Chapter 128: Venturing Into the Trial Path Once More

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The courtyard house Ling Xinyue had prepared for me stood in an excellent location. It had only recently been renovated and redecorated, yet it still retained its antique charm.

The only problem was that the enormous courtyard was completely deserted.

I walked around the house once, then went to the garage outside, got into a car, and drove to the Ninth Bureau.

In Old Fox Zhou's office, I sat in his swivel chair with both feet propped up on his desk.

"Master Qin, have some coffee." A young woman in a white professional suit entered and placed a steaming cup of coffee before me.

"When will Director Zhou be back?" I asked.

"Well... I couldn't get through to him, so I can't say for certain," the young woman replied.

"Then I'll wait here. If he doesn't come back, I won't leave."

The young woman smiled, then turned and went out.

I took a sip of coffee and lit a cigarette.

Before I had finished it, the door opened again, and Old Fox Zhou appeared in the doorway, his hair and beard both white.

He glanced at the posture I had assumed, but said nothing. Instead, he sat down in the chair opposite me.

"I know you're upset. If you have any anger to vent, vent it on this old man," Old Fox Zhou said.

"Heh. If I could beat you, I would have ripped out every strand of your hair and beard by now," I sneered.

With that, I stood up and tossed the cigarette butt directly into the coffee. Then, with a grim expression, I asked, "Director Zhou, were you the one who ordered the sacrifice of our Dark Group?"

"It wasn't me," Old Fox Zhou said heavily.

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" I demanded through clenched teeth.

"I am the director of the Ninth Bureau, but the Ninth Bureau has another director as well. Even I don't know who he is. He is not under my command, nor am I under his, and he has another force of his own."

I froze for a moment. There was actually such a thing?

But I quickly recovered and said, "If neither of you is subordinate to the other, what right did he have to decide to sacrifice us?"

Old Fox Zhou let out a weary sigh. "According to mission hierarchy, the one with the higher authority has the right to make choices in special circumstances."

"Slap!"

I slammed my palm onto the desk and shouted, "Choices? To hell with your choices! We can accept sacrificing ourselves for a mission, but this wasn't a sacrifice—it was betrayal! Don't think you can label it a 'choice' just because you wrapped it up in the name of a mission."

"I've already lodged a protest with the higher authorities. I promise you'll receive an explanation," Old Fox Zhou said.

"To hell with your explanation! How are you going to explain this to Gao Pingping? How are you going to explain it to Yu Hai? How are you going to explain it to Nightingale and Phantom, whose fates are still unknown?" I roared.

Old Fox Zhou's expression darkened as well. In a hoarse voice, he said, "As the director, I owe them."

I closed my eyes. Only after a long while did I open them again.

"I want to leave the Ninth Bureau," I said flatly.

Old Fox Zhou gave a bitter laugh. "Old Li really got it right. He said that if you came back, you would definitely ask to leave the Ninth Bureau."

"Of course. I think I understand now why Old Li lost faith in the Ninth Bureau. It's because all of you are nothing but bureaucrats."

As I spoke, I turned to leave.

"I'll keep your position in the Ninth Bureau for you. You can do whatever you want. No matter when, the Ninth Bureau will welcome you back," Old Fox Zhou said.

My footsteps faltered slightly, but I continued out the door without looking back.

...

That night, I spent the entire night tangled up with Chi Yun in the courtyard house Ling Xinyue had arranged for me.

"Is this really all right?" Chi Yun asked softly from within my arms.

"You're only saying that now? When I asked you to come here earlier, you didn't say it was wrong."

I gave a low laugh.

Chi Yun bit her lower lip and rolled her eyes at me.

Before, she had indeed harbored other intentions. But hadn't everything returned to normal now?

Besides, she knew perfectly well that Ling Xinyue and I had no romantic relationship.

Even so, it was natural for her to feel a little unhappy.

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Just then, a cool voice came from outside.

"Are you two done clinging to each other yet?"

Chi Yun froze, then buried her face in my chest and whispered, "Why do I feel as though I've been caught by the wife?"

I patted her back and laughed. "If we're talking about who came first, you definitely rank higher than she does."

"She's your legitimate fiancée, and you've already announced it to the whole world. Do you dare deny it?" Chi Yun glared at me.

"I..." I had just begun to deny it when I felt another wrenching pain tear through my soul.

I gave a bitter smile. "I have to admit that she is."

Chi Yun snorted and began putting on her clothes.

She knew that I must have had my reasons, and she also understood perfectly well that my relationship with Ling Xinyue existed in name only.

Still, it was only natural for her to feel somewhat displeased.

Chi Yun and I left the room and entered the courtyard outside.

Ling Xinyue was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, reading a thread-bound antique book.

"I'm... leaving." Chi Yun lowered her voice awkwardly, said the words to me, and then went out.

Ling Xinyue put down the book in her hands and looked up at me.

When she saw the scars covering my face, she could not help but lose herself in thought for a moment.

I sat down opposite her and said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

"The day after tomorrow is my grandfather's eightieth birthday. As my fiancé, you must make an appearance. I came here specifically to inform you," Ling Xinyue said.

I raised an eyebrow. Was I about to meet her family? That was rather sudden.

"Understood. Anything else?" I asked.

"No."

A long silence followed.

Ling Xinyue rose to her feet. "I'm leaving. I'll send someone to pick you up that day."

"Wait," I said.

Ling Xinyue stopped and turned to look at me.

"I know you have a deep understanding of the Netherworld. I hope you can tell me about it," I said.

"Everything I can tell you, you already know. As for what I cannot tell you, there's nothing I can do."

With that, Ling Xinyue drifted out through the door.

"Damn that useless fiancée," I muttered.

I could not shake the feeling that Ling Xinyue was hiding some secret.

...

On the rear mountain, gravestones stretched into the distance, so densely packed that I could not see where they ended.

There were many more than when I had come here last time.

I stood before two new gravestones and laid down two bouquets of flowers.

The names Gao Pingping and Yu Hai were carved into the stones. Since both had been confirmed dead, they naturally deserved graves of their own. But their remains had never been recovered, leaving only empty tombs.

"Sister Gao, Brother Yu, you don't smoke, so have a drink instead."

I opened a bottle of liquor and poured it before the gravestones.

Then I sat down in silence and smoked one cigarette after another.

Just then, an aged hand pressed down on my shoulder.

"Old Li, you were right. This is hell," I said quietly.

"Once you've crossed through hell, you'll reach heaven," Old Li replied in his aged voice.

"But all these people have been left behind in hell," I said.

"Are you thinking of retreating?" Old Li asked.

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"I won't retreat. This is the path I chose. But I think I chose the wrong person to lead me down it."

The person I was referring to was obvious, and Old Li surely understood.

"Everything comes from the heart."

With those words, Old Li vanished.

Everything comes from the heart?

In this complicated world, how could everything possibly follow one's heart?

Yet Old Li's words echoed through my mind again and again, like an evil incantation.

At that moment, I stumbled, then simply sat down.

My soul trembled, and I appeared outside the Nether Dragon Hall. The doors stood open. I stepped inside and found the same path waiting for me.

When I reached the end, I saw the dragon stele and the trial portals of light standing to either side.

Once more, I entered the Gate of Rebirth Trial.

Last time, I had been annihilated before I had gone very far along this path. This time, I would have to be much more careful.

I appeared in the same place. A hand emerged from the ground just as before and seized my ankle.

I reacted instinctively, swinging my blade and cutting it down.

Dark winds howled, and ghostly shadows filled the air.

I soon reached the place where I had encountered the vicious ghost last time. Since I was prepared, I dispatched it in just a few moves.

Unfortunately, it did not drop another high-grade nether crystal.

I did not linger and immediately vanished into the distance.

The moment I left, more than a dozen vicious ghosts appeared where I had been standing.

Unfortunately, that was the extent of my knowledge about this trial path. Last time, my carelessness had gotten me killed there, and I had never gone any farther.

I gathered all my courage and stepped into the unknown.

Groups of wandering souls drifted across this dead wasteland.

There seemed to be an aura about me that attracted them. They rushed at me one after another, trying to devour me.

With the Blood Fiend Blade in hand, I mercilessly reaped the wandering souls. They were nothing like the vicious ghosts I had killed earlier. A single stroke could cut down an entire swath of them.

As their energy was absorbed into me, I felt my soul slowly growing stronger.

"Hahaha! This feels great!"

I annihilated every wandering soul in the entire area as effortlessly as slaughtering chickens.

Even so, I did not let down my guard. I had already encountered a group of vicious ghosts before. Who knew whether another horde might emerge?

I moved forward, but did not encounter any more wandering souls.

Then, without warning, a chill ran through my heart. I threw myself to the ground.

"Screech..."

A sharp cry rang through the sky. A gigantic bird, its entire body pitch-black, circled overhead and stared down at me like a predator sizing up its prey. Clearly, it had already marked me as its target.

My heart tightened.

This giant bird gave me the same feeling as those high-level nether cultivators—a sense of danger, as though I had encountered a natural enemy.

At that moment, I instinctively received information about the creature.

"Soul-Eating Bird!" I murmured.

Then realization dawned on me. I had entered this trial path in soul form, which naturally placed me on the Soul-Eating Bird's menu.

This Soul-Eating Bird was no ordinary creature. It fed exclusively on wandering souls and was extraordinarily savage. Even ordinary vicious ghosts could not escape it.

I formed a weapon from soul force in my hand and steadied my mind, remaining fully alert.

There was nowhere to hide in this open expanse. It seemed I could only fight it head-on.

The enormous Soul-Eating Bird circled me several times. Suddenly, it let out a piercing cry and dove toward me, its speed as swift as lightning.

I activated the Netherworld Ghost Step, transforming into a streak of ghostly light as I dodged aside. The soul blade in my hand unleashed a storm of soul force as I slashed toward the bird's head.

The Soul-Eating Bird shrieked miserably, and a wound appeared on its head. But the soul blade in my hand shattered in an instant and vanished without a trace.

At that moment, the Soul-Eating Bird swept its wings toward me, each one as sharp as a blade.

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