Chapter 22 Regrets

"You are far calmer than I thought," Lu Tianzi's lips twitched when he noticed that Yan Bingren was meditating in the cage.

Before Yan Bingren could even answer, a series of sword lights flashed, and the reinforced wooden cage was cleanly sliced into pieces.

Seeing that, Yan Bingren's eyes could not help but widen in astonishment!

Even though an Intermediate Essence Building realm martial artist would be able to cut through Ironwood, it would definitely not be as easy as how Lu Tianzi made it look!

Yan Bingren swallowed a mouthful of saliva as he carefully probed the young man before him with his perception.

As expected, he was no longer able to detect Lu Tianzi's cultivation realm!

How long had it been since Lu Tianzi broke into the Intermediate Essence Building realm?

How could he have broken through yet again?

Lu Tianzi had already been an unrivalled talent, but this far exceeded even his own previous rate of cultivation!

While Yan Bingren was still in his state of shock, Lu Tianzi had already stepped into the driver's seat and started driving the horse carriage.

"W-Where are we going?" Yan Bingren asked as he remained seated in the cage behind.

Even with the horse carriage in motion, it would have been easy for Yan Bingren to join Lu Tianzi at the front. However, he quickly decided against it after seeing the corpses of the two servants from the City Lord Manor that were still lying on the seats.

"Before you ask anything, let me first tell you what I know," Lu Tianzi did not even look back as he replied.

Yan Bingren immediately quieted down, focusing as his junior in the martial academy started to give a recount of everything that had happened since a week ago.

Of course, Lu Tianzi did not describe every single detail, such as how he defeated the demons, or even how he had eaten the meat of a demon and had ended up benefiting from it. Even if he said so, Yan Bingren might not believe it, so Lu Tianzi decided to just leave that out completely.

As Yan Bingren listened on, a bad premonition started to weave itself together in his mind. When Lu Tianzi finally got to what the demons said about the agreement between Hu Yuanbo and Nanbai Zhaoyu, Yan Bingren finally felt all of his strength leave his body.

The respectable City Lord Hu and his benevolent ways.

The celebrated Holy Guardians and their honourable mission.

The mystifying Holy City and its unblemished record.

All of them were nothing but lies!

"No, that cannot be the case. If that's the case, how is it possible for you to defeat the demons on your own? And where are the remains of the demons?" Yan Bingren tried his best to reject the harsh reality that was staring him right in the face.

This was how most humans behaved when faced with an abrupt negative change.

If left to gradually discover the truth on their own, they might be more willing to accept the situation. However, it was different if someone were to suddenly throw the harsh fact at them, especially one that would completely disprove everything that they had previously known.

No matter how credible this fact was, people would still be reluctant to accept it.

They would try to question it with every little detail that might serve to discredit it, searching for a way to reject this change in their lives.

But that was not going to work this time.

Yan Bingren did not know how, but just by looking at the current Lu Tianzi, he immediately realised that the young man had already grown far stronger than just a week ago.

Pure individual strength, that was probably what allowed him to win.

As for the remains of the demons…

"We are going to a safe place where I had temporarily dumped all the demon remains. You can see for yourself when we arrive," Lu Tianzi's voice was cold.

While recounting everything to Yan Bingren, Lu Tianzi had been forced to relive all that had happened. This caused the vivid memories of almost losing his life to resurface, which in turn caused his mood to plummet.

But that was not all.

His hatred caused by the betrayal was once again ignited as well.

No mercy for traitors!

Lu Tianzi gritted his teeth as he rode on. It did not take long before they arrived at the steep cliff above the underground cavern, and Lu Tianzi decisively released the horses from their leashes, letting them roam free once more.

"Where is this?" Yan Bingren asked in curiosity. All he could see in front of them was a dead drop.

"This is the safe place that I spoke of just now. We are going down," Lu Tianzi picked up the two corpses and casually threw them over the cliff.

"What?" Yan Bingren frowned.

Was this guy out of his mind? They were not even able to see the depths of the cliff!

"Don't worry, it is not as deep as it looks. More importantly, it is safe down there. Or would you rather sleep out here in the wilds?" Lu Tianzi asked.

"This…" Yan Bingren's frown deepened. "Is it really not dangerous?"

"We are in the same boat now. I have no reason to lie," not even waiting for Yan Bingren's answer, Lu Tianzi started to climb downwards.

Yan Bingren let out a sigh as he saw this. If he wanted to know more information, then he truly had no choice but to follow. He knew that he needed to see the corpses of the demons with his own eyes before he could truly believe Lu Tianzi's words.

Otherwise, even if he knew that there was definitely something amiss, there was no way that he could just believe Lu Tianzi's words that the respectable City Lord Hu had been colluding with the demons!

The downward climb did not take long.

As martial artists, their stamina and strength were both far beyond that of mortals, and were able to casually maneuver through the rocky cliff.

When they finally arrived at the bottom, Yan Bingren immediately felt his breath quicken.

Sweeping his perception around, he could identify the demon corpses scattered around the bottom of the cliff walls. These were all carelessly thrown over the cliff by Lu Tianzi, resulting in their bodies being badly damaged during the fall.

Thankfully, martial artists had a stronger body which could still remain largely in one piece even after the powerful impact. If they had been mere mortals, most of them might already be completely unrecognisable by now.

But in any case, the tails behind their backs was more than enough proof that they were demons!

For Yan Bingren, that was enough prove about the contact with demons!

Other than the demons, Lu Tianzi had also cut up some trees and threw them down into the cavern. These huge logs did not survive the impact in one piece, but the resulting broken logs were still useable. With these pieces of wood, Lu Tianzi could now proceed to burn the corpses!

Yan Bingren had already fallen into a daze as he watched Lu Tianzi busy himself with the preparation of the fire and collection of the main body parts. His mind was desperately trying to piece everything together, hoping to form up a clearer picture of the current situation.

With a flint that he had borrowed from Uncle Ye's house, Lu Tianzi set all the corpses aflame at one go.

Lu Tianzi had considered letting Yan Bingren try to consume demon flesh as well, but that carried too high a risk.

As someone who had been carefully nurtured as a genius in the Ivory Rock Martial Academy, it was inevitable for Lu Tianzi to develop a sense of superiority when comparing himself to his peers.

If even he almost succumbed to the agonising pain, Lu Tianzi did not believe that Yan Bingren had much of a chance.

"How about it? Have you regained your senses?"

Amidst the crackling flames, Lu Tianzi finally asked as he passed a small bun over. He had noticed how Yan Bingren had fallen into a daze after hearing the full story, and had chosen to wait for the other party to sort out his thoughts.

But time was not on their side.

Lu Tianzi needed to quickly ascertain Yan Bingren's stand before he could think about how to factor Yan Bingren into his own plans.

"Y-Yeah," Yan Bingren nodded while biting into his bun.

"So what are your plans from now on?" Lu Tianzi turned his gaze towards his senior from the martial academy.

Yan Bingren hesitated for a moment before asking in return, "What about you?"

"I… am going to kill Hu Yuanbo!" Lu Tianzi answered, articulating each word with strength in his voice. "Will you join me in doing so?"

Lu Tianzi's words were resolute, resounding clearly in Yan Bingren's ears.

But hearing that, Yan Bingren could only gape at him in shock!

"Kill City Lord Hu? Are you are out of your mind?" Yan Bingren was flustered as he hurriedly tried to persuade Lu Tianzi. "Even if what you said is true, you still shouldn't let revenge overcome your rationality! City Lord Hu is an Origin Core realm martial artist!"

"I know that! But I cannot rest while I know he is still out there basking in the undeserved glory that he bought with the lives of unsuspecting loyal citizens! I definitely know that I am not his match at the moment. But no matter how long it takes, I will definitely gain the strength to kill him one day!" Lu Tianzi retorted.

"How about this? Rather than doing that, we can confront him with the power of the masses! If what you said really is true, then by spreading the news that the naming of Holy Guardian is just a farce, we can incite the citizens of Ivory Rock City against him! Surely even he as an Origin Core realm martial artist would struggle if he were pit against every other martial artist in the city!" Yan Bingren countered with his own suggestion.

"Are you crazy? He will just label us as traitors and kill us off!" Lu Tianzi replied in disbelief. "There is no way that the others will stand on our side!"

"The masses are not blind! Especially my sister Caijie! She will definitely believe me!" Yan Bingren insisted.

"That is not going to work for sure! You underestimate the reverence that the masses have for Hu Yuanbo at the moment! I hate to say this, but as of now, he is still the symbol of strength and hope for Ivory Rock City! Only with the power to suppress him will you finally gain the right for the masses to even bother listening to you!"

"You would not know until you try!" Yan Bingren refused to back down.

Lu Tianzi fell silent.

He truly could not think of what else he could say to convince this person whom he thought should have been able to relate exactly to what he was going through.

Sadly, their thoughts and mentalities differed, and thus the solutions that they came up with differed as well.

"Let's just go to bed for now and continue this tomorrow," Lu Tianzi sighed before turning to walk into the depths of the cavern.

"Yes, that sounds about right," Yan Bingren calmed down as well upon hearing that, following Lu Tianzi in, where they each nestled in their individual corners.

Time passed quickly as the night deepened, but Yan Bingren was still unable to fall asleep.

In his head, snippets of the day continued to flash past. Lu Tianzi's words and Hu Yuanbo's words were mashed together in a huge mess.

Judging from the current situation, he definitely believed Lu Tianzi's words over Hu Yuanbo's. However, he simply could not bring himself to imagine ever being able to kill Hu Yuanbo! No matter what, Lu Tianzi's goal seemed like nothing but a pipe dream!

As he thought, the only way to stop Hu Yuanbo was by using the power of the masses!

After all, despite his strength, Lu Tianzi was still just a 15 year old. His mentality and intellect might not yet be ideal in terms of decision making off the battlefield.

Rather than following Lu Tianzi's plan, Yan Bingren might as well just go ahead and act according to what would actually work!

Once Lu Tianzi saw the results of his efforts, surely Lu Tianzi would have no choice but to acknowledge that his suggestion was the way to go after all!

Having made up his mind, Yan Bingren quietly crept up from his corner, and slowly made his way back to the cliff walls.

During the short conversation earlier, Yan Bingren had clearly seen the determination in Lu Tianzi's eyes. He knew that even if he did wait for morning to arrive, there was no way that he would be able to convince Lu Tianzi to adopt his point of view.

Since that was the case, then it would make things much easier if he just left right now and got on with it!

But as he had only just started his climb, Yan Bingren suddenly felt a chill overcome his body. It was the feeling of being eyed by a predator, as though his life had already been placed in the hands of another.

Yan Bingren had a bad premonition as he hurriedly turned around to look.

However, it was all too late.

The sword pierced right through his chest, stabbing right into his heart!

"W-Why…?" Yan Bingren struggled to speak as he watched Lu Tianzi holding onto the hilt of the sword, his eyes completely devoid of emotions.

"I thought that you, of all people, would be able to understand me. But in the end, even you chose to betray me as well! Keeping you around would be too big of a risk!" Lu Tianzi sneered.

Lu Tianzi pulled out his sword in one swift action, and Yan Bingren fell motionlessly to the ground. As he fell onto the rocky ground, Yan Bingren could feel hot tears flowing down his cheeks.

But he was not crying due to the pain of having his heart stabbed at.

Even that was far less painful than the indignation and regret that he was feeling at the moment!

Regret that he chose to take things into his own hands without discussing with Lu Tianzi.

Regret that he failed to consider the crushed mental state of a 15 year old kid who had just been traumatised by the betrayal of the people he respected the most.

Regret that he had been carelessly leaving his back open, or he could have at least had the time to explain himself before Lu Tianzi struck.

Most of all, Yan Bingren regretted that because of his act of carelessness, he would likely never be able to see his younger sister ever again!

As his vision gradually went black, the image of Yan Caijie remained etched before his eyes. It was as though in his final moments, she was right there beside him, personally sending him off.

Even though Yan Bingren knew that this was nothing but an illusion, he was still satisfied to be able to see the image of his younger sister at the end of his road.

In the end, he was still unable to fulfil his duty as her elder brother, unable to care for her for the rest of her life as he had planned.

Back in Ivory Rock City, Yan Caijie gazed helplessly at the moon as she let out a deep sigh.

Closing the window to block out the cold winter winds, she walked over to her big brother's empty bed and sat there in a daze.

At this moment, all she could do was to trust in the words of that servant from the City Lord Manor.

While her elder brother continued to live out his life in honour, doing his part to help the rest of mankind, she would continue to wait for him here in Ivory Rock City.

Yan Caijie still firmly believed that her big brother would never leave her without a word. Even if he did, he would definitely return one day to see her again.

What she could do now was to live her life to her fullest.

When her elder brother finally returned one day, she would then be able to show him that she had done a good job with living her life.

At that time, she would finally be able to hear his elder brother's praises while patting her gently on the head, just like he had always done since they were young…