The First Legendary Demonic Scholar

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: I Am Not An Outsider

Shen Yuan focused on Gu Ren and asked, "Why are you telling me all this even though you could have just refused to share such valuable information?"

Here’s a version that keeps the straightforward, webnovel style while improving the grammar and flow without making it sound overly polished:

Gu Ren shook his head.

"The bed you’re sitting on... it isn’t just a bed."

Shen Yuan looked at him.

"It is a throne."

Gu Ren’s expression was serious.

"It is the symbol of our leader. Whoever sits there becomes the one we follow. It is not just this room; every room has a leader. Then they all serve a single leader who watches over the whole floor."

"Those floor leaders are not the highest authorities in this manor. it’s the matron who watches over this place."

He glanced at the other servants.

"We servants always follow our leaders. We take care of them and do what they ask us to do. And in return they protect us and help us survive in this hellish place."

Shen Yuan finally understood what Gu Ren was trying to say.

Gu Ren had seen potential in him, and now he was placing his future in Shen Yuan’s hands.

After thinking for a few moments, Shen Yuan slowly nodded.

"I understand."

"If you’re willing to place that much faith in me, then I’ll make sure no trouble comes to any of you while you’re staying here."

As soon as he said those words, Shen Yuan turned his head toward the other two servants lying on their beds.

"But before that..."

"I want to hear it from the two of you." His calm voice echoed through the room. "Are you willing to swear your allegiance to me?"

Silence filled the room.

Then Shen Yuan smiled faintly.

"You don’t have to keep pretending to sleep anymore. I’ve known for a while now that both of you have been awake."

Silence lingered in the room.

A few breaths later...

The two servants slowly opened their eyes.

Neither of them looked surprised that they had been exposed. Instead, they quietly sat up on their beds and looked towards Shen Yuan.

Their expressions were complicated. There was hesitation and uncertainty in their eyes.

But there was also a trace of expectation.

Gu Ren wasn’t surprised by any of this. He had already guessed they had been listening from the beginning.

The older of the two servants was the first to speak.

"If Brother Gu is willing to follow you..."

"Then we have no objections." The younger servant nodded in agreement. "We accept you as the leader of Dorm Sixty-Seven."

Just when everything seemed to be a done deal, the older servant’s expression soon became serious.

"But you should know something."

Shen Yuan quietly listened.

"Every year, new servants arrive and every year. But there is no guarantee that everyone will survive. Some are killed while some disappear."

A sharp light flashed through his eyes as he said, "You might also join them one day..."

The younger servant continued where he left off.

"And even if you survive, your position won’t remain secure." He looked directly at the bed Shen Yuan was sitting on. "That position of yours, on that bed, isn’t permanent."

"Every year, a new leader is selected, and new servants will come who believe they’re stronger than you. Every ambitious servant who thinks you’re weak..."

"They will come and they will challenge you."

"They’ll try to take your place and try to become the leader of this room."

A smile slowly appeared on Shen Yuan’s face.

He did not mock them for looking down on him. The two servants were merely pointing out the truth.

Their Truth.

They did not bother to hide the fact that they plan to gun for his position next year.

Although Shen Yuan might not have seemed concerned by their declaration. Gu Ren, however, frowned.

He could already imagine the future. There would always be ambitious people.

Some would submit and others would only pretend to while planning scenes in the shadows.

’Even these two might just betray him. Then what would happen to me?’

If Shen Yuan failed to keep everyone’s respect, even the people standing in this room today might one day betray him.

That possibility worried him.

Yet...

Shen Yuan didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.

Instead, he looked at the three servants before speaking.

"I assume all of you have gone through what I have. You crawled through the same hell I had to claw my way through."

The three servants exchanged glances before silently nodding.

Shen Yuan continued.

"Then you should understand."

"We are all reminders to each other that in the end..."

"...all we truly want is to survive."

The room became completely silent. Those simple words struck something deep inside their hearts.

It was no grand speech or promises. Shen Yuan appealed to the emotions that had been forced to be buried deep within their hearts by the cruel nature of the place they live in.

For a long time...

None of them had heard anyone say those words aloud. Everyone was out for their own survival, their own benefit.

Ever since they had been kidnapped, they no longer behaved like human beings. They were like the creatures of the jungles, fighting, killing for resources and survival.

Slowly...

Even hope had become a luxury.

But at this moment, standing before them was someone who had suffered the same nightmare--

And still managed to keep that human part of himself alive.

A strange warmth quietly spread through their hearts.

It had been so long that they had almost forgotten what it felt like.

Hope.

Shen Yuan slowly rose from the bed.

His gaze swept across each of their faces.

"I may be the leader of Dorm Sixty-Seven on the second floor..."

"I am not an outsider." His voice remained steady.

"I am a member of dorm 67."

Just then...

A ray of morning sunlight slipped through the wooden window.

It landed across Shen Yuan’s face.

The golden light softened his cold features, giving them a warmth they normally lacked.

For a brief moment...

The three servants simply stared.

None of them knew why. But looking at the young man standing before them...

They felt as though they could entrust their future to him.

Like maybe they finally found someone who could help them survive in this dark world.

’Was he some sort of saint before coming here?’ They could not help but wonder, feeling warm emotions in their hearts. They did not even realise how or when they had fallen prey to Shen Yuan’s manipulations.