#109 - Chapter 109: Woman

After exploring this desolate wilderness for another half hour, you finally decide to leave this place temporarily, as you still can't find any useful information.

After spending ten minutes, you walk back to the passage and arrive at the black palace. You stand there for a long time, gazing at the two doors.

"Maybe my inner unease is just me overthinking things. If there really was danger deep within the Heavenly Demon Sect, I would have encountered it within these two doors long ago, but I'm still safe and sound. The only question now is what that stone house is. I'm not in a hurry, I'll just ask an elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect when I get out."

"Of course, I also need to investigate the whereabouts of the Xuan Bird Token and the Mermaid Pearl," Lin Changqing thought to himself, organizing his future plans.

You push the black round table back to its original position, and the two deep pits on the ground return to their original state. The two doors also disappear into the ground. You then walk out of the black palace.

You see that the celebration is still going on outside. There's no way around it, the news of your killing Qiu Yue is too exciting. Many righteous cultivators are still cheering ecstatically, and many people are still shouting your name.

Not only in the Heavenly Demon Sect, but righteous cultivators all over Qingzhou are cheering the news of your killing Qiu Yue!

For example, in Heishui County's Heishui Market. When Immortal Ni Chang witnessed you kill Qiu Yue with her own eyes, she was completely dumbfounded, constantly murmuring: "Qiu Yue is dead, Changqing actually won, Changqing defeated Qiu Yue."

There's no way around it, Qiu Yue has always been synonymous with invincibility. You personally killed Qiu Yue. Many people's first reaction is disbelief and incredulity.

Then, after finally confirming that you killed Qiu Yue, Immortal Ni Chang cheered excitedly. She had only one thought in her mind: no more people will die. In the past ten years, countless people recruited by the City Lord's Mansion have died, but after you killed Qiu Yue, no more people will have to die.

Finally, Immortal Ni Chang decides to hold a grand banquet back at the mansion to celebrate your victory over Qiu Yue and the victory of the righteous path. It can be said that the entire Heishui Market is filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Heishui Market, outer city, White Beard District.

A small alley, the third house on the left, this is Er Hei's home.

Er Hei is a small Qi training cultivator. He can't afford a house in the inner city, so he, his wife, and his son, a family of three, live in a small house in the White Beard District of the outer city.

At this moment, in the courtyard of the house, an eight or nine-year-old child is struggling to practice some moves, seemingly exhaling spiritual energy, while a woman in her thirties is sternly instructing him.

"Don't be lazy, earnestly exhale spiritual energy. You're lucky to have spiritual roots like your father, something that so many people can't even dream of. Why aren't you practicing diligently?"

"Don't you see what kind of world this is? Countless ordinary people outside who don't cultivate are being killed in droves. If you work hard now and become stronger in the future, you'll have a better chance of survival."

The woman instructs sternly, and the child nods as if he understands.

After another half hour, the child seems to be covered in sweat and can't hold on any longer. The woman feels a little unbearable, but she still puts on a cold face and continues to have the child practice the moves and exhale spiritual energy.

The woman actually knows that it must be very painful for her child to exhale spiritual energy at such a young age.

Because exhaling spiritual energy should start around the age of ten, when the child's body can initially accommodate spiritual energy.

Having the child start exhaling spiritual energy at the age of eight, when his body can barely accommodate it, is a form of torture.

But there's no way around it. Every day her husband comes home covered in blood, and the woman knows that the situation outside is becoming increasingly difficult.

Many of her husband's colleagues in the enforcement team have been killed by the demonic path.

Moreover, according to her husband, the demonic path is becoming increasingly powerful, and it's only a matter of time before Heishui Market is breached.

Therefore, the woman is steeling her heart and having the child exhale spiritual energy early.

Which mother wants to make her child suffer?

The woman is only doing this to give her child a better chance of survival in the future.

After another half hour, seeing the painful look on the child's face, the woman feels that it's enough and tells the child to rest for a while.

But the child shakes his head and says seriously: "Mother, I don't feel any pain. I will listen and exhale spiritual energy. Yesterday I went to play with Erhu and saw Erhu and Erhu's aunt crying. Later I found out that Erhu's dad was killed by the demonic path outside the day before yesterday, so I'm not afraid of pain. I want to exhale spiritual power and become stronger to protect you and dad!"

The child says very seriously. In fact, he is very afraid of pain, but after seeing Erhu crying yesterday, he suddenly didn't want to be afraid of pain anymore. He couldn't understand why Erhu's dad, a living person who was usually very nice to him and even bought him candied haws,

would suddenly be killed by the demonic path?

Demonic path, he doesn't understand what it is, he just occasionally hears his dad say that it's a group of very bad people who don't want them to live in peace.

The child just doesn't understand, why are these people so bad? Why do they have to kill other people when they are living peacefully?

"I want to protect dad and mom, kill the demonic path!" The child earnestly polishes his moves and exhales spiritual energy.

"Ping'er..." Seeing her child like this, the woman feels like crying. What a good child, and Erhu and Erhu's aunt next door, they are all very good people.

Originally a happy family, why is the world forcing them to live like this?

The woman turns around and silently looks at a lush silver-leaf tree in the courtyard.

This silver-leaf tree was planted more than ten years ago when she and her husband had just gotten married. At that time, it was just a small tree, but now it has grown to more than ten meters tall.

How good the days were more than ten years ago.

The woman looks at the leaves of the tree, feeling somewhat dazed. More than ten years ago, the demonic path hadn't attacked yet.

Although her husband is a small Qi training cultivator and can only afford to buy a house in the outer city, although life wasn't rich, the daily life was peaceful and made people feel hopeful, unlike now.

The woman suddenly sighs with a hint of despair in her heart. Those peaceful and stable days will never come back.

Even the future days may be more dangerous, after all, her husband once said that under the siege of the demonic path, the fall of Heishui Market is only a matter of time.

"Yueniang, Yueniang!"

Just as the woman is sighing in silence, suddenly, an extremely excited voice comes from outside the house.

Yueniang is the woman's nickname, and usually only her husband calls her that.

And this voice is also her husband's voice, Er Hei!

The woman turns her head, somewhat surprised. She hasn't heard her husband so excited and happy for a long time. What on earth is it?

"Yueniang, Yueniang, we won, no more people will die, the child is safe, Immortal Changqing led the righteous path to victory over the demonic path, and killed Qiu Yue!" Er Hei excitedly strides into the house, wanting to share this joy with his wife.

The woman is stunned when she hears this news.

She knows Qiu Yue, she knows that this person is the most remarkable figure in Qingzhou, very noble. It is said that under her leadership, the demonic path is pressing Qingzhou hard.

She also knows Immortal Changqing. A few days ago, after her husband came home, he always nagged her about this name, saying that Heishui Market was besieged by the demonic path not long ago, and this immortal was the one who relieved the siege.

But she doesn't quite understand what her husband is saying?

The woman is also a small Qi training cultivator, so of course she knows that in Qingzhou, Qiu Yue is the most invincible person. At this moment, suddenly hearing from her husband's words that someone killed Qiu Yue, the woman has a feeling of disbelief.

"That Immortal Changqing really killed Qiu Yue?"

"Really!"

"The righteous path won?"

"Really!"

"Can we go back to the stable life we had before? No death, no killing, just my daily peace."

"We're back!"

"Ping'er doesn't have to endure the pain of exhaling spiritual energy every day anymore?"

"Of course, Immortal Changqing led us to victory, our days will be very peaceful in the future, Ping'er certainly doesn't need to exhale spiritual energy now!"

The sun sets in the west. In the old and small courtyard, the woman and her husband ask and answer, and every time the woman asks, the husband will answer affirmatively. Finally, the woman can't ask anymore, she turns her head to look at the ignorant child in the courtyard, and suddenly bursts into tears.

She looks at the lush silver-leaf tree in the courtyard, and she has a feeling of happily dreaming, that she has really returned to the peaceful life of more than ten years ago.

"I have to build a temple for Immortal Changqing in the future. And offer him incense." The woman thinks.

Such things are happening all over Qingzhou. When they learned that you killed Qiu Yue, everyone was really excited and grateful. In fact, for many years, what many ordinary people wanted was just a stable life.

But a stable life is also very difficult. For example, in history, every change at the end of a dynasty is a major disaster. During the Kangxi period, an official went to take office in a certain county in Sichuan, but was frightened and came back, because that county was full of tigers. After the transition from the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, the people of Sichuan were almost extinct. Every time I read this, I burst into tears.

How many people died? That tigers would crawl all over the county!

Sometimes having a stable order, being able to live safely, is already what many people desire.

......

Heavenly Demon Sect, you stand at the high point of the palace. Silently watching those righteous cultivators who are cheering to their heart's content, you seem to see through these cheering people the people of Qingzhou's myriad homes, seeing them cheering for the coming peaceful and stable life. You sincerely hope that this is permanent. After a long time, you look back at the depths of the black palace behind you.

"I hope my inner unease is just an overreaction."

You think so, then you decide to find an elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect as soon as possible to ask about the stone house.