Chapter 50
Unable to ignore Zhao Yuanzhou’s words, Li Lun finally went to see the truth for himself.
Using Bai Jiu’s body as a vessel, he slipped into the hidden dungeon beneath Tiandu.
At first, he expected to find answers.
Instead, he found horror.
The underground chambers stretched endlessly into darkness.
Rows of iron cages lined the walls.
The air smelled of blood, medicine, and decay.
Inside the cages lay countless demon corpses.
Some were reduced to skeletons.
Some still bore fresh wounds.
Every body was covered with talismans, seals, and strange experimental markings.
The moment Li Lun stepped inside, a sharp pain pierced his chest.
His breathing faltered.
For a long moment, the usually arrogant Li Lun simply stood there.
Silent.
Then a familiar voice echoed through the chamber.
“I wondered how long it would take you.”
Wen Zongyu emerged from the shadows.
Calm as ever.
As though standing in a graveyard of demons was perfectly ordinary.
Li Lun slowly turned.
His eyes had gone cold.
“You did this.”
Wen Zongyu smiled.
“I achieved this.”
Wen Zongyu walked between the cages proudly.
“As humans grow weaker, demons grow stronger.”
“Someone had to find a solution.”
He gestured around the dungeon.
“My research.”
“My life’s work.”
“Years of sacrifice.”
To him, the corpses were not victims…
For perhaps the first time, he truly understood what Zhao Yuanzhou had meant.
Wen Zongyu did not care about demons.
He did not care about humans either.
Only results.
Only power.
Only success.
“You used me.”
The accusation came quietly.
Wen Zongyu laughed.
“Used you?”
“You make it sound so cruel.”
His smile widened.
“You wanted freedom.”
“I wanted knowledge.”
“We both benefited.”
But somehow made Li Lun even angrier.
Because he finally realized something.
To Wen Zongyu-
he had never been a partner.
Never an ally.
Never even a friend.
Just another experiment.
Another useful piece.
Another thing to dissect when no longer needed.
As if confirming that realization, talismans suddenly ignited throughout the dungeon.
Golden chains burst from the walls.
An enormous iron cage descended from above.
Before Li Lun could react, it slammed shut around him.
The same kind of cage.
The same kind of prison.
The same kind of humiliation.
Just like the demons imprisoned eight years ago.
Wen Zongyu stood outside calmly.
“I anticipated this possibility.”
Li Lun’s hands tightened around the bars.
His expression darkened.
“You planned this too?”
“Of course.”
Wen Zongyu adjusted his sleeve.
“You’re far too dangerous to leave unchecked.”
For a moment, silence filled the dungeon.
Then Li Lun laughed.
A low, bitter laugh.
It gradually grew louder.
And louder.
Until even Wen Zongyu frowned.
“You still don’t understand.”
The air began to tremble.
Dark energy gathered around the cage.
Li Lun lifted his head.
His eyes burned with fury.
“I would rather destroy myself…”
The wind howled violently.
“…than belong to anyone.”
The next instant, his body dissolved.
Turning into countless streams of black wind.
The iron cage snapped shut on empty air.
Talismans burst into flames.
The entire dungeon shook.
Wen Zongyu’s expression finally changed.
For the first time, genuine surprise crossed his face.
The wind rushed past him.
Past the cages.
Past the corpses.
Past years of experiments and lies.
And as Li Lun escaped into the darkness, only one thought remained in his mind.
against a uazhou.
Not hatred toward humanity.
But the realization that for all these years-
he had been dancng to someone else’s tune.
And that betrayal urned far deeper than any cage ever could.
❄️❄️❄️✨✨✨⚔️⚔️⚔️
The atmosphere in the room was unbearably heavy.
The imperial physician slowly withdrew his hand from Zhuo Yichen’s wrist.
His face was pale.
“There is nothing more I can do.”
The words landed like a blade.
“The golden potion can only preserve his life temporarily.”
“He suffered severe internal damage.”
The physician looked toward the shattered fragments of the Yunguang Sword resting nearby.
“If the sword is not repaired…”
He lowered his eyes.
“…no one can save him.”
Silence.
No one spoke.
No one dared.
His hand trembled as he brushed a strand of hair from Yichen’s forehead.
The young commander’s face was frighteningly pale.
His breathing was so faint that Zhao had to lean close just to hear it.
Wen Xiao quietly wiped her eyes.
Even Bai Jiu couldn’t speak.
The room felt suffocating.
After a long while, Zhao Yuanzhou finally spoke.
His voice was broken.
“The Yunguang Sword…”
Everyone looked toward him.
“It shouldn’t have broken.”
“The day of the Blood Moon.”
“My hostility…”
“My negative energy…”
His voice cracked.
“The sword was already damaged because of me.”
He lowered his head.
“Li Lun alone could never have shattered it.”
The realization hit him like a mountain.
Everything.
Again.
Always again.
Slowly, Zhao Yuanzhou rested his forehead against the edge of the bed.
His shoulders began to shake.
At first, no one understood.
Then they heard it.
A sob.
Another.
And another.
The great demon who had survived twenty thousand years finally broke.
“I always do this…”
His voice was barely audible.
“I always do this.”
Tears fell onto the blanket.
“I always bring harm to you.”
His hands covered his face.
But the tears wouldn’t stop.
“They were all because of me.”
Nobody interrupted him.
Nobody knew how.
Because these words had been trapped inside him for thousands of years.
Now they poured out all at once.
“I am a misfit.”
His voice trembled violently.
“I should never have been born.”
Zhao Yuanzhou could no longer hear anyone.
He was lost in memories.
Lost in grief.
Lost in centuries of guilt.
His gaze remained fixed on Yichen.
Yet he seemed to be looking at countless other faces.
Faces that carried the same soul.
The same stubbornness.
The same kindness.
“Fang Hua Xing…”
A tear slid down his cheek.
The name sounded ancient.
Sacred.
“You died because of me.”
His breathing became uneven.
“Wu Chen Xing…”
Another lifetime.
Another ending.
Another grave.
His voice weakened.
“Our little Xiao Bao…”
The room froze.
Nobody had ever heard this name before.
A shattered smile appeared.
“He was only two months old.”
His hand slowly reached toward empty air.
“Our son.”
His voice finally collapsed.
“He couldn’t even speak.”
“He couldn’t call me father.”
The tears would not stop.
“He never learned to walk.”
“He never got to grow up.”
His shoulders shook violently.
“And Hou Yi Ning…”
Another life.
Another death.
Another person he failed to protect.
Every name felt like another knife.
Every memory another wound.
His eyes returned to the unconscious Yichen.
The person lying before him.
The same soul.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Always finding him.
Always loving him.
Always suffering.
Because of him.
“I destroyed all of you.”
The words came out as a whisper.
Terrified.
“You came back every time.”
“You found me every time.”
His fingers carefully touched Yichen’s hand.
As though afraid he might disappear.
“And every single time…”
His voice cracked completely.
“I couldn’t protect you.”
A tear landed on Yichen’s hand.
Then another.
The mighty demon who once terrified heaven and earth looked smaller than a child.
Lost.
Alone.
Heartbroken.
“I tried.”
His voice shook.
“I really tried.”
His forehead rested gently against Yichen’s hand.
“But every life ends the same.”
“I survive.”
“And you leave.”
The room had become completely silent.
Even the wind outside seemed to stop.
Zhao Yuanzhou closed his eyes.
Clinging desperately to Yichen’s hand.
As if letting go would mean losing him forever.
“Please…”
The word was almost inaudible.
A prayer.
A plea.
A confession.
“Just this once.”
His tears soaked the blanket.
“Don’t leave me again.”
“Please.”
“Not again.”
“Not this time.”