During the chaos of battle just moments ago, whether Baili Weisheng had been screaming for help or shouting about not wanting to kill, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue had heard every word of it clearly.
And now, watching a great mass of flying beasts stream past him in retreat and flight, the couple stared at Baili Weisheng in bewildered astonishment.
Hadn’t this man just been screaming for help like a coward, proclaiming his compassionate refusal to kill?
Even granting that his cries for help and his professed unwillingness to kill, while simultaneously going on a killing spree, could be understood—after all, his life had been in danger—
But now, with the flying beasts no longer even attacking him, actually trying to flee, he was still holding on, refusing to let go!
This man…
“Are you sure he’s genuinely lost his memory?” Jun Beiyue pondered aloud, deep in thought.
“There’s no reason for him to be faking amnesia…” Ziqing pondered as well. By this point, Baili Weisheng had already dragged over that vulture, comparable in size to a great roc, and with a single punch to its belly, instantly made it vomit blood and die.
Only then did Baili Weisheng release his grip, casually tossing the vulture’s body to the ground, his movements utterly effortless, with no trace of the earlier cowardly panic at all.
“I told you to stop provoking me. I’ve had enough—this humble scholar won’t hold back anymore!”
With that, he didn’t even glance at Ziqing and the others, who were staring at him dumbfounded, and immediately charged after the fleeing flying beasts.
Protected by his golden-scaled illusion, wielding two daggers, he chased and slashed as he went!
This bearing! Even though… even though he still wore his white scholar’s robe, still had that refined, handsome face, there was no trace of scholarly grace left in him whatsoever—this man was plainly nothing short of a butcher!
“Whooo…”
“Hisss…”
“Awooo…”
For a moment, cries of anguish and terror erupted one after another, and no matter how fast the flying beasts fled, none of them could outrun Baili Weisheng!
He flipped through the air several times, weaving straight into the heart of the fleeing beast pack, blade after blade falling, blood spraying and flying, sending flocks of flying beasts scattering in terror!
The moment one group scattered, Baili Weisheng would charge straight into the next, immediately triggering another wave of anguished howls.
Soon, every last flying beast had scattered completely apart, no longer able to regroup!
As for Elder Sheng and the others, they’d originally assumed that once they retreated, Jun Beiyue and his group wouldn’t pursue—or at least, wouldn’t pursue immediately.
Yet Baili Weisheng had chased the flying beasts all the way, and was now on the verge of entering Nanzhao’s northern gate itself!
“What do we do!” the Medicine Clan head, the most cowardly of the three, panicked.
“Turn all our forces around! We’ll fight to the death—we absolutely cannot let them invade Nanzhao’s territory!” the old Beast Clan elder said earnestly.
“No, we don’t know how many more poison beasts they still have in reserve. Going all-in the moment battle resumes is the greatest taboo in warfare!” Elder Sheng quickly stopped him.
Of course he knew that the Beast Clan and Medicine Clan still had several times more troops than were gathered here. But whether for the sake of the public good or his own private interests, he had no desire to see this war continue at all.
What he wished for most of all was for both sides’ strength to remain evenly matched, allowing for reconciliation without either side suffering catastrophic losses.
“Then what do we do? Report to the king first?” the Medicine Clan head asked hurriedly.
“Yes, let the king decide,” Elder Sheng said quickly. Prince Nanzhao, after all, was a man who preferred peace and prosperity—it would be best to find some way to reconcile.
The matter of the isolated island was currently known only to Han Ziqing and her group—there was still room for negotiation, wasn’t there?
The three of them were in the midst of withdrawing troops and discussing strategy when, to their shock, Baili Weisheng had already reached Nanzhao’s northern gate.
There he stood, white robes fluttering, three thousand strands of raven-black hair streaming in the wind, standing high atop a corner of the city gate, white robes and golden radiance combined, like a mysterious, noble deity descended from the heavens.
Except this deity was no benevolent god—it was a malevolent one.
Handsome and elegant as he appeared, the killing intent radiating from his entire being was utterly impossible to ignore.
At this point, he’d stopped chasing the flying beasts, instead standing high above, looking down upon the three elders.
“He… he’s looking at us?” the Medicine Clan head said timidly.
“Who is this young man?” Elder Sheng asked, curious.
“Baili Weisheng, once the Beast Clan’s veterinarian—I never imagined he was actually a golden Jiaoren…” the old Beast Clan elder said, recognizing him after all.
…
By this point, Baili Weisheng had long since lost all self-control. He’d forgotten who he was, forgotten everything—even his scholarly temperament had vanished completely without a trace.
“If a man wrongs me, I will surely wrong him in return!”
He murmured to himself, his hands clasped behind his back slowly tensing with growing force. His once fair, gentle hands gradually grew gaunt and skeletal, each finger sprouting long, sharp black claws—truly the hands of a demon! Everything else was empty; only one voice echoed in his mind, over and over: “If a man wrongs me, I will surely wrong him in return!”
This—this was who he truly was!
Even having forgotten who he was, even having become a scholar too timid to step on an ant, this one principle he would never forget, would never change.
Finally, the growth of his sharp claws ceased. His cold gaze darkened, and he lunged forward, plummeting straight down toward Elder Sheng and the others.
This utterly terrified all three elders. Almost in unison, they all halted their retreat, summoning beasts and poisonous insects to protect themselves.
The Medicine Clan head threw caution to the wind; the old Beast Clan elder no longer cared about anything else; and Elder Sheng, exerting every ounce of his strength, played his sheng with all he had.
Instantly, all the fleeing beasts seemed to have their very souls seized once more—no matter how terrified they were, they had no choice but to converge before their three masters, blocking Baili Weisheng’s path.
And so, a new round of the battle between man and beast began.
Protected by his golden-scaled illusion, the beast horde couldn’t touch Baili Weisheng at all. Watching from a distance, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue found the corners of their mouths twitching—for a moment, they weren’t sure whether to go help him or drag him back.
Xiong Xiaobao and Meng Duo’er arrived as well. Seeing this, Meng Duo’er immediately grew anxious, “Let’s hurry and help him!”
Xiong Xiaobao, however, wasn’t worried at all, mimicking Baili Weisheng’s usual habit of stroking his chin thoughtfully, “Turns out he really does kill without blinking an eye!”
“Let’s hurry and go help him, all the flying beasts are ganging up on him!” Meng Duo’er said, her small face pale with worry—the first time she’d ever been so concerned about Baili Weisheng.
Even though Nanzhao had suffered heavy casualties, more than half the flying beasts still remained—that was still over two hundred thousand of them!
No matter how formidable Baili Weisheng was, he’d surely be worn down eventually!
“Let’s go drag him back, then,” Xiong Xiaobao said timidly at last. If Meng Duo’er ever found out it was him who’d pushed Baili Weisheng onto the battlefield, would she hold it against him forever?
This woman clearly had feelings for Uncle Scholar already!
At Xiong Xiaobao’s words, both Jun Beiyue and Ziqing rolled their eyes at him simultaneously.
“Dragging him back now would be far too humiliating for him! And the day he recovers his memory, he’ll definitely come after you for it!” Ziqing said earnestly.
Jun Beiyue turned his head to look at Ziqing, smiling, “Tired?”
Ziqing’s heart warmed, and she smiled back, “Not tired at all.”
How could she be tired? Even having exhausted so much of her strength, she wouldn’t feel tired at all—the killing had been far too satisfying!
“Excellent. Pass the order—press the advantage, charge forward!”
Jun Beiyue immediately gave the command, leaping forward first to support the scholar.