As She Pleased

After a while, Devil Qi eagerly surged out from beneath the altar, growing thicker and more abundant until it transformed into billowing smoke that shot straight into the sky, turning the moon in the sky blood red.

"Hmph hmph hmph... Five hundred years! A full five hundred years! I have finally seen the light of day again!"

An extremely malevolent voice emanated from beneath the altar, possessing a mind-controlling effect; merely hearing it could drive one mad.

The Beast King Anye touched his nose. "Oh, looks like he's still alive."

"Was it you who broke the seal and released me?"

A malevolent thought surged forth from beneath the altar, coalescing into a human form. Completely black with three eyes on its face, it stared at the Beast King Anye and said, "As a token of my gratitude, I will make you a part of me."

As it spoke, its mouth suddenly widened, large enough to swallow an elephant, and it lunged at the Beast King Anye.

"Fool, after being trapped for five hundred years, has your brain turned to dung?"

With a single swing of its blade, the Beast King Anye An unleashed a fierce Gang Qi that annihilated the evil thoughts and Devil Qi, incidentally injuring the Moon Devil's true form beneath the altar, causing it to let out a pitiful cry.

"I am not some heretical evildoer seeking death, but a great demon far surpassing you. Don't even mention that you have been sealed for five hundred years and your Cultivation Body has weakened. Even if you were at your peak five hundred years ago, you would still be no match for me. Put away your ridiculous thoughts. I have no intention of being a righteous person who eliminates demons and protects the righteous path."

The Moon Devil remained silent for a moment, seemingly assessing the other's strength and realizing their respective positions in the food chain, before cautiously asking, "What do you want me to do?"

"Do as you please, as long as you wreak havoc on the martial arts world."

The Beast King Anye took out a roster, flipped through it, and pondered, "Next is the Beast Devil King... This guy's name clashes with mine, so I'll skip him. The next one is the Lord of Mysteries, in the Temple of the Fool in the north. That'll do."

Chapter 578 Doing Whatever You Want

Although the unusual phenomenon of a meteor shower falling to earth occurred, the sun still rose normally the next day. There was no catastrophe, no apocalyptic wasteland, and no signs of Spiritual Qi revival—even though it was originally a world full of Spiritual Qi.

It seemed that what happened last night was just a normal astronomical phenomenon. Si Ming was too lazy to investigate the cause. Anyway, he figured he would deal with whatever came his way, and worrying about nothing was pointless. He continued on his way to Glazed Temple.

After two days of travel, the three finally entered the territory of the Southern Martial World. The reason they were traveling so slowly was that none of them were focused on their journey. Si Ming was distracted by studying the "Yellow Bell Responding to the Pitch Formula", Yuezheng Yao was admiring the Otherworld Domain scenery, and Wan Ziling was doing chivalrous deeds along the way.

In each town she passed through, Wan Ziling would inquire about any local villains who bullied men and women or disregarded human life. If the evidence was conclusive, she would go to their homes to punish the wicked. She had martial arts experience from her previous life, and Liu Qingqing's physical condition was not bad. As long as she didn't encounter any top-notch martial arts masters, she would be safe.

Despite encountering numerous Si Ming among his enemies, the number of top-tier Grandmaster is actually quite small. Scattered throughout the martial arts world, their density is pitifully low, equivalent to only two or three in a city. Their status is comparable to that of a mayor or municipal party secretary, and they would naturally not serve as bodyguards for a group of local tyrants.

In two days, Wan Ziling made five moves. The most powerful enemies she encountered were only a pair of second-rate martial arts masters known as the Twin Sha of the Crimson Wind, whom she easily killed with the unique skills of the Evil-Slaying Sword School Sect.

That night, Wan Ziling made her move again. She had heard that there was a local organization similar to the Beggars' Sect that specialized in stealing children, breaking their arms and legs, crippling their limbs, and then forcing them to beg. After finding out the location of the gang, Wan Ziling drew her sword and went there.

When she returned, she was covered in blood, and her gloomy face bore the marks of her injuries.

Si Ming asked curiously, "What, is there a master?"

Wan Ziling was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The Beggar Hero Fu Qiushuang, I never imagined he was the mastermind behind it all, secretly controlling all these similar illegal organizations in the Eastern Martial World. While profiting from them, he also used these lowly people to gather information, making it easier for him to find those lone villains in the martial world, to eliminate evil and achieve his chivalrous reputation... If I hadn't happened to stumble upon him, I'm afraid he could still be deceiving the world and stealing fame under the guise of a beggar hero!"

"Looks like a hypocrite, and a very well-hidden one at that, just unlucky."

"This man has a guilty conscience, so he always acts cautiously. But even the wisest can make a mistake, and he never expected to meet someone who happens to know him in such a remote and impoverished place."

Thinking of this, Wan Ziling shook her head again and said, "He probably thought that even if he saw it, he could kill him to silence him. If it weren't for Miss Qingqing's intervention today, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back."

At this moment, Myriad Filth Tainted Blood hidden near his chest seeped out and transformed into a trembling smiling face.

I feel that Liu Qingqing's personality underwent a subtle change after Blood Spirit Body. Is that just my imagination?

Si Ming shook his head, clearing his mind of the question, and then asked, "Since you successfully killed a fraud, why do you look so unhappy?"

"Although this person is dead, he died as a chivalrous beggar, not as a schemer. From today onwards, the news that will spread throughout the martial arts world will be that the chivalrous beggar died from a sneak attack by a petty villain, and he will be remembered and commemorated by countless people, rather than being exposed as a villain, disgraced, and condemned by the world."

Wan Ziling is currently disguised as Liu Qingqing and is unknown in the martial arts world. No one believes what she says. Even if she stands up to expose the truth, people will only laugh at her and even think that she is slandering the reputation of the Beggar Hero.

Unless Si Ming speaks out, but even then the outcome is uncertain.

On the one hand, he lacked concrete evidence to corroborate his claims. On the other hand, there was also the preconceived notion of the order of events. If Fu Qiushuang's actions were exposed first, and then he was killed, people would subconsciously think of it as a just punishment. But if it were reversed, people would think of it as a frame-up and a case of death without any way to verify the facts.

Ultimately, it was all an accident. The beggar never expected to run into someone who knew him, Wan Ziling never expected to inadvertently expose the Zhenmian of a charlatan. Neither side was prepared.

"From a personal perspective, it is indeed unpleasant not to expose the Zhenmian of a hypocrite. However, from the perspective of the martial arts world's order, the news of 'It is a great loss! A great hero has actually become a villainous schemer' is more comforting than 'Shocking! A great hero has actually sacrificed himself for righteousness.' In the end, he is already dead, and he can no longer use his reputation for evil. It is better to squeeze out his last bit of value and use his reputation to guide others towards good, adding more positive energy to the martial arts world."

Seeing Wan Ziling's thoughtful expression, Si Ming continued, "Exposing his Zhenmian would only add another hypocrite to the history of the martial arts world, while revealing his true colors would add another revered hero. The former leaves others with disappointment, while the latter leaves them with hope."

"... Although I think what you said is nonsense, it has definitely made me feel much better, so I'll say thank you anyway."

"Such an unreliable personality; you must have had no close friends in your life."

"Shut up!" Wan Ziling turned her face away angrily. "Trust is the beginning of betrayal. The more you trust others, the more painful it will be when you are betrayed. Conversely, as long as you don't trust others, you won't be betrayed. The path of a martial artist is destined to be lonely."

"That's a villain's line, right? Need me to give you a Chuunibyou Correction Palm strike?"

I don't understand what you're saying. Keep it for yourself!

The two of them walked along the street and happened to pass by the night market. On both sides of the street, shops, restaurants, and teahouses were all decorated with red couplets, and blessings were posted on the doors. It was bustling with people, and there were many children running around on the road. The stalls on both sides not only had fruit snacks and egg sesame seed cakes, but also calligraphy and painting, jade, old books, and antiques, which made people full of interest.

As Si Ming admired the sights, he asked, "Why have you suddenly decided to punish the wicked and uphold justice these past two days, even at the cost of delaying your journey? Didn't you do enough in your previous life?"

"Some things can't be done just because you want to, even if you know they're right. Take the beggar chivalry tonight, for example. To kill him, you need solid evidence and to expose his Zhenmian in front of everyone. If you kill him in private, you'll be a heartless, framing villain. Or take the Zhou Clan you eliminated the other day. Doing it once or twice is one thing, but if you do it too often, all the powerful Aristocratic Clan and gentry will boycott the Evil-Slaying Sword School —which of these people is truly clean?"

Wuxia is not cultivation. People who practice martial arts need to eat and drink, and they also need to replenish their nutrition. There is a saying that "the poor are scholars and the rich are martial artists." You can't practice martial arts if you don't have money. In the martial arts world of the Barbarian Continent, the gentry are the backbone. Just like in the Three Kingdoms period of the Celestial Empire, the poor can't even afford to eat or support their families, so they can't even think about doing anything else. On the contrary, orphans have the opportunity to be adopted by sects.

Of course, there are talented people from humble backgrounds, but "humble background" refers to families of modest means, also known as commoners, which is different from the poor.

"In the past, there were always many constraints preventing me from doing things as I pleased. Now I can finally do it freely. Anyway, I'm already dead, so I don't need to care about my reputation or worry about affecting the sect."

"Is this what you call 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'...? No, perhaps 'I don't care what happens after I'm gone' would be a more fitting description."

Si Ming recalled Shang Yu, who seemed to have had similar feelings. When a person knows they don't have many days left to live, they often have the idea of trying forbidden things. Fortunately, Shang Yu and Wan Ziling were both kind-hearted people. In their eyes, the taboo was not doing bad things, but doing good things without following the rules.