Scourge Messenger

Chapter 354 Indifference
Ying Le opened her eyes, snapped her fingers, and listened quietly to the screams coming from outside. Only when she heard a scream she had no recollection of did she smile.

She pressed her temples and chuckled softly.

"It's been so long since I've had a dream within a dream, it felt so good."

She held a cigarette between her teeth, lit it with a flick of her finger, took a deep drag, inhaled deeply, and exhaled, completely relaxing. She looked like a young woman in the prime of her life; even considering her actual age, whether as a mortal or a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she was still in her prime. Yet, her face now wore a world-weary look, like a lonely soul lingering in the mortal realm for too long.

“In recent years, dreams have usually been four layers deep, five layers are not uncommon, and three layers are considered very joyous.” She flicked the ash from her cigarette into the skull ashtray, a subtle expression on her face: “The last time I had a two-layered dream within a dream… it seems like it was four years ago, right?”

"So... Xiaoru has plundered the metal element of my [Ying Hongchen]? The deeper she sinks, the more I can catch my breath?"

Although there are no records in the family, Ying Le is still a Foundation Establishment Messenger, and [Reflecting the Mortal World] is her bloodline supernatural power, so with a little reasoning, the truth can be basically deduced.

"Ahead lies hell, little Rushi."

Ying Le remained motionless until the cigarette in her hand burned out, at which point she snapped out of her daze and stubbed it out.

“There’s no point in staying.” She sighed. “Even if we caught Xiao Ru Shi, she would be more than willing to commit suicide. For people like us, death is just a long, dreamless sleep.”

"However... we still can't keep her here."

With a thought, Ying Le dispatched 120 elite guards to enter the Demon Gathering Ground. Although the Demon Gathering Ground was isolated from the outside world, Ying Su would send someone out every night to relay information. Moreover, she had already mastered the [United Hearts] divine power to perfection, and even through the secret realm, she could vaguely sense that 20 elite guards had perished.

Ying Le stepped out of the tent. A light rain was falling, and the ground was covered with heads. They were all commoners from the nearby mountains and fields. Ordinary people might not be able to find them, but the Baibao Guards were idle anyway, so they captured these people who didn't even have household registration and considered it as doing a service for the country.

The eight-horse chariot was ready, and the moment she decided to leave, even the horses had to immediately wake up and get to work. Two giants knelt on the ground, their hands sticking out of the ground to form a ladder. Ying Le stepped onto the chariot using their backs, pressed her hand against the bronze railing, and exhaled a long breath. She was wearing a violet nightgown, which clung to her figure after being soaked by the light rain, but everyone in the Demon Gathering Camp kept their heads pressed to the ground, no one daring to look up and peek at the Qi Emperor's myriad charms.

"It's time to give up." Ying Le said inexplicably, "We have no choice but to give up."

“I really don’t want to kill you. My bloodline is already at its limit. If you die, I will have to take that step no matter what… But what is called fate is the despair that cannot be escaped no matter what.”

"This is the only way, the only way is... for everyone to unite as one."

"Hyakubo no Konoe, obey my command."

Ying Le's eyes turned into crimson vertical pupils. Her voice, though so soft for the rest of her life, was full of majesty and thunderous power, as if it held the law of heaven!

"Kill anyone you see."

The Imperial Guards stood firm, but their aura underwent a dramatic transformation. If they were silent tombstones before, they were now like dark clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it, like the Yellow River flowing from the heavens, their presence causing the world to tremble without a word.

As the eight steeds neighed, the chariot drove out of the Demon Gathering Camp. Her departure seemed to take away the spines of everyone; the people of the Demon Gathering Land felt their bodies go limp and collapsed to the ground, as if reborn from a calamity.

But soon they realized something was wrong, because at least a hundred guards remained in the camp. These demons mounted their warhorses, wielding long spears, and after they were ready, they suddenly charged at them!
"Spare me, spare me, you can't—"

"Why? We didn't do anything!"

"Ying Le, you'll die a horrible death!" When the Hundred Guards left the Demon Gathering Camp, there wasn't a single survivor. Only crows swayed on the filthy ground. If you looked closely, you could see thin lines of blood rising from the corpses, all pointing in the same direction, like a hundred birds paying homage to a phoenix, or like ten thousand rivers flowing into a single stream.

……

...

Ying Rushi was shaken awake, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Murong Hui's alluring face.

She instinctively clenched her right hand, only to find that the Heaven-Slaying Sword was no longer in her hand.

"Breakfast is ready, get up quickly." Murong Hui pinched Ying Rushi's nose and chuckled, "You lazy pig, you get up later than me."

Ying Ru was taken aback, sat up, and looked at her pocket watch, only to realize it was already morning. At that moment, Yan Qing came out of the bathroom, and she quickly asked, "Didn't I keep watch last night?"

"No, I called you twice, but you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't call you anymore." Yan Qing opened the freezer and took out a bottle of drink: "Anyway, it doesn't matter if I sleep a little later tonight, I'll just stay up a little longer."

Ying Rushi's gaze wandered, her mind a jumbled mess. After a moment of silence, she asked again, "Last night...did anything happen?"

“Nothing happened.” Yan Qing glanced at her. “There was only one person who stayed at his post when the dam was almost breached and the kettle was almost boiled.”

Ying Ru was still drowsy and didn't even grasp Yan Qing's unspoken message. Seeing her lack of reaction, Yan Qing pursed his lips, picked up his plate and drink, and walked to the sofa, intending to eat breakfast while reading. As he passed by, Ying Ru glanced at the back of Yan Qing's neck and suddenly froze—she saw a hickey!
The Heaven-Slaying Sword instantly appeared in her hand. Yan Qing felt a chill on the back of her neck and subconsciously turned to look at Ying Rushi, looking puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Ying pulled him over to look at the back of his neck and realized it wasn't a hickey; it was just an illusion created by his hair blocking the light... or perhaps it was just a hallucination.

Seeing her so nervous, Yan Qing glanced at her Yitian Sword and asked, "Why did you take out the Yitian Sword?"

"I...I saw insects."

"Can't we just swat the bugs with our hands? Besides, there aren't any bugs in the Demon Gathering Land." Yan Qing poked her forehead: "Are you still half asleep?"

"Ah."

"Go wash your face."

Ying Ru silently walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. When she looked up and saw herself in the mirror, she was completely stunned.

She looked much the same as yesterday, but besides the haggard look of someone who had just woken up, she noticed a chilling trace. She recalled Ying Le's ascension to the throne. It should have been a moment of triumph, but Ying Le on the throne showed no joy or sorrow, no desire or ambition. Her gaze toward her subjects was so calm, as if she were looking down at a pile of decaying tombstones.

Ying Rushi had never understood Ying Le's feelings. She didn't understand why Ying Le held onto power without a sense of responsibility, why she killed countless people without any desire, and why she took every last penny and used it like dirt... But now she finally understood.

Because the reflection in the mirror showed the same coldness in Ying Le's eyes.

It is called brutal indifference.

(End of this chapter)