Chapter 264: Those Who Do Not Wish to Enter the Darkness
Teng Xiaoming and Liu Xiaowan, husband and wife, stood at the edge of the grassland, gazing at the sun that hung suspended above the earth in the distant sky. Liu Xiaowan said, "I've heard that the sun in the grassland never sets, which is why it's called the Sun-Setting-Not Grassland... But what I don't understand even more is, if no one can walk out of the grassland alive, then who saw the sun that never sets?"
Teng Xiaoming gave a simple, honest smile but said nothing. He knew his wife wasn't truly asking a question; she was just in a bad mood.
"That wolf cub actually carried someone on his back and ran into the grassland... Even if he dies in there, what about us? Are we supposed to wait forever? How can we be sure he's dead?"
Liu Xiaowan glanced at Teng Xiaoming, thinking that with her husband's domineering cultivation level, if they had been outside the Zhou Garden, why would it have taken them so long to catch up with a poisoned wolf-tribe youth? Of course, even earlier, Chen Changsheng and the others would have been killed long ago. To enter the Zhou Garden, the price this couple had paid was far too heavy.
Teng Xiaoming knew what his wife was thinking. He reached out and gently stroked her head, comforting her, "I am willing."
No one knew that this mission for the demon race to infiltrate the Zhou Garden was something this infamous couple of demon generals had requested themselves. Because... they were tired of the endless war with humanity. They wanted to leave the army and retire to a pastoral life. Yet they knew very well that the Demon Lord would never agree to their request. In the entire demon domain, only the Military Advisor could help them fulfill their wish.
So they found the Military Advisor, and the Military Advisor asked them to enter the Zhou Garden and handle this matter. To do so, they had forcibly lowered their cultivation realm, sacrificing at least two hundred years of their lifespan. But if completing this task meant they could join hands and return to the countryside, then, as Teng Xiaoming said, they were willing.
They were powerful demon generals at the Star-Gathering Middle Realm. Even after lowering their realm to the Soul-Connecting stage, they still possessed combat abilities that ordinary Soul-Connecting cultivators could hardly match. Those who had once climbed the peaks could now stroll freely among the hills, moving as they pleased. Logically speaking, among the human cultivators in the Zhou Garden, aside from Xu Yourong, they could kill anyone with ease.
They just hadn't expected that Lady Nanke's two maidservants would cause so much trouble by vying for credit. Nor had they anticipated that the human youth named Chen Changsheng would carry so many precious magical artifacts. Even Zheshou's displayed formidable abilities and willpower had exceeded their estimates, allowing him to successfully flee into the Sun-Setting-Not Grassland.
Although entering the grassland was certainly a dead end, at least he wasn't killed by them.
This was the edge of the grassland. The crimson sun appeared as if it would never set, but in truth, it only set more slowly. As time passed, two-thirds of the sun's face was swallowed by the endless wild grass in their sight, and the sky grew dimmer. Liu Xiaowan said, "Let's wait a while and see how things go. Let's eat first."
Teng Xiaoming obediently grunted in acknowledgment, set down the heavy load on his shoulders, and took out dry firewood and bricks to build a stove and start a fire. Liu Xiaowan retrieved this year's new rice and clear spring water from the Jade Spring Mountain from the load and began to wash the rice for cooking. But as she watched the clear water gurgle out from the bottom of the pot, she remembered that earlier by the lake, this large iron pot had been pierced through by Chen Changsheng's sword.
Liu Xiaowan was momentarily stunned. For the first time, a hint of annoyance appeared on her always gentle and kind face. "Does this little brat Chen Changsheng not know that smashing a pot and destroying a stove is the deepest grudge on the continent?"
Teng Xiaoming gave a simple, honest smile and said, "We were trying to kill him; he couldn't care less about that."
Liu Xiaowan snorted like a young girl and said displeasedly, "Anyway, I've remembered this grudge. If those two girls can't kill him, I won't let him off easy."
Teng Xiaoming comforted her, "After we go back to our hometown, we won't be fighting anyone anymore. Smashing the pot and selling the scrap iron for some money isn't bad either."
With that, he took another pot from the basket, took the rice from her hands, and began to wash it, preparing to steam it.
"What dish for dinner?" Liu Xiaowan asked.
Teng Xiaoming looked toward the grassland, listening to the faint howls coming from within, and said hesitantly, "There should be quite a few demon beasts in there. Should I go in and catch a couple? I won't go too far; it should be fine."
"Risking danger for a meal... We're not birds, and we're not humans." Liu Xiaowan said irritably. Then she walked over to the basket, rummaged through it for a while, found something, picked it up, and said, "When we left earlier, I brought the Left Attendant's left hand along. Let's steam it on top of the rice pot and eat it dipped in Zigong chili sauce?"
Earlier by the lake, in the name of fairness, she had severed the hand of that dignified woman.
That hand was now in her hand, with traces of blood still at the severed end.
Teng Xiaoming took the severed hand, rinsed it clean with spring water, lifted the pot lid, added a steaming tray, found a porcelain plate, and placed it inside.
"The Two Attendants are almost spirit bodies. The spiritual energy in this hand is too strong; it might be hard to digest," he thought for a moment and said, "Better not use the chili sauce. Let's pair it with some apricot grass instead."
He was always the one who cooked at home, and Liu Xiaowan wasn't very skilled at it, so she naturally had no objections.
The water in the pot hadn't boiled yet. The two youths in the grassland might or might not be dead by now.
Liu Xiaowan and Teng Xiaoming sat side by side on a stone outside the grassland, watching the setting sun sink at an extremely slow pace.
"It's been a long time since we've done this."
"Yeah."
"Seventy-three years ago, you were just a common soldier. How did you have the guts to ask me to watch the sunset together?"
"Yeah... I lost a bet with my comrades."
Liu Xiaowan glared at him and said, "You finally told the truth."
Teng Xiaoming thought for a moment and said honestly, "I've already admitted it four hundred and forty-one times."
Liu Xiaowan ignored him, leaned on his shoulder, looked at the setting sun in the distance, and said contentedly, "It's really beautiful."
Teng Xiaoming thought for a moment and decided that this was a time to lie, so he said, "Yeah."
Liu Xiaowan's face showed a look of longing. "After we go back to our hometown, we can sit like this and watch the sunset every day."
Teng Xiaoming thought for a moment and decided he couldn't keep lying, or it would be hard later. He said honestly, "It'll get boring."
Liu Xiaowan raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "If you look at me for too long, you'll get bored too."
Teng Xiaoming didn't need to think, nor did he lie. He said sincerely, "No."
No matter how beautiful a person is, if you only look at their beauty, there will come a day when you grow tired of it.
Chen Changsheng didn't have this kind of life experience yet, but he had a lot to say about watching the sun, because he never got tired of it. Every morning when he woke up at five, it was still dark. After washing and tidying up, standing under the plum tree, or by the temple, or by the lake, or on the big banyan tree, watching the sun rise as usual was his happiest moment.
He mostly slept at night and was unfamiliar with the darkness. And because of that reason, he didn't like the night.
Whether it was a beautiful night or a cold night, he didn't like any kind of night. Whether it was walking gently or entering angrily, he wanted none of it.
He was afraid of death, because he didn't want to die.
He wasn't afraid of death, because he had thought about death countless times.
So in the face of death, he could always unleash an unimaginable power.
The Black Dragon had seen it.
The Holy Empress had seen it.
Gou Hanshi had seen it.
Now, it was his enemies' turn to see that power.
Liang Xiaoxiao's shoulder had a new sword wound, bleeding profusely.
The two powerful demon beauties were covered in sword marks. There was no longer any smile on their faces, only seriousness and determination.
Chen Changsheng held an umbrella in his left hand and a sword in his right. His face was pale, bloodless, and his true essence was nearly exhausted.
But his expression remained earnest.
From the beginning until now, he had always been this earnest.
At times like this, he had to live even more earnestly, living for death to see.
(End of the month, I earnestly ask everyone to cast your monthly tickets and recommendation votes for The Legendary Master's Wife. Thank you. Also, the poem used in Interstellar always feels particularly hopeless to me...)