Cultivate, Sign In, And Be Rewarded Handsomely Novel - Chapter 229
Chapter 229: Atonement
City Lord Manor.
There was a dark corner in the northwest corner of the City Lord Manor.
This corner was dark all year round and nothing could be seen clearly. Anyone who was familiar with this place would know that there was a staircase leading down from the deepest part of the dark corridor.
There were hundreds of stairs spiraling down. Standing at the top of the stairs and opening the door engraved with array runes, one could hear countless miserable shouts echoing in this space.
This was the underground water prison. The water prison was in the shape of a pillar and was under the City Lord Manor.
It was more than a few thousand meters deep and more than a hundred meters in diameter.
On both sides of the huge cylinder, prisons were dug out. The dark underground below the abyss was still filled with dense moisture.
No matter which cell it was, it was filled with bone-chilling energy. The people’s flesh here would only corrode day after day until they were beyond recognition one day, leaving only a skeleton. However, that pitiful spirit body was still struggling to maintain this sad life.
At this moment, the shouts and wails in the water prison were even more intense than usual.
A white figure floated down the stairs.
…
All the prisoners saw someone passing by and tried their best to lean against the door of the cell and shout. Their flesh and blood had already been corroded until they were extremely weak. They only grabbed the door of the cage and a large piece of flesh was left behind.
Li Yuanqing had somehow appeared here. He walked all the way down to the bottom of the water prison, as if he was looking for something.
This was the most secret place in Sea City. Usually, no one knew about this, but Li Yuanqing had appeared here and was still walking down. He walked straight for two thousand meters before finally stopping in front of a cell.
There were some fluorite embedded on both sides of the pitch-black abyss wall, which could barely provide some illumination.
The cell was dark. Li Yuanqing took out a Night-Luminescent Pearl and it instantly emitted a strong light.
This dazzling light instantly illuminated the dark cell in front of him. The prisoner inside hurriedly raised his hand to cover his eyes, shocked by the sudden light.
Although this person had been stripped of his previous dazzling and gorgeous clothes, leaving only a linen shirt on his body, his entire body was dripping with blood. The blood had already turned into a dark color and was gradually smelly.
He was the former City Lord, Hai Changping. He was once a famous figure, but at this moment, he had become such an ugly prisoner, trapped in this narrow and dark cell.
After adapting for a while, Hai Changping slowly put down his sleeves a little, revealing one eye that was narrowed as he looked at Li Yuanqing, who was standing outside the cell.
“And you are?”
He thought for a long time, but he could not think of when he had seen this man in front of him.
“Does the Devil King finally want my life?”
Hai Changping’s voice was very hoarse. His throat seemed to have been corroded by the yin energy, and his voice was filled with obstructions.
He thought that the young man in front of him was his death notice and the executioner sent by the Devil King.
Li Yuanqing looked at him quietly. If not for his own selfishness, Hai Changping would not have ended up like this.
If he really cooperated with Ping City and the humans peacefully like he had suggested, both sides would win. If something happened to them immediately, they could report to Ping City in time.
However, this was all in the past. Hai Changping had chosen the most tactful path, thinking that he could rely on his wits to turn the tables between the demons and humans.
But before his fellow demons could deal with him, these devils that came out of the river ended his fantasies.
Hai Changping looked at Li Yuanqing quietly and lowered his head again. He knew that this day would come eventually. Compared to rotting here until he died, he might as well let the Devil King give him a quick death.
“It seems that the Devil King has a gift for me. I only ask for an intact corpse.” Hai Changping suddenly laughed. His pale face smiled, revealing a dark mouth inside, making it look like a dark hole.
In order to resist the water vapor that kept spreading up from under the water prison, these people could not help but eat the black insects on the wall. Eating these insects could reduce the pain caused by the corrosion of yin energy, but it would increase the corrosion of their internal organs.
Until their internal organs were corroded until they could no longer feel anything. In the end, they completely turned into zombies. This was their ending.
Li Yuanqing looked at him coldly and suddenly said, “It’s not time for you to die yet.”
Hai Changping raised his head and looked at Li Yuanqing quietly.
“You humans still have a way. This Devil King refused to accept us demons no matter what, he killed those he could kill, and took in those he could take. Most of us have already died or were injured. Occasionally, we were lucky enough to escape.” Hai Changping’s eyes were filled with sorrow. He raised his head and looked at Li Yuanqing mockingly. “But what about you humans? There will always be a way to survive. Even these devils can’t bear to kill you and leave you behind to be such an executioner. I’m really envious of you.”
Hai Changping thought that the human race had submitted to the devils race. The humans used to be vassals of the demons here. Now, the humans had become vassals of the devils.
In any case, these humans could always find their values. Hai Changping could not help but think of how much he had relied on these humans in the past. However, it was useless to think about this now.
Li Yuanqing replied, “You were the one who brought your clansmen and the current human race to this point. You need to atone for your actions.”
“Atonement? Isn’t this what you want to see? In any case, you’ve already won a complete victory. Sea City is already yours. It’s only a matter of time before you occupy Ping City and Rong City. I only want the Devil King to give me a quick death. I don’t expect anything else.”
At this moment, Hai Changping thought that Li Yuanqing was sent by the Devil King. He sat in the corner with a hopeless expression. He thought about how he used to be in high spirits when he had hundreds of thousands of troops.
“I don’t want to hear that. I just want to know what you did to let these devils escape from the river.”
Li Yuanqing’s words stunned Hai Changping for a moment. Only then did he finally begin to suspect where this young man in front of him came from. He did not sound like he was from the devils.
“Who are you? Why are you here? This is the water prison. How can ordinary people enter?”
Li Yuanqing said coldly, “Don’t ask these questions. All you can do now is atone for everything you’ve done, and send these devils back to where they belong and not commit crimes outside.”
Only then did Hai Changping slowly open his eyes and reevaluate Li Yuanqing. He felt that he had seen this young man somewhere before, but he was not that familiar. It seemed that this guy was always a person hiding in the darkness.
Now, he walked out of the darkness and looked at himself, rotten in the darkness.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m an envoy sent by City Lord Hu Jiujiu of Ping City. I only want to know how these devils escaped and what you did.”
“But you… how could you be here?”
Unexpectedly, Hai Changping looked a little flustered. His face was very nervous and he even took two steps back. He straightened his back and leaned against the wall, widening the distance between him and Li Yuanqing.
“Impossible. This is impossible. You must have been sent by the Devil King to test me, right?” Hai Changping’s face revealed a crazy expression. He suddenly laughed out loud. “I knew that you humans were just relying on luck. If not for the devils escaping and helping you defeat the seven lords, how could you still be alive? You must have long signed an agreement with the devils!”
“The seven experts of your demon race were all killed by our human experts. It has nothing to do with the devils.”
“That’s impossible. How can you humans kill them all with your strength? You’re lying to me!”
Hai Changping suddenly retracted his legs and his butt left the ground. He squatted on the ground and looked at Li Yuanqing warily.
“This can’t be fake. I’m already a person who’s about to die. It’s useless for you to lie to me. In any case, all these crimes were caused by you humans. It has nothing to do with me! I was tricked by this Devil King.”
Li Yuanqing stared at Hai Changping. From his words, it seemed like he was certain that the humans had a deal with the devils. “You mean this isn’t the only devil king who escaped here?”
“If not for those Devil Kings who escaped and helped you humans kill the other lords of our demon race, why would I be bewitched by them and talk to them about cooperation!” Hai Changping looked at Li Yuanqing crazily and cursed. “It’s all your human race’s fault! It’s all your human race’s fault!”
It turned out that when this fellow heard that Ping City, Rong City, was surrounded by the seven lords, he had originally thought that the human race was about to be wiped out and that he would definitely win this time.
Who knew that something would go wrong in Rong City and the three lords would be destroyed first? Then, the four lords of Ping City died. This was a huge blow to them. The demons’ rule for so many years was completely destroyed by the humans.
At this moment, the devils under the river were also restless. They had already discovered many devils fleeing around Sea City.
Therefore, Hai Changping naturally felt that the humans must have communicated with these devils and released them to destroy the seven lords.
“So you went to make a deal with these devils and sold your Sea City.”
Li Yuanqing’s voice was like some kind of judgment. Although it was a very soft voice, it seemed to have some strange magic in this narrow cell, causing Hai Changping to tremble in fear.
“No! It wasn’t me! It’s all their fault for not keeping their word and lying to me!”
“You’re talking about trust with the devils?”
Hai Changping’s lips trembled violently. His eyes slowly turned black and black tears flowed out. The black liquid flowed down his face, coating his pale face in heavy black armor.
“No, that’s not true!” He was still unwilling to believe it.
Li Yuanqing said to him in an unquestionable tone, “The human race has never cooperated with the devils. You’re the one who harmed your clansmen. There are millions of lives in Sea City.”
Hai Changping kept shaking his head. He refused to admit that he had made such a serious mistake. He had always blamed these mistakes on the humans. However, at this moment, he finally realized that this was not normal. There were no devils who would cooperate with the humans at all. Wherever they went, there was only endless killing.
It was as if he finally realized how pitiful his foolish thoughts were.
“I…” Hai Changping lay on the ground with his head buried between his arms. His entire body was trembling as he cried. “I was wrong!”
He seemed to be thinking back and finally realized how ridiculous what he had believed was.
“Tell me, how did you release them?”
Hai Changping raised his head. His face was no longer human. He pointed in a direction and said to Li Yuanqing, “It’s the Heaven and Earth Stone Tablet! I was bewitched by that Devil King. At the end of the river, I used the Heaven and Earth Stone Tablet to block an opening for them to come up from there.”
“What? This gap still there?”
Hai Changping nodded in pain. He was the one who had started it all.
Li Yuanqing looked at Hai Changping with a heavy expression. This was the best place for him to die after he had made such a mistake.
“All your miserable experiences were caused by you. Even if I save you, you will be scolded by your fellow clansmen in Sea City.”
Hai Changping raised his head again and looked at Li Yuanqing. “Young Master, what did you say? Do I still have my own kind outside?”
Li Yuanqing replied, “There are thousands of humans and demons. They hid in the shelter and escaped. Tens of thousands of people escaped from the beginning and were spared.”
Hai Changping suddenly smiled and looked at Li Yuanqing excitedly. “Good! I’m happy that they’re alive!” Hai Changping looked at Li Yuanqing with a lump in his throat. “I don’t dare to ask for too much, Young Master. It’s just that this Devil King has sealed the meridians in my body. It’s difficult for me to die even if I want to. I only hope that Young Master can give me death. I hope you can fulfill my wish!”
“This is not my place.”
“Young Master!” Hai Changping crawled to the front of the cell. “Even though I’ve done countless wrong things in my life, I only have one wish now. Even if I reach the underworld, I will repent to my clansmen!”
Li Yuanqing left, but a silver dagger appeared in Hai Changping’s hand.
