All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 738 - 99: Night Rain at the Mountain Temple (4400, Outline for Thought, Updates are a Bit Slow)

Chapter 738: Chapter 99: Night Rain at the Mountain Temple (4400, Outline for Thought, Updates are a Bit Slow)

Dust Li, bordered by the barren wilderness to the south, amidst mountain forests and rolling hills.

The night rain is cold and quiet, a desolate and solemn wind rustles the sea of trees.

A scattered night rain shrouded the world with the dim night, the silhouette of distant mountains intermittently visible under the brilliance of thunder, like silent giants standing at the edge of the sky, their oppressive presence making it hard to breathe.

In the dilapidated temple amidst the mountains and forests, the firelight trembled faintly, its reddish glow like dimming blood, filling the entire hall.

Inside the temple, a martial artist, a merchant, an old man, a physician, four people with different attire, appearances, and statures, all bore the same expressionless faces, either holding weapons or curled up in their coats, warily watching the other three, silently sitting or lying by the flickering bonfire.

Outside the temple, numerous corpses were scattered around, some having recently met their end, their bodies gutted, innards consumed by wild beasts, their skulls bearing the massive bite marks of monsters/demons, even their marrow sucked dry.

Among them were even the remains of children, but not much of their bones were left, only their skulls rolled aside.

In this monster-infested wilderness, all life is in peril, and the only one you can trust is yourself.

Crack.

The sound of heavy iron boots crushing tree branches arose.

A speck of firelight lit up in the pitch-black rainy night.

All four looked up simultaneously towards the exterior of the temple, then exchanged wary glances with each other.

A figure holding a rainproof torch was slowly approaching from the deep forest of the night.

This was a young martial artist, tall and with a fluid posture, like a mighty tiger or leopard. His face was concealed by a douli, but the sight of his raincoat draped with iron plates, the long sword and light crossbow slung at his waist, and the dripping, bloodied head he carried was enough to speak volumes of his danger.

A mist-like heat exhaled from his mouth, hovering by his side and forming a lingering fog.

The surging flow of his vital blood made even this cool rainy night seem heated, and a sense of dangerous ache spread through stiff bodies, as if warning of an imminent crisis.

The douli slightly lifted to reveal a crimson eye, its pupil reflecting the firelight inside the temple.

He drew closer, bringing with him a bone-chilling coldness and oppression.

"A monster/demon!"

Upon witnessing this scene, the physician cried out in alarm, struggling to get up and retreat, but he stumbled over his blanket and nearly fell into the bonfire.

Just at that critical moment, the young martial artist flicked his fingers, and an invisible force of qi, like a punch, sent the physician reeling backward until he hit the wall and let out a groan before sliding down to sit on the ground.

"Not a monster/demon."

Lowering his hand, the young martial artist carried the demonized head into the broken temple, and now it could be seen clearly: the head he carried had morphed grotesquely, its mass of black hair had turned into sharp blades, its eyes sunken, and the spine beneath its neck transformed into a centipede-like creature; although dead, it still twitched.

"Merchant Qiao Xuan."

He said, "Encountering a monster/demon in the wilderness, I fought with all my might to defeat it. Vaguely remembering there was a bounty for slaying demons, I brought the head with me to prevent it from reviving on the way here."

"Yes, sorry, I misunderstood you, warrior."

The physician, regaining his composure, was a thin man. He bowed and apologized to Qiao Xuan, "Recently, wandering outside has put me in constant fear of monster/demons, it’s made me a bit delirious. Please, your honor, be magnanimous, forgive my rude mistake..."

On the other side, the old man also lowered his head, his voice hoarse, "Those who opt to stay here... cannot enter the city... Heh heh, the city is currently preparing to send a very important batch of supplies back to the sects, fearing demon men infiltrating. But it turns us into prey for the monsters/demons here."

"Indeed, disciples from the sects warned me not to enter the city recently."

Qiao Xuan found a spot in front of the campfire and sat cross-legged. Setting the demon’s head aside, he leaned forward, warming his hands by the fire, his demeanor natural as he spoke, "But I didn’t expect things to be this serious; the number of demons outside the city is overwhelming—hasn’t the Frost Calamity ended? Why are there even more demons than before the calamity?"

No one answered his question.

"Newcomer, you killed more than just monster/demons, didn’t you?"

After a while, the martial artist seated to the right turned his head, his voice rugged, his gaze knife-like, staring straight at Qiao Xuan: "Speak the truth, just how many people have you killed? The scent of blood on you is thick."

"Ha."

Qiao Xuan was unfazed, meeting the gaze of the fierce Great Han holding a sword: "So what if I killed people? With how you put it, one could mistake it for a childish jest."

He stared intently back at the martial artist with a fierce expression, scoffing, "Look at the state of this world, even though the Frost Calamity has ended, it is still in such terrible shape! No snow falls from the sky, the ground bears greenery. Thinking peace had come, I went out with my brothers to travel and trade. And what happened?"

"Along the way, when have the calamities of war ever ceased? Traveling the southern path, from atop the mountain, I witnessed a civil war within the Bai Bu, armies from various tribes facing off in fortifications, King Jialuo and King Ju Guang confronting each other from afar, and within the Juguang Tribe, there was rebellion, forcing us to detour."

"In the villages of East Field, battlefields where they fought against Da Chen became breeding grounds of plague after the ice and snow melted, revealing the rotting corpses, wiping out entire villages one after another."

"On the road, aside from demons, countless lost souls roamed. The destruction wrought by the Frost Calamity was too severe; many small towns lost their farming folks. Despite this being a bountiful season, with ripe fruits hanging from trees and fertile lands, simply scattering seeds would sprout life, yet there’s still not enough food, with people starving to death in a season that should have been a bountiful harvest."