Chapter 415

"No……" I, disregarding my own safety, tried to push away the assassins entwining us, but they had immeasurable strength, felt no pain, and were beyond my ability to budge.

At that moment, Pangzi gave a long whistle, his hands flying as he shot silver needles one by one, each striking precisely the small black dot on the foreheads of the insect-raised corpses.

Shrill screams echoed endlessly; the faces of the insect-raised corpses, previously like mechanical puppets, twisted and issued piercing shrieks. Seeing this, I thought it a good opportunity and slipped out from their cramped space.

Fan Wuchang was stabbed in the abdomen by a sharp dagger, his jade flute falling to the ground. Beside him, Chen Mo's expression shifted abruptly from a dreamy reverie to a panic like falling into an abyss.

Should I save Fan Wuchang or Chen Mo…… My heart was in extreme turmoil.

Fan Wuchang seemed to discern my thoughts, a fierce gleam flashing in his eyes as he shouted, "Don't mind me, save the person!" Before I could regain my composure, he wrenched a water pipe from the wall and thrust it into his own chest without hesitation.

With a puff, the water pipe pierced straight through Fan Wuchang's right chest, through him, and into the chest of the knife-wielding insect corpse behind him.

Immediately, Fan Wuchang, veins bulging, gave a low roar, turned expressionlessly, raised his saber, and with a flash of silver light reaped a head.

Harm the enemy a thousand, self-damage eight hundred. After losing spirit for a moment, Fan Wuchang had already regained his former ferocity. Perhaps this is the true portrait of Fan Wuchang; once on this road, there is no turning back. So, life and death are merely two words, that simple. You may let me die, but before I die, I will hold you.

At this moment, I had also prepared the Yin Mountain Fire; when the incantation finished, black flames suddenly appeared on my fingertips.

This is the second time I have condensed the Yin Mountain Fire.

Yin Mountain Fire, also called Scarlet Lotus Karmic Fire, Hellfire.

Because of its overbearing nature, this technique is listed as one of the Yin Mountain Sect's secret arts and must not be used unless absolutely necessary. Even when burning a great sin, it inflicts irreparable damage on the Daoist himself; using it too much can even produce an incurable malady in the heart.

Earlier, there was a senior in the Yin Mountain Sect who, after using the Yin Mountain Fire too many times, contracted a malady similar to myocardial infarction; he died before thirty, beaten to death by pain.

Therefore, few dare to use the Yin Mountain Fire repeatedly; it is employed only when absolutely necessary.

But now I can't worry about that; no matter what, I will first destroy the snake infant as quickly as possible.

Chi— taking advantage of the moment when the snake infant was wholly focused on confusing Chen Mo, I pressed my legs together, leapt up, and thrust my sword finger accurately into its back.

Ah— the snake infant writhed in pain, throwing its head back and kicking, falling from midair, veins bulging on its forehead, rolling in agony on the ground.

As it continued to spasm and roll, the black flames on its body grew fiercer; from a few sparks, they quickly spread like a prairie fire, covering its entire body.

In the black fire, the snake infant rolled; slowly the fire turned illusory, and from it drifted four spirits: three were the Five Poisons and Six Livestock, the snake-scorpion, and the centipede; the fourth was actually an infant.

Moreover, it was a conjoined infant.

While I was cautiously guarding against the conjoined infant spirits, they two inexplicably grinned at me.

"Uncle, thank you!"

Even though their forms were hideous and their bodies covered in filth, that smile was the purest in the world; in the illusion, such a scene appeared in my mind.

There were two children whose lives hung by a thread; as their lives neared their end, they lay on sickbeds, smiling and saying to me, "Uncle, thank you." They gave me a pure smile, as pure as a white little flower about to wither, making one's heart ache and want to tear up.

I seem to have understood that becoming a snake infant was not what these two children wished; they always had their own spirituality, but it was suppressed by the Five Poisons and the sorcerer, leaving them no choice. Now, by burning them with Yin Mountain Fire, I have, in this moment, allowed them to return to their true nature, to revert to their original form.

However, that final smile, that final awakening, occurred as they walked toward death; their spirits, scorched by Yin Mountain Fire, do not enter the six paths, do not enter reincarnation, equivalent to extinguishing the last spark of life left by heaven and earth.

A sudden, inexplicable regret and heartache flashed through me; I had never imagined that they still possessed their own consciousness and souls.

Within the black flames, a dialogue between two brothers was reflected.

The small, delicate infant on the left opened his pure, big eyes and asked the one on the right:

"Brother, in the next life, will you still be my brother?"

"Little brother, in the next life, I will still be your brother."

"Will Mother still abandon us?" the younger brother pressed his lips, full of resentment.

"No." The older brother's eyes already brimmed with tears.

"Will there still be people in the next life who despise us, calling us monsters?"

"No, absolutely not." Tears surged in the older brother's eyes.

"All right, in the next life, in the next life you must drive away those snakes for me; I am terrified of them, and I do not want to kill those older brothers and sisters, for they are not bad people." The younger brother's eyes showed a smile as he tightly embraced his older brother.

"Of course."

The older brother gently stroked the younger's head, his words full of pity. They were conjoined infants, and also a pair of brothers.

Thus, the two brothers were slowly consumed by the hellfire. The last image I saw was the younger brother tightly gripping the older's little hand, while the older gazed at the younger, his eyes full of indulgence… and tears.

Standing in the wind, I remained dazed for a long time; only when I came to did I notice that my face was already streaked with tears.

I cannot imagine how much hardship they endured in life, in this society where human nature is twisted. The trials endured by a pair of conjoined infants are beyond my imagination as a normal person.

In this world where people's hearts have changed, they never seem to cherish their own happiness, forever envying those who live more comfortably than they. They never noticed that in the dark corners of this world, there are some disabled people who envy their gradually complete limbs.

So-called concern is nothing but empty words. When people on the street encounter those who are disabled and miserable, they often give them strange looks, and even relatives and friends begin to abandon them. In this competitive society, lacking full limbs and bearing disability means losing competitiveness and having no potential; relatives and friends regard you as as good as dead, and many consider you a burden.

People seem to have forgotten the kindness in their hearts, becoming arrogant and seeking pride among those weaker than them. Unbeknownst to them, every eat and drink has its cause and effect. Perhaps one day, when misfortune strikes and they become like those weak groups, those who once looked down on them with contempt, those cold-blooded people who gave them scornful glances, will finally understand their feelings.

This pair of conjoined brothers undoubtedly suffered many hardships in life; shortly after birth, they were abandoned by their parents and then turned into snake infants by the insect master. Behind countless bloodthirsty massacres and the taking of human lives, there is a pair of struggling brothers, desperate to enter reincarnation, and an infant possessing a kind heart yet unable to control its own body.

Pangzi leapt up, trying to grasp the infants' hands, but their souls were gradually being consumed by the hellfire; the most Pangzi's hands could touch was empty air.

"Clang—" Pangzi lowered his gaze at his hands, his face filled with loss.

Gazing at the place where the conjoined brothers vanished, I could only sigh helplessly like Little Fat; but in my sigh, besides loss, there was heartache and a sharp pang of pain.

I dare not hesitate, nor let myself linger too long in this sorrow.

For I know there are more important matters awaiting me.

Wake Chen Mo, and find that insect master who deserves death by a thousand cuts.

I gritted my teeth, wiped away my tears, walked to Chen Mo's side and sat down lightly, chanting the sutra to pacify Chen Mo's soul.

By the time I had settled Chen Mo's soul, the battle's curtain had already fallen; Pangzi's Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate had all struck without exception the black moles on the foreheads of these insect‑raised corpses.

The Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate have always been the inseparable method of the Zhu You wizards for treating hysteria and poisonous curses. Not long after, these insect‑raised corpses lost all resistance, turning into a pool of blood; within the blood, countless worms writhed, but Pangzi eliminated them one by one with his needles.

When Chen Mo slowly awoke, everyone rushed to the wounded Fan Wuchang, anxiously gazing at the severely injured Fan Wuchang.

Fan Wuchang's condition was poor: his lower abdomen had been pierced by a sharp dagger, his right chest bore a puncture from a pipe, and this stalwart man's body was smeared with blood, sustained only by his will.

"Old Brother Chang…" Pangzi shed tears, took off his outer garment, and pressed it against Fan Wuchang's wound.

"Cough, cough," Fan Wuchang coughed painfully twice, looked at Pangzi with a bleak smile, and, putting on an act, blamed: "Dead Pangzi, so you still have this trick—why didn't you show it earlier? If you had shown it sooner, would I still have been deceived until now?"

Pangzi wiped away a tear and said, "I only just remembered now; if I had recalled it earlier, I would have used the needles already."

The gravely injured Fan Wuchang shook his head and gave a light smile: "Don't blame yourself; if you had killed these monsters earlier, we might have ended up facing each other in life and death."

"Brother Wuchang, don't speak, I'll take you to the hospital!" Pangzi held back tears, wanting to help Fan Wuchang up.

Fan Wuchang shoved Pangzi's hand away, weakly urging: "Don't worry about me, you two hurry to Brother Zheng's ancestral home; that mysterious master ordered Zheng to set up the formation tonight—no matter what, you must go stop Zheng. Don't let that mysterious person's scheme succeed."

"But your injuries..." Looking at Fan Wuchang, now a bloody figure, I and Pangzi hesitated a bit. Afterwards, seeing us still dawdling, Fan Wuchang threatened to jump from the rooftop to his death, to rid us of our worries.

I and Pangzi could only grit our teeth, entrusting Chen Mo to look after Fan Wuchang, then we took Little Fat and rushed straight to Chen Zheng's ancestral home.

"I, Fan Wuchang, am not worth dying for, but you must definitely stop that mysterious bastard; otherwise, even in death I would not be resigned. In the underworld, I would have no face to meet Brother Zheng and his wife."

Behind us came Fan Wuchang's pained, angry roar as he endured his injuries, making me and Pangzi involuntarily quicken our pace.

At this moment, I and Pangzi felt no hatred toward him; instead, a sense of admiration welled up in our hearts. His whole life, he seemed never to have acted for himself—even when killing, it was for his brothers. Even when he himself was on the brink of death, the first thing that came to mind was those brothers kept in the dark.