheng Fan and bent down.

“Master, let’s deal with the important matter first.”

“Then I’ll head back,” the Sword Saint said. “It’s nearly morning. I need to feed the chickens.”

The Sword Saint left.

To everyone remaining in the room, it looked as though he simply did not want to hear secrets that were not appropriate for him to know.

He was deliberately avoiding suspicion.

But after returning home... the Sword Saint immediately dragged his eldest son Liu Dahu out of bed.

Dawn had not yet broken.

The dew was still heavy.

Yet Liu Dahu was ordered to squat in a horse stance in the courtyard with a bowl of water balanced atop his head.

The old woman, accustomed to rising early to organize the street sweepers, woke up and saw her grandson being punished by his father.

She looked once.

Then said nothing.

Carrying her broom and other tools, she simply walked around the boy and went out.

She understood the temperament of this “son-in-law” of hers.

If something serious had not happened... he would not discipline the child.

A father disciplining his son was perfectly natural.

No matter how much this grandmother doted on her grandson, it was not her place to interfere.

Liu Dahu had no idea what he had done wrong.

But he still accepted the punishment seriously and did exactly as his father ordered.

A little while later...

Liu Dahu discovered that the Sword Saint had come to stand beside him.

His father dropped into a horse stance too.

A basin of water balanced on his own head.

“Dad...”

“Dad should not have talked too much at home.”

“I...”

“You shouldn’t talk too much either.”

Liu Dahu seemed to realize something.

He immediately asked:

“Dad, did something happen to Tian Tian?”

“If something had happened, you wouldn’t be squatting here right now. We’d be packing up and fleeing the city.”

The Sword Saint understood Zheng Fan’s temperament far too well.

Ordinarily, the man looked lazy and affected.

But when something truly happened... he could be more ruthless than anyone.

“Dad, I was wrong. I shouldn’t tell Tian Tian everything.”

“No. Dad was wrong.”

“Dad...”

“Hold the stance until noon. Afterward, go kneel at the Residence. If he doesn’t tell you to rise, you do not rise. You’re the one who wanted to become his personal guard. You need to understand the rules.”

“Yes, Dad. Your son understands.”

...

Inside the main hall of the Residence... lamps and candles burned.

The Blind Man stood in the center.

His eyes were closed.

A mental chain linked him to every Demon King present.

At the same time...

Demon Child floated before him.

Both hands slowly came to rest against the Blind Man’s forehead.

Zheng Fan and the other Demon Kings closed their eyes as well.

“Why are you so young... Why are you so young...?”

“That man is your father? Your father is dead...”

“Your mother is dead...”

“Do you not want revenge...?”

“Where has the King of the Sacred Race gone...?”

“The feudal lords swore their covenant... Those who betray Xia... shall suffer Heaven’s punishment!”

A resentful spirit... combined with a master of mental manipulation... replayed what Demon Child had witnessed earlier almost perfectly inside everyone’s minds.

There could be no better recounting.

They had lived through it themselves.

The Blind Man opened his eyes.

He released a long breath and sat down.

Then he took a small bottle of Human Pills from his pocket, poured one out, and swallowed it.

Afterward, he took out an orange and slowly began peeling it.

Demon Child looked somewhat wilted too.

He slipped back into the red stone.

Clearly... screening a “movie” like this had consumed a tremendous amount from both of them.

Xue San spoke first.

“So... that black-armored idiot feels like an actor who showed up to film in the morning, only to realize he memorized the wrong script last night?”

A’Ming said:

“I think we can sort this out properly. There’s one line... no, there are two lines that seem very clear now.”

The Blind Man said:

“‘The feudal lords swore their covenant.’ Which lords does that mean? The three feudal lords of Yan, Jin, and Chu from eight hundred years ago? ‘Those who betray Xia’ means betraying Great Xia. Great Xia has been gone for a very long time. When we captured that man earlier, there was a Helian Clan crest on his black armor. That makes it unlikely he came from outside. He should be native to this world. I think this so-called script is probably some prophecy. The prophecy we already know about. Or perhaps some curse connected to Great Xia. Let me brainstorm first and build a framework. Before Great Xia fell, the feudal lords obeyed the Son of Heaven’s decree and opened the frontiers. At some point, they swore loyalty to Great Xia. But as for what ultimately happened... everyone already knows. The prophecy may have been left by some prophet. Perhaps some extremely formidable person from the Xia Dynasty. The prophecy itself should be extensive and detailed. Absolutely not just those scattered fragments Hu Bamei managed to glimpse. She probably could only steal that tiny portion of Heaven’s secrets. The black-armored man should possess a complete version of the prophecy. Otherwise, there is no way he could have recognized Tian Tian immediately as...”

The Blind Man stopped there.

His gaze swept toward Tian Tian lying on the bed.

Siniang spoke:

“We can review the timeline afterward. I’m more interested in something else. From the black-armored man’s perspective, what are we? What kind of existence are people like us? I think that is the true key.”

With any problem... one first needed to consider one’s own position and identity.

Only from that foundation could the rest be analyzed.

Fan Li, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly said:

“Baka.”

Xue San sprang up and punched Fan Li in the knee.

He cursed:

“Idiot! We’re talking serious business!”

“Ah Li is right.”

“Hm? Master?”

Zheng Fan looked at Fan Li.

Then at everyone around him.

He leaned forward slightly.

Both hands clasped beneath his chin.

Then said:

“Our existence... amounts to... a BUG.”

[End of Chapter 807]