Chapter 75: Section 76: This is… the Truth


    Following the tracks, they advanced carefully, and soon made a discovery.


    “Is that you, Lan Zao? You’re still alive! What happened to you?” When Cang Xu saw Lan Zao, he could hardly believe his eyes.


    In his memory, Lan Zao was a robust and composed middle-aged man with a resolute will, always on alert.


    But now, Lan Zao had become drastically thinner, disheveled, his face covered in blood. He sat in the thick grass like a puppet, with no awareness of his surroundings. When he heard someone calling his name, he slowly turned his head, his face filled with confusion and sluggishness.


    Zi Di’s heart also sank, secretly guessing, “Could he have been attacked by a Magic Beast, causing severe damage to his spirit, rendering him mentally incapacitated?”


    The moment they found Lan Zao, everyone was joyful.


    They were unaware of the covert departure and abandonment of Lan Zao and Huang Zao. In the eyes of Lord Zhenjin and the others, having separated from Lan Zao in the sandstorm, it was a pleasant surprise to reunite with him at the Oasis.


    ...


    However, this joy faded quickly like a gust of wind, replaced by perplexity and disbelief.


    “Lan Zao, besides you, is there anyone else?”


    “Where is your brother, Huang Zao?” Zhenjin inquired.


    Upon hearing the name ‘Huang Zao,’ Lan Zao’s body trembled, as if a command had activated a golem. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He froze, then his facial expressions changed dramatically, as if he suddenly regained all his memories.


    He shouted frantically, agitated and anxious, “Lord, Lord Zhenjin, you’ve come!! Please, save my brother, save him.”


    Saying so, he rushed to Zhenjin’s feet and clung to his lower legs.


    He then noticed Zi Di as if seeing her for the first time, and exclaimed with even greater excitement, “And Miss Zi Di is here too, that’s wonderful. With you here, we can surely cure my brother!”


    “What exactly happened? Calm down, Lan Zao.” Zhenjin frowned deeply, bent down, grabbed Lan Zao’s shoulders, and pulled him to his feet.


    “Quick, over here!” Lan Zao suddenly broke free from Zhenjin’s grip and ran towards the nearest coconut tree.


    After just a few steps, he stumbled in the undergrowth and fell to the ground, half-kneeling.


    Extremely anxious, he scrambled on all fours, leading the way ahead.


    Noticing something wasn’t right and unable to get clear answers, Zhenjin and the others stayed alert, following behind Lan Zao.


    As they reached the coconut tree, the foremost Zhenjin’s pupils slightly constricted as he saw Huang Zao in the undergrowth.


    Huang Zao’s clothes were torn badly, most of his flesh missing, his pale ribs, arm bones, leg bones all exposed.


    He lay immobile on the ground, the remaining half of his fleshly body had begun to decay, emitting a foul stench.


    Huang Zao had died, his body now thoroughly a corpse.


    Eerily, the body was still bandaged.


    The bandages were clearly long strips of fabric torn from clothes, covered with many large coconut leaves.


    “Brother, brother, open your eyes.”


    “Look, Lord Zhenjin has come, and Miss Zi Di too. You’re going to be saved, you’re saved!”


    “You’re really lucky, to end up in the desert and still encounter the two lords, haha…”


    Lan Zao kneeled beside Huang Zao, propping up the back of Huang Zao’s head with his arms, making his upper body sit up.


    It was, without a doubt, a chilling scene.


    Huang Zao was already dead, his face deathly pale, his body mutilated, the sight of blood and exposed bones was truly horrifying.


    Following behind, Cang Xu and Zi Di stopped abruptly in their tracks when they witnessed such a sight.


    “Ugh.”


    Zi Di was caught off guard and suddenly retched, almost vomiting the acid from her stomach.


    “Huang Zao?” Behind the broken lens of his glasses, Cang Xu’s eyes widened. “He’s dead! When did he die? How did he die?”


    Stimulated, Lan Zao frantically shook his head, repeatedly denying, “No, he’s fine, he’s not dead!”


    “He’s still alive.”


    “Cang Xu, your old eyes are blurry! Look closer!”


    Then, Lan Zao looked toward his brother, his pitch rising sharply before dropping again, “Brother, wake up, open your eyes and look!”


    Huang Zao was long dead, how could he possibly open his eyes?


    Lan Zao stared closely at Huang Zao’s face and, seeing no reaction, began to grow anxious.


    “Brother, brother.”


    “Open your eyes, quick, open your eyes!”


    Lan Zao began to go mad.


    He extended his right hand’s fingers, pried open Huang Zao’s eyelids, and suddenly exposed the chilling whites of his eyes.


    “Look, everyone look, he’s opened his eyes. My brother has opened his eyes!” Lan Zao joyfully shouted.


    Zi Di and Zhenjin remained silent.


    Cang Xu shook his head and sighed deeply, “Lan Zao, be sensible, your brother… is indeed dead.”


    “No, he’s not dead. He’s not dead. You’re talking nonsense, talking nonsense!”


    Lan Zao yelled, becoming hysterical.


    He pressed his ear against Huang Zao’s right chest, half of which was flesh and the other half bone, with the organs long gone.


    “Listen, he still has a heartbeat!” Lan Zao suddenly exclaimed in surprise.


    Everyone was silent.


    Noticing the expressions of those around him and growing incredibly anxious, Lan Zao extended his finger again, placing it under Huang Zao’s nostrils.


    “Look, he’s still breathing!” Lan Zao shouted loudly.


    Everyone remained silent.


    Lan Zao screamed ferociously at everyone, “He’s still alive!!!”


    His scream was enormous, a desperate cry that rattled everyone’s eardrums.


    Everyone stood still, like three iron statues, motionless.


    “He’s still alive!” Lan Zao knelt on the ground, his arms around Huang Zao’s corpse, his eyes wide as he roared again at those around him.


    But the volume of his scream was only half of what it had been before.


    Lan Zao’s eyes were bloodshot, and tears surged down, quickly carving two trails down his face.


    “He’s still alive, still alive…”


    Lan Zao softly called out, as if he was still trying to persuade everyone, and as if he was calling to Huang Zao.


    The robust man’s upright upper body bent forward; he slowly lowered his head and buried it deep in Huang Zao’s shattered chest.


    The sun had already sunk below the horizon, and the last ray of light had disappeared.


    Everything was shrouded in darkness.


    Lan Zao’s cries echoed throughout the oasis.


    He cried and told his story.


    “It was me… it was me…”


    “It was me who killed him, I killed him.”


    “I killed Huang Zao, I killed my brother.”


    “I killed him, I killed the last of my kin in this world!”


    “Wuu wuu wuu…”


    “These days, it was him who kept me alive.”


    “I truly didn’t expect there to be an oasis here!”


    “I really didn’t expect…”


    “Wuu wuu wuu…”


    “I survived, but he died.”


    “I am the murderer, I am the murderer.”


    “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, little brother.”


    “I’m sorry, Mom… I didn’t take good care of him, I killed him. I should die, I truly should.”


    “Wuu wuu wuu…”


    It was hard to imagine such a heartbreaking cry coming from a robust man.


    The crying sounded like a ghost drifting over a tranquil lake.


    The starry night sky was still brilliant.


    The temperature in the oasis was much more normal than the outside, not as bitterly cold as the desert at night.


    And there was also a campfire.


    The orange flames burned quietly, occasionally cracking with the sound of burning wood. Each time it cracked, a small burst of sparks would rush upwards, then swiftly dissipate in the air above.


    On a rack over the fire, skewered lizard meat was being cooked.


    Around Lord Zhenjin and the others were several coconuts.


    There were many palm trees in the oasis, roughly two types, one yielding coconuts and the other dates.


    Cutting open the coconuts, the inside was fresh and tasty but carried a distinct smell of sulfur.


    The water problem was solved even better than expected— Lord Zhenjin and his company now had not just lake water but also fruit juice.


    Of course, as it was nighttime and the condition of the lakeside was unclear, for safety reasons, Lord Zhenjin and his company did not rush to fetch water.


    Not far away, Lan Zao knelt among the bushes, his gaze vacant, fixed solely on Huang Zao’s corpse. Regardless of the tempting aroma of the roasted meat or the calls from Lord Zhenjin and the others, he showed no reaction. He was like a puppet, seemingly dead apart from his ability to breathe.


    Bai Ya lay beside the campfire.


    He closed his eyes tightly, always unconscious.


    He was still feverish, and his temperature was getting higher and higher.


    Obviously, his condition was worsening.


    Perhaps by the next day, both of them would be corpses.


    The firelight shone on the faces of Zhenjin, Zi Di, and Cang Xu.


    Zi Di glanced in the direction of Lan Zao, then shifted her gaze to Zhenjin.


    The young girl took the initiative to break the long silence previously, “Lord, such a person must not be spared.”


    “We all saw the body of Huang Zao.”


    “Lan Zao himself admitted his crimes. Such a person is too cruel. How can we keep him?”


    “I also noticed that it seems Lan Zao’s back was sprayed with Acid Liquid; the wounds have rotted severely, but it is obvious that they were cared for and bandaged before. This must be the work of Huang Zao, as Lan Zao alone couldn’t have tended his back wounds to this extent.”


    “Huang Zao helped his brother by carefully dressing Lan Zao’s wounds. But what did Lan Zao do? Such a person is really terrifying.”


    Zhenjin did not respond, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the campfire ahead.


    It was at this moment Cang Xu spoke, “I have a doubt. Since Lan Zao had arrived at the Oasis, where food is plentiful, and he had weapons on him. Even if he couldn’t hunt a Magic Beast, there were fruits fallen on the ground.”


    Zi Di immediately responded, “Obviously, after Huang Zao died, Lan Zao discovered this oasis. Relying on the flesh of Huang Zao, Lan Zao managed to survive to get here. Perhaps it was also because of reaching the oasis that Lan Zao fell into endless regret and pain. Because he understood that if he hadn’t been in a hurry to kill his brother, and had persevered a bit longer, they might have made it here. Then his brother wouldn’t have died, and they both could have survived.”


    Cang Xu nodded, “Lady Zi Di’s conjecture is very plausible and reasonable. So, Lady Zi Di, you believe that it is because of regret and pain that Lan Zao has ended up in such a state. That is to say, Lan Zao is suffering from the torment of his inner kindness, ethics, and family affection, is that right?”


    Zi Di frowned, glaring slightly at Cang Xu, “What do you mean? Are you trying to make excuses for someone who killed his own younger brother?”


    Cang Xu shook his head repeatedly, “Lady Zi Di, you have misunderstood my point. I do not want to make excuses for anyone, no matter what kind of person Lan Zao is, he did kill his own younger brother with his hands; he is a murderer!”


    Saying this, Cang Xu looked towards Zhenjin, “I merely wish to clarify some truths that I know may seem trivial or narrow-minded.”


    Zhenjin, interested, expressionless, said, “Scholar Cang Xu, speak your mind.”


    Cang Xu smiled faintly, tossing a stick into the campfire,


    “We of the Human Race are actually very weak. Compared to wild beasts, we have no sharp claws or teeth, no hard shells, no wings to fly, no gills to breathe underwater.”


    “And our so-called pride, our Intelligence, is not unique to us. Elves, Beastmen, Demons, Angels, goblins, and others, all possess intelligence not weaker than ours, even surpassing that of the Human Race.”


    “Although in today’s world, the Human Race has the strongest overall strength. But if we look back in history, we’ll find that our ancestors were at a disadvantage, struggling to survive in danger. The prosperity of the Human Race, becoming the foremost power, has only changed in the last few centuries.”


    “So, long ago, when our human ancestors were savages, barely surviving in nature, they discerned a crucial point: as individuals, we are too weak. Only by helping each other, making use of the strength of the community, could there be more possibilities to survive.”


    “Gradually, the earliest Human Race tribes emerged, followed by families, then embryonic nations, and now we humans have built a powerful Empire ruling the entire Human Race Continent.”


    “Along this process, ethics and morality emerged. We value the strong because relying on the strong enables survival. We acknowledge the nobility brought about by Bloodlines, because a superior Bloodline is more likely to breed strong individuals. We developed a sense of community, individual sacrifice, and a feeling of honor, denouncing selfishness and promoting sharing, because we do not want to be ostracized by the community. Individual being too weak, getting greater acceptance among others in the community, is more conducive to personal survival.”


    “However, the fact is, self-benefit is the most basic instinct of life. The emergence of ethics and morality follows after self-benefit. Essentially, ethics and moral principles also arise from the instinct of self-preservation.”


    “Like sharing, fundamentally, it’s to exchange for conditions more favorable to personal survival. Like our contempt for selfishness, because we do not want others to become selfish, which would not benefit our personal survival. We help others because aiding can enhance our survival in the group. Going alone decreases our survival and reproduction rates, making it harder for our Bloodline, high or low, noble or humble, to be passed down.”


    “Enough.” Zi Di called sharply, her gaze piercing through the campfire toward Cang Xu with anger, “Scholar Cang Xu, are you trying to say that Lan Zao killed his own younger brother due to the instinct to survive? You are not only making excuses for Lan Zao but also for yourself for suggesting earlier that we eat Bai Ya!”


    Cang Xu did not stop because of Zi Di’s interruption, showing an unusual firmness at this moment.


    His gaze remained focused on Zhenjin’s face: “After mating, female spiders or praying mantises might eat the male. They have no ethics of love.”


    “Burly male lions drive out the old, aging lions to become the new leaders of the pride. They will do everything to guard their territory and strut pompously. They will have the lionesses hunt for them, and they will kill all the offspring of the previous aging lion. They hold no ethics of respecting the old and loving the young.”


    “These words might sound very harsh, my lord,” Cang Xu finally sighed, his gaze earnest and sad, “but this is…the truth.”