Chapter 722 – The Avenue of Blood (III) (1/2)

Chapter 722 – The Avenue of Blood (III)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

(TN: Way of Choices will be on break from December 25th, 2017 – January 7, 2018)

Beasts that had been injured to the point of death would make strange and low howls because they wanted to keep their voices in their throats for as long as possible, not wanting anyone else to hear their weakness. However, after having his thigh cut and collapsing in front of the Xue Estate's gate, Zhou Tong could finally longer restrain it and let loose a wretched howl of suffering.

This wretched howl obscured the young lady of the Xue clan's cry of alarm, but it was still so clear as to be heard by everyone present.

The young lady felt even more elated, and the Xue clan's butler was so excited that his entire body trembled.

Yet Madam Xue, the person who should reasonably have been expected to have the greatest reaction, was still able to keep her calm, quietly gazing at Zhou Tong's collapsed figure in the snow.

It was very quiet in front of the Xue Estate, the only sound being Zhou Tong's heavy gasps for breath.

After some time, Zhou Tong dragged himself up from the snow and continued to stagger his way down the street, leaving behind a few bloodstains.

Mo Yu walked in front of the stone steps and turned to give Madam Xue a nod of greeting.

In these past few years, she and Xue Xingchuan had been the two most popular figures of Tianhai's court, so the two naturally had interacted before.

Madam Xue very earnestly bowed to her, saying, ”Thank you.”

Mo Yu said nothing, only nodded her head before continuing after Zhou Tong.

Madam Xue gazed at the warm red, yet also gloomy, sky, thinking of that day. She silently gave thanks to Chen Changsheng, wherever he was.

With the end of Tianhai's government, her husband had transformed from a loyal minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty to a traitor, while Zhou Tong, who was clearly a traitor, had become a valued minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

There was no doubt that this was unjust, but in this world in which no one dared to pay homage to a traitor, who would demand justice for one?

On that day in the Orthodox Academy, she had said that she hated that Zhou Tong was not dead. She truly hated this fact, hated until she despaired, a hate that bored into her bones.

At the time, Chen Changsheng had not said anything or made any attempts to comfort, only quietly gazed at her.

When sending her off from the Orthodox Academy, he had requested that she not leave the capital.

This was a promise.

He would kill Zhou Tong and let her witness it.

So Madam Xue had not returned to her hometown, but remained in the capital.

She wanted to personally witness this sight.

Now, she had finally seen it.

From the time Xue Xingchuan was poisoned to death, to the exposure of his corpse, to his funeral, she very rarely shed tears.

But now, two streams of hot, even scalding, tears flowed down her face.

She took one final glance at Zhou Tong desperately pulling himself up from the snow in a struggle to live, then ordered her butler, ”Close the gate.”

The young lady was somewhat shocked. She clung at her mother's arm and said unwillingly, ”Mother, I still want to look. I haven't looked enough.”

To see an insufferably arrogant and extraordinarily powerful, even undefeatable foe transformed into a stray dog beaten black and blue, anyone would want to look, and anyone would never be able to see enough.

”Enough.”

Madam Xue didn't know if she was speaking about this matter or speaking to her daughter, but she returned inside the estate regardless.

The gate slowly closed, blocking many matters and memories outside.

……

……

The Road of Peace was covered in snow, the snow covered in blood.

More and more blood was trickling down Zhou Tong's body, even causing the poison to be greatly diluted, allowing the blood to regain some of its red hue.

More and more wounds were appearing on Zhou Tong's body, a dense patchwork crisscrossing his wretched self.

These wounds had been made with exquisite care, deep enough and placed at just the right spots to cause maximum pain, but not enough to end his life.

As she struck, Mo Yu showed no emotion on her beautiful face. Her utter apathy and her bloodstained dress made her seem like the attendant to the god of death.

A sword glow would occasionally illuminate the gloomy street.

Zhou Tong arduously pressed forward through the snow. It had already become impossible for him to stand straight, and he often had to use his hands and feet together to move just a little bit forward. He looked as if he could collapse at any time, and no longer was he able to stand. No longer could he suppress his pain and fear, maintain the silent bearing of an old wolf. With every sword glow, a howl of misery could be heard.

This was a most thorough humiliation and torture on the body and mind, a cruel punishment that seemed to have no end.

This had always been a death by a thousand cuts.

Anyone else, even someone with the most stalwart of wills, would probably have fallen apart by now. Even if they might not grovel at the feet of their enemy and plead for mercy, they would at least think of every possible method for committing suicide. But Zhou Tong did not, because he had tortured and humiliated far too many people throughout his life, inflicted far too many cruel punishments on the innocent. He had seen the darkest and most painful sights of the mortal world, and he had knowledge of the true Netherworld. His heart was like a stone that had been steeped in poison for seventy thousand years, every scrap of moss growing upon it the embodiment of sin. Even if Mo Yu used the cruelest methods and caused both his body and soul to shudder, he would never surrender, whether to her or to fate. Before the shadow of death, he would never walk towards it on his own volition. On the contrary, he was like a beggar with an incomparable longing for the final victory.

As long as I can crawl my way out of this avenue flowing with blood, I will win.

He howled in pain and then said to himself.

The twilight deepened, transitioning into darkness. The starlight reflected by the snow on the Road of Peace was not enough to illuminate this world.

For some reason, a sudden dusky light fell on Zhou Tong's body, revealing his terrifying wounds and exposed bones.

The distant lantern light gave off no warmth, yet Zhou Tong suddenly felt his body warm up. In the small courtyard, his vision had been severely damaged. All was blurry, so he could only get a general impression. However, he was very sure that this light came from his right-hand side, the north side of the Road of Peace.

This had been the estate of Imperial Tutor Cheng before he had retired. Recently, a powerful prince had taken it, making this place a princely estate.

He had taken about a quarter of an hour, suffering the pain of death by a thousand cuts, to crawl twenty-some zhang. Finally, he had left the boundaries of the Xue Estate and reached this place.