Zhang Yong slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry for a moment, but at least he felt solid ground beneath him. That meant he had exited the spatial tunnel somewhere.
He felt a sharp pain in his head, as if his nerve cells had been torn apart.
"Where...?" he murmured faintly, trying to adjust his blurred vision.
Slowly, the features of the place became clear. He was in a vast, dense forest. The trees were black, the leaves were purple, and there was a strange feeling of familiarity with this place. The place was cold and filled with the scent of killing and death.
Zhang Yong raised his eyes to the sky and used the Heavenly Eyes, then smiled. "Unexpectedly, the Law of Death."
Zhang Yong looked around and noticed a body near him. It was Wu Ruoxian.
Then Zhang Yong looked at his hand and noticed black particles quietly entering his body. He then turned his gaze toward the system window that emerged.
(Detection of the Law of Death in the vicinity. Wherever Death Qi exists, the host's power increases.)
(The host's power and all techniques related to Death Qi have been enhanced.)
Zhang Yong stood quietly and calmly activated the Death Qi until it gathered in his palm. The Death Qi appeared much more condensed, and perhaps due to this, his body's healing ability had increased, allowing him to wake up first.
Zhang Yong's face turned cold as he looked at Wu Ruoxian. He extended his hand, and the Dagger of Death appeared in his palm, instantly coated with Death Qi, forming a long sword.
It was time to get rid of Wu Ruoxian.
When he got close enough, he placed the sword above her head, ready to end her life with one strike. But before he could bring down the sword—
"Husband!" Long Yulian's voice came from behind.
Zhang Yong's body stiffened for a moment when he heard Long Yulian's voice, and he slowly turned toward her.
Long Yulian ran toward him, and when she reached him, she suddenly stopped and looked at him with a clear frown. Then she raised her hands and started punching his shoulder.
She was venting her frustration. Although her punches weren't painful, her expression suggested she was genuinely angry.
Her frowning expression was especially cute. She looked like a little child.
"You made us all think you were dead. Why did you do that?" she shouted angrily, continuing to hit him.
There was a hint of tears at the corners of her eyes.
Zhang Yong looked at her silently for a moment.
Zhang Yong stood silently, enduring her light punches, but his eyes remained cold and expressionless.
'Will I have to kill her too? No, there's a risk that something marks the killer, not to mention she might have a means of protection since she's from a Golden Family—' Zhang Yong thought deeply before his train of thought was cut off.
Suddenly, without warning, she rushed toward him and hugged him tightly. Long Yulian buried her face in his chest, clutching his robe firmly. "You idiot, I was so scared…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Zhang Yong felt her body tremble slightly, but he remained expressionless. He shrunk the sword in his hand and prepared to stab Long Yulian from behind, but suddenly his arm stopped, and a nostalgic feeling washed over him for a moment.
After a few moments, Long Yulian composed herself and moved her head back a little to look at him. When she noticed he wasn't returning her embrace, she let out a soft sigh and slowly moved away from him, but she kept a very close distance, as if afraid he might actually disappear now.
"You two are really enjoying acting like this while there are people unconscious?" Wu Ruoxian's voice appeared behind them.
He slowly turned toward Wu Ruoxian, who had sat up and was holding her head as if suffering from dizziness.
"You woke up faster than I expected," he said calmly.
Wu Ruoxian sighed, then quickly looked around, ignoring Zhang Yong's comment. "What is this place?"
"The Land of the Law of Death. The spatial tunnel pulled us too far, into the inner rings of the Heavenly Boundary World," Zhang Yong explained calmly.
Wu Ruoxian grabbed her chin and began thinking. "When the Void Body exploded, I'm sure it caused a catastrophe within a radius of dozens of kilometers. I'm afraid the others have already scattered."
Zhang Yong thought for a moment before concluding, "There's also the possibility that those other bastards have been transported to this place, but considering how vast the areas are, I doubt we'll meet them anytime soon."
"That means we're alone now," Wu Ruoxian said as she slowly stood up, regaining her balance.
Zhang Yong turned his gaze upward to the sky before sighing.
"So, what's the plan?" Wu Ruoxian asked, brushing some dust off her robe.
At that moment, a loud stomach rumble sounded. Silence prevailed for a moment after the sound, before Long Yulian's face slowly reddened.
Wu Ruoxian, noticing her expression, raised an eyebrow with slight mockery. "Hah, you can't handle a little hunger?" She was clearly teasing her.
Zhang Yong quietly rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh, then Zhang Yong smiled lightly: "Let's eat first. We'll talk after the meal."
The three sat under a huge tree with a black trunk and purple leaves.
Zhang Yong extended his hand, and lamb legs appeared floating in the air. Then the Great Sun Essence Flame rose and instantly grilled the meat right in front of them.
The aroma of grilled meat spread through the air, making Long Yulian silently swallow her saliva.
Zhang Yong didn't rush the conversation, patiently waiting for the meat to cook completely.
When he started cutting it, he handed a piece to Long Yulian, who took it immediately without hesitation, though she tried to pretend she didn't care.
As for Wu Ruoxian, she hesitated for a moment before taking her share.
While Long Yulian was devouring her food, she looked toward Zhang Yong and asked after swallowing a bite, "So, what are we going to do now? Should we look for the others?"
Zhang Yong paused for a moment before answering, "Looking for them might be futile. This area is extremely vast. If they're here, we'll meet them sooner or later. So I'm planning to spend some time here. One of the goals of my coming here was to understand the Law of Death, and since I'm here, I'll take the opportunity."
When they heard his decision, Long Yulian showed no clear objection, but Wu Ruoxian tilted her head slightly, thinking about his words, then asked, "Isn't understanding the laws a waste of time since you don't have spiritual energy to follow a specific path?"
Long Yulian looked in astonishment at Wu Ruoxian and couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by him not having spiritual energy?"
Wu Ruoxian looked toward Zhang Yong as if seeking his permission to reveal this. Although it wasn't a secret in his sect, an individual's reputation still mattered.
Zhang Yong met Wu Ruoxian's gaze for a moment before calmly looking away from her, then said calmly, "I don't really care if you know or not."
Wu Ruoxian nodded slightly before turning back to Long Yulian. "Zhang Yong can't use spiritual energy. His dantian is broken."
After a moment of silence, Long Yulian's expression froze slightly, then she looked toward Zhang Yong with wide eyes. "Broken dantian...?" she murmured quietly.
She couldn't believe it because a person's survival rate without a dantian was low. It wasn't as if he would die immediately.
But the damage he would sustain might be enough to keep him bedridden forever if not treated in time.
This information was correct. When Zhang Yong's dantian was broken, the Tree of Life did its job and saved him. But even its healing had limits.
It could only heal wounds and internal injuries, but critical injuries like severed limbs were almost impossible to heal.
Long Yulian closed her eyes for a moment, trying to absorb his words, then said slowly, "So... does that mean you rely on something else? A body refinement technique? Or perhaps..." She suddenly stopped as if an uncomfortable thought occurred to her. "You follow the demonic path?"
A look of worry appeared in Wu Ruoxian's eyes, because the answer was close, and she was the one who knew most about Zhang Yong, at least about his body structure and the Death Qi within him.
But who was Long Yulian?
She was the daughter of one of the empire's five golden families, and she also possessed the Fire Law Body. Who knows what she might do when she learns Zhang Yong uses demonic path means, since she belongs to the righteous path?
Therefore, Wu Ruoxian didn't consider Long Yulian as anything more than an intruder on them.
But this could also be used to prompt Zhang Yong to leave with her, but the damage to Zhang Yong would be great then.
Because instead of just the sect chasing him if her plan to make him a fugitive succeeded—
If she informed Long Yulian of this, undoubtedly, the entire empire would begin the pursuit. There was an official law to pursue followers of the demonic path, to the extent that all the continent's sects would chase him.
Wu Ruoxian didn't know exactly how the golden family's daughter thought, but she knew she wasn't naive.
"No need to think too much about it," he said calmly, before taking a bite of his food. "It's a body refinement technique."
They sat in silence for a few moments, while Long Yulian stared at Zhang Yong, then she let out a short sigh and took another bite of meat before saying, "Alright, I won't pry further, but if you need anything, tell me."
Zhang Yong looked at her for a moment, then silently turned his face away from her. He had lost hope of trying to push this girl away. He had no choice but to ignore her.
After a while, they had finished eating, and all leaned against the shade of the tree.
Zhang Yong sat cross-legged, slightly closing his eyes, and began meditating on the flow of Death Qi around him, starting to understand the Law of Death.
Long Yulian was still staring at him. After a few moments of silence, she asked, "So… how long have you been without a dantian?" she asked quietly.
She was curious about Zhang Yong. Without a dantian, he stood as an equal to sect geniuses. If he still had his dantian, wouldn't he be stronger? If so, why hadn't his name spread before?
Zhang Yong didn't respond immediately, but looked at the sky for a few moments before saying coldly, "A long time ago."
The answer wasn't enough to satisfy Long Yulian's curiosity, but she didn't pressure him further.
Instead, her gaze seemed very quiet before her eyes narrowed for a moment and she asked, "Zhang Yong, can you really not accept me?"
Zhang Yong's eyes narrowed and he sighed in annoyance. "This talk again? I told you, no matter how many times you say it, I won't."
Zhang Yong looked at Long Yulian coldly. The situation was starting to become annoying.
"I really don't understand you. You're the daughter of a golden family, you have the Fire Law Body, you have a family that cares for you and provides you with resources. You could simply choose anyone else for your future, while I have none of this. I have no background, no future, no talent—so why do you care this much about someone like me?"
Long Yulian didn't hesitate. She stared steadily at Zhang Yong before saying calmly, "And what's strange about someone like you? So what if you don't have any of this? You're a hundred times better than anyone from other families or talents."
Zhang Yong was silent for a moment, then slowly sighed. "You're just digging your own grave. How do you know I won't exploit you or even kill you?"
Long Yulian stared at Zhang Yong with serious eyes, showing no hesitation. "If you exploit me, that's my choice. And if you kill me, so be it, but I'm sure you won't. If you wanted to, you would have done it a long time ago instead of rejecting me every time."
Zhang Yong looked at her silently for a few moments before turning his face away from her. "You're too naive." A hint of mockery appeared in his voice.
Despite his words, Long Yulian didn't back down. On the contrary, she smiled calmly before saying, "Perhaps, but I won't change my mind."
After a while, her eyes began to feel heavy, and she tried to stay awake, but couldn't resist the drowsiness that suddenly overwhelmed her. After that fight that lasted hours and the injuries she sustained, she had already exhausted her energy.
"I… just… want… to understand you more…" she murmured quietly before finally closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep.
Zhang Yong looked toward her before a sarcastic expression appeared on his face. "This girl is foolish."
"From my perspective, she's not the only fool here," Wu Ruoxian said, her voice carrying some sarcasm.
He didn't respond to Wu Ruoxian's comment immediately. He raised his head to look at the dark sky, where stars shone clearly amidst strangely scattered clouds. After a moment of silence, he said calmly, "If you have something to say, say it directly. No need to beat around the bush."
Wu Ruoxian smiled faintly, then leaned against the tree trunk while watching Long Yulian with an unreadable gaze. "This girl is ready to give up everything for you, yet you treat her as if she's just a problem to be gotten rid of. She's not the only one—it's the same for me, too."
Zhang Yong didn't seem affected by her words. "That's not my problem."
Wu Ruoxian laughed softly. "Perhaps, but... you push others away from you. It's as if you're avoiding them because you're afraid, or you fear building many relationships."
Zhang Yong looked at her coldly, but in his eyes there was a shadow of deep thought. She was right.
For Zhang Yong, the fewer relationships he formed, the easier it was for him to protect what mattered to him.
No, he couldn't protect those he wanted, but the most he could do was minimize the damage.
After a moment of silence, he said quietly, "That's none of your business."
Wu Ruoxian laughed again, but didn't respond directly. She closed her eyes for a moment before saying, "Do you know the story of the ancestor of humanity, the Black Tortoise?"
Zhang Yong looked at Wu Ruoxian with an unimpressed expression, but he simply let her talk.
"When the tortoise sank beneath the earth and hasn't emerged to this day—
She felt extremely lonely. She wanted to have a steadfast heart, but for someone accustomed to others around her,
How could she learn to be alone? So she spent her time watching others from afar.
And upon seeing the struggles on earth caused by humans against each other, her heart was truly pained, to the point that her tears fell, and as a result, earthquakes occurred.
She thought that if humans faced problems, they would unite, but even when calamities struck, they were happy about others' calamities.
And this didn't even work; it only made her suffer more.
In the end, she felt she shouldn't watch anymore and wanted to close her eyes, but her eyes were part of the earth—it was impossible.
So, for the first time, she made a bold decision and damaged her own sight.
After suffering from the heartache she experienced, her heart became unwavering because she got used to the pain, but with her acclimation to it, all her other feelings gradually disappeared.
In the end, when the ability to see tormented her, she decided that losing it was better than having it."
Zhang Yong looked at her with an almost annoyed expression. "These are just unrealistic stories."
Wu Ruoxian smiled calmly. "For me, I think they're realistic. I think the reason you push everyone away is that you already have a broken parts that every try to gather and fix it hurt more , so even if it's just a fragment, allow me—...allow us a part of it."
Zhang Yong looked at her silently before looking away' These two girls... both of them were fools. They spoke as if they knew everything'
But what they said was true.
He was in pain. His heart was broken, perhaps. Love is painful, but to love what hurts you is nothing but foolishness.
But was Zhang Yong foolish? Perhaps, but he no longer wanted to experience that feeling, because he felt that if he did, there would be no return from the damage.
Zhang Yong looked at these two girls, first at Long Yulian. They barely knew each other well, yet she was already ready to burn her life just for revenge, Was Zhang Yong so important to her that she would spend her life so recklessly?
Then Zhang Yong turned his gaze toward Wu Ruoxian. She was already asleep as well.
On the other hand, it had been about a year since he met her, and those moments were absurd. He even began to wonder if he had met her in her first life, how the situation would have been.
She too had gone through a lot with him. They fought together, went through life-or-death situations, but Zhang Yong didn't harbor any hatred toward her at all.
'Is it possible to coexist with a Child of Fortune? Is there any need to really kill her?' Zhang Yong couldn't help but think inwardly before looking at the system window he summoned.
(Mission
Difficulty: +B
Description: Challenge the Heavens
Requirement: Kill Wu Ruoxian
Reward:
A Skill from the Child of Fortune
Rare Upgrade Card
[Do you want to accept the mission? Yes/No])
Until now, Zhang Yong had left this mission pending, neither accepting nor rejecting it.
Then his eyes caught on two options, Yes or No.
He had already been given the choice not to treat her as an enemy. So, perhaps it wasn't necessary to take all Children of Fortune as enemies.
Perhaps he could truly heal, he could truly—
'Pathetic.'