They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: No God

This event only briefly bought the Nanze Kingdom a period of peace, like a brief revival before death. As the drought, famine, and plague intensified, the cracks in human nature, morality, and goodness began to widen, becoming precarious.

The intense sunlight shone through the colorful glazed windows of the shrine, casting splashes of color onto the person kneeling before the divine statue, adding a touch of pity to the scene.

Yun Qingwu lowered his gaze, cut his finger with a knife, and the blood oozed out slowly, refusing to form a drop. He raised his hand and forcefully pinched it with the other, only then did a few reluctant drops of blood drip into the incense burner.

“Lord Si Xiang (Scent-Keeper God), can you not see?”

He pressed his forehead against the prayer mat, asking again and again.

The door of the shrine opened. The emaciated Liu Ya silently watched his son, his eyes filled with tender pain and a look of resignation. His lips moved, but he made no sound, only mouthing the words: “Huang’er, you must take good care of yourself.”

“God of Rain, I beg you, answer me!”

The person on the prayer mat was so thin he looked like a gust of wind could blow him over. He forcefully cut a deep wound into his already scarred wrist.

The door of the shrine opened again. Qu Ping, whose face was visibly haggard, stood at the doorway. He did not enter but quietly looked at the solemn yet cold statue of Bai Ze inside the room. As if having made some decision, he left quietly after a long moment.

“Bai Ze! Yun Qingwu! Why are you absent?!”

The person on the prayer mat finally looked up, his clear eyes filled with hostility, staring intently at the completely still statue, demanding an answer.

“Even if you drain all your blood, you can’t change the fact that there is no god here.”

A figure in red appeared behind Yun Qingwu. He seized Yun Qingwu’s wrist without explanation, forcefully healing the wound. His tone was cold, tinged with sarcasm.

The person being mocked did not retort as usual, nor did his posture change in the slightest; he continued to stare straight at the statue.

Cold Lici frowned slightly, his gaze toward Yun Qingwu shifting, now containing a complex expression.

After a long pause, he turned and left the shrine. He looked thoughtfully at the closed shrine door and let out a soft sneer: “So that’s it.”

“What? Do you know the death point Meng Huang set up for Yun Qingwu?” the Bone Sword asked curiously.

Cold Lici neither confirmed nor denied it.

“You’re not planning to tell him?” the Bone Sword guessed.

Cold Lici stroked the silver chain wrapped around his right index finger.

His own death point had been successfully passed. Even if Yun Qingwu couldn’t get through this and died here, as long as the Mind Realm was broken, he could successfully leave.

So…

What reason did he have to stop all this?

Why should he save a person who didn’t want to live himself?

“You demon fox, the source of calamity! I’ll fight you even if it kills me!”

Cold Lici reached the courtyard. A figure quickly rushed toward him. His eyes narrowed. With a grasp of his right hand, he stopped the person half a meter away.

The person was none other than Elder Wei, who was dedicated to sacrificing Cold Lici.

Elder Wei held a sword in his hand. Although his arm was firmly restrained, he still blindly swung the sword, trying to break free from the bondage.

“It’s all because of you that the Nanze Kingdom faces this tribulation. I… I… it’s either you die or I live today!”

Cold Lici looked at Elder Wei with cold eyes. After a moment, he gave a light twist, and the distracting sword immediately fell to the ground with a thud.

Cold Lici scoffed: “You want to die by this Lord’s hand? Why should this Lord grant your wish?”

With that, he shoved the person forward harshly and turned to leave.

But just as he took a step, Elder Wei rushed over again, grabbing his sleeve: “You can’t leave!”

Cold Lici frowned, his patience nearly exhausted. He violently swung his hand, throwing the person onto the ground.

“Please, kill me!” Elder Wei spoke again, his voice choked with sobs: “Please, kill me, and then divide my body among the citizens and my family.”

Cold Lici paused his movement to leave, turning to look at the old man weeping on the ground, his eyes filled with incomprehension: “It’s hard to live, but you need to beg someone to die?”

Elder Wei wiped his tears, speaking with a hitch in his voice: “Our arrival in this world… was a gift… from the gods. To abandon it casually is a sin. How can I… betray that?”

“If you don’t want to betray it, why are you seeking death?” Cold Lici sneered. To want both was truly ridiculous.

Perhaps these words struck a chord, or perhaps since the conversation had started, the suppressed emotions could no longer be contained. Elder Wei suddenly burst into loud sobs: “It’s… it’s my… incompetence, that made my wife… secretly cut her flesh… cut her flesh to feed the family…”

Elder Wei pulled a letter from his chest and handed it to Cold Lici: “Please, help… help me. This… is my last will. How my body… should be arranged… I… I’ve written it down.”

Cold Lici’s eyes flickered slightly. He looked at the letter for a long moment, did not take it, and turned to leave.

Elder Wei watched Cold Lici’s retreating figure, knowing his plan had utterly failed. He took a deep breath, picked up the sword again, and tremblingly aimed it at his neck: “I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I cannot let my family… sacrifice themselves.”

The sword edge aimed at his neck again and again, but stopped every time at the very last moment.

Elder Wei completely broke down, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Cold Lici, who had already reached the moon gate, stopped his steps again. He closed his eyes, seemingly unable to bear it any longer. He drew the Bone Sword from his waist and swung it backward.

The sound of weeping abruptly ceased, and complete silence descended.

…

The door of the shrine was forcefully pushed open. Qu Huanyu strode in: “Lord of the Nation, something has happened to Elder Dai. He wants to see you.”

Yun Qingwu’s eyes flickered, an inner premonition setting in. He numbly stood up and walked toward the door: “Let’s go.”

The atmosphere in the bedroom was heavy, only the curses of Elder Zhou echoed, audible even through the bedroom door.

“Old Dai, how could you make such a big decision on your own?! If we hadn’t happened to find you collapsed on the street today, you wouldn’t even have a complete corpse left!”

Yun Qingwu paused his motion to knock on the door, his eyelashes fluttering.

Before he could knock again, Qu Huanyu had already pushed the door open. The scene inside was the same as before, only the host, who should have been at the door to greet them, was absent.

Inside, Elder Dai’s voice was as thin as silk: “I—cannot—just—watch—my—students—starve—to—death. I—do—not—regret—it.”

Yun Qingwu walked into the bedroom and looked at the dying Elder Dai on the bed. His gaze swept over the abnormally shriveled abdomen, and his heart felt tightly squeezed.

“Lord of the Nation…” Elder Dai looked at Yun Qingwu, forcing a smile.

Yun Qingwu looked up but couldn’t utter a single word.

Elder Dai didn’t mind. He took a deep breath and continued his instructions: “Lord—of—the—Na—tion, things—will—be—very—diffi—cult—later. I—won’t—be—able—to—accompany—you—anymore. I’m—sorry, and—thank—you—for—your—hard—work.”

Yun Qingwu’s eyes were red, but he shed no tears.

Hard work?

What right did he have to speak of hard work…

Meng Huang was right. He had been too high and mighty before and had never truly understood the suffering he endured, so what right did he have to judge his good or evil?

A commotion sounded in the distance. Elder Qian, dragging his body, ran laboriously, the abacus beads on his waist clanging incessantly. In his hand was a letter covered in writing, and Elder Xie was chasing behind him, struggling.

“Lord of the Nation! Lord of the Nation! Please try to talk some sense into Old Xie! He insists that I draft a plan for him to divide his own flesh.”

“Why did you tell the Lord of the Nation! My family is starving to death! My sacrifice alone is better than my whole family starving! I wanted you to make me a plan, not to take your own flesh.”

Yun Qingwu stared blankly at the two figures, feeling suffocated in his chest. He forcefully clutched his chest, breathing heavily, trying to gasp for a sliver of fresh air.

Perhaps, the sinner of the Nanze Kingdom was never the demons, but him, the derelict guardian god.

The sun of the Nanze Kingdom still shone high, fiercely and cruelly watching the land completely dry up. Every household was deathly silent, mutilated human bones were visible everywhere, and the eyes of the living held the same look of numbness.

At a certain moment, this numbness gradually turned into an uncontrollable frenzy.

“Bai Ze will not protect us anymore! He betrayed us! Why should we still worship him?”

“That’s right! Let’s smash this temple together!”

People shouted and poured into the Bai Ze temple, swinging hoes at the gleaming golden statue of Bai Ze on the offering table. Gold dust splattered everywhere with each strike, floating in the air. Illuminated by the sunlight, it shone even brighter, like a grand finale.

Inside the palace, Yun Qingwu stood in the now empty Feather Palace, looking out at the withered landscape through the wide-open doors. His expression was one of unprecedented serenity.

“Lord of the Nation.” Ah Ge walked in. After calling out, he hesitated for a moment. When Yun Qingwu’s gaze turned to him, he pursed his lips and continued: “The citizens are gathering at the palace gate, demanding… demanding to kill Bai Ze. Some people are saying that as long as Bai Ze dies, we will welcome a new auspicious deity to protect us.”

Yun Qingwu curved the corner of his mouth, saying calmly: “I understand.”

In the past, he hated Meng Huang for his betrayal. Just being easily instigated by a demon was enough for him to aim the arrow at himself. Now, the resentment and hatred in his heart have long since dissipated.

Meng Huang’s choice was not wrong.

He was the sinner, and he truly deserved to die.

Meng Huang wanted to personally shoot down Bai Ze. He would grant his wish.

But before that moment arrived, he still needed to complete one thing.

“Reliving the old nightmare, and you’re quite calm?”

When Ah Ge retreated from the hall, Cold Lici, who had been lurking in the shadows on the side, stepped out and looked at Yun Qingwu seated on the high throne.

Yun Qingwu gave Cold Lici a faint look, then turned his gaze back to the outside: “Here, I am Meng Huang. There is no Bai Ze here.”

Cold Lici stared at Yun Qingwu, seeming to want to see the true thoughts of the person behind this overly calm face: “The Xinyiou year, Jiawu month, Renyin day (three days from now) is the day you mentioned the Nanze Kingdom was annihilated. Do you think Bai Ze will appear that day?”

“What does it matter if he appears or not?”

Cold Lici’s pair of golden eyes flickered with mixed light. After a moment, he suddenly let out a light laugh: “It doesn’t matter.”

Yun Qingwu did not respond again. Cold Lici’s smile faded. He looked at the person on the throne for a long time, then lifted his feet and left the Feather Palace.

“Based on that, Yun Qingwu has guessed the key point. But why does it look like he’s going to his death rather than trying to break the realm?” the Bone Sword wondered.

Cold Lici’s face darkened, a hint of annoyance overflowing in his eyes. He said coldly: “His desire to die is exactly what I want. Will this Lord stop him?”

“Are you really not going to stop him?”

Cold Lici forcefully pushed open the bedroom door, pulled out the Bone Sword, and angrily threw it toward the wall: “No!”

The Bone Sword clanged as it hit the floor, twisting its body in complaint: “If you’re not going to stop him, then don’t! Why are you taking your anger out on me?”