Chapter 20
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Roar - 2
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I had a dream during the night. Was it because I missed her so much? My mother appeared, crossing a river with murky waters, smiling brightly at me.
"You can't come yet, my son. Stay well."
"Mom!"
"My baby, you have to stay healthy."
I reached out to grab her hand, but it slipped away. My body was bound somewhere. Black and red chains tied me to a wooden stake.
No matter how hard I pulled, they wouldn't budge. My mother vanished into the distance, beyond my reach. She faded into the mist following the small boat crossing the river. Bound on the riverbank, I wailed at the top of my lungs.
...
Drip. The sound of water again. The air was damp. Snow melted during the night and dripped through cracks in the ceiling.
I knew nothing except that it was morning. The sunlight pouring through the bars was so bright it sparkled, forcing me to rub my eyes.
My body was stiff and wouldn't move well. My legs, shackled for so long, were already swollen from pooled blood.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, the prison cell came into view. It was no different from yesterday. Dried straw and solid wood. Crawling rats, musty smell.
Except.
"Uh..."
Was it a lie? A trap?
I rubbed my eyes again and again. Was I still dreaming?
Something odd stuck out from the pile of straw in front of the door. It reflected the sunlight intensely—undoubtedly the texture of metal.
Moving my frozen body closer, it became clear.
It was definitely a keyring. Someone must have dropped it during the night.
As if possessed by a demon, I reached out. Damn it, just short. The keys tantalizingly evaded my fingertips.
I strained my body to the limit, and my shackled ankle screamed in agony. But I had to do it. If I wanted to escape, this chance might never come again.
Before the guard came. Before the World Dragon came...!
"Nngh!"
I stifled a groan. Enduring the surging pain, I reached out once more. Missed. Missed. But on the last try, I grasped a thin strand of straw.
Whoosh! Pulling it dragged the tangled straw pile through the bars. The keys tumbled in. Time seemed to slow as I watched their arc in excruciating detail.
They hit the ground with a thunk, bounced once, and landed inside the cell. I snatched them up desperately. Pressing them to my ankle, they unlocked as if by magic.
"...!"
Clink.
Elation surged through me. A sliver of hope peeked out. I let out a silent gasp, steadying my breath.
I listened carefully. No one seemed nearby. Was now the only chance? Or should I wait longer? It was all or nothing—my options were few.
I chose courage. Tensing up, I crept slowly to the barred door. With trembling hands, I fitted the key.
Blindly inserting it into the hole was tough. The clinking noise tormented me for ages. Finally, after tension gnawed at my mind, click—the obstacle vanished.
The door creaked open. The prison that had held me for two days swung wide.
Now I truly had to be careful. I moved like a cat, ears attuned to every sound. But nothing—no footsteps. Morning shift, maybe the warriors were dozing.
I eased open the final door. Stronger sunlight poured in. Peeking through the gap, the Tian Clan compound was silent.
No one. Not in front of the prison, nowhere.
The World Dragon's words echoed. He had asked me to trust him just once. Maybe...
Holding my breath, I stepped out. A chill wind brushed my cheek. Last night's brutal cold came back to me.
Another step, then another. Still no sign of life. I ran. I had to escape before they found me. Go home, get Mom, and leave this place immediately. I had to.
I bolted desperately. Breath ragged. I couldn't even remember the Tian Clan compound being this vast. Far ahead, the main gate loomed. Wide open...
As if someone intended it.
Someone stood before the gate.
The figure just stood there, doing nothing, small in stature. Like my mother. Wrapped head to toe in shabby clothes, standing at the gate as if with something to say.
One breath, the figure drew closer. Another breath, growing larger. Fleeing through the gate was foolish. Yet I couldn't turn back. No turning back.
Panting, I urged my legs faster. There was something I had to confirm. Something I couldn't believe without seeing.
Last night had been unusually cold.
"Mom! Let's get out of here! Hurry!"
No response, even as I shook her. Her emaciated body from poor eating was stiff, unmoving. Shaking, pulling her hand in frustration—nothing.
Her skin was ice-cold. Frost rimed her eyebrows white. How long had she stood there?
"We have to go, Mom! Come on!"
"It's a shame. No one found her yesterday. Things wouldn't have gone this far if they had."
A sudden voice.
I turned slowly. The sun was bright. Bright sun, warming day. People dotted the streets. In an instant, hundreds of eyes fixed on me.
And behind me, the World Dragon.
"Dropping the keys—looks like the guard slipped up. Hurry back to the prison."
He was smiling. Smiling, as if delighted by something.
The sword arc meant to kill me. The order to search my belongings. False testimony urged in the prison. He had said all evidence was secured.
It connected, like interlocking bricks. Like puppets on strings.
My testimony? He didn't really need it. Nice to have, but not essential. What he needed was... the honor of the young hero who saved everyone.
A sword leaned against the gate. Perfectly placed. As if some careless gatekeeper left it.
I thought: Picking up that sword means no going back. No retreat. The frame-up completes, no way out. Mom and Dad wouldn't want that.
"You—"
Didn't matter.
"Fucking—bastard!"
Kill him!
Screech! Clang! My frantically drawn blade clashed against the World Dragon's sword. Vision blackened, red counterattack arc stained my sight. He shouted something. Didn't matter. My right foot throbbed. Didn't matter.
Sword swings guided by instinct. Senses sharpened to the limit by rage and hatred cut sharper than my blade. I saw his swing before his arm moved. How it would come. Which way it would curve.
I could feel a fly's wingbeat now. But clang! My sword failed to pierce the gap.
If I had senses, he had experience. He knew where a novice's blade aimed. Where rage made one swing wildly. Thunk! Clang! His twisting strike sent my sword flying.
Dull pain throbbed in my arm. Our swords weighed different. Gasp, breath caught.
Difference in inner energy.
How many great cycles with a proper heart method? How thick the qi amassed in the dantian? Time never betrayed. Especially in the martial world.
Power in strikes changed, speed shifted. I saw slower, more. Thus,
I couldn't match him relying only on Thousand Kills Star senses.
Skilled handwork. Twisting wrist, circling blade. My sword flung like a leaf in a gale, swift kick slipping in. Roundhouse.
Dull impact to my solar plexus.
"Gah!"
Scream escaped. Movement halted. Limbs betrayed me, vision blurred.
Too simple a defeat. Even god-given senses couldn't bridge eight years' gap. From my first swing, he had predicted...
"Take him away. Tomorrow morning, I'll interrogate him with the arsonist and the rest."
"Yes!"
"No mistakes this time."
I glared until my eyes forced shut. Salty tears—burst vessels? Still, my arms had no strength.
I could do nothing.
Back here again...
Night. Moonlight bathed me.
Beaten all day, I had no strength. Body ached everywhere, mouth tasted salty blood. New limb restraints.
Heavy. Couldn't twitch.
"Please..."
Lips mumbled unknown wishes. Prayer to whom? I'd never believed in gods. Not since Dad hanged from the beam.
Realized no gods in this world.
Whom was I seeking? Murderous urge awakened. Wanted to kill. Stab with a sword. Everyone, everything.
Darkness and moonlight filled with red haze. I prayed desperately.
A small flame whooshed in my chest.
"Please, anyone."
Then,
Rustle—
God answered.
Rustle—
Skirt brushing dirt floor. Someone approaching. Warm hand stroked my cold head on the ground.
"I'm sorry."
"Who... are you..."
"I'm sorry. I was too late."
Her hand smelled of blood, fishy. Death's scent soaked deep into her skin. Too sweet. Good.
Thump, heart raced.
"You, you're..."
"I'll help you."
Heart pounded. Veins pulsed.
She reached out. Pale, translucent skin gleamed in moonlight. Naturally, I offered my wrist. Felt right. Slender fingers rested there. Index on the pulse point—Macmun.
Life's gate, learned in childhood at the martial hall. Entrusting it meant offering your life.
"Remember."
True energy flowed in.
Fierce, tyrannical power. It seared blocked meridians of turbid and poison qi. Soothed twisted muscles and bones from violence. Infused weary nerves, sharpening everything.
Awakened Thousand Kills Star senses instinctively knew.
Not natural qi cultivation. Mountains and rivers, daily accumulation—not for us. Her power ignored morning air or heaven-earth essence.
Ah... I realized. She's no god. No lifeline of salvation. Not for me.
My power came from one thing.
Viscous emotion deep in my heart.
Reverse flow. True energy surged from Baihui backward. Dantian reservoir breached, rising. Slowly imprinting its path to my brain. Black, sticky inner energy halted at the heart.
Wrapping the pulsing heart, slowly rotating—hot. Dry. Black flames to burn all.
"I'll give you power. Stronger than anyone's. So."
The girl stared. Black eyes pierced my heart. The flames within. Eternal hatred's unquenchable blaze. Whispered.
The demon's voice was so gentle.
"Let's burn the world together."