Chapter 285: Stopped at the Dao

Falling from the vortex, the altar suddenly appeared before my eyes, an altar entwined with countless iron thorns, and Yao Yirong was bound atop that altar.

Around the altar, flags were planted according to the positions of the twelve earthly branches; countless resentful spirits entered through Yao Yirong's nose, ears, and seven orifices. As I struggled to rise, a strange qi instantly permeated the whole space. This qi was eerie and bloody, making me shiver repeatedly, as if I were in a raging sea of blood.

At the moment I struggled to rise, heaven and earth's winds and clouds surged; Yao Yirong slowly lifted her head, and the wails of resentful spirits in the air rose, like submission, yet like worship. At this moment Yao Yirong was completely transformed; her appearance was so sinister, and from her eyes shone a sinister red light.

Yuan Yang stood on the altar, looking down at me, gazing at the sinister Yao Yirong; his eyes flashed with fervor and excitement, and he laughed loudly to the heavens without cease.

"Kid, you are no match for that thing; give your body entirely to me. Otherwise you cannot kill him." Bai Qi's voice rang in my mind.

This is my final decision of a desperate last stand; if I cannot match Yuan Yang in strength, I will take this last risky move, preferring to destroy my own consciousness rather than hand my body over to Bai Qi, so that Bai Qi may slay Yuan Yang for me.

But can I really entrust my body entirely to Bai Qi and kill the demonized Yao Yirong? No, I cannot do that; I will try to awaken Yao Yirong.

Yuan Yang on the altar seemed to notice me, holding the twelve golden tablets as he stepped down toward me, his mouth unable to conceal his arrogance and delight.

"The Nine Heavenly Maiden has been accomplished, you old immortal of the Seven Star Cave Heaven, just wait for me to grind your bones to ashes and scatter them." He laughed arrogantly to the heavens: "Eliminate you, and with the map I will find the treasure of my Zhao family's founder; in this world, who could stop me?"

It turns out that reviving the Nine Heavenly Maiden was to deal with that old person of the Seven Star Cave Heaven!

"Go... kill him for me" Yuan Yang pointed at me and commanded Yao Yirong on the altar.

"Yao Yirong.... it's me, I am Hai Sheng" I tried with my last effort to awaken Yao Yirong. However, before I could finish speaking, I suddenly stopped, including Yuan Yang himself, all showing a look of shock.

In her red robes, Yao Yirong's hand held a still-beating heart. Yuan Yang lowered his head, incredulously gazing at his own heart, that huge hollow.

"You dare to command this venerable one? You seem to think too highly of yourself." Yao Yirong's cold voice entered Yuan Yang's ears, and Yuan Yang widened his eyes, unwillingly collapsing to the ground. The golden tablets scattered in all directions at the moment he fell; the fallen Yuan Yang struggled, trying to pick up the tablets, but before his hand could touch them, he already breathed his last.

This descendant of the Great Song imperial clan never let go of the obsession in his heart; that illusory glory, with his own hands, buried him.

Yao Yirong walked toward me coldly, and around her followed a myriad of vengeful ghosts, their fangs bared and claws brandished, showing their ferocious teeth.

"Yao Yirong, it's me, I am Hai Sheng!" I trembled, stepping slowly toward him. Bai Qi's voice incessantly echoed in my mind, urging me to hand over my body to him. I merely sighed, glanced at the broad blade in my hand, closed my eyes, and flung the broad blade down the mountain; Bai Qi's soul instantly returned to that blade, departing from me.

My blood throughout my body began to boil, yet I felt utterly weak. I knew this was the aftereffect Bai Qi left me. I could not last long; even if no one killed me, my body would crack like a collapsing wall.

Gazing at Yao Yirong slowly approaching, my heart was filled with an indescribable mixture of emotions.

Should I kill Yao Yirong? She has now become a bloodthirsty Nine Heavenly Maiden. I am a Daoist, and I ought to subdue demons and eradicate evil. But aside from being a Daoist, am I not merely a mortal as well?

I possess the seven emotions and six desires, and also my own obsessions. My master once said, life is like the rise and fall of yin and yang; the heart of a Daoist of the Dharma is forged through countless paths, able to transcend the seven emotions and six desires, finally letting go gradually and learning tranquility.

I am foolish, stuck at the pass of love; from then on the Great Dao drifted away from me, and in this life I can advance no further. I am a failure on the path of inquiry.

But I am a mortal, a man; ought I not protect my beloved? Chen Zheng once went mad, preferring to make mistake after mistake for Dong Yumin.

He told Dong Yumin: "If you are a good person, I will accompany you in being good. If one day you wish to kill, I will rush to the forefront, clearing all obstacles for you. Your downfall is because I failed to watch over you. If you pick up a gun, the one who must lead the charge is me. If a man lets the woman he loves deeply wield knives and guns and charge ahead, it only shows I am weak and useless."

I am not Chen Zheng; I cannot be as carefree and unrestrained as he. Seeing you go mad, I cannot rush to the front, nor accompany you in your frenzy. Likewise, I cannot lift the long blade in my hand, much less stab it toward your heart.

"Yao Yirong, do you remember? I am Hai Sheng, the lone oddball; three years ago, at school, you often spat at him and despised that lone oddball." I smiled, doing my best to present my best side before her.

She still approached me expressionlessly, her face filled with icy bloody light, looking at me as she always did, like prey. Yet I felt no fear, greeting her as I slowly walked toward her.

I know I might die. Yet facing the one I love, I cannot bring myself to strike. I am weak, hesitant, indecisive, lacking the ruthlessness needed to achieve great deeds. I would rather be killed by you than raise my blade against you. I even gave myself a self-justifying reason. Even if I died, Pangzi and the old man of the Seven Star Cave Heaven would not watch Yao Yirong bring calamity upon the world.

With a puff, without any hesitation, Yao Yirong's hand pierced through my heart; in Yao Yirong's hand there was a crimson heart, and at the moment I collapsed, I saw upon my own beating heart a crystalline object.

It was a woman, tears streaming down. She burst into a smile that made all flowers fade, and said to me: "You are a good person." She silently let that tear fall; the tear slid down, dropped to the ground, evaporated in the air. At the same time, it also dripped onto my heart.

I wanted to raise my hand to touch Yao Yirong's skirt, but Yao Yirong was too far away for me to reach; a cold, desolate wind swept across the fierce battlefield, as if mourning for me.

The wind blew over the wind chime on my wrist, the wind chimed with a clear, pleasant tinkling. This was given to me by Yao Yirong when she was in Aomen; she personally placed this little bell upon me.

Yao Yirong's figure paused; the departing her turned in surprise, crouched down, and listened carefully to the sound of the bell.

A surge of hope rose in my chest; breathing weakly, I said: "Do you still remember? This was the gift you gave me on my birthday!"

I saw a flicker of struggle cross her brow, and with my weak body I struggled to tell her many, many past events, every scene that had ever happened.

"Do you remember? Earlier you took the love letter my brother gave you and read it aloud before all our classmates. I then grabbed the cleaning trash can, filled a basin of water, and poured it over your entire body."

"Do you remember? When I first broke into your room, my trousers were torn by a hook; you thought I had offended you, and you punched my nose until it collapsed."

"If I could return to the past, even just a week ago would be fine." I tugged at her skirt, tears streaming, and said: "I will surely promise your brother that I will surely marry you."

"Ah..." Yao Yirong suddenly kicked me away, clutching her skull, her visage ferocious as she let out a long howl to the heavens; and the moment she opened her mouth, countless resentful spirits spewed from her mouth.

They seemed to be the souls of children; among them were those I knew from Child Fate Bay, and also those I had never seen, but as they danced in flight, their resentment seemed to slowly dissipate from their bodies.

Finally I saw Murong Jia Jia; my vision began to blur, and I saw Murong Jia Jia step out from Yao Yirong's body, she smiled at me, still as beautiful as ever, she raised her hand to say goodbye to me, slowly vanishing between heaven and earth.

At the final moment of my life, I finally saw Yao Yirong return to normal. However, I am always a Monday-morning quarterback, only realizing after events have passed, only then regretting too late. Just like now, Yao Yirong has returned to normal, but I don't even have time to say a word to him.

I closed my eyes, began to enjoy death, and suddenly a force spread through my body; Bai Qi's voice sounded in my mind.

"Kid, buy time; you threw away the knife I possessed; I can't hold on much longer—if you have any nonsense, spit it out quickly."

ps: I recommend Long Feishen's new book, Dragon Vein Ancient Tales; the story begins when I receive a letter from a dead person, with the link in the little yellow box.