Chương 106: I Was Never Wrong

"Money is nothing but a pile of dog shit!" Zhao Lian'er's eyes were filled with disgust, a rage-fueled disgust.

"Countless weeds, countless wild dogs, all whispered in my ear that blood is the most wonderful thing in this world, the most intoxicating wine. Under their influence, I tasted it carefully. And it was true!

"Madam Wang was a rich, mellow yellow wine. The sisters were cool, sweet rice wine. And those burly servants were like strong liquor, sharp and spicy going down, but with a pungent, bloody aftertaste. Hahahaha, because everyone's constitution is different, the wine brewed inside them varies too. I drowned myself in it, savoring the beauty, floating on cloud nine. Haha, so this is what it feels like to be intoxicated. I wanted to drink them all to death. And then... Destroy everything here!"

At this point, Zhao Lian'er couldn't help but recall that beautiful time. That incomparable beauty. She missed it. Her breathing quickened, and a twisted, manic excitement spread across her face. She could see herself standing on a mountaintop, looking down at the masses. Those lowly ants, their butts raised high, willingly trampled underfoot, letting her crush and torment them. Hahaha, she laughed three times and continued.

"I burned the brothel to the ground, turning that filthy place into ash. Luckily, it happened during a raid by bandits on Jishui City. The Yamen runners were all out chasing them, so no one bothered with the brothel. I slipped out of Jishui City in the chaos and returned to Zhujia Village, the place I'd been longing for. The village had changed so much, more than I could have imagined. New houses, grand and impressive. It took me a while to find my old home, a run-down little shack.

Seeing that familiar yet unfamiliar doorstep, tears streamed down my face. After all these years, I was finally back. Hahaha, wuwuwu..." Zhao Lian'er laughed and cried at the same time. Her once beautiful face was now twisted beyond recognition, filled with pain, hatred, and despair. Her eyes were bloodshot, a terrifying red. Her body trembled uncontrollably, like wild grass in the rain, swaying and falling, like a withered leaf in the wind, drifting without direction.

She clenched her teeth so hard they ground together, as if she wanted to chew up everyone who had ever wronged her and swallow them down. Fang Cheng watched her like this, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. Because he knew that at this moment, she was finally being real. Zhao Lian'er continued, "That day, it happened to rain. I shivered in the cold, looking at the weeds growing on the roof. They swayed and tilted in the rain, in the wind, in the cold darkness, just like me, fragile and miserable.

But I was no longer a wild dog. I was a dog with a home. Even though I was washed away by the downpour, lying on the ground, carefully lapping up grass seeds from the puddle with my tongue, I had a home. My thatched hut took me in when I returned. Or maybe I chose to take it in. Either way, I let go of the wild dog's greed and was content to be a weed, just like Grandpa Yang, alone in his own little nest. The difference was that I could use my own hands to grow vegetables and feed myself.

"But why? Why did those bastards have to break into my home, trample my garden, throw gold bricks in my face? Fuck your gold bricks. Do you think I give a damn about that shit? Those bastards, they destroyed my little home. So I wouldn't let them have their way. So I came to this hilltop, to the Demonic Array. The truth is, the moment I set foot in the village, I knew it was calling me. But I didn't want to. I really didn't want to go back to the abyss. But I had no choice. My home was gone.

A lonely weed; even the land that gave it life was lost. What else could I do? What was I supposed to do!" The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Zhao Lian'er screamed at Fang Cheng, her voice full of accusation and a hint of desperate questioning. Fang Cheng didn't answer. He just kept grinning, his lips curling wider and wider, like a demon from hell listening to another demon's confession. Zhao Lian'er went on, "With my home gone, I became Grandpa Yang.

A stray dog with nowhere to go. But I wouldn't die like him, bitter and broken. I had to live. To take revenge. To destroy them all! I'd make them pay for what they did to me! So I jumped in without hesitation and merged with this demonic array. Hahahaha, from then on, I was the array's wild dog, and the array was mine.

"We opened our greedy mouths, stuck out our tongues, and lapped up the blood of these ants, swallowed their bones, and turned them into our feast. They deserved it! You think I bought them with gold bricks and bars? Look at them, wagging their tails and begging. No. Never. Haha, they were always lowly in their bones. They just couldn't admit it, so they used money to cover up their ugly inferiority.

'I had no choice,' they'd say.

'It was for the money.' Hahaha, look at them. Listen to them. How fake they are. How ugly. So killing them was the right thing to do. Lowlifes deserve to die! So, was I wrong?" Zhao Lian'er stared at Fang Cheng, her question unyielding. Fang Cheng flapped his wings and flew to her shoulder, whispering in her ear.

"Dear girl, the only true thing you said was that you're a great liar, just like your father." Zhao Lian'er's face went cold, her eyes icy. But she didn't lash out. Instead, she laughed.

"Where did I lie? This is my life story. Every moment carved into my bones, never to be forgotten. My miserable life!" Fang Cheng shook his head and said seriously, "Stop pretending, okay? When it comes to lying, who can beat me? I saw through you a long time ago. I'm a professional liar! Wait... no. I'm a good person. I never lie. Demon Sword, you have to believe me. I'm just messing with this girl. Pretend you didn't hear anything..."

Fang Cheng soothed his Demon Sword, then continued, "As they say, truth and lies are tangled together. Dear girl, you hid your lies within some truths. Haha, but my sharp eyes see right through them."

"See through? Heh." Zhao Lian'er laughed coldly.

"Then tell me. What lies did I hide?" Fang Cheng flapped his wings and flew back to Zhu Old Six. He needed his sharp eyes to face this lying woman head-on.

"According to you, the brothel you were kept in was in Jishui City. Your father, Zhao Old Eight, and our Old Six here worked for a great cultivator in the prefecture city. Your father's no fool. If he got money from you, why wouldn't he go to the prefecture city to enjoy himself instead of being in Jishui City where you could see him?" Zhu Old Six chimed in, "Right, right. I was wondering about that too. Old Eight was used to living it up in the prefecture city. He'd definitely go back there if he had money."

Zhao Lian'er shot Zhu Old Six a cold glare, then turned to Fang Cheng with a plaintive look.

"My dear father was beaten by the brothel's servants first. It was only later that he went to work in the prefecture city. And he only started working for that cultivator with Zhu Old Six after that. He was broke and had no other choice."

"Good." Fang Cheng flapped his wings.

"According to your timeline, Zhao Old Eight first went to Jishui City, spent your money, then went to the prefecture city to work and spend more. If that's the case, he wouldn't have had time to go back to Zhujia Village and bring your mother to see you for one last time. Right?"

"Of course not. He wouldn't have that kind of kindness!" Zhao Lian'er snorted.

"Someone else brought my mother." Fang Cheng smiled.

"Then the question is, dear girl, who was this someone else? May I have the honor of knowing the name of the kind soul who would travel from a remote village to bring your mother to the city?"