Liang Chen's footsteps were slow and calm as he moved through the city, his face showing neither joy nor sadness. His short silvery-grey hair fluttered lightly thanks to the oncoming breeze, his golden pupils filled with what looked like a faint white mist. The city around him was completely silent, it was to the point that the only thing audible was the echo of his footsteps.
This was perhaps the first time in several million years that Purgatory's Cradle had ever seen one of its cities descend into such a silence. But peace was not the reason behind this silence. No, this was the silence of the grave, a silence that could only be achieved when all life met its end.
And indeed, scattered throughout the streets around Liang Chen were humanoid statues frozen mid-motion. Some pointed weapons at him, some were turned away as if they were trying to flee, but all had turned to stone without distinction. A few piles of dried and withered bones were also scattered about, strewn around as if the person they once formed had just fallen apart in an instant.
Liang Chen's expression wasn't swayed despite the carnage around him, this was far from the first time he had caused such carnage. Yumao wasn't nestling on his head at the moment, he was scurrying around the city and snatching up the various statues. They had been turned to stone, but the energy contained within their bodies hadn't vanished, they could still be eaten or used for cultivation if you were just interested in the gathered energy.
"Still didn't leave, huh?"
Liang Chen's steps halted in front of a somewhat small and unremarkable building, a soft mutter escaping his lips. The wooden building had a large tankard embedded into the wall, just above the entrance, a slightly sweet scent wafting out from it. The door to the tavern was closed, but there was no array or lock keeping it closed so anyone could enter it at any time.
Liang Chen pushed open the door, a blast of sweet-smelling air rushing out and washing over him. His left hand shot up and brushed aside a metal arrow that shot out from the tavern, the weapon crossing the street and burying itself in the building opposite of the tavern. No other attacks followed the arrow, just a weary voice that rang out with a sigh.
"Yeah, figures that you couldn't be bothered to catch it. Now I'll have to go and pick it up so that I can reload it."
Liang Chen entered the tavern, which consisted of a single room with six separate tables and a long counter that shielded a wide and fully stocked cabinet filled to the brim with alcohol. The tavern was fairly brightly lit thanks to the luminescent crystals hanging from the ceiling, but the overwhelmingly heavy scent that filled it could easily make it uncomfortable over longer periods.
A man was sitting at the other side of the counter, a mottled green bottle and two glasses standing ready in front of him. The man had shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes, but while he looked to be just in his thirties, he had a weary air about him that made his few wrinkles all the more pronounced.
"Do you want a glass? Or are you planning on just going right for it? If so, I'd appreciate it if you could let me down one last glass first."
The man, Siu Bairong, poured himself a drink from the bottle in front of him, tapping the bottom of the bottle against the second glass while looking at Liang Chen. He was facing what was his likely death, but the only emotion his expression was able to convey was a general disinterest. Liang Chen merely shook his head, grabbing a nearby chair and dragging it over to the counter.
"I don't really like sweet drinks so just keep it to yourself. And I'm not here to kill you, I just came to talk."
Sweet drinks had always been more Yan Ling's style, the problem was that she liked them so sweet that they were practically sickening. Liang Chen personally preferred spicier drinks, but he hadn't exactly come here to drink so he didn't see a need to mention his preference. Siu Bairong's eyebrows couldn't help but rise slightly as Liang Chen sat down, his gaze drifting towards the empty street revealed by the open door.
"To talk? You massacred the entire city, but me you spare so that you can have a nice chat?"
He hadn't left his tavern, but the sounds had carried so far that he didn't need to. Shrieks of fear, roars of anger, wails of sorrow, and perhaps most gruesome, the gurgling of the dying. The city had died, he knew that with perfect clarity. And the one who had done just that was the youth that had just casually sitten down in front of him.
"I didn't kill everyone. Counting you, there are still 14 survivors."
Three people in the three mansions and a further 11 in the city, Liang Chen had carefully picked out his targets even during what looked like an indiscriminate massacre. Two of the three city leaders had been forced to spill even the smallest piece of information that they knew, Liang Chen practically knew all their memories. When you also counted in the people who he had forced to spill the beans during the massacre, he knew just about every deed that had been performed in this city over the last 40 or so years.
"14 survivors, huh? So that's it, 15 000 people, gone with the wind, only 14 left to tell the tale. That's grim, even for a place like this."
Siu Bairong rarely left this tavern of his, there was no longer anything out there that he had to pay attention to. But even so, he was still decently informed about the state of his surroundings thanks to the few people who visited the tavern. But his numbers were a bit off, so Liang Chen corrected him.
"The number of citizens has increased since your last counting it seems, the total was 17 862."
Liang Chen wasn't someone who indulged in the habit of counting his kills or finding excessive joy in them, he only knew the exact number due to the fact that a bit of his poison remained in every single corpse he had left in his wake. Siu Bairon muttered slightly to himself with a soft nod, pouring himself another cup.
"17 862... Almost 18 000 dead and you decided to keep me alive. So, what's the reason?"
He didn't bother asking about Liang Chen's reason for killing the people of this city, there really wasn't a need for it. This was Purgatory's Cradle, the birthplace of death and cruelty, it would be stranger to find someone willing to spare others in a hellhole like this. But the answer he got pointed towards the fact that Liang Chen may in fact just be one of those strange individuals.
"You didn't deserve death."
That was the conclusion that Liang Chen had come to after digging up just about every deed that had transpired in this city over the last few decades. Siu Bairong may have committed foul-deeds prior to those decades, but no one present had known anything about that so Liang Chen would have no idea.
And he would rather temporarily spare 1000 sinners than wrongfully kill one innocent man, he already had enough innocent souls haunting him after the trick that the Sky-Piercing Sparrow pulled on him. Siu Bairong was surprised by the answer, but he simply downed another cup instead of bothering to ask anything.
"Why did you not do anything?"
It was instead Liang Chen who decided to be the one asking questions, this was why he had come here after all. Siu Bairong had just finished emptying his cup, the rim of it lingering on his lips as his eyebrows raised once more.
"That's your question? You sniffed me out just for that?"
Siu Bairong had heard many questions across the 563 years he had lived here in Purgatory's Cradle, many were stranger or more profound than this one. But this was perhaps the most memorable question, solely due to the actions that the one asking it had taken just moments prior. Liang Chen wasn't bothered by Siu Bairong's surprise, he simply pressed on.
"You were stronger than them, you could have acted. But you didn't. Neither to help nor to condemn, you just watched, whether it be when people brutalized or when people escaped, or even when others helped others. I'm just a bit curious as to why."
The three leaders of this city were only at the early stage of the Soaring Immortal realm, an entire realm below Liang Chen. They were also supposed to be the strongest people in the city, sent here by the Nine Wraths sect to keep an eye on things.
But Siu Bairong, this man owning an unremarkable tavern, had reached the middle stage of the Soaring Immortal realm. And looking at the Qi that coiled up in his dantian, he was pretty close to the late stage. Liang Chen's senses had already picked up the fact that Siu Bairong had one wooden leg, he'd probably lost his actual right leg long ago.
But even so, he should still be strong enough to either head deeper into Purgatory's Cradle. But he didn't, he remained here in his tavern and just watched everything that unfolded. He didn't extend a helping hand when an unfortunate person fled past his tavern, nor did he point in the direction someone had run when he was questioned by others. He just remained quiet in this little tavern and sold some wine or beer to the occasional visitor.
"Because honestly, what's the point? Whether a few more people survive, whether a few more people die, what difference does it make? This godforsaken place is as timeless as the universe, it cannot, it will not, change, no matter what happens or how much time passes."
The answer that Siu Bairong gave after sucking on his teeth for a few seconds was filled with the same weariness as his aura. Purgatory's Cradle had existed long before he was born, and it would exist for countless aeons after he had died, it was a timeless and unchanging behemoth that would outlast most living beings.
"You cleared out the city now, but do you really think that's the end of it, do you really think it has changed things for the better? In time, new people will gather here, new groups will form their own unsteady little alliances. And eventually, the Nine Wraths sect will send over new overseers. Even a massacre like yours won't change anything, everything will just fall back into its normal rhythm before sooner or later."
True, Siu Bairong had never even heard of a massacre that was close to this scale, certainly not here at the very edge of Purgatory's Cradle. But people were constantly dying here, droves of people fell and were replaced by fresh meat hoping to score big. Nothing ever changed, no matter how many people were replaced, because the new ones that came were always just as bad as those that left. Siu Bairong had seen it all, and all he could do was shake his head at the futility.
"Making it worse, making it better, it's all just a losing battle, it's all just meaningless. The best way to fight this is to just not fight at all. One day I'll become another part of the numbers that are racked up in this cradle every day, so I'll just wait for that time here in this little slice of land we once carved out for ourselves."
Siu Bairong's weary visage gave way to a tinge of sorrow as he spoke, but even his sorrow was quickly drowned out by all-encompassing tiredness. Liang Chen sat quietly and listened to Siu Bairong's soft voice, but he simply shook his head when he had heard everything.
"The best way... You're wrong. By choosing to not fight, you've already lost."
Only he who fought would get the chance to win, only he who fell could ever stand up again. By forfeiting even that, you were just resigning yourself to losing at every turn. Liang Chen had heard what he came for so he stood up from his seat, Siu Bairong's eyebrows once more rising, carrying a very faint glimmer of hopefulness this time.
"You're still planning on leaving? I for sure thought that you would see the act of turning a blind eye with the same weight as actually performing the deeds."
Liang Chen had massacred an entire city because he felt like they deserved death, because he had judged their actions as sinful. If you asked Siu Bairong, his act of not doing anything and just accepting the state of things could in some ways be considered just as bad. But Liang Chen simply shook his head.
"The act of turning a blind eye isn't a sin, it's just sad."
The people that had just watched as his parents were falsely executed, did they deserve to die? The answer Liang Chen had come to regarding that was no. He may hate them, but they did not deserve death just for that. Liang Chen turned to walk away, but Siu Bairong's voice once again sounded out after a bit of hesitation.
"...Are you hoping to change this godforsaken place?"
That was the only reason Siu Bairong could see to be the driving force behind Liang Chen's actions, a desire to change this place forsaken by even the gods. But Liang Chen once again shook his head, not even hesitating as he answered.
"No. My only goal has always been, and will always be, to kill those who the heavens should have erased long ago."
The change would be a side-effect, just a byproduct that came about because of the methods Liang Chen used to achieve his goal, it was never his actual goal. But of course, it was exactly these methods that made the truth quite apparent.
"That's quite hypocritical."
To erase those that the heavens should have erased long ago? He had just robbed almost 18 000 people of their lives, was such a person not deserving of this very same erasing? But if Siu Bairong could notice this fact, how could Liang Chen not?
"It's extremely hypocritical, but who's going to stop me?"
Liang Chen turned his head slightly as he responded, the corners of his lips turning up to reveal his sharp canine teeth. Liang Chen had never, not for even a single moment, deluded himself into thinking that he was a good person. He was cruel and evil, he was as much a monster as those he killed. It was just as Yumao had put it once, he was the God of the pit, all monsters were beneath him.
"The Nine Wraths sect probably will."
The response slipped out from Siu Bairong's lips without him really intending it, there was just something about Liang Chen's gaze and aura that drove him to talk. At the back of his mind, buried beneath years of tiredness, was a tinge of curiosity, just a small seed of it, what exactly would he answer when faced with the threat of the Nine Wraths?
"They're welcome to try, they're on the list too after all."
Liang Chen hadn't forgotten about the sect situated at the very centre of Purgatory's Cradle, the people who most fervently desired to nurture Purgatory through all this bloodshed. They were on the list, they just had to wait for their time to come.
Liang Chen didn't bother saying anything else and left the tavern, leaving behind the sad man who had abandoned even the desire to fight. He closed the door behind him, the sweet smell from the tavern quickly getting overtaken by the bloody scent that lingered on every inch of land within Purgatory's Cradle.
"They're all gathered up, Bossy Boy!"
A cheery and upbeat voice reached Liang Chen's ears shortly after he left the tavern, a black blur flashing through the streets and arriving in front of him. Yumao stopped in front of Liang Chen's face, he hadn't bothered going beyond his usual tiny size since the city was completely dead. He flapped his black feathery wings to stay afloat, his grey eyes gleaming as if he had completed some grand task.
"Bossy boy? Don't act as if I gave you an order to gather them up just because you want me to hand you a portion of them."
Liang Chen stretched out a hand and tapped Yumao on the head a few times as he spoke, his finger passing through the opening between the jagged horns that grew out from each side of Yumao's head. Yumao didn't let this stop him, his serpentine tail shooting upwards and coiling around Liang Chen's finger. He then coiled himself around Liang Chen's arm so that he could slither up his arm and coil up on Liang Chen's head, snorting in a dissatisfied manner.
"Bleh, calling me out like that is distasteful, you should just roll with it and act nice."
He wasn't even embarrassed about the fact that Liang Chen had hit the nail on the head, forcing Liang Chen to respond with a roll of his eyes, Yumao had really become unbridled after he became able to speak. Liang Chen started walking, there was nothing left in the city so their current target would obviously be one of the many exits.
"Did the mongoloid manage to give you a good answer?"
Yumao didn't linger on the previous topic since he had already been called out, and also partly because he knew that Liang Chen would definitely allow him to eat most of the statues he had gathered up. Liang Chen didn't hide anything from Yumao, shrugging his shoulders casually
"No, but I wasn't expecting to get one to begin with."
It was hard to expect a good answer when there weren't really any good answers to begin with. The closest thing to a good answer would be if Siu Bairong said that he didn't act because he was afraid of dying, but that in itself couldn't really be considered a good answer. Yumao understood Liang Chen's personality better than most others so the answer was well within his expectations, another cold snort escaping him.
"Should have just beaten him up then, smacked his ass from one end of the city to the other so that he'll learn his lesson."
He flapped his wings as he spoke, rustling Liang Chen's hair while he seemingly tried to demonstrate how he would have treated Siu Bairong. But Liang Chen simply raised his arm and tapped Yumao on the head multiple times, he was too small for Liang Chen to properly use his knuckles to rap him on the head.
"The only ass I'm going to smack is Ling'ers, and only because she corrupted you without me knowing. If you ended up like this, I don't even want to imagine what poor little Lan Yun is going to end up as."
Liang Chen really had no idea what sort of magic trick Yan Ling had used to shape Yumao's personality and way of speaking into something so close to hers. And that was with Yumao spending most of his time with Liang Chen, it would be much worse for Lan Yun, who had been with Yan Ling ever since she had hatched from the egg that they found what felt like several lifetimes ago. Yumao didn't dodge Liang Chen's finger despite being more than capable of doing so, simply laughing in a cocky and proud manner.
"Shishishi, she definitely won't get worse than me, I have to be the big brother after all, so it's my job to always have the upper hand."
It wasn't enough for Yumao to laugh so cockily, he even leaned back his head and puffed out his chest, using one of his wings like an arm and placing it on his chest. Looking at the playful manner of this feathered and winged snake, it was really hard to relate it to the vicious companion of someone that could massacre an entire city.
"Yan Ling, you'd better watch your rear when we finally meet again... Haah, forget about it. Let's leave, there's nothing left here so it's about time to move on. May as well head towards the closest of the three marked locations."
Liang Chen felt like he was shaking his head or rolling his eyes more than ever before ever since Yumao learned how to talk, but he could only assure himself that it was just a trick of his mind. They had only come to this city to gather some information, everything else had just happened because of what Liang Chen saw after arriving.
But now that they were done here, it was time to move on. And since Purgatory's Cradle had already given him three awards, constantly pointing him towards their location, they might as well set one of those locations as their next goal. Yumao wasn't the type to go against Liang Chen's suggestions, he simply snickered expectantly.
"I hope it's something tasty, preferably something so large that you can't be stingy and hog it all to yourself."