The Legend of the Devil
Ch. 169 - Lord Xian's Broken Point
Xue Zhan walked slowly in a dark and narrow alley. The light of the night moon is no longer visible, making the atmosphere more dark and dense. There was only a small amount of light from the living street lights accompanied by the noise from the wind blowing on the trees.
Suddenly there was a noise coming from the end of the alley, breaking the silence of the night. Xue Zhan sped up his pace, trying to see the situation at the source of the voice. He stopped when he saw a group of robbers beating a man who looked very shabby and unkempt.
Xue Zhan was shocked, something made him slightly distrustful of the man. When he got closer, Xue Zhan saw that the figure he was so familiar with was falling to his knees full of blood.The young man did not resist as he was beaten.
Xian Shen's body was beaten to a bloody extent, it was obvious that they wanted to extort money from him. Xue Zhan could not stand there and just watch his friend being tortured for granted. He immediately acted quickly, sneaking behind the robbers and quickly struck one of them with the tip of the sword hilt until he fainted. The other robbers were shocked and immediately pulled out a sharp knife.
The man looked at Xue Zhan with a sharp gaze and prepared to attack. Xue Zhan did not budge, waiting for the opponent to come forward and take a fighting stance.
The silent and desolate atmosphere of the night made the slight clanking sound of the sword sound very clear, sweat pouring down Xian Shen's forehead who was just sitting down looking at the unexpected fight that was happening in front of him. The two of them faced each other and prepared to attack. Not stalling for long, Xue Zhan immediately took a step by launching an attack towards the man's head.
In a short time, the robber fell to the ground with a bloody eel. There were still two of his other comrades, they immediately fled leaving Xian Shen and Xue Zhan in the trunks of their wounded companions.
"The next time I see you on the street, I'll break all of you're necks!" bully Xue Zhan was annoyed, they looked back in fear before finally disappearing at the end of the road.
Xue Zhan walked over to his friend who was sitting on the ground, still in a shabby state and severely injured.
"It's okay, they're gone."
When Xian Shen heard his voice, he looked extremely shocked and delighted at the same time. Instead Xue Zhan put on a sad face. Seeing that something had changed greatly towards his friend Xian Shen, he seemed to be dispirited and had no desire to live.
Xue Zhan was intending to take Xian Shen to a safer place and try to recover his condition. After all, the deserted city road is fairly vulnerable and dangerous.
Xue Zhan was sorry, because all this time he had never known that his old friend was in a breaking point like this without anyone helping him. Xue Zhan felt guilty for not meeting Xian Shen for a long time and never knew about the matter he was facing.
The young man's lips were as though he was dumb as he spoke.
"You okay?"
Xian Shen could only see his mask. He could not see who had saved him because his interlocutor was wearing a mask. However, he was able to recognize the voice even though it had been many years and there had been many changes from his voice. There was a hoarse Xian Shen voice and it was like weeping.
Xian Shen's shoulders went up and down. The voice was very familiar to him, he was sure it was Xue Zhan, his old best friend who had been with him in so many difficulties, he had fallen into the Pit of Regret five years ago.
"Brother Zhan ... Is this really you? Am I dreaming? I'm sure it was you." Xian Shen's voice grew hoarse from feeling happy to see Xue Zhan. He was moved and delighted that his friend was still alive today.
Xue Zhan drew a weak smile, speechless. "You know I'm coming back, Master Xian. I'm sure you always visit my grave and wish me all the best. I should have thanked you."
The state of his old friend who is now like the undead. He felt guilty for not being able to help Xian Shen sooner before a bad incident happened to him.
Blood poured from Xian Shen's nose. Fearing that the young man had lost more blood Xue Zhan was intending to deliver Xian Shen back to his residence,
Xue Zhan took his friend to his uncle's residence. The Xue family accepted their arrival with concern. Xian Shen looked weak and almost unconscious as they entered the room.
His aunt immediately prepared medicines and natural ingredients to help Xian Shen recover from his injuries.
As Xian Shen felt slightly better, he looked towards Xue Zhan. "Brother Zhan," he said in a weak voice. "You saved me again. Thanks for that."
Xue Zhan simply smiled and nodded, not feeling the need to return the thanks. It was already supposed that he did that because Xian Shen was his good friend. Let alone looking at his current state, Xue Zhan started to have no heart.
After sitting in the living room, Xue Zhan looked at Xian Shen with concern. "What really happened to you, Master Xian? I mean ... You're doing this bad."
Xian Shen sighed and stared at the floor, "A few years ago, my family was slaughtered by a mysterious warrior whom no one had ever known. I survived
because I was going out of town for a mission. When I came back, I found that everyone I loved was lifeless" he said in a soft voice.
Xue Zhan looked at Xian Shen pityingly, "I'm so sorry to hear that. Is there any clue as to who the perpetrator is?"
Xian Shen shook his head, "Nothing at all. They all died for no apparent reason." He sighed again, "Then I lost my way. I feel like I have no place that I deserve. I feel empty and meaningless."
"And then?" asked Xue Zhan.
Xian Shen looked at Xue Zhan as he continued. "Then one night, I was almost killed by the same man. He is a warrior with high level strength. I'm alive because I only got a small cut, but he's never seen again after that."
The atmosphere became silent, Xue Zhan and Xian Shen both pondered. After that Xian Shen kept telling me about the other events that had happened over the past years.
In that silence, there was a sound of finely ground medicine and boiling water being heated to brew as medicine for Xian Shen. A gust of night wind blew softly outside, and the dark sky was filled with stars.
Xue Zhan nodded. He felt increasingly odd about the events Xian Shen had experienced and wanted to ask even more about the same events that befell the other noble families but Xue Zhan had unbidden his intentions, Xian Shen was depressed at the moment and the atmosphere was not fitting.
Xian Shen said, "But Brother Zhan, I'm glad you're finally here. I'm sure you'll come back and it turns out my hunch is right. You're still alive. What are you doing in that ravine? Your strength is also much more enhanced than it used to be."
Xue Zhan laughed faintly. "you really recognized me right away, Master Xian. "