Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"This is the way of humanity, a principle applicable to all times and places, past and future... Yet you want to... defy it, ha, ha... You are clearly just a human being, yet you want to go against the way of humanity?"

“You defy the Dao, and the Dao defies you. At that time… all living beings will be your enemies…”

Lu Aniu's breath grew weaker and weaker, but his voice was filled with laughter, as if he were the ultimate victor.

"You must be very pleased with yourself for killing me today... You certainly should be. I can tell you, from now on, you no longer need to worry about the Illuminati... Without me, without absolute military guarantee, they will soon, very soon..."

"The army? Mounted police? In my eyes, they're nothing but... chickens and dogs... That's all. Now, you've defeated me. In this country, you are the hardest, fastest, and sharpest knife. Nothing can stop you anymore..."

"Then?"

Lu Aniu laughed from the bottom of his heart, "After that, there will be no more 'enemies'... You can kill whoever you want. Who will you kill?"

"The road ahead is one step at a time... harder than climbing to heaven."

Zhang Renfeng fell silent, a rare occurrence.

The night breeze gently brushed against his temples, and under the tender cover of darkness, the silence became tranquil yet sorrowful.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; it all starts with taking that first step..."

Zhang Renfeng composed himself and said in a deep voice, "One day, I will get there."

……

……

……

"Is that so?" After a long silence, Lu Aniu seemed to have a weight lifted from his mind and said casually, "The things under the bed in my house..."

"Give it to you."

----

He watched as the man who had defeated him, supported by the young girl, slowly left the place until his figure disappeared into the night. This was Zhang Renfeng's final unspoken agreement with him—to leave himself a dignified and quiet death as a gift of gratitude for their previous help.

"Um……"

The peerless master, having exhausted his last bit of strength, merely rolled over on the sand.

The blade pierced even deeper.

But from this angle, he can see the vast, dark night sky.

Lu Aniu breathed a sigh of relief. He would rather die watching the night sky than have a mouthful of sand before he died.

"Is it time?"

"...They should be here by now."

he muttered.

More than two hundred years have passed. In countless long, unbearable nights, he would long for this moment. For he had heard that before a person dies, there is a revolving lantern, a fleeting glimpse of their life, like a miniature panorama. He hoped that at this moment, he could see his mother one last time.

He had lived too long; he had forgotten his mother's voice, appearance, and eyes. Perhaps only at this moment could he remember them.

His gaze gradually became fixed.

But, contrary to his expectations, in his final moments, he did not see his mother, his father, Steward Wu, or even his master. Gradually, what emerged were the farmlands from his childhood memories. Perhaps because he was so young, those farmlands seemed so vast, stretching as far as the eye could see.

A shepherd boy's lullaby drifted into my ears.

----

"The cows are on the hillside, yo~~~~"

"The countryside is so beautiful with green leaves~~ Oh~~~"

"One patch of yellow earth, one patch of fields..."

"The mountains are high and the rivers are long~~~~ Oh~~~"

……

"what……"

Lu Aniu's pupils dilated, as if he had really seen something, and his mouth opened slightly.

He wanted to cry.

His body, however, had long since dried up.

……

"Little cow, little cow, for whom do you toil? Oh dear!"

"After spring planting, it's time to get to autumn harvest~~ Yo~~~"

It fears neither wind, frost, rain, nor snow.

"Shaking her bell, she travels far and wide~~~~ Yo~~~"

……

The melody of the song has ended.

He exhaled his last breath, tilted his head to the side, and collapsed into the night.

Chapter 870: A New Beginning

No matter how many times he saw this unfamiliar ceiling, Zhang Renfeng would always pause for a moment. His thoughts were still far, far away, and it would take him some time to fully understand the causes and consequences that had piled up on him.

Since his debut battle in Windblown Sand Town, he has been virtually unchecked in this country. Like a tumbleweed, he initially targeted a town, a city, a prefecture, and eventually even the army, the government, and the entire country, all of which became his enemies.

There wasn't a single moment left for him to rest.

But this time, for some reason, staring at the pale ceiling, that countdown-like sense of urgency vanished, and he felt completely relaxed. The mattress seemed unusually soft; lying on it was unremarkable, but his body felt like it was going to keep sinking deeper and deeper until it reached the floor.

"it's over……"

Suddenly a world away.

Even now, Zhang Renfeng still finds it hard to believe that all this complicated stuff has really come to an end.

He had uprooted the Illuminati's unbridled behavior and their ultimate reliance on force. There wasn't much more to say; he had the lists of Illuminati members from both the north and south. A more barbaric approach would be to simply kill them one by one according to the list; a more civilized approach would be to hand the list over to Ego, allowing him to dismantle their influence in a slightly more civilized manner.

Regardless, that's something to consider later. Right now, Zhang Renfeng just wants to close his eyes and get a good night's sleep, until the world turns dark. He'll sleep and wake up repeatedly, until his stomach is completely empty before getting up to drink heavily and eat heartily. In this way, he can replenish the energy and blood he's lost.

The pain, both inside and outside the body, has mostly subsided.

He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, but some minor internal injuries had healed on their own. Only his left arm felt strangely heavy. Looking down again, a vibrant, shimmering gold caught his eye—a wolf lay on its side beside the bed, clinging to his arm like a child, breathing evenly and sleeping soundly.

"……Um?"

Zhang Renfeng moved his arm, but the wolf didn't wake up. Instead, a soft groan came from beside the pillow.

“Mr. Zhang…are you awake?” Evelyn rubbed her eyes, looked up at him with a slightly sleepy expression, like a pampered kitten taking a nap in the afternoon—because she was leaning against the bed, there was a red mark on her forehead, and her hair was a little disheveled.

"Why are you leaning against the bed?" Zhang Renfeng raised her wrist and found that her right arm was still a little weak. Due to blood deficiency, her qi was weak and she could not raise it to her usual height. "Sit up on the bed, don't stiffen your legs."

Evelyn's eyes flickered with disbelief. She pursed her lips, her eyes sparkling, and asked softly, "Really... is it okay?"

Prior to this, she had tested the distance between the two of them more than once in a rather subtle way.

Evelyn, hailed as the "Pearl of Nanbang," has spent almost half of her life on stage since she can remember. Just like Zhang Renfeng's martial arts talent, in the field of "performance," she is virtually unmatched among her peers. With hundreds or even thousands of audience members, Evelyn can use her acting to elicit their emotions and achieve the desired effect simultaneously.

The subtle emotional changes that are almost imperceptible to ordinary people are as obvious to her as a campfire.

She could feel that at this moment, the subtle barrier that had previously separated the two of them had silently melted away.

"I haven't thanked you yet." Zhang Renfeng took her hand, gently pulled her onto the bed, and after a long pause, said, "In the very end, it was you who saved me."

"For me... you fired a shot at what is probably the most powerful creature on this land." Zhang Renfeng let out a long breath, tightly holding her slender, silky, and fair hand, and murmured, "I always thought you were a little girl who needed to be protected, but now it seems..."

"You are much braver than I thought."

Evelyn's expression was like that of a child who had finally gotten the toy she had been longing for, so happy she was practically bubbling with joy.

In fact, she barely heard what Zhang Renfeng said after "for me"; her heart was simply pounding with excitement. Just sitting so close to him, feeling his breath and heartbeat, their fingers intertwined, the warmth emanating from his body was enough to thrill her.

After a moment's hesitation, she turned and grasped Zhang Renfeng's hand, raising it to her heart. In a gentle yet resolute tone, she spoke, "I...I am indeed not like Miss Namelia, Miss Mesalia, or Miss Alana, who can become your warrior, but..."

"I'm willing to do anything for you."

……

"Ok?"

Before Zhang Renfeng could respond, the sleepy-eyed little wolf finally woke up at this critical moment.

"Brother!"

She snapped back to reality, lunged forward, and tackled Zhang Renfeng to the waist. It didn't take much effort to knock him down.

"Huh?" Wolf belatedly realized, frowning. "Senior brother, what's wrong with you..."

"I haven't recovered yet. I'm weak and numb, and I have no strength at all. I can't take any more of that kind of bumping from you." Zhang Renfeng shook his head with a wry smile, then asked, "About how long have I been asleep?"

“From the time Evelyn brought you back, it’s been about a day and a night, right?” Wolf counted on his fingers. “We found some ginseng in the warehouse in Oak City. If you don’t wake up soon, we’re going to make ginseng soup and force it down your throat.”

Oak City?

Zhang Renfeng was somewhat surprised, but then he thought about it and it made sense: Evelyn's strength was already quite remarkable enough to support him as he walked out of the arena, so how could she possibly leave Oak City?

"Where are the others?" Zhang Renfeng asked hurriedly, remembering his companions. "Mike, Xiaomei, and the captain's old men, what about them..."

"They're all still alive."

In the shortest amount of time, Evelyn gave Zhang Renfeng the answer he most wanted to hear.

He let out a long breath, lay back down on the bed, and his tense muscles relaxed, making him feel sleepy.

"Several of them sustained minor injuries, but none are life-threatening. Some of the soldiers brought by Mr. Meteora also suffered casualties in the firefight. They are currently stationed in the city for rest and are waiting to return with you."

"So many people," Zhang Renfeng murmured. "If the city's food reserves aren't enough..."

"To alleviate the food shortage, the more than 4,000 workers and their families that you rescued from Park City have all been arranged to travel by train to White Torch Town."

Evelyn continued, "The remaining soldiers are under the control of Mr. Calaway and Mr. Meteora, and they only operate in specific areas. As far as I know, they haven't caused any chaos while stationed here, and they get along quite well with the locals."

……

Zhang Renfeng sat up, looking at her with some surprise, and exclaimed, "Very thoughtful, Evelyn, very thoughtful."

“I told you, I would do anything for you. But…”

Evelyn gently shook her head. "These things are not my doing."

----

crunch--

The wooden door was hurriedly pushed open.

Chapter 871: Please Sit

"Mr. Zhang...uh..."

The sight that met Xiaomei's eyes made it impossible for her not to overthink. It was as if she had been doused with cold water, and most of her earlier surprise and joy had faded away. She cleared her throat, trying her best to ignore the two girls on the bed. When their eyes met, the words she had wanted to say seemed to get stuck in her throat.

In the end, she could only say hesitantly in a soft voice, "Mr. Hongzhong, you're awake."

“These past few days, everything outside, including coordinating food rations, counting casualties, arranging accommodations, and organizing the evacuation of working-class families from Park City, has been handled single-handedly by Miss Messaria.” Evelyn gracefully rose, took Little Mei’s hand, and made her sit on the edge of the bed next to Zhang Renfeng, and said with a sweet laugh, “You should praise her more.”

"It's not that exaggerated. My strength is ultimately very limited." Xiaomei is a shy person, especially in front of Zhang Renfeng. Being praised like this, she played with her hair shyly. "It takes everyone's cooperation to get things done."

"Xiaomei..."

Upon seeing her, Zhang Renfeng wore a look of relief and pride. He carefully examined the young woman standing before him—she was dressed in simple, neat work clothes, her boots and trousers were covered in mud, her dark circles were particularly noticeable, and the bags under her eyes were somewhat puffy. Clearly, she had too many things to worry about, and the stress of the night had taken its toll.

However, overall, Xiaomei appeared to be in excellent spirits and did not seem listless despite staying up late. Her first impression was that she was still energetic and diligently handling tasks systematically.

After the New Year, the girl turned fifteen.

While her peers are still clueless and have only a vague understanding of society, Xiaomei can be in charge, managing multiple tasks simultaneously and mobilizing thousands of people at once. What will she become after she's gained more experience and matured over the years?

Zhang Renfeng smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"That's amazing." He patted Xiaomei's head and said with great satisfaction, "I'm relieved that you're taking care of everything outside."

Xiaomei's eyes were half-closed, and her rosy cheeks finally revealed an expression of affection similar to that of a fifteen-year-old girl, like a close cat, half-closing her eyes and enjoying his caresses.

But soon she remembered her duty, stood up, looked at Zhang Renfeng, and hesitated several times, unsure of how to begin.