Chapter 780: Judgment

The boat was silent; everyone was thinking about their own problems. Priest Ao Gu Si suddenly raised his head, turned to look at the stern of the boat, looked at the depths of the water domain, and that Underworld Moon slowly falling into the water.

The old priest reminded in a hoarse voice:

"Look back now, think of those who have left, we can still see them... try it..."

The boat was moving forward. Xia De, Priest Ao Gu Si, Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, and Sister Daifulin all looked back.

The priest revealed a smile, nodding gently to the young nun who was watching him from afar:

"You are still as beautiful as ever, but I have already grown old."

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na raised her head and opened her mouth slightly, her eyes reflecting the light of the Underworld Moon. And beneath that Underworld Moon were the captain and teammates killed by the Silver-Eyed One and the grave robber Hawthorne. These were her teammates when she was training in the Holy See, and at this moment, they were standing together, waving goodbye to her.

"I am doing very well now!"

There was no sadness on Yin Yi Yi Lu Na's face; she stood up and waved her right hand toward the depths of death.

Sister Daifulin's silver eye mask reflected the moonlight. She folded her hands together on her lap and nodded slightly to show respect:

"The fire and mission you passed on to me, I will continue to pass on."

And Xia De stared blankly at the soul standing on the water surface, looking at Sparrow Hamilton beneath the moon.

The middle-aged detective, the ace spy of the Kingdom of Carins, the Gray Hawk, was leaning on a cane with his right hand, and his left hand was pulling the brim of his black deerstalker hat slightly downward. He was not in the terrifying state he was in before he died, but in the appearance of an upper-class gentleman. He looked up slightly, shaking his head at Xia De with some regret under the moon, then turned around and continued walking toward the depths of the water domain.

Xia De stared blankly at the departing figure. Detective Sparrow brushed past another soul who also possessed color. That soul then stopped, turned, and looked at Xia De.

Short, withered yellow hair, obvious traces of eyelids turned outward, a thin figure, wearing a red glove on his right hand.

It was Ivan Dac Nisi:

"I'll be waiting for you after everything ends."

His right eye revealed a scarlet light, and then he also turned and walked toward the Underworld Moon.

Xia De was in a trance, suddenly stunned, thinking of something very important, and hurriedly called out softly in his heart:

"Xia De..."

No soul turned back. The Outsider did not see the former, true, blind and foolish Xia De.

He stared blankly at the departing souls, suddenly like Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, also raised his hand and waved toward the distance. Priest Ao Gu Si put down his pipe and also waved backward with a regretful expression; even Sister Daifulin made the same movement.

Silent, everyone saw those they missed, but no one tried to take them away together. Being able to see them again was enough; this was the difference between others and Joey Barton.

Slicing through the water surface like silver silk, only the scales in Yin Yi Yi Lu Na's hand emitted a faint light. The surroundings were extremely quiet, but no matter what, the distance between the shallows and the little boat remained consistent; they seemed unable to return to the distant shore.

"Is there something wrong with this?"

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na was the first to notice this and asked softly.

The priest turned to look at the front of the boat, having no clue about this. Sister Daifulin also shook her head slightly. Joey Barton and the resurrected Miss Marilyn Handel didn't care about these at all. Xia De moved from the position near the stern to the bow, standing on the boat and gazing far away at the faint bonfire on the shallows.

After considering it slightly, even without "She" reminding him, the answer appeared naturally in his heart:

"We gave dead people a chance to be reborn for our own selfish desires. Although someone paid the price for this, this is after all a matter of breaking the rules, so we cannot reach the shore... Yes, I understand, one last step is still needed."

Xia De turned to look at Yin Yi Yi Lu Na:

"Judge, please judge them now and confirm whether this rebirth complies with the rules."

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na hesitated and nodded. When Xia De sat down, she stood up, holding the dark golden scales.

Everyone looked at her, which made the seventeen-year-old girl somewhat uncomfortable, but she still looked at Joey Barton and Marilyn Handel and said clearly:

"In the name of the Old God 【The Hanged Judge】, I will give you judgment."

The little boat glided quietly; the pale golden light and the silver light of the Underworld Moon were so serene:

"Joey Barton, for your own desires and obsessions, you attempted to break the balance of life and death. You assisted the Narrow Gap of Life and Death, bringing more death, disaster, and sacrifices to Mid-Hill Fort, and even potentially leading to a greater disaster. Now, the old man took away your bones, the nun burned your flesh, the winner took away your soul, and gave you the possibility of resurrecting the dead..."

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na took a deep breath:

"Offering bones, casting aside flesh, abandoning the soul, can only make up for a fraction of your mistakes. From now on, you will bear the curse of death with this lady and walk in this world. The Orthodox Church will be your enemy, and the good will loathe your existence. Do more good deeds to make up for your mistakes; repent at all times and pray for those innocent souls. You bear the blood debt of Mid-Hill Fort; this will be the sin that entangles your life."

Joey Barton's transparent soul lowered his head:

"I accept your judgment. Before I come here again, I will be entangled by the curse and spurned by living beings. I will do more good deeds to make up for all my mistakes."

"All things must die. What you seek is the process, but it will not change the result; instead, it will make you bear a lifetime of curses."

Mr. Barton paused:

"Yes, this is... the meaning of my life. Since I cannot grow normally and experience a lifetime in the order of the living, then this is fine. After reaching the end for the first time, bearing the curse and experiencing a second life with her, even if we will eventually return here again. But I still have her, and I still have a memory; this is the meaning."

"What is this lady's name?"

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na nodded, then asked softly again. She hadn't heard Joey Barton's call on the water surface very clearly.

"Marilyn Handel."

Xia De reminded softly, so Yin Yi Yi Lu Na coughed and spoke again:

"Marilyn Handel, the dead should not be reborn. But someone paid with bones, flesh, and soul, allowing you to walk in the world again. You also bear the curse of death because of this, and are entangled by a sinful soul, unable to be freed for life until you come here again. Mortals must die; this is the price you pay for rebirth."

"I will be with him. He made a big mistake for me, and I have the responsibility to walk the path ahead with him."

She grabbed Mr. Barton's soul's hand. The two looked at each other, speechless.

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na shook her head slightly, her tone very serious:

"Bearing the curse of death, bearing a sinful soul, but you have also touched the supernatural because of this. Your soul is different from others. Death is staring at you, Madam. Go and save the souls wandering in the world; this is your path of redemption."

"Yes."

"I understand."

The living and the dead said simultaneously. At the same time, Xia De saw a golden chain extend from the dark golden scales, firmly binding Joey Barton and Marilyn Handel together.

Priest Ao Gu Si, Sister Daifulin, and Yin Yi Yi Lu Na also saw it:

"This is..."

"A contract. From now on, they are sinners bearing the sin of death, saving souls that have not left in the human world in exchange for the reduction of the curse they bear. This is the judgment result I give as the Chosen One who inherited 'Balance'... oh, I actually have such power?"

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na also seemed to have just found out.

Everyone's story seemed very exciting, and Joey Barton and the resurrected Marilyn Handel would have many stories to come. But those stories probably had nothing to do with Xia De. But perhaps many years later, he would still find the elderly them, who would never be separated, to listen to the story that would eventually return to death.

"Is this enough?"

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na asked Xia De softly again. Before Xia De could speak, he felt the boat bump into something, swaying gently.

Everyone looked at the bow of the boat together. Unknowingly, they had already reached the shore.

"I seem to understand some things again."

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na patted her head:

"What a strange feeling, I can use more power of balance. So this is how the Chosen One digs into the power of the Chosen One."

"Miss Beiyasi, this is a fair judgment; I have truly opened my eyes."

Priest Ao Gu Si praised, and Yin Yi Yi Lu Na smiled with her head lowered in embarrassment.

The group of people came to the shore from the little boat. Except for Xia De, everyone else returned to the Tree's Kiss bonfire and sat by the fire. Xia De looked at the double-door stone gate; his time was very tight:

"The problem now is that the church's 'Trace of the Holy Tree' ritual has already sealed three passages. How are we going to go back?"

He said with a frown.

Last time he used the "Key of the Gate" to unlock it, but this time there was a seal outside, and his state could not contend with this gate again:

"Priest, can you..."

"No, if we push the door open, it's equivalent to destroying the church's seal. But don't worry, when this wave of resistance in the Narrow Gap ends and the Narrow Gap stabilizes temporarily, we can forcibly open the door again. Although that will also destroy the seal, at least it won't lead to irreversible consequences... It seems we are going to be missing for a few days."

The priest said, the firelight reddening his face. The old priest was not very worried:

"If you are afraid that others will worry about you, my miracle 【Last Words】 can help you send some messages out. Yes, just like how I broke into your dream."

"I must return to Mid-Hill Fort now, there are some things only I can do..."

Xia De held the red butterfly pendant that had split into two halves and looked at Sister Daifulin. The latter shook her head slightly. He looked at Joey Barton again, but he didn't pay attention to Xia De at all.

Xia De thought for a moment and asked again:

"Priest, you mean that if we forcibly open the door from the inside to the 'outside', it will damage the ritual, then what about opening the door from the outside?"

"That won't work either; the three passages cannot suffer any more losses."

The priest denied it hurriedly, but Xia De didn't mean that:

"I mean, what if someone opens a door to here from outside Mid-Hill Fort?"

Priest Ao Gu Si was stunned and nodded slowly:

"Then there's no problem. After all, only the Narrow Gap in Mid-Hill Fort has problems; other regions are very safe. However, apart from the three passages in Mid-Hill Fort, is there any way to easily go to here in the material world? I've never heard of it..."

"Of course there is. I heard a librarian mention this matter at the other end of time. Oh, priest, hurry up and use your miracle, I want to send last words to two people!"

Xia De said with a smile, truly relieved. He also sat back by the bonfire and roasted by the fire with the others. Yin Yi Yi Lu Na moved toward Xia De carefully, looking at the flames in front of her happily.

"The original effect of the miracle 【Last Words】 is to fulfill the wishes of the souls who stay behind, letting them safely enter the dreams of those they miss, or use water surfaces, mirrors, and the like to conduct a final farewell. We are all equivalent to dead people now, so it's very easy to enter dreams. However, it cannot be a dream in the Mid-Hill Fort region; the Mid-Hill Fort shrouded by the Narrow Gap now cannot be considered a normal world."

"It doesn't matter, the people I want to send last words to are all in Tobesk. I hope I didn't disturb their night's rest; it's already very late."

Xia De said, then looked at the others by the bonfire:

"There is still some time before someone comes to save us. Now let's collude, ahem, I mean discuss the details of what happened here tonight."

He let out a long breath and looked at the face of everyone in the firelight in turn:

"But most importantly, the topic of the Chosen One of Death. Committing suicide in the Narrow Gap and then being reborn can complete the ritual. Now everyone here has stepped into death voluntarily in the Narrow Gap, so... the first candidate to leave here is the true..."

The firelight illuminated the living people in death, and the radiance of the Underworld Moon sprinkled on the ground and water surface. The epic of the Sixth Era entered an important node again, and this time, Xia De could finally control the situation himself. ===== CHAPTER 781 =====