1612 A Tragic City

“Warriors from Subduing Demon City are here!”

“The Sacred Covenant is about to be fulfilled! Everyone, quick come out and receive them!”

Walking along the narrow underground streets of the city, Xia Fan and the others received an enthusiastic welcome, as if they were emperors. The Shimmer race was cheering, surrounding the trio as they echoed the slogan, ‘Long live the Demon Slayer Legion!’.

“I don’t get why they are so excited. It’s been days since I last showered…” Traveling Buddha lowered his head and rubbed his armpits.

!!
The three of them were a mess. Not only had they not washed for days, they were also giving off the stench of sea water and dead bodies. Even the clothes they were wearing were already in tatters, looking more like three beggars in ragged clothes.

Nikai had plenty of perfume in her spatial ring, and she originally wanted to use it to mask the embarrassing smells on them, but Xia Fan stopped her, so as to prevent the fragrance from attracting the creatures found in this strange buffer zone.

“They… they are all very enthusiastic,” Nikai agreed, somewhat embarrassed.

Despite their strange appearance, the Shimmers were all very gentlemanly. Children surrounded Nikai and presented her with the prettiest flowers, weaving them together into a garland and respectfully handing them to her. In no time at all, Nikai was given so many that her arms were filled with hundreds of little flowers.

“Will the covenant finally be fulfilled? Are we really able to leave this place and head to like where sun shines?” a scrawny little girl hugged Nikai’s thigh and asked, her eyes glistening in excitement.

Covenant?

Nikai was confused. She had no idea what agreement the Demon Slayer Legion made with the Shimmer race was about. All she knew was what the Survival Handbook stated, that the Shimmer race was an ally in the buffer zone, and if they ever found themselves in danger, they could attempt to pray for aid. Nothing else was stated.

“How rude. Quick apologize to the big sister!” The mother of the little girl quickly freed her grip on Nikai.

“Sorry. I simply wish to see real sunlight very much, as well as the big and open land, rolling mountains and expansive sea, and all the other fishes in the sea. I even dream about it when I sleep,” the little girl softly whispered as she lowered her head, before she was pulled aside by her apologetic mother.

Honestly, the smile on her mother’s face was not pretty, but it was very warm. The corners of her lips turned up, revealing a row of sharp teeth, like a golden retriever that would feel thrilled after seeing its owner come home from work.

Actually, there was a very simple method to see if someone was innocent or otherwise: just look into their eyes! A truly radiant smile would not only have the corners of her lips curling up, but there would also be a kind look in their eyes.

The Disasters were old hands, outstanding individuals who had ran rampant across Ashen Moon’s underbelly. They had taught Xia Fan how to read people, helping him avoid incurring the wrath of others by losing them face. Though they had hoped Xia Fan could become a good person, they did not want him to be bullied by the bad people, either.

“I think I know what you mean,” Xia Fan replied to Cid Raleigh. “The Shimmers look so ugly to the point they are frightening to behold, but they are actually innocent and kind in their hearts. Their children do not lie or hide their intentions. They were really looking forward to the Demon Slayer Legion coming here, but there’s still something I don’t quite understand; just what is this covenant that they had mentioned? Could there have been some sort of agreement between them and the Legion?”

‘That is a very tragic tale,’ Cid Raleigh sighed in Xia Fan’s mind. ‘Forget it. Let me rest first. It’s better for the Shimmers themselves to tell you about it.’

…

…

Water was the source to all life, and Holy Spring City had shallow ditches running along both sides of every street. After the spring water gushed out, it would flow along to every household, allowing people to cook, clean, water their plants and trees, and wash their clothes.

“It’s so unexpected to learn that the most imposing building in this city would actually be a school. I was even thinking it was some conference hall that the elders used, or a treasury that was used to store the city’s wealth!” Traveling Buddha mused.

The three of them had been invited to a classroom. It was said that the highest display of etiquette from the Shimmers was that their children were their hope, and the place where said children would study was viewed as the most sacred location. There could not be any other building that could be taller than the school. Even their temple would have to be a level lower!

Xia Fan really liked the philosophy of the Shimmers. Forever putting the welfare and the education of their children first, it was said that the City Lord was also the principal of the school!

Their premier leader of the Shimmer was a teacher, who did not have any martial prowess. He was only responsible for the children’s education, something simply unimaginable in a world where might was right.

They entered what seemed like a classroom for high school students, given that their desks were much wider, an adult able to sit in them. Even a fairly chubby human like Traveling Buddha could sit comfortably in one. There were books neatly placed on the table, and the teacher’s preparation coursework on the podium. The floor, tables, and chairs were all spotless, too.

Nikai curiously sat herself down in a chair, and opened the textbook on the desk. She wondered what they were learning, but several minutes later, Xia Fan saw Nikai’s eyes turn slightly red, her hands trembling slightly as she held the book in hand.

“You guys should see this for yourselves.”

Nikai shoved the textbook in her hand to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. The two lowered their heads and looked in it, only to find it was a very specialized course. The content of what they were studying roughly went like this:

First it emphasized that covenants were sacred and inviolable. Then it mentioned how many years ago, an exploration team from Subduing Demon City arrived, having been chased after by evil Demi-dragons. Exhausted and barely alive, it was the mystical water and this city that protected them.

The Shimmers welcomed this group of strangers as the most honored of guests, treating them to the best food and clothes, before helping this team of bereaved dogs recuperate their strength. Before they left, the warriors announced that they would return sooner or later, hoping that the Shimmer race would help them spy on the buffer zone, and gather information on their behalf. They accepted the Shimmer as members of Subduing Demon City, so that they could eventually leave this gloomy underground world and head on up to live with the sunshine and the animals on the mainland.

They had most likely said this offhandedly, like the words of dying men. If someone said that they could save another, that person would agree to everything; betrothing their daughter and giving away all their family assets… In any case, as long as they could survive, they were willing to promise anything.

But if this person were to really survive, and expect him to give his daughter’s hand in marriage and his family assets, then his answer would not come as readily as it had before. In the Survival Handbook that Xia Fan saw, there was just a small line of words written with regard to the Shimmers: When in danger, you can attempt to make contact with the Holy Spring City for help.

But the Shimmers had taken the statement as truth, and had even written this agreement with the Demon Slayer Legion into their children’s textbooks. Xia Fan finally understood why the Shimmers were so excited when they saw humans arriving. Many were so excited that they were in tears. The children danced and cheered, almost as if it was the most wondrous occasion in the world.

That was because they truly believed that the humans would honor their word, taking on huge risks to carve out a path through the buffer zone, and uplift these poor people living underground to a warm and vibrant place.

“So that’s why,” Traveling Buddha scratched his head. “This feels very awkward. I reckon Subduing Demon City hardly treated this matter seriously, otherwise why would we not have heard about it?”

“Furthermore, it was probably far too difficult to get so many people out of the buffer zone. When we came, we had to go through the Demi-dragons’ lair. We only managed to survive the journey because we were hardy enough, and Xia Fan was fast enough. How could anyone bring an entire city of these people to the surface like that? I’m afraid we’d need several hundred Xia Fan’s to do it!”

“Speaking of which, there do not seem to be any adult males among the Shimmers. About eighty to ninety percent of them are women and children, or they are either too old to the point they have trouble walking. Where did all their adult males go?”

Xia Fan wrinkled his brow, “On the outskirts of the city, near the moat. Do you two remember that huge graveyard?”

“I do. The Shimmer’s graveyard was very unique, and every grave was in the shape of a small pyramid, looking like a ground full of nails. In the beginning, I even thought they were traps set up to prevent enemies from encroaching on their city,” Traveling Buddha said.

Xia Fan nodded, “I noticed the text on the tombstones, and that was where the explorers were buried. The content carved on each of them were more or less the same: explorer so and so, a time when they entered into some place, and their subsequent unfortunate end they encountered.”

Silence.

Dead silence.

A handful of minutes that went by where no one said a word.

“Did the Shimmers take everything said to heart? Sending all their able-bodied men out to be explorers for the Subduing Demon City? As more and more of these explorers died, Holy Spring City finally were just left with the old and the children, all for the sake of a promise said in the past, they just sacrificed all their young men?” Traveling Buddha asked in a hoarse voice.

“Yes, that looks to be the case,” Xia Fan affirmed. “I reckon maybe one or two of the warriors that departed from Holy Spring City all those years back successfully returned to Subduing Demon City, relaying what happened to the City Lords.”

“The City Lords did not think much of it due to cognitive inertia. After all, Subduing Demon City did not have a good understanding of the Shimmer Race, nor did they believe that they would actually end up so desperately gathering information for the city.

“As for bringing the Shimmers away… That’s even more impossible. It would require the mobilization of a huge number of troops, making a great sacrifice just to carve out a bloody path to the buffer zone.

“As time passed, the Demon Slayer Legion slowly forgot about this matter, which was why there’s only just a simple line in the Survival Handbook when mentioning Holy Spring City, to seek them for help. No one could verify if the Shimmers would uphold the agreement made with the Legion.”

“Curses!” Traveling Buddha stomped a leg fitfully. “This isn’t good! Though the Subduing Demon City has ignored it, the Shimmers have been sending all their young men to their deaths, all for the sake of what they call the Sacred Covenant!

“The three of us entered Holy Spring City like beaten dogs, only to be viewed by the Shimmers as people coming to fulfill the covenant. But none of them realize that we lack the strength to bring them back, and just like the last batch of warriors that came, we also barely escaped with our lives. Not only are we unable to help them, we even need them to lend us a hand once again!”

Traveling Buddha’s face was dark. Though he was not the one who had made the initial agreement, he was feeling down in the pits right now.

With so many innocent children crowding them, viewing them as the hope that would allow them to leave this gloomy and cold underground, so that they could head to paradise where milk and honey flowed freely… Just looking at them, accepting their hospitality and cheer, yet knowing deep down that they were just lost dogs and there was nothing they could do.

The following days, they would still have to thicken their skin and eat and drink their food, before finally leaving. Before leaving, they would even say another lie, “You must all be patient and continue waiting. We’ll come back and get all of you very soon.”

But they would leave and not return, leaving these innocent Shimmers to continue scouting and gathering information for humans, sacrificing the best of their young men as they expectantly waited for a promise that would never be fulfilled.