Chapter 1969

What could Fan Shuang say? The situation has descended into chaos—who can see clearly the great trend of this world at a glance?

"Then, according to Father, where would be best to go?"

Father Fan was at a loss for words.

At this moment, Lady Wang felt a stifling oppression in her chest; Fan Shuang's medicinal pills were exhausted, so he had to go out to fetch a prescription for her.

Stepping out of the guesthouse, his gaze swept over the notice board, where the topmost posting was a recruitment announcement, ink flowing freely, the gist being:

Three thousand years ago, the Dragon God fought shoulder to shoulder with the host of immortals, finally repelling the heavenly demons, yet the Dragon God was gravely wounded and unable to endure, ultimately perishing on the Flash Gold Plains;

Three thousand years later, the heavenly demons returned in force, transforming into deities who manipulated the state of Yao, bringing chaos to Flash Gold and persecuting all living beings, causing the common people to suffer hunger and cold, their lives as cheap as grass, and the stronger their influence, the more they harmed the world while currying favor with the heavenly demons.

The Dragon God pitied mankind and returned to battle in the human realm, yet as long as these two evils remain, the common folk of Flash Gold will never know a single day of peace. The Dragon God summoned the aspiring and talented of Flash Gold to fight shoulder to shoulder with him, to jointly eradicate evil, drive out demons, and defend their homeland.

Those who help themselves, Heaven helps.

Those who save themselves, Heaven saves.

After reading it, Fan Shuang drew a long, cold breath.

He had long known what was written on the notice, but the general populace remained unaware.

He Huo, or rather, the Nine Nether Great Emperor had actually thrust all of this into the public eye, shoved it under the noses of the common folk, and even pointed the spearhead at the heavenly gods!

The most widely worshipped deity on the Flash Gold Plains is Miao Zhantian, yet folk gods vary across regions. The Nine Nether Great Emperor actually declared them all to be heavenly demons, the very source of chaos in Flash Gold—

Had this been half a year ago, whoever dared to do this would surely have been drowned in spit.

But now it is different—the Dragon God slew Miao Zhantian, and the Black Armored Army leveled countless shrines.

As the sole true god to have ever appeared in this world, the Dragon God indeed has the qualification to say to all heavenly demons: You are all false gods!

But how, exactly, did all of this come to pass? Fan Shuang stood dazed before the notice for a good while, unable to figure it out no matter how he thought.

Ah, right—buy medicine.

He hurriedly rushed to the pharmacy, but glancing back, he again saw that dark, thin man lurking in the crowd, staring at him.

"Go see what that person is up to."

He ordered the guard beside him, but the dark, thin man slipped away in the blink of an eye.

……

That night, the three members of the Fan family slept soundly.

Wearied by days of toil, mentally exhausted and anxious, they sank into dreamland the moment their heads touched the pillows.

Tonight the moonlight was dim and obscure, as two shadows slipped silently toward Fan Shuang's guest room.

Fan Shuang was reasonably cautious; before sleep, he had activated defensive barriers on both guest rooms using magical devices. Yet these two somehow managed to stir things up without triggering the barrier alarm, and gently pushed the door open.

Fan Shuang was in deep sleep when the two slipped in, one driving a dagger straight at his throat, the other clapping a hand over his mouth to prevent him from crying out.

But then a tremendous clang rang out from outside, shaking the entire inn.

Fan Shuang was instantly jolted awake; opening his eyes, he just caught the glint of the dagger's blade, instinctively shrank back, let out a loud cry, and immediately a burst of strong light exploded from his body, hurling the two attackers violently backward.

The protective magical device had taken effect.

By the light of that burst, Fan Shuang also made out their faces clearly and exclaimed in shock: "Hu Xu, Qian Ziwei?"

His voice was full of astonishment, for these two were precisely the guards of the Fan family trio!

"You've gone mad—why are you trying to kill me!"

The old guard Father Fan had brought from Shui Shui City to the countryside had died in battle on the road; these two guards were later hired—precisely because they couldn't afford to hire more, as their finances were tight.

Fan Shuang remembered these two had impressive records; he never expected they would turn around and plot against their employer.

"Kill him, quick!"

Seeing their plot exposed, the two threw caution to the wind and forcibly attacked.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside, followed immediately by six or seven people rushing in, joining the melee with these two guards.

These two guards were skilled—otherwise they could not have escorted the Fan family this far—but four fists cannot withstand fourteen hands, and the guest room was small, offering little room to maneuver.

Amidst a clatter of chaotic noise, it was unclear what had been broken; shortly thereafter, these two guards were subdued.

Fan Shuang's parents also woke, rushed over, and upon seeing the scene, were stunned speechless.

In their son's room, there were actually this many people fighting in a tangled mass!

Fan Shuang then activated the glowing spores, only to see a familiar face:

The dark, thin man.

He happened to punch the guard's face into deformation.

Lady Wang cried out, still thinking it was bandits breaking in to beat her household guards, and shouted: "Someone come, rob—"

Before the word "robbery" could fully leave her lips, she suddenly realized shouting that was useless, and on the spur of the moment changed her words:

"……Fire! Come quickly to put out the fire!"

Everyone in the room glared at her unhappily; Fan Shuang hurriedly said: "Mother, it's Hu Xu and Qian Ziwei who want to rob and harm me; these few righteous ones rushed here to save me."

"Ah?" Mr. and Mrs. Fan both froze, "What?"

A thousand guards, yet the family thief is hardest to guard against.

The dark, thin man twisted the guard's arm behind his back, then lifted his head to glance at Fan Shuang: "You claim you were once a friend of the Nine Nether Great Emperor—do you have any proof?"

"Yes, yes." Fan Shuang, as if waking from a dream, hastily fished out the Silver Wood Token from his bosom.

Now, no matter what others demand, he will produce it at once.

The dark, thin man's companion took it, glanced at it twice, and nodded: "Indeed, it is the Great Emperor's Silver Wood Token."

The man refused to fully believe it, and asked Fan Shuang: "What did the Great Emperor look like?"

"This tall!" Fan Shuang raised his hand to measure against his own crown, "Tall and upright, with a high nose bridge, exceptionally handsome, eyes especially bright—many young ladies in Shui Shui City admired him. Moreover, wherever he stood, it seemed even if the heavens collapsed, he could hold them up."

"How old was he?"

Fan Shuang calculated:

"Twenty... two!"

Once everything checked out, the dark, thin man finally stepped back: "These two, how do you want to deal with them?"

We've passed the checkpoint, Fan Shuang secretly let out a breath of relief.

Lady Wang hid behind her husband, gnashing her teeth: "Plotting to murder their employer, truly deserving of death!"

The words had barely fallen when the dark, thin man slit a throat with one stroke of his saber, bright red arterial blood spraying out over three chi away.

The other guard was struck behind the ear with a saber blow and fainted.

Lady Wang was so frightened her face went white, the undigested dinner in her stomach nearly coming back up.

She had only cursed casually, never expecting these people to kill as easily as slaughtering chickens — one look and you could tell they were seasoned hands.

Killing — no matter how many times you witness it in person, it's always terrifying.

The dark, thin man said to Fan Shuang: "The way these two looked at you was off, shifty. I overheard their conversation — they didn't originally have murderous intent, but since the person you were counting on in Huan City is gone, you're at a dead end, and you have quite a bit of money on you, they developed wicked intentions."

"These two deserve to die!" Fan Shuang immediately bowed in thanks, "You saved our family of three, how can we ever repay this kindness?"

"No need." The dark, thin man waved his hand, "How could we sit by and watch the Great Emperor's friend meet with harm?"

During the day he ate noodles here, heard Fan Shuang boasting to the Shopkeeper, so he listened in on a few more sentences.