Nangong Si was shocked, “Mother?”

     “The contract with the demon dragon can only be strengthened by the Nangong family’s blood sacrifice,” Rong Yan said. “Only you, or him. So of course, it’s him… He’s already a chess piece, a walking corpse… Besides, what right does he have to live on? He is unfaithful for a husband, tolerant as a father, and disrespectful as a leader. He is unworthy of being a man. Who knows why Nangong Xu’s kindness released him from the curse of the lingchi fruit and only let him be a fool?!”

     Nangong Si froze in place, as if he too had become a chess piece, stiff and immobile.

     “Si-er, I can’t control myself. I can’t do it. Now only you… only you can throw him into the Dragon Soul Pool and let his blood flow into the pool… His one… one lowly life can be exchanged for everyone’s safety. It will also… count as his death merit!”

     Before he could react, he heard someone shouting from the Dragon Soul Pool, “What’s going on? Where did these beetles come from?!”

     Beetles…?

     Immediately afterwards, miserable screams and shrieks came from the hall, along with the shouts of Xue Zhengyong, Jiang Xi, and the others. Rong Yan said anxiously, “Hurry up. The blood contract of the dragon’s tail has been broken. There are two contracts left. Once they are broken, even if we throw him into the blood pool, it will be useless.”

     Her shout awakened Nangong Si from his stupor.

     “What is there to hesitate about?!” Rong Yan said, “He is the one who committed heinous crimes everywhere, causing Rufeng Sect to be in such a state today. Si-er! Wake up quickly! There’s no other choice, you—”

     She suddenly lost her voice.

     Her eyes rolled up slightly, and her pupils contracted rapidly. Xu Shuanglin finally seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, and used the most ruthless spiritual power to hold her back.

     Rong Yan no longer had any consciousness of her own.

     A dream-like expression reappeared on her face as she slowly rose and walked towards “Paradise,” returning to the inconspicuous spot where she had been at the beginning. Her eyes were empty as she muttered to herself, “Si-er, the world is destroyed without frustration. What is the previous sentence?”

     Nangong Si was trembling.

     He knelt to the ground and trembled. He wasn’t controlled by anything, but he felt that there was no way out.

     Do not be encouraged by the world’s praise; do not be discouraged by the world’s criticism.

     This was what his mother wanted him to do. It was so difficult.

     It was really difficult.

     When he was young, it was difficult to memorize Wandering Free and Unfettered, or to hit the bullseye nine times out of ten arrows, it was all too difficult.

     Now, she was telling him that she wanted to use his father’s blood to strengthen the blood contract with Mount Jiao.

     He listened to the wailing outside. Just from the sound, he knew how terrifying the awakened dragon tail beetles would be. He thought of Ye Wangxi, who was still fighting the tide of snakes alone, waiting for him to figure out everything and return as soon as possible.

     “Si-er…” murmured his mother behind him.

     He slowly drew his sword and walked towards Nangong Liu.

     Hate.

     How could he not hate?

     He looked at this man.

     How could he not hate him?

     He had dug out his mother’s heart while she was still alive, secretly colluded with the Sect Leader of Jiangdong Hall, harmed Bitan Manor’s Palace Master Li, and left Rufeng Sect in ruins. He left him and Ye Wangxi frightened, with a bad reputation and nowhere to return to, like stray dogs. How could he not hate him?!

     He raised his longsword, and the snowy light illuminated Nangong Liu’s face.

     That face, which was no longer young, had a bit of serenity and calmness that only a child would have.

     Nangong Liu looked at Nangong Si. Nangong Si’s hands trembled, and he turned his head away. He said, “Get up.”

     “Who are you? Why do you want me to get up? I want to sit here. I want to wait for His Majesty…”

     “What His Majesty?!” Nangong Si shouted at him angrily. His heart was pounding, and blood was rushing through his veins, “That’s your younger brother! Where are your prospects, Nangong Liu?! That’s your younger brother!”

     “Even if he’s my younger brother, he is still His Majesty.” Nangong Liu was shocked, and shrunk into a ball, “Don’t be so fierce. You… you… why are you crying?”

     Am I crying?

     Nangong Si thought in a daze.

     Am I… Am I crying?

     Bitter, salty tears rolled down his face, falling to the ground along with his sword.

     Nangong Si suddenly dropped to his knees and started wailing.

     Why was it like this?

     He hated him. He truly believed that he could hate him enough to force his father to follow him to the Dragon Soul Pool and reforge the blood contract between Wang Li.

     Why couldn’t he hate him enough? That person in front of him had left him homeless, his family destroyed. Why couldn’t he hate him?

     But…

     But he really couldn’t do it.

     When the sword light illuminated the man’s face, when he saw the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, what he thought of was actually—

     It was actually when he was very, very young, stumbling as he chased after Naobaijin in the Xiaoyue Hunting Grounds.

     His legs were unsteady, and he ended up running and falling.

     Rong Yan stood in front of him, and said to the crying boy, “Stand up by yourself.”

     It hurt.

     But it really hurt. He struggled and tried hard, but he couldn't stand up.

     He stretched out his hand and begged his mother to hold him and pull him up.

     However, she did not extend her hand. She never did.

     Finally, it was another big warm hand that lifted the tiny boy from the ground and held him in his arms. The sunlight poured down, and he saw a face.

     A young, amiable, nice gentleman’s face that was always loving and kind.

     “Aiya, our Si-er also needs someone to help him up sometimes.” This man stroked his soft hair, his eyes very gentle, “If you can stand up by yourself, what do you need a father and mother for?”

     That was the earliest impression Nangong Si had of his father in his memory.

     In the spacious hall full of living dead, the only living person staggered, stumbled, and climbed up by himself.

     He got up, but soon fell to his knees again.

     He kowtowed three times in Rong Yan’s direction, then rose again and turned to leave.

     Suddenly, his sleeve was caught.

     The person who pulled him was actually Nangong Liu.

     “...”

     Nangong Liu fished out an orange from the basket and handed it over to him. After thinking for a moment, he peeled a piece and placed it directly next to his lips.

     “Don’t cry. Though I don’t know what you’re going to do, the oranges are sweet and very delicious. I picked them. Have a taste.”

     Nangong Si didn’t want to eat it, but that piece of orange was just beside his lips. Nangong Liu gave it to him, just like how he fed him countless times when he was young.

     The sweet juice flowed down between his lips and teeth. Nangong Si fiercely wiped his tears and finally made up his mind to throw down his longsword.

     He turned around and strode out of the front hall.

     He went to the side of the Dragon Soul Pool, in the midst of the chaotic battle.

     The beetles formed by the dragon’s tail were too vicious. Many cultivators had already died in battle, and blood flowed like a river on the ground. Because the beetles were too small, Chu Wanning, Jiang Xi, and the other great masters could only protect a few people behind them. The scene was a mess, as if they were in a boiling soup in a wok.

     No one noticed Nangong Si come in.

     He walked into the hall.

     A few hours ago, he had lost his spiritual core and thought he would be reduced to a life of mediocrity as a mortal for the rest of his life.

     But at this moment, he suddenly felt that fate knew his heart was ambitious, and although it was not kind to him, in the end, it was not stingy to him.

     The only thing he owed was…

     His gaze landed on the passageway that led to the Soul Summoning Platform.

     Ye Wangxi.

     Nangong Si suddenly broke into a smile.

     Fortunately, in the end, he didn’t have time to thank her for not leaving him, and for her unwavering determination. Fortunately, he didn’t have time to tell her that he finally understood her kindness, her feelings, and was willing to stay with her from then on.

     Otherwise, that young woman would be hurt for no reason at all, then…

     Thump.

     Then what?

     He didn’t finish his thought. If he did, he probably wouldn’t have the courage to do it. He didn’t finish his thought, so the pool of boiling blood engulfed him. He didn’t finish his thought, so he turned to bones and melted into ashes.

     The last thing he had time to do before he died was to untie the quiver at his waist, and throw the quiver embroidered by his mother, as well as the howling faewolf, Naobaijin, to the side of the pool.

     Nangong Si felt that the moment he was melted into ashes, he seemed to still be conscious, but it didn’t hurt. He seemed to clearly hear the sound of the quiver landing safely on the ground, Naobaijin’s whining, and Chu Wanning shouting his name with a rare loss of composure.

     He thought. He wanted to respond with:

     Shizun…

     I recognize you.

     How can I not recognize you?

     Actually, I still remember that year under the flowering tree, kowtowing in the ritual ceremony of taking in a Shizun.

     But you wouldn’t have me.

     I also have my own pride, and was afraid that you didn’t like my roots, so I always pretended I was too young at the time, and had forgotten it.

     Later on, you were willing to acknowledge me, but I was also afraid of implicating you…

     It’s alright now.

     I have a Shizun. I finally recited Wandering Free and Unfettered to my mother. Ye Wangxi and Naobaijin are both fine.

     Right, I didn’t expect to be able to eat a piece of orange before I died.

     It was that man… who personally peeled it…

     It was the same taste as when I ate the oranges he fed me when I was young.

     So sweet…

     Nangong Si’s soul suddenly scattered. Everything faded away, an illusion of the past. Everything was a ghost of the past, an old dream, all gone.

     They belonged to the blood contract.

     Suddenly, a dazzling light burst out of the Dragon Soul Pool. Wherever the light touched, a dragon’s roar and a sword’s whistle destroyed all of the dragon-tail beetles, dragon-scale snakes, and dragon-tendon blood vines that were holding up the corpse tide outside. They were all crushed to ashes and powder.

     When Ye Wangxi rushed out of the passageway covered in blood, she saw Nangong Si’s figure the moment he fell into the pool. She saw the pool of blood illuminated by the dragon’s light, and all the cultivators looking at the pool. She saw Naobaijin whimpering and helpless at the edge of the pool, and Chu Wanning, who bent over to hold Naobaijin in his arms.

     Her sword clattered to the ground.

     “A-Si!!!”

     Her hoarse voice was so loud that it almost tore apart the heavens!

     At this moment, Ye Wangxi’s entire body was covered in wounds. She staggered forward a few steps, but before she could reach the edge of the pool, before she even had the time to shed tears, the heavy injuries and overwhelming emotions finally destroyed her. The snake poison spread throughout her body. Her bones and blood were ice-cold; her entire body was cold.

     “A-Si…”

     Step by step, she staggered over. Her lips were purple, and tears rolled down her face. But she couldn’t hold on any longer. She fell heavily onto the cold bricks.

     Her vision turned dark, but she still pressed her bloody fingers against the ground, trying to crawl forward.

     She knew it was too late.

     She saw Nangong Si jump into the Dragon Soul Pool with her own eyes.

     It was all over.

     But she couldn’t accept it. How could she accept it…? How could she be willing?!

     It seemed that as long as she persisted and kept crawling to the edge of the pool, she would be able to bring that person back. If she persisted for just a moment longer, Nangong Si would return to her side.

     He said so.

     In front of the snake den, he had clearly promised—

     “It’s too dark here. I know you don’t like it. Just hold on for a while, I’ll be right back.”

     Tears rolled down her face.

     She persisted, gritting her teeth, and little by little, crawled dizzily until she reached the edge of the Dragon Soul Pool.

     I’m here.

     What about you?

     Her vision was very dark, and her surroundings were cold.

     Is there another malicious spirit coming? Is there another poisonous snake? Can you act like how it was in the past? Can you suppress it with a talisman and majestically turn your head around?

     Tell me again, “Come with me, I’ll protect you.”

     “Nangong Si… A-Si…” She choked on her sobs and finally burst into tears, letting out a loud cry, “Come back! A gentleman keeps his word! You have to keep your word, come back!”

     But the crying didn’t last long. The violent poison and trauma finally consumed her. Before she lost consciousness, the last thing she did was reach out and touch the wall of the Dragon Soul Pool, as if she could catch the hem of the man in the pool and keep him by her side.

     Originally, everything was about to get better… Ye Wangxi could find a way to stop A-Si’s violent spiritual core, and everyone wouldn’t hate them so much anymore… Originally… she was about to make it.

     But the darkness came again, and this time, for her, there might never be dawn again.

     “A-Si…”

     Ye Wangxi murmured and finally slowly closed her eyes.

     The evil spirit of the demonic dragon was finally suppressed. Nangong Si sacrificed his flesh and blood to strengthen the bond that was about to break. And the Dragon Soul Pool that merged with Nangong Si’s soul could no longer be destroyed by Xu Shuanglin.

     It was all over.

     Not a single blade of grass or tree on Mount Jiao could be used at Xu Shuanglin’s disposal. Nangong Si did not have the ability to pierce through heaven and earth like Nangong Changying, but in the end, he was the one who sliced off Xu Shuanglin’s sharpest claws.

     No one spoke. Only the faint groans of those who were previously wounded could be heard.

     The light from the Dragon Soul Pool gradually dissipated. Mo Ran walked to Chu Wanning’s side.

     Chu Wanning’s head was lowered, his eyes cold, and the hand holding Naobaijin was pale and cold. Because he was struggling, light blue veins were protruding slightly under his skin.

     “Shizun…”

     Chu Wanning didn’t say anything. In the end, he just placed Naobaijin beside Ye Wangxi, along with Nangong Si’s quiver.

     He stood up. There were tears in his eyes, but when he looked at the passageway that led to the Soul Summoning Platform, the tears had turned to ice.

     He did not say a single word as golden light flowed from Tianwen in his hand. He walked towards the pitch-black passageway.

     Mo Ran followed him, and all the disciples of Sisheng Peak followed in silence.

     No one asked, no one spoke.

     They all knew what it meant to be the vanguard and take the lead, but they all went along one by one, and no one backed down. Then came Taxue Palace, Guyue’ye…

     Before Jiang Xi walked into the passageway, he ordered a few healing and guarding disciples, saying, “You all stay here and take good care of the injured, especially Miss Ye. If these people who have not died lose their lives, an entire year’s worth of salary and spiritual stones will be deducted.”

     “Yes, Sect Leader.”

     The door leading to the Soul Summoning Platform had already been opened. After suffering heavy losses along the way, they came to the last place of Rufeng Sect’s Heavenly Palace—

     Finally, they arrived at the place of ritual worship.

     The Soul Summoning Platform.