Shackles of Humanity

When the sun rose again, the dark clouds of Evil Qi in the sky had vanished. The spring breeze blew in, carrying the scent of grass and trees from the fields, and life returned to the small town that had been reduced to ruins.

Luo Kai struggled to his feet and let out a soft sigh as he faced the sun. A small puddle before him reflected a terrifying figure. His hair, clothes, and skin had been almost completely burned away, and his entire body was covered in a layer of carbonized black scabs, making him look like a scorched shrimp.

Enduring the intense pain, he tore at the bloody scabs on his face, revealing the raw, red muscle tissue beneath. With the skin on his face completely burned away, his gums were exposed, and he barely had any teeth left. He looked like an incompletely cremated corpse—an absolutely ghastly sight.

But he was still alive, and the Evil Qi had not possessed his body and mind. Through sheer force of will, every cell in his body fought against the infiltration of the Evil Energy. The untethered Evil Energy eventually gathered in his chest, forming a black mist that slowly swirled around his heart.

Luo Kai forced himself to move, shuffling into a ruined house where he found some moldy clothes to wrap around his body. Then, he walked out into the spring breeze and left the town.

Around noon, he finally reached a wide, concrete road. It was busy with traffic and people. Steam trucks, belching black smoke, slowly hauled artillery pieces, followed by a large contingent of soldiers. The soldiers all looked dejected and lifeless. ’Have we been defeated on the front lines?’

Luo Kai limped to catch up and asked a middle-aged soldier at the rear of the column, "Sir, where are you all headed?"

The soldier glanced back at him, then hastily took a few steps back, his face twisting in disgust. He raised his rifle and yelled, "Fuck off! Get any closer and I’ll shoot!"

Luo Kai froze and looked down at himself. His limbs had been warped and deformed by the Black Flame, and his exposed skin was a raw, crimson mess. It was a horrifying sight. No wonder the soldier had reacted so strongly.

He slowly walked to the side of the road and sat down, trying to calm the Evil Qi that was beginning to churn in his chest. ’This is getting complicated,’ he thought. ’The Evil Energy in my body fluctuates with my emotions. If I lose control, I might go on a killing spree. It looks like I can’t afford to get angry anymore.’

After resting for a while, he got up again and mechanically put one foot in front of the other, heading down the main road. A searing pain shot through his body with every step, but he walked on, his expression unchanged. This level of pain was nothing to him anymore.

...

The weather was strange that day. The morning had been bright and sunny, but in the afternoon, the temperature plummeted. Snow began to fall, and a cold wind swept across the fields, bringing with it a desolate chill.

Yue Han sat in an armored car, staring blankly out the window.

A stout, middle-aged man was also in the armored car. Seeing her expression, he said softly, "Xiaohan, don’t dwell on it so much. Winning and losing are all part of war. We lost this time, but we’ll win it back next time."

Yue Han remained silent, her gaze still fixed out the window where the cold wind howled. Up ahead, a hunched figure trudged alone against the gale. The person seemed to be disabled, with a twisted torso, and had to pause with every step. It was an utterly bleak sight.

A wave of pity washed over Yue Han. "Fifth Uncle," she said, "there’s someone on the road. Can we give him a ride?"

The middle-aged man leaned forward to look, then shook his head. "No. We’re still too close to the front lines. Those dogs from the Secret Service Bureau could show up at any moment."

"Oh... alright then." Yue Han didn’t say any more. As their vehicle passed the man, she suddenly felt that his figure looked familiar, but for the moment, she couldn’t recall where she might have seen him.

"Xiaohan, try not to think about the war. The fighting tournament is in a little over a month. You’ve always wanted to go to the Dongyuan Upper Country, right? You’ll have to give it your all this time."

"Mm." Yue Han nodded lightly and turned her head to look out the window again, lost in her own thoughts.

...

Luo Kai traveled day and night, avoiding all human settlements. When he was hungry, he caught and roasted rats and insects from the fields. When thirsty, he condensed water to drink. After walking for three days, his surroundings grew familiar. He had finally returned to Longyang City, to Lobster Lane.

Nothing had changed. Sewage still flowed in the gutters on both sides of the road, the surrounding shops were still old and run-down, and stray cats and dogs roamed the street.

The only difference was that a flower shop had opened on the corner. A beautiful figure was bustling about inside. Luo Kai froze, his expression vacant as he watched from afar. ’It’s Lu Qing,’ he thought. ’She’s as beautiful as ever.’

Luo Kai only snapped out of his trance after dark, when Lu Qing closed up the shop and left. He slowly retreated to a corner and squatted down, raising his head to look at the bright Stars in the sky. As he recalled the events of the past two years, an endless fatigue washed over him. ’Should I just be like most people, get married, have children, and live an ordinary life? Isn’t that what I’ve always wanted?’

The next day, Lu Qing arrived at her little shop early, just as she always did, to water and fertilize the flowers. Although the shop was in a somewhat remote location, business was very good. Its most profitable items weren’t the flowers, but the perfume her grandmother concocted. At first, it was only popular in their small circle, but eventually, the noblewomen of Longyang City began flocking to the shop, vying to purchase it. It was a pity her grandmother could only make ten bottles a month; otherwise, they would have been rich long ago.

At the end of a busy day, Lu Qing contentedly counted the cash in her pocket and closed the shop door. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a homeless man on the corner. After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly walked over.

The homeless man seemed startled by her approach and hurriedly pulled his tattered rags tighter around himself, not even daring to let his eyes show.

Lu Qing took a small bill from her pocket, placed it in front of the homeless man, and then turned to leave.

A long time later, Luo Kai peeked his head out and sighed sorrowfully. ’I can’t believe I’m actually afraid of people seeing me now.’ He reached out and picked up the bill from the ground. Everything he had on him had been incinerated by the Black Flame, including the pistol from Gao Gang and that bottle of Genetic Potion. Those were just material possessions, but the problem with his body was extremely severe.

The filthy gutter before him reflected a terrifying face that was neither human nor ghost. He now looked like a severe burn victim. Not only was his face destroyed, but his confidence was shattered as well. He had thought he’d long since stopped caring about his appearance, but in her presence, he discovered he was only a mortal man, far from reaching the Spiritual Realm of being unmoved by personal joy or sorrow.

Just as he was about to get up and find something to eat, a grimy newspaper blew over on the wind. A bold headline caught his eye: "Xingma Kingdom and Nanzhao Kingdom Sign Peace Treaty!"

Luo Kai quickly snatched it and began to read carefully. The war was over, but the paper didn’t say which country had won. Instead, it focused on the terms of the peace treaty: the two nations would jointly develop the Tieheng Ore Vein, each holding fifty percent of the mining rights; Ironwood Castle would be jointly managed and developed into a major trade center; the Nanzhao Kingdom would gain the right to use Ping Mountain Port and would open grain trade with the Xingma Kingdom. The two countries would form a lasting alliance and were forbidden from ever waging war again.

There were a few other notices at the bottom of the paper: Black Stone Heavy Industry had acquired thirty percent of the mining rights to the Tieheng Ore Vein, and Lord Yiven would recommend General Chang Yuan, the Tiger Soul Army Commander, to be the next Great Lord of the Xingma Kingdom!

Luo Kai lowered the paper, his face grim. ’So this war was nothing more than a game for the powers that be,’ he thought. ’Nanzhao got a seaport, Chang Yuan will become the next Great Lord, and Black Stone Heavy Industry secured mining rights. It seems everyone got what they wanted. The only sacrifices were the soldiers who died in battle.’