“Holy Son…”
“Holy Son…”
The souls gathered on the table spoke to Fu Ye one after another.
At the words reincarnation, Fu Ye’s nostrils flared. He murmured, “Reincarnation… You want to be reincarnated…”
But Xi Yu’s explanation of what would happen to them still echoed in his ears.
These souls had been trapped for too long. They could no longer be reincarnated.
Was he truly in the wrong?
He had believed that keeping his people here was for their own good, yet now they were telling him they wanted to be reincarnated.
So remaining in Wutong Stronghold had never been what they wanted.
It was what he wanted. He had become so fixated on his own thoughts that he had trapped them until they could no longer be reincarnated.
One wrong step, and every step afterward had been wrong.
What should he do? What on earth was he supposed to do?
Fu Ye collapsed to the floor. He no longer even dared to look at his people, covering his face as though trying to escape from reality.
Xi Yu, meanwhile, paid no attention to his suffering. He merely stared blankly at the young woman who had spoken earlier, unable to recover his composure.
It was only when Fu Ye grabbed the hem of his clothes and pleaded, “Mr. Xi, please. Is there anything you can do…” that Xi Yu abruptly came back to his senses.
Only then did he hear the repeated cries of “reincarnation” rising all around him.
He closed his eyes and swept his long arm through the air. The souls immediately rose from the table, each one enclosed in a tiny bubble.
Fu Ye’s plea had not even reached its end before he fell silent. He stared at the bubbles floating in the air, unable to process what he was seeing.
The girl stood inside her little bubble.
“Holy Son, the immortal big brother is sending us to be reincarnated. See you in our next lives!”
One person floated inside each bubble. Every one of them called out in a different voice, but they all said the same thing.
“Holy Son, see you in our next lives!”
“We’ll meet again in our next lives, Holy Son!”
“See you next time!”
…
Countless voices filled the air, but Xi Yu’s gaze followed the girl who had spoken first until she disappeared from sight.
A mortal had understood that one could not survive by eating other people.
Yet those demons had devoured his mother simply to increase their cultivation.
The corners of Xi Yu’s eyes reddened almost imperceptibly, and his fingertips grew so cold they went numb.
Fu Ye’s eyes were swollen and red. His already frail body could not withstand such an overwhelming surge of emotion. He simply kept his forehead pressed to the ground without lifting his head.
“Thank you for being willing to help my people reincarnate.”
Xi Yu had not done it for Fu Ye. Those souls had been able to remain here only because of Zhuohua.
Without Zhuohua, no matter what Fu Ye had done, he would never have been able to stop those souls from leaving.
In truth, spiritual energy alone could not imprison others. Zhuohua had probably trapped those people inside their bodies in the first place because it feared that Chan Yu would absorb their souls and grow even more powerful.
Those souls harbored neither resentment nor hatred. But no human soul could be so utterly pure. The malice and hostility within them had been absorbed by Chan Yu.
Zhuohua and Chan Yu had kept each other in check. By extracting the sword spirit and transforming it into a human body, they had established that balance. Fu Ye’s obsession, however, was so deep that it generated resentment for Chan Yu to absorb.
Zhuohua had been forced to dispel his obsession by trapping those souls for a thousand years, following the desires in Fu Ye’s heart.
Fu Ye had been consumed by obsession, but ultimately, he bore responsibility as well.
Now that his obsession had finally dissipated, Xi Yu was simply sending those souls to reincarnation to settle a karmic debt.
“I was willing to send those people away because they were unable to be reincarnated in the first place due to Zhuohua,” Xi Yu said. “But you… your sins are unforgivable.”
……………………….
“I know,” Fu Ye said.
He knew he was going to die. The astrolabe had foretold it: the final thread of vitality sustaining Wutong Stronghold would be severed.
There had long been no living people in Wutong Stronghold. That last thread of vitality was him.
He had always depended on Zhuohua to survive. Once Zhuohua left, he would inevitably die.
He was not afraid of death. He had tried to keep Xi Yu there only because, if he died, his people would die with him.
Now that his people had been reincarnated, he would have to bear the consequences of his own wrongdoing.
Whether he had to endure boiling oil or be cast into the cycle of animal rebirth, he was willing to accept it.
Xi Yu lowered his eyes to Fu Ye, who remained prostrate on the floor, and his gaze grew profound.
Outside the barrier, separated from the room by a single door, Sangbiao was being pinned against the wall by Luo Cheng’an.
“I don’t want to kill anyone in front of him. Don’t push me too far,” Luo Cheng’an said, his brows tightly furrowed. This irritating cat was driving him mad.
Sangbiao bared his fangs and roared, “Let go of me! I want to go in and find Fu Ye! I want to see Fu Ye!”
Xi Yu had thrown him out. Fu Ye would undoubtedly try every possible means to exchange his own life for those of his people.
Besides, Xi Yu clearly wasn’t a merciful man. He had talked about boiling oil and being cast into the cycle of animal rebirth!
Fu Ye was frail. How could he possibly endure such suffering? Sangbiao had to take his place.
Somehow, Sangbiao found the strength to shove Luo Cheng’an away. He transformed into his beast form.
He was no longer the cat that had previously been about the size of a human forearm. Instead, he became an enormous feline standing a full three meters tall. His fur bristled all over, and his broken tail was as thick as a human arm.
Luo Cheng’an drew a deep breath.
“You think getting bigger means you can beat me?”
Sangbiao didn’t answer. He simply hurried toward the door. When the barrier repelled him and sent him flying, he let out an “Awooo!” before quickly scrambling back and charging at it again, undeterred.
Whenever a barrier was disturbed, the person who had established it could sense the disturbance.
Luo Cheng’an didn’t want Sangbiao to bother Xi Yu, but as he moved, something struck him as odd. He turned to look at Lu Zhixing, who was still kneeling perfectly upright.
“Why aren’t you stopping him?”
Why was he the one who had to fight this suicidal cat? He couldn’t even kill the creature, which made the whole thing unbearably frustrating.
Lu Zhixing’s face was expressionless.
“If I use demonic energy, Master will hate me.”
“Oh.” Luo Cheng’an continued fighting Sangbiao, yet still found time to take a jab at Lu Zhixing. “You think he won’t hate you if you don’t use demonic energy?”
Lu Zhixing shot him a cold look.
“Then if he doesn’t hate you, why won’t he let you into the room?”
Luo Cheng’an’s foot faltered. Sangbiao seized the opportunity and kicked him away.
Luo Cheng’an fell backward. Lu Zhixing, whose knees had not moved for three days, finally shifted. He moved slightly to the side, and Luo Cheng’an landed squarely where he had been kneeling.
Lu Zhixing looked down at Luo Cheng’an sidelong, a trace of mockery flickering across his lips.
Luo Cheng’an gritted his teeth and snapped at Sangbiao, who was still frantically pawing at the door.
“You really have a death wish, don’t you?”
With that, Luo Cheng’an leaped into the air, flames gathering in his hand.
He was going to burn this ignorant, overconfident cat until it was completely bald!
But before he could hurl the flames at Sangbiao, the tightly shut door finally creaked open.
Luo Cheng’an instinctively extinguished the flames and clasped his hands behind his back.
Lu Zhixing stiffened and stared at the doorway.
When Fu Ye stepped out, disappointment appeared simultaneously in the eyes of Lu Zhixing and Luo Cheng’an.
Only Sangbiao immediately transformed back into human form and threw himself at Fu Ye, wrapping his arms around him.
“You’re all right… Thank goodness you’re all right…”
He had nearly thought Fu Ye would never come out again.
Although he had never encountered an immortal before, the three he had met this time all seemed like bad people.
He hated them. Their arrival had shattered all the peace that had once existed within Wutong Stronghold.
Most of all, he was terrified that Fu Ye really would end up where Xi Yu had said—sent to the Hall of Yama, thrown into boiling oil, and cast into the cycle of animal rebirth.
Fu Ye patted Sangbiao’s shoulder and softly comforted him.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m fine.”
Then Fu Ye turned his head.
Xi Yu slowly emerged from the room. Lu Zhixing’s dim eyes suddenly blazed with hope.
Xi Yu did not spare him a single glance. He merely said to Fu Ye, “Think it over. Tell me when you’ve made up your mind.”
“All right.” Fu Ye looked at Xi Yu gratefully. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank your people.”
A brief flicker of bewilderment and pain crossed Fu Ye’s eyes, but it quickly vanished.
He said nothing more. Taking Sangbiao by the hand, he left. Before going, he glanced at Lu Zhixing and Luo Cheng’an.
Sangbiao didn’t look at either of them. He simply held Fu Ye’s hand. Behind him, his tail remained raised high, as he had been too happy and relieved to remember to put it away.
Fu Ye and Sangbiao disappeared around the corner.
It was already evening. The sky was gloomy, and the air was heavy with dampness.
Luo Cheng’an hurried over to Xi Yu in three quick strides.
“Lanxing… are you all right?”
“Now that you’ve returned to your divine position, when are we going back to the Heavenly Realm?”
He knew Xi Yu was angry, but they would have to return to the Heavenly Realm eventually, wouldn’t they?
“We’re not going back,” Xi Yu said.
Luo Cheng’an froze.
“N-not going back?”
Lu Zhixing’s face also showed a hint of surprise and confusion.
Xi Yu looked at the two of them with scorn.
“You two went to the trouble of creating these three identities. What will happen to your parents if you leave now? Even if they were destined to remain childless for their entire lives, that would still be better than having you come into their lives only to leave again.”
Shen Qing and Luo Yuan, as well as Lu Zheng and Jiang Shuhe, were two couples whose destinies had been written without children, yet with peaceful and happy lives. But Luo Cheng’an and Lu Zhixing had fabricated new identities and entered their lives.
If they left now, it would be tantamount to taking those parents’ lives.
The loss of their loved ones would be something they could never come to terms with for the rest of their lives.
How could they leave? How were they supposed to leave?
Lu Zhixing was the first to react, but he could not promise to stay with his mortal parents forever.
When the Nine Stars aligned with the Moon, he would have to activate the extermination formation. He had no way of knowing whether he would survive it unscathed.
Luo Cheng’an, however, immediately spoke up once he understood.
A smile lifted the corners of his lips.
“Fine. We won’t leave for now. It’s only a few more decades.”
In the heavens, a few decades here amounted to only a few dozen days. Besides, what remained here was merely a strand of his divine soul; his true body was still in the Heavenly Realm.
He had already entrusted everything to his elder sister. Staying here a little longer would make no difference.
Joy surged in Luo Cheng’an’s heart. He was relieved that Lanxing was still willing to speak to him, relieved that Lanxing would remain in the mortal world.
Staying in the mortal world was good. This was good, too.
With his current identity, Lanxing would at least have no reason to avoid him completely.
He no longer dared to hope that Lanxing would forgive him and put the past behind them.
All he wanted was to be able to see Lanxing.
That alone would be enough.