Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 266 – Those Who Will Not Walk into the Dark Night

Teng Xiaoming and Liu Wan’er stood at the edge of the plain, staring at that sun which hung suspended over the distant horizon. Liu Wan’er said, “I heard that the sun that hangs over this plain never sets, which is why it’s called the Plains of the Unsetting Sun… I just don’t understand that if no one has ever been able to come out of the plain alive, then who was the one to see that the sun never sets?”

Teng Xiaoming heartily laughed, but he did not reply. He knew that she was not really asking for his opinion, but rather that she was somewhat unhappy.

“To actually let that wolf cub carry that person inside the plain……even if they do die inside, what do we do? Are we going to have to wait? How can we confirm that they died?”

Liu Wan’er glanced at Teng Xiaoming. She thought to herself that with the husband’s tyrannical cultivation, if they were outside the Garden of Zhou, what need would there be to chase them for such a long time? They could not even catch a poisoned wolf youth. Of course, if they were outside the garden, then Chen Changsheng and the rest would have been dead a long time ago. In order to enter the Garden of Zhou, they truly had to pay a disastrous price.

Teng Xiaoming knew what his wife was thinking. He gently caressed her hair and consolingly said, “I am willing to do this.”

Who could have known that on this mission to infiltrate the Garden of Zhou, the demon general couple with such a vicious reputation had personally requested to be sent? It was because… they had grown tired of the endless war with the humans and wanted to leave the army, to return to their old countryside. However, they knew very well that the Demon Lord would never accede to their request. In all of the demon realm, only the Military Advisor could help them fulfill their desire.

So they had sought out the Military Advisor, who had asked them to enter the Garden of Zhou to take care of this matter. For this reason, they had forcefully suppressed their cultivation, losing at least two hundred years’ worth of life. However, if they could finish this task, then return to the countryside hand in hand, then it was just like Teng Xiaoming had said: they were willing.

They were demon generals at the middle level of Star Condensation. Even if they had forced their cultivation down to Ethereal Opening, they still possessed a battle prowess that far surpassed that of Ethereal Opening cultivators. For a person who had once climbed a mountain to slowly ramble amongst the hills once more, he could naturally walk as he pleased. Logically, amongst all the human cultivators within the Garden of Zhou, besides Xu Yourong, they could leisurely kill whoever they pleased.

However, they had not anticipated that Lady Nanke’s two maids, in competing with each other for merit, would bring about so many troublesome affairs. They had even less anticipated that the human youth called Chen Changsheng would carry so many precious magical artifacts on his person. Even the strength and will that Zhexiu had expressed had surpassed their prediction, such that he was able to successfully escape into the Plains of the Unsetting Sun.

Although entering that plain was assuredly a path that led to death, it was not them that had done the killing in the end.

This was the edge of the plain, so although that red sun seemed to never set, it was actually still setting very slowly. As time passed, two-thirds of it had passed below that seemingly endless plain, and the sky grew dark. Liu Wan’er said, “Wait a while before seeing the situation. Let’s eat first.”

Teng Xiaoming gave an obedient grunt, then put down his heavy carrying pole. Taking out firewood and bricks, he began to make a fire. Liu Wan’er removed this year’s new rice from the carrying pole, as well as spring water taken from Jadespring Mountain. Then she began to rinse the rice. Only when the water began to flow out of the pot did she remember that, back at the lakeshore, Chen Changsheng had pierced a hole through this big pot.

Liu Wan’er was at a loss for words. That gentle and amiable face finally revealed a strand of irritation. “Chen Changsheng, that little fool, doesn’t he know that damaging a pot and destroying a kitchen is this continent’s most contemptible crime?”

Teng Xiaoming heartily laughed, then said, “We were going to kill him! How could he consider such things?”

Liu Wan’er groaned like a young girl, then said with displeasure, “I’ll remember this enmity, and if those two maids can’t kill him, I won’t be letting him off easy.”

Teng Xiaoming consoled her, “When we go back home, we won’t need to fight with humans anymore. We can sell off the broken pot for scrap and get a little money, so it’s not that bad.”

Saying these words, he took another pot from the basket and took the rice from her hands. Then he began to rinse the rice and prepare to cook it.

“What do you want to eat tonight?” Liu Wan’er asked.

Teng Xiaoming looked at the plain, hearing the cries that came from within. He hesitantly proposed, “Inside there are quite a few monsters. I could go inside and grab two? If I don’t go too far, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“To risk your life for a meal……we’re not birds, nor are we humans,” Liu Wan’er said in a bad mood. Then she walked over to the basket and flipped through its contents for a while. Finally finding what she had been looking for, she brought it out and said, “Before we left, I brought along the left maid’s left hand. We can cook it in the pot, then eat it with some of the hot sauce that was gifted to me?”

Previously at the lake shore, in the name of fairness, she had severed the hand of that dignified woman.

That hand was now being held in hers, its stump still traced with blood.

Teng Xiaoming took the severed hand and used the spring water to wash it clean. Opening up the pot, he added a steaming tray, then also added a plate on top. With this done, he placed the hand inside.

“That pair of maids are too close to souls. The spiritual Qi in this hand is somewhat excessive—I’m afraid it won’t digest very well.” He thought it over, then said, “It’s better to not use hot sauce. In a while I’ll pair it with some apricots.”

At home, he would always be the one to make the meal. Liu Wan’er was not very good at this, so she naturally had no opinion.

The water had not come to boil yet. They did not know whether those two youths in the plain were still alive or not.

Liu Wan’er and Teng Xiaoming sat shoulder-to-shoulder on a stone at the edge of the plain, watching as the sun set ever so slowly.

“We haven’t done this for a long time.”

“Mm.”

“Seventy-three years ago, you were still just a lowly soldier. Where’d you find the courage to ask me out to see the setting sun?”

“Mm……I lost a bet with a colleague.”

Liu Wan’er glared at him. “So you finally admit it.”

Teng Xiaoming thought it over, then said, “I’ve already admitted it four-hundred-and-forty-one times.”

Liu Wan’er paid him no mind. Snuggling closer to his shoulder and looking at the distant sun, she said contentedly, “Truly beautiful.”

Teng Xiaoming pondered how to respond, and decided that this was a time to lie, so he said, “Mm.”

Liu Wan’er face showed a yearning expression. “When we go back home, we can sit like this every day and look at the sunset.”

Teng Xiaoming once again pondered how to respond, and decided that he could no longer continue to lie, even if it would be hard for him in the future. He said honestly, “We’d get tired of it.”

Liu Wan’er arched her brow and said, “If you see me for too long, you’ll also get tired of it.”

Teng Xiaoming did not think about it, and he did not lie. He said sincerely, “I won’t.”

For an even more beautiful person, if one looked at her beauty all the time, then there would inevitably be a day when one grew tired of it.

Chen Changsheng did not have this sort of life experience, but he had a lot to say about the sun, because it was something that he could never be tired of. Every day he would wake up at five o’clock, when the sky was still dark. After washing his face and rinsing his mouth, he would stand under the plum tree, or next to the temple, or by the lake, or on top of the great banyan, and see the sunrise as usual. This was what made him the happiest.

At night, he would usually be asleep, and so he was very unfamiliar with the dark night. Moreover, this was why he did not like the dark night.

Whether it was a good night or a cold night, he did not like night at all. Whether it gently walked or angrily advanced, he wanted no part of it.

He was afraid of death, because he did not want to die.

He was not afraid of death, because he had thought of death many times.

So before the moment of death, he would always burst forth with an unimaginable strength.

The Black Dragon had seen it.

The Divine Empress had seen it.

Gou Hanshi had seen it.

Now, it was time for his enemies to see that strength.

Liang Xiaoxiao’s shoulder had a new sword wound, which was currently dripping blood.

The bodies of those two demon beauties were covered with sword marks. The smiles had long ago disappeared from their faces, leaving behind a grave and serious expression.

Chen Changsheng’s left hand grasped the umbrella, his right hand the dagger. His face was pale, devoid of blood. His true essence had been almost completely used up.

However, his expression was as serious as ever.

From the beginning to the end, he had always been this serious.

This time, he would have to get even more serious to live—to live so that death could see.