A Good-for-Nothing

307. He Zheng Must Die

Translator: Dragon Rider

There was a woman lying on the bed. Her features were mild and bore an uncanny resemblance to He Zheng’s in every detail. At first glance people could easily get the sense that she was a female version of He Zheng.

Chen Qianlin gazed at the woman’s face, astonished. It was a long moment before he came to himself, swiveled his head around incredulously and, looking at He Zheng’s face, asked, “He Zheng, why does Zhu Jin look so much like you?”

Surprisingly, the woman spoke before He Zheng could make a reply.

“You’ve come.” The woman’s voice came from all directions, but she was still lying quietly in bed, her eyes shut, her fingers motionless.

“Why is this happening?” He Zheng had thought of many possibilities before coming here. Back when his grandfather had told him about Zhu Jin, he had speculated that her mother’s twin sister should be just as beautiful as her mother, but a woman who had done such things was by no means mild, and she certainly should not be this woman in front of them, who was lying in bed with tubes all over her body, looking as though she could die at any moment!

“You have nothing to fear from me. I’ve been like this for many years. I won’t hurt you. Sorry for the way I got you guys here. I should’ve made more appropriate arrangements, but I really don’t have much time left.”

Everybody else present was at a loss for words. None of them had bargained on seeing this scene in this place, or else they would not have brought so many field agents, especially not Zhen Ni.

Nobody knew when, but the marionette driver had shown up in the bedroom, standing respectfully at Zhu Jin’s bedside. Operating the medical equipment for Zhu Jin, he explained, “Ms. Zhu started losing her mobility slowly about ten years ago. She became a complete vegetable a couple of years ago. Fortunately, she has the power to disembody her mind, so before her brain died, she separated her mind from it.”

“How … did she end up becoming a vegetable?” He Zheng could barely keep his voice steady.

Nobody whose mother died a premature death could remain calm when looking at a woman who resembled their mother so much, not to mention Zhu Jin was lying in bed, appearing so feeble.

Zhu Jin’s tender voice was heard. “Is it Zheng speaking?”

“Yes.” He Zheng involuntarily took a step forward. His eyes rested on Zhu Jin’s face as he opened his mouth in a vain attempt to speak.

“Judging from your voice, you’re still in good health. I’m very glad to know this. Pity I cannot stroke my nephew’s face.

In that year, when I heard that my sister gave birth to you, I was very happy. I went to visit her and I saw you. You were healthy and gorgeous and very like my sister.”

He Zheng’s eyes reddened as he listened. The latter half of her words astonished him somewhat. “You’ve seen me before?” he asked.

It didn’t make sense. His grandfather had told him that shortly after the twin sisters’ birth, the younger one had been sent elsewhere, while the elder one had stayed. The sisters had been separated. His grandfather had not allowed anybody in the Zhu family to visit Zhu Jin. How could Zhu Jin have seen his mother?

“Would you like to hear me tell you a story? It’s a very short one. It won’t take long.”

Zhu Jin’s voice was mild all along. Nobody could reject a request like this from a woman like her.

Zhu Jin’s story was indeed very simple. It was not very different from the one told by Old Master Zhu previously. Actually the only difference was that in this story, the younger one of the twin sisters, who had been sent elsewhere, did not have great talent for operating marionettes, what with her mild personality, and her master had scolded her pretty often.

One day, she had been scolded again. Dejected, she had gone to the hillside for a walk, where she chanced upon a very audacious teenage girl.

“I was taken aback the first time I saw my sister. It was like I were looking into a mirror at myself. I was very curious as to why there was a doppelgänger of me.

Of course, my sister felt the same way,” Zhu Jin recalled.

Soon the two girls had come to realize who they were to each other. The sisters had hugged and cried. Both kind-hearted, they had never doubted any of their elders’ decisions. Unwilling to worry their family, they had been in contact with each other secretly for many years, and nobody had ever found out about it.

“Until the day when my big sister, in her dream, received a message from the God of Divination, for the third time.”

That message, naturally, had been about the Demon King’s vessel.

“Following the God of Divination’s instructions, my sister gave birth to a child and went to the depths of Mount Wushan with me. Together we found the Demonic Seed and planted it in her son’s body.”

Zhu Jin and Zhu Ning had journeyed to Mount Wushan together?! No wonder. The two of them were virtually each other’s doppelgänger. Nobody would found out the difference if they wore the same clothes.

Zhu Jin’s voice became faintly tearful. “But no woman could bring herself to do that to her own child. Even I didn’t have the heart, let alone my sister. So we decided to risk it and make another choice!”

He Zheng felt as though his insides were turning into ice. He kept having this feeling that the latter half of the story would not be quite relaxing.

Actually most stories of this kind did not have happy endings.

“When you were four, my sister discovered that you were uncommonly talented. She was scared. In order to prevent you from becoming a vessel for the Demon King, she disobeyed the God of Divination, inhibited your talent with an enchantment at the cost of her own health with the intention to help you survive. In fact, your endowments were indeed inhibited, and you’ve enjoyed so many years’ peaceful life.

However, there’s a price to pay for defiance of divine will. After merely a couple of months, my sister died because of her disobedience. I was also punished because of my involvement in that matter.”

“Defiance of divine will”. How astounding these words were. He Zheng had an urge to laugh. The providence had actually meted out punished to her mother for trying to protect her own son. What had he done exactly to deserve this?

Zhu Jin’s voice grew more and more ruminative. “Afterward, I preserved my mind and kept a close watch on how the situation developed. I thought that He Zheng would be able to rid himself of his fate. I’ve been secretly watching you all along. When He Zheng was affected by the Human Devil’s powers and the demonic Qi inside him revived, I came to know that I and my sister’s plan had fallen through, that what was meant to happen would inexorably happen.

My sister, before her death, destroyed the latter half of the divinatory symbols to make sure that nobody would find out the great secret about He Zheng. I memorized them, made a copy of all the symbols and gave it to the International Exorcism Federation before He Zheng participated in the exorcism championship, hoping that you would find out about He Zheng’s identity.

Afterward I did many other things for the same purpose.”

Zhu Jin’s voice was slightly choked and tinged with distress.

He Zheng was dismayed. So this was the real story?

“But, like I said, what was meant to happen will inexorably happen. Nobody can escape the Grim Reaper’s scythe.” Zhu Jin’s voice became mild again, but it was tinged with heartache. “I went to such great lengths to lure you guys here because I wanted to find out about He Zheng’s state and see if there’s still hope.”

Li Zong’s eyes lit up. “So what’s your conclusion, Ms. Zhu?”

Zhu Jin remained silent for quite a while.

All the others waited with bated breath for Zhu Jin to make a reply.

Eventually, the mild female voice was finally heard again in the spacious room. “The demonic Qi in He Zheng is now so powerful there’s nothing we could do to make a difference. If we let the Demon King continue staying inside his body, he would soon become one with the Demonic Seed and a new Demon King would be born.

The new Demon King would be more powerful than all his predecessors, but he would not be detected by the Divine Law, which means he’d be your greatest trouble, one that nobody would be able to handle.

Millions will die at his hands. This world will be turned into hell.” Zhu Jin’s voice was so soft as though it could transcend time and space. He Zheng felt as though countless eyes were staring at him. He sensed a whiff of danger.

Zhu Jin finished, “My conclusion is – He Zheng must die.”

A clap of thunder was heard, followed by deafening rumble from the sky. It was quite frightening. A bolt of lightning abruptly flashed past the window, making their faces look deathly white.

The marionettes started moving, flooding into the house from all directions to Zhu Jin’s pained, resigned voice.

“Someone has to do this. Back then my sister and I were too soft-hearted to do it. Today let me put an end to it.

You’re agents of SMB. I hope … I beg you to stay out of this.” The marionette driver interposed himself between He Zheng and the others.

Another thunderbolt struck down. The sound was like an explosion, which made their hearts flutter. The marionettes launched a savage attack on He Zheng. They had no weapons and were using their hands as blades. Every one of them was aiming to kill. He Zheng and the others had never been in this kind of situation before. The enemies were attacking from all sides. He Zheng’s body reacted before his brain gave instructions. He quickly dodged the blows from the marionettes.

At the same time, his sword, Shadow, was humming and quivering in He Zheng’s hand, its blade covered in an eerie red light.

Vastly outnumbered by the marionettes, He Zheng was instantly reduced to passively defending against the attack.

Crimson Lotus Karma Flames shot up from Li Zong’s feet. The hum of sword mixed with the sound of arrows whizzing through the air resounded through the room. Jets of green light could be seen intermittently. Shock waves generated by sonorous roars immobilized those marionettes.

Li Zong, Chen Kai, Chen Qianlin, Zhen Ni and Tun Shanhai made their move almost at the same time as He Zheng did, fending off those marionettes for He Zheng.

“Li Zong, you better than anybody should know that you guys are the last people who should try to stop me!” Zhu Jin did not bargain on them intervening. She snapped, “The demonic Qi about He Zheng is so powerful you people could be dragged into it at any moment. And the Demonic Eye has appeared on his forehead. Killing him is the only way.

His death will save millions. You really can’t see what the right thing to do is?”

If truth be told, Zhu Jin was the only one in the room who knew the severity of the matter, but her words struck the others as unacceptable. Chen Qianlin, holding Sharpness, was standing in front of the others. As he wielded his sword graciously, He Zheng felt that Chen Qianlin had never looked so handsome.

He said, “We’re not going to let you kill He Zheng, because we respect He Zheng. You’ve made your point, but He Zheng must be the one to make the decision.”

Even if the answer was death, He Zheng should have the right to make the choice himself. He did not deserve to be killed as a vessel for the Demonic Seed by anybody in the name of anything.

This was their only insistence. And they had faith in He Zheng. No matter what He Zheng’s decision was, they would respect it.

Though those behind Chen Qianlin did not speak, they had conveyed their acquiescence with their actions, making it clear that they were on his side.

“Ms. Zhu, none of us is God. We have no right to make such a decision for him. If the hope we’re looking for is not here, we’ll leave and keep looking.

Be it for the world or He Zheng.”