The Cost of Survival: Mortals' Desperate Fight for Life

The room fell silent as a young boy timidly spoke up, his voice betraying his fear. "Mr. Cao, does this mean the sacrifice is inevitable? Is there truly no hope for us?" The old man met his gaze with a solemn nod. "Yes, my child. When the time comes, they will demand mortals from this world."

A wave of despondency washed over the group, their spirits crushed by the inevitability of their fate. "However," he continued, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "who says there is no hope for us?" His words seemed to hang in the air, tantalizingly full of possibility.

With a sudden burst of energy, he rose from his chair, gesturing for the crowd to gather closer. "You see, my friends," he began, his voice rising in excitement, "I promised you a real story, and every great story needs a hero. And let me tell you, we had one - a hero who was the very embodiment of hope for our people."

He laughed. His laughter boomed through the room, carrying with it a sense of joy and relief from the weight of their previous helplessness. A ripple of interest and curiosity coursed through the assembled crowd, their attention now fully focused on the old man's words.

"Make no mistake, my friends," he continued, his voice growing more animated by the moment, "our people were all but abandoned by the immortal world when we needed their help the most. They stood by, watching as we were devoured by demons, doing nothing to aid us."

But as he spoke of the demons who preyed upon their kind, his voice grew thick with anger. "The immortals watched us suffer, content to let us be devoured. But the heavens, they could not abandon us. And so, they sent us a savior, one unexpected by all - even the mighty immortals themselves."

A hush fell over the group, their curiosity piqued. "Don't leave us hanging," they implored. "Who did the heavens send?"

The old man's head lifted proudly, a glint in his eye as he spoke the words that would change their fate. "A demon, hidden beneath the skin of a human."

Everyone, including Zhang Wei, was surprised when the old man referred to the hero of his story as a demon. This piqued their interest, but Zhang Wei noticed the young boy returning from his search for Qin Tian outside the tavern. He was surprised that the boy had returned so quickly, estimating that it had only been half an hour. It seemed that the boy was not a fraud, as Zhang Wei had initially suspected. If he was a fraud, he would have just run away with the money Zhang Wei had given him to search for Qin Tian.

Despite his curiosity about the story, Zhang Wei knew his priority was to find Qin Tian. Looking around the tavern, Zhang Wei tried to find a table far from the noisy crowd gathered around old man Cao. But seeing that all the tables were occupied, he decided to meet the boy outside.

Zhang Wei got up and started walking, unnoticed by the crowd engrossed in the story. He stood outside the entrance, and from afar, the boy saw him coming out and was somewhat suspicious about whether he was really blind or not. It seemed to him that Zhang Wei had come out at the very moment when he was approaching. The boy hurried his footsteps and reached Zhang Wei shortly. When he stopped, he heard Zhang Wei saying, "You have returned very quickly. Did you find the person or just come back without any news?"

The boy looked at Zhang Wei and curiously asked, "Mister, are you really blind? How did you know I had come?"

Zhang Wei grinned and offered a plausible excuse. "Oh, it's just a coincidence. The noise inside the tavern was unbearable, so I stepped outside to wait for some fresh air. And, voila! There you were." He paused, then inquired, "But what about the person? Any luck finding him?"

Although the young boy was still suspicious, he did not ask any further questions. It was evident that despite being young, he was quite smart and knew what to inquire about and what to avoid. The boy answered Zhang Wei's question and said, "Yes, I have found where he is staying. The person you are looking for is very famous. He is a top player in the Hell Arena, and his stake is significant during betting."

Zhang Wei had a somewhat confused expression, and seeing that the young boy knew Zhang Wei did not know what the Hell Arena was, he explained, "The Hell Arena is a place where warriors can fight each other. In every battle, the winner will get ten silver coins. There is also a betting system where people can bet on their favorite warriors. It is very popular among both the audience and the warriors. The warriors are also very eager to fight here because, in addition to winning a reward, they can get ten percent of the cut of each audience's bet if they win the battle. So, most of the time, the winner can get 20 to 30 silver tales from each winning battle. Besides, if a warrior can win 20 consecutive victories, he will get an additional 100 silver as a reward. It is a shortcut for warriors to get rich quickly. The Qin Tian you have been looking for has won eight consecutive victories in three days, so he is quite popular among people who want to bet on him."

Zhang Wei also understood the general situation with this and knew why Qin Tian is fighting in such a place. He was sure that it was because of the money. Zhang Wei said to the boy, "Okay, take me to the place where he is staying."

The boy said, "He is staying in an inn near the arena. You follow me; I will take you there," and started walking. Zhang Wei followed behind him at a moderate pace.

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