Chapter 84. When the relationship becomes known to everyone...
The sky was overcast, like a stone pressing down on people's hearts.
In his dazed state, Gu Jia felt himself being helped to walk. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar face.
Zhong Fei?
He opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat burning like fire, and each word seemed to consume a tremendous amount of his mental and physical strength: "They..."
Zhong Fei's nose tingled, and he gripped Gu Jia's hand on his shoulder again. He said in a hoarse voice, "We're back."
Hearing this, Gu Jia finally felt relieved. He looked around at the scenery and realized that although it was indeed a path leading up the mountain, the journey was far too quiet.
The silence made Gu Jia realize that something was wrong. He thought to himself, "Isn't Li Qing the most mischievous kid? Why is he so quiet now?"
Gu Jia suddenly remembered what Zhong Fei had said:
—We're back.
us?
Who are we referring to? Aren't we referring to him and Li Qing?
Zhong Fei felt Gu Jia's hand on his shoulder suddenly tighten. The pain aggravated his wound, making his already pale face even more unsightly. But he didn't say anything. He used to cry loudly when a rock hit his head, but now he gritted his teeth and didn't even groan.
A silent silence spread between the two. After Zhong Fei nearly stumbled and fell, Gu Jia suddenly realized what was happening and let go of his hand. Zhong Fei's reaction made him understand everything.
Gu Jia closed his eyes, and after a long while, he asked in a trembling voice, "When...did he get involved with Yu Huo?"
“Before you arrived,” Zhong Fei said, his voice choked with emotion.
Before the formation in the Abyss expanded, not everyone was in the Guanlan Sect.
In order to train their disciples, Guanlan Sect would regularly assign them tasks to encourage them to leave the sect and train themselves. Zhong Fei and Li Qing happened to leave Guanlan Sect before the formation expanded.
Li Qing is Li Zhishan's younger brother. When Gu Jia learned that he was still outside, he did not hesitate to go find them. Although he found them successfully, he suffered many attacks from the Skeleton Demons along the way. Gu Jia was injured while protecting the two and eventually fell into a coma.
He never expected that the person he tried so hard to save had already been sentenced to death before he even found him, and even chose to die outside the sect so as not to be a burden to them.
Gu Jia dared not think about how Li Qing could endure the excruciating pain of being burned alive by the fire, and how she could pretend that nothing had happened in front of him.
He only hated himself for being so weak, and for not finding Li Qing sooner.
"Senior Brother Gu is back—"
Suddenly, a joyful cheer came from above, and the next second Gu Jia was in a familiar embrace.
"Gu'er! How are you?!"
It was his father's voice.
It felt as if a fire was burning inside him, causing pain throughout his body, to the very core of his being, and even plunging his consciousness into endless darkness.
…………
The ceremony was drawing near, and the situation on each continent had stabilized somewhat. Although the situation of the Skeleton Demon was still not to be underestimated, at least the most basic roads had been cleared. All the major powers sent people to observe the ceremony, and the different responses each continent had to this disaster could be seen from the people they sent.
The best place to deal with the Skeleton Demon is undoubtedly the Southern Kingdom, as not a single one can be seen in the Imperial City to this day. Surprisingly, the Western Continent ranks second only to the Southern Kingdom.
I thought that the Western Continent would be the least fortified continent because the various forces there disliked each other and fought their own battles. But I never expected that the way the Demon Lord said he would "persuade" those forces would be to reunite them with lightning speed and become the hegemon of the Western Continent in every sense of the word.
Qin Moyu still remembered that when the Demon Lord was asked how to persuade and balance the major forces, he raised an eyebrow with a hint of doubt and replied nonchalantly, "Beat them into submission."
"Huh? But, how did you manage to defeat so many factions in such a short time?"
Shen Yu asked naively, and even Shen Sheng, who had been quietly drinking tea next to him, couldn't help but look at the Demon Lord with undisguised curiosity in his eyes.
"Why fight every single faction? Beat the strongest ones until they dare not resist. The rest aren't stupid; they'll know what to choose. Besides, they're not unaware of my methods." The Demon Lord sneered, emphasizing the word "methods."
She didn't say anything, yet she inexplicably sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.
If these forces could truly be subdued through force, Shen Mo would have already challenged each of the major powers in the Western Continent one by one. He wouldn't still have half of the forces left unsubdued after so long of planning. This shows that the Demon Lord's ability to integrate the Western Continent's forces so quickly is not only due to her strength, but also largely due to the prestige she left behind when she ruled the Western Continent. Therefore, even after so many years, no one dares to defy her.
It is said that a disorganized group is the easiest to defeat. With the Demon Lord as the apparent leader, the various forces in the Western Continent would obey orders to help other forces, even if they were unwilling. Under the joint suppression, the Western Continent's skeleton demons did not become too rampant.
Therefore, the people sent by the various forces in the Western Continent to observe the ceremony were the strongest of them all—after all, if the situation were bad, the strongest people from each of the major forces would be stationed at their headquarters and wouldn't have time to come and observe the ceremony.
Shen Sheng had been troubled by these people for a while, since the stronger they were, the more disobedient they were. If they caused trouble in the capital, it would be a real problem. But when they actually arrived, they were more obedient than quails. It was obvious that the Demon Lord had warned them before he came, which made all of Shen Sheng's plans fall through. Now that he had nothing to do, he had time to drink tea with Shen Yu here.
As the group was chatting, a guard suddenly arrived with a message.
"Your Majesty!" The guard instinctively wanted to call him "Your Majesty" when he saw Shen Sheng, but fortunately he changed his words in time before he could finish speaking. He hurriedly handed over a letter and left in a hurry.
After taking off his dragon robe, Shen Sheng casually changed into a fine garment. Although his features were gentle, he still retained the air of someone who had long held a high position, which was why the guards momentarily forgot that he was no longer the emperor.
Shen Sheng didn't mind the guard's slip of the tongue. He opened the letter, glanced at it, and then looked up to say, "A message has come from Dongzhou."
As he spoke, Shen Sheng handed the letter to Qin Moyu.
Such confidential reports are usually not shown to outsiders, but he knew that Qin Moyu was anxious to know the news from Dongzhou, and would definitely prefer to see it himself rather than be told by him.
Qin Moyu glanced gratefully at Shen Sheng, who simply shook his head.
Shen Sheng took a sip of tea, feeling Shen Yu's questioning gaze, and thought to himself: Anyway, we're all family.