Chapter 393: Cruel Reality

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"Spare your life?" Zeng Yi looked indifferent as he stared at the head of the slave trader ring kneeling before him.

"But as a slave trader, have you ever thought about how many people you have harmed? How many families you have torn apart? At that time, did you spare them any mercy?"

Wang Erhu trembled as he knelt on the ground, fearfully pleading, "Honorable Spirit Master, I truly know my wrongs. I will never engage in slave trader again. I promise to turn over a new leaf and become a better person! Please spare this lowly man!"

"Spirit Master! Spare me this once!"

Wang Erhu suddenly looked up, putting on a pitiful expression on his menacing face.

Zeng Yi couldn't help but hesitate.

What should I do? Kill these people?

But Zeng Yi had never killed anyone before. He couldn't believe what he would look like when he killed someone.

However, if he let these people go, they might continue to harm others in the future, wouldn't he be committing a crime then?

Why am I fighting? 

To save people? To kill people?

Redemption and slaughter, two opposing extremes, yet closely linked.

At this moment, Zeng Yi couldn't help but doubt himself.

Wang Erhu noticed Zeng Yi's hesitation, and in that moment, a fierce expression flashed in his bulging eyes. His hand subtly reached behind him.

"Die, you little brat!"

While Zeng Yi hesitated, Wang Erhu drew out a sharp dagger and ruthlessly stabbed it towards Zeng Yi's chest.

Splat~

In the blink of an eye, blood splattered in the air.

Warm blood sprayed on Zeng Yi's face as he held his Martial Spirit [Ronin Sword] in his right hand, watching the hand holding the dagger fly off and drop to the ground.

In a sudden attack, Zeng Yi instinctively summoned his Martial Spirit, cutting off the man's hand with one slash.

"Ah! My hand!!!"

Wang Erhu looked at his severed wrist in horror, retreating in fear.

On his pain-contorted, pale face, he cried out like a madman.

Yet as he shouted, his laughter became manic.

"Hahaha—damn brat, go ahead and kill me! Even if I die, I'll become a vengeful spirit and devour your flesh and blood!"

With tears in his eyes, bloodshot eyes appearing ferocious, his contorted face split open, revealing a deranged laugh, like a crazy vengeful spirit.

"You despicable Nobles, born with everything you desire, powerful talents, abundant resources, easily becoming Spirit Masters! How could you understand the experiences we've been through!"

"Bullied and oppressed by you Nobles, treated as lower beings! Even if we possess spirit power, without the resources to cultivate, we have to become your lackeys to become Spirit Masters! You look down upon us, treat us like ants, and no matter how hard we try, we can never reach your level!"

"Do you think I wanted to engage in this despicable trade? It's your Noble people who forced me! I need money! I need resources to cultivate!"

"You Nobles with no accomplishments have made numerous dark deals behind the scenes to satisfy your twisted pleasures! Though I am a slave trader! You Noble people are the root of this evil!"

As Zeng Yi looked at the emotionally furious, crazed, and broken slave trader ringleader, he couldn't help but feel some sympathy for him after hearing his words.

Having just come out of the village, Zeng Yi also started to see this unfamiliar world in a new light.

Perhaps what he said was true, but what did it have to do with himself?

Because he was not a Noble, he was just an ordinary commoner, nothing special.

"Perhaps those Nobles deserve to die, but that is not an excuse for your evil deeds!" Zeng Yi said indifferently, observing the disheveled Wang Erhu.

"In this cruel world, the law of the jungle is unchanging. Only with strong power can one control everything. Thank you for teaching me such a lesson."

Zeng Yi looked at the broken Wang Erhu, raised the sword in his hand.

"And I am stronger than you, so I have the power to pass judgment on you, right?"

"Furthermore, I am not a Noble! I am not a Spirit Master, just an ordinary Spirit Scholar without a spirit ring!"

With a glint of cold light, the sword swung down.

Splat~

Bloody flowers splattered as the robust body toppled to the ground, life force beginning to fade away.

Zeng Yi widened his eyes, watching the lifeless slave trader ringleader on the ground, his heart pounding, his chest rising and falling.

I... I killed someone!

Zeng Yi couldn't dare believe it as he stared at his own hands, the hands stained with crimson blood.

For the first time killing someone, Zeng Yi didn't feel any uneasiness. The rapidly beating heart in his chest told him that he was excited.

Killing someone actually made him feel excited. Could it be that his true nature was that of a killer?

Zeng Yi shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

He didn't regret killing them, as these people deserved to die! If he didn't have this ability, he would have fallen into their hands, being treated as merchandise and sold, subjected to inhumane treatment.

This was no longer the world he was familiar with. Only with strong power could he protect himself.

Zeng Yi put away his sword and dealt with the other two slave traders, then walked towards the girl.

The crouched girl, upon seeing Zeng Yi approaching with a sword, felt a sense of fear in her empty eyes. He was just a child about the same age as her, yet he could kill without any hesitation, which frightened her.

Even if the person killed was a bad person, it still made her uneasy. But this boy who killed, made her even more afraid.

Zeng Yi paused, looking at the fearful girl. He stood in front of her, squatting down, and revealed a bright smile on his face, like the sun. He reached out his hand and gently stroked her dirty hair, warmth in his voice as he said, "It's alright now. Those bad people won't hurt you anymore. Don't worry!"

The girl was stunned, raising her head and looking into the empty eyes of the smiling boy. She had never felt such warmth before!

This person was like the sun, dispersing the darkness that surrounded her, pulling her out of an abyss of endless darkness.

"So warm..."

Looking at Zeng Yi's smile, tears silently streamed down the girl's cheeks. Her empty eyes regained some color.

In the moonlight of the night, by the flickering campfire, two figures sat next to each other.

Beside the quiet campfire, the occasional crackling of the burning charcoal could be heard. Zeng Yi sat on a stone, watching the girl across from him.

That dirty girl, Zeng Yi took her to a nearby river to wash up and gave her his clothes, even though they were a bit loose for the thin girl.

The girl sat by the campfire, holding a steamed bun in both hands and eating with great exaggeration, as if she hadn't eaten for several days.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Due to eating too quickly, the girl choked and started coughing. Zeng Yi saw this and couldn't help but find it funny. He took out a water bottle and handed it to her.

The girl didn't thank him, she just took the water bottle and desperately poured the water into her mouth.

"Sorry, all I have is steamed buns." Zeng Yi said apologetically.

The girl put down the water bottle, looked at the steamed bun in her hand, and shook her head.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Oh, by the way, what's your name?" Zeng Yi asked.

After taking a bite of the steamed bun, the girl replied, "Xiao Yu, my name is Luo Xiaoyu."

"Luo Xiaoyu? What a lovely name, hehe."

Zeng Yi smiled and looked at her. Then he asked, "By the way, where is your home? Let me take you back. Your family must be very worried about you, being captured by slave traders."

Zeng Yi thought for a moment. Since he had already saved her, he might as well see it through and take her home. It would only delay his journey for a bit, which wasn't a big deal.

After all, he wasn't in a rush. After all, he was lost himself now.

However, when the girl heard Zeng Yi's words, her eyes suddenly contracted, and she fell silent.

Zeng Yi also noticed that something seemed off with the girl and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

The girl gripped the steamed bun tightly and licked her dry lips, her voice trembling.

"I don't have a home anymore."

Zeng Yi was stunned.

"What happened?" Zeng Yi asked urgently, beginning to speculate.

Could it be that her family was destroyed by those slave traders?

Thinking of this, an immense anger surged within Zeng Yi.

Tears silently streamed down the girl's face, falling onto the dry steamed bun. She spoke with a trembling voice, "My home is in a remote village, and a drought struck there."

"Because of the drought, all the crops in the village withered, without any harvest, making it difficult for my family to survive this season."

"My family still has two younger brothers, and in order to make a living, they sold me to the slave traders."

"So, I have no home."

The girl's words were like thunder, striking directly at Zeng Yi's heart, freezing him in place.

Zeng Yi widened his eyes, finding it hard to believe. He thought his speculation was already cruel enough, yet he didn't expect reality to be even more cruel!

Her own biological parents treated her like merchandise and sold her!

Damn it!

Zeng Yi forcibly suppressed his anger, clasping his hands into fists, his body trembling slightly.

Luo Xiaoyu crouched on the ground, burying her face in her knees, her body heaving as she silently sobbed.