Chapter 72

For a moment, everyone's ears were filled with sharp screams, the sound almost pierced their eardrums!

The four Night Guards and the disciples holding ink all changed their expressions and covered their ears. Ye Yun's face also turned pale.

He looked at Zong Ning downstairs, gritted his teeth, turned around and ran downstairs!

Su Xuan and Gu Shuo followed immediately - even if the most powerful attack of those humans was just biting, Ye Yun alone could not deal with such a large number of people!

On the other side, Lu Tao and Yan Ning'an released their spiritual power together, trying to knock out those humans - but the problem arose again, if they hit them too hard, it wouldn't work, and if they didn't hit them hard enough, these people would get up again quickly!

"Why, you don't dare to attack these people?" Ran Yi's disguise gradually faded, and he was sneering, "Kill them. Kill them, and then they can attack me together, right?"

——Ran Yi is sure that they dare not harm humans, so he uses these humans as his perfect shields!

The next second, a fierce spiritual power attacked Ran Yi. Ran Yi restrained his expression and barely dodged it, but then another spiritual power quickly came from behind him and knocked him directly against the wall!

Ran Yi's face changed, and just when he was about to hit the wall, he suddenly twisted his body, stepped on the wall, and jumped hard to avoid the next several spiritual attacks!

Each spiritual power is extremely powerful, and the attack is extremely fierce!

This wasn't an attack that Zong Ning could perform alone; it was the result of several people coordinating as if they were the same person!

And there is more than one first-generation monster-level force among them!

Ran Yi dodged in a panic while glancing at Zong Ning, Su Xuan and Gu Shuo who had followed him down from the upper floors, and Lu Tao, Yan Ning'an, and Xian Mo who were upstairs. He narrowed his eyes and said, "When exactly did you get to know these people? I've never seen them before!"

"It seems like you've been following me around for the past five years," Zong Ning said slowly, "Don't you feel a little disgusted?"

Ran Yi was stunned for a moment, then his face turned ferocious: "I follow you so that I can kill you at any time!"

Zong Ning scoffed, "I know. What else could it be? Because you 'like' me?"

Upon hearing this, Ran Yi's face twisted, and Ye Yun, who had just been arguing with Zong Ning about this word, almost fell on the spot, his face flushed red.

He punched a human who jumped on him and said through gritted teeth, "This guy..."

Ran Yi gritted his teeth and said, "Zong, Ning!"

He gave up dodging, and suddenly, regardless of everything, attacked Zong Ning with powerful spiritual power!

"Zong Ning!" Several voices rang out!

The next second, there was a loud "bang" and the roof of Chunyue Pavilion was directly blown off, with smoke and dust rising all around!

Seeing this, Su Xuan, who had been unable to break through the human wall, no longer had the patience to "gently" deal with these humans in front of him - they were injured, and at worst he could be treated later!

He violently pressed all those people to the ground, waved away the smoke and dust, and rushed over - then he saw Ran Yi being pressed to the ground by Zong Ning, unable to move, standing there in a daze.

Ran Yi seemed unable to believe that he was suppressed so easily by Zong Ning. His entire face turned blue and red, but he couldn't get up no matter how hard he tried.

At this moment, all humans were out of his control. They stopped screaming and fell to the ground like puppets with their strings removed.

Chunyue Pavilion suddenly became quiet.

The few people who were still fighting upstairs were all stunned. After they reacted, they looked down.

Zong Ning walked up to Ran Yi step by step.

When the pair of feet stopped in front of Ran Yi, his whole body tensed up, and he raised his head while gasping for breath: "This is impossible..."

"What's impossible? You've grown stronger in the past five years, and so have the others," Zong Ning, who used to be irritating, said calmly, "If those people hadn't been a bit of a hindrance just now, I would have pinned you down long ago."

"You——" Ran Yi's eyes were bloodshot.

"In five years, you really haven't changed at all, whether it's your style of doing things or your strength." Zong Ning said coldly.

It was not until this moment that Su Xuan realized something and asked hesitantly, "...Zong Ning, have you been looking for him too?"

For the past five years, Ran Yi has been secretly following Zong Ning, hoping to kill him at any time to recover his strength.

And Zong Ning has also been looking for Ran Yi. Does he also want to kill him?

Ye Yun reacted: "You came to Chunyue Pavilion today, did you expect him to come here?"

But after he finished speaking, Ye Yun realized that something was wrong - not to mention that the current Zong Ning was different from the one five years ago, even the Zong Ning five years ago, who looked so indifferent on the outside, was not the kind of person who would involve so many innocent people just to avenge himself.

Most likely, he was also trying to investigate Ran Yi's whereabouts, and Ran Yi happened to choose to take action today.

However, with Zong Ning's personality, he would be so persistent as to track down Ran Yi for five years, which means...

Recalling the countless identical women's faces just now, Ye Yun opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice: "Zong Ning..."

What happened to Zong Ning after they left that dilapidated temple five years ago?

Ran Yi suddenly sneered: "I've said it before, Zong Ning, you think I'm an ant, but you are also an ant. You have a share in the lives of those people. You don't think that killing me can wash away your sins, do you?!"

Su Xuan, Ye Yun, Lu Tao and the others all frowned. The Xian Mo disciple who had already run downstairs started cursing upon hearing this: "Don't try to shift the life you've taken onto others. The person we want to kill today is you!"

Ran Yi's eyes turned, as if he wanted to ask who you are, but when he recalled their identities as sorcerers, Ran Yi laughed strangely: "Are you fellow disciples of the sorcerer I devoured?"

As soon as these words came out, the disciples holding ink immediately gnashed their teeth and said, "Ran - Yi -"

"Hate me? But I devoured your fellow disciples because of Zong Ning!" Ran Yi shouted, "If he hadn't forced me to drain all my strength back then, would I have had to go to such great lengths?! If you want to hate someone, hate Zong Ning!"

Xian Mo's disciples were already filled with murderous intent, but Zong Ning suddenly said, "You're right, I am indeed an ant."

When these words came out, everyone was stunned.

Even Ran Yi was stunned.

They all looked at Zong Ning.

He said calmly, "In front of this world, who is not an ant?"

Ran Yi's expression changed slightly, and then he said sarcastically: "You have completely changed. You dare to admit that you are the same as weak mortals? You——"

"Weak? There are many mortals who are stronger than ants, and there are also many monsters who are even weaker than ants. Weakness or strength has never been determined by whether or not one possesses spiritual power," Zong Ning said slowly, looking down at Ran Yi. "Since you followed me all the time and knew that I went to see the couple who took us in five years ago, didn't you press your ear against the window and listen carefully to what that woman said before she died?"

Ran Yi asked cautiously, "What did she say?"

Zong Ning twitched the corner of his lips and spoke slowly, "She asked if there was another young man who still hated her."

Ran Yi was a little hesitant.

Zong Ning stared at him. "That village is actually where you were born, right? It's also where you were almost disemboweled and eaten. When I first walked there with you, I felt like something was wrong with you. You seemed very familiar with the place, and the way you looked at the villagers was also strange. It wasn't until I went back there five years ago that the woman mentioned before she died that she recognized you."

Ran Yi was stiff.

That was a woman who had once taken them in.

She lives in the countryside, has no children, and depends on her husband for everything.

At that time, Zong Ning was still unconscious and was traveling with Ran Yi all the way.

When they traveled to the village with Ran Yi, Ran Yi smiled and said that they should just find a random family to see if anyone was willing to let them stay for a night - Zong Ning found it troublesome and he didn't like dealing with people. Living in the wild was more convenient and comfortable, but Ran Yi went to knock on the door without saying anything.

——Zong Ning felt strange at that time.

It was not until he realized the truth and returned to the village that Zong Ning realized what was hidden behind Ran Yi's smile - perhaps at that time, Ran Yi was almost unable to control his murderous intent.

He knocked on the door. If the other party refused them, Ran Yi would probably use his spiritual power to pierce the other party and then massacre the entire village.

However, it was that woman who opened the door for them.

That woman who was over fifty years old, with wrinkles all over her face and injuries all over her body, but she was gentle and simple.

…

On that morning five years ago, after Zong Ning confirmed that the village where Mr. Wang lived had been purified by a purification array carved on the roadside - he could probably guess who had drawn it - he set out to return to the couple.

The entire village was filled with people who had either died of illness or fled, and it was completely dead.

The couple still lived there.

The husband was strong and survived the plague, but the woman lay in bed, dying.

She grabbed Zong Ning's hand and asked softly if her other lover was safe and why he didn't come back with her.

Zong Ning was speechless.

At that time, he was undergoing drastic changes in his heart. After leaving Ran Yi, the world that Zong Ning saw seemed to have undergone earth-shaking changes.

He was unable to utter a word, feeling sorry for his ignorance and stupidity.

The woman didn't mind his silence and only murmured, "After you left, Niu Laosan's family in the village were the first to fall ill, then Aunt Zhao's family, and then that butcher..."

The woman's husband covered his face in silence, while the woman held Zong Ning's hand tightly, looked at the weed-covered roof, and said, "...You and that child, are both monsters, right?"

Before Zong Ning could react, the woman slowly said, "... Many years ago, Niu Lao San said he found a strange creature in the mountains. Aunt Zhao and her family and the butcher went up the mountain with him, but when they returned at nightfall, they found nothing. They said they cut open the monster's belly, but suddenly a group of wolves came, so they had no choice but to flee back and go up the mountain again the next day..."

"I was frightened by what I heard and went to bed early. Niu Laosan and his companions then went up the mountain for three days without finding the monster. Everyone in the village thought the matter was over. Since they couldn't find the monster, Niu Laosan and his companions had almost given up... But then one night, I suddenly woke up and heard some strange noises outside the door..." The woman closed her eyes. "I got out of bed, walked to the window, looked out, and saw... a child."

"He had a pair of wings on his back and a tail trailing behind him. He was clearly not human. He had no clothes on, and there was a thick, crooked scar right in the middle of his stomach... At that moment, I thought of that monster, the one that Niu Laosan and his men had cut open on the mountain," the woman said, her lips trembling slightly. "It was winter, and it snowed heavily at night. That child was standing at the entrance of the village, staring at our entire village. I think his eyes were filled with hatred..."

"I should have let him in, given him some clothes, and boiled some hot water. Even a monster couldn't stand it in that cold weather, right? But I was so frightened at the time that I stood by the window in a daze. I didn't come to my senses until the child turned and walked away... But even then, I felt that this child would come back one day..."

"I clearly remember his face, but when I first saw you, I didn't recognize it for a moment," the woman said hoarsely. "Yes, it's been so many years, the boy should have grown up by now."

At that time, Zong Ning understood that the woman already knew where the plague that swept the entire village came from.

Stunned, he remained silent for a while, then whispered, "You are too ill. I can no longer use my spiritual power..."

The woman shook her head and said, "Everyone will die one day. Many things are just karma."

She smiled bitterly and said, "But does that young man still hate me now?"

…

However--

"Not to mention those people who performed a dissection on you, do you hate that couple?" At this moment, Zong Ning asked expressionlessly.

After Ran Yi stiffened, he said coldly: "Of course I hate it!"

"What do you hate them for? Do you hate them for not stopping Niu Lao San from 'going up the mountain to hunt'? Or do you hate them for not showing concern for a monster of unknown origin?" Zong Ning said slowly, "You know very well, they are just ordinary people. They have tried their best to maintain the most ordinary kindness. What can you hate them for? You only wanted revenge on those who cut open your stomach, but you slaughtered them all because you enjoy killing."

"A monster who simply loves killing, yet claims 'the whole world owes him a debt of gratitude', and a mortal who has clearly never hurt anyone, yet has never hated the person who was retaliated against to death. Who is the ant?"

When Ran Yi heard this, his chest heaved and veins bulged on his forehead.

Zong Ning said this, and Ran Yi also roared: "Why are you being so high-sounding? You are a phoenix, of course you can't understand how ferocious beasts survive in this world! Do you think I don't want to be a normal person?! Do you know that once a ferocious beast has tasted the taste of killing and eating people, its instinct will never forget it!! Your body will clamor to absorb air, to eat people. If you try to endure it, your will will drive you crazy, and your body will feel like it has been cut into pieces! Then why don't you think about-"

"Who forced me to take the first bite?" Ran Yi's eyes were red. "It was people! Those people! They deserve to die!"

As the last note fell, the entire Chunyue Pavilion fell silent.

Ran Yi gasped for breath and said the words, then he sneered as if he was happy.

But Su Xuan suddenly said, "So your first move was to take revenge on humans, right? But the first people you took revenge on weren't Niu Lao San and his gang, right? After all, you left the village on that winter night, and it wasn't until you and Zong Ning returned there that you spread the plague to the entire village. So what did the first human you took revenge on do to you?"

Ran Yi looked at him coldly.

Su Xuan narrowed his eyes and said, "It doesn't seem like the hatred is that great? So, even though you knew what would happen to you after the first attack, you still easily chose to kill directly, right? But no matter what, is killing the only way to take revenge on humans?"

"That's not right, is it? If killing was the only way for monsters to take revenge on humans, the world would have been in chaos long ago. Why don't monsters just rule the world? It's precisely because many monsters know that they can't act recklessly just because they have a little spiritual power that the world can maintain such a delicate balance now, right?"

"Then again, I've never heard of a ferocious beast having such an unbearable desire to eat humans and absorb their breath. Although the Taotie isn't a ferocious beast, its appetite should be similar to its murderous desire," Su Xuan said expressionlessly. "Dad, is it so difficult to resist eating?"

Lu Tao on the second floor scratched the back of his head and said anxiously, "...It's still within the range of what I can endure if I try hard enough!"

"So, what's making you unable to endure it, those things that sound like they're beyond your control, or yourself?" Su Xuan said coldly, "Please stop passing the buck, okay? You've done this yourself, so you have to take responsibility for it!"

Ran Yi just froze there.

Su Xuan didn't want to argue any more, so he turned around and asked Gu Shuo, "Did you ask your subordinates to take this guy back or what?"

The disciple holding the ink brush reacted immediately and said, "Can you hand the person over to us? We still have a grudge to avenge!"

The four Night Guards who were still on the second floor frowned and looked at Gu Shuo: "Boss, this is against the rules, right?"

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Ye Yun breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward and grabbed Zong Ning's sleeve, whispering, "Are you okay?"

"It's okay." Zong Ning raised his hand and rubbed his head. He glanced at Su Xuan and the others and asked, "Where are you from? Can't you tell me now?"

Ye Yun hesitated for a moment, thinking that there was nothing to hide now that it had come to this.

He opened his mouth—

Upstairs, Yan Ning'an turned around and wanted to run downstairs, but when he saw Xian Mo standing quietly by the railing, he suddenly thought of something, and it was like a basin of cold water poured over his head.

He turned his head sharply and yelled to everyone below, "This isn't going right!"

——According to the past they knew, Ran Yi was not captured by the Night Guards or the sorcerers, but was beheaded!

——Something else must be happening!

At this moment——

Everyone only heard a "bang" sound, followed by a strong breath rushing towards them!

It was clearly something invisible and colorless, but for a moment everyone's vision was obscured!

They couldn't see anything clearly, only darkness in front of their eyes, and their ears were filled with screams, laughter, wailing, and groaning!

The breath mixed with countless dark emotions swept past them like a hurricane, and then—

All of them penetrated into Zong Ning's body!

Ran Yi lay on the ground, his faint voice ringing in everyone's ears.

He seemed to have completely given up on concealing his true nature.

"Maybe. You're right. My greed and desire to kill have nothing to do with others. It's only because of me. But I can't help it."

"How strange! Am I the only one who can't help it? Is it such a strange thing to be unable to help it?"

"Monsters are so much more powerful than mortals, so why should we endure it? If we want to kill them, we can just kill them, so why should we endure it? It's okay if others don't understand me, but why do you, Zong Ning?"

"During these five years, when I was desperately devouring humans with the desire to kill you, I also wondered why I worked so hard. - Now that I think about it, I admit that I probably liked you too much. You and I obviously get along so well, why did you suddenly come to your senses? Why did you abandon me?"

"Not only did you abandon me, you also beat me up so badly. Isn't that a bit too much? You were the cutest when you followed me without thinking about anything."

"It was indeed a mistake for me to decide to take action today. I didn't expect so many people of unknown origin to suddenly appear around you. But since you can't escape, I won't let you go so easily."

"Taste all of this delicious, human nature. After tasting it, you will know how wrong it is for you to leave me—"

The black whirlwind swept everything and poured out with Zong Ning as the center!

All the objects in Chunyue Pavilion flew up and hit the pillars and walls!

The roars of the four Night Guards echoed in the strong wind, and the ink-holding disciples responded to each other to confirm their positions and safety.

Lu Tao shouted, "Ah Xuan, Ah Ning!"

The whistling wind swept up everyone's voices, making an extremely noisy scene. And in the midst of it all—

Suddenly, a fierce wind split the boundless black and slashed straight down!

With a "whoosh" sound, the black wind dissipated in an instant. Everyone only saw a deep crack on the ground on the first floor, and Ran Yi was in the center of the crack, and had become silent.

Zong Ning's eyes were red, and a constant stream of black energy emanated from his body.

He said coldly: "...Just put it this way, it's disgusting."

The next second, he fell down with a loud bang.

Ye Yun, Su Xuan and the others' faces changed drastically, and they rushed over to catch Zong Ning!

On the second floor, Yan Ning'an grabbed Xian Mo's collar and said, "You predicted the accident earlier than I did, right? Why didn't you warn everyone earlier?!"

Although Zong Ning had killed Ran Yi, at least most of the black aura had already penetrated into Zong Ning's body!

This part of the "past" can obviously be changed——

Yan Ning'an froze there.

No, it cannot be changed.

If they only knew that "something would happen" but didn't know that Ran Yi had prepared this, then even if they were prepared in advance, Ran Yi could still inflict all the black energy on Zong Ning before they could react, and that would be a step that could be completed in an instant.

At the same time, Xian Mo grabbed his wrist.

The man who had been smiling and joking before said calmly at this moment: "I did guess that something would happen, but I also said that spiritual power and witchcraft are both very mysterious things, and things like time-space shuttle spells are even more so. Many things cannot be changed so easily. Brother Ning An, the most important thing probably begins now."

Yan Ning'an took two breaths, his whole body in a state of confusion. He felt as if something had flashed through his mind, but it wasn't clear enough: "...You are the one who cast the time-travel spell, right? You knew in advance that we would travel to this era, and deliberately allowed the situation to develop into what it is now?"

"Your first question is probably correct, but your second question is wrong," Xian Mo sighed, "I didn't know anything beforehand. I didn't even see the time-travel spell until you drew it for me, right?"

Yan Ning'an was stunned.

That's right, when he showed the time-space travel spell to Xian Mo during the day, the guy looked like he was thinking about it seriously, and it didn't seem fake.

"I don't have the ability to predict the future," Xian Mo's voice was inexplicably filled with a gentle resignation. "I guessed that something would happen, and I made the same guess through deduction as you did. My meeting you, little brother Ning An, on that path was probably just one of the links in the intertwined chain of fate."

"And I guessed that I was the one who cast the spell because," Xian Mo looked at Yan Ning'an and laughed, "See, you thought of it too, right?"

"This whole set of arrangements is indeed very similar to my style."