Heaven-Piercing Heroism

When Chen Chen saw the envoy stop her, she did not dare say more and lowered her head in grievance.

Veiled Chen Chen watched with great interest, then said to Zhao Jian, "Tell us what you believe truly happened."

Zhao Jian immediately began with deep emotion, recounting everything he knew. At last, he concluded, "Do you know, Envoy Chen? When I saw my brothers all buried in wolves' bellies, my heart shattered. I... I wanted to go with them too, so they would not be lonely on the Yellow Springs Road home. At the very least, we could have held hands and walked together! But I also knew that even more brothers at Shixin Peak were waiting eagerly for me, waiting for me to bring back news of the brothers from You Lan Mu Lian. I... I could not simply sink into despair. I still had an intact body to serve the Cult Master with. So I wiped away my tears, buried my grief and indignation deep within my heart, silently recited the Cult Master's name in my heart, and fled all the way back from the You Lan Great Grassland to Shixin Peak!"

Zhang Xiaohua's stomach cramped as he listened. He truly had not expected Senior Brother Zhao, who looked so sunny and cheerful, to speak such fawning words with such fluency.

Then Zhao Jian's tone abruptly changed, filled with towering grief and rage. "Ever since returning from the You Lan Grand Canyon, I have been wracked with guilt that I could not bring back the brothers who went with me. I regret it bitterly! Why was my martial arts so poor? But before I could climb out of the abyss of grief, I heard that Junior Brother Zhang—no... Zhang Xiaohu—had returned safely from the You Lan Grand Canyon.