Chapter 1191: I Accept It Willingly

“One hundred and sixty-five years,” Fu Liushan said, knowing what he was asking. “It has been one hundred and sixty-five years since you put on the Rahu Armor and willingly allowed yourself to be sealed!”

“That long?” No wonder everything around him seemed familiar yet distorted. Axun felt a little dazed. “Is it because of the Rahu Armor?”

“It is because of the Rahu Armor!” The evil armor kept its wearer alive within the seal. Fu Liushan’s face was filled with admiration. “You have fought against it for a full one hundred and sixty-five years. This is an unparalleled feat!”

Even with the meticulous maintenance of the seal by the Fu family, it was also due to Axun’s resolute determination to firmly hold himself underground, preventing the Rahu Armor from re-emerging.

For over a century, countless warriors, unwilling to give up, came to the Kuoling Ruins to try their luck, praying for and summoning the Rahu Armor. The evil armor must have grown impatient, but Axun suppressed its stirrings.

What powerful conviction this was.

Axun had only one thing on his mind: “What about my people?”

“The old patriarch led them away from Golden Flash Plains, right after you sealed the Rahu Armor.”

“Really? They finally left the land of no hope?” Axun was overjoyed. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath. Though it was night, his expression was as if he had just seen the first rays of dawn.

He then eagerly asked, “Are they doing well in the foreign land?”

Fu Liushan replied solemnly, “They sailed west from Julu Port, and only reached land after ten full days of travel. Over a hundred years later, that place is now called Qing State, and the descendants of the Ying people are now citizens of Qing State. They raise horses for Qing State!”

He also appeared a little agitated: “Although they suffered greatly during the migration, the Ying people no longer have to wander or be enslaved by the Yao State. Your plan from back then was feasible; they truly escaped the curse of Golden Flash Plains!”

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui exchanged glances, knowing that Fu Liushan’s understatement was merely to comfort Axun.

Had the Ying tribe left Golden Flash Plains? Yes, they had.

Was it a story of moving towards a wonderful new life? It wasn’t that simple.

How could the Yao State simply watch the Ying people escape? The Ying people encountered numerous obstacles, faced vengeful ambushes from surrounding areas, and the westward journey to sell horses was not smooth. There were also many unspeakable hardships.

By the time they finished their sea voyage and set foot on the foreign land, fewer than five hundred people remained, consisting mainly of able-bodied individuals and children.

Moreover, arriving in a foreign land was only the beginning. How to integrate locally, how to acquire resources for survival, how to gain identity and recognition—these were all successive challenges, no easier than leaving Golden Flash Plains.

In this process, many more collapsed from exhaustion. The Ying patriarch, in the third year after arriving in the foreign land, died from overwork and vomiting blood.

The Molong people had migrated from Ya State to the Yangshan Archipelago, and He Lingchuan understood that process—countless miseries and countless partings of life and death along the way.

During the most difficult times, the old, weak, sick, and disabled would certainly be abandoned first. For a tribe, such a sacrifice was like literally cutting flesh and bleeding oneself dry, tearing at the heart but being beyond human will.

Wasn’t there a reason why the Ying patriarch initially insisted on not leaving? A long-distance migration for a tribe was far more difficult and cruel than it sounded.

Was it worth it?

Absolutely!

The surviving Ying people escaped the forsaken land, shed generations of grievances and hatred, and gained a completely new beginning—

The beginning of a new identity and a new life.

A beginning of peace, unimaginable to those living in Golden Flash Plains.

The Ying people indeed endured all the suffering in the world, but they finally took root in new land, and their descendants would no longer have to bear the curse of Golden Flash Plains.

There was a future, there was hope.

This was the ray of hope Axun had fought for, sacrificing himself completely.

“That’s good, that’s good.” This was Axun’s greatest wish. The Ying people had finally understood his intentions and seized the opportunity. “What about my wife?”

His compatriots, the Ying people who originated from Golden Flash Plains, were indeed the most resilient and tenacious, and they had not disappointed him.

“They are well. Your son was born in the new land and grew up successfully. Later, he gave you three grandsons and four granddaughters in total.”

Axun couldn’t help but laugh aloud: “My Mengmeng is truly amazing.”

He knew Mengmeng must be a good mother and a good grandmother.

But just as his smile appeared, it faded. “Then what about Yao State? Has it been destroyed?”

He Lingchuan interjected, observing Axun, “Yao State is still doing quite well. You just fought a battle with them.”

“Is that so? I don’t remember.” Axun’s memory was confused when possessed by the evil armor. “Heaven’s will is unjust; Yao State hasn’t perished yet.”

Compared to other places in Golden Flash Plains, Yao State had not only not perished but remained powerful.

Was there still justice in this world?

Dong Rui suddenly asked, “The Ying people left Golden Flash Plains very quickly. Why did you continue to seal the Rahu Armor for more than one hundred and sixty years after that?”

Dong Rui hadn’t personally experienced fighting against this infamous evil armor for over one hundred and sixty years, so he didn’t know how difficult it was.

Presumably, it would be impossible without superhuman willpower.

If the Ying people had listened and left Golden Flash Plains, why would Axun need to continue enduring?

If the Ying people had not left, how long could they have endured in Golden Flash Plains, and why would he need to continue enduring?

“My tribe was ignorant and willing to be the claws and teeth of the Yao State, doing all sorts of bad things in Golden Flash Plains. This was wrong, and they regretted it. I heard a saying in the west: ‘To know right from wrong is the beginning of goodness.’ My people are not inherently evil; they deserve a chance to correct themselves.” Axun said softly, “Every extra day I seal the evil armor is a day of atonement for them. I find joy in doing so.”

Every extra day he sealed the evil armor, he could secure one more day of peace and save a few more lives for the western part of Golden Flash Plains.

Regardless of the changes in Golden Flash Plains itself, fulfilling his duty was to accumulate more good deeds for his people.

This was the source of his conviction and motivation to fight the evil armor.

For one hundred and sixty-five years, he had never regretted it.

Fu Liushan blinked hard, turning his head away.

“I have something I don’t understand.” Axun’s skin had turned black and cracked, so He Lingchuan quickly asked, “Since the Rahu Armor amplifies the evil desires in people’s hearts, why didn’t you seek revenge on the Yao State after putting it on?”

“The Yao State… is too powerful. It rarely loses battles in Golden Flash Plains.” Axun turned his head to look northeast. “Even if we wore the Rahu Armor, we never thought about attacking the Yao State.”

Those who wore the Rahu Armor might eventually go mad, but they weren’t foolish.

He Lingchuan understood. Their fear of the Yao State ran deep, and even wearing the Rahu Armor couldn’t completely dispel it.

Axun sighed, “If I had been a little more steadfast, capable of truly overcoming the Rahu Armor, I could have wielded it to destroy the Yao State and eliminate the suffering and turmoil in this land. Unfortunately…”