Venerated Venomous Consort

The hill at the valley was covered with rocks and boulders, as though making a stone formation. Swamps revolved around its surroundings, forming a natural shield against the outside world.

Her followers sat surrounding her. All these tough and unafraid men were looking unusually sorrow at the moment.

They were able to endure the hardships. The hardships, however, seemed endless, so they felt hopeless for the future. Moreover, their spirits were weighted down even more by the burden of being called betrayers.

They always had their respect for Celestial Master Zuo. They were also proud of having him as their boss. But now, they had no alternative but to go against him. In turn, he was trying to hunt them down. They did not know how to process their mixed feelings.

“Leader Li, you said that Celestial Master Zuo is not real, didn’t you? He has been going on for a while now, why hasn’t his cover been blown?”

“True. Recently, when I was out there buying our supplies, I saw him again. As usual, the four messengers were by his side guarding his way. If he truly is a fake, at least one of them should be able to tell. They will definitely not follow him like they used to.”

“Leader Li, maybe we are wrong.”

Li Mengxia swept away the dust in her hair. She looked at them firmly in the eye. “Fake! He is a fake! The real Celestial Master Zuo will not treat another woman lovingly. He will not keep on hunting down Miss Gu.”

They were speechless. All of them were men, except for Li Mengxia. As men, they knew exactly what men wanted.

“Leader Li, I think that it is a little irrational to judge a person that way. Men… All men will disdain the old when they get the new. Moreover, Gu Xijiu has greatly embarrassed Celestial Master Zuo by breaking off their engagement in the manner that she did. Any normal man would do the same to break off all past relationships, let alone for a man like Celestial Master Zuo. I think that it is perfectly normal for Celestial Master Zuo to do so.”

“That is right, Leader Li, your argument is invalid.”

Li Mengxia pulled her hair in disapproval. “You do not understand! I have a feeling that Celestial Master Zuo will not treat Miss Gu in such a way. Moreover, you have seen for yourself, how he misbehaved all these years. He started the war himself and disregarded the value of human lives. I saw it with my eyes, how he ordered for the death of the entire Baili family, only because they refused to obey him. It is such a pity to witness the legacy of a family that has been going on for almost a thousand years to come to an end. The true Celestial Master Zuo will never do that!”

They kept quiet, as they silently agreed. Celestial Master Zuo seemed to be possessed by an evil spirit, as he had become extremely violent and ruthless, more like a manslayer that killed randomly. He murdered entire families without hesitation, only because of the slightest disagreement. This was completely different than how Celestial Master Zuo used to be.

“Perhaps… Perhaps, a man of great ambitions like him does not care about trifles. As what Celestial Master Zuo said, he has to unite the entire continent through sheds of blood to prevent all wars in the future. Therefore… Therefore, Celestial Master Zuo has to change the way he does things.”

Li Mengxia hissed loudly. “Ruthless means do not mean that he is allowed to take the people’s lives lightly as though they are worthless. It is fine if there are just casualties in wars. But for him to build an unstoppable army, he chose to kill some of the bravest soldiers in the cruelest manner to boost the grudge between the men. He turned them into ruthless killing machines and made them kill their own families. What is the difference between him and a devil?”

They heaved their sighs of disappointment in unison. Li Mengxia was right. They could never agree with what he did.

Anying Hall was an assassin’s organization, but they would not take lives away randomly.