"We broke a seal," Chen Zhou said.
Yang Dingding's eyes lit up. "You could break a seal that strong?"
He grew excited, rubbing his hands together. "Then once we're out, will we be able to see Lord Purity and Filth?"
"That would be incredible. I've heard my ancestors talk about Lord Purity and Filth since I was little."
He looked down at the large blade in his hand.
"Our Ghost Ram Clan has always held Lord Purity and Filth in the highest regard."
"Even though he eventually went mad and killed many people, I know that wasn't his intention."
He looked up at Chen Zhou with a serious gaze.
"Lord, I am over thirteen hundred years old. In this underground city, I am the eldest."
"I lived through the era when Lord Purity and Filth governed Tianchi Province. Back then, though the plague still existed, at least there was medicine to treat it, food to eat, and places to hide."
"Unlike later..."
His voice trailed off, turning somber.
But he quickly rallied and raised his heavy blade.
"I want to be like my ancestors—to follow Lord Purity and Filth and do my part for Tianchi Province!"
Chen Zhou looked at the blade.
It was thick and wide with a sharp edge. Two crooked characters were carved into the hilt.
Goat's Blade.
"Did you carve those characters yourself?" Chen Zhou asked.
Yang Dingding nodded with an embarrassed grin. "Yes, I did."
"Duke Martial's personal sword was called the Goat's Blade. I've heard since childhood how powerful that weapon was!"
He swung the blade, making it whistle through the air.
"When Duke Martial was forging his sword, Duke Wen told him the name was unlucky—an ill omen."
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow. He knew of the Goat's Blade; it was one of the Four Pillars' baleful stars, considered a mark of extreme malevolence.
Yang Dingding mimicked Duke Wen's tone. "The Goat's Blade is a thing of extreme rigidity."
"Though born with fierce courage, unafraid of life or death, it displays its most staggering power only when cornered."
"Yet, what is too rigid is easily broken. It is a harbinger of bloody disaster; its master's life will be filled with battle and injury, and they will struggle to find a peaceful end."
He finished the mimicry and chuckled.
"But Duke Martial didn't care. He said he would rather strive to be a survivor of a hundred battles than seek a peaceful end."
"What's the point of a peaceful end? Dying of old age in a bed without a single scar on your body... how boring is that?"
He slapped his chest.
"I feel the same way!"
Chen Zhou looked at him. "You admire Duke Martial that much?"
Yang Dingding's eyes shone as he nodded vigorously.
"Of course!"
"Why shouldn't a man carry a curved blade and reclaim the fifty provinces of the borderlands!"
He puffed out his chest and took a few swaggering steps, imitating a general.
"Lord, you might not know, but Duke Martial looked terrifying. His face was covered in scars; just looking at him was enough to scare anyone."
"But in truth, he was the softest-hearted of the Three Dukes."
Yang Dingding hugged his blade and crouched on the ground. His gaze became distant, as if drifting back to the long-forgotten past.
"That man was truly frightening to look at."
He gestured to his own face.
"Scars everywhere—horizontal, vertical, crisscrossing... he looked like a patchwork of raw meat. The first time I saw him, I hid behind my father and didn't dare show my face."
"But his heart was so soft."
"He remembered the name of every single person who went to the battlefield with him."
"He remembered what they liked to eat, what they liked to drink, and who they had left at home."
"Every time he returned from clearing the plague, he would personally count the casualties and retrieve the bodies of the fallen soldiers."
He paused, his voice softening.
"Once, there was a fallen soldier who only had an old, blind mother left. No one was there to care for her. Duke Martial looked after her personally for three months—cleaning up after her, feeding her, and giving her medicine."
"After three months, the old woman passed away. Duke Martial wore the mourning clothes of a son and buried her himself."
Yang Dingding looked up at Chen Zhou.
"On the day of the burial, I asked him, 'You are the grand Duke Martial, why go to such lengths?'"
"Duke Martial said, 'Her son took a blast of filth for me. His body rotted away until he died. That makes her my mother.'"
"With that, he stood up, brushed the dirt off his knees, and turned to leave."
"'Alright,' he said. 'Back to training.'"
Yang Dingding finished the story in a gruff voice, imitating the Duke, then fell silent for a moment.
"As I watched his retreating back, I suddenly understood something."
"It wasn't his power or his fighting prowess that made so many of the Ghost Ram Clan willing to follow him."
"It was because he knew every one of their names."
"It was because he valued every one of their lives more than his own."
He lowered his head and looked at his blade.
His blurred reflection stared back from the steel.
"Unfortunately, Duke Martial died later."
"He died by Lord Purity and Filth's sword."
His voice became very low and heavy.
Tao Tuantuan stood to the side and let out a soft sigh.
Yang Dingding continued, "That day, Lord Purity and Filth went on a killing spree. He slaughtered every human and demon in his path."
"Duke Wu tried to wake him by singing to his soul, attempting to resonate with heaven and earth, but he failed. He fell to Lord Purity and Filth's blade."
"Duke Martial led the Personal Guard Battalion in a charge, trying to hold him back."
"The entire battalion was wiped out."
"Only Duke Martial was left."
He gripped the hilt tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
"He stood before Lord Purity and Filth, drenched in blood, and threw his arms around him. He just wanted to buy a little more time so the elders and children of the clan could escape."
"Lord Purity and Filth swung his sword, and Duke Martial didn't even try to dodge."
"He just stood there with his arms wide, blocking Lord Purity and Filth's path."
"The sword fell, and so did he."
"Duke Martial collapsed in a pool of blood, his eyes still open, looking at Lord Purity and Filth."
"He said, 'Lord... your servant... does not... blame you...'"
"Then he closed his eyes."
Yang Dingding was silent for a long time before continuing.
"Lord Purity and Filth stood by his body for a very long time."
"Then he kept walking, kept killing."
"But later, some survivors recalled that after Duke Martial fell, Lord Purity and Filth's footsteps faltered."
"Just for a single moment."
"Then he became that maddened God of Plague once again."
"But many people saw that moment."
"Because of that moment Duke Martial bought with his life, our group was able to escape and hide underground under Tuantuan's lead."
He finished and took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes vigorously. "Forgive me, Lord. I've made a fool of myself."
"We all know Lord Purity and Filth wasn't acting of his own will. The Three Dukes never blamed him. The only one who deserves to die is that old beast, Wan Xiu."
Chen Zhou looked at him but said nothing.
After a moment, he finally spoke.
"Duke Martial was a good man."
Yang Dingding nodded and forced a grin, though it looked strained.
"Yes, he was a good man."
"Lord, please don't mind me. Thinking about the past just got the better of me."
Chen Zhou waved his hand. "It's alright."
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