The Demon Swordsman 2
Ch. 218 - The Beginning of the Dawn
Ren Yuan left the house hurriedly, while carrying the bloody cloth in his hand was about to take some supplies of medicine but his steps stopped just like that. The woman gasped for a while and pegged in place.
"Xin Chen?"
Ren Yuan was not sure if his vision was correct or not but the pseudo-shadow disappeared in the darkness of the night and the crowd, the woman shook her head softly. Realizing that what he saw was a mere shadow, it might also be due to being too exhausted.
Inside the house there was a huge commotion, especially when the attacking man called out loudly. Angry and disappointed in himself.
"What is the First Pillar?! Throw it all away, make me throw up! Release, motherfucker!" the man broke his hand, rebelling violently. "Stop pitying me, I know you're always expecting more! But what is my day, I've tried repeatedly but what?! It's the second time I've been dying like this!" Slowly his high tone turned desperate, though not crying the man was clearly enduring all the sadness and guilt. Lan An, he was injured the most severely among the others.
But with all the wounds he could move, all the feelings on his body were nothing with the wounds on his heart. Lan An wanted to return to what she used to be, where she was not expected to be compared to the First Pillar before. But all that is impossible, everyone blames it. Even for something beyond his control.
"I've done everything I could to save him from that rotten empire, I had the other pillars guard and serve this empire as I focused on the rescue mission!"
Lan An spilled all her disappointments, becoming a First Pillar was no easy matter especially for people like her. The reason Lan An had never come directly to the public was because he and his trusted soldiers were planning a rescue mission for Xin Fai. Expect the other pillars to do their job well.
Every day they report good progress on the problems they deal with, but Lan An only realized something was wrong when one of his subordinates brought up the Valley of the Gods that had even been controlled by the Four Surveillance Units and several villages opposite him were also attacked. Lan An was disappointed when all those problems came, all the people accused, attacked and blasphemed her.
"I want to relinquish the in-office"
"Stop that, you can't say it." Xin Xia was still holding onto Lan An's hand which was covered in incision wounds. She wanted to cry but all her tears were dry, too many things made her cry. Xin Fai, Ren Yuan, Lan An and all the other sorrows.
"You promised to protect this land, for my sake and for our children."
Lan An wanted to slap her own face, in front of Xin Xia she was so embarrassed to show all her weaknesses. Xin Xia and the child she was carrying was an important reason why she remained in the midst of people's insults and mockery.
"I will definitely protect you. Until I managed to drag him back here ..." Lan An stroked his wife's cheek, one of his eyes being shed by tears. "Please stay happy."
"I will always be happy for you."
*
Ren Yuan had just walked into the room and found Xin Xia crying, he had only returned an hour later and there Lan An was already lying unconscious. Several healers and medicine experts arrived, looking at Lan An's dying state.
Lan An's face was peaceful, a facial expression that had long disappeared over the past few years. Lan An bore all her burdens alone and Xin Xia understood that the most. He had already done everything he could to look for traces of where Xin Fai was hidden, until they finally got word of a hidden camp in a remote part of the eastern Qing Empire.
Lan An mobilized about thirty selected soldiers, they did not have time to reach the camp because it was attacked by a group of black warriors. Their science is not dangerous. They were battered, leaving only twelve men left at the time but four of them perished on the way back.
Xin Xia stopped crying, only looking at the peaceful face of Lan An. "You have fought and sacrificed a lot. You're strong, so make sure you stay until everything's protected ...."
It was no longer clear what she saw, Xin Xia's eyes blurred by her own tears. He was still waiting until they finished dealing with the wound and healing Lan An.
Ren Yuan stopped treating Lan An's wounds when he heard the roar of the flute sounding bitterly, saying hello to their ears on a sad night. The flute's groove disappeared, out of nowhere as people were made speechless to hear the regret-filled rhythm.
*
Almost entering the beginning of dawn and the dark blue sky is overcast waiting until morning arrives, the rain will fall. The wind told him so. Xin Chen had already heard everything from the residents here, even though they said it with a heavy heart since this was all related to the safety of the First Pillar at the moment. It's not easy to tell a stranger like him.
Lan An had descended into battle alone, without the help of the Imperial Pillars, indeed they had already signed a peace treaty but it would not affect the actions to reclaim what was lost to them.
It felt like everything he heard was so opposite, in society there were so many people who did not like Lan An so much while here, Lan An desperately fought for the fate of the Shang Empire in the future.
All he knew now was that Lan An was being treated, Xin Chen was sitting on the roof of the house where not a single person had seen him. In front there is a sea that is so wide stretches to limit this port city. There was an imperial palace not too far from there and several luxurious buildings, perhaps the residence of another Imperial Pillar. They live all-round in luxury, so magnificent the building looks.more glorious than ever.
Another Imperial Pillar left after the war seven years ago has resigned from his post and is reluctant to join after seeing anyone who replaces him. Not his wish but after seeing for himself the glaring changes as the government benches changed, he was fed up and preferred to be a tavern keeper rather than join them.
Indirectly, there was now only one Lan An from the old Imperial Pillar who had survived, six people were gone, one resigned and the other, Xin Fai, surrendered in battle.
Xin Chen blew his flute, the sadness in this city sounded crowded in his ears. The voice was heard, making the cries stop and the people were glued to their place. Xin Chen stopped blowing it when he saw the young man who was the same age as him standing at the end of the roof. Looked with anger at him.
"I know who you are, stop running away like a loser and show yourself right now!"
Xin Zhan took out his sword without hesitation.