Chapter 1571: Monologue

Monologue

That was a quiet and haggard man.

His originally emerald-green hair, like spring willows, had now dried up and turned yellow. He lay quietly on the hospital bed, the fat on his body had been consumed and shriveled, and his skin was pale without blood color... His heart beat very weakly, so weak that it was as if someone had hollowed out the most important thing in this body, leaving only a soulless empty shell.

The Lord of the South Sea, Chu Changqing.

In this world today, only a very few people knew that the Lord of the South Sea, who was once high-spirited and spread life in the South Sea Domain, had now become an existence that was half-human and half-ghost. He was imprisoned in this dark underground space, like a life-extending tool that anyone could take from.

The Lord of Hidden Clouds, who stumbled into the room, deliberately controlled his gaze. He didn't look at the person on the bed, but kept his head down, looking at the ground as he moved bit by bit to the bedside.

He supported himself on the back of the chair and slowly sat down.

"...Good evening, Old Chu."

The Lord of Hidden Clouds' cracked lips parted slightly as he spoke softly.

As the cuff moved up, rows of dense scars entered the Lord of Hidden Clouds' line of sight.

It was as if someone had used a small knife to slice across his arm cut by cut. Although most of the wounds had scabbed over, perhaps due to insufficient vitality, even after the scabs fell off, dark scars were still left behind... Chu Changqing's originally fair and vital arm had, at some unknown time, turned into an ugly and shocking meat stick.

Then, the Lord of Hidden Clouds skillfully took out a section of a flexible tube from the drawer next to him, tied it above Chu Changqing's elbow, and simultaneously took out a sterilized scalpel.

He used the blade of the scalpel to slice open Chu Changqing's arm bit by bit. Dark red blood immediately flowed down along the scar-covered skin... and then fell into the cup that had been prepared long ago.

Tick, tock——

Tick, tock——

"Old Chu... my office was smashed by someone again today."

In the Lord of Hidden Clouds' eyes, the ripples of blood color churning in the cup were reflected. This leader who guided the overall situation of the entire domain seemed to have finally found someone he could pour his heart out to. He spoke hoarsely,

"That person is a mother... Her husband was sent to the Spirit Void Domain by me, and was executed by firing squad by Old Wu today..."

"Now, her child has also died of illness, so, she wants to come find me for justice."

"But..."

"What justice can I give her?"

Tick, tock——

Tick, tock——

"Times have changed, Old Chu..."

"A couple of years ago, your enemies were only the Gray World and Calamities. You guarded the Human Domains, and you were heroes admired by the people... Now, our enemies are Calamities, Plague, hunger, and human hearts... So, we became dictators, tyrants, and public enemies of the people."

"I say we are doing it for humanity, but they don't understand... They feel that every single one of them can represent humanity. If they have a hard life, then we are their enemies, the enemies of all humanity... They won't care about what humanity, overall situation, or continuation of civilization is. They only know that they are hungry and sick, then this world deserves to die."

"But actually, who isn't like this? A person's gaze can be very far-sighted, far-sighted enough to predict thousands of years later, but a person's vision is also very narrow, narrow enough to only see the gains and losses under their feet... When life is good, they are willing to think deeply and plan carefully, seeking happiness for their descendants; when life is bad, people only live this one lifetime. What destiny of humanity, what future generations, what does that have to do with 'me'?"

"People ah... are still too complex, thousands and tens of thousands of times more complex than meteorology..."

Tick, tock——

Tick, tock——

"I know they aren't wrong. The person who is wrong is me."

"I am the one who caused their families to be broken apart. I am the one who caused a Plague epidemic in this domain. Their husbands, sons, fathers, everyone's deaths are because of me... But... but what can I do?"

"Yes, I am the Lord of Hidden Clouds, Qi Muyun. I won't watch helplessly as Old Wu fails. He is the one among us with the most hope of completely obliterating the Red Star. What he carries on his shoulders is the future of all humanity... You, me, Lu Xun, Yang Xiao... Except for Lou Yu, all of us have pinned our hopes on him. Therefore, I will definitely support him until the very end..."

"But I am also the Lord of Hidden Clouds of the Hidden Clouds Domain... This domain exists because of me."

"Do you know how I survived these past few days? Watching the newly added death numbers on the report every day, seeing those mothers and old people standing outside the door in queues cursing me and questioning me, I really am about to break down... I put myself in their shoes, I stand from their perspective, and I also can't wait to stab myself to death with a knife... They are right, I am the sinner of this domain."

"I haven't had a good sleep for over ten days, Old Chu... The moment I close my eyes, those commoners who once trusted me and admired me will turn into vicious departed spirits, wanting to tear me to pieces."

"On one side is the oath of the Nine Monarchs, on the other is the life and death of the people... How should I choose??"

"Old Chu, tell me! How should I choose???"

The Lord of Hidden Clouds' eyes were completely bloodshot. He painfully held his head, his entire person trembling continuously in the chair as if he was about to break down.

Tick, tock——

Tick, tock——

Chu Changqing was deathly silent like a corpse. Only drops of dark red blood fell into the cup.

"You're not speaking... you're not speaking again!!"

"Why?? Why is the person lying here you?! Why did you choose to extend my life?!!"

"Yes, you made a mistake, you want to punish yourself. But have you ever thought, with you lying here, who is the one truly being punished??"

"Is it the unconscious you without any thought or consciousness?!!"

"Bullshit!!"

"The one you are punishing is me! It's me who can only live ignobly like a dead dog every day, relying on drinking your blood to survive!!!"

The pain suppressed in the Lord of Hidden Clouds' heart completely erupted in front of this body that could neither respond nor have consciousness. His veins bulged one by one on his neck. His painful, beast-like roars echoed hysterically in the cramped room.

No one knew exactly how much pain was hidden in his heart. The ignoble existence of having to rely on drinking a brother's blood to extend his life every day, the pain of watching his people die helplessly, the bitterness of being subjected to Unanimous Condemnation, the torment of bitterly waiting for the Akashic Tower to succeed, the struggle of choosing between the Nine Monarchs and justice... Other than this tiny hospital room, he basically didn't have any place where he could pour out his heart and relieve his pain.

After an unknown amount of time,

The Lord of Hidden Clouds' voice became hoarse.

His entire person seemed to have been hollowed out. With a thud, he fell to his knees on the floor. Those bloodshot eyes were hollow and exhausted...

He remained silent like a statue for a long time. No one knew what he was thinking at this moment. His gaze looked to the side. Ultimately, he still reached out both hands, trembling as he picked up the cup filled with scarlet blood.

Then,

He raised his head, and cautiously...

Poured the remaining warm blood in the cup bit by bit into his mouth.

His Adam's apple rolled,

Two trails of tears rolled down from his cheeks, falling silently to the ground.