Chapter 615: Choice

"In other words... the two of you spent several years at Wangliang Mountain without achieving a single inch of progress, and in the end, you suffered a crushing defeat, sacrificing the lives of many of your own people?"

Amidst the swirling mist, a cold-looking woman looked at the two people before her.

No, it should be said, one person and one "ghost."

The person was a beautiful middle-aged woman, sitting on a couch made of water. Her long hair was loose, her hairpins and ornaments all gone, hanging down over her chest. Her expression was a mix of grief and rage, frustration and bewilderment—truly a complex cocktail of emotions. If any acquaintance saw her now, they would certainly be shocked—never would they have imagined that the dignified Northwest Pillar State of the Dawai Chao, An Wang Taifei, and a top-tier Sword Hero of the Dawai Chao could ever be so bewildered and helpless.

However, the "ghost" behind her—that is, the Spirit Image that existed independently after the physical body of An Wang died—was exactly the same as the living An Wang. Not only was he not dejected, but he held his head high and said in a clear voice, "Hong Zhuguo, you are wrong. Although we were suddenly attacked this time, we did not lose many people. The first step I laid out at Anxing Manor years ago was to ensure the ability to advance and retreat freely. I had long since arranged a retreat Array, which could be activated instantly to transfer everyone. Just a moment ago, I sensed danger and triggered the teleportation instantly. Except for a few who didn't react in time, most of our people were safely transferred. The ones who truly died were those monsters that launched the sneak attack but were controlled by me."

"Therefore, the losses were merely some buildings and resource reserves. In fact, we brought out the precious resources, and the rest is not worth mentioning. All in all, although there were losses, it was a victory."

That cold woman, who was Hong Mengting, the Northwest Pillar State of the Dawai Chao, suppressed a sneer upon hearing the word "victory" and said, "Everyone else is fine, but you, Your Highness, are dead."

Wang Taifei was furious and glared at the Northwest Pillar State, but An Wang himself held his head high and said, "I am not dead. Rather than saying my physical body died, it should be said that I am truly alive now. Unbound by the flesh, the Spirit Image is the real me. This is the path we Spirit Officials should take. I have never felt in a better state than I do now."

Hong Mengting would never understand the thoughts of a Spirit Official; she only felt this was An Wang's way of saving face. She didn't expose him and said, "It is good that Your Highness has such ambition. But is our accumulation of many years at Wangliang Mountain not worth mentioning? A victory is a victory, but winning more and more miserably is not good, is it?"

Wang Taifei finally couldn't help but shout, "Hong Mengting, why are you here nagging and being aggressive? Since the incident has occurred, we must prioritize killing our way back to Wangliang Mountain to revive the plan. Four years of layout, one day to reap the harvest—how can we let it fall short of success? Are you accusing us just to satisfy your own tongue? Even if you vent your anger, what good does it do for our grand plan?"

Hong Mengting gave a cold smile and said, "Oh, so now I am the one delaying the grand plan? Fine, who told me to be the one concerned with the big picture? Originally, I was going to mobilize troops according to Your Highness's orders. Now that we are merging forces, it is similar to the plan. Then let's go and retaliate against those who harmed Your Highness. Do you know who dared to stir up trouble on our Dawai Chao's head?"

An Wang gave a huff, and An Wang Taifei said, "They are a group of demons and ghosts, calling themselves Abyss Envoys. That is, the envoys of Wangliang. The powerful force they finally invoked should be the power of Wangliang, which is why they could destroy the manor in one blow."

Hong Mengting frowned and said, "How did this happen? Did the two of you not build a good relationship with the Abyss Envoys these past few years? Was befriending local forces not part of the plan? Didn't you spend a lot of money for this? How did it end up with you calling for killing each other in the end? And I've never heard of Abyss Envoys casually mobilizing in large numbers to destroy someone's manor."

At this, even An Wang Taifei fell silent.

Hong Mengting felt slightly strange, her gaze shifting between An Wang and An Wang Taifei, and suddenly she realized, "It wouldn't still be about the Long Life Society, would it?"

An Wang gave a "huff."

The Long Life Society was indeed something he had participated in on his own initiative, under the guise of being filial to his aging mother, but in reality, it was not without his own little schemes. In fact, it didn't cost much money; such things are fine if nothing happens, as everyone just turns a blind eye, but if something goes wrong, it becomes trouble.

It just so happened that in these last two days, not only did things go wrong, but they happened one after another. Not only was the Long Life Society wiped out, but his own base was inexplicably taken down. These Abyss Envoys were truly baffling. Wasn't it just being schemed against by the Long Life Society once? What did it have to do with him? Did they have to chase him to his home? And use that world-destroying power?

If this matter ended and they could achieve the initial goal of gathering two Sword Deities, that would be fine. If there were any errors, even if one Sword Deity was missing, the Long Life Society affair would be a ready-made charge, and he and his mother would likely suffer the consequences.

This was where the benefit of Manying specifically instructing the Abyss Envoys to shout "We are Abyss Envoys, you are the remnants of the Long Life Society" became apparent. It saved the other side from being suspicious and blaming unrelated people; the scapegoat and the culprit were both firmly established. With so many people hearing it, they couldn't deny it even if they wanted to.

Therefore, at this moment, An Wang could only be speechless.

Hong Mengting had always looked down on this mother and son, feeling that An Wang put private interests above public duty and was a failure. Privately, she hoped he would suffer greatly after this, but she wouldn't abandon the crucial battle that the Dawai Chao had been planning for years. If that happened, no one would benefit. She said, "Fine. If it really was the Abyss Envoys who acted, and they used the power of Wangliang, then it's simple. I don't think we need to specifically seek revenge on the Abyss Envoys."

"We just need to prepare with all our might. On the day of the Sacrifice, if we can grasp Wangliang, what are a few Abyss Envoys? If we cannot grasp Wangliang, then there is no need to mention the Abyss Envoys. Therefore, the urgent matter now is to stabilize our footing, gather our troops, and kill our way back to Wangliang Mountain."

An Wang Taifei nodded. Except when it involved her son, she was very rational. Her judgment was similar to Hong Mengting's: time was so tight, and they had just lost their most important position. Preparing for the grand plan to make up for the losses was the real priority; other personal grudges could be discussed later.

As for An Wang, although he was a bit unconvinced, with his mother present and the Pillar State at his side, and being in the wrong, he had no way to think about revenge.

Hong Mengting continued, "However, now that Anxing Manor is severely damaged and perhaps even under the gaze of Wangliang, where are we to settle so many people coming and going? Without a frontline base, are we all supposed to set out from my place? A long-distance expedition is no laughing matter."

An Wang Taifei said slowly, "That is not a problem. Our manor on the mountain is lost, but our properties at the foot of the mountain are not. There is still a group of people guarding Yulang City, and there is no lack of capable subordinates. We can use them as support now. Furthermore, there is one more thing: recently, the Sword Slaves of Wangliang Mountain are rebelling, and there is chaos everywhere. Many manor owners have died. Some manors are already existing in name only. We have plenty of room to occupy the magpie's nest..."

"No need!"

At this moment, An Wang suddenly interrupted, his tone becoming high-spirited again: "I have long prepared a backup base. The supplies inside are fully prepared, and I even left behind a teleportation gate for troop transport. That place is currently disguised as ruins, attracting no attention, and can be activated at any time."

Hong Mengting was surprised. She didn't expect this overbearing An Wang to have such a prudent side, actually understanding the principle of a cunning rabbit having three burrows.

The most surprised was An Wang Taifei—because she didn't even know about this backup base!

This guy even hid a hand from his own mother. Who knows what that place was originally intended for?

Hong Mengting didn't think that much and asked, "Where is it?"

An Wang triumphantly drew out his tone, as if keeping them in suspense: "That place, it's also in the Second Tier, and it's quite famous. I actually heard people mention it at the Long Life Society..."

"Just at a certain moment the day before yesterday, the cage wrapped around my Soul seemed to be pierced, and everything hidden inside poured out. Those memories, those years, those joys, those sorrows... all poured out like a waterfall. I accepted them all, and a complete Mange was resurrected within my body."

"I will never deny that I am her, because no one knows better than I how truly she existed. I am her, and she is... a part of me."

Tang Zhao looked at her with some surprise, listening to her dissect herself from the inside out.

"She has been completely accepted by me and has occupied the largest and most important part of my life. However, besides her, I still have a part that exists extra-realistically. Although it was short, although it was not beautiful, and although it was diametrically opposed to Mange... but Manying is also me. Manying's life, Manying's actions, Manying's memories... are also a part of me now. I cannot pretend it never happened, or pretend it was a Mask given to me by Wangliang. It is a real face, and the expression on the face is my expression."

"Can you understand if I say it this way?"

She felt her own expression was very chaotic, but she couldn't explain it more clearly for the moment, so she could only ask Tang Zhao helplessly.

Tang Zhao said thoughtfully, "I think I understand. You lost your memory and then found it again."

Although this topic of "who am I" can be elevated to a philosophical level, if one is more vulgar and only considers the present, should it be comparable to amnesia?

The trope of amnesia has been played to death in Chen Zong's hometown.

Even Tang Zhao didn't like listening to stories about it when he was a child.

In stories, there are often contradictions where the situation before and after amnesia is completely different, and then one faces the choice of how to proceed after recovering memories. At this time, it is often accompanied by various melodramas, which can drag on for a long time.

Many times, to give the audience a straightforward and easy-to-understand experience, this contradiction is simplified into: "Falling in love with someone before amnesia, and falling in love with someone after amnesia—who is the true love?" This kind of very thin multiple-choice question.

But reality is often much more complex.

It's just that the contradiction between "before" and "after" has similar effects.

Manying had been confused for a long time. Hearing Tang Zhao seem to be able to point to the essence in an understated way, she hurriedly asked, "If it were you, how would you face it?"

Tang Zhao said, "If you want me to answer the question 'Who are you?', I really can't explain it clearly. If you want me to completely solve your troubles and make your thoughts clear instantly, I am also incapable. But if you simply ask me what I would do, then I will try to answer... perhaps I would escape first, using a return to reality to avoid it for a while."

Manying was surprised: "Return to reality... escape?"

Tang Zhao said, "Yes, find something to do for yourself. Sometimes, being busy is just to stop yourself from letting your imagination run wild. I would tell myself, who I am is not the most important thing; what is important is what I want to do right now? What do I want to do?"

Manying murmured, "What do I want to do? As Mange, I want to see the friends from back then and want to break through the obstacles to save them. As Manying, I want to preserve Xin Ying..."

Tang Zhao said, "There is absolutely no need to separate them so clearly. Whoever it is, it is you. You only need to think about what you want to do. You can even have it all... eh?"

He lowered his head slightly and found something under his feet. Looking closely, there was a luster flashing between the rubble, and there was even a faint flow of Qi.

"Strange, what is this? There is still this in the ruins?"