"If you were not Liang Zhichen, I might very well have killed you by now. I am not wrong on this issue; after all, it was you who wanted my life first. But because you are Liang Zhichen, Yixuan’s elder brother, I cannot lay a hand on you. That is my helplessness," Dong Huiying said with clear resolve.
It was like a great flood washing over the Dragon King Temple—a case of one’s own kin meeting another; even if it felt uncomfortable, what could be done? One still had to endure it. Was it necessary to be content only through killing the other?
Moreover, just as she said, from the standpoint of one’s position and perspective, Liang Zhichen had done nothing wrong in seeking his objectives. It was equally reasonable for us to feel angry and harbor resentment after being hunted and nearly losing our lives. It could only be said that fate had played a cruel joke on all of us, yet it might also be seen as luck that was not altogether unfavorable for either party.
Had Liang Zhichen’s strategies succeeded, and Dong Huiying and Liang Yuening died because of him yesterday, how much self-blame would he have borne in his heart?
If Dong Huiying had not become suspicious of the Master’s identity, and upon encountering the Master, she had immediately killed this puppeteer behind the scenes, how would she have felt upon discovering after his death that the Master was actually Liang Zhichen?
Either possibility, had there been one misstep, would have come at a tremendous cost, with unimaginable consequences.
Dong Huiying exhaled a deep breath, her gaze on Liang Zhichen intense and profound.
Tonight was meant for avenging past wrongs, but now that she had confirmed the Master’s identity, that revenge could not be exacted.
"You better watch yourself."
She turned on her heel and left without looking back, while Liang Zhichen stared blankly at her retreating figure, his will to call out to her rising several times, only to be suppressed into silence at last.
He truly felt too ashamed to face her, acknowledging the unfortunate series of events that had caused both to stand where they currently were.
He worried about Yue Ning, but recalling her skills, he was confident that she wouldn’t come to harm.
Yet when he thought back on everything that had happened from yesterday until today, he felt both shock and fear.
Liang Zhichen sat dispirited, and it was only after a long while that he stood up with a sigh.
Brushing the dust off himself and picking up the mask, he noticed a mechanical skeleton nearby, along with a bag of powder whose purpose he could guess. Dong Huiying had probably left it behind deliberately, and after some thought, he understood its use.
He recognized this incident as a warning and a lesson for the future.
After much reflection, he identified one of his mistakes: setting such an extensive trap without even knowing the identity of his opponent, which had led him into this current predicament.
Secondly, he had been too eager for quick success, wanting to prove his worth to the members of Black Wind Camp and anxiously securing his position, which had caused him to be unstable in his thinking.
Third, if he had regarded Dong Huiying as a true adversary, without a doubt, it would have been a complete defeat for him this time.
A single strike can crush ten conventions.
If she had not changed her mind, with just her alone, leveraging the sleeping drug, she could have wiped out the entire Black Wind Camp.
He wiped his face, his mood very bitter.
To realize there was someone greater outside oneself, and a higher sky above the heavens—it was the second devastating defeat of his life.
But he knew that such mistakes, he would never make again.
After collecting his emotions, he put on the mask and donned the mechanical skeleton again, oriented himself, and headed towards the camp.
The camp was in chaos, Su Lang and the others had yet to wake up, and some injured mountain thieves were either lying on the ground groaning or busy clearing the corpses, while others stood guard by their unconscious comrades.