CALID Chapter 26

Rebellion

Regarding the question “Who exactly are you?” that Duan Xu, who was being choked by the Ghost King, refused to answer even in the face of death, he suddenly uttered an answer other than “Duan Xu”.

Why is his skill so formidable?

Why does he have such deep knowledge of Danzhi and Tianzhixiao?

Why does Han Lingqiu feel familiar with him?

Tianzhixiao, the loyalists nurtured by the Danzhi Court and the Azure God, pushing human limits, the most elite dead soldiers in the world.

Just a while ago, Fifteen, who used to say “Tianzhixiao was born for the Azure God, never betraying the Azure God,” looked palely at this junior brother in front of him who obviously completely betrayed the Azure God, forcibly calming himself: “It’s impossible, you think you know Tianzhixiao well, and then you’re here…”

“When I was fourteen and just became an apprentice, I followed my master to pay respects to all the senior brothers. At that time, I had just passed the Ming trial and was covered in injuries. When I bowed to you, I almost fell down because I couldn’t stand steady due to my injuries. You helped me and said to me, ‘The one known by Tianzhixiao, how can you not stand steady with just a few injuries?’ That was our only meeting. Am I right, senior brother?” Duan Xu mercilessly shattered Fifteen’s stubborn disbelief.

He Simu looked at Duan Xu, with the blazing firelight of the Danzhi camp in the distance and the brilliant fireworks rising in the Shuozhou Prefecture city, under the radiance of these two completely different lights, the smile in his eyes seemed to be ignited flames.

As soon as his words fell, he suddenly made a move. Taking advantage of Fifteen’s distraction, a small arrow shot from his sleeve crossbow pierced through the eye of the black warhorse beneath Fifteen.

Fifteen leaped off the horse, and the injured horse jumped a few steps as if it had gone mad before collapsing on the ground. The winter wind was biting cold, and Duan Xu and Fifteen faced each other from a distance, faintly hearing the sound of war drums coming, seemingly some commotion in Shuozhou Prefecture city, but these two paid no attention.

Fireworks burst open in the sky, their explosive sounds echoing one after another, depicting a splendid scene of a prosperous era.

Under the blazing firelight, Duan Xu drew his Broken Illusion sword with both hands and laughed effortlessly, “I’ve always wanted to spar with senior brother.”

Fifteen’s gaze was as sharp as a cold blade. He pressed the Huqi knife at his side, swiftly unsheathing it to clash with Duan Xu’s weapon, sparks flying from the force of their confrontation.

“Why! Master’s favourite disciple is you! Why do you betray Master, betray the Azure God!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, senior brother. Master, besides the Azure God and himself, doesn’t like anyone else. I guess with his stubborn temper, he definitely wouldn’t admit to you all that he was blinded by me and let me escape. These years, to save face, he’s only said I disappeared. Isn’t it laughable?”

All day long, hunting geese, calling them until a goose pecked his eyes out, turns out Duan Xu’s unlucky master was blinded by him.

Between a few sentences, Duan Xu and Fifteen had already exchanged blows more than ten times. Their speed and perception were of top-notch level among the crowd. Fighting against each other was dizzying, as if they both had three eyes, accurately predicting each other’s movements. In dozens of rounds, every move drew blood, turning the wilderness into a scene where two indistinguishable dark shadows fought to the death.

Fifteen’s pupils suddenly contracted, the hatred in his eyes like a venomous arrow aimed straight at Duan Xu. Yet Duan Xu seemed like a cotton ball, not dodging but smiling, “Senior Brother Fifteen, I really want to ask you, why do you believe in our master and in the Azure God? You’re so good at deceiving people, aren’t you afraid you’ve been deceived too? If the Azure God is truly as described in the Azure Scriptures, as the creator god, all-knowing and all-wise, and the Huqi are the noble children of the Azure God, then why would he create a rebellious person like me?”

“You betray the Azure God, you will be severely punished, condemned to hell!”

“Since the world is created by the Azure God, then believers, non-believers, and those who dislike him, aren’t they all part of his plan? Why does he still need to punish those who don’t believe in him? Why does he need us to believe in him? Why can’t we believe in something else? If the gods are so eager, coercing and enticing power from us, then what kind of gods are they? From childhood, we’ve been slaughtering innocents day after day, with countless blood debts on our hands. Why aren’t we punished but instead can escape the lowly status of the Han people and qualify to believe in the Azure God?”

Fifteen’s gaze flickered, gritting his teeth, “So what? Dying for the Azure God is their honour, and our glory! The way of heaven is vast and profound, don’t speak blasphemy!”

“Hahaha, the gods are omnipotent, yet they need ants like us to die for them? Do you need ants to die for you? The way of heaven is indeed vast and profound. Even if there really is an Azure God in this world, he certainly wouldn’t be the Azure God our master speaks of, nor the nonsense Azure God in the Azure Scriptures! Senior Brother Fifteen, think carefully, use your brain that has pretended to be countless people! What did our master teach us? Is it to grant us paradise, or to use and control us?”

“Senior Brother Fifteen, I have never betrayed anyone, because I have never believed in them, not even for a moment.”

Duan Xu had been injured before, and Fifteen’s martial arts were obviously not something those soldiers could compare to. He was adding injuries to injuries, his black clothes already soaked with blood, dripping onto the grass. But he seemed oblivious, his movements not only relentless but his voice growing louder too. His mocking laughter seemed to echo over the vast wilderness, piercing through Fifteen’s ears into his heart layer by layer.

Fifteen knew Duan Xu was trying to provoke him, but he was still struck by Duan Xu’s relentless questioning like a storm.

He suddenly remembered that before “Seventeen” held the Ming Trial, he had heard about a child in the Seventeenth Cohort who his master particularly favoured. That child had exceptional martial talent, and when injured, the master would even excuse him from training for a few days. Occasionally, the master would also personally instruct the child in military strategy.

The master was originally a renowned war god in Danzhi. Later, after being injured, he retreated to the background to establish Tianzhixiao. He occasionally heard rumours about the master’s deeds on the battlefield but never received direct instruction. He was somewhat jealous of this child.

As expected, this child officially became his Seventeenth junior brother through the Ming Trial. When serving tea, the child swayed unsteadily, and he felt a bit disgusted. Was it because of such a child that the master favoured? Yet, he still reached out to help him up.

However, the child looked up at him and then smiled warmly. Many years later, he couldn’t remember the appearance of that child hidden behind the black veil, only recalling the bright and clear smile, filled with genuine joy, like the unstoppable radiance of midsummer sunlight. He stood in a daze for a while, feeling that he had never seen anyone smile like that before.

Those who knew Tianzhixiao rarely smiled.

But Seventeen was different. He was naturally cheerful, smiling when praised by the master, laughing when scolded by the master, and even when punished and beaten until his skin cracked, he showed no signs of sorrow. It seemed like every little thing could make him happy.

He really had a pair of bright, happy eyes.

At that moment, Fifteen suddenly understood the master’s favouritism towards Seventeen. He couldn’t help but envy and yearn for something in this child. He had once asked the master privately why Seventeen seemed so happy, why he could have such bright and happy eyes.

The master simply said lightly, because Seventeen’s faith in the Azure God was the most devout. As the Azure God protected him, he bestowed upon him such a temperament.

Because Seventeen’s faith in the Azure God was the most devout.

It was simply a joke.

The happiest person in Tianzhixiao was someone who had never believed in the Azure God.

Fifteen looked at Duan Xu’s bright eyes in the firelight, and they overlapped with the image in his memory. After so many years, there hadn’t been any changes. Seventeen had become a traitor, yet there was still something in him that Fifteen yearned for.

What exactly was he yearning for?

Having disguised himself as so many people, were those feelings of passion and pain that had once churned in his heart belonging to others or to himself?

In the heart of fifteen, suddenly there surged an infinite resentment. Why was it that although seventeen was the one who clearly betrayed, seventeen stood so boldly righteous while he remained in agony? It would be better if seventeen disappeared from this world, never to have such a pair of lively bright eyes again, never to have such a questioning voice. It would be better if everyone were equally miserable, equally silent, equally ignorant.

With these thoughts, his Huqi knife had already pierced through Duan Xu’s ribcage. Duan Xu, in close proximity, spat a mouthful of blood onto his face. Fifteen angrily stared at the handsome face before him, now smeared with blood. Duan Xu’s face was also injured, blood soaking his eyes, making them bloodshot like those of a demon.

Duan Xu reached out, gripping the knife lodged in his own side, and slowly began to smile. He softly called out, “Senior brother… you’re still wavering in the end…”

“Shut up! I…” Fifteen’s words halted halfway as he widened his eyes, gazing at the sword gleaming coldly before him. His throat was slit open, blood splattering Duan Xu’s face. Duan Xu let go of the Broken Illusion sword in his hand and slowly said, “Impatient and unaware of the trap, relaxing vigilance after assuming victory. If you hadn’t wavered, how could you make such a low-level mistake, Senior Brother?”

Fifteen clutched his throat, collapsing onto the ground, unable to make a sound, only able to stare at Duan Xu, as if seeking an answer from him.

An answer to a question he himself didn’t even know why he sought, but had pursued his whole life.

Duan Xu removed the Huqi knife from his body and acupunctured himself to stop the bleeding. Behind him was a sea of fireworks blooming into brilliance. He staggered a few steps, just like when he served tea to Fifteen years ago. Then he laughed and slowly said, “Senior Brother, did you think that by devoutly believing in the Azure God, you could rid yourself of your Han heritage and part ways with those who died by your hand?”

He gave him the answer.

Fifteen’s eyes trembled, and suddenly he remembered those “Fourth-Class Citizens” who were bound before him when he was six, whom he was allowed to kill one by one. Their faces resembled his own, filled with terror. His master told him he was different from those people, that he was chosen by the Azure God, and as long as heaven acknowledged him, he would also be a subject of the Azure God.

He wasn’t one of those who could only await death with necks bared.

He would cleanse his lineage; he was nobler than those wretched people.

He wasn’t indiscriminately slaughtering; it was a sacrifice for the Azure God, perfectly justified.

If he didn’t think this way, if he didn’t have such devout belief, how could he go on living? For what purpose did he live!

He had no parents, no relatives, not even his own name, only a lowly lineage. Besides the Azure God, there was no one in this world who needed him. If he didn’t live for the Azure God, then what was the meaning of his existence in this world?

If the Azure God was also false, then what was he?

Fifteen could no longer make a sound. He slowly moved his lips, whispering something to Duan Xu through lip-reading, then slowly closed his eyes.

Duan Xu silently watched Fifteen. After a moment, he suddenly started laughing. Despite being injured to the point of staggering, he still stood straight, his laughter echoing eerily across the wilderness, tinged with a strong scent of blood. He laughed and coughed, coughed and laughed, as if he would laugh himself to death in madness.

Suddenly, a pair of cold hands caressed his face. In the midst of the madness, he lifted his head, the light in his eyes dissipating. Those hands lightly patted his face, and he heard a very calm and clear voice ringing in his ears.

“Wake up, you’re too excited.”

Wake up.

Duan Xu trembled, and the light in his eyes gradually returned. Amidst the fireworks, he finally saw clearly the devil before him: her beautiful phoenix eyes, the mole at the corner of her eye, her slightly furrowed brows, her pale complexion and indifferent expression, earnestly looking at him, this ghost.

He blinked slowly, and suddenly, his blood-stained eyes held a different kind of moisture. Tears mixed with blood trickled down his cheeks, falling onto her fingers, disappearing into the darkness below.

Duan Xu cried.

He Simu thought, this was the first time she had seen this little fox cry.

She helped him wipe away his tears and said, “You’ve also given your senior brother a proper burial.”

Author’s note: “Limeian”: Limeian, a custom of nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu, Turks, and Uighurs. Refers to cutting one’s face with a knife. Funeral customs. Cutting one’s face with a knife, weeping, exchanging blood and tears, to express mourning and remembrance for the deceased.