Chapter 254: A World Where Only Commander Huang Gets Hurt

When Jiang Li found Commander Huang, he saw him sitting next to a stall, chatting with the vendor.
This place was very remote, the stall’s business wasn’t good, and Commander Huang was its only customer.
The stall vendor wore a gray cloth robe, had set up a small table covered in white cloth, and placed a flag behind him—it was the complete look of a fortune-teller.
The flag read “Psychological Counseling.”
“???” Jiang Li was stunned by this new industry in the Nine Provinces.
“Psychological counseling?” Commander Huang had stopped here precisely because of the flag and started chatting with the vendor.
“As you can see, fellow cultivator, this stall exists to provide psychological counseling and life guidance.”
The vendor said with melancholy, “Beneath the surface of peace in the Nine Provinces, there is still conflict and casualties. Although things have improved greatly compared to five hundred years ago, it’s still not as peaceful as the Mingzhong World. I’ve heard that Mingzhong is open and peaceful—no violent crimes for years. We Nine Provinces may be powerful, but in terms of peace, we fall a bit short.”
“Cultivators constantly face danger and death. Over time, it’s only natural for psychological issues to develop. I too had a tragic past. Life felt meaningless, and I wanted to end it all. But later I realized that was just escapism. I had to face my suffering head-on.”
“Then I thought, my experience wasn’t unique. Many cultivators must be under mental strain, struggling with dark thoughts. So why not help others, relieve their burdens, and do some good for the world?”
“Fellow cultivator, that is a noble cause.” Commander Huang was moved by the vendor’s virtuous intent.
“To be honest, I feel ashamed. You’re out here saving others, while I sit in self-pity, stuck in my lonely little world. In your presence, I feel utterly unworthy.” Commander Huang’s eyes reddened, on the verge of tears, and the air around him grew gloomy.
“Don’t say that. I set up this little stall precisely to help cultivators like you.” The vendor waved his hand. His mental resilience was strong—he wasn’t affected at all by Commander Huang’s oppressive cultivation aura. “May I ask your name?”
“My surname is Huang, I’m a commander of the Human Sovereign Hall.”
Commander Huang continued, “I’ve had bad luck since I was born. I grew up in a small village. One day, I wanted to visit the big city, so my father carried me in a basket along with a load of grain to sell at the market. One end of the pole was me, the other end was the grain. After selling the grain, he forgot about me and went home.”
“I was just a kid and didn’t know the way back, so I wandered around. A human trafficker spotted me and sold me to a Demonic Cultivator. That cultivator practiced a technique called ‘Tear-Dried Gut-Wrenching Art’—the more tragedy it created, the faster it advanced. He planned to torment me for cultivation. Fortunately, he went insane and burned himself to death.”
“I was only three. I didn’t know much about cultivation. I didn’t know about right or wrong, or about basic foundational techniques like the ‘Spiritual Energy Diagram.’ I just started cultivating that technique on my own.”
“I didn’t have a choice. I was trapped in the cave. Only those who practiced that art could open the exit. There was no food or water. To escape, I had to cultivate that method.”
“Later, I learned more and realized the technique was evil. But it was too late—my spiritual roots had already become entangled with it. Even if I wanted to cripple my cultivation and start over, I couldn’t.”
“Luckily, I’ve always had bad luck. I don’t need to create tragedy—my life is one big tragedy.”
“When I was breaking through from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, my energy circulation went wrong. I dropped from the ninth level of Qi Refining back to the eighth, then cultivated back up, failed again, and dropped again. This happened five times before I finally succeeded.”
“…Fellow Huang, your Foundation is really solid.” The vendor’s mouth twitched. He didn’t know what else to say.
“When forming my Core, I found a quiet cave. Then a landslide hit. I did form my Core, but I was buried alive and almost suffocated.”
“Later, I joined a team of seven for an expedition—four men, three women. Three couples retired together. Only I was left.”
“I tried to start a sect, but it failed due to poor management. The treasury went bankrupt, and I had to disband it.”
“I went to a temple to draw a fortune stick. Always drew the worst ones. One time I finally drew a mid-level fortune and was thrilled—until I realized the entire barrel was full of good fortunes. Mine was the only mid-level one.”
“I even met someone I loved, vowed I’d marry no one but her—only to find out she had a son the same age as me.”
“…” The vendor had met all kinds of people through his work, but he had never seen luck as tragic as Commander Huang’s.
It was a miracle he was still alive—must be thanks to the Human Sovereign’s blessing.
“But tragedy doesn’t only befall you, Fellow Huang,” the vendor offered his own story.
“I had a modest business in the Tianyuan Dynasty and a decent family background. I grew up with my younger sister—she was my only family, my emotional anchor. Losing her would have destroyed me.”
“Who would’ve thought she’d go missing for thirty years while out on a mission, then suddenly show up again, saying she fell in love with her mission target, wanted to get married, and was quitting Heaven’s Kill… quitting the organization. She even invited me to the wedding feast.”
“I coughed up blood for three days, fell into despair, and left the organization.”
“It took me years to come to terms with it. My sister would have married eventually. Clinging to the past wouldn’t help me move forward.”
“Then I achieved enlightenment and started doing psychological counseling.”
Though not as tragic as Commander Huang’s, the vendor’s story was sad enough to ease Huang’s pain a bit.
“Brother?” A sweet voice tinged with surprise rang out. The vendor turned around and saw it was his sister—tears immediately filled his eyes.
“Why aren’t you with your husband anymore?”
Seeing her brother, she wept with joy, covering her mouth as she cried.
“Don’t mention that heartless man—he’s dead!” she said bitterly, then smiled like a flower. “Brother, can we go home together?”
“Yes.” The vendor was overjoyed. He packed up his table and chairs and went home with his sister.
Heaven’s Kill Pavilion and its assassins had vanished along with the Tianyuan Imperial City. She thought her brother, the pavilion master, had perished in that disaster and was overwhelmed with grief.
Later, her husband died mysteriously in the Great Zhou Dynasty. No one even knew who killed him.
While going through his belongings, she discovered he had colluded with the Vice Pavilion Master of Heaven’s Kill Pavilion to manipulate her.
Her marriage had been an outright conspiracy. Her husband only wanted to use her body.
Depressed, she wandered near the Human Sovereign Hall, hoping the celebration would help her forget.
Then she heard there was a psychological counselor and came to visit—only to discover it was her brother!
And so came the emotional reunion of brother and sister, which moved Commander Huang to tears.
Finally, he met someone as unlucky as he was—and the guy reunited with his long-lost sister on the spot.
The vendor took away the bench, and Commander Huang had nowhere to sit. He could only stand there, all alone.
Jiang Li decided it was best to let Commander Huang have some quiet time, and quickly pulled Li Nian’er away.