Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

Simple barracks, fences wrapped with barbed wire, dark brown land, piles of sandbags used for defense. Soldiers were in the j.a.panese uniform during World War II, holding the sanpachi-s.h.i.+ki hohei-ju… The scenery around them showed where this was the j.a.panese barracks.

w.a.n.g Chen fell onto the ground, injured and in a dishevelled state. He was not in good condition. Wearing handcuffs and fetters, the steel nails engraved with runes penetrated through the lute bone, and his solar plexus was also pierced by two steel nails, destroying his sea of qi.

He fell to the ground in pain, bleeding from several wounds, as if he had just been tortured.

Several people who were also subject to the same treatment, but who were treated better than him, surrounded w.a.n.g Chen. They inquired with concern about his physical condition.

“This should be his experience when he was captured and became a slave in a camp to move the blood bank. Then… Sister Taisu should have died by this time.” Li Xianyu breathed and felt a strong sadness inside.

In his mind, he thought of the beautiful and pure woman who was perfect. She had died, becoming one with nature.

“Why are you doing this? If they want Quanzhen's skills, you can give it to them.”

“We are all prisoners, fish on the chopping board. Having a backbone will only make us die faster. If it's just for the skills, there's no need to be so stubborn.”

The people tried their best to persuade w.a.n.g Chen. They watched as the young priest was taken into the slave camp and tortured by the j.a.panese army. He would rather die than give up the best skills of Quanzhen Sect. Outstanding, determined and upright.

“If I am afraid of death, I would not have descended the mountain.” w.a.n.g Chen grinned, his mouth filled with blood. “How can the things handed down by my ancestors be taken away by the j.a.panese aggressors? I can't stop what others do, but I will never surrender to the j.a.panese aggressors.”

If he were to surrender, how would he face the hundred or so comrades that had sacrificed their lives during the battle of Changsha, in the netherworld?

“Brother, you have backbone.” A man with a thick Chinese face took out a hard and shriveled steamed bun. “Eat something. This is my secret leftovers from last night.”

w.a.n.g Chen seemed to have been hungry for a long time. After taking the steamed bun, he gobbled it up. The tasteless steamed bread seemed to be a delicacy.

“Drink some water!” Another man scooped up some water in a broken bowl and handed it over to him.

“Thank you!” w.a.n.g Chen gulped down the muddy water, swallowed the steamed bun, and asked, “Benefactors, what are your names?”

“Chen Ye!” the stout man said.

“Liu Ming!” the thin man delivering the water said.

Liu Ming… Li Xianyu's heart twitched. Wasn't he the ancestor of Liu Kongcao, who had the ability of Monkey D.Luffy but no ambition?

Li Xianyu thought of his good friend who did not need women. He could survive just by masturbating.

Back then, Chen Ye and Liu Ming were the ones that had sealed Slime. They met in the slave camp. Later, after the death of the Demonic Priest, the two went incognito and escaped the punishment from the Taoists. This was considered their retirement.

“How long have you been here, benefactors?” w.a.n.g Chen asked.

“It's been six months,” Liu Ming said.

“The j.a.panese invaders have captured a large amount of demon descendants. They imprisoned them without killing them, and I don't know why,” Chen Ye said.

“Some of my sect mates were also captured by the j.a.panese army. Have you ever heard of w.a.n.g Zhen and Taisu, since you guys have been here so long?” w.a.n.g Chen hurriedly asked.

Chen Ye and Liu Ming looked at each other as they tried to remember. They shook their heads and replied, “No.”

“Have you heard of w.a.n.g Bo, Chen Fu, Gao Ming, or Zhu Li?” w.a.n.g Chen reported the names of more than ten people in a row.

Chen Ye and Liu Ming still shook their heads.

Li Xianyu watched in silence. His heart was cold. Don't ask anymore. They are all dead, including our beloved girl, Sister Taisu.

Chen Ye said, “However, there is a disciple of Quanzhen Sect amongst the recent captives.”

“Who?”

“w.a.n.g Qing.”

Liu Ming said, “He's just a sc.u.m who is afraid of death and has become a lackey of the j.a.panese aggressors.”

“What did you say?” w.a.n.g Chen's pupils widened.

Liu Ming sneered, “He arrived a few days earlier than you. About seven or eight days ago, he and another man named Cao Jun were captured by the j.a.panese army and brought back to the slave camp. After a single torture session, they gave in immediately and obediently pledged their allegiance to the j.a.panese army.”

“No way, you're speaking nonsense!” w.a.n.g Chen's reaction was very big as he grabbed Liu Ming's collar in an agitated manner. His expression was ferocious.

“It's true, Priest w.a.n.g Chen.” Chen Ye came forward to dissuade and sighed. “If you don't believe it, ask the rest.”

The people by the side said, “They didn't lie. There was a priest named w.a.n.g Qing and a young man named Cao Jun who became lackeys of the j.a.panese invaders. But there were only a few people who gave in to the j.a.panese army in the slave camp. We don't wonder why. However, those two people were very incompetent. Their bones were soft and they gave in after merely half a day.”

w.a.n.g Chen could not comprehend the situation.

At this time, several soldiers holding sanpachi-s.h.i.+ki hohei-jus opened the door of the fence and said, “Time to a.s.semble, Chinese.”

Soon, hundreds of demon descendant slaves from the slave camp were gathered, each wearing handcuffs and shackles and had steel nails running through the lute bones. They would be regularly injected with drugs to enforce blood suppression.

w.a.n.g Chen was the worst of all because he was the hardest to tame.

A j.a.panese officer entered the slave camp, muttering in j.a.panese, with a Chinese traitor as an interpreter.

“Everyday, they brainwash us and attempt to make us pledge loyalty to the emperor of j.a.pan,” Liu Ming whispered in w.a.n.g Chen's ear.

“Pui, dream on! My village was burned by the j.a.panese army, and my family was killed. I have lived to find a chance to kill a few of the j.a.panese,” Chen Ye spat.

“As long as you belong to an orthodox sect, you can exchange the emperor's friends.h.i.+p with your skill manuals.”

“Those who cannot read the situation will die.”

“As long as you can reveal the hiding places of your fellow demon descendants, and ask them to join our family, you will be released from the slave camp. The j.a.panese army promises to give you the same benefits as their ordinary soldiers.”

This sounded like a MLM… Li Xianyu didn't say these words because he saw the body of w.a.n.g Chen shaking. His face turned white as paper, and his lips almost turned pinkish-white.

It should have dawned on him. He knew why he was ambushed and probably guessed what happened to his companions. Demonic Priest had been dead for 80 years. However, looking at the memories of 80 years ago, Li Xianyu instantly regretted it. He wished he had never acquired the ring and entered Demonic Priest's memories, and never been acquainted with… Sister Taisu.

The most despairing thing in the world was the word “past”. One knew it was not good and one knew its ending, butone just couldn't change it, not even with one's utmost efforts.

w.a.n.g Chen could no longer hear the interpreter as he stood rooted to the spot until the end of the mobilization conference, when the traitor translated the j.a.panese soldier's words: “Who here is willing to serve the emperor?”

No response.

The traitor's face turned dark. “As long as you promise to be loyal to the emperor, you can get out of here.”

However, those who could endure to this day were not afraid of death. Some even scolded, “I will not be a traitor like you when I die.”

The Chinese traitor jumped in anger. “What's wrong with defecting towards the emperor of j.a.pan? It's better to follow j.a.pan's steps and create a common prosperity circle in East Asia than to be a sick man in East Asia.” He was very familiar with this set of words and could say it anytime.

“I…” Someone in the crowd spoke out suddenly.

Everyone turned around in shock and anger, but they were shocked. The outstanding, upright, and determined young priest planned to join the j.a.panese army?!

Amidst a cl.u.s.ter of burning eyes, w.a.n.g Chen's face was slightly pale. He clenched his fist and raised his chewing muscles. It seemed that he needed all his strength to say this sentence, “I'm willing.”

“Well, isn't that sensible? You are as promising as I am. Come here.”

w.a.n.g Chen slowly walked forward step by step, lowering his head slightly. He dared not look at the angry and disdainful people staring at him. He came to the j.a.panese officer and said in a deep voice, “I will not join the j.a.panese army, but I am willing to give you my sect's skills.”

After a pause, w.a.n.g Chen gritted his teeth and said, “It's not free, I have conditions.”

The Chinese interpreter frowned, a little dissatisfied with the reply of w.a.n.g Chen, but translated it to the j.a.panese officers truthfully.

The j.a.panese officer looked at w.a.n.g Chen and uttered a sentence in j.a.panese.

“He asks you, which sect do you belong to and what do you know?” the traitor translated.

“Quanzhen Sect!” w.a.n.g Chen's face was burning hot as he felt a great humiliation. He took a deep breath. “There are eight formations of Quanzhen Sect, and three world-leading techniques. I will give you one of them, and I will give you a unique one. w.a.n.g Qing is not as skilled as me. Whatever I know, he doesn't.”

“I will trade that for my companions, if they have been captured by you.”

After the translation, the j.a.panese officer's eyes brightened. The traitor took out a small book and wrote down all the names w.a.n.g Chen had said. The j.a.panese officer patted w.a.n.g Chen's shoulder, said a sentence in j.a.panese, and turned to leave. The translator took back the small book, patted w.a.n.g Chen's face, and said, “He says that he will find your people for you, but he wants all the skills.”

w.a.n.g Chen had changed from an outstanding, determined, and upright man to w.a.n.g Jingze, who was a hypocrite.

From then on, the people of the slave camp no longer spoke to him. They despised him and looked down on him. Only Chen Ye and Liu Ming understood his eagerness to find his companions and even comforted him.

The next few days in the slave camp was not easy for w.a.n.g Chen. As the wounds were not disinfected and bandaged in time, they became infected under the summer conditions.

He was suffering from physical pain and mental anxiety every day. He often woke up from a dream, or sat up alone in the middle of the night, his expression ferocious.

Li Xianyu could feel that, in this period of time, Demonic Priest's state of mind had changed dramatically. He probably didn't expect that the one who betrayed them was w.a.n.g Qing, whom he had grown up with, and whom he had fought together with during the battle of Changsha.

The most ruthless stab wound was inflicted by someone trustable.

The enemy's sword could only destroy your body, while the sword from a close contact could annihilate the soul together with the body as well.

This day, after eating the leftovers which had gone bad, the Chinese interpreter in j.a.panese military uniform entered the slave camp arrogantly, looked around, and said, “w.a.n.g Chen. Where is w.a.n.g Chen?”

w.a.n.g Chen, who was curled up in the dilapidated tent, rushed out in a crawling manner, as his shackles clattered.

“Woah, I haven't seen you for a few days only. Have you become so haggard?” The traitor was startled.

At this time, Demonic Priest's eyes were turbid, face haggard and hair unkempt. His body wounds gave off a pungent scent, which attracted the buzzing flies, like a beggar on the street.

“We have found the person you were looking for. This person was captured on the same day as you,” the interpreter said.

Demonic Priest's eyes suddenly brightened up.

Li Xianyu was slightly excited. He was happy for Demonic Priest. At this moment, it was the greatest happiness and misfortune to find his former companion amidst his country's chaos.