Within the fog that was about to close, Ren Ye numbly wiped the blood from his face and turned to look at the New Year's Watchers, the Qingzhou Guard soldiers, and Guo Caier and Xing Tao kneeling on the ground behind him.
The great battle had ended. The thick smell of blood filled the air, and corpses lay everywhere. The dead were silent; the living were even more silent.
Ren Ye slowly crouched down, his eyes fixed on Guo Caier, his voice trembling slightly. "Do you know why I didn't kill you?"
On the grass, Guo Caier's disheveled hair hung loose, and she looked crazed. The light gradually returned to her eyes, and she deliberately put on an expression of relief and mockery. "Don't tell me you want us to witness your glory after victory? To serve as witnesses for you, is that it, great Human Emperor? Hahaha...!"
Looking at her deathly pale cheeks, Ren Ye said quietly, "I'm not that shameless. Nor can I stand among all these corpses and cheer for victory. And I have no right to kill you."
Guo Caier looked slightly dazed at his words.
After speaking, Ren Ye stood up. Without looking at Guo Caier or Xing Tao again, he merely bowed to the Qingzhou Guard soldiers and the New Year's Watchers, then walked away.
The crowd slowly parted to form a passage, and Ren Ye walked alone toward Canyon Pass.
A strong wind rose. As the disheveled Guo Caier raised her head, she saw the bodies lying on the grass behind the crowd.
Most of these bodies belonged to New Year's Watchers who had died fighting in the burial chamber, and they were all very young. With the battle over, their companions had carried them here, collecting the Wordless Steles at their waists