Chapter 57: The Land of Endings, Section 9

Through long years and countless days and nights of longing, Black Hair could forget hatred and pain. But he could never forget that voice—
The voice of the beautiful woman.
In the silent cabin, everyone saw Black Hair’s loss of composure. The lord, who had always appeared cold and unfeeling, was now trembling slightly. His once-steady hands shook, veins bulging.
“Head…”
Among all his companions, only Monkey knew Black Hair’s past. Seeing him in such a state, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply. In fact, he had also recognized that graceful voice in the air—it was the other half of “Black Hair and the Beautiful Woman,” the chief strategist representing wisdom and planning, and also Black Hair’s closest woman.
But wasn’t she already dead? Trapped forever in that mad group’s training nest?
Silence, absolute silence. No one knew how much time passed before Black Hair finally raised his head, trembling. His eyes had turned blood-red, with traces of blood seeping from his snow-white gums.
“This isn’t real.”
“Clap, clap, clap, clap…” The Moorish Emperor below suddenly began applauding, smiling as he did so.
“As expected, truly the strongest warrior of the Blood Wolves. I didn’t expect you to still maintain your composure at such a time. But Black Hair, setting aside why you made that judgment, I just want to remind you of one thing. What if—just what if—she really exists?”
“That’s impossible!!!” Black Hair’s voice rose sharply, filled with violent impulse.
“It’s absolutely impossible! The Beautiful Woman is dead! She died right in front of me! Moorish Emperor, don’t lie to me. There’s no such person as the Beautiful Woman in this world—she’s fake! Fake!!! I don’t care where you heard about her, but you’ve made a mistake. I will never admit it! Don’t think you can gain the upper hand with just an illusion!”
“Oh…” Faced with Black Hair’s anger, the Moorish Emperor wasn’t afraid at all; instead, his smile grew even sweeter. He raised his head, facing the direction of the fierce wind, his eyes gleaming with mockery.
“So, it’s my fault after all? Haha, hahaha… Black Hair, this is the best joke I’ve ever heard. In Huaguo, would such behavior be considered ungrateful? Don’t forget, when you and the Beautiful Woman were trapped in that training nest face to face, you swore you’d save her… Why, then, do you deny it now that the time to meet has come?”

The Emperor Moore’s voice was casual, but to Hei Fa, it sounded like thunder. It was so shocking that he immediately jumped up from his captain’s seat.
“How do you know!!!”
“How do you know about Huaguo, and how do you know the scene of my last meeting with Hong Yan??”
With a hehe laugh, the Emperor Moore shook his head and raised one finger.
“Hei Fa, you’ve still lost your composure. Can you continue fighting in such a state of mind? Believe it or not, with your performance just now, if I wanted to, I could end you here at any moment.”
“That’s none of your business. Answer my question!” Hei Fa shouted again, ignoring the Emperor Moore’s provocation.
But this time, the Emperor Moore didn’t answer him. Instead, another voice spoke.
Hong Yan’s voice.
“Hei Fa, you’re too emotional. That’s not good. I remember you once telling me that an excellent warrior must never get emotional, no matter how severe the situation. Emotionality leads to losing one’s sanity and the determination to win. You were so confident when you said this to me back then. But why are you emotional now?”
“Is it because of our existence, or because of Huaguo, as mentioned by Your Majesty?”
“…”
Hearing Hong Yan’s melodious, almost heavenly voice once again, Hei Fa wasn’t as sensitive as before. He simply closed his eyes tightly and took a few deep breaths. When he opened them again, his eyes were clear.
Hong Yan was right. Emotionality doesn’t give strength. An excellent warrior must never get emotional. No, not just emotionality—even excitement needs to be timed properly. Hei Fa certainly knew this. But the information he’d just received was too shocking, causing him to lose his composure. With Hong Yan’s reminder, he quickly calmed down.
But while he calmed down, the Emperor Moore wasn’t pleased. Hearing Hong Yan’s reminder to Hei Fa, this powerful emperor grunted in dissatisfaction. His expression turned cold instantly, with no trace of a smile left. Looking up at the sky, he smirked.
“Hey, Tia, you’ve broken our agreement. After all this time together, is our relationship still not as strong as your bond with Hei Fa? You’d rather break the agreement just to remind him—what a truly selfless lover you are. Well then, as the other party to the agreement, I must claim my compensation as per the terms.”
“I understand, Your Majesty,” Hong Yan’s calm voice echoed in the sky as her response to the Emperor Moore.

But in the next moment, her voice began to tremble. The Emperor of Moore simply clapped his hands gently, and the woman who had remained calm all along let out a low, muffled groan—so soft that only those paying attention could hear it.
“What does this mean?” The Blood Wolf warriors were puzzled by what they saw. They knew nothing about the past of the black-haired woman with the red face. Yet it was clear that the Emperor of Moore and this Tia were on the same side. But why had the situation changed so rapidly in just an instant? That muffled groan was familiar to everyone—it was a sound emitted only when one was in extreme pain. One could easily guess what the Emperor of Moore had done just now.
At the same time, people noticed the agreement the Emperor of Moore had mentioned earlier. What exactly was it, and why was even Tia, the goddess of the Moore Empire, bound by such an agreement?
No one knew. Everyone’s gaze turned to the black-haired man to see his reaction. But his expression was strangely odd, as if he were enduring something. His furrowed brows and cold gaze exuded a strong sense of pressure, making it hard for anyone to even breathe.
After a long while, when the delicate female voice emitted another muffled groan for the third time, the black-haired man finally spoke up.
“Stop it, Your Majesty. What’s the point of doing this in front of me? Is it to show off your power, or to undermine my confidence? But whatever it is, don’t you think it’s rather ungraceful?”
“Heh.” Hearing his sarcasm, the Emperor of Moore sneered coldly.
“You’re wrong, Black-Haired. It’s not that I want to show anything. It’s just an agreement. Since she violated our agreement, she must pay the price. No one can stop it. And this ongoing pain isn’t something I imposed on her. The reason it’s lasted this long is simply because she herself wants it to. This woman never wants to show weakness. She’s extremely strict every time she enforces the agreement—including when punishing herself.”
As he spoke, the Emperor of Moore glanced again at the fierce winds in the sky, a mocking smile suddenly appearing on his lips.
“Actually, this is also because of you, Black-Haired. If it weren’t to remind you, why would she have to suffer like this? It’s all your fault! Black-Haired. You’re the one who made Tia suffer. You, a butcher, a cowardly man!!”
“…” Faced with the Emperor of Moore’s accusations, the black-haired man surprisingly didn’t retort. His gaze only grew colder. Looking at his eyes, people even had a strange feeling, as if something was hidden within them.

Is it… sorrow?
But it was obvious that Emperor Moore didn’t notice this. He continued to curse nonstop. At this moment, there wasn’t a trace of composure or grace in him—nothing but that of a madman shouting insults. As he cursed, he picked up some stones from the ground and threw them at Li Feng. His expression was fierce, as if someone had hurt his dearest thing!
“It’s your fault! All because of you!! Black Hair, it’s all your fault!! If it weren’t for you, Tia wouldn’t be sad!! If it weren’t for you, Tia wouldn’t have broken the agreement!! She wouldn’t be suffering!! You damned bastard, why don’t you die!! Why do you have to come back alive!! No matter where you go, your shadow only brings pain!! You demon!! Demon!!!”
“Is he… talking nonsense?” In the cabin, everyone looked at each other in confusion, unable to believe Emperor Moore could become so enraged. In everyone’s impression, this terrifying emperor was always known for his courtesy and grace—even when facing his most hated rebels, he had never shown such fury. What could be the reason for this behavior?
Confusion deepened in everyone’s hearts. They simply couldn’t understand Emperor Moore’s reaction at this moment. They could only watch quietly as he went mad below.
Of course, this included Black Hair as well.
He too couldn’t understand why Emperor Moore was so enraged. Nor did he know why he was called a “madman,” “bastard,” and “demon” by him. But seeing Emperor Moore’s expression, anyone could clearly feel his hatred toward Black Hair!!
It was absolute hatred, stemming from the deepest depths of his heart.
Below, Emperor Moore continued to rage wildly.
“Damn you, you always wanted to stay calm, didn’t you? You always relied on women to remind you, right? Well, you bastard, I admit I can’t break through your icy shell. Then let me show you just how great a price your beloved woman has paid to remind you. You bastard!!!”
With that, he suddenly crouched down, pressing his hands on the ground. Whatever he did next, the entire grassland began to shake violently. Under everyone’s horrified gaze, the ground beside Mirror Lake suddenly cracked and split, forming a long trench. The trench drew in the water of Mirror Lake, and in just a moment, the lake was drained completely!
It was only then that people realized, in horror, that there was a figure on the bottom of Mirror Lake.

A woman’s figure tied to a stone pillar at the bottom of the lake, with only her upper body visible above the surface. A beautiful woman, like an angel…