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墨書 Inktalez
"Emperor Dong," Afu asked, "do you believe there is light in that world?" He did not attempt to explain anything but instead posed an unrelated question. Liu Qi did not respond; he did not understand what Minghong meant.
Afu did not wait for Liu Qi's answer and continued speaking to himself. The Old Servant believed, truly believed, that there would be light in that world.
It was a joke. Liu Qi suddenly thought of the Light Path Classic, which had existed in their realm for many years. Was Afu perhaps one of the people from the Light Path Classic? Liu Qi wondered. Light would never exist in that world, would it? Even if it did, it would merely be a fleeting moment, something beautiful and shocking but ultimately meaningless. What could Liu Dong possibly find in that?
The Old Servant had grown up in the depths of the palace and, even now, had only ventured out a few times with Former Emperor Dong. Coco had never exceeded a few steps outside. All he could see were those ignorant people within the palace, fighting for power and profit, believing they could rise to greatness while disregarding their futures and so-called ambitions. Afu put away his smile; it was pointless—truly pointless. It had been like this before, and now it was the same with Emperor Dong. The Old Servant had long since realized that nothing would change; even after many years, it would still be the same.
"What do you think that world should be like?" Liu Qi muttered through clenched teeth. He did not understand; shouldn't it be like that? Full of schemes and power struggles? What else could it possibly be?
"No, there should at least be hope," Afu said as he walked over to the steps beside Liu Qi's desk. He walked wearily up the steps. He had been sold into the palace by his gambling father when he was seven years old. In the palace, aside from the royal family, there were no men; thus, the Old Servant became a eunuch. He remembered well the eunuch who taught him palace etiquette—someone around his age—who disappeared just two years later. He was heartbroken for quite some time until he heard that this eunuch had angered the Former Emperor and was dragged out to be executed. "Emperor Dong," he thought, "tomorrow I might also want to execute the Old Servant."
Liu Qi closed his eyes. He understood everything Afu said, but in his eyes, what was strange about it? Every day in that deep palace brought reasons for certain people's deaths; who could blame anyone? They were merely foolish.
Emperor Dong must have thought those who failed at their tasks deserved to die, but who truly wanted to die? No one was foolish enough in that regard—except perhaps for the Old Servant. Afu self-deprecatingly mentioned Yi Dong and continued, saying that many who entered the palace with him had also left. The Old Servant felt as if he were walking on thin ice every day just to survive until now. Living in that deep palace felt like struggling in endless darkness without any light, yearning to escape into that dark world and become as black as it was.
"Am I saying that I am filthy?" Liu Qi suddenly realized something. Those things he took for granted were seen as darkness in the eyes of others. He wondered why he had become so accustomed to it; perhaps it was because he had learned to adapt to such a world.
No, the Old Servant felt a sense of unwillingness; even an ant would eventually find its way out of the ground someday. The Old Servant wanted to see if there was truly any light outside of that darkness he longed for.
"Do I even know what true light is?"
Upon hearing those words, Afu's expression grew serious. Liu Qi's voice—he had never heard such a tone in all those years within the deep palace. It seemed to emerge from the Nine Nether Yellow Spring, chilling him just by listening to it.
Afu stood up and looked in the direction of the voice. A young figure emerged from behind the screen, his left face adorned with a half-mask resembling a devil's grin, while the right side revealed the handsome visage of a youth. His delicate eyebrows floated like willow leaves in the air, and the corners of his mouth curled up with an air of detachment. But most striking were his eyes, which seemed to hold the essence of the entire Ninth Underworld.
"Do you know what true light is?" the young man asked again.
Afu remained silent. He had not seen the light he sought in Mingdu, so how could he speak of true illumination? Even if one had glimpsed it, could they claim to have witnessed true light? Perhaps only Zun Wei Guangming could, but Bu Luo was already dead.
Liu Lao Jiu and Gu Ping were locked in a standoff with the Tree Demon. Gu Ping was on the verge of collapsing; exhaustion weighed heavily on him, and the blood seeping from his shoulder was gradually pulling him into darkness. Liu Lao Jiu's focus was no longer as sharp as it had been at first. He often shook his head to keep himself alert.
The Tree Demon maintained its branches suspended in midair; any slight movement would send those branches shooting out like arrows, and the scent of blood hung thick in the air, as if frozen in that moment.
Suddenly, Liu Lao Jiu saw a massive figure burst forth from the dense forest, moving with incredible speed. In an instant, it was upon them, blocking their path. Before Liu Lao Jiu stood a fox covered in blood-red fur. Was that really a fox? Liu Lao Jiu could hardly believe it; this creature was at least three or four meters long, larger than a bear. How could Coco be so big?
He watched as the fox swung its claws, each strike sending out a blue light that sliced through the branches like sword strikes. At that critical moment, it was the Fox Demon that saved him.
Gu Ping chuckled softly. "Keke, it's just a legend about the Pure Fox; it hasn't grown up yet."
Liu Lao Jiu gazed at the Fox Spirit's blood-red fur—no, he couldn't deny it. The fur was indeed blood-red, but around its neck, its mane was gray. Legend spoke of a Snow Red Fox as large as a mountain appearing during a full moon every ten thousand years to cleanse the Dust Realm of evil and darkness. It embodied the philosophy of Qiankun Dao, balancing worlds before quietly departing after fulfilling its mission. But legends are just that—who could live for ten thousand years?
Now Liu Lao Jiu truly saw such a Fox Spirit before him. Although it wasn't mountain-sized, its fighting spirit was undeniable; it could certainly confront the Tree Demon before them.
Could legends really be true? Liu Lao Jiu shook his head. The fox was still small; who knew how many years it would take for it to grow up? By then, he would have long since returned to dust. Why dwell on such thoughts? Liu Lao Jiu pushed aside his musings and charged forward once more, determined to cleave that damned Tree Demon in two.
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