novelraw Chapter 417: Even in the face of death, one should face it with composure
Chapter 417: Even in the face of death, one should face it with composure
"I, Qin Bai... have hunted aberrants my entire life, and I can say with a clear conscience that I have lived up to this cultivation, lived up to the words 'Aberrant Purge.' In the end... I did not collude with those beasts, did not taint the filthy blood of those aberrants that stains my hands... I preserved this bit of reputation and backbone..."
Qin Bai's tone was flat. "That... is enough."
He did not beg for mercy, much less try to justify his past actions.
In the final moments of his life, he chose to accept everything with equanimity.
For a man as proud as him, who had lived his whole life with pride, there was no compromise before an absolute bottom line, no allowing himself to be condemned for all eternity...
Perhaps, this was the best outcome he could secure for himself.
It was also his final shred of dignity.
Qin Bai straightened his robe, which was slightly disheveled from the fight. Although it was still stained with dust and blood, he tried his best to make himself look presentable.
Then, he actively walked towards Situ Hong and Shangguan Xue, giving a slight nod.
"Let's go. I'll trouble you two to lead the way."At this moment.
He was no longer that Aberrant Purge Division agent who held power and inspired fear.
He was just a cultivator who had let go of everything and was prepared to meet his death.
Even in death, one must meet it with composure.
...
Black City.
Deep within the City Lord's Residence.
A quiet, detached courtyard.
This was Su Zhan's residence.
In the center of the courtyard.
Qin Bai stood alone.
The two official Ocean Realm third-stage powerhouses who had escorted him here had already left as ordered.
But Situ Hong and Shangguan Xue stood silently, one on the left and one on the right, in the corners of the courtyard.
Qin Bai lowered his head slightly, looking at the obsidian floor beneath his feet, polished as smooth as a mirror, which reflected his own wretched and downcast figure at this moment.
Had he accepted his fate?
Perhaps.
Before absolute power, struggle was futile.
A sense of humiliation welled up in his heart.
His entire life had been spent pursuing power, maintaining order, and eliminating dissidents. When had he ever imagined he would be brought before someone he had once deemed a target that must be eliminated, in the posture of a prisoner?
Footsteps approached from the inner hall, growing closer.
They were light, yet each step seemed to land on the strings of Qin Bai's heart.
Qin Bai's body tensed almost imperceptibly, then he forced himself to relax again, but his head hung even lower.
Su Zhan's figure slowly stepped out from the shadows behind the corridor pillars.
He had indeed waited a long time.
From learning that Qin Bai had been captured, to receiving news of the attack during the escort.
If Mo Yuan hadn't personally spoken up, stating he had dispatched Situ Hong and Shangguan Xue to ensure everything went smoothly, Su Zhan would have almost been unable to restrain himself from going to greet this old acquaintance in person.
Now.
Su Zhan finally stood here, before the man who had hunted him for years, forced him into the Mist World, and nearly killed him—the chief culprit.
This was the first time in all these years that Qin Bai had seen Su Zhan's true face so clearly, at such close range, with no obstructions.
Not the face Su Zhan had altered before, but that of a living, handsome young man with long hair.
That excessively youthful face held no expression at this moment.
Su Zhan's gaze was firmly fixed on Qin Bai.
He looked at his slightly hunched back, his lowered head, the Aberrant Purge Division uniform on his body that remained stiff but could not conceal its state of decline...
Countless scenes churned madly in his mind...
It was Qin Bai at Vermilion Bird Academy, leading Aberrant Purge Division personnel, with that cold and arrogant look in his eyes as he prepared to take Su Zhan away for investigation with an unquestionable attitude.
It was him on the run, narrowly escaping death time and again, with Qin Bai's relentless pursuit always behind him.
It was him in the Mist World, struggling to survive, constantly vigilant, like a startled bird—the source of it all pointed to the man before him!
It was the accumulated anger of countless days and nights, burning his soul.
All these years... he had hidden his identity, struggled to survive, and continuously improved his strength.
Wasn't everything he did for the sake of one day standing here openly and demanding repayment for the suffering he endured in the past, with interest?
Now, that moment had finally arrived.
His enemy was right before him, like a lamb to the slaughter.
Su Zhan felt the violent rage that had been suppressed for too long in his chest threatening to burst out.
His fist clenched quietly within his sleeve, and the aura around him rippled uncontrollably.
This caused Situ Hong and Shangguan Xue in the corners to slightly raise their eyelids.
Qin Bai clearly felt that gaze fall upon him.
It was a gaze that seemed to pierce right through him.
The hatred contained within that gaze was so intense, so pure, it made him feel as if he were in a ten-thousand-year ice cave, or as if he were being roasted over raging flames.
Waves of humiliation assaulted his mind, making him wish he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or simply end it all himself.
But he could not.
Or rather, the other party would not give him that opportunity.
In the courtyard, a deathly silence prevailed.
One stood proudly alone, filled with towering rage.
One hung his head, accepting his fate, overwhelmed with humiliation.
Years of enmity condensed at this moment into this oppressive silence.
Su Zhan said coldly, "You never imagined you would end up like this, did you?"
Qin Bai slowly raised his head, a miserable, bitter smile appearing on his face.
"I truly never imagined... that in the end, I would fall into your hands.
I remember the first time I saw you... you had just entered Vermilion Bird Academy not long before, a young man of eighteen or nineteen, naive, with a bit of the arrogance unique to geniuses.
Back then... you had just started cultivating, a mere Dew Realm nobody.
And now? In just six or seven short years... you are already an Ocean Realm powerhouse... Hah, the world is unpredictable, truly... unpredictable."
The ferocity in Su Zhan's eyes grew a few degrees colder. "Is that all? Say what you need to say, what you want to say. Otherwise... you won't get another chance."
These words shattered the final pretense in Qin Bai's heart.
The resentment suppressed for too long surged forth violently.
"Fine! I'll say it!"
Qin Bai abruptly straightened his spine. "I, Qin Bai! Since joining the Aberrant Purge Division, have been diligent in my duties, rising early and retiring late.
For over a decade, I have cracked one hundred and thirty-seven major cases of aberrant infiltration. The number of aberrants of all levels I have personally slain or captured is beyond count.
Every single scar, large or small, on my body was earned for Daxia!
What I maintained was the order of Daxia. What I eradicated were the cancers that endanger humanity.
My methods may have been harsh, I may have been intolerant of dissidents, but I, Qin Bai, ask myself with a clear conscience: everything I did was for the stability of Daxia!
And the result?
The result is being heartlessly discarded, escorted here like a dead dog.
While you, an unidentified monster, can stand here, judging me from on high?!"
Qin Bai stared fixedly at Su Zhan. "History will prove it! Future generations will judge! I, Qin Bai, may not be a perfect man, but I am absolutely a loyal servant of Daxia!
I am the sharpest blade of the Aberrant Purge Division!
My merits and faults are not for you, an aberrant, to judge!"
Su Zhan looked at the man before him who had once held the power of life and death over him.
Now, he could only cling to touting his "loyalty" to maintain his last shred of dignity.
Su Zhan found it utterly laughable.