BXBX NOVEL Chapter 85 85: My Humanity? Is There Even Any Left?
Xu Shan was standing at the forefront of the Ancient Battleship in the lead.
Usually, the ship was supposed to be in the middle of the forces, under the most protection. However, he didn\'t care about that.
He stood silently, with his arms folded around his chest, as he saw massive fires in the distance.
"Are the Sky Dynasty forces so deep in your territory already?" The Great Elder of the Celestial Palace asked, looking at the burning City in the distance.
"That\'s not the work of the Sky Dynasty army..." Xu Shan responded, not revealing much reaction.
"It\'s not?" The Great Elder asked once again.
"Bandits," Ye Han nodded. "Now that the armies are sent away, the bandits saw that opportunity and took advantage. This probably isn\'t the only City that is burning."
"Shouldn\'t the Empire do something to stop this?" The Great Elder inquired.
"We aren\'t a charity," Xu Shan lazily responded, even as he kept his eyes on the burning City. "We neither have the time, nor the resources to stop something like this, that\'s spread all around the Empire."
After a brief moment of silence, he turned around and walked back to his room.
"Just as I heard, that guy has no emotions." Watching Xu Shan leave, the Great Elder could only make a short comment, shaking his head lightly.
"He\'s not wrong. That is the reaction that a Monarch should have." Ye Han chimed in, gazing at the distant flames. "Even if we can save the cities in our path from these bandits, how many more cities will be burned all around the Empire?"
He further added, "If we\'re late, things will only become worse. So our one and only mission is to win this war and then kill all those bandits!"
The Great Elder also became silent as he heard the response. For him, it was hard to see cities being burned. However, it was also true that the more they delayed ending this war, the more cities were going to burn.
It was a hard situation to balance. They could either keep their eyes on their bigger goal or suffer more losses by focusing on shorter goals.
....
The room that was assigned to Xu Shan was the best room in the ancient battleship. It was in the most secure place. Even the corridor that led to this place was heavily guarded.
Only Ye Han was allowed to come to this place without his permission.
Entering his room, Xu Shan picked up a glass of water and jumped it down before taking a seat.
"The bait is in place... I wonder if you\'ll take the bait..." He muttered, holding a dark book in his hand.
"What bait are you talking about?"
Just as Xu Shan was about to open the Book of Desires, he heard a beautiful voice coming from behind him.
Xu Shan didn\'t often reveal many genuine expressions. However, as soon as he heard that voice, he actually was pleasantly surprised.
"Xinren?"
The sound of the chair pushed back filled the room as Xu Shan stood up, turning around.
As he turned around, he saw a beautiful woman standing behind him. Her face looked somewhat tired, as if she hadn\'t slept for quite a while. However, other than that, she was perfectly fine.
"Where did you disappear to? And what\'s with that look?" Xu Shan asked, shooting multiple questions at once.
It had been a long time since the Book Spirit stopped contacting him. He had always been curious and somewhat concerned about her. She had been his guide and one of his biggest help, after all.
"Enough thinking about me. I\'m fine. Where are we though?"
For some reason, Xinren didn\'t answer. Instead, she just looked out the window, seeing the beautiful sky outside. It was clear they were in the air.
"And what were you trying to do? Were you going to make another wish?\'
Xu Shan scratched the back of his head. "We are on our way to lead a war."
Xu Shan explained everything to Xinren that she had missed ever since she disappeared, including how they ended up in this war.
It was only after he finished explaining that he walked back to his chair. "And that\'s why I need to have some backup... If I succeed, the Book of Destiny will be mine. And if I lose, well... We\'ll just have to prevent that, won\'t we?"
He opened the Book of Desires, opening the first blank page he found.
Unlike before, Xinren stood behind him this time.
She wanted to see just what he was going to write. He couldn\'t make the wish too grand; that could affect the natural balance to a great extent since the cost was going to be too much for him to pay as he was now. However, he also had to make it impactful.
Xu Shan took a deep breath, picking up the pen.
However, before he even started writing, he glanced at Xinren. "I know that I\'m starting to rely too much on it. But this is the only way. We are against someone who can see the future after all..."
"You\'ve changed," Xinren muttered. "You used to be someone scared of the consequences. But now, you aren\'t even thinking about them."
"Who says I\'m not scared?" Xu Shan smiled in response. "However, what I\'m more scared of is dying."
"So you\'ll continue relying on the Book, even if it means losing your humanity slowly?" Xinren inquired.
In response, Xu Shan only laughed.
After a long time, he stopped laughing, glancing out the window with a look of reminiscence in his eyes.
"My humanity... Is there even any left now?" he asked. His voice sounded as if he was someone who was living in solace and isolation, watching him lose slowly.
He lowered his gaze, looking at his hands.
"My hands are already covered in more blood than they should. I don\'t even flinch when I kill, or abandon an entire city that\'s burning, only to reach my goal. Am I still a human?"
"I lost my humanity long ago..." He shook his head lightly before picking up the pen. He started writing.