Killing Is Atonement

"Supernatural Ability?" "Internal Breath Like a River?!" "Kill him! He's only one person!" "Impossible! He was already strong without Internal Breath. Now that his Internal Breath is like a river, we're doomed!"

With a single strike, An Jing killed their leader. The four remaining Demon Disciples immediately fell into chaos. Some tried to flee, some roared and charged at An Jing, and others crouched on the ground, trembling in terror.

"An Jing! The others aside, I never treated you badly!"

The only one still able to speak watched An Jing silently swing his sword again, cutting in two the Demon Disciple who had charged at him. He shouted in despair, "Wasn't I good to you?!"

Seeing the man's face—and because he hadn't attacked An Jing—An Jing stopped his sword.

"Yes, you were. You really were."

He gave a slight nod and answered softly, "I still remember you gave me an orange candy. It was my favorite flavor."

An Jing did indeed have a good memory. Besides the orange candy, he also remembered that this rider had once secretly slipped him dried meat when he'd overtrained, and had handed candy to the other children, too.

But on that rainy night, An Jing had also heard his voice. He knew the man had helped guard Dongshan Manor and oversee the children who were slaughtered and turned into great medicine.

So how had he managed it?

By day, he treated them warmly. By night, he went off to slaughter children who might have spent the day thanking and admiring him.

Driven by this seething curiosity, An Jing stopped his sword and quietly voiced his question, even though he knew it wasn't the time.

The rider revealed what he truly thought. "From the moment the Divine Cult bought you, I thought you were already dead. Everything I did was to comfort you before you died."

"But when it's your time to die, then you should die. You were supposed to die in a storm, a drought, a blizzard, an earthquake, or at someone else's hands. What difference does it make if I kill you? This is your fate! And when we eat you, it's as if you've joined us. We live on in your place. What's so bad about that?"

"Believe me, An Jing! I'm quick about it. They won't feel any pain! It's much quicker than starving or freezing to death!"

"Besides, An Jing, aren't you still alive? You weren't destined to die. You were never going to die! You're different from those other children who died. You're special. You have a Heavenly Fate. You're not like that bunch of failed commoners..."

The rider spoke as if it were all perfectly natural, with utter sincerity.

He truly believed what he said. His comfort and kindness had been sincere, too. Though he knew the truth about the Blood Pill and the sacrifice, he had felt genuine pity and compassion for these Children of Calamity, and had wanted to treat them a little better before they died.

How human of him.

That was what An Jing hated most, what made him want to retch—the Demon Disciples of the Demonic Cult were still human. They could still be human!

If they were pure evil, that would be one thing. But why did they have to seem like people?

—What kind of wicked world could turn people into such Evil Ghosts?!

"You're a good person... Hahaha, a good person in the Demonic Cult!"

His heart churned with emotions too complicated to describe. An Jing lowered his head, but no tears fell.

When he raised his head again, blazing fury burned in the young man's eyes. White vapor steamed from their corners and drifted away. "If you'd been born in peaceful times, perhaps you really would have been that kind of good person."

He clenched his teeth, letting the taste of blood spread through his mouth. "So treat me as a natural disaster, too! Because I'm going to kill you, and wipe all of you out!"

"Killing is atonement! Your sins, all your sins—I'll bear them all! But I... won't let you keep committing them!"

The next moment, An Jing drove his waist and shoulders into the swing, bringing the Sha Sword down with all his strength united as one. A fierce streak of blood shot toward the Demon Disciple, who roared and drew his blade.

The sword's light swelled in his eyes, growing larger and larger...

Then everything went black.

Blood flashed as An Jing cut down the Demon Disciples. He lifted his head.

He saw the Red Armor Guards who had pursued the Demonic Cult's squad. With a swift thrust of their spears, they had pinned the fleeing Demon Disciple to the ground.

"Who are you?"

The other side looked up as well. Doubtful gazes from beneath their helmets fixed on An Jing, who had helped them intercept the Demon Disciples. Then their eyes shifted with surprise. "A young man?"

"A manifested weapon?!"

The three Red Armor Guards were both skilled and experienced. They immediately noticed that the Blood Fiend Sword in An Jing's hand was extraordinary—and they sensed his strength, too. "Internal Breath like a river... at his age? What kind of monster is this?"

"Stay alert. This boy is no ordinary foe. Call for reinforcements!"

"Wait, Captain..."

One of the Red Armor Guards seemed to have thought of something and lowered his voice. "The offerings for Tianyi Demonic Cult's Ritual Sacrifice are all boys and girls, aren't they? Could this be someone who struck back after the Demonic Cult's ritual failed...?"

"The person we're here to rescue, Commander Gu's granddaughter, should be among the ritual procession..."

"Given his strength, according to the intelligence..."

From this far away, even an ordinary Internal Breath martial artist wouldn't have been able to hear them. But since cultivating at Qingjing Sword Temple, An Jing's five senses had grown sharper, so he caught their hushed words. "Red Armor Guards? Their mission is to rescue Commander Gu's granddaughter?"

"Commander... Inspector? Or military governor? I'm not great at history... Speaking of which, who's the commander of Hanhai Province in the Northern Frontier?"

"Hey, young man over there."

After a brief exchange while they remained on guard, the leading Red Armor Guard turned toward An Jing and spoke in a rather gentle tone. "Are you named An Jing?"

"Hm?"

An Jing had been waiting silently, ready to strike at any moment. Now he was at a loss. "How do you know my name?"

But he quickly figured it out. "I see. There really is a spy in the Demonic Cult. Even my name has been leaked."

"Yes," he answered, but he didn't lower the Sha Sword in his hand.

"We're the Red Armor Guards of Da Chen. We're here to rescue you."

The captain in front took off his helmet, revealing a plain, square face. He gestured for his squad to put away their weapons as a sign of goodwill. "Since you're An Jing, do you know what happened to a young woman named Gu Yeqi?"

"Where is she now?"

—So it really was Ye Qi?

An Jing was stunned. He'd had his suspicions when he heard that the commander's surname was Gu, but he hadn't expected it to actually be Gu Yeqi.

Wasn't she the daughter of a medicine farm? Her father had once been an ordinary refugee in the Northern Frontier, too. She didn't seem like the daughter of a high-ranking official at all... Could she be an illegitimate child—or granddaughter?

But that didn't make sense, either...

"Gu Yeqi?"

As An Jing fell briefly into thought, a puzzled voice came from behind him. "That name sounds familiar..."

An Jing glanced to the side and saw several boys and girls who had just escaped from the dungeon. They carried the weapons of the Demonic Cult instructors and disciples An Jing had killed. Bracing their courage, they had opened the manor gate, intending to fight alongside him.

They were clearly a little late—though it was also possible that An Jing had simply killed too quickly. In any case, when they saw that no Demonic Cult enemies remained aside from the Red Armor Guards, they were at a loss.

In the midst of this, they heard Gu Yeqi's name from the Red Armor Guards.

The one leading them, the girl named Yi Qing whom An Jing had rescued first, remembered and suddenly realized, "Oh, right! Isn't she Senior Brother An's follower?"

"Follower?"

An Jing could feel the Red Armor Guards' gazes instantly grow heated.