This was something which he was happy to see.
As for the current Tianlan City, due to the disappearance of the Lan Clan, it had already totally become property without an owner.
Chu Yang was contemplating whether it was alright to occupy this place.
He glanced over at Mo Tianji to see that he was also deep in thought. It was apparent that both of them were thinking about the same thing.
“This matter… Tianji, what if we… form our own forces here?” asked Chu Yang tentatively.
“It’s indeed a huge piece of cake.” Mo Tianji replied seriously, “It’s just a pity that at our current strength, we’re not capable of swallowing it yet. Although it’s a shame to give it up… we have no other alternative.”
Chu Yang sighed as well.
He had already thought of this problem. But when facing a tantalizing temptation such as setting up a base, Chu Yang couldn’t help but become a little greedy.
A base must be set up, but it mustn’t be at the Chu Clan!
The Chu Clan was his home. It was Chu Yang’s wish that it simply stayed as a home and nothing else; he didn’t wish for it to turn into a battlefield.
“However, it is doable to set up a secret force here.” Mo Tianji went on. “After ten thousand years of oppression from the Lan Clan, there are a lot of people who are unhappy with and do not bow to them in this extensive region. It is possible to steer this source of power. However… in what name we should steer them… is a problem.”
Chu Yang nodded. “I won’t bother myself with this. You can take care of it.”
The corners of Mo Tianji’s lips twitched a little. He just knew that it would turn out like this. No matter what the topic of discussion was, as long as he participated in the discussion, Chu Yang would always throw out a one-liner at the end —”You can take care of it!”
The three of them strolled out, thinking about these matters as they did.
When they exited the Lan Clan ruins and entered the main streets, they suddenly got a shock.
Most of the houses and buildings on both sides of the street were already in ruins. There was a huge fissure, starting from the foundation, in every building, making every one of them dangerous to be in.
There were also a fair number that had already collapsed.
This area was the central street of Tianlan City and the buildings here were the sturdiest. But under such violent and forceful impact, even the sturdiest of buildings and the ones that had been maintained the best had become obviously unfit for staying in anymore.
Terrified people in a panic filled the streets. When faced with disasters and calamities, they seemed to have regressed into a primitive state from several hundred thousand years ago — Being able to find a sense of security only in places with a lot of people.
However… Places with a lot of people also happened to be where fear and unease spread the quickest. Furthermore, it was also where unrest formed the easiest and was the most dangerous place to be in!
Watching Chu Yang and the other two coming out, there was obsequiousness and sycophancy, as well as unease, in everyone’s eyes. Several people became so frightened that they started shaking all over.
As though these three men in front of them were murderous demon kings who could pick up anyone and eat them.
The three of them were silent as they walked down the streets. The further ahead they walked, the more ruined houses and buildings there were.
Mo Tianji’s complexion became more and more still, so much so that it was frightening. It was as if a layer of frost was close to forming on his face.
Chu Yang knew that every time this look appeared on Mo Tianji’s face, it indicated that his heart was truly in a state of unrest.
The thousands of houses in disrepair in front of his eyes caused mounting pressure in Mo Tianji’s heart. Although he frequently claimed to be unscrupulous on the surface and there were indeed times when he certainly was unscrupulous… Every time he witnessed the devastating consequences of his actions, Mo Tianji’s heart was definitely in no way as cold and heartless as what he verbally claimed to be.
Sad and shrill sobs and pitiful begging came from somewhere in front.
The three of them hurried over.
In front of a stall selling hot steaming buns, a woman laid on the ground as she begged constantly. Beside her was a big and fat man who was desperately trying to snatch something from her hands.
Chu Yang looked over to see that it was a white bun that was already covered in dust by now. “Please, I beg you, give me the bun…” Blood gurgled in her mouth. She was covered from head to toe in blood and dirt. As though she had broken down, she screamed and shouted, “I beg you… Give it to me. My baby hasn’t eaten anything for more than a day… Her father and elder brother all died in the crash when the house suddenly collapsed… Crushed to death… I only have this one child now… My child hasn’t eaten for a day and a night… Please…”
Chu Yang stopped in his tracks. It was then that he noticed that the woman’s head was covered in blood and her right arm hung at an unnatural angle. Despite so, her left hand held onto the bun in a death grip. There was also a young girl in her arms, whom she was holding tightly with her broken right arm. The girl was only three to four years old. Her forehead was bruised all over. She hung her head feebly and seemed to have passed out…
That big man was still trying desperately to snatch the bun. “But my entire family is also waiting for food… I’ve only steamed a basket of buns during the disaster and now they’ve all been snatched by others… How are we supposed to go on…”
“Please, I beg you… Just give my baby a bite… Can she just have a bite… I won’t eat any…” The woman begged pitifully. “Shopkeeper Li, my baby’s father was also once a brother to you. Our families have always gotten along well… When your father passed away last year, it was even her father who helped you with related matters… Please… Shopkeeper Li, just give me this one bun… Take pity on my family of four… Calamity fell from the sky overnight… and now I’m left only with her as my flesh and blood…”
That big and fat Shopkeeper Li refused to budge. He continued fighting for the bun desperately. “Everything that you said just now is all in the past… This is the only bun left now. Everything else has been snatched by others… Give it back to me!”
Suddenly, he grabbed the woman’s wrist and forcefully pulled her fingers off the bun. The woman screamed and shouted tragically as she begged and pleaded, blood constantly spurting from her mouth.
The bun was fragile, so neither of them dared to apply any force on it. If it ended up being ripped into pieces, there was a huge group of starving people at the side looking at it ravenously, waiting to dig in.
In front of life and death, all the so-called moral principles actually seemed so trivial and not worth any mention.
The woman let out a tragic scream as her fingers were broken one by one by Shopkeeper Li. The bun also ended up in his hand.
The woman’s countenance was filled with hopelessness. Suddenly, she threw herself onto the ground and started to kowtow repeatedly. “Shopkeeper Li, Shopkeeper Li, please, I beg you… Just give my baby a small bite… Even just a little would do…”
Shopkeeper Li’s expression was harsh and a little guilty. He retreated to the back. “No, no no…”
All of a sudden, a loud smack could be heard. A hand landed on Shopkeeper Li’s shoulder. Mo Tianji stepped forward and snatched the bun from his hand. “Get lost!” Before Shopkeeper Li could even make any noise, he had already been slapped across the face by Mo Tianji. His body flew through the air as though he was performing a trapeze act, his entire mouth of teeth falling out.
Mo Tianji held the dusty and bloodstained bun in his hand, an extremely complex expression on his face. Then, he stepped forward and lightly bent over, offering the bun to the woman.
The woman was still furiously kowtowing, the loud thuds from her forehead coming into contact with the ground echoing as she continued to beg repeatedly. When she suddenly realized that there was a bun in front of her, she was actually stunned for a moment.
Wild with joy, she took the bun and placed it in front of her unconscious daughter. Perhaps the fragrance of the bun made the little toddler come to, the little girl slowly opened her eyes, crying as she said, “Mama… I’m hungry…”
“Here… Ma has a bun here, hurry and take a bite. Take a bite…” The woman tried her best to offer the bun to her daughter, but the bun went further and further from her daughter’s mouth instead.
Blood spurted from the woman’s mouth like a fountain. Her eyes were already starting to go out of focus, but she was still anxiously muttering, “Here… Eat the bun… You won’t be hungry anymore after eating…”
Chu Yang felt a twinge in his heart. Suddenly, he found his eyes a little damp.
With his skill in medicine, he could naturally tell that this woman had suffered fatal wounds since a long time ago. Her shoulder was almost completely crushed and several of her ribs were broken. A few of them had pierced her lungs and her heart…
It was highly probable that she should already have died at the time of the house collapsing.
But instead, she held on firmly despite everything and escaped with her daughter in her arms. Someone who should have died long ago actually managed to hold on all the way till now with her daughter in her arms. In order to strive for more chances of survival for her daughter, she actually used such a battered body to try and fight a big and fat man for a bun for so long…
No wonder the blood flowing from her mouth had been full of bloody bubbles.
Chu Yang seriously didn’t know what kind of strength it was that supported her and allowed her soul that should have dissipated a day ago to hang on all the way till now.
Perhaps, if Mo Tianji hadn’t intervened and helped her to snatch back the bun, she would continue to hold on, beg and plead earnestly, up until the point… all the blood in that crushed and broken heart of hers was dry?
But when Mo Tianji intervened and took back the bun, her wishes were suddenly fulfilled.
The little girl wailed pitifully, but the woman’s hand continued falling slowly.
Her unfocused eyes slowly turned to Mo Tianji. As she looked at him, a heartbroken and hopeless look of pleading appeared in her eyes.
Mo Tianji felt like his heart had been brutally knocked against. His heart shook intensely and beat furiously.
Facing this pitiful mother, Mo Tianji suddenly bent his knees. And then… he… knelt down!
A Supreme Martial Artist expert, the Master of Calculation and Manipulation and the man with Heavenly Secrets in his grasp. Including Chu Yang, no one had ever been able to change the way he did things. No one had ever been able to make his heart waver.
All along, there were only objectives in his eyes and never compassion. Even if there were, it was erased instantly.
He had always held the belief that people out to accomplish great things couldn’t afford excessive kindness! He only desired success… even if he had to build it atop millions of dead bodies!
But now, he had wavered.
He knelt humbly in front of this common woman on the brink of death.
In plain sight of everyone, in the middle of the dust-filled ruins, an elegant young man in robes as white as snow knelt before a regular mother!
In that very instant, everyone suddenly fell silent!
Mo Tianji knelt with his back straight and tall. Then, he reached out and made a hugging gesture.
The woman’s unfocused eyes brightened. All of a sudden, she desperately delivered the bun in her hand and the daughter in her arms into Mo Tianji’s hands. Her body was already somewhat stiff, but in this instant, there was only gratitude and pleading on her face…
Mo Tianji received the tiny little girl with both arms, his arms firm but gentle.
The woman stared at her daughter, then at Mo Tianji. Her fingers moved slightly, as if taking in the feeling that her daughter was no longer in her arms and was already safe…
Then, she rejoiced wildly. Croaking sounds came out of her throat as she looked gratefully at Mo Tianji. Without warning, she suddenly threw herself onto the ground and kowtowed heavily.
Her body stayed in this position until it suddenly stiffened.
Her heart was at ease. This young man’s arms as he carried her daughter were so gentle. He would definitely take good care of her daughter.
Therefore, she couldn’t hold on any longer.
Mo Tianji held the little girl in a daze. With his back straight, he stayed on his knees. One couldn’t tell just what the emotion on his face, in his expression, eyes and countenance was. Sunlight shone on him at an angle, dragging his shadow long and drawn-out…
