I Bear It Gladly

"One hundred and sixty-five years." Fu Liushan knew what he was asking. "From the time you donned the Luosheng Armor and willingly allowed yourself to be sealed away, one hundred and sixty-five years have passed!" "So long?" No wonder everything around him felt vaguely familiar yet utterly strange. A'xun was in a daze. "Because of the Luosheng Armor?" "Because of the Luosheng Armor!" The evil armor kept its master alive within the seal. Fu Liushan looked at him with profound admiration. "You fought against it for a full one hundred and sixty-five years—a feat no one else could ever match!" No matter how meticulously the Fu family maintained the seal, it was only possible because A'xun had severed all stray thoughts and resolutely pinned himself beneath the earth, forbidding the Luosheng Armor from ever seeing the light of day. For over a century, countless warriors, refusing to give up, had come to the ruins of Ke Ridge to try their luck, all praying to and calling out for the Luosheng Armor. The evil armor surely grew impatient, yet A'xun kept its stirring impulses suppressed. What immense conviction that took. Only one matter weighed on A'xun's heart. "What of my people?" "The old chieftain took them and left the Shanjin Plain right after you sealed the Luosheng Armor." "Is that so? Did they finally leave that hopeless land?" Overjoyed, A'xun threw his head back, closed his eyes, and exhaled a long breath. Though it was deep in the night, the expression on his face looked as if he were bathed in the very first rays of morning dawn. He then asked anxiously, "Are they well in that foreign land?" Fu Liushan said solemnly, "They set sail westward from Julu Port, sailing for a full ten days before making landfall. More than a century later, today... today that place is called the Qing Kingdom. The descendants of the Ying people are now subjects of the Qing Kingdom, raising horses for them!" He looked somewhat emotional as well. "Though they suffered immense hardships during their migration, the Ying people no longer have to wander displaced, nor are they enslaved by the Yao Kingdom any longer. Your plan back then truly worked—they really did escape the curse of the Shanjin Plain!" He Lingchuan and Dong Rui exchanged a glance, knowing Fu Liushan's understated summary was solely meant to comfort A'xun. Had the Ying people left the Shanjin Plain? Indeed. Was it a tale of embarking toward a wonderful new life? Far from that simple. How could the Yao Kingdom sit by and watch the Ying people flee? The Ying had encountered layer upon layer of obstruction, vengeful ambushes from neighboring powers, setbacks in their westward journey to sell horses, and countless unspeakable miseries. By the time their sea voyage ended and they stepped foot onto the soil of a foreign continent, fewer than five hundred remained—mostly young adults and children. And arriving in a foreign land was merely the beginning. How to assimilate, how to secure the means of survival, how to gain legal status and recognition—each was a grueling hurdle, no easier than escaping the Shanjin Plain. Along the way, many more collapsed from exhaustion. In their third year in that foreign land, the Ying chieftain worked himself to death, coughing up blood. The Molong tribe had migrated from the Ya Kingdom to the Yangshan Archipelago; He Lingchuan understood that process well, with its endless hardships and countless parting farewells between life and death. In the direst moments, the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled would inevitably be the first to be abandoned. For a tribe, such severance was like carving away their own flesh and bleeding themselves dry—heartbreaking, yet inescapable regardless of human will. Was the Ying chieftain not justified when he initially refused to leave? A tribe's long migration was far more difficult and cruel than it sounded. Was it worth it? Of course it was! The surviving Ying people had escaped a godforsaken land, cast off generations of grudges and hatred, and gained a completely fresh start— the start of a new identity and a new life. A peaceful beginning unimaginable to those living on the Shanjin Plain. The Ying people had indeed tasted every bitter misery under heaven, yet they had finally put down roots in a new land, and their descendants would never again bear the curse of the Shanjin Plain. There was a future. There was hope. This was the sliver of survival A'xun had bought for them with his own life. "That is good. That is good." That was all A'xun had ever wished for. The Ying people had finally understood his intentions and seized the opportunity. "What of my wife?" His kinsmen, Ying people forged on the Shanjin Plain, were indeed the toughest and most resilient; they had not disappointed his hopes. "They were well. Your son was born in the new land and grew up safely. Later, he gave you three grandsons and four granddaughters in total." A'xun couldn't help but chuckle aloud. "My Mengmeng was truly wonderful." He had known she would be a wonderful mother and a wonderful grandmother. Yet no sooner had his smile risen than it sank again. "Then what of the Yao Kingdom? Has it fallen?" He Lingchuan spoke up, observing A'xun as he said, "The Yao Kingdom is still doing fine. You fought a battle against them just a moment ago." "Is that so? I do not remember." Possessed by the evil armor, A'xun's memories were a muddle. "The Heavenly Dao is unjust; how can the Yao Kingdom still not have perished?" Compared to the rest of the Shanjin Plain, the Yao Kingdom had not only survived, but remained as powerful as ever. In this world, was there any justice left? Dong Rui asked abruptly, "The Ying people left the Shanjin Plain very soon after. For the remaining one hundred and sixty-odd years, why did you continue sealing the Luosheng Armor?" To contend with this notorious evil armor for over a hundred and sixty years—Dong Rui had not experienced it firsthand, but he knew how agonizing it must have been. Presumably, it was impossible without superhuman willpower. If the Ying people had taken his advice and left the Shanjin Plain, why did A'xun need to keep holding on through such agony? And if the Ying people hadn't left, how long could they have survived on the Shanjin Plain anyway? Why would he keep holding on? "My people lacked wisdom and willingly served as claws and fangs for the Yao Kingdom, committing endless evil across the Shanjin Plain. That was profoundly wrong, and they regretted it. Out in the west, I once heard a saying: 'Recognizing right and wrong is the beginning of doing good.' My kinsmen were not evil by nature; they deserved a chance to mend their ways," A'xun said softly. "Every extra day I keep this evil armor sealed is another day I atone for their sins. In doing so, I bear it gladly." Every day longer he sealed the evil armor, he bought one more day of peace for the western Shanjin Plain and spared a few more human lives. No matter what upheaval occurred across the Shanjin Plain, fulfilling his duty was piling up virtues and merits for his people. This was the source of his conviction and drive to fight the evil armor. In all one hundred and sixty-five years, he had never once regretted it. Fu Liushan blinked hard and turned his head aside. "There is one thing I do not understand." A'xun's skin was already turning black and cracking; He Lingchuan seized the moment to ask, "Since the Luosheng Armor amplifies the evil desires of the human heart, why didn't you seek vengeance against the Yao Kingdom after putting it on?" "The Yao Kingdom... was too strong, rarely suffering defeat on the Shanjin Plain." A'xun turned his head toward the northeast. "Even after putting on the Luosheng Armor, we... we never even considered marching against the Yao Kingdom." Those who donned the Luosheng Armor might eventually go mad, but they weren't stupid. He Lingchuan understood. Their fear of the Yao Kingdom ran so deep in their bones that even wearing the Luosheng Armor could not dispel it entirely. A'xun sighed. "If only I were a bit stronger of will, if only I could overcome the Luosheng Armor, I could harness it to destroy the Yao Kingdom and wipe away the suffering and turmoil on this land. Unfortunately..."