v1 prologue (2/2)
When the Three Great Heavens disappeared, the Five Demon Phantoms slowly walked to Zhang Hu.
At that moment.
The Heavenly Demon Zhang Hu, who was thought to be dead, lifted his head.
“Are they gone?”
The Five Demon Phantoms were not surprised by this at all. It was almost as if they were waiting for this.
The Apocalyptic Phantom put back his sword, and opened his mouth.
“Yup, they’re going out for a drink or something.”
Then, Zhang Hu’s eyes opened.
“They’re not coming back to check if I’m dead, are they?”
The second of the Five Demon Phantoms, the Blood Rain Phantom (血雨魔靈), complained in response.
“Didn’t you hear what I said before? We can just dice up some pig and then tell them it’s you.”
Only then did Zhang Hu stand back up.
“Ugghhhhh. Those old men, they seriously pack a punch. I thought I was going to actually die.”
The third of the Five Demon Phantoms, the Night Phantom (月夜魔靈), crossed his arms, then shouted out in annoyance.
“So why didn’t you just pretend to die quietly?! What the h.e.l.l is up with all of this, seriously!”
Zhang Hu glanced at him, and spoke as if he was making up some kind of an excuse.
“What do you think? I can live quietly in peace, and you can live well by splitting my power. I thought we agreed to do this beforehand.”
The fourth of the Five Demon Phantoms, the Heaven-killing Phantom (天殺魔靈), spoke.
“I never agreed to this.”
The fifth, the Cruel Phantom (殘惡魔靈), raised his hand.
“Me neither. Also, what was up with your last words? I had a hard time trying not to laugh.”
Zhang Hu grinned.
“Hey, I can’t just die like that. I wouldn’t be the Heavenly Demon if I did. I have to leave a fancy curse or something before death, you know? So that people would go, ‘Whoa! The Heavenly Demon really is terrifying.’ Right?”
The Night Phantom spoke with an annoyed tone.
“Yeah, no. Are you seriously going to live silently from now? You didn’t leave those last words so that you can come out later and say that you revived or something?”
“No, you idiot. You’re way too suspicious of everything, dear G.o.d.”
The Apocalyptic Phantom opened his mouth.
“Big brother, please, rethink this. This is our world. You can change the entire nation however you like.”
“There’s no meaning in doing all that. You should try becoming a Transcendent Demon as well, you’d be able to understand what I’m feeling.”
The Night Demon complained out loud.
“f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, you think I’m you or something?”
Zhang Hu, pretending not to have heard what the Night Demon said, stood up, and began to take out all the weapons stuck on his body one by one.
“Kya, they really stuck a variety of stuff on me, didn’t they. Is this that famous Dragon Cry Sword (龍鳴檢)? And this must be that Lightning Spear (霹靂槍). Were they trying to turn me into a hedgehog or what?”
Zhang Hu took out the weapons on his body, and presented them to the Five Demon Phantoms.
“You want it?”
The Night Phantom let out a snort.
“No, just go trade it for some shaved ice or something.”
Zhang Hu grinned.
“You really go all out with your words, don’t you.”
The Apocalyptic Demon opened his mouth.
“Can’t you rethink this?”
Zhang Hu shook his head.
“I’m already seventy-three. I have attained the Shura’s Demonic Treasure (修羅魔寶) at the age of thirty-eight, while searching for a way to destroy the Demon Alliance. Since then, we have come out into the martial world eight years ago, with me mastering the Asura’s Heaven-Destroying Technique, and you five mastering the Five Wheels Demon Technique (五輪魔功). We have accomplished our mission just ten days ago. And what comes after that? Nothing. This was my entire life. Isn’t that just boring? I want to live a fulfilled life with the little amount of time I have left.”
The Night Phantom punched his chest, as if trying to show his frustration.
“That’s why I’m telling you to conquer the world and live like a king! You can become an actual king if you want to, if you’re not satisfied with that!”
“It’s fine. I’ll be going now.”
Zhang Hu waved his hand, and walked away.
The Blood Rain Demon and the Night Demon just sighed in frustration, and the Cruel Phantom and the Heaven-killing Phantom just looked up at the sky.
It was raining quite hard.
Zhang Hu couldn’t restrain his laughter as he descended down the Lianhua Peak.
‘I’m free!’
He finally escaped the circle of murder and revenge.
Wrinkles began to appear on his young face. This was because he was sending out his innate qi (先天眞氣) into the air.
He didn’t need martial arts now.
He was sick of it.
If he were to go back to the past where he first obtained the Shura’s Demonic Treasure, he would’ve thrown it away immediately.
While it was a precious treasure that allowed him to take revenge on the Demonic Alliance, which had taken away the lives of his family, but it also made him perform evil acts that were far worse than the actions of the Demonic Alliance itself.
Only when he became a Transcendent Demon was he able to understand what he did, and become regretful.
He had decided to throw away his chains of regret, but he still decided to live the rest of his life like a sinner.
‘I’m going to live a proper life.’
He would live like a proper human.
He was thinking of buying a cow and a carriage along the way. If he started farming now, he should be able to harvest food by next year.
He would give out everything he produced, leaving just enough for him to survive.
He would sit in his room, spending the winter watching the snowfall, and farm again when the spring came&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;..
“Hahahaha.”
Just thinking about it made him laugh in glee.
Right then.
The rain stopped, and the sun began to s.h.i.+ne.
‘Nn?’
Zhang Hu looked up at the sky.
A five-colored light s.h.i.+ned from the other side of the sky towards him.
It was like a soft hand caressing him.
Telling him that it was all fine now.
Telling him that he should leave now.
Telling him to come be part of the truth of the world itself.
Droplets of tears began to roll down from Zhang Hu’s cheeks.
“Ah!”
This was not death.
The truth itself was coming to invite him to its stead.
‘Hahaha, to think I’d experience Ascension (羽化登仙).’
A rustling sound came from Zhang Hu’s body, and his body began to crumble away into sand.
A five-colored light began to replace his place instead.
Now, he would stay in truth, in a place where there was no happiness, no sadness, no joy nor fear.
Right then, Zhang Hu’s heart became dyed black.
“No!”
Zhang Hu shouted this out loudly.
“No, not yet! I haven’t lived a fulfilled life yet!”
He raised his hands to the sky, and spoke in a begging tone.
“Please, give me a bit more time! Just a little bit more!”
The five-colored light began to fade.
He could hear a whisper.
Would it be alright.
This would probably be his first and last chance of becoming part of the truth.
Zhang Hu whispered quietly with a smile.
“I want to live. Like a person.”
Whiiii–.
Zhang Hu’s body crumbled away completely. In its place was a blackish-red marble.
The five-colored light wrapped itself around the marble, and began to move. It pa.s.sed mountains and gorges, and pa.s.sed rivers and plains.
It soon stopped on top of a small house, put down the marble inside it, and disappeared.
A cold winter pa.s.sed, and summer arrived. At that time, the couple living in the house had a child.
The couple became delighted, and named the child Zhang Hu. When someone asked them why they named the child like this, they told the person that the baby told them to do so.
While the couple got laughed at for saying this, the couple’s faces were dead serious.
And sixteen years pa.s.sed since then like flowing water.
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