AHHHHHH!!! SSSS!!! The miserable screams of the evil ghost rippled through the air, sending a visible shockwave of dirt and dust expanding outward from its epicenter of death, instantly repelling all of the raindrops that were pelting down.
Qin Ye gently supported Wang Chenghao and used his Yin energy to temporarily keep Wang Chenghao alive, âDid you see that? Iâve avenged you, so go in peace. Besides, you donât have any next of kin in this world any longer.â
Wang Chenghao smiled faintly as he watched copious amounts of Yin energy erupt from the evil ghostâs body, and then contract violently once more, transforming into a swirling, unstable vortex that promptly dissipated, leaving only a spot of soulfire in its wake.
Qin Ye held Wang Chenghaoâs bloody hand and placed the spirit streamer in his hands, âCome, Iâll let you deal the final blow.â
With that, he grabbed Wang Chenghaoâs hand and swung the spirit streamer past the spot of soulfire that was lingering in mid-air. The flame flickered wildly and vanished, while a mournful scream reverberated through the still, dark night, before slowly but surely drifting further and further away. At the same time, the evil ghostâs body finally transformed into ash and quietly crumbled away.
The rooftop was silent once more. Wang Chenghao felt slightly better, but he knew that this was no more than a momentary reprieve.
âUglyâŠâ Seconds later, Wang Chenghao mustered every measure of energy in his body and quipped softly, âBrother Qin⊠you should turn back into a human beingâŠâ
Qin Ye promptly reverted back to his human form, and he continued holding Wang Chenghao in his hands. It was strange. He knew full well that he could simply end Wang Chenghaoâs life right now, and it wouldnât take long before they were reunited in the depths of Hell. That way, Wang Chenghao wouldnât have to go through all this pain and suffering either. However, he simply couldnât bring himself to do so.
Life was free. Nobody had the right to dictate in what manner another should live or die.
âAm⊠I⊠cough cough⊠about to⊠die?â Wang Chenghao sputtered blood as he spoke intermittently. It was an ugly, laughable sight, yet Qin Ye couldnât bring himself to even smile at this moment.
Instead, Qin Ye nodded, and then promptly shook his head again, âI can stabilize your condition for another ten minutes at most. And then, youâll most certainly die. But, donât worry. Weâll see each other again soon enough.â
âYouâre⊠cough⊠not lying?â Wang Chenghaoâs eyes gleamed brightly.
Qin Ye shook his head.
âBut⊠I want to liveâŠâ The second wind granted by Qin Ye had somehow ignited Wang Chenghaoâs passion for life, and his spirits clearly brightened. Nonetheless, Qin Ye sighed softly and placed his hand gently on Wang Chenghaoâs forehead, âIâm sorry. I was selfish.â
Without missing a beat, he continued, âTruth be told, I did have every opportunity to rescue you before it was too late. However, I didnât want to expose myself. And from my perspective, there isnât any difference between life and death. Thus⊠I hesitated, and ended up arriving late.â
Wang Chenghao grinned, and his voice was no different from a drawl, âYou were... torn between friendship⊠cough cough⊠and duty⊠I donât blame youâŠâ
âI just didnât expectâŠâ He glanced longingly at the mortal realm around him. The cold, icy city and the oppressive dark clouds in the sky had never seemed more appealing to him.
âI didnât expect it to come so soon⊠There are still so many things that I want to do⊠Yet, to think that I would die hereâŠâ He chuckled bitterly, âI havenât even cleared that game yet.â
âIdiot.â Qin Ye chuckled indignantly, and held Wang Chenghao closer, âGet some restâŠâ
âWhen you open your eyes again, everything will be fine once more.â
He gently ran his hands down Wang Chenghaoâs eyes.
Time to go.
But Wang Chenghaoâs eyes remained open.
You shouldnât die with your eyes wide open like that⊠Qin Ye sighed, and tried to brush down his eyelids once more. But before he could do so, Wang Chenghao grumbled, âBrother Qin⊠I can still hold on⊠Youâre blocking my view of the skyâŠâ
Bloody hellâŠ
Qin Ye gritted his teeth and set down his hand. Whatever happened to the fear of death?! Why do you seem so unafraid of what is supposed to come?
âArenât you afraid of death?â Qin Ye asked.
âI amâŠâ Wang Chenghao coughed and smiled at the falling rain, âBut, you wouldnât lie to me⊠cough cough⊠I trust in youâŠâ
Havenât you thought about what might happen if Iâm lying to you? Qin Yeâs lips trembled slightly, but he didnât say a word.
âTruth be told⊠I feel like my entire life has been a complete failureâŠâ Wang Chenghao muttered softly, âCome to think of it, Iâve lived off my parents assets my entire life⊠and I couldnât even make a name for myself after their death⊠You know⊠there was a time when I fantasized about becoming as powerful as youâŠâ
âNo. Youâve already done very well. Most people canât even move their legs as soon as they see a Yin spirit.â
Blood continued to pour out of his wounds, while Wang Chenghao held tightly to Qin Yeâs hands, âBrother Qin⊠a man named Albatross approached me beforeâŠâ
âI didnât⊠say anythingâŠâ
âI know.â Qin Ye patted his shoulder assuringly, âSpeaking of which, your condition is getting dangerous. Youâll want to go in peace. Iâm not lying to you - weâll be reunited in Hell in just the blink of an eye. Iâm going to confer you with a title, and youâll be able to return to the mortal realm to purge all the Yin spirits you want. How does that sound?â
Wang Chenghao was so maddened by Qin Yeâs response that he chuckled painfully once more, âNo chance. Haha⊠Iâm filled with vigor and vitality right now⊠Cough!â
With a sputter of blood, his face began to grow more and more ashen by the minute.
Meanwhile, Qin Ye could see that the final lamp over Wang Chenghaoâs body was finally dimming into nothingness.
âTake out your cell phoneâŠâ Wang Chenghao mustered the remaining strength in his body and continued weakly, âOpen a voice recording appâŠâ
Qin Ye did as he was told.
âI⊠Wang Chenghao⊠dead by the hands of an evil ghost⊠hereby bequeaths all of my propertyâŠâ
Qin Yeâs eyes flickered, and he stared at Wang Chenghao in great disbelief.
How could⊠you still be thinking of me at such a time like this?!
Wang Chenghao gazed deeply into Qin Yeâs eyes, and then continued with a murmur, âAmounting to over 10 million RMB... EverythingâŠâ
He tightened his grip around Qin Yeâs hand, and Qin Ye sighed wistfully, âDonât worry, Iâll use it wellâŠâ
â... shall be donated to the Red Cross FoundationâŠâ
Ding!
Qin Yeâs anger meter instantly went through the roof.
You imbecile! Canât you just die well for once?!
Do you have to be so salty even in death? Itâs your prerogative, but why do you have to tease me so?!
Do you believe it when I tell you that Iâll send you as a gift to Su Dongxueâs bedchambers? Iâm perfectly certain that youâre just the type she would covet!
He nearly couldnât resist the urge to smack Wang Chenghao to death. Fortunately, he managed to hold himself back. Sigh⊠forget it. But⊠damn - this is 10 million weâre talking about! And Iâm even holding onto you so tightly right now! Havenât you been taught to love and respect your elders? Why havenât you thought about my feelings?!
Nevertheless, Qin Ye responded softly with some measure of frustration, âMm.â Then, Wang Chenghaoâs eyes finally began to dilate, âBrother Qin⊠do you recall⊠the song that we heard when we were escaping from Clear Creek County?â
Qin Ye thought for a moment, âThe Ordinary Path?â
âCould you⊠sing⊠two lines of it?â
âI once used to be like you, like him, and like all of the wild grass and wildflowers of the fields. Hopelessly, longingly, laughing and crying like everything was ordinaryâŠâ Qin Yeâs singing was terrible, yet as he continued to hold Wang Chenghao in his hands and sing and hum the tune of the song, Wang Chenghaoâs body finally grew limp and still.
His nose was cold, and his lips were pale.
He was finally gone.
âSome people say that life isnât worth it.â Qin Ye sighed and gently set Wang Chenghao down, âBut this life of yours has undoubtedly been spent well.â
âYour time in the mortal realm might have been on the shorter side, but the things youâve seen and experienced are well beyond what most would across the span of their entire lives. Youâve caught a glimpse of the situation across Cathay, and you can count yourself far better than those who perish without even realizing what struck themâŠâ
He slowly got to his feet. And then, with a flick of his wrist, his spirit streamer casually carved out a deep groove along the ground as he gazed into the corner of the rooftop, âCome out. Youâve been watching from the shadows from some time now. Did you enjoy the show?â
No one answered.
Qin Ye shook his head, and then flicked his finger, causing one of the talismans hanging from the spirit streamer to shoot straight through the door. A split second later, two shadows burst through the door and rushed onto the rooftop.
Hellguards!
Qin Ye immediately understood the extent of their abilities in a single glance.
The woman was wearing a long blue robe with red embroidered shoes. Her hands were two meters long, and she sported hair that appeared to be scattering about wildly. Her skin was deathly pale, and a bloodshot eye peeked out from the curtain of hair that covered her face. The cloud of Yin energy diffusing from her body was so thick that they were almost material in form.
Her entire body appeared to be twisted beyond belief, almost as though she had suffered from some inhumane torture right before her death. She lay on the ground on all fours like a spider. Next to her, there was a child with dreadlocks dressed only in underwear. The child opened his mouth from time to time, revealing rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth laced with traces of grisly corpse fluid.
The Yin energy which they emitted was orders of magnitudes stronger than the evil ghost that Qin Ye had just purged, so much so that even the slightest movement on their part resulted in mournful, ghostly cries about them.
Ka⊠ka⊠The womanâs head began to swivel around stiffly in a horrific manner as she chuckled hoarsely, âHow touching⊠To think that an Emissary of Hell would develop lingering feelings of attachment for the mortal realm⊠Kekeke⊠I nearly shed a tear for you back thereâŠâ
âWhat do you know.â Qin Ye responded placidly.
âIn life, I was a shamaness of the seven underworldly craftsmen⊠Kekeke⊠Little Emissary of Hell, have you ever heard of the Assassins of the Underworld?â The shamaness cackled huskily. Then, she promptly added, âOh, thatâs right. Iâve got a gift for you.â
With that, her robe lifted up slightly, and a lump of flesh crashed straight into the ground in front of Qin Ye with a dull thud.
It was Li Jixi.
And he was actually still alive!
His limbs had already been chewed right off his body, yet he still managed to survive despite the excruciating pain of the ordeal he had been through.
âHellguard⊠Youâre a Hellguard.â His gaze was soft, because he knew that his fate was sealed as soon as Qin Ye appeared.
âShhâŠâ Qin Ye raised his finger to his lips and searched through Li Jixiâs body before softly patting his face, âDo you know that youâve murdered someone today?â
Li Jixi smiled coldly, and he continued to stare intently at Qin Ye as though he were a hunter staring down a prey.
âDonât worry, youâll be accompanying him shortly. Even if these evil ghosts were to spare your life, I wouldnât.â Qin Ye spoke emotionlessly, âYou must still be wondering if I had anything to do with the incident back at the Strait of Tsushima back then, arenât you?â
Before he even finished speaking, the Yin energy around him suddenly erupted and transformed into a massive Yin vortex. White hair fluttered menacingly, his irises turned black, and his pupils turned white. The black robes of an Anitya Hellguard appeared right in front of Li Jixiâs eyes, while a long scarlet tongue gently slithered forward and licked Li Jixiâs face. Qin Ye smiled faintly, âThatâs right. Youâve guessed right.â
Li Jixiâs heart thumped wildly, and he struggled desperately, almost as though he had a multitude of things to say. Unfortunately, he couldnât say a single word.
I was right! Iâd followed the right person!
It was him⊠It really was him!
His mouth had been completely gagged by a clump of Yin energy just a moment ago.
âI sincerely respect you. The Albatross certainly lives up to its name. To think that you were actually able to track me down all this way.â Qin Ye straightened his body, and continued with a cold voice, âUnfortunately, curiosity also killed the cat.â
With a quick flick of his wrist, he sliced open Li Jixiâs carotid artery with the spirit streamer in hand. Blood instantly poured out like water.
âYou wouldnât be able to live even if I donât kill you. Your body has sustained the incursion of copious amounts of Yin energy, and death is but an eventuality. So, let me⊠finally provide you with release. You should be grateful that Iâm repaying your evil with good.â
Blood spurted out of his artery like a fountain. Then, just as Li Jixiâs teeth chattered softly in his final breaths, the female ghost began to clap loudly in the distance, âThatâs right⊠Thatâs what Iâd expected of an Emissary of Hell⊠What use is the life of a mere mortal after all?â
âArenât you afraid of me?â Qin Ye turned to look at the female ghost.
âMom, heâs laughing at you.â The child pouted.
âDear, he wonât be laughing soon enough. Itâs been fifty long years since weâve been dead, and weâve already killed far too many unsuspecting cultivators.â The female ghost responded huskily, âEven though the daolord had only instructed us to head over for reconnaissance work, it wouldnât be bad if we could⊠capture the target alive eitherâŠâ
Qin Ye smiled faintly. Moments later, he threw his head back and began to laugh uproariously.
When he was done, he slowly lowered his head back down and shook his spirit streamer in hand, âThings are truly as Arti had mentioned.â
âThe ignorance of a fifty-year evil ghost truly knows no bounds.â
1. First appeared in Chapter 36.
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