242: Chapter 242 Hypocrisy

"Axi's family is a peripheral small branch in the tribe. However, her family retains the rarest trace of bloodline on this land [Spirit-Purifying Blood]."

"From the moment Axi was born, she possessed incredible abilities."

"Her tears can neutralize a hundred poisons, and her blood can pacify clansmen who have fallen into madness from practicing Gu arts. Wherever she is, those evil monsters hiding in the shadows will become as docile as sheep."

"She is the only light in the darkness, and the only antidote keeping the entire tribe from self-destruction."

Hearing this, Ayugu bit down hard on her lower lip.

She lowered her head to look at the tiny scars on her wrist left from years of testing Gu, vaguely guessing something in her heart.

"For a tribe about to plunge into the abyss, Axi's appearance should have been the greatest salvation..."

The High Priestess paused.

"But in this world, the most complicated thing that cannot withstand testing is the human heart."

"Because of Axi's existence, the tribe ushered in a brief peace, but soon, serious divergences appeared among the higher-ups."

"A faction of people, whom we call the [Leftist Faction], are those fanatics obsessed with pursuing ultimate power at all costs."

"They believed that relying on just a little bit of Axi's blood every time to suppress the backlash was far too inefficient. If they could kill Axi's entire family, completely drain the spirit-purifying blood from their bodies, and refine it into a divine pill that could permanently grant immunity to backlashes—"

"Then they could use the power of Gu and shadows without any scruples, becoming the true overlords of this world!"

"This is the ultimate evil in human nature."

"They had no intention of letting go of the girl who brought hope; they only wanted to squeeze her dry, using her as a stepping stone to dominate the world."

Hearing this, Helena trembled with rage: "These devils! They are simply more greedy and shameless than Western vampires!"

"Indeed, they are devils." The High Priestess gave a bitter laugh.

"Then... what about the other faction? Surely someone would protect that girl?"

With red-rimmed eyes, Ayugu—though she had long known her own destiny—did not fully know the details of it.

"There was."

The High Priestess looked at her daughter.

"There was another faction in the tribe, which were our ancestors. They were called the [Rightist Faction], the conservatives."

"They firmly opposed killing Axi. They believed Axi was a saint bestowed by the heavens and must be enshrined and protected with the best food and care, thereby maintaining the tribe's long-term prosperity and balance."

"Our ancestors stood on the moral high ground. They talked incessantly about benevolence and morality, swearing to death to protect the girl named Hope."

"As matters developed to this point, it seemed like another classic battle between righteousness and evil. The righteous side engaged in a life-and-death struggle against the evil side to protect the weak."

Speaking up to this point, the High Priestess suddenly closed her eyes in pain.

Two lines of cloudy old tears slowly streamed down her gully-filled cheeks.

"However..."

"The ending of the story was ugly. So ugly... that the descendants of our lineage have been unable to lift our heads for two thousand years."

Lin Ye did not speak.

He merely fished a cigarette out of his pocket, clamped it in his mouth, but did not light it.

"That rainy night."

The High Priestess reopened her eyes, her voice trembling beyond recognition.

"Those madmen of the Leftist Faction launched a rebellion. Bringing those mutated Gu beasts and shadow monsters, they surrounded the stilted house where Axi's family lived."

"The slaughter began. To protect her, Axi's parents and siblings fell one by one in pools of blood, their fresh blood staining the entire valley red."

"And those Rightist ancestors who kept talking about protecting Axi and defending justice to the death... Where were they?"

The High Priestess's cane struck violently against the bluestone slabs.

"They were on the opposite mountain! They had received news of the rebellion long ago! With weapons in hand and troops in tow, they stood right there, watching with their own eyes as Axi's family was slaughtered!"

"Why?!"

Ayugu shouted in a breakdown, her tears flooding down like a breached dam.

"Aren't they good people? Why didn't they go save her!"

"Because of relief."

Lin Ye's flat voice rang out in the hall.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth, toying with it between his fingertips.

"Heh."

Lin Ye looked at the High Priestess and smiled.

"Though those people didn't say it out loud, deep down they also hoped the Leftist Faction would make a move."

"Therefore, your group of clever ancestors, full of benevolence and morality, after a 'rational' weighing of pros and cons, arrived at a disgusting conclusion."

"Sacrifice Axi's family in exchange for the peace of the entire tribe."

"They were not only cowards, but calculating politicians."

"They planned to wait until the Leftist Faction killed Axi's family and drained their spirit-purifying blood, and then under the banner of 'revenge', negotiate with the Leftist Faction or even sit back and reap the spoils, right?"

Hearing Lin Ye's merciless analysis, the High Priestess looked as though she had aged ten years all at once.

"Manager Lin... You are simply a devil capable of seeing straight through human hearts."

The High Priestess nodded in pain.

"That's right. Our ancestors did precisely that."

"They hid in the shadows of the rainy night, watching Axi's parents have their heads severed, watching her brother gnawed away by Gu insects until only a skeleton remained. They kept waiting, waiting for the moment Axi was captured."

"However, everyone miscalculated one thing."

The High Priestess suddenly turned her head, pointing at the bottomless black well beside her.

"That day, Axi was not captured."

"That girl, regarded by everyone as hope and salvation, after witnessing the tragic deaths of her parents and siblings, turned back to look at those 'good people' coldly watching from the opposite mountain—"

"Her heart shattered."

"She finally understood a desperate truth. Whether it was those madmen driven by greed, or those 'good people' wrapped in cowardice and hypocrisy..."

"At their core, they were all nauseating maggots!"

"While the greed of the wicked is terrifying, the hypocrisy and bystander apathy of the kind are the ultimate butcher knives that step-by-step drove her into a desperate situation!"

"Axi gave up resisting."

"Covered in blood, standing in the ruins consumed by the raging fire, she did not cry, nor did she shed a single tear."

"Carrying a heart full of resentment, despair, and extreme disgust for the entire tribe, she turned around and resolutely jumped into the Yin-Pole Earth Eye behind her, which connected to the deepest grievances of the Ten Thousand Mountains!"

Speaking of this, the temperature of the entire underground altar plummeted by more than ten degrees.

An icy chill crept up everyone's spine.

Leng Yue furrowed her brow slightly, the aura of the Millennium Drought Demon spreading slightly to block that pervasive grievance from the group.