Chapter 736: Distant War General

Looking at the blood-red holes on the faces of the corpses, Zhang Shan's anger flared up again.

"Absurd..." he gritted his teeth and said, "Even if Chu Tianqiu ordered you to kill them, did he also order you to gouge out their eyeballs?"

At that moment, Xiao Yanjing sharply noticed that something was off.

"Zhang Shan, it's probably true," he interjected. "Although those two did the killing, their hands have no blood on them, so they likely didn't dig out the eyeballs."

After speaking, he stepped forward, his face serious as he said:

"Han Yimo, Zhao Yisheng, was Chu Tianqiu's initial goal really to get these people's eyeballs?"

"Yes!" Zhao Yisheng replied. "We really were acting on his instructions..."

As the five of them stood tense in the middle of the caochang, a cold voice echoed from a distance.

"Indeed, it was me who had them do it."

Everyone turned to look, and Chu Tianqiu was approaching from the school gate.

He drew nearer step by step, bringing with him an overwhelming stench of blood.

Zhang Shan stared at him in a daze. The person before him matched Chu Tianqiu's build and appearance, but he was nothing like the man in his memories.

His hair was all slicked back, exposing his forehead, and he wore a strange string of beads around his neck, like some kind of cultist.

What puzzled Zhang Shan even more was the blood on Chu Tianqiu—it seemed as if he was drenched in it, with even his jacket stained red.

Xiao Yanjing carefully glanced down at Chu Tianqiu's hands and saw that they were completely red.

"Chu... Tianqiu?" Zhang Shan asked tentatively.

"What?" Chu Tianqiu smiled and continued approaching. "Just one day apart, and you don't recognize me anymore?"

"We've only been gone a day... but you've changed so much..." Zhang Shan muttered, his mind racing with doubts.

Had Chu Tianqiu gone mad in such a short time?

"I've just come to some realizations," Chu Tianqiu said. "It's thanks to many people's help that I've finally figured out what I need to do."

"What you need to do... is gouge out the eyeballs of these comrades...?" Zhang Shan asked.

"That's right." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "I ordered them killed, and I dug out the eyeballs myself."

Zhang Shan was stunned by the straightforward answer and stood there for a moment before asking, "Why?"

"Because the eyeballs are useful to me," Chu Tianqiu replied. "Zhang Shan, give me your eyeballs too."

"What...?" Zhang Shan slowly furrowed his brow.

Lao Lv glanced at Chu Tianqiu, then back at Han Yimo and Zhao Yisheng, sensing that the situation was getting dangerous.

Although everyone was still talking, he felt like a fight could break out any second.

Xiao Yanjing quickly scanned the area and reached out to pull Zhang Shan. "Something's wrong—let's go first."

At that point, Han Yimo's mind finally calmed, and with a surge of intense ringing in his ears and dizziness, he summoned the "Qi Hei Jian" once more.

With a whooshing sound, the pitch-black sword flew in from the distant sky.

Zhang Shan coldly surveyed his surroundings and looked up at the sky, saying in a low voice:

"You plan to kill me here and take my eyeballs?"

"No." Chu Tianqiu shook his head. "Zhang Shan, you're now 'Tian Xing Jian,' so you should have self-healing abilities. Just dig out your own eyeballs and give them to me, and I'll let you three go. That way, you won't lose anything, and I'll get what I want—it's a win for both."

"Chu Tianqiu... do you know how much I trusted you?" Zhang Shan turned to face him. "Even after 'Tian Tang Kou' fell apart twice, I thought it was just some bad decisions—we could start over. But now you're talking about gouging out my eyes to make a necklace? What's the difference between that and being a madman?"

"Zhang Shan." Chu Tianqiu shook his head and smiled. "We've tried to start over too many times. Before you joined 'Tian Tang Kou,' Yun Yao and I had already attempted it countless times, but it doesn't work."

"Is that so...? So you've been lying to me all along?" Zhang Shan said with a bitter laugh. "Damn it, you said you suddenly met me over a year ago and invited me to join 'Tian Tang Kou' to take down all the 'Sheng Xiao'—was that all a lie?"

"I didn't lie about that, but I've also remembered a lot from the past." Chu Tianqiu touched his forehead. "My memories are piecing themselves together every day, even reminding me of the first time we met... unfortunately, it wasn't a year ago."

"Oh?"

"Zhang Shan... you should know this yourself." Chu Tianqiu crossed his arms, smiling. "You're brave, loyal, with a 'Hui Xiang' stronger than most, and an easy 'Qi Ji'... so why have you remained an obscure wanderer all these years?"

"What about it?"

"For nearly a decade before, 'Tian Tang Kou' was recruiting people left and right. If I'd known about someone like you roaming the streets, I'd have brought you in, but why did you never make a name for yourself?"

"I don't get it." Zhang Shan said. "I'm just not one for the spotlight—it's normal if no one knows me."

"Yeah... that's what I thought at first." Chu Tianqiu laughed. "But I overlooked a key timeline. About a year ago, not only did I meet you, but I also heard about a major event... if I'd connected those two things, I might have figured it out sooner, including Qi Xia's plan... I could have seen a glimpse of it."

"A major event...?" Zhang Shan's face showed confusion. He glanced at Xiao Yanjing and Lao Lv, who both looked equally baffled.

"About a year ago, 'Wo Cheng' fell, leaving very few survivors who couldn't even leave the interview rooms. Around that time, a man named Zhang Shan appeared on these streets."

"'Wo Cheng'...?" None of them had heard the name before, and no one knew how to respond.

Chu Tianqiu shook his head. "Zhang Shan, oh Zhang Shan, how did you end up as Xiao Yanjing and Lao Lv's teammate? The first time we met ten years ago, you were standing beside Nie Bei—you were a famous general in 'Wo Cheng.' How on earth did you get here?"

Zhang Shan felt more and more confused with every word. "Nie Bei... who's that?"

"Ha..." Chu Tianqiu didn't answer, just laughed to himself. "Nie Bei really delivered a great gift to 'Dao Cheng'... but fate is what it is. You forgot Nie Bei's orders and ended up as my subordinate."

Zhang Shan laughed angrily again. "So what does this have to do with you wanting to gouge out my eyeballs?"

"Of course it does." Chu Tianqiu said. "Nie Bei sent you to 'Dao Cheng' just to leave himself a thread of hope, and that hope is me."