Jing Hui looked at his severed hand, then at the small demons hiding in the rock cracks around them, his expression complex to the extreme.
He had lived for a thousand years and protected Tianchi Province for a thousand years, only to die in his own royal city.
But he never knew that his subjects would end up living in such a place.
Dark, damp, and hidden from the sun.
Surviving only by snatching from one another and plotting against each other.
"How did it become like this?"
Plague Rat curled his lip, picked up Jing Hui's severed hand, and casually flicked the dust off it.
"Why else? To stay alive."
"Resources are scarce, the environment is terrible, and there is plague everywhere from the heavens to the earth."
"There are only a few places left where one can breathe, and only so much to eat."
"If you don't snatch, others will."
"If you don't make a move, others will move against you."
"To stay alive, this is the only way."
Jing Hui fell silent.
Plague Rat was right.
Back when he protected Tianchi Province, although the plague was rampant, there was at least order.
The royal city still stood, the demon army was still there, and the settlements of various clans were relatively stable.
He had periodically distributed purified food and cleared out particularly dangerous plague zones.
Though life was hard, everyone could at least stay alive.
But once he died, everything was gone.
The thing he feared most had become a reality.
Jing Hui lowered his head, feeling somewhat ashamed.
Plague Rat patted his shoulder. "Alright, old man, don't think about it."
"Thinking more is useless."
He turned around and looked at the Scorpion Demon lying on the ground.
The Scorpion Demon was still prone; the festering on his feet had stopped, but the wounds remained, making him gasp in pain, yet he did not dare to move.
He had just witnessed Plague Rat's power.
As soon as that eerie mist appeared, he couldn't even move, only able to watch as his feet rotted away.
What kind of method was that?
A little black rat barely three hundred years old, who only had the option to run away from him back then, was now actually this strong?
The Scorpion Demon couldn't understand it.
Plague Rat squatted down and looked at him.
"Hey, Black Scorpion."
The Scorpion Demon's whole body stiffened.
Plague Rat tilted his head, sizing him up.
"Tell me, how should Lord Rat deal with you?"
The Scorpion Demon opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat was dry.
What could he say?
Beg for mercy?
There was no such thing as begging for mercy in the Earth Dissolving Cave; it would only make the other party want to kill you more.
Threats?
Even more meaningless.
In his current state, what could he threaten with?
Not to mention the other party had brought a large group of people, all of whom looked like they were not to be trifled with.
The Scorpion Demon closed his eyes, preparing to wait for death.
Looking at him like this, Plague Rat suddenly felt it was a bit boring.
He stood up and clapped his hands.
"Forget it."
The Scorpion Demon opened his eyes, looking at him suspiciously.
Plague Rat rolled his eyes.
"What are you looking at?"
"Lord Rat is in a good mood today, so I'll let you off."
The Scorpion Demon froze. What was this little black rat up to?
Did he want to let him go temporarily so he could prepare more food to trade for his life?
No, it would be better to just beat him to death.
The Scorpion Demon opened his mouth and squeezed out a sentence. "You... what do you want?"
Plague Rat sneered. "What do I want? What do you think Lord Rat wants?"
"I've given you a beating and gotten my revenge. It's not interesting anymore."
He kicked the Scorpion Demon's leg.
"Get lost."
The Scorpion Demon still couldn't believe it.
He struggled to crawl up, dragging his festering legs as he retreated step by step.
His eyes never left Plague Rat, fearing he might suddenly change his mind.
Plague Rat didn't bother looking at him and turned to walk back.
The Scorpion Demon retreated to the edge of the stone wall, and seeing that Plague Rat truly ignored him, he turned and limped toward his cave.
After a few steps, he stopped again and looked back.
Plague Rat had already reached the others and was talking to the one in the black robe.
The Scorpion Demon narrowed his eyes.
In fact, he had long noticed the people Plague Rat brought with him. Who exactly were they?
Where did the little black rat find them?
Especially the one in the black robe; although he just stood there doing nothing, the Scorpion Demon felt his heart hair over with just one look.
He didn't dare look further and ducked into his hole.
Chen Zhou looked at Plague Rat walking over and smiled.
"When did you become so soft-hearted?"
Plague Rat was startled, then jumped up.
"Soft-hearted? Who's soft-hearted?"
"Lord, don't talk nonsense. This rat is... this rat is..."
He thought for a long time but couldn't think of a suitable word.
Chen Zhou said for him, "Is it magnanimity?"
Plague Rat looked annoyed. "It's not magnanimity either."
"It's just... I just feel like it's not that interesting."
"This rat lived in Tianchi Province for over three hundred years, just like most small demons in the Earth Dissolving Cave."
"I would also have my food snatched, my water source stolen, and be beaten half to death."
"Back then, this rat thought that when I became powerful one day, I would definitely kill everyone who bullied me."
"Not a single one left."
A crimson light flashed in his eyes, but his voice was somewhat muffled.
"But now that I've actually returned and actually beaten them, I found that it wasn't as satisfying as I thought."
He looked at the cave where the Scorpion Demon had disappeared.
"Old Black Scorpion snatched this rat's things back then and beat this rat too."
"But that's just the kind of creature he is."
"Among those from the Earth Dissolving Cave, how many haven't snatched from others?"
"This rat himself also snatched from those even weaker back then just to stay alive."
"It was only after meeting the Lord that I slowly changed."
He lifted his head, looked at Chen Zhou, and continued, "This rat stayed in the City of the Wrongfully Dead for over half a year and saw many things."
"Especially when we were at the provincial capital, you could even pardon the thousands of malevolent ghosts in the Provincial Capital Hell."
"You said."
"For five hundred years, due to the schemes of the false god Vermilion Judgment, the crimes of the Yin clan of the Ghost Dynasty, the greed of the judges, and the severity of the laws, thousands of living beings have died wrongly, their souls left without support, their resentment accumulating as they wander here."
"This is not your fault, but the sin of the world and the fallacy of the rules."
He looked a bit embarrassed.
"This rat was thinking that maybe Tianchi Province is the same."
"Everyone has no other choice and just wants to stay alive."
Chen Zhou looked at him and suddenly smiled.
He reached out and patted Plague Rat on the head.
"Not bad, Little Rat. You've grown."
Plague Rat shrank his neck from the pat and muttered, "What growth? This rat just felt that I've already beaten him and gotten my revenge. Killing him wouldn't be interesting anymore."
Chen Zhou nodded.
"That's enough."
He looked at the surrounding rock cracks and the small demons hiding there.
"Actually, you're right. Very few people are born purely evil or purely good."
"The vast majority of people are gray and will change as their environment changes."
Plague Rat blinked. "Lord, what do you mean by that?"
Chen Zhou did not answer directly but instead pulled something from his robe.
A cloth bag.
He opened the cloth bag and poured it onto the ground.
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