The Legend of the Devil
Ch. 52-End Round of Preliminary II
The points announcement of each group was read aloud on a large stage where hundreds of participants shrouded with various emotions on each other's faces. Looks desperate face because they already know that they will be killed in the second preliminary round. Not a few who cried blatantly, presenting a plaintive situation around Xue Zhan who again saw the same scene; a face of defeat and despair.
As usual, geniuses again stand out among other participants with a fantastic acquisition of value, not the preliminary round that selects the participants but the geniuses themselves. They snatch the other team's points greedily and end up killing the other team's move until it fails.
Five teams with the greatest scores were announced. The highest and most unreasonable was Jiazhen Yan with a total accumulated value of 1050, overtaking Yun Mei's team with a value of 950 points, Xianlun 800 points, Zhao Xing 750 and last team Xue Zhan 700 points.
After the second preliminary round was closed they were again taken to the dormitory to rest and prepare for the big event before the final preliminary round and became the determinant implemented. Xue Zhan followed the entourage and was suddenly stunned when he saw a young man busy himself by the river.
He frowned at the sight of the hair and the frenzied motions, similar to a demon who was also his friend. When he approached and saw it turned out to be true.
Jiazhen Yan was cooking something with fire from his hand, he slightly turned his head half in shock when he realized Xue Zhan was sneaking at him.
"What are you-"
Jiazhen Yan looked panicked, she immediately hid her things even though it was useless. There were several wooden twigs and three eggs from the second preliminary round that the young man was cooking. Xue Zhan laughed.
"Geez, the style of his mental sultan is poor," his lips immediately presented a face full of annoyance in front of him.
"Heh, don't talk much. Rarely do I eat something like this, but it's not bad to taste the food of the poor."
"Hahaha how many of these demons behave."
Xue Zhan shook his head almost in disbelief but to think of it however Jiazhen Yan yes Jiazhen Yan, sometimes his brain is tilted sometimes his brain does not function. His high taste had already slammed from the originally luxurious ala-ala prosperous nobility now into a destitute commoner.
"We made it here, indeed a difficult test like Emperor Li, I saw many participants who failed every end of the round and it felt ... I was afraid to be there and cry over my defeat."
"It is better to cry defeat than to die in the middle of the forest. You lose can still come again, if you die you want to take the Intermediate Swordsman Exam in hell?"
"I'd rather die in the woods than go home to defeat and shame Master."
"Cih, the Ambitious Midget Devil."
"Oi shit, my height is only a bit different from yours, the Shattering Norak Demon."
Their illness began to recur again, giving each other strange names and arguing for hours. They had unknowingly missed the entourage and still continued to be there while eating the scorched egg that Jiazhen Yan had cooked.
As Jiazhen Yan peeled Xue Zhan's eggshell, he paused in silence looking at a necklace with beautiful carvings and a snow-white gem tucked under his clan's cloak. Jiazhen Yan noticed it and lowered an eyebrow.
"Look at what you see as demons."
"Finally self-conscious."
Jiazhen Yan nearly broke the egg on Xue Zhan's head.
"That trunk, I just saw it for the first time. Rarely do you wear anything like accessories."
Jiazhen Yan straightened his seat and stamped the necklace's eyes with one hand, looking at the old with eyes that seemed to be looking at the many memories inside the thing. Xue Zhan waited for quite a while until Jiazhen Yan finally spoke.
"It's nothing, I'm just a prankster wearing it like this. Wakes up. There's a stealth swamp around here, good for me to throw you there."
Jiazhen Yan looked like he was forcing himself to be ordinary, but Xue Zhan already knew some of the child's habits including when he lied and suddenly did not want to look at him.
Yang Xue Zhan knew as Jiazhen Yan stared at the necklace she looked sad.
*
Massive bonfire events were held so lively that even the music players attended enliven the event at night that day.
It was seen that the participants mixed with the committee and several other important people on the spacious page, Xue Zhan and Jiazhen Yan joined in because they were forced and ended up entering a group of complicated humans such as Lun Ning, Xian Shen, Lao Bao Li and many more.
As usual Xue Zhan blended in with his new friends despite previously having fought each other either in the arena or the exam location but in their leisure time reconciled.
Since the afternoon after Xue Zhan had brought up about his necklace Jiazhen Yan was more moody, this was not like the young man he used to be.
Drifting in silence around her Jiazhen Yan could hear the approaching footprint and chose not to turn her head because she knew who the only person who would come and sit next to her was.
"You're okay son of a bitch" he said, "I mean my best friend?"
No answer heard.
Concerned that Xue Zhan's face was starting to look, he tried again to get the demon to speak.
"Oi you're not sulking, are you because I called the Shattering Norak Devil?"
There was still no answer but Xue Zhan was unwilling to give up.
"Now you're the one who's messing with me. Ah, I'm friends with stones." He picked up a stone and began to think about hitting his friend.
"If you have a problem saying stupid. Can't be quiet, you'll be possessed. Poor demon." He's getting pissed. "Still on strike I'll knock you over with a rock." He lifted the stone to prepare.
"Barrested forbid."
Xue Zhan was a little relieved.
"Nah, talk too."
He turned serious.
"What's wrong?"
Jiazhen Yan stared at the faint gray sky, the small star covered by the thin cloud procession then sounded his voice spout out,
"Today is the day of my mother's death, right after two years of her disappearance."
Xue Zhan was stunned and felt guilty at the same time.
" ... And this necklace is the last gift from him" he said with a bitter smile. His voice was a mess.
"I'm so sorry about your mother. But may I know why he died?"
Jiazhen Yan snorted weakly, "War. The war ten years ago took his life ... He died protecting me."
Hearing him Xue Zhan was speechless, Jiazhen Yan's eyes briefly looked wet.
"I trained to be the strongest to avenge my mother's death but I didn't know who killed her myself. That war should never have existed - and he should still be. And I don't need to feel this guilt. He protected me and lost his life even though all his life I always said that I hated him ..." He held the necklace in his hand tightly.
"No war can end another war, death is death. Don't make that guilt a fetter that torments you, your mother sacrificed her life for you to live happily."
Jiazhen Yan did not react, only lowered his head deeply until he finally came back talking raucously.
"I want to be alone. Go there all the way, you're ruining the mood."
Xue Zhan smiled weakly, leaving Jiazhen Yan while hoping she could help her friend find the killer who took her mother's life.
What really happened 10 years ago? Xue Zhan only saw the gray shrouded in red mist, the shadow of the corpses piled up and the puddles of foul-smelling blood.
Hands clenched. If all of this boils down to Red Taring then his determination is getting stronger, he no longer thinks of getting stronger in order to be able to face them when a big attack comes.
However it grew stronger to exterminate the Red Fangs and avoid more people like Jiazhen Yan who lost her family because of them.