Ling Xiao was finally quiet and obedient like a good baby when night came. He was sitting on Castellan Liu Xintang's conference table, listening to him recount matters of the past.
Seadragon City was placed in a special geographical location. It was within the border of the Celestial Soul Ward, yet saw countless battles with demonic beasts. This was because the ward only stopped demonic beasts at the green rank and above; the yellow ranked demonic beasts and below could freely pass through it.
Demonic beasts were somewhat weaker than Chain Soul Masters at the same rank. This was for the most part because they inherited a few basic techniques from their parents and others of the older generation, and later on became proficient in one of them. It wasn't their individual strength that made them terrifying. What made them terrifying was their large numbers and the rate at which they reproduced.
Humans could start nurturing their child to become presentable Celestial Soul Masters around the time they turned 12. The Demonic Clan didn't need to wait so long. After only four years, most demonic beasts could become warriors ready to battle the human race. On top of that, demonic beasts gave birth in nests, rather than one at a time.
With the speed at which the Demonic Clan could reproduce, combined with the number of offspring in each generation, they were like a large city. When all of them attacked in tandem, it would naturally spell disaster for the humans under siege.
Winter was coming. There were many amongst the Demonic Clan who hibernated during these cold months. They had to prepare a large stock of food to survive. For that reason, fall became known as the season of war; the time of year where the fiercest battles with the Demonic Clan took place.
"Wait!" Ling Xiao interrupted. "I have a question. Why is the Demonic Clan attacking us?"
Liu Xintang, Liu Yue, and Shen Xuan, all three of them stared at Ling Xiao like he was an idiot. Liu Xintang found this question off-form and explained, "It's very simple. We humans are their food. They plunder our corpses after every attack, then take them back to their hideouts and store them up to get through the winter."
Even though it sounded very repulsive, the four people seated around the table didn't express their emotions on their faces. This wasn't because they'd grown emotionally numb to this occurrence, but rather they were steeling themselves in response.
Liu Xintang continued, "There's another reason. Demonic beasts reproduce too quickly, too often. It's not possible for them to commit mass suicides all the time, right? This is also why they wage war on humanity. Putting it in a certain perspective, they fight us to resolve the resource problem they have as a result of their rapid reproductive rate."
"So you fight them every year?" Ling Xiao suddenly erupted into laughter. "Why can't we just send them some food every year? Either that or teach them how to grow crops so they can be self-sufficient."
Liu Xintang, Liu Yue, and Shen Xuan were stunned speechless. They never expected Ling Xiao to say something like this. This clearly conflicted with the long-standing, unquestioned, and universally accepted notion they firmly believed in. Humans and demons should not, could not coexist.
The way in which they dealt with the Demonic Clan was something that had become ingrained into their very being over many generations. They simply didn't know better than to fight and kill the Demonic Clan. As such, they really never thought of doing things the way Ling Xiao suggested.
However, Liu Yue rejected Ling Xiao's proposal without giving it further thought, "Elder Ling, your method might seem feasible on the surface, but those not of our kin will surely be of different heart. Even if the Demonic Clan accepted our goodwill, you can't just assume they'll be grateful for all we gift them when they become powerful. When the time comes to fight, we'll drown in calamity."
Liu Xintang agreed with his son's point of view. "The members of the Demonic Clan are extremely vicious. It's impossible for us to communicate with them. We can't brave such dangers. Besides, the higher ups will never agree to doing something like this. Elder Ling, I can only say you're too childish."
Ling Xiao smiled, his lips sealed shut. Demons? Would a demon like Tang Yingying be savage? Only ghosts would believe such nonsense! While we're at the topic of savagery, there are humans far more savage than those demonic beasts. Why aren't you killing them? Your so-called savegary is nothing but the impressions the remnants of a battlefield give you. How are we not savages when we also take to the battlefield?
Naturally, Ling Xiao couldn't make his universally offensive and inhumane opinions public. If he did, he would probably be hunted down by all of humanity! "Alright, alright. I admit, I'm somewhat childish. I'll comply with your arrangements with regards to the mobilisation of this operative. I don't have any opinions." Ling Xiao stretched his body and yawned. "Sleep, I'm going to sleep. I'm so tired." He stood up, turned around, and left for bed.
Shen Xuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He quickly explained to Liu Xintang, "Uncle Liu, Elder Ling's temperament is a little strange."
Talking bad about me? Ling Xiao faintly heard a bit of what they were talking about as he walked away. But he didn't bother with it. What was on his mind was the fact Shen Xuan addressed Liu Xintang as Uncle Liu. What's their relationship? Why is a small wolf cub like Shen Xuan actually so respectful toward Liu Xintang?
When his thoughts reached this point, Ling Xiao came to a sudden realisation. No matter how reliable Liu Xintang might look, who knew if he would plot against him simply because he was related to Shen Xuan? I can't let my guard down around Liu Xintang, Ling Xiao reminded himself on the way to his room.
Back in his room, Ling Xiao wasn't in the mood to think of much of anything. He was wholly focused on sacrificially refining Hua Que's soul stone. How could he even have any inclination to think about anything else?
Ling Xiao felt a little exhausted some time later. He stopped sacrificial refining the soul stone and went out for a walk. It was a chilly autumn night. Even with the waning moon shining down on the earth, it felt amply chilly.
Ling Xiao aimlessly wandered about, strolling along a trail by the Castellan's Hall. There was a time when he dreamed of enjoying the leisurely feeling of taking a stroll under the moonlight. But now that he could, he felt it was nothing worth gawking at. It was no different from how he lived before.
As Ling Xiao let his imagination run wild, a sound that seemed to be of a woman mewling suddenly floated over. He came to a stop and looked around. That voice was actually coming from a well!
One couldn't help but feel a shiver run down their spine when they heard such sorrowful weeping at night without a human around. But Ling Xiao had always been brave and curious. Since he had discovered this strange occurance, he naturally wanted to investigate it to the very end.
Without the slightest hint of hesitation, Ling Xiao jumped down the well. He'd confirmed this was a dried up well, but felt there was no harm in jumping down. It was as he expected, his feet didn't land in the water but landed firmly on the bottom of the well.
There was a room at the bottom of the well. The entrance in the form of the well wasn't big, but the bottom was very wide. Under the dim illumination of moonlight, Ling Xiao saw a woman trapped in a small cage. She had scraggly hair that covered most of her face. Her clothes were dirty and messy too, making her look like the kind of lunatic people would walk a large circle around.
The woman didn't look old, maybe 26 years old at most. Who knew why she was locked up in here.
"Child… My child…" The woman murmured between her tears. She seemed oblivious to Ling Xiao's arrival.
Since he was already here, Ling Xiao was indifferent to whether he was going to expose a family's scandal. "Where's your child? Do you want me to help you look for your child?"
"My child… My child…" Once she heard someone else bring up her child, the woman went mad. She forcibly shook the metal cage bars. "Shen Xuan, you bastard! You killed my child and claimed he was a demonic beast! You must die!"
"Shen Xuan!" Ling Xiao's heart trembled slightly. He suddenly recalled how Shen Xuan had addressed Liu Xintang as Uncle Liu, a realisation daunting on him. He spoke with a small smile on his face, "So, it's like this."
"It's not polite to gesticulate while wantonly talking about someone else's family matters," came Liu Yue's cold voice from behind Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao didn't turn his head around. He smiled to himself and said, "You guys are still being so polite to that bastard, even after he drove this elder sister to such a state?"
Liu Yue was stunned. "What do you know?"
Ling Xiao hollowly chuckled. "It's nothing more than a story of dallying with a woman and forsaking her after the deed was done. How old school. But Shen Xuan's move is just slightly more impressive. He placed the fault on this poor woman and drove her to insanity."
The corner of Liu Yue's eyes twitched. "As expected. Father said I shouldn't look down on you."
Ling Xiao turned around and bluntly said, "You flatter me."
Liu Yue gritted his teeth. "But you simply charged into another family's restricted area. Even if you're an Elder, you have to pay the price!"
Without warning, he unleashed a punch which was aimed at Ling Xiao's chest. The impact from the wind accompanying the punch tightly pressed Ling Xiao's clothes to his body. Liu Yue was actually using three quarters of his strength!
Seeing the fast and vicious punch approaching, Ling Xiao stored up enough energy and unleashed a ferocious punch in return.
Bang! Two fists collided, but neither budged even an inch. Only the two of them knew the ground a few meters beneath their feet had turned to rubble.
Liu Yue lowered his fists. A moment later, he suddenly cupped his fists at Ling Xiao. "Elder Ling, please excuse me for committing an offence!"
Chapter end
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