Durin's Diary

Chapter 948 Jiang Ziliu

Walking in the snow, Yan Zhenqing suddenly realized that he had nowhere to go.

Like the old man, that home was no longer his home; the pavilions and towers of the Yan family had nothing to do with him.

With that in mind, he finally walked into a 24-hour bookstore.

I found a corner, picked up a book, and sat down.

"Mr. Yan came from the west today, he must have gone to the east wing of the palace for dinner." The bookstore owner was an old elf, that's what they call him in the Western Lands, in the Eastern Lands he's called a pointy-eared elf.

"Yes, we had a meal." The old elf in front of me was also a member of the Sword Alliance, so there was nothing to worry about.

"That's wonderful! I'd also like to have a bowl of the Queen's wide noodles," the old elf said with a smile.

"Look how pleased you are with yourself." Yan Zhenqing rolled his eyes: "Tonight we had the new Hangzhou Qiantang cuisine, and the sweet and sour pork was absolutely delicious."

It's true, the Empress's cooking is indeed delicious.

After they finished chatting, the old elf sat back down at his counter, while Yan Zhenqing leaned against the corner of the wall, looking at the book in his hand.

The book is titled "We Are All Soldiers," and it's clearly a memoir published by a veteran at his own expense. To be honest, it's very popular among young people—because they can always learn survival skills from these books.

For example, this book was written by a veteran from Shanhaiguan in the northern border region. Young people who would go to Shanhaiguan would buy a few copies to compare and learn all kinds of survival skills. In the families of Changtang, there were all kinds of books like this, just to give each child the greatest chance of coming back alive.

Dying at the hands of the enemy is a matter of poor combat skills; although it's shameful, no one can really blame you.

But if someone freezes to death at Shanhaiguan, dies from being blown away by sandstorms at Yumenguan, gets swallowed by the wetlands at Zhennanguan, or is crippled and forced to retire due to blood-soaked feet in the trenches, such a person would truly be ridiculed—you haven't read a single page of all the survival knowledge in those books!

At this moment, some young people came in and started picking out books. One of them took a liking to the book that Yan Zhenqing was holding.

"Grandpa Dwarf Demon, can you give me this copy? I can't find a second one. My brother is going to Shanhaiguan the day after tomorrow, and I want to give him a copy."

Without a word, Yan Zhenqing handed it over, along with the money for the book: "Consider this a gift for your brother. Go ahead."

"Thank you, Grandpa Dwarf." The young man left happily.

Yan Zhenqing sighed – “Look, this child is talking about the dwarf demon grandfather. Although it’s a compliment, the difference between humans and demons always reflects some unspeakable past events in the Eastern Tang Dynasty. Now, with the three passes and four seas, we are all like brothers, sworn to be sworn brothers, and fighting for each other’s lives in the trenches.”

But if one day, people no longer have to squat in trenches, their feet soaked in mud and blood, then the distinction between humans and demons will be the most dangerous ideology in Changtang.

We have all shed blood for this land, so why are you humans considered human and we aliens considered demons?

That's why he said those things at the family banquet. He rarely had the chance to see His Majesty, nor could he possibly go to see him specifically for this matter. He was Yan Zhenqing, and everyone in the capital feared him like a tiger. He was also embarrassed to visit other people's homes. After all, in that chaotic era, as a master swordsman... many of those who were unwilling to fight for Chang Tang, and those who were misled, had powerful figures among them, and many had died by his sword.

Their folly led them to their deaths, but if one day he were gone, or if the Three Passes and Four Seas lost their function, and Changtang were no longer plagued by external enemies, would anyone in the Sword Alliance still be willing to give up everything, become Battosai, and kill his disciples for him?

Yan Zhenqing dared not even think about it.

The more he thought about it, the more afraid he became of that new era.

He was old. Although he was still young compared to the aged appearance of Grand Tutor Pang, he was already two centuries older than the little old man.

He lived seven hundred years longer than Dulin.

Seven centuries of utter worthlessness.

But he still felt remorse, because he felt he had let down the old man in the Western Continent. He and the old man had failed to protect his grandson. To others, the Ascension to the Divine Stairs seemed like a beautiful dream.

But for those who know the inner workings of the gods, becoming a god means ultimately becoming a prisoner of the divine office.

To become a deity, one must choose a divine office, which is the concrete manifestation of a deity's power and the source of that power. It relates to the deity's power attributes and the attributes of the believers. Divine offices are often closely related to divinity, being a derivative of it.

Those with the same divine power of lesser or higher rank often spontaneously or consciously merge, and usually only one deity of lesser or higher rank can exist for the same divine office. Even if they can coexist for a short time, war will inevitably break out eventually, and the victor will completely possess the divine office, while the loser will lose it.

These are not secrets among legends. When a god holds a divine office for too long, his personal existence will gradually disappear. The divine office will replace the god's views on all people, just like a substitute for a substitute. The god will then spontaneously protect the divine office he holds.

Apart from those without a master and those who fear the master, no god in this world has any chance of being spared, unless they are weak gods or have just become gods.

I'm currently at Yumen Pass. Perhaps I should go see Du Lin myself tomorrow and see how far this kid has come.

He desperately wanted Dulin to break free from this vicious cycle, but he was also afraid—if Dulin really did break free, what kind of being would he become?

Wu Fuzi, a nameless deity from another land, calls himself an evil god. But since he came to this world, he has been helping Chang Tang. Without him, Chang Tang would probably have ceased to exist six hundred years ago.

Fearful Master, Fearful Cruelty, is a true god of war and a true evil god. However, he never displays his majesty and terror when he is by the side of the Nameless One. But the legends all understand that compared to him, the so-called Crimson God of War is nothing but a joke.

If Dulin could accomplish such a great feat, what kind of being would he become? Would he be considered an evil god, protecting all living beings?

Or perhaps, in some people's eyes, those who do not rely on divine power are evil gods.

The nameless man claimed to be an evil god, but in Yan Zhenqing's view, if the nameless man was an evil god, then the more evil gods like him, the better—what's wrong with believing in an evil god who can protect all living beings? It's far better than those so-called gods who treat believers as firewood and lives as sacrifices.

(End of this chapter)