Chapter 25: The Eternal Life Alliance

"No!"

Zhao Fang shook his head, his face turning even paler.

"The Demon Suppression Division is iron-blooded and ruthless. If I report this truthfully to them, not a single member of my Zhao family will be left alive.

I hope, Lord Shen, for the sake of my twenty years serving as the County Magistrate of Lin'an City, that you can grant my Zhao family a path to survival. Besides, they have no idea about what has been happening here.

As long as you tell the people of the Demon Suppression Division that I was killed by an evil entity and that I knew nothing of the other matters, that will be enough!"

Having finished speaking, Zhao Fang stood up and bowed deeply toward Shen Changqing.

Colluding with evil entities was a capital crime under the laws of the Great Qin, punishable by the extermination of nine generations.

His own death did not matter.

After all, as early as when they began their cooperation, Zhao Fang had considered that the day of exposure would come, so he had already made some psychological preparations for the outcome.

However.

He could die.

But the people of the Zhao family could not die with him.

Whether the Zhao family could find a way to survive now rested entirely on Shen Changqing.

As long as the other party told the truth—that he had not defected to the evil entities—everything would be settled.

"You served as magistrate for twenty years, only to end up on the side of evil. If I were to cover for you, how could I face the lives of the people of Guyue!"

"I have failed the people of Guyue Village, but my Zhao family members are innocent—"

"The Zhao family has received your favors and enjoyed your blessings, living in leisure in Lin'an City for twenty years; naturally, they must bear the corresponding karma. The Demon Suppression Division will provide a fair judgment on this matter."

Shen Changqing interrupted Zhao Fang directly. Nothing was innocent; everything the Zhao family currently possessed had been obtained through Zhao Fang.

Now that Zhao Fang had fallen, the Zhao family had to bear certain consequences.

"Of course, I can give you an opportunity. As long as you answer some questions for me, I will do what I can to help the Zhao family when they face their crisis."

"What do you want to know!" Zhao Fang took several deep breaths, his chest heaving violently.

If he weren't outmatched by Shen Changqing, he would have rushed forward right now to take the other man down with him.

But doing so would only extinguish the last shred of hope for the Zhao family.

With a calm expression, Shen Changqing sat down opposite Zhao Fang, placing his long saber at his side.

"It is simple. What was your primary purpose in cooperating with the evil entities, how did you communicate with them, and whether the evil entities have left any other contingencies in Lin'an City. Tell me everything in detail.

What you say now will serve as the opportunity for the Zhao family to redeem themselves in the future.

Therefore, you know better than I whether this is important or not."

Hearing this, Zhao Fang fell silent.

At this stage, he understood that he had no choice but to speak.

He lowered his head in contemplation for a moment before looking up at Shen Changqing.

"Evil entities possess one great advantage over humans: longevity. The lifespan of an ordinary human is but a few decades; very few truly live past a hundred years. But evil entities are completely different.

My greatest purpose in cooperating with them was to obtain the chance to extend my lifespan.

I am old. Without the help of the evil entities, I might reach my end in another ten or twenty years."

Zhao Fang's voice was calm, but when he spoke of longevity, his eyes grew noticeably fervent.

To him, longevity was a massive temptation.

Otherwise, he would never have resorted to defecting to the evil entities.

Shen Changqing did not interrupt, listening silently to his next words.

"My contact with the evil entities was through Zhuang Mingyuan—the man who just fought you. He is a member of the Eternal Life Alliance. It was through him that I came into contact with the Alliance and the evil entities."

"The Eternal Life Alliance?" Shen Changqing raised an eyebrow. He had heard the name mentioned during the conversation between Zhao Fang and Zhuang Mingyuan.

"The Eternal Life Alliance is an organization of the evil entities. I actually don't know much; I only know that many who defect to the evil entities join the Alliance. I know nothing else."

Zhao Fang shook his head.

Shen Changqing repeated the name "Eternal Life Alliance" in his mind.

The name was quite literal.

Eternal life!

Would everyone who defected to the evil entities obtain eternal life?

At this, he couldn't help but sneer: "Evil entities and humans are adversaries. In the eyes of evil entities, humans are no different from livestock. Even if they truly possessed the method for eternal life, they would not grant it to you."

"Perhaps," Zhao Fang said noncommittally. "But there are already humans within the Eternal Life Alliance who have lived for hundreds of years. For those of us with only a few decades left, hundreds of years is more than enough."

"Does the Eternal Life Alliance have any other tokens besides Zhuang Mingyuan?"

"Yes."

Zhao Fang nodded and pulled a silver-white token from his robe, handing it over. "This is the token of the Eternal Life Alliance. Everyone who joins the Alliance receives a token.

Did you not find a token on Zhuang Mingyuan, Lord Shen?"

As he spoke, he was testing the waters.

In response, Shen Changqing's expression remained unchanged as he took the silver-white token. "No. After I killed him, his body was incinerated immediately. I saw no trace of a token."

His gaze now fell upon the token.

On the front of the silver-white token was an engraved image of a sinister, ferocious demon that made one feel extremely uncomfortable. On the back, two words were carved: *Eternal Life!*

On the other side, Zhao Fang understood.

"No wonder you didn't find a token on him. This token has no flaws, except for one: it is easily incinerated when exposed to fire."

Incinerated by fire.

Shen Changqing nodded slightly, understanding why he hadn't found the token on Zhuang Mingyuan.

Handing the token back, Zhao Fang paused before continuing, "There should be no other Eternal Life Alliance forces in Lin'an City. After all, Lin'an is just a small city; there is no need to invest too much effort here.

Zhuang Mingyuan and that Ghost-level anomaly were likely enough."

Zhao Fang had provided thorough answers to several questions, showing that he was indeed being sincere.

Shen Changqing pondered for a moment. "One last question: have you received any news regarding the Demon Essence Blood?"

"Demon Essence Blood?"

A look of confusion appeared in Zhao Fang's eyes.

Seeing this, Shen Changqing knew that the man knew nothing about the Demon Essence Blood. It seemed Zhao Fang's status within the Eternal Life Alliance was also quite limited.

As he processed this, a moment later, he looked at Zhao Fang with a calm face. "You have said almost everything that needs to be said. For the rest, will you do it yourself, or do you need me to do it personally?"

"There is no need to trouble you, Lord Shen. I will do it myself."

A dagger slid from Zhao Fang's sleeve, and his gaze locked onto Shen Changqing. "I only hope that you are a man of your word and grant my Zhao family a path to survival!"

As the words fell, he plunged the dagger into his own chest!

*Puchi—*