NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4:
Chapter 4: You May Not Care, But I Do:
“Why is it impossible?” Wang Muchen asked as he walked step by step toward Zhong Yuhong, closing the distance between them until she instinctively took a step back.
“Do you think I fell into the demonic path because I couldn’t handle the blow of you breaking off our engagement?”
“You think too highly of yourself.”
“I, Wang Muchen, have my heart set on the world. How could I be swayed by mere romantic entanglements?”
“My joining the Heavenly Saint Sect was arranged by my master.”
“Do you really think I spared you and Lin Fan repeatedly out of love?”
“You think your charm is that irresistible?”
“That was merely an excuse for letting you go.”
Wang Muchen’s face was filled with mockery, though it wasn’t Zhong Yuhong he mocked but rather the original Demon Emperor.
In truth, the Demon Emperor had indeed acted out of love, sparing Lin Fan’s life several times simply because Zhong Yuhong had pleaded for it.
That pathetic simp never realized that fawning would never win over a goddess.
The Demon Emperor’s eventual demise was largely due to Zhong Yuhong. Her presence had caused him to miss countless opportunities.
Of course, on a deeper level, it was destiny. Even if Zhong Yuhong didn’t exist, there would have been a Tang Yuhong or a Jiang Yuhong.
No matter what, Lin Fan was destined never to die at the Demon Emperor’s hands.
Zhong Yuhong was deeply shaken. On one hand, hearing that Wang Muchen hadn’t fallen into the demonic path because of her left her profoundly disappointed. On the other hand, she found his words plausible.
Unwilling to accept it, she retorted, “You killed your master and have bloodied your hands with countless lives. And now you tell me you’re a spy?”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Show me proof!”
Her breathing quickened.
“I didn’t kill my master,” Wang Muchen said calmly. His master’s death, in fact, had been the catalyst for his descent into the demonic path.
“As for proof, my master kept our communication strictly one-on-one to avoid leaks. For a long time, I thought no one else knew about it.”
“But recently, I discovered that others were aware. Your plans were leaked to me by someone else.”
“I didn’t come here to prove anything. Once I became the sect leader, I was no longer a spy.”
Zhong Yuhong fell silent, strangely calmer now. She started to believe him.
Thinking back, many things were too coincidental.
It was so coincidental that people had often joked, “What if the Demon Emperor is actually one of our spies?”
Who would have thought that the joke might actually be true?
If Wang Muchen were a spy, everything would make sense.
Yet, for some reason, she felt an overwhelming sense of loss.
So, it wasn’t because of me…
It was all fake.
“Even if that’s true, so what? The dragon slayer eventually becomes the dragon. By taking the position of sect leader, you’ve abandoned your master’s mission, consumed by greed for power, unable to distinguish right from wrong,” Zhong Yuhong said bitterly.
Wang Muchen burst into laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” she asked, visibly annoyed.
“I’m laughing at how much you underestimate me,” Wang Muchen said, his expression turning cold.
“I’m laughing at you. You, who are hailed as the top strategist of the righteous path, are still too naive. What ‘unable to distinguish right from wrong’? It’s merely a difference in stance.”
“I’m laughing at you, who grew up with me, yet never truly understood me.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“When I became the sect leader, I finally realized one thing.”
“Even if the Heavenly Saint Sect were annihilated, this world wouldn’t change in the slightest. The land would still be ruled by countless factions, sects, and clans. Chaos and war would persist, and the common people would continue to suffer in misery.”
“All the wounds I endured would have been for nothing!”
“All the blood I shed would have been in vain!”
“I paid such a heavy price, bore such humiliation, and yet it changed nothing!”
“If that’s the case, then I’ll be the one to unify this world, end the chaos, and let the people live in peace and stability.”
“Enough!” Zhong Yuhong shouted angrily. “Stop acting so righteous, as if you’re some noble savior. You’re just using the people as an excuse to satisfy your selfish desires.”
“And does that justify committing every atrocity, slaughtering the innocent, all for the so-called greater good?”
“Every atrocity? Slaughtering the innocent?” Wang Muchen sneered. “You righteous factions dare accuse me of that? Before I became the sect leader, I was a spy. Most of my actions were dictated by my master. I had no choice.”
“But after taking the position of sect leader, tell me—what atrocities have I committed?”
This part, Wang Muchen spoke with a clear conscience.
While the Demon Emperor of this era was indeed a villain who had committed countless wrongs and deserved death, after ascending as sect leader, the Demon Emperor hadn’t actually done anything evil.
“You dare ask what wrongs you’ve done?” Zhong Yuhong said, furious yet laughing bitterly. “How many sects have you annihilated? How many families have you wiped out?”
“How many lives have you taken? How much wealth have you seized? How many martial arts manuals have you plundered?”
Wang Muchen chuckled.
“You see the sects I annihilated but not the justice in their destruction.”
“You see the wealth I seized but not how I distributed the land to the people, giving them farms to cultivate and food to eat.”
“You see the martial arts manuals I collected but not how I taught martial arts to everyone, enabling all to defend themselves.”
“You righteous factions claim to stand for justice, yet you’ve never cared about the lives of ordinary people.”
“You may not care, but I do.”