Chapter 1276: Evil Karma Cleansing

"We can't control it..."

Yan Zhichun said with a slight helplessness, "Whether it's Tian Long, Qing Long, or Qi Xia... we can't influence their plans. But I'll do as I promised before... try to find the proper ending for 'Ji Dao'."

"Zhichun, don't put too much pressure on yourself," Jiang Ruoxue sighed. "We're all independent individuals. You don't need to take responsibility for us."

After hearing this, Yan Zhichun nodded with a complex expression, then quickly composed himself and said to Zhoumo, "This isn't the time to think about Tian Long's issues... Things must be in complete chaos up there... We need a large number of 'Lou Yi' to join the battle here... Tell him I need to set up a tactic so we can take out all the 'Tian Ji' in one go."

"Understood." Zhoumo arranged for people to check on the 'Ji Dao' wounded while organizing the various 'Lou Yi' under Lou Yi Wang.

At this point, Tong Yi could no longer stay put. After explaining the situation to Yan Zhichun, she headed straight for the exit. Yan Zhichun hurriedly sent Lao Sun and Lao Deng to support her.

By the cargo hold entrance, there were no 'Di Ji' left who could fight, and on their side, only Lao Lv and Ren Hou remained. The two stood together, facing the blinded Di Shu and the several 'Ren Ji' around him. Both sides seemed cautious, neither making a move.

After all, striking now would mean casualties, and no one present wanted to die.

"Little girl..." Lao Lv turned his head and said, "You should go... There's no need to throw your life away here."

"Big uncle... I can't move anymore," Ren Hou replied. "Can you?"

"I can't either, dammit..." Lao Lv coughed a few times, and Ren Hou noticed blood seeping continuously from the mouth area of his pig head mask.

An ordinary 'Ren Ji' had withstood a 'Di Ji's' beating for several minutes without dying—that was already a miracle. Even with 'Hui Xiang', it didn't guarantee an advantage.

"Girl... I'm completely exhausted... I'm not as young as you..."

Ren Hou removed her mask and tossed it aside. Lao Lv saw that one of her eyes had been blinded in the chaos, and one of her legs was deformed.

"We're about even, right?" Ren Hou said with a smile.

"You're a bit tougher than me," Lao Lv laughed. "I'm still shaking from exhaustion here. Back when I used to sell socks at my stall, I never got beaten like this."

"Before? Why didn't you fight back?" Ren Hou asked.

"Ah... You look like a smart kid, so you wouldn't understand the struggles of us ordinary folks..." Lao Lv shook his head, stepped back, and leaned against the wall. "If someone comes at you with trouble, you take a couple of punches and it's over. But if you fight back, you might end up paying for it."

"Then they don't have to pay for hitting you?"

Neither of them paid any attention to the enemies in front of them. In the final moments of their lives, they just chatted away.

"Pay? They'd give me three or five hundred for medical fees, and then next time they'd beat me even worse?" Lao Lv let out a dry laugh. "I need to sell socks to support my family. If I get beaten so bad I can't get up, everything falls apart. Life's like that—getting bullied isn't the end of the world. Just endure it, and the days go on."

"So that's how it is." Ren Hou nodded. "That's why you're 'Ying Hua'..."

"You got it." Lao Lv grinned. "Once I found out I had 'Ying Hua', I was thrilled! No matter how much they beat me, I wouldn't go down—I could definitely hold out..."

Lao Lv's voice gradually faded. "Oh... I'm so tired... Girl, I'll sit for a bit."

He slowly slid down the wall, coughing nonstop.

"But this time they beat me way too hard... These young punks don't know their strength... What if they kill someone... Cough..."

Lao Lv lowered his head, trying to reach back and rub his aching back, but his plump arm couldn't twist around.

He sat dejectedly in the corner, his expression a bitter smile, as if he'd been through scenes like this many times before.

"Big uncle, you're about to die," Ren Hou said flatly. "Do you have any last words you want me to pass on? If I survive, I'll tell the others for you."

"Last words?" Lao Lv shook his head. "You're just scaring yourself, kid... I'm fine... Don't let my looks fool you—I'm clever when it counts. I've got a lot of meat on my back, so I can take a beating... You should worry about yourself... You're the silly one with your eyeball hanging out..."

"Yes, I'm probably dying soon too, but I'm a doctor," Ren Hou said. "Big uncle, you've been vomiting blood—your internal organs must be shattered."

"I know my own body..." Lao Lv mumbled, his voice growing softer, as if even he didn't believe it anymore, so he changed his tune. "Besides... I don't have any last words. I boarded this 'Lie Che' to save people in the first place... Now that I've done that... I'm content..."

Ren Hou sighed and slowly sat down next to Lao Lv, tossing her pen aside.

"You're content, but I'm not—it's such a shame..." Ren Hou shook her head. "I really thought we'd make it out this time... Why is it that no matter how hard we try, it never works...?"

"Ah, little girl... Don't talk like that..." Lao Lv started to comfort her but suddenly coughed again, his mask stained red with blood.

He quickly removed the mask, spitting out blood onto the ground.

After catching his breath and coughing for a while, he said sadly, "Sigh, people are so fragile... A little bump or scrape can leave you disabled or dead..."

"We're not talking about little bumps—can a little bump blind an eye?"

No sooner had she spoken than Ren Hou spat out a mouthful of blood, with fragments of internal organs in it.

As they talked, the standing 'Ren Ji' seemed to make their move. They exchanged glances and slowly advanced toward the two on the verge of death.

No matter what these two were up to, the heads of 'rebels' were tickets to advancement.

Lao Lv knew his time had come. He was in for another familiar beating, but he was too exhausted to even open his eyes.

He heard many footsteps around him, voices calling his name.

He heard a man say, "Don't bully people here."

It felt like a weight had lifted from his heart.

But he couldn't open his eyes.

"Lao Lv..." Tong Yi sat beside him, holding his hand as if cradling a tired child, and said in a sad but calm voice, "It's okay now... Rest... When you sleep... your 'E' Ye will be settled... You won't have to feel guilty anymore..."

"Xiao Chan..." Lao Lv's lips moved slightly. "I'm so tired... Remember to wake me up early... Don't miss the stall..."

"Okay... Okay..."

Tears streamed down Tong Yi's face in large drops. Amid the dazzling battles of the 'Yuan Wu' and 'Kui Lei', they held back their grief and saw Lao Lv and Ren Hou off.

In the final moments, she didn't even time to ask the one-eyed girl what her real name was.

What had she been worried about in her heart?

What kind of 'Ye' had she carried?