Chapter 589: Shackles of the Human Heart

Chapter 589: The Shackles of the Human Heart

"To be honest, which one of us is older? We need to settle this, otherwise I always feel like I'm at a disadvantage."

On the way to the gold temple in Qu Xigou, Zhang Siren leaned close to Li Jun and asked with a smile, his face flushed.

His appearance at that moment was truly miserable.

He wore a torn green robe, and his already unremarkable face was further marred by a swollen eye, making him look particularly miserable.

But even in this state, he was still restless on the journey, constantly trying to chat with Li Jun in different ways.

From Jiulong Street in Chengdu Prefecture to Nanjing City in Southern Zhili, he asked about every detail and was particularly interested in Li Jun's experiences.

"This."

Li Jun gave a cold glance and clenched his fist impatiently, "Is this big enough?"

"It's enough, more than enough."

Zhang Siren swallowed nervously and moved his feet wisely, getting closer to the Horse King.

"Horse King, there's a rumor in the new Donglin Party that you were a remarkable figure in the Ming Ghost Realm before. Could you tell me about your past glorious deeds?"

The Horse King's dim red eyes lit up slightly, and he broke out of his idle state.

"Do you have a young and beautiful biological aunt?"

Zhang Siren was taken aback by the question and hadn't had time to think about how to answer when the Horse King said, "If you have one, you can ask me anything. If you don't, go play over there."

"No biological aunt, okay?"

"Do you think I'm the kind of person who doesn't have specific preferences?"

Zhang Siren asked seriously, "What about brothers and sisters?"

"Then I would be one generation younger than your father. Get lost."

The Horse King waved his hand to dismiss him, and the red light in his helmet faded, leaving the ink armor maintaining a constant distance and following Li Jun.

"Uninteresting, you people are so uninteresting!"

Zhang Siren was filled with melancholy and sighed to the sky, but he dared not disturb Li Jun and the Horse King again, so he turned his attention to Duntzu beside him.

"Duntzu, how old are you now?"

The barbarian man, who was a head taller than Zhang Siren, immediately broke into a silly smile and answered honestly.

"In response to the master's question, I don't remember."

'Master' was the title Zhang Siren requested, and every time he heard Duntzu call him that, he felt comfortable all over.

It was just like Zou Si Jiu.

Zhang Siren wondered, "It's normal not to know when or where you died, but how could you not know when you were born?"

"I was picked up by Jian Jiu's father in Jinzhu Village, and I've forgotten everything about my past." Duntzu said in a hoarse voice.

"Your life is really miserable. But don't be discouraged. I thought I was an orphan before I reached adulthood, but later I found my biological father. Maybe you'll remember one day too?"

Zhang Siren patted Duntzu on the shoulder in comfort, "Looking at your big and sturdy build, you must be quite likable. Tell me honestly, do you have a girl you like?"

"No."

Duntzu scratched his head and revealed a row of white, even teeth in a smile.

"You're a man, why are you so shy? If you have one, just say so, and I'll help you get married later."

Zhang Siren patted his chest, "Let me tell you, there are countless people outside the barbarian land who cry and beg to see you, the master. We're destined to meet, and I'll help you for free. Just be happy about it."

Duntzu shook his head, "Master, really no."

"Really no?"

Zhang Siren looked suspicious, "Okay, I know a really nice girl in Qu Xicheng. She sings very well, and her cattle and sheep are also healthy. She looks like a good wife and mother. I'll introduce you to her later."

"Thank you, master."

Duntzu made a gesture with his hand behind his butt and asked with a smile, "Is it big?"

"What big or small?"

Zhang Siren's eyes moved downward, and his facial expression instantly stiffened.

"You're a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, you look like a decent person. How could you be interested in this?"

"I like it, to have babies."

"Okay!"

Zhang Siren didn't care whether it was true or not and just insisted on it.

"Then I don't want it, thank you, master."

Upon hearing Duntzu's answer, Zhang Siren couldn't help but show a surprised expression.

"Didn't you want it to be big? Now you're refusing it. I think you need to be taught a lesson. How dare you mock the master?"

"Master, don't be angry. It's because I'm not planning to have a child."

Duntzu's eyes were clear, and his face still bore a smile, but the words he spoke were like a heavy stone falling into Zhang Siren's heart.

Li Jun, who was walking ahead, also slowed down, and his eyebrows slowly furrowed.

Although he had promised Duntzu when they were in Jinzhu Village to teach him martial arts,

On the journey, he and Duntzu hardly chatted, except for discussing the road and dismantling temples. In their free time, they only instructed each other on martial arts practice.

What was going on in the mind of this barbarian man who had experienced great changes, Li Jun didn't know.

"Why?"

Zhang Siren's voice sounded low and hoarse.

"Because this place is not good, and coming here brings suffering."

Duntzu's Mandarin wasn't very good. The previous sentences were spoken with difficulty, but this one was spoken very clearly.

In fact, how could someone as smart as Zhang Siren not know the answer?

He asked this just to change the topic and find a way to comfort the other person.

But when he actually heard the answer, Zhang Siren found himself at a loss for words. He had a whole heart full of human feelings and gentlemanly principles, but he couldn't find a single appropriate word to say.

Because Duntzu was telling the truth, there was no way to argue with him, and he couldn't offer any comfort.

"How can it be suffering? You're now on the path of martial arts alone. Do you know what that represents?"

Zhang Siren tried to ease the extremely tense atmosphere and pointed to Li Jun's back.

"Look at your master, how powerful is he? You can be like him too, and you can completely change the current situation in the barbarian land with your own fists. Or do you not want to do that?"

Duntzu nodded vigorously, "I want to, for other people's children."

Zhang Siren's ugly smile slowly faded, and he remained silent for a long time before speaking softly.

"Duntzu, why not for your own child?"

"I probably won't live long."

Dong Zhu answered without hesitation, laughing as if he had no heart or lungs.

Zhang Siyuan opened his mouth, his face full of guilt and regret.

Damn it.

Li Jun's steps halted abruptly; his fists clenched with a crackling boom, and a terrifying aura radiated from his body, the boiling murderous energy swirling like snow falling from the heavens.

Seeing the scene, the straightforward Dong Zhu thought he had spoken wrongly, his face betraying self-reproach and unease.

Yet, ever the unskilled speaker, he did not know how to apologize.

At the moment the atmosphere grew oppressive and inexpressible, the discerning Marquess Ma returned from the Realm of Bright Spirits, breaking the deadlock.

Zhang family's son, behind the chaos of the foreign lands lies the shadow of the Agrarian Order; do you know of this matter?

I know.

Zhang Siyuan hurried down the slope on a donkey, hurriedly saying, “When I first entered the foreign lands, I sensed something odd behind the chaos of the monsters; I set out to investigate, but the clues I found were almost nothing more than fanciful folk tales, of little value.”

The only certainty was that an organization called Shiji had been lurking in the foreign lands for a long time.

The Marquess Ma, astonished, asked, “Even within your new Donglin faction, do you not understand them?”

The Agrarian Order, this lineage, had little presence to begin with; amid the two waves of technological and mystical methods that swept the entire Ming, they seemed to have little active display, and their activities in the empire's heartland were almost all mundane dealings concerning the poor, ever compliant and self-contained.

Zhang Siyuan recalled intelligence on the Agrarian Order, speaking gravely, “Within the Confucian Sequence, many clans had deliberately cultivated talents of this lineage, even keeping the household slaves of the fourth master of the Agrarian Quadrant as pets.”

But their performance was mediocre; their combat power and potential held little interest. Conversely, the effort expended was far greater than training a fourth soldier; over time, the Confucian Sequence ceased to pay them attention.

Only the worthless, yet there is no worthless lineage; these were the words of Emperor Yizong. Moreover, the Agrarian gene's history outlasts any of the three teachings; if it were truly mediocre, how could it survive until now?

The Marquess Ma said, “Moreover, even you have not unearthed their secrets, deeming them unworthy of attention; does that not indicate that this lineage is deeply concealed?”

The logic is thus.

Zhang Siyuan frowned, “But if this is truly the case, the Agrarian Order's concealment is perhaps too deep. Many among them are not stamped with Confucian Sequence marks; if even this remains unclear, there is only one possibility.”

The Agrarian Orders active within the empire are all false! They are deliberately released smoke to mislead the eyes!

Zhang Siyuan solemnly said, “Only those within Shiji may truly be the Agrarian Order!”

This deduction was truly shocking to hear.

One must know that the Agrarian Orders within the empire are not few, and they hold a substantial base.

If they were truly all counterfeit, this claim would be somewhat exaggerated.

Moreover, could genes and lineages be fabricated?

The Marquess Ma found it unlikely, yet the other was the son of Zhang Fengyue, whose knowledge far exceeded his own.

Zhang family's boy, what level is your “number” art?

Zhang Siyuan calmly replied, “Average.”

How average?

You can calculate what day of the month it is today.

That’s fine, wait a moment, what

But truly it was then, when the moment arrived, she found herself back in a place so different, swapping such a humble price for such pure computational power? The endless white expanse remained unchanged, and the clouds drifted farther away with each passing thought.

It was during her silent contemplation that a sudden jolt struck her. “What is this?” she murmured, her mind still caught in the haze.

Before her, a blur of snowflakes revealed a figure cloaked in robes—distinctly Buddhist, yet unmistakably out of place. The robes were tattered, revealing muscular arms, and her face bore a wild beard tangled with filth. A deep, primal energy radiated from her body.

Yet within the calm of her gaze, a figure emerged from the swirling snow, indistinct in form. “Who are you?” she asked, voice trembling.

The figure straightened, eyes wide with fear. “I am a servant of the Buddha, but I am far from my true calling. I have been captured by forces beyond my understanding.”

A shiver ran through her. “You’ve been taken? What happened?”

The servant hesitated, then bowed deeply. “I was taken by a demon who sought to disrupt the sacred order. Now I am bound here, in this world of chaos.”

She looked down at her hands, which were clutching the chains that bound her. “What have you done to them?”

The servant’s voice was barely a whisper, but the words carried weight: “I have stolen the seeds of other realms, sold them to the court of the cause of retribution. Now I am nothing more than a pawn in your schemes.”

Her heart ached with sorrow. “You’ve broken them?”

The servant nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. “Yes. And now, I am nothing but a shadow of what I once was.”

With a soft sigh, she lifted her hands and released the chains. The servant’s eyes softened, and she stepped forward, offering her hand. “Come, let us find a way to restore what is right.”

And in that moment, beneath the endless snow, a fragile hope flickered to life.