Vol 2 Book 2 Chapter 14 (1/2)

Book 2 Chapter 14 – Reason

Original and most updated translations are from volare. Please don’t read elsewhere and stop supporting theft.

The entire village was dead. The elders, women, children… Those who danced and chanted during the filming in the morning had been turned into cold corpses now. Li Yiming was struck with an incredible anger. This was different from the Dragondogs, who were savage beasts: the bullet holes through the skull, cuts of a blade through the chest, necks broken… someone had done all of this.

‘Fang Shui’er—!’

Li Yiming cried out inwardly. He would never have imagined that the idol who amazed all with her grace and elegance, the one that was comparable to a beautiful G.o.ddess, would be capable of committing such a cold-blooded ma.s.sacre.

“Ah—!” Li Yiming let out a cry of rage as he ran toward the center of the village. He left Liu Meng, who seemed dumbstruck by what she saw, behind him. His only thought was about going to ask her whether the lives of the people really didn’t mean anything at all within domains.

Liu Meng stared vacantly at the gruesome scene. The only color she could see was red… the color of blood, a veil of crimson that slowly expanded and painted every corner of her world.  She could not hear Li Yiming’s angry roar. The world had first become mute, and then colorless. Her senses vanished one by one as she sank deeper and deeper into a sea of crimson.

“Li Yiming?”Zeng Qian frowned upon hearing Li Yiming’s angry cry. Zhi Wen and Zhi Wu went closer to her with their guns drawn; information showed that Li Yiming was much more menacing than he seemed, and there was no room for unforeseen changes at this point.

Li Yiming found three people at the filming location, the only three who could still stand in Ning Village. Zeng Qian leaned her back against an aged paG.o.da-tree with emerald leaves and robust branches while Zhi Wen and Zhi Wu stood by her side. The unchanged smile which hung on her lips made for a very different feeling now. Li Yiming recognized the two as being Fang Shui’er’s bodyguards.

“Where’s Fang Shui’er? Tell her to come out.” Li Yiming stared at the three coldly and pointed his weapon at Zeng Qian. Zeng Qian smiled back at him with squinted eyes, while the two bodyguard brothers raised their guns as well.

“I’m here.” A figure suddenly appeared behind Li Yiming with hastened breath.

“Shui’er?” Fang Shui’er’s arrival broke Zeng Qian’s composure. She stood up from where she was while the two bodyguards lowered their weapons.

Fang Shui’er had a pale countenance and her chest heaved from what seemed like a very long run. She turned toward Li Yiming while brus.h.i.+ng away her disordered hair and noticed the sadness and anger on his face. She then looked at her three companions and realized something. Anger slowly lit up in her eyes as she looked at Zeng Qian. “Tell me that it’s not you.” She said as her shoulders shuddered from a repressed indignation.

Zeng Qian’s lips moved without a word coming out of them. The polite smile on her face seemed forced and very unnatural at this point. The two bodyguards looked away.

Li Yiming calmed down a little and observed the exchange. ‘What’s happening?’

“We had to do it” Xiao Hei’s voice came from above. Li Yiming raised his head and saw Xiao Hei slowly land near Zeng Qian.

“Why?” Fang Shui’er asked in a glacial tone. The four who stood in front of her were her best friends, and the only people she could trust ever since she had become a guardian, but now…

“For Qianqian,” Xiao Hei answered and wrapped his fingers around Zen Qian’s hand.

“For Qianqian? Give me a reason.”

“A reason?” Zeng Qian suddenly broke away from Xiao Hei’s hand and stepped forward. She pulled on her cheeks, and to Li Yiming’s shock, the skin came off cleanly. “How’s that for your reason?”

‘Holy..’ Li Yiming gasped. Even after two domains, life and death, and after seeing people devoured by savage beasts… The face in front of him could barely qualify as one, given how horribly distorted it was, the odd, entangled muscles, the craters and b.u.mps in the skin, and the dark, greenish color of rotten flesh…

“Look at this face! Is this enough of an explanation?” Zeng Qian stepped forward in a furious rage.

When Fang Shui’er saw her face, her coldness instantly melted and all that was left was grief and compa.s.sion.

“We’ve found out that there’s a phoenix hidden in this domain. If we can slay it, we’ll be able to obtain a fruit of Nirvana.” Xiao Hei slowly interposed himself between Zeng Qian and Fang Shui’er, and, without minding her terrifying appearance, wrapped his arms around her.

‘Fruit of Nirvana?’ This came as a surprise for Li Yiming. He remembered what Bai Ze told him.

“Fruit of Nirvana? You still haven’t given up on that?” Fang Shui’er seemed surprised.

“Give up?” Zeng Qian broke free from Xiao Hei’s embrace again. “Of course you’d give up. You’re as beautiful as a G.o.ddess, an international star, a national idol. Your charm is unrivaled and you have the whole world at your feet. When you climb onto the stage and stand beneath the spotlights, do you remember this face? When you smile to the thousands of cameras, have you given a thought about my feelings? When countless crowds become mesmerized by your beauty, have you felt my pain?” Zeng Qian roared in a frenzied rage.

“This… I could’ve enjoyed all of that too. To h.e.l.l with Heaven’s Laws, and to h.e.l.l with the talent! Have you seen my pain after using my talent? Look at my body, look at my face… It rotted inch by inch. We used to look the same! Look at us now!”

Fang Shui’er shuddered at Zeng Qian’s bitter screech.