Chapter 86: 83 Death and Resurrection

83 Death and Resurrection

Something has invaded my Soul.

Pain...

I have to dig it out...

!!

Tang Zhao was awake, yet not awake.

His consciousness was recovering bit by bit from his Soul, but his body could not move at all, as if bound by invisible ropes; he could not even move a single finger, and could only suffer in boundless, endless pain.

It feels like I'm being crushed...

I don't want this...

Let me go!

I have to dig it out!

"Is he awake?"

"I don't know, I've controlled his acupoints. Otherwise, he might have clawed himself to pieces."

"That's just burying one's head in the sand; does he not suffer just because he can't claw at himself?"

"Try to keep him unconscious. That way it won't be too painful."

A silence followed, and after a long while, a new voice spoke:

"Town Guardian, should we... kill him?"

"What are you saying, you dead-faced man?! Get out of here!"

"Don't be agitated, Xue Guniang, Xiaosi meant no harm. Actually, I have thought about it too... The torment of a Sword Slave has no end, growing worse day by day, never-ending; death is actually a release. But I still feel we shouldn't give up. What if he can tame the Sword Seed and become a Sword Guest? Tang Zhao's Inspiration is very strong, and he is very resilient; he has hope. We can't just give up on his behalf, can we?"

"A Sword Guest? Like that Baifa Gui? If he becomes like him, he won't be human anymore, he'll become a plaything of the Wangliang..."

"Shut your mouth, you dead-faced man! How is he not human? Even if he isn't, can't Tang Zhao still be human? The Wangliang is in Wangliang Mountain; how can it control Tang Zhao out of thin air? As for that method of suppressing a Sword Slave's pain in Wangliang Mountain, although I don't know it, I can steal it, I can snatch it! Tang Zhao can do it, he has very good luck..." The voice gradually choked with sobs.

"When he wakes up, I will ask him. Whether he wants to persist or... either is fine. But he certainly cannot go to the Demon Cave before him. Please, Xue Guniang, take care of him for a few days."

"I know you people from the Land Inspection Division, you surely have big things and important business to do. To cause trouble for the sake of doing these things, and then throw it all to others like discarded baggage, without even caring."

"If it is inconvenient for you..."

"It is convenient. I will take him back to Zhuoyu Villa. If he can survive this, he will become a Sword Smith. He will personally cast that Sword Seed into a sword, and it will have nothing to do with your Land Inspection Division."

"Many thanks..."

Will I die?

To be tortured like this forever, is it truly better to be dead?

No...

I don't want to die, I want to live.

I still have many things to do, I...

The pain left him no time to think carefully; thinking about what he had to do, it seemed he had nothing he couldn't let go of, nothing he particularly wanted to do; all that remained was the most primitive, pure desire to survive.

Must live!

In a trance, the shadows of his father, mother, and Chen Zong flashed through his heart like a revolving lantern, their voices and appearances just as they were when alive. Their gazes were also just as they had been before they left, full of concern, attachment, and worry for him.

Azhao, you must live well...

I want to live, Dad, Mom... I want to see you, but I also want to live!

And what Chen Zong said...

Chen Zong?

Suddenly, Tang Zhao grasped a glimmer of hope.

Glasses, where are my glasses?

Hope was like a flame, burning brighter and brighter, and the pain even seemed to fade a little.

No, I can't move.

It must be Xing Ji's method; he would seal the acupoints to prevent Tang Zhao from acting recklessly, leaving him unable to move.

But I need to get my glasses.

Acupoints... I know how to unseal them too! In the dungeon, he taught me himself.

How did he teach it again?

Use Internal Energy to rush the acupoints...

No, Tang Zhao's attention was occupied by pain, unable to focus, and he couldn't mobilize his Internal Energy.

Forcefully enter, Bird of Fire Sword Law, burn for me!

In his mind, the bird with golden feathers danced gracefully, flames accompanying its dance, violently burning his Spirit.

Exhausted in both body and mind, he couldn't even feel the pain. The remaining bit of Spirit rushed toward the acupoints according to the path.

Open for me—

It's unsealed!

It seemed his last bit of luck had taken effect; the acupoints were unsealed just like that, in a muddle.

Tang Zhao's body immediately rolled on the bed; this was a subconscious reaction, and he almost immediately groaned and screamed, but bit down on the quilt instead.

Xing Ji was right to seal the acupoints; he had almost bitten off his own tongue. A person's physical reaction under extreme pain is uncontrollable; he desperately wanted to reach out and dig into his own head to pull out that Fragment.

Glasses, my glasses.

He grabbed the bedsheet with one hand and fished out the glasses with the other, putting them on.

You must be useful, please, Fairy Sister.

"Sword Seed, unknown."

A line of text appeared.

I know it's a Sword Seed, is there anything else?

He did not know if it was because his Spirit was not focused enough; after watching for a while, his vision became blurry, and there were no other annotations.

There were only those four characters, and the shape of a well.

A well...

Will this work?

He knew what this meant, and he knew the damage this would do to the Glasses, but hadn't he kept this one remaining chance unused just for an emergency? Was this not the one-in-a-ten-thousand-fold emergency?

In the field of vision of the Glasses, he found the only patch of golden light.

In the teacup on the table, there was half a cup of water, which was glowing.

The scale is getting smaller and smaller; last time it was a washbasin.

If he were not in such pain, he would certainly have made such a sarcastic remark.

He couldn't wait to pick up the teacup, wanting to cast the Sword Seed into it.

How to cast it in?

The Sword Seed was within his Soul; should he jump in himself?

Could he fall into the teacup and drown?

In his anxiety, he had no choice but to press his finger into it.

There was no movement in the water, though the constant-temperature tea was slightly scalding.

In his desperation, he pulled his hand out, bit his finger, and pressed it back in, pouring his Internal Energy, Mental Power, and his will—anything he had—into the water.

Splash...

A sound like celestial music rang out, and in the halo of light, the long-lost fairy floated up again.

"Young man, did you drop this golden Sword Seed or this silver Sword Seed?"

She spread her hands and asked the young man before her.

It was becoming more and more perfunctory; before, there was golden light and silver light in her hands, but now there was nothing, and she just asked bluntly.

"Neither, I dropped an ordinary Sword Seed."

Only when he spoke did he realize his throat was as hoarse as if scraping the bottom of a pot, as if it were stained with blood.

"You are truly an honest child, I will return the Sword Seed..."

She stopped halfway through her sentence, suddenly stuck.

Immediately following, a crisp sound rang out, and cracks began to appear on the lenses of the Glasses, growing larger and larger, as if they were going to cross the entire lens.

Oh no... it seems the power of the Glasses is insufficient!

Tang Zhao was anxious, realizing that if the lenses truly shattered, he would lose his only chance to save himself.

He had to salvage it somehow; what was it needed to salvage the Glasses...

Absorb power, absorb it from the Waijie.

Art Tool? Rune Formula?

There was one right in front of him!

He turned the cup and pressed his hand against the inside of the cup handle.

There was a string of Rune Formulas there, used for keeping it warm.

A warm current flowed up from his finger, at a speed much faster than when he had absorbed the Wooden Sword; the Glasses seemed to know this was a moment of life and death, and released their hold to absorb.

In an instant, the water temperature cooled down, and the cracks in the Glasses stopped expanding, even showing signs of shrinking.

Tang Zhao, however, dared not absorb any more, fearing that if he drained the cup dry, it would be ruined, and the water would be gone, making the fairy's appearance for nothing; he had to look for another Art Tool.

If he were anywhere else, even in the Inspection Bureau, Art Tools would be considered valuable items, and he would not be able to find one in a short time. But this place was different; this was the room of a Talisman Sword Master, and the Glasses here were like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar.

Vase, Art Tool.

Book, Art Tool.

Cabinet, Art Tool.

Chair, still an Art Tool...

One by one, the Art Tools were consumed in Tang Zhao's hands, becoming cracked and aged, like junk. Although Tang Zhao was suffering, he could not help but feel guilty, thinking only: In an emergency, one must act with expediency; once I survive this, I will certainly compensate.

At this moment, he discovered a small red Lucky Bag hanging around his neck, which also seemed to be an Art Tool, within reach. But by some strange impulse, he felt it was best not to use this one; after all, there were plenty of Art Tools here, and he was not lacking this one.

Finally, amidst the mess, the Glasses struggled to return to their original state, and the fairy in the teacup floated, becoming vivid again, and said: "I will return the Sword Seed to—"

Behind the fairy's shadow, another shadow appeared, spreading out like wings—

At the same time, Tang Zhao only felt that the fingertip placed in the water formed a huge suction force, as if it were about to suck his Soul out of his body—

"Snap!"

The teacup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

——

"I have a way," Xing Ji suddenly said solemnly. "To find life in death."

Before Xue Yeyu could react, Si Liyu already understood: "Kill Tang Zhao, let the Sword Seed come out naturally, and then you grant him Remission?"

Xing Ji shook his head and said, "First, he is innocent, I cannot grant Remission. Second, I cannot grant Remission to a dead person."

Si Liyu's slightly relaxed brow furrowed again, and he said, "Then..."

Xing Ji said, "This requires asking the Inspection Envoy."

Xue Yeyu continued, "Pear Blossom Sword?"

Xing Ji nodded and said, "In this world, perhaps only the Inspection Envoy can save him and bring him back, but this is also extremely difficult, because the opportunity is truly limited, I do not know if the Inspection Envoy..."

"Very well."

Just then, someone outside the window suddenly interjected, and the group was startled. Xue Yeyu stepped forward a few paces and pushed open the window, only to see a figure standing on the treetop outside; in the darkness, that person's gaze was burning, bright as stars.

Xing Ji said with pleasant surprise, "Inspector! You have arrived as well?"

"Mm, I know of this matter. I quite like that child, and for his sake, I can use up one opportunity."

Xing Ji breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands, saying, "Many thanks, Inspector..."

A crisp "snap" sounded from inside the room, followed by a cry of "Ah" from Tang Zhao.

The three of them turned their heads to look almost instantly, and with a "whoosh," a shadow swept past them and burst through the room door.

The situation in the room was clear at a glance.

Cabinets and chests in the room had toppled over, leaving a scene of chaos with water dripping all over the floor; Tang Zhao was sitting half-upright in a disheveled state, one hand propping himself up on the ground, while the other hand had two fingers slightly curled, as if pinching something.

That thing, even to several pairs of eyes with remarkable Inspiration, was colorless and formless, with only the light in the space slightly distorted.

Xing Ji's eyes widened further and further, almost boring into that formless Fragment, and it was only after a long while that he softly spat out two words:

"Holy... shit..."

5

83 Death and rebirth