In the early morning, the first ray of sunshine shines on this fairyland-like land.
Sitting on the edge of an icy cliff, the chill wind blew on his aged body, but it could only ruffle his hair but could not change his peaceful face.
My eyes were looking into the distance, as if aimlessly, but before long, the roar of the engine destroyed the original tranquility.
A civilian helicopter appeared in Thief's sight and flew towards him along with the slowly rising sun.
There was no surprise or excitement because everything was arranged by myself.
The platform was not big enough to land the huge monster in the air, so the roaring helicopter just hovered above it, lowered a rope, and a figure slid down from it.
After completing its task, this noisy modern tool turned around and left, giving Dawn a peace of its own.
"Am I late?" The person who came down asked softly. The vague voice seemed to have been processed, but it sounded particularly familiar. Because the person standing behind Thief Shi was Xu Zhe's former leader, Ouyang.
"No, you are still as punctual as before. The error between the stipulated time and the stipulated time is no more than ten seconds..." He stood up slowly, and laughed because of this person he hadn't seen for a long time. "Old sir, I haven't seen you for eight years. Your habit of covering your mouth should not have changed."
"Don't call me like that, it makes me sound like I'm older than you... Where's Xu Zhe?" He turned to the main topic, looked around but didn't see the protagonist. It was clearly Thief Shi who notified him to bring the "something" to him.
"It's at most half an hour left. If he doesn't come out, you'll be here to collect his body." He looked at the watch on his wrist, which was ticking like Xu Zhe's inverted hourglass.
"No matter what, this is what you prepared for him, and now you have to deal with it." He took off the long black wooden box that had been on his shoulder and threw it into the hands of the Thief. Looking at Ouyang's expression, he did not show any unusual concerns. It's not that he didn't care about his former subordinate, but he was so confident in him.
"Wait and see which path Xu Zhe will choose..." Facing the tightly closed stone door, even Thief Shi, who had calculated everything in the world, didn't know what would become of Xu Zhe. The long wait of thirty days passed faster than expected.
Until one minute before the end of his life, there was movement in the cave. Although the breathing was weak, it was much louder than the tortoise's breathing. The footsteps were soft and slow, but they were indeed moving towards the stone gate.
"You brat, you finally defeated me." A smile finally appeared on Thief's calm face as he watched the stone door being opened from the inside.
Xu Zhe, who was exposed to the sunlight again, was much thinner than when he went in. His face was as pale as paper, as if a breath of air would make him fall down.
Even so, he still held the thirty-eight thin silver needles tightly in his hand and dropped them naturally on the ground.
"Why is the boss here too?" Having just experienced 30 days of absolute darkness, Xu Zhe looked as if nothing had happened. He looked curiously at Ouyang who was standing next to his master.
"I'm just a 'postman', here to deliver a package. Seeing that you are still alive and well, Haozi and the others will be very happy to know." It was still that kind face, with a familiar smile, as if nothing had changed.
"Okay, Chouzi, have you met that great immortal? He should have taught you how to become stronger, right?" This is what Thief Shi is concerned about.
"I have seen him. What great immortal? He is just a pitiful person..." He lowered his forehead slightly. It was unknown whether Xu Zhe was tired or did not want to face other people's eyes. "I gave up everything for revenge, but in the end I have to forget the hatred that supported me? What is the meaning of living? If becoming stronger means turning myself into a beast without emotions, I would rather be a weak person..."
"Is this... your answer to 'yourself'?" Thief's face suddenly turned cold, like the glaciers in the Arctic.
Ouyang at the side couldn't understand...
"I will look for other ways to become stronger, but I can't forget the responsibilities I should bear." This was Xu Zhe's answer to Ziya, and it was also his affirmation of himself.
Thousands of years of reincarnation, and the soul that has passed through thousands of years. Even if the essence of the soul has not changed, the environment belonging to the soul has shaped two completely different life forms.
No matter how glorious Ziya's life was and how many people sang praises of his great achievements, Xu Zhe could not connect these with himself.
I only know that I have lived the first half of my life in a script written by God or others. At least in the last 11 months, I have to live according to my own ideas.
"Good boy, you are worthy of being my disciple. The choice you make is so unique!" He walked quickly to Xu Zhe's side, patted his thin shoulder with a loud laugh, and seemed to have never been so happy. "Here, this is a 'legacy' left to you by the master."
"You old fool, have you ever seen someone cursing himself to death?" He took the black wooden box brought by Ouyang and only opened it a crack. He could feel the abnormality of the things in the box and his expression suddenly became solemn.
What Xu Zhe took out from the box was a sword...
It is a sword that feels more like a cultural relic, because the exquisite carvings on the scabbard and the ancient characters on the hilt can be traced back to at least the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
The entire sword is one and a half meters long. The scabbard is silver-white with a slight red hue. The hilt has no guard, as if the hilt and the blade are integrated into one.
"Too weird?" This was Xu Zhe's first words after he got the sword. "It's clearly a weapon from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but why is it made of fine steel? Bronze swords should have been popular at that time? And this technology is too good, isn't it?"
"Haha, you have a good eye. This is not an ordinary sword. Once you pull it out and take a look at it, you will understand how special it is." Thief Shi had a strange look on his face.
Pulling out the heavy sword was even more shocking than opening the sword case.
I don’t know if it was an illusion, but when the sword was drawn out, a blood-red light spread out in all directions, and the fierce sword sound seemed to tear people’s eardrums.
This forced Xu Zhe to drop the hilt of the sword and hold it tightly with both hands, only then did the sword's "roar" stop.
Looking at the sword again, it was four fingers wide and 1.1 meters long. Although it was still silver-white in color, the red color it was showing was close to the depth of blood, as if it had just killed an enemy.
"What a huge grudge, how many people has it killed?" As a demon hunter, this sword is fundamentally different from other weapons. There is no need to explore it carefully, it is "bloody" in front of you. The red blush on the sword is the result of human blood invading it...
"No one knows this. No one knows how many masters it has passed through for thousands of years. It has no name because almost all the people who knew it died on the battlefield." Seeing that Xu Zhe's hands stopped the sword's sound, Thief Shi couldn't help but be shocked. After all, it took him a lot of effort to put the sword back into the sheath.
There is another story. When he was still a staff member of the Spiritual Adjustment Department, he investigated a massacre in a rural area. At that time, this case shocked the entire security bureau. 132 households and 247 people in the village died overnight, and even large livestock were all killed.
The cruelty is by no means an ordinary criminal case...
When Thief Shi intervened in the investigation, he immediately ruled out the possibility of demons committing the crime. After several days of investigation, the real murderer was found in the mountains on one side of the village.
An ordinary woman holding this nameless long sword, but she is like a beast possessed by a demon.
Finally, I realized that this was an ancient artifact that the farmer woman accidentally dug out from the field. She just took a look out of curiosity, but as soon as the sword was unsheathed, the nightmare began...
Everything stems from the resentment condensed on the sword, the warrior's thirst for blood, and hatred for the world...
"Keep it safe. If it falls into the hands of weak-willed people, it will be a disaster." Thief Shi was reminding.
"Condemn..." Holding the sword in front of him and looking at his own reflection on the smooth blade, Xu Zhe was puzzled. "From now on, this is your name. Condemn everything in this world, the people who created us, the gods who played with us, and the lives that deceived us. Is this the name you want too?"
Listening to Xu Zhe's calm words, the red glow on the sword flashed, as if responding to Xu Zhe's call.
"Old man, I'm leaving." Sheathing his sword and putting it into the backpack he brought with him, Xu Zhe, who had just woken up from a deep sleep, walked to the edge of the cliff and turned back to look at Ouyang unconsciously. "Boss, even though it feels corny, I still want to thank you for taking care of me. Take me to say hello to Haozi and Tiechui. I won't be able to see them for a while."
"Where are you going?" Ouyang knew the result would be like this, but he still couldn't help feeling sad.
"Go and do something that must be done. If there is a chance of survival, I will treat you to a meal." With a long-lost smile, he just wanted to reassure those who cared about him.
"Don't rush in. It's Tiechui's turn to treat you. That guy has been taking advantage of..." He watched as the former team member turned over and climbed down, and disappeared from people's sight along the way he came up.
"What about you? When do you plan to leave?" Xieshi asked Ouyang who was still looking around.
"The helicopter will come to pick me up in half an hour. What about you? The work against Xu Zhe is basically finished. Do you want to go back to the world below with me?" Ouyang asked softly. The result was the same as he imagined.
"Forget it. I have peeked into too many secrets in my life. As a punishment for me, everyone around me will suffer retribution. My daughter and wife both died because of this. Do you also want to die in obscurity?" When talking about such a sad topic, there was always a faint smile on Thief's face.
"I'm sorry, for Xu Zhe's matter..." This was the first time Ouyang apologized to someone. It all started with his request to find Xu Zhe. In the past eight years, he had peeped into too many secrets of heaven, and now he had received God's punishment - loneliness.
"Actually, I have no regrets. You don't need to apologize. Everything is our destiny. As human beings, we have to follow human rules. I have seen through that a long time ago. Just like my own life will end after eight o'clock, this is all destiny..." Sometimes having the ability to peek into the world is a kind of sadness. For example, you can always clearly know how you will die.
"You..." Ouyang didn't know what to say, his mind was blank.
"Being able to help Xu Zhe in the last moments of his life means I have done something meaningful." Returning to his own cave, Chishi was not used to being watched while dying.
"I will help you bury it..." With his head lowered, this was the only thing Ouyang could do.
"Thank you in advance." Perhaps the most calm attitude a person can have is to face his or her own death calmly
But Cishi was also unwilling to accept the fact that he had no chance to see what Xu Zhe would become.
It's a pity...
And in Xu Zhe's unknown inner world, there is a spirit that is also being touched.
Standing in front of the majestic Xuanyuan Sword, Ziya was completely at a loss.
Seeing that the thirteen chains that were supposed to bind the blade had turned into twelve, with broken chain fragments still lying on the ground, it was a shock...
"What kind of person am I in this life? I actually broke the first shackles with my bare hands. But no matter what, the path you choose will be a difficult one. I hope I can survive to the end..." Slowly, the old man and the huge sword disappeared into the dark world.
From that day on, no one in Country Z saw Xu Zhe again, as if this person had suddenly disappeared into thin air.
Unfortunately, his disappearance did not change anyone's pace, and society continued to develop in the same direction. Everyone lived an unchanging life, worrying about trivial matters and being happy about childish surprises.
In fact, this is exactly the purpose of the existence of the Paranormal Investigation Department. What they pursue is not to change anything and let humans continue to live a perhaps ignorant but stable life.
Is there anyone who knows that his existence itself has no meaning...