The villagers went silent, their whispers dying down, but from within the small crowd a man's voice rose.
"Then how do you explain the scarcity? If we truly have been eating each other's flesh, why is it not running out?"
"Dad? You! Bastard! You didn't even spare your own son! How can you still call yourself a father? No—can you even call yourself a human?!" Her voice broke with fury as she realized the man who had spoken was her father, and rage flared within her.
"Don't change the subject, answer me." Gu Dan, however, ignored her outburst and pressed on.
"Of course, it's because you have only been feeding them in small amounts!"
"Oh really? Then how did the food shortage suddenly disappear? Isn't it because Master Jang gave us his own food?!" Jang Tang retorted with a mocking smile.
"Everyone, believe me!" Tears streamed down her face as she could no longer endure the accusing stares. Her heart screamed: I am trying to save them, why won't they listen to me? In their eyes, I am nothing compared to a stranger…
"You?! Don't you dare touch my sister! I'll kill all of you!" A young boy rushed forward, shouting with all his strength.
Wen Xui's eyes widened in shock as she turned and saw who it was—it was Wen Bo.
"Wen Bo…what are you doing here?! Didn't I leave you with Yang Zhai?"
He dashed forward and threw a punch at Jang Tang, but it had no effect on the man.
"Don't you dare touch my sister! I only have her—no one else! You can't kill her!" Wen Bo cried out, his voice trembling with desperation.
"Wen Bo, what are you doing here?! Come back!" Wen Xui shouted, her voice breaking.
But in the next instant, Jang Tang kicked him brutally, sending him flying through the air.
Before he could crash into the fence, Wen Xui caught him, her body trembling with the effort.
"Wen Bo…why did you come here…didn't I tell you to stay at home?" she asked, tears streaming down her cheeks as her voice quivered.
"Sister…I won't let them kill you…" Wen Bo whispered faintly, his voice already fading.
"Who told you I was going to die?…They can't kill me…you shouldn't have come…"
"It was Brother Yang…he said…they were all going to…surround and kill you…" he muttered, his face twisted with pain.
"Brother, wait…I will heal you. Don't worry…" Wen Xui cried, but before she could act, a rank 5 method struck her and sent her flying back.
"You…you're a rank 5 cultivator…when did you…no, don't…" Wen Xui gasped in shock when she saw her father, Gu Dan, reveal his true power. Yet her voice vanished the moment she saw him walking toward Wen Bo.
Gu Dan advanced, seizing the half-conscious Wen Bo and lifting him effortlessly with one hand.
Wen Xui tried to rush forward, but her legs gave out beneath her. Even as a rank 5 cultivator herself, the sheer fear of losing her brother was crushing her spirit, draining her strength until she could barely stand. The terror of his death consumed her mind, affecting every part of her body.
She had never left the island, had never seen the wider world. Her heart was still pure, untouched by corruption or experience, and her love for Wen Bo was raw and untainted because of all this. Just the thought of losing him broke her completely, taking everything from her, as if numbing her legs.
In her storm of emotions, she forgot the black spider that dangled at her waist.
She watched in horror as Gu Dan's hand wrapped around Wen Bo's neck from behind.
"No, don't! Someone, please save him!" she cried out desperately, her trembling legs failing her. She looked at the villagers, begging for help with her red, tear-filled eyes, but they all turned away, unable—or unwilling—to meet her gaze.
A sickening sound echoed, and Wen Bo's head slumped to the side, his closing eyes catching one last blurry glimpse of Wen Xui.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as tears poured down without end.
"Why…why?! He only came here because he thought I was going to die…he only came here to save me…"
In that moment, a new emotion was born inside her. Love, which had made her helpless, twisted into hatred. The fire of vengeance ignited within her heart. Her trembling stopped, her body burning with the fire of revenge, and she rose slowly, eyes listless.
Suddenly, one by one, the villagers began collapsing.
…..
Yang Zhai walked forward quietly, calmly, without a flicker of emotion. With a single leap, he landed on a jagged rock rising from the ocean, a short distance away from the island. Standing tall, he turned and gazed back at the island, his robes billowing gently as the sea breeze carried them.
"Death Warrant…" he whispered.
"Sometimes, death must play its role in a story. Let it roam freely. It is better to resolve certain problems with death rather than with love. If one clings too tightly, they may lose their loved ones before they even realize death's true place in every tale. Death is always there, in every life, in every story—we simply refuse to accept it."
"Love is nothing more than a shackle. It has bound countless kings and emperors, brought rulers to their knees, and left warriors powerless. Men ruled the world, women ruled over kings. And still, the sweetness of this chain is so intoxicating that none can escape it until death finally severs it. That may be true on Earth, but here…why allow such a shackle to bind you? If death can walk beside you, then let it walk. After all, death is the one companion who never leaves."
"Killing itself is neither good nor evil—it is people who define it. Tools are innocent. It is the hand that wields them which determines right or wrong. Alcohol may be condemned as a sin, yet when used to heal, it is considered medicine. So, who is truly at fault? It is not the tool, but the way it is used."
"Do we not always experiment on living beings, even humans, in pursuit of cures? And even when permitted, can that be called good? Do we not let criminals go free to avoid punishing the innocent—is that good or evil? What happens when they kill again? Then who bears the guilt? The judge who freed him? The law that allowed it? Or the people who agreed to that law? And if we punish an innocent in order to ensure no criminal escapes, then who is the true criminal?"
"No—everything comes down to perspective. A chair can be seen from four sides, and each side shows a different truth. Everything has multiple realities. What if the criminal killed to protect someone? What if it was self-defense? What if we simply have not seen the whole picture? Perspective defines what is good and what is evil."
"A tool is always innocent. In a master's hand it becomes a masterpiece, in a fool's hand it becomes destruction. If I refuse to kill out of desire for peace, then I must be ready for both humiliation and war. Wen Xui, I gave you both the weapon and the chance. What will you choose? War—or humiliation followed by war? Your fate lies in your hands. As for mine, I chose long ago. I did what I must for myself, and I expect nothing else."
"I do not dictate the fates of others—I only decide my own. If you can escape the path I have laid, then do so. The choice was always yours. It is like a spider's web—if you walk into it, it is because you chose that path. That web is my fate. The spider is me. The prey is you. I never forced you to step inside. I only chose where to weave my web."
Yang Zhai thought as he fixed his gaze in the direction of the distant village, as though he had already foreseen everything that was about to happen.
…..
Death Warrant!
Wan Xui's trembling hand reached for the spider hanging by her waist.
The black spider was nearly four inches long. Its body was jet-black, its eyes darker still, as if they absorbed every glimmer of light. Silent and unmoving like a stone, it gave off the aura of something lifeless, yet the stillness only deepened the sense of dread it carried—like death itself quietly waiting for its role.
"What's that?!" Gu Dan's face twisted in shock, his voice shaking. But before anyone could answer, he bellowed, "Attack!"
Nine cultivators, the ones Jang Tang had brought along, stepped forward at once, unleashing their attacks toward her.
But before their strikes could even land, the face of a rank 4 cultivator suddenly burst open, spraying blood and fragments of bone and flesh everywhere. His eye flew out and slapped against Gan Du's cheek. Gan Du grabbed it with trembling fingers, staring at the grisly thing with horror as his body froze.
The villagers gasped, their eyes widening, pupils shrinking in terror.
Yet that was only the beginning. Death began to spread like a plague. Another cultivator was cleaved cleanly in two, blood spilling across the ground. Another's head rolled off his shoulders in an instant. One collapsed without a single mark on his body, but his seven orifices burst open as blood, brain matter, and crushed organs poured out, as though his insides had been ground into nothing. Another screamed as slash after slash appeared across his body, as if carved by invisible blades, until he finally fell silent.
Everyone who witnessed this felt their bodies stiffen and a cold shiver crawl down their spines.
It was as though death itself had descended onto the earth, taking root in that very place—inescapable, unrelenting, absolute.
!|!*****!*****!|!
Death Warrant Ire: Already introduced many times before. It is a weapon of massacre, one that grows stronger with each life taken, rising in rank alongside the blood it spills. But the more it kills, the more it devours the very lifespan of its wielder—a true double-edged sword. You must have forgotten this, haven't you? It can kill anyone below its rank with ease, and once at peak stage, even those of equal rank fall prey to it. Current stage: Rank 4-peak.