Free Web NovelAlthough the Shaman King was severely wounded and forced into a long slumber under the combined efforts of Lu Yibei and Hong Bian, his erosion of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate did not completely cease.
The Spiritual Energy extracted from the suppressed Shaman King was a crucial foundation for the long-term continuation of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, which was isolated from the outside world.
Without the Spiritual Energy he supplied, the vitality gathered by Hong Bian, who had sacrificed himself to the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, would be difficult to sustain for long.
Water sources would dry up, vegetation would wither, livestock would die, and survival would become increasingly difficult.
If everything Hong Bian did was likened to assembling a machine and installing its accompanying software, then the sleeping Shaman King was the power source that drove this machine.
However, was the Shaman King's Spiritual Energy that easy to use?
Even after purification by the Divine Kingdom's operational hub, the faint Wang Quan (Royal Authority) contained within that Spiritual Energy would inevitably spread to every corner of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate.
Psychic might be able to resist the gradually accumulating, faint Wang Quan (Royal Authority) of the Shaman King, but it was only a matter of time before ordinary people were affected.
From a certain perspective, the Shaman King's existence was like the only severely polluted underground water source; without this water source, one could not survive, but using it would inevitably damage the body and cause serious illness due to the pollution.
However, the residents of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate had no choice.
A person on the verge of starvation wouldn't care if the food presented was a grand state banquet or a moldy bun.
...
The cumulative effect of the Shaman King's Wang Quan (Royal Authority) initially manifested as a plague.
People who 'fell ill' would develop scarlet sores on their bodies; as the sores gradually spread over their entire body, they would suddenly become irritable, delirious, and aggressive.
Unfortunately, the residents of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate a thousand years ago did not know about rabies, otherwise they would surely have regarded this 'disease' as some kind of mutated rabies.
Only Soldier Chen Long, on the inside pages of his notebook, left the record: 【After discussion among all gentlemen, it is temporarily named: Red Spot Plague.】
In the first hundred years after Shen Baiwei and Lu Yibei left, very few people contracted the Red Spot Plague, no more than a dozen a year. Although it caused some panic, it did not attract too much attention.
Some Psychic, like Soldier Chen Long, suspected that the Red Spot Plague was related to the Shaman King, but after investigation and verification, no direct connection was found. As time passed, it was gradually forgotten and left unresolved.
After all, as resources gradually became scarce, more people starved to death each year than died from the Red Spot Plague.
----
"If only we had discovered it earlier..." At this point, Dragon Tang's already deeply furrowed face seemed to age a few more years.
There was still some time before the welcome banquet began, and Shen Baiwei had suddenly entered a "frozen" state after receiving the small booklet. So, Dragon Tang led the two to the center of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's residential area—Daimu Courtyard—to rest temporarily.
While waiting, with nothing else to do, he began to "report" his experiences of the past thousand years to Lu Yibei.
"It's not your fault..." Lu Yibei said, patting his shoulder.
As she spoke, she subtly observed the old man in front of her, with a hint of surprise.
After the long passage of time, his face had long since aged, his back was bent, and he no longer possessed the youthful spirit of his past, but from the contours of his features, a hint of familiarity could still be discerned.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, it would be hard to imagine a person aging to such an extent; every inch of flesh and blood, even every cell, of that body exuded an aura of decay and decrepitude.
More like a dead person than a dead person... This phrase perfectly described Dragon Tang's current state.
What truly surprised Lu Yibei was Dragon Tang's clear consciousness at this moment.
In fact, she had secretly observed Dragon Tang on the way there. freewёbnoνel.com
However, along the way, Dragon Tang had appeared exceptionally confused.
Although his steps were as steady as a mountain when leading the horse-drawn carriage, his body would uncontrollably twitch as if having an epileptic seizure while moving forward. He would sometimes mutter to himself, sometimes laugh without warning, and sometimes let out a low, beast-like roar.
Lu Yibei even heard him talking to Dragon Xiang, saying something like, "When you come of age, don't practice martial arts, go and take the imperial examinations," as if he had forgotten that he was already an old man over a thousand years old.
Having seen Dragon Tang like that, Lu Yibei felt a sense of inexplicable guilt and heartache when looking at the clear-minded Dragon Tang talking to her now, as if she were watching a dying old man momentarily awaken from a coma, give his last instructions, and then depart.
But how could she compensate him? Lu Yibei couldn't think of a way.
A year or two of hardship might be compensated, but a thousand years of suffering was beyond her limited life experience of less than twenty years to imagine.
"And then? What happened next?" Lu Yibei composed herself and pressed, "As time went on, the Red Spot Plague must have become more severe, right?"
"Hmm..." Dragon Tang nodded, then seemed to notice Lu Yibei's furrowed brows and, wanting to reassure her, he grinned and said, "Miss Lilim, you don't need to worry. Although the Red Spot Plague became more severe, everyone back then was still very sensible."
"When they found out they were sick, in order not to harm others, they voluntarily left North of the city and went to South of the city, found a place to settle down, and helped each other. It wasn't as difficult as imagined."
Lu Yibei, "..."
She believed that most of what Dragon Tang said was true, but there must have been some hidden parts.
After all, the conditions in the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate were already harsh, and having been destroyed by those tribal warriors, contracting a serious illness, and then going to the once completely desolate South of the city, was basically no different from waiting to die.
People cherish their lives; it was impossible for everyone to be willing, or rather, to have the courage, to face death.
----
【Unexpectedly, I also contracted the Red Spot Plague. I can feel that my body is gradually losing control. Perhaps I should also go to South of the city like everyone else? But what about the matters Miss Shen entrusted to me? Perhaps I should find someone to replace me.】
This was the last passage of text personally recorded by the maid of Daimu Courtyard.
As this passage flashed through Shen Baiwei's mind, the figure of the Daimu Courtyard maid in her vision stood up from the desk and turned to walk into the darkness.
However, soon, another thin figure emerged from the darkness, came to the maid's original position, sat down, and picked up the pen to leave slightly childish handwriting on the inside page of the notebook.
In the first hundred years of the Red Spot Plague's appearance, it did not cause much commotion.
Most people who contracted the Red Spot Plague would, like old horses nearing the end of their lives, leave their herd and go to the ruins of South of the city, actively keeping away from crowds. Occasionally, a few who were unwilling to leave and eventually lost control and rampaged in North of the city would quickly be suppressed by the Long Xiang Army.
And this fragile balance was maintained until more than 150 years after Shen Baiwei and Lu Yibei left...
As more and more people went to South of the city due to the Red Spot Plague, stayed there, and eventually met their end in madness, and as some rumors and legends spread among the residents of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, urban legend began to emerge in South of the city...
【Today, I was ordered to go to the borderland to slay evil spirits, but when I cut off its head, and the poisonous miasma dissipated, revealing its face, I felt a hint of regret.
That urban legend was actually Zhu Sanming!
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To this day, I can still recall the scene when he first entered the Longxiang Army Camp, sleeping in the same tent as me, and quietly telling me in the middle of the night, "Brother Chen, I miss my mother!"
If all these evil spirits are transformed from our relatives and friends, like today, will we be able to draw our weapons against them next time?】 This is a record left by Soldier Chen Long.
Facts proved that his worries were not unfounded, and a tragedy occurred just a few years later.
A team of Longxiang Army Armored Soldier lost contact while on a mission to clear the border area between South of the city and North of the city. When they were found, all that remained was a pile of severed limbs.
The long-simmering conflict in the city completely erupted.
Some began to question the authenticity of the miracle flower and the Miracle Saintesses, believing that the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate would eventually perish.
Some voluntarily left North of the city and rushed to South of the city, hoping to contract the Red Spot Plague and merge with those urban legend and madmen.
Some blamed Dragon Tang for the mistakes of that team of Longxiang Army Armored Soldier and those who had died from the Red Spot Plague earlier.
And shortly after the conflict erupted, one evening, Soldier Chen Long left two new records.
【Today, Dragon Commandant summoned all the Armored Soldier to the Lords Manor for a meeting and selected twenty trusted individuals.
Dragon Commandant said that he believed in miracles, but to make the city's people believe in miracles, he planned to raid South of the city tonight at midnight.
He also said that he was going there to personally create a miracle.
I volunteered but was refused!
That night, flames soared into the sky in South of the city, and the smell of blood was overwhelming.】
...
【This evening, I learned that Dragon Commandant had returned to the Lords Manor.
I also learned that out of the twenty-one who went, only three returned.
For the next 130-plus days, there was no news of Dragon Commandant, nor did any evil spirits commit further offenses.】
Just three lines of text, written with heavy strokes, the force piercing through the paper, striking directly into Shen Baiwei's mind.
----
"These hands of mine..." Dragon Tang looked at his hands, tears streaming down his face, and said with a trembling voice, "I clearly promised my brother that weapons should only be used against enemies, but in the end, my hands were still stained with the blood of the Yumen Pass people."
"But I had no choice! If I didn't kill them, more people wouldn't be able to survive, and I couldn't become stronger to prevent the disaster from continuing."
"Miss Shen, did I... did I really protect Yumen Pass?"
It's hard to imagine what kind of determination that young man, who had never used force even when attacked by hordes of mad people in the market of Daimu Courtyard, made to raise his weapons against the urban legend formed by the Yumen Pass people, and even use the core of the urban legend they produced to strengthen his Spirit Mark.
Lu Yibei gazed at the memorial hall, and after a long time, she finally spoke, "No, Dragon Tang, you are not wrong! You did it, you protected Yumen Pass."
Upon hearing these words, Dragon Tang's crying grew more intense.
Though his face was aged, he seemed like a wronged child who had finally seen his family, shedding all his defenses and sobbing uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Lu Yibei stepped forward, embraced his head, and gently stroked his back in silence.
----
Since that night raid on South of the city, every hundred days, Dragon Tang would lead a team of Longxiang Army Armored Soldier to infiltrate South of the city to hunt down urban legend, and each time, only two or three would return severely wounded.
After recovering from their injuries and resting for a few days, they would set out again.
The rumors and legends of the South of the city urban legend still circulated in North of the city, but since then, there had been no more urban legend intrusions, and the unrest in the city gradually subsided.
【Everyone says this is a miracle, but they don't know that this was exchanged for Dragon Commandant's life.
No, that's not right. Dragon Commandant was severely wounded in every surprise attack, on the verge of death, yet he always struggled back from the brink of life and death. Perhaps it was a miracle in itself?】
Such a record was left on the inside page of the notebook. The person who recorded it also had the surname Chen, but it was no longer Soldier Chen Long, but a person named Chen Yunge, likely a nephew or descendant of Soldier Chen Long.
The ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) old friends were gone, like drops of water falling into a river, leaving no trace, only the black-on-white records continued.
As days passed, Dragon Tang's Spiritual Energy level also grew to a terrifying extent in this seemingly endless hunt. According to the records left by Soldier Chen Long, he was only one step away from a Calamity.
261 years after Shen Baiwei and Lu Yibei left, Dragon Tang made a shocking decision—to disband the Longxiang Army Armored Soldier.
【Today, Prince summoned all the Longxiang Army Armored Soldier for a meeting, saying that times had changed and the Long Xiang Army no longer needed to exist, which provoked strong opposition from many uncles, some even threatening suicide.
But I observed that Prince seemed to have some unspoken difficulty?】
The Long Xiang Army was eventually disbanded, leaving only over thirty veterans.
Late that night, Dragon Tang raided South of the city again.
This time, he went alone, carrying a Phoenix Wing Tang.
This time, he was severely wounded again, nearly dying, and remained in an intermittent coma for nearly two hundred days.
He overestimated his strength and underestimated the speed at which the South of the city urban legend grew stronger.
While Dragon Tang was in a coma, the South of the city urban legend launched a massive invasion. Demonic and ferocious figures spread to every corner of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, until a loud shout pierced the night.
"Where is the Long Xiang Army?!" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Someone raised their arm and shouted under the night sky, and hundreds responded.
Hundreds of Longxiang Army Armored Soldier, who had already returned to civilian life, put on their armor again, covered their sleeping families for the last time, closed their doors, and quietly left their homes.
"Longxiang Army Armored Soldier Wang Liang is here!"
"Long Xiang Army Squad Leader Xu Mao is here!"
"Long Xiang Army Physician..."
Thus, almost all the veterans, mostly over fifty, and some even over ninety, picked up their long-unused weapons again and rushed to the battlefield, fighting the urban legend invading North of the city until death, using their flesh and blood to draw an insurmountable boundary.
