Nightmare Light

Chapter 187 This is the truth

“Accumulated wealth is never wealth, but a burden.”

When Shi Xionglue uttered those words, the elderly-looking Vice-Bishop Zhao still looked incredulous.

She scrambled to her feet, her voice hoarse, and with a shout, lunged at Shi Xionglue.

But at this moment, the light flashing on her hands was extremely weak—clearly, the previous battle had exhausted the power she had accumulated over a hundred years.

At this time, Vice-Bishop Zhao was just an old woman on her deathbed.

She lunged at Shi Xionglue with a hoarse voice, but after only a few steps, she fell backward.

Shi Xiong looked down at the old man on the ground with a hint of sympathy: "We true warriors understand this principle very well—true strength comes from a wealth of combat experience and precise control of power."

Lin Wang deeply agreed with Shi Xionglue's point of view, but was also somewhat curious, so he asked him, "Then how did you train your combat skills in the more than 100 years since you've had a fight?"

Shi Xiong raised his cleaver, head held high with pride, the blade gleaming coldly: "I can now slice potatoes into hair-thin strands, and each one will be the same thickness!"

"..." Lin Wang's face twitched, and he turned his face away.

"Pay...pay the debt!" The old woman on the ground got up again. This time, she didn't choose Shi Xionglue. Instead, she bared her teeth and brandished her fists as she lunged at Lin Wang.

Lin Wang remained motionless, calmly watching the old woman as her fists pounded on him.

The old man's weakened fists had little strength left. After patting Lin Wang a few times, they gradually softened and slowed down, turning the punching into patting.

Then, she stopped moving, panting.

She swayed a few times, staggered backward, and fell to the ground.

She looked up, glanced blankly at Lin Wang and Shi Xionglue, and then looked around.

She gradually slumped to the side and lay on her side on the ground.

"Mother..."

The old woman lay down, her eyes listlessly staring at the sky.

Lin Wang and Shi Xiong exchanged a glance.

"For over a hundred years, she has maintained her life and youth by forcibly continuing to exert her strength... Now, her accumulated strength has been exhausted, and the life force she forcibly maintained will gradually dissipate," Shi Xiong said.

"So?" Lin Wang asked.

“So, she’s going to die,” Shi Xiong said.

Lin Wang remained silent for a moment, then walked to Vice-Bishop Zhao, knelt down, and asked her, "Where do you want to be buried?"

Deputy Bishop Zhao looked at the sky and after a few seconds said, "I'm going to die, am I?"

"You should know this better than I do."

"I... I also have to pay off my mother's debts." She sighed and turned to look at Lin Wang.

The old woman's face once again revealed the same wise and kind expression as before: "Young man from the North... tell me, Mother clearly knows that we mortals have stolen so much of her power and wealth... why do you turn a blind eye to it?"

"Is this all you want to know?"

"I'd rather die knowing why than where I die."

Lin Wang pondered for a moment, then nodded: "I can answer you."

He looked down, his gaze sweeping across the ground.

Soon, Lin Wang saw what he was looking for on the ground not far away—a small beetle.

Lin Wang walked over, picked up the beetle, and returned to a short distance from the old woman, placing it on the ground—next to a piece of splattered flesh and blood.

Hmm, it's probably blood the cook vomited...

Lin Wang muttered to himself. The old woman, somewhat strained and curious, turned around and looked at the small beetle on the ground: "What do you want to show me?"

"Be quiet and watch carefully."

After the little beetle was placed on the ground, it curled up in its shell and pretended to be dead. After a few seconds, it slowly stretched out its six legs.

It gently touched the pieces of flesh and blood not far in front of it with its tentacles.

Then, it quickly raised its two front legs, pushed the chunk of flesh, rolled it into a ball, and rolled it away into the distance.

The old woman remained silent, staring blankly as the beetle rolled away. It took her a minute or two before she finally looked up.

Is this the truth?

"This is the truth."

She suddenly burst into laughter, tears streaming down her face: "Everything we struggled so hard, cultivated and fought for, everything we cared about and cherished, was just a remnant dropped by the gods? So insignificant that they didn't even care?"

Her voice was hoarse, then she laughed loudly for a while: "Then what's the point of all this fighting? What are we... fighting for?"

“You’re wrong.” Lin Wang said calmly. “We never live for anyone else—we may not be as powerful as the gods, but mortals also have the right to live for themselves.”

“I’ve never lived for anyone…” The old man paused, lay on the ground in silence for a while, and then suddenly revealed a strange smile. “Northerner, if I had met you more than a hundred years ago—things might not have turned out this way.”

She sighed deeply, slowly closed her eyes, and stopped speaking.

Lin Wang sensed that although the old woman still had some life force, it was gradually dissipating.

He stood up and nodded slightly to Shi Xiong.

There's no need to add insult to injury to a dying old woman at this time; let her die slowly on her own.

"Now, let's talk about our business."

Lin Wang looked at Shi Xionglue: "You were planning to kill me before, what about now?"

Shi Xiong was slightly embarrassed. After experiencing so much, he really found it difficult to kill Lin Wang again.

What's more, there's a strange but incredibly powerful girl next to her—who also has the exact same face as the saintess.

While I was hesitating.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind them, from where Huang Quan Gong had been standing.

With a few crackling sounds, the pile of bone powder on the ground suddenly trembled, and a figure less than half a person's height darted out from it and quickly disappeared into the distance.

Before Lin Wang could speak, the white cat had already transformed into a streak of black light and quickly chased after him.

The fleeing figure was incredibly fast, among the fastest even by lay masters. Coupled with its familiarity with the terrain, it darted left and right among the scattered bones.

But none of this mattered to the cat girl, as the dark streak of light approached her at an incredible speed.

“Every time I see this girl’s speed… I find it incredible…” Shi Xiong muttered to himself. “Brother Lin Wang, may I call you that?”

"of course."

"What's the story with this girl beside you?" Shi Xiong asked. "She looks exactly like an old friend of mine."

Just as Shi Xiong was about to fully express his curiosity, the white cat returned carrying that figure.

"Lin Wang! The big rat has shrunk!"

"What the heck?" Lin Wang was stunned for a moment, not understanding what the cat girl meant.

But he was still taken aback when he saw what the cat girl was carrying.

"Holy crap! This thing isn't dead?!"

(End of this chapter)