Chapter 473 – A Clear Conscience Brings Peace of Mind, the Mind is Perturbed by Ru Xin’s Charm (1/2)

The information gathered by the Hawkwolf Guard played a vital role in allowing Xiao An to predict Bloodshadow’s movements and his death. Bloodshadow killed too much, leaving behind too many ties of karma.

He was like a tiny fish swimming through the river, leaving behind clear ripples in the water.

She did not analyse the information using logic. Instead, she grasped the threads of fate that regular cultivators were unable to see, which was why she managed to predict Bloodshadow’s movements so accurately.

If she were to predict Dragonsnail’s movements instead, then she would be left at quite a loss as for where to start. Even if she just tried blindly, it would never be so accurate.

From a certain perspective, it was exactly because Bloodshadow was fated to die in her hands that led to this deep tie of karma, which allowed her to do this. In other words, if she were unable to predict so much, she would not have been able to kill Bloodshadow.

The components of karma, cause and effect, were intertwined. As a matter of fact, they were two sides of the same coin, which formed a mysterious, almost unpredictable predestination. It was much more profound than any techniques the world had to offer.

Xiao An had only scratched the surface so far. She was nowhere close to understanding it thoroughly. However, the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase would bring great assistance to her divination. At the very least, it could allow her to dive a little deeper into the river of fate.

“I must thank you all for your great generosity in Xiao An’s place!” Li Qingshan raised his cup up high and downed it all.

Apart from the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase that went to Xiao An, Li Qingshan received some rewards too. Without saying, his contribution in the Hawkwolf Guard had increased drastically yet again.

A resplendent smile stretched over his face as he downed alcohol jar after jar, like he was drinking water. It led to a series of cheering and applause.

Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan, and the corner of her lips curled up silently. Although she appeared to be quite inhuman sometimes, no one could rival her in terms of intelligence. She just never cared about what others thought and felt. But for him, she had an extremely detailed understanding. She understood what bothered him mentally.

Ru Xin gazed over from afar and also found him rather different today. It was as if he had returned to a few years ago when she had met him for the first time.

Today, Li Qingshan felt extremely satisfied inside, and it was not only because of all the benefits he had received.

However, he would never use this as an excuse to shirk away from his responsibilities. As a man, even if he made a mistake, he would accept and bear the burden. If he constantly tried to cover it up, even distancing himself from his own cover-ups, then it would only twist his conscience. He would just be a hypocrite.

The right or wrong in this had nothing to do with what other people thought. Everyone had a set of scales in their hearts. Perfection, unparalleled kindness, and justice had never been what he pursued. All he wanted was to maintain a clear conscience.

In the past, after he had gained power, he did not seek revenge against his elder brother and sister-in-law who had abused him for all those years. He did not use it to vent his pent-up fury. Instead, he tossed behind a bag of silver, exactly because of these two words.

After killing the rock demon and the blood demon, he personally believed he had settled a few ties of karma, having upheld his responsibility. It was like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He was filled with indescribable relief and delight.

Of course, no one had the right to judge him on this outcome, to say “Li Qingshan, you’ve completely been overthinking” or “Your sins are much deeper than that. Killing two daemons is nowhere near enough to redeem yourself”.

If he felt it was enough, then it was enough. Although he had once sworn he would finish off both sides of the war and end the war for good, but through this period of understanding, he felt this was no longer his responsibility. It even exceeded his abilities to a certain degree, so he just cast this directly to the back of his mind.

While he did not completely agree with Fu Qingjin’s chessboard metaphor, he did find it somewhat reasonable. Right now, the war was restricted to the Clear River prefecture, where he could still play a role. Once it spread even further, what could do with his current cultivation?

Forget it! If he wanted to fight, then he could fight to his heart’s content! And, once he became tired of the issues from balancing both sides, he would be better off making use of this opportunity to swoop in and benefit from the demise of others so that he could increase his cultivation quickly. Only then could he protect those important to him. Only then could he reach beyond the Nine Heavens sooner.

As a transmigrator, he did not really conform to the concept of “upholding his word no matter what”. The circumstances constantly changed. He would never allow a single word to tie him down, even if it originated from his own mouth.

He had clearly taken a step forward, possessing much greater knowledge now, yet he had to stick with the conclusions he had drawn from his past understandings. That was no different from purposefully making things difficult for himself.

“They’re retreating! They’re retreating!”

A young cultivator rushed into the Parlour of Clouds and Rain excitedly and called out loudly.

“What’s going on? Take your time!” Liu Zhangqing said sternly.

“Sir prefect, we have received news from various directions that all the daemons have retreated back underground. It’s all because of sir’s great leadership that allowed us to kill the blood demon and weaken the daemons’ momentum.” As the young cultivator spoke, he did not forget to suck up to Liu Zhangqing.

The news of the blood demon falling in battle reached Dragonsnail’s ears very quickly. He immediately made a decision to withdraw all their forces.

Among the four great Daemon Generals under the Spider Queen’s command, Northmoon was locked up in secluded cultivation, so only he remained. There was not a lot he could do alone. Continuing to persist had already become pointless. It would only lead to even greater losses.

Daemons had lengthy lifespans, but they cultivated slowly too. Every daemon they lost would take a century to make up for.

However, the wartime chaos from the past few years had drastically reduced the population of the Clear River prefecture too. It was equivalent to destroying most of the foundation of the cultivation society of the prefecture. It would take them a century to recover too.

Cheers erupted in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. They all tossed aside their cultivated composure.

Over the past few years of battle, who knew how many seniors and juniors they had lost. Who knew how many times they had faced life-threatening danger. They were finally witnessing the light of victory. Who could still control their emotions at a time like this?