Chapter 126

Ye Zheng pushed open the window and looked toward the vast white horizon.

The stagnant white fog scattered. Strong winds swept across the long, wide street, kicking up silent trash and revealing the original gray ground beneath. Stray hairs brushed against her itchy cheeks, but Ye Zheng had no mind to fix them. She stared at the sky in shock.

The massive black shadow glided through the dim sky. It reminded Ye Zheng of whales swimming through the ocean in ancient legends, and of the first line on the opening page of Divine Revelation.

In the beginning, darkness descended without warning. A great dragon spread its wings and blocked the sky above.

The black shadow in the sky was extremely long. Compared with the magnificent and awe-inspiring body of the demonic dragon described in Divine Revelation, it looked thinner and more skeletal. Its outline was blurred, as though withered flesh barely clung to black bones, an unwilling undead returning to the mortal world.

As the shadow drew closer and its full form gradually became clear to Ye Zheng, a vague sound squeezed from her throat. She no longer knew how to describe what she was seeing.

Countless dragon-bodied people lifted the pale, grand spine bone. They beat their wings in dense and orderly formation. The long-dead demonic dragon skeleton had been revived!

Her hand gripping the windowsill tightened until the veins bulged. Ye Zheng stared speechlessly at the revived demonic dragon. She finally understood what Zhou Yun intended!

“Zhou Yun, you had them breach the base not only to destroy the Hope Project but also to bring the dragon bones out?”

Ye Zheng turned her head. Zhou Yun had already appeared beside her without a sound. Together they gazed at the eerie and magnificent sight outside the window.

“I can’t command them. I only released the restraints that controlled them. It’s their instinct that drives them toward the dragon bones and toward the source of power.”

“…Where will they go?” Ye Zheng asked, her eyes fixed on the woman.

Zhou Yun thought for a moment. “They’ll search for other dragon bones in the Eastern District, the Southern District, the Northern District, until they piece together the true demonic dragon.”

The woman’s tone was calm, as though she were unaware of the shocking weight behind her words.

Lu Qi, who had squeezed into the narrow space between them, gripped the windowsill and stared outside. She still hadn’t recovered from the bizarre sight. She turned stiffly toward Zhou Yun, unable to comprehend what she had just heard.

The upper and middle districts had elegant names for each major area, while the lower district was crudely divided into east, west, south, and north.

“Auntie Zhou, do you mean those mon women whose bodies became strange will go to other areas of the lower district to search for dragon bones?”

“But everyone says the dragon bones are buried in the upper district to deter other aberrant realms and protect people!”

Lu Qi’s mind felt like pure chaos. She looked toward Ye Zheng for help. Ye Zheng’s expression showed no surprise. It held only grave contemplation.

“This is too insane. Has the empire been lying to us all along? What’s their purpose? And our competition to fight for dragon bone protection in the lower district”

In her daze, Lu Qi finally understood what Zhou Yun meant by lies. Yet she still couldn’t comprehend how things had reached this point.

Ye Zheng wasn’t surprised that almost all the dragon bones were buried in the lower district. She had already guessed as much when she encountered dragon bones in the Shadow aberrant realm and the Blood Flower aberrant realm.

When that guess was finally confirmed, her heart sank heavily. Her blood seemed to slow in her veins.

Since the claim that dragon bones were buried in the upper district was false, then the idea that dragon bones deterred and protected must also be false.

Yet the upper district had remained free of aberrant realms for hundreds of years. That much was true. Working backward from this enormous lie led to only one possibility.

It's dragon bones that attracted aberrant realms!

Ye Zheng slowly turned her head and met Zhou Yun's gaze. The woman smiled. Her gaunt face, with its prominent cheekbones, looked even kinder and carried an encouraging air, as if saying, "You guessed right."

Ye Zheng stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the woman. "Please tell me everything you know."

"I only know this much. There might be an even bigger lie behind this one, but I've already..."

Zhou Yun's body tilted. Before Ye Zheng could reach out to support her, Lu Qi stepped forward and propped her up, taking the woman's weight onto her shoulder.

Lu Qi's legs trembled as she held her. How could Zhou Yun's body be so heavy? Even though Lu Qi considered herself quite strong, she found it extremely difficult.

Together, Ye Zheng and Lu Qi helped Zhou Yun onto the sofa. Ye Zheng frowned at the woman's already translucent lower body. Just as Kieran had said, she had stuffed far too many dragon bones into herself. It was a miracle she had lasted until today.

"There's no need to stay with me. Especially you, Saintess. Shouldn't you go stop all of this?"

"They are Fallen Ones. They've lost any trace of human reason. They instinctively approach dragon bones and eliminate anything that stands in their way as an unfavorable factor. The closer they get to dragon bones, the stronger they become... You know this too, don't you?"

Zhou Yun gave Ye Zheng's right hand a meaningful glance.

Ye Zheng understood what Zhou Yun meant. Not only did she want to eradicate the Hope Project, she also intended to expose the truth about the dragon bones in the most violent and direct way possible. Those dragon-bone humans would head east and unearth the dragon bones buried in the lower districts using the cruelest and most straightforward methods.

If the empire couldn't stop them in time, the horrifying and evil truth would be torn open before everyone's eyes amid massive casualties and destruction, like ripping open a scar.

Ye Zheng thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't believe they are completely devoid of human reason and beyond saving."

Zhou Yun let out a mocking laugh. "Have you gone soft? I know them better than you do. They've already become no different from the monsters of aberrant realms. Every year the base loses more than a dozen caretakers because of them."

"I won't regret what I've done. I've never been a good person. This is my selfish revenge, against myself and against the empire."

"And you? Ye Zheng, you're the flawless Saintess model Yuan Yuan admired the most."

Ye Zheng met Zhou Yun's gaze for a while. The woman's eyes were like bottomless whirlpools that stirred everyone's emotions wildly.

"I'm sorry, Madam Zhou Yun."

"I won't let your plan succeed. They and the dragon bones aren't yet suitable to appear before everyone."

Zhou Yun bent her narrow eyes without any trace of surprise. She leaned back against the sofa in a relaxed posture. "Then good luck, Saintess. If you want to kill them and stop all of this, you're bound to pay a heavy price."

"The people you brought might not even half survive."

Hearing the faint mockery in the woman's tone, Ye Zheng felt no anger. She bent slightly at the waist and looked earnestly at Zhou Yun.

"I'll make sure everyone lives."

Zhou Yun's narrow eyes darkened, carrying pity and scorn. Her bloodless lips parted as if she still wanted to say something, but after hearing the girl's repeated and resolute words, they closed again.

"I'll make sure everyone lives, including them."

Ye Zheng raised her left arm and pointed toward the sky outside the window.

There were faint dark circles beneath her eyes, yet her black pupils showed no sign of fatigue. Instead, they shone with startling brilliance.

"...I wish you success."

Zhou Yun silently closed her eyes and spoke softly.

Seeing this, Ye Zheng straightened up and smiled. "Thank you for your hospitality, Madam Zhou Yun. Then I'll be leaving."

She wasn't only thanking Zhou Yun for treating her to such an astonishing truth. Although Zhou Yun's body was already on the verge of collapse, if the woman had truly wanted to deal a severe blow to her and her people, it wouldn't have been difficult. The omnipresent white mist could easily strangle any living thing, just as she had done in the municipal building.

Yet Zhou Yun had chosen not to continue attacking her for the sake of her revenge plan. She had let everything go.

Ye Zheng looked toward Lu Qi. Their eyes met, and in the depths of Lu Qi's gaze she saw confusion and bewilderment.

For the simple-minded Lu Qi, everything that had happened since Ye Zheng's arrival was extremely difficult to understand. She stared at the Saintess extending a hand toward her and blinked slowly.

Her legs felt somewhat numb. Lu Qi tried to stand, only to sit back down on the sofa. She turned her head and stared at Zhou Yun's profile. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but the woman's face already seemed hazy like mist, as if it would scatter with a wave.

"Ye Zheng, you go ahead. I... I want to rest for a bit. I'll catch up with you later."

A trace of surprise flashed through Ye Zheng's eyes. She glanced again at Zhou Yun's increasingly translucent body, then nodded in understanding.

"Alright then. I'll go first."

Only after Ye Zheng pushed the door open and left, and the door creaked shut, did the empty living room fall silent once more. Only then did Lu Qi withdraw her gaze and look again at the woman beside her.

Suddenly, her hand was grasped. Lu Qi instinctively struggled for a moment, but quickly restrained herself and let Zhou Yun hold it.

Mist spread through the living room. The warm yellow lamplight turned hazy and chilling. Lu Qi's body trembled. Even she didn't know why, in that moment of impulse, she had chosen to stay beside this strange woman.

"After Yuan Yuan implanted dragon bones, she became very unstable."

Zhou Yun suddenly spoke. Her voice was icy cold and inexplicably sent a chill down one's spine.

The woman's head tilted toward Lu Qi. Lu Qi's head froze. Feeling the weight resting on top of her head, she stiffened and didn't move.

"She knew I was very angry and very afraid after she implanted the dragon bones without permission. I lived here with her. This villa isn't far from the base. If something happened, we could find people from the base to stabilize her."

"There aren't many aberrant realms in the Western District because the dragon bones are imprisoned in the Heterolithic Underground Palace for research. But on that very day, a troublesome aberrant realm descended on York Town."

"York Town? That's my hometown. Then Miss Yuan Yuan went to York Town? She might have saved my family!"

Mentioning her familiar hometown seemed to dispel Lu Qi's fear. The two leaned against each other. She couldn't see the flash of astonishment that crossed the woman's cold face.

"I was originally competing in the Eastern District. When I heard something had happened at home, I secretly ran back. Then I got caught by the base while I was still dazed. It was Ye Zheng who..."

Listening to Lu Qi's rambling, Zhou Yun roughly understood the situation. This girl had indeed stumbled in by accident. Ye Zheng had saved her but hadn't had time to tell her everything. She didn't even know that She had imprisoned five hundred thousand people in York Town.

"...By the way, your daughter went to York Town. Then what happened? Did she eliminate the aberrant realm?"

"Yes, that aberrant realm was eliminated."

Zhou Yun swallowed the words she had originally intended to say, closed her eyes, and completely relaxed against the girl.

"Your daughter saved my hometown. She's truly amazing!"

"Mm."

The girl's cheerful voice sounded like distant, muffled noise. She didn't dislike it.

Perhaps she was simply too exhausted. She no longer had the strength to gather the power needed to make York Town, the place where Yuan Yuan lost control and died, disappear completely.

"...Auntie, are you sleepy? I'll go turn off the light."

"No need. Just stay like this. I'm tired."

Lu Qi fell silent for a moment. The deliberately lively expression on her face vanished. Soon she forced the corners of her mouth up again, raising her voice so it sounded no different from usual.

Her left arm circled around the woman's shoulders, and her hand covered the woman's eyes.

"Then just like this. You can rest against me for a while."

"Mm."

Lu Qi maintained this awkward position. For the first time, the usually lively and boisterous girl quietly gazed at the ceiling.

When Ye Zheng had asked her to deliver the message to Zhou Yun, she had told her roughly everything she knew.

Lu Qi pursed her lips. In the quiet atmosphere, she adjusted her stiff posture. The palm covering Zhou Yun's eyes seemed to have started sweating and grew damp.

She felt an itch in her palm. Zhou Yun's eyelashes occasionally fluttered like a butterfly resting beneath her hand, its frail and wet wings trembling from time to time.

Outside, strong winds howled. The two remained quietly leaning against each other until the itch in Lu Qi's palm finally stopped.

✧✧✧✧✧

The moment Ye Zheng closed the door, she couldn't help glancing back inside.

Zhou Yun seemed to have quite a favorable impression of Lu Qi. She should be fine.

What needed worrying about were the five hundred thousand people in the town. Ye Zheng couldn't be sure whether Zhou Yun would launch an attack on the town, but before entering the villa she had already instructed Wende to send half their forces toward the town, prioritizing the safety of ordinary people.

She turned and looked toward the horizon. A long and slender black shadow slowly drifted forward, casting a large and slowly moving patch of darkness.

Ye Zheng began running toward the shadow.

At this moment, they and the dragon bones weren't suitable to appear before the people. Either they would be completely eliminated by the empire before anything happened, or they would cause massive chaos and casualties before being eliminated by the empire, or they would eliminate the empire.

The thick fog on the streets had thinned somewhat, and the view ahead grew clearer. Ye Zheng suddenly slowed her steps. Her dark eyes sank as she looked forward.

Dazzling golden hair. Luxurious red uniform. A face that gradually revealed its sharpness.

"Sykes."

Ye Zheng's voice sounded softly.

"Ye Zheng."

"You're running in this direction. Are you trying to stop those monsters?"

Sykes asked, seemingly without much emotion.

"Or are you helping those monsters? Helping Zhou Yun?"

His voice grew heavier. Ye Zheng, however, raised an eyebrow.

"If your idea of stopping them is killing those monsters, then we aren't on the same side. I only want to..."

Her words cut off abruptly. The instant Sykes drew his sword and lunged, Ye Zheng also drew her golden ceremonial sword!

"What a pity, Ye Zheng."

"The empire's God's Chosen is going to die today."

The two ceremonial swords clashed, producing a piercing screech. Neither of them blinked as they stared fixedly at each other. Golden pupils blazed, while black pupils remained calm and deep.

Neither she nor Sykes was particularly skilled with swords, Ye Zheng thought. Sykes had struck first with his sword, which meant he hadn’t fully committed to killing her yet. She could still keep talking and try to persuade him. Fooling him wouldn’t be difficult.

But at this moment, Ye Zheng didn’t want to speak. Her black eyes were fixed intently ahead, without a single glimmer of light.

White mist swirled around them. For Sykes, this created a visual disadvantage, but Ye Zheng could fully and vividly feel the abundant moisture in the air.

She just let herself indulge this once. How close was she to being able to kill Sykes?