Chapter 1571: Monologue

It was a quiet and withered man.

His hair, which had once been as emerald as a spring willow, was now dry and yellow. He lay quietly on the hospital bed, his fat consumed and shriveled, his skin pale and bloodless... His heartbeat was very weak, so weak that it felt as if someone had taken away the most important thing in this body, leaving only an empty shell without a soul.

Nanhai Jun, Chu Changqing.

In this world today, only a very few people knew that the Nanhai Jun, who had once been high-spirited and spreading life in the Nanhai Domain, had now become a half-human, half-ghost existence, imprisoned in this dark underground space like a life-extending tool for anyone to use.

Cangyun Jun, who had stumbled into the room, deliberately controlled his gaze. He didn't look at the person on the bed, but looked down at the ground, moving bit by bit to the bedside.

He held onto the back of the chair and sat down slowly.

"...Good evening, Old Chu."

Cangyun Jun's chapped lips parted, and he said softly.

He reached out and pulled at Chu Changqing's sleeve, rolling it up bit by bit...

As the sleeve moved up, dense scars came into Cangyun Jun's view.

It was as if someone had used a small knife to cut his arm, one cut at a time. Although most of the wounds had scabbed over, perhaps due to a lack of vitality, even after the scabs fell off, dark scars remained... Chu Changqing's once fair and vibrant arm had long since turned into an ugly and shocking piece of flesh.

Then, Cangyun Jun skillfully took a piece of soft tubing from the drawer on the side, tied it above Chu Changqing's elbow, and took out a disinfected scalpel.

He used the blade of the scalpel to cut open Chu Changqing's arm bit by bit, and bright red blood immediately flowed down the scarred skin... and then fell into a cup prepared in advance.

Drip—

Drip—

"Old Chu... my office was smashed again today."

Cangyun Jun's eyes reflected the ripples of blood in the cup. This leader, who dominated the situation of the entire domain, seemed to have finally found someone he could confide in, and he spoke hoarsely,

"That person was a mother... her husband was sent to the Lingxu Domain by me, and today he was executed by Old Wu..."

"Now, her child has also died of illness, so she wanted to come to me to seek justice."

"But..."

"What justice can I give her?"

Drip—

Drip—

"The times are different, Old Chu..."

"Two years ago, your only enemies were the Gray World and the Calamities. You guarded the human domains, and you were heroes revered by all... Now, our enemies are Calamities, plagues, hunger, and human hearts... So, we have become dictators, tyrants, and public enemies of the people."

"I say we are doing it for humanity, but they don't understand... They feel that each of them can represent humanity. When they suffer, we are their enemies, the enemies of all humanity... They don't care about humanity, the big picture, or the continuation of civilization. They only know that they are hungry and sick, so this world deserves to die."

"But in fact, who isn't like that? People's vision is long-term, long-term enough to predict thousands of years into the future, but people's field of vision is also narrow, narrow enough to only see the gains and losses at their feet... When life is good, they are willing to plan for the long term and seek happiness for their descendants; when life is bad, people only live this one life. What does the fate of humanity or future generations have to do with 'me'?"

"People... are still too complex, a thousand times more complex than meteorological science..."

Drip—

Drip—

"I know, they aren't wrong. The one who is wrong is me."

"It's me who caused their families to be torn apart, it's me who caused the plague to spread in this domain. The deaths of their husbands, sons, fathers—all of it is because of me... But... but what can I do?"

"Yes, I am the Nine Lord Qi Muyun. I won't watch Old Wu fail. He is the one among us with the most hope of completely erasing the Red Star. What he carries on his shoulders is the future of all humanity... You, me, Lu Xun, Yang Xiao... except for Lou Yu, all of us have pinned our hopes on him. So, I will definitely support him until the end..."

"But I am also the Cangyun Jun of the Cangyun Domain... This domain exists because of me."

"Do you know how I've been getting by these days? I see the rising death toll on the reports every day, I see those mothers and old people lining up outside my door to curse me and question me. I'm really about to collapse... I put myself in their shoes, I stand from their perspective, and I also want to stab myself to death... They are right, I am the sinner of this domain."

"I haven't slept well for over ten days, Old Chu... Every time I close my eyes, the people who once trusted me and looked up to me turn into vicious ghosts, wanting to tear me to pieces."

"On one side is the oath of the Nine Lords, on the other is the life and death of the people... How should I choose??"

"Old Chu, tell me! How should I choose???"

Cangyun Jun's eyes were bloodshot. He held his head in pain, trembling on the chair as if he were about to collapse.

Drip—

Drip—

Chu Changqing was as dead as a corpse, with only drops of bright red blood falling into the cup.

"You won't speak... you won't speak again!!"

"Why?? Why is it you lying here?! Why did you choose to extend my life?!!"

"Yes, you made a mistake, you want to punish yourself, but have you ever thought about who you are really punishing by lying here??"

"Is it you, who is unconscious, without consciousness or thought??!"

"Bullshit!!"

"You are punishing me! Me, who can only live like a dead dog every day, relying on drinking your blood to survive!!!"

The pain suppressed in Cangyun Jun's heart erupted completely before this body that could not respond and had no consciousness. The veins on his neck bulged one by one, and his painful roar sounded like a beast, echoing hysterically in the small room.

No one knew how much pain he hid in his heart. The humiliation of having to rely on a brother's blood to survive every day, the pain of watching his people die, the bitterness of being pointed at by thousands, the torment of waiting for the success of the Akashi Tower, the struggle of choosing between the Nine Lords and justice... Except for this small hospital room, he had nowhere to confide his troubles or alleviate his pain.

I don't know how long it had been,

Cangyun Jun's voice was hoarse.

He felt as if he had been hollowed out. He fell to his knees with a thud, his bloodshot eyes empty and exhausted...

He remained silent like a statue for a long time. No one knew what he was thinking at this moment. His gaze turned to the side, and finally, he reached out his hands, trembling as he picked up the cup filled with scarlet blood.

Then,

he raised his head, carefully...

pouring the blood, which still retained a trace of warmth, into his mouth bit by bit.

His Adam's apple rolled,

and two lines of tears rolled down his cheeks, falling silently to the ground.