Chapter 23: Feilu's Tears

  Concentrate one's mind and capture three souls at once.

  Shen Dou relied on the Jiuyou Duijian Jue passed down by his master to become the Martial King of Shacheng in one battle.

  Later, Feilu told him:

  "The Sand City Martial King is the highest honor of the Sand City Swordsmen, and every swordsman who becomes the Sand City Martial King will bear the heavy responsibility of defending the glory of Sand City."

  But in an era of peace and prosperity, what kind of glory is there to defend?

  About seven days later, Feilu came to Shendu's room with blood all over his body and a flustered expression. The charming face showed an unprecedented look of panic that Shendu had never seen before.

  "Feilu, what's wrong with you? What happened?" Shen Dou also asked anxiously as he stepped forward, preparing to go outside the door to check on the situation.

  But was pulled back by Feilu, who said lightly, "Don't go out, things have been settled."

  Feilu's body swayed and almost fell, and he immediately reached out to grab Feilu's arm. Only then did he realize that Feilu's body was shaking uncontrollably, as if he had suffered a severe injury, and his breathing was also somewhat disordered.

  "Shendu, I want you to promise me one thing, protect all living beings in Shazhou, don't let those disabled old soldiers who retired from the battlefield get hurt." Feilu's eyes were full of pleading, and he was even a little short of breath as he spoke, his body starting to sway back and forth.

  Shen Du immediately thought of the decadent young and old people on the street, his eyes became slightly moist, and he took Fei Lu into his arms, saying softly: "Okay, I promise you, please tell me what happened!"

  "Ah!" Fei Lu leaned into Shen Du's embrace, gazing up at Shen Du's dark and moist eyes, feeling an indescribable emotion, but only lightly said: "Help me sit down in the chair."

  Shen Du carefully helped Fei Lu onto the chair, knelt down in front of Fei Lu's knees, and quietly waited for Fei Lu's answer. First time update.

  "Hmm!" Fei Lu exhaled a breath, closed his eyes again, took a deep breath, and slowly said: "The people of Mo Du have come to provoke us once more. It seems that this time, they are determined to conquer Sha Cheng."

  "Mo Du?" Shen suddenly remembered, he had heard it from Chen Tao a few days ago. Chen Tao killed the third son of Demon King Han Xuan, could it be because of this matter?

  "Yes, the hatred accumulated over thousands of years between the Dragon Blood Empire and the Imperial Empire is probably going to be thoroughly triggered at this time." Fei Lu said with a heavy face.

  Shen Dou gazed at Fei Lu's face, feeling that she seemed to be thinking about many things and was also afraid of many things.

  "Feilu, are you afraid?" Shen Du asked.

  "I'm scared, really scared." Feilu furrowed his brow, gazing intently at Shendu's expression, as if he was about to place all his hopes on him.

  Shen Dou looked at Fei Lou with determination and said firmly: "Don't be afraid, I'm here, I definitely won't let you get hurt in the slightest!"

  It's also unknown why, but Feilu had an inexplicable trust in Shendu, and it wasn't just because Shendu used three years to leap from a useless person to a mid-level strong swordsman. It was more of an intuition. With a faint smile at Shendu, he said with a relieved expression: "Thank you, Shendu."

  "No! Feilu, it's I who should be thanking you. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have lost my life already. This life of mine was saved by you, and even if I were to die, I will protect you completely." Shen Du couldn't help but grasp Feilu's trembling hands, as if deeply afraid that Feilu wouldn't trust him.

  The warmth of Shen Du's palm made Fei Lu feel an unprecedented sense of security, and she opened her heart, shedding two crystal tears, choking with sobs: "Shen Du, do you know? I was originally just a weak woman with no strength to truss a chicken. Ten years ago, at the Sword Trial Conference in Sha City, my father became the new lord of Sha City under the appointment of the old city master, but soon after, Mo Du led his troops to attack, and under the siege of tens of thousands of Mo Du soldiers, my father died without a complete corpse. After that, I vowed to avenge my father and took up the cold iron sword, succeeding as the new lord of Sha City." By this point, Fei Lu was already crying uncontrollably.

  Shen suddenly remembered his own life experience. That year, he was only six years old, and his mother took him to the Yimoshan Mountains to find his father. However, as soon as they entered the depths of the mountains, they encountered a huge demon beast. His mother fought hard to protect him but ultimately got swallowed by the beast.

  It was his grandfather who rescued him and raised him as an adult, personally teaching him swordsmanship.

  He can fully understand Feilu's mood at this moment, that kind of vengeful and urgent mood.

  Then he got up, held Feilu in his arms and said softly: "I understand, from now on, no matter what happens, as long as I still have a breath left, I will not let anyone harm you."

  Feilu was deeply moved by his words and burst into tears in Shen Du's arms.

  It wasn't until much later that the tear stains on Feilu's face had dried, and he wiped his pale face with his hand, calming down his emotions. Slowly and reluctantly, he withdrew from Shendu's embrace, gazing at him with gratitude: "Six years have passed, Shendu. You've been in Shacheng for six years now. In these six years, you've never asked me any questions or made any demands. Don't you ever wonder why we live in a place like this? Why are there so many wounded soldiers here?"

  "Shacheng is a border town of the Empire of Weights and Measures, it's not unusual to have wounded soldiers." Shen Du said calmly.

  "Indeed, but you should know that not everyone is willing to stay in a place like this. It's located in a desolate area and borders the Dragon Blood Empire's Demon City, where we could be attacked at any time and lose our precious lives." Feilu struggled to control his trembling body as he stood up and walked to the window.

  "Hmm." Shen Du heard this and furrowed his brow, waiting for Fei Lu to continue.

  "We are here because our ancestors committed a mortal sin, but the ruler couldn't bear to kill his own kin with his own hands. So he placed our ancestors in the border regions, making them and their descendants eternal guardians of the Empire of Brimstone, thus sparing them from death." - Flewroth, eyes brimming with sorrow.

  "So that's how it is! Haven't you ever thought of resisting?" Shen Dou asked curiously.

  "What rebellion? How can we rebel?" Fei Lu asked back.

  "The current ruler is cruel and inhumane, has long lost the hearts of the people. As long as we raise our arms and shout, I'm sure we can overthrow him and chop that lucky dog into ten thousand pieces!" Shen Du said with a fierce expression.

  Feilu sensed the anger in Shendu's heart, but didn't know what kind of grudge existed between Shendu and Fu Xingbo. He also recalled the time six years ago when he rescued Shendu from the outskirts of the Imperial City, where his meridians were already severely damaged, but due to a special aura in his body, his heart meridian was preserved. Curious, he asked: "What was your original identity?"

  Shen Du was shocked by the words, he had been awake for three years, Fei Lu had never asked himself this question before, today because of his own words, he questioned himself like this, and frowned: "I'm just a member of a third-rate family in the Empire of Brimstone, I don't have any special identity."

  "Oh! So where are your people now?" Feilu continued to ask.

  "They, they, most of them have been killed by scoundrels." Shen Du's fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails dug into his palms, and blood dripped onto the floor.

  Feilu looked at all of this with an expressionless face and said, "It seems that you have already shouldered too many heavy responsibilities. Can you really become the guardian deity of Shacheng?"

  The guardian deity of Shacheng, just this title alone, Shen Du already felt a huge pressure.

  The Demon Capital is about to launch an attack, but how many powerful warriors they will send to besiege Shacheng, Shen doesn't know, and even Feilu doesn't know.

  Shen Dou is just a mid-level swordsman, can he really bear the fate of all living beings in Shachen?

  He didn't dare to answer, in his heart, as long as he could protect Feilu alone, it was already enough.

  Especially after witnessing Feilu's tears, he became even more determined, secretly vowing in his heart that he would never let Feilu make any mistakes. No matter who it was, as long as they offended Feilu, it would be more foolish than provoking him personally. He would definitely make that person pay a heavy and painful price.

  He and Feilu looked at each other for a long time.

  Fei Lu stopped talking and walked out of Shen Du's room with a blank expression, only turning back at the door to say: "Practice your sword well, in ten days we'll stand shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield, together defending against Mo Du's attack."