Even If a Mayfly Enters the Sea, I Will Burn My Blood and Scorch the Sky

Tian Yi gripped his great blade in both hands, roared, and drove it into the ground. The scarlet flame burning over his body surged in an instant to the blade's tip, drilled into the earth, and vanished. The scarlet flame that had wrapped Tian Yi disappeared without a trace, like a candle snuffed out in a breath. But right after that. The whole world seemed to pause for an instant. The crust began to tremble faintly. The next moment— Countless fragments flew into the air. Near-endless flame, like a volcano erupting, shot up from the deep heart of the earth with Tian Yi at its center. The range was enormous. In nearly an instant it cleared a great swath of the ghost tide all around! Even a Ghost King that had drawn near died a wretched death under this one strike. One man. One Ghost King slain. Set down in any corner of the Eternal Night Continent, this was a feat shocking enough. Just as Tian Yi had said. Every member of the Eternal Night Hall's Field Operations Group had to have the strength for one person to hold back one wave of the ghost tide, even if only for an instant. The strike ended. Tian Yi's face was deathly white, without a trace of blood. He stood unsteadily on the ground and looked toward the stretch he had just cleared. In almost the blink of an eye it was filled again by an even greater ghost tide. Countless mad, brutal ghost creatures, fearing neither life nor death, came charging him at a dead run. A gale slammed into his face, carrying a foul stench with it. At that moment— The Mother-Child Stone in his arms suddenly burned hot, and Domain Lord Chen's familiar, heavy voice came through. "Fan Domain's support is about to arrive." "Hold on." He glanced back at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line behind him, and suddenly laughed. He hefted the blade in his hand, turned, and looked out at the endless ghost tide ahead. He licked the corner of his mouth, and could not help remembering the steamed pork ribs with fermented black beans he had eaten that morning. Truly delicious. By now the ghost tide charging him from ahead had begun to blur. He faintly remembered a scene from his youth, following along behind his master and asking him for oranges. Warm, and full of joy. But now... "It's too late, Domain Lord Chen." "Thank you for your hospitality." In the night. Tian Yi stood amid the flames still left upon the ground. In the raging wind and rain he held his blade level and stood where he was, body drawn like a bow, staring straight at the ghost creature nearest him as it charged. Faintly. Between the teeth of this ghost creature, jaws wide in a roar, he saw a Mother-Child Stone. That ought to be the Mother-Child Stone that had been in the hands of the man in charge when the Yellow Springs Coastal Defense Line fell. "I've avenged you, brother." The next moment— The cracks on Tian Yi's body grew larger and larger. His whole person was nearly coming apart. An even wilder scarlet flame shot from the gaps in the surface of his skin, from his eyes, nose, ears, and throat. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and roared, trying to vent the scalding heat inside him. He had been scalded all his life. This whole life, that scarlet flame had tormented him from within at every moment. Today... he wanted to burn hotter. He smiled, and began to run. The endless ghost tide charged him. He went to meet it. The speed beneath his feet grew faster and faster, until he was about to reach them. There was no fear in his eyes. His eye sockets were already filled with scarlet flame. He leapt into the air. In the storm he raised the blade high and grinned. "Even if a mayfly enters the sea, I will burn my blood and scorch the sky." "Corpse Liberation." "Burn the Sky!" The blood inside him began to burn at speed, converting without cease into scarlet flame. More and more flame surged out along the blade's tip and formed a flame dragon hundreds of zhang long. The first strike burned to ash the ghost creature that had a Mother-Child Stone caught in its teeth, and the crowd of ghost creatures around it was cleared in an instant as well. His feet did not pause in the slightest. He aimed straight for the Ghost King. Second strike! The Ghost King that, in the rainy season of old, had posed extreme danger to Fan Domain—under this strike, its chest was driven into its back, a chill straight through the heart. Third strike. Another Ghost King fell because of it. Just as Tian Yi prepared to charge on. A dark green giant hand shot out of the darkness and slapped hard at Tian Yi. This one blow alone knocked him into the high sky. He traced a parabola through the air and landed heavily behind the defense line. Whether he lived or died, no one knew. Almost in that instant. The scarlet flame that had nearly covered the sky went out. In the ghost tide, the owner of that dark green giant hand stood a full dozen meters tall. It stood amid the tide, looked toward this Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line, and roared. This was a great ghost. A great ghost was a ghost creature one tier stronger than a Ghost King. Absolutely not something human strength could stop. The area that had been briefly cleared was already filled by the ghost tide again. They sprinted toward the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line and launched once more a charge that feared neither life nor death! On the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. The commander took the whole scene in. His eyes reddened, and he said hoarsely, "Hold! Hold!!!" The cannon towers on the line began, at full power, to bombard the ghost tide below without pause. But as more and more ghost creature corpses piled up, great numbers of ghost creatures drew ever closer to the top of the wall. Before the great ghost slapped Tian Yi away, Tian Yi had told him through the Mother-Child Stone that Fan Domain's support was about to arrive. He did not know how Fan Domain could give support in so short a time. But now, the only hope he could rely on was Fan Domain. The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line was a full several dozen kilometers long. In the sector where he stood, Tian Yi's eruption had eased the pressure a little. But the other sectors might fall at any moment. The number and strength of this ghost tide had already far exceeded the limit the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line could bear. The obese man in a black robe who had been following behind Tian Yi now moved with light steps, rushing rapidly back and forth along the top of the wall. At last his gaze stopped on a great ghost that had already hefted a giant hammer, taken great strides up to the defense line, and was preparing to swing the hammer down. He stopped suddenly. The black robe he had been wearing came off of itself, with no wind. It revealed his true appearance. The surface of his skin was covered in lumps the size of basketballs. Through the translucent skin of the lumps, thick fluid could be seen flowing inside. He no longer had anything like a human shape at all. Even his cheeks and neck bulged with several lumps. His expression could not be made out. His face could not be made out. This obese man stood in the storm, turned, and looked in the direction the great ghost had slapped Tian Yi. He looked deeply once. Only then did he force a thin, hoarse voice from his throat, a voice that cut the wind. "Nightwatcher, No. 97." "Activate!" The man trod the air. One step, one footprint. He walked out beyond the defense line and stood suspended. The thick fluid inside the lumps on the surface of his body began to churn without cease, as if boiling, until— When cracks surfaced on every lump. He slowly opened both arms. He took one last look at heaven and earth. From his chest he drew a brown-sugar steamed bun he had quietly brought away from Fan Domain. He lifted the lump blocking his mouth a little, and with difficulty stuffed the bun in and chewed. Amid the piercing sound a thread of laughter mingled, and he murmured low. "Sweet." "At last... it can stop hurting." The next moment! A deep green light bloomed in an instant, like an aurora! And kept pouring out into the night! Nearly the greater part of the twenty-seven-kilometer Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line was covered by the deep green aurora. Everyone saw it. Wherever the deep green aurora reached, countless of the ghost tide's creatures, Ghost Kings among them, fell one after another. Only great ghosts could escape with their lives, and even they were heavily wounded. Nearly all the ghost tide ahead was cleared in a single stroke. The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line, which had been about to fall, held once more. This was the Eternal Night Hall's strategic weapon: the Nightwatcher. After special modification, not only was the power immense, it did not do the slightest harm to humans or to buildings. The only flaw was that a modified Nightwatcher endured violent pain for life. The greater the strength of the modification, the stronger the pain endured. But— At the far end of the cleared ground, a great ghost tide came charging out of the Eternal Night again in an endless stream, as if infinite, as if it could never be killed off. Those heavily wounded great ghosts roared and charged once more. Madder. Angrier. The meaning of a strategic weapon was not to end the battle, but to open a gap in the battle. If no counterstroke was made in that gap, then it was only struggling a little longer. But— Fan Domain's support had come. In the sky. Three Fan Domain Cruise Missiles carrying lightning crossed the Eternal Night at extreme speed. Bearing a terrifying deterrent might, they fell straight into the ghost tide outside the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. "Boom!!" Explosions suddenly filled the sky. Countless lightning serpents surged madly over the ground, like the Thunder God scouring the earth. Wave on wave, a scorched fragrance covered the whole sky. Only, most of this batch of cruise missiles had struck empty air. After all, the Nightwatcher had only just cleared this area. They only cleared those twenty or thirty heavily wounded great ghosts, the ground the Nightwatcher had not covered, and the ghost tide newly pouring out of the Eternal Night. A huge explosion resounded between heaven and earth. The commander standing on the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line, eyes full of fear and panic, steadied himself and gave a rapid order. "Dump the corpse-melting water. Clear the ghost creature corpses in front of the defense line." But soon. This cleared ground, as the ghost tide poured endlessly out of the Eternal Night, filled once more. About ten breaths passed. In the sky. Three Fan Domain Cruise Missiles carrying the deterrent might of lightning once again tore across the night between heaven and earth, fell heavily into the ghost tide, and countless fragments of ghost creature corpses and deep green liquid bloomed in the air. The area was cleared again. The ghost tide of the Eternal Night Calendar came pouring in without end once more. Ten breaths later. Three Fan Domain Cruise Missiles arrived on schedule again. Behind the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line, Tian Yi lay on the wasteland, life or death unknown. From the Mother-Child Stone in his arms came Chen Fan's urgent, heavy voice without cease. "Tian Yi, report the battle at the front." "Tian Yi!" "Tian Yi!" But no one answered. The voice rose alone in the night. One hundred fully equipped flying boats of Fan Domain, the moment they received the call for aid, lifted into the air overnight and raced at top speed toward the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. But however fast the flying boats were, by the time they reached the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line it would already be two shichen later. Chen Fan stood on the deck of a flying boat. He looked at the map on the translucent panel before him and kept tapping lightly in front of the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. Each time he tapped, the Heaven-Reaching Pillars standing at Fan Domain's port would launch three, in support of the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. The missiles were who knew how many times faster than his flying boat. But he did not know the situation at the front. He could only bombard blindly. Every sixty breaths, three shots. He soon thought of something. Through a voice transmission talisman he quickly contacted Seventh Elder of Defense Line No. 7. "Help me contact the commander of the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. Tell me what the situation at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line is now." "Understood!" Seventh Elder did not know that something had happened at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. He had received no word. By procedure, he could not serve as this go-between. It counted as leaking the Eternal Night Hall's confidential intelligence. But he trusted Chen Fan enough, and Chen Fan's tone was urgent. It let him understand that something must have gone wrong over at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line, though he did not know how the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line, clearly an inland line, could be in trouble. Soon— Chen Fan reached the commander of the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. "This is Jiangbei Fan Domain. Tell me the battle situation at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line now." "Y-yes..." The other man's tone was panicked and helpless. "Tian Yi is already dead. The Nightwatcher has activated. Some method I don't know fell from the sky and killed no small part of the ghost tide." "Those are Fan Domain Cruise Missiles. The number is limited." "You are now responsible for reporting intelligence to me. When you judge that support is needed, I will launch Fan Domain Cruise Missiles again. The wait between launches is about thirty-seven breaths. Calculate the lead time yourself." "In about two shichen, one hundred Fan Domain flying boats will arrive at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line." "Please hold on." He did not explain much. From the voice transmission talisman's far side soon came the sound of the other man acknowledging. After all this was done. Chen Fan stood on the flying boat's deck and looked ahead at the darkness constantly peeling away to either side. Expressionless, he was silent and did not speak for a long time. This ghost tide had come for him. The Ghost Clan... A bit too cautious. And too decisive. He had already hidden a great deal of his strength. The strength shown to the outside was only one Jiangbei Defense Line. But even so, the moment the Ghost Clan learned of it, they still meant to destroy him with a thunderous offensive. So vast a ghost tide had appeared without warning at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. The price the Ghost Clan had paid would not be small. He looked at the number of Heaven-Reaching Pillars remaining, marked beside the translucent map before him. Fan Domain had ninety-eight max-level Heaven-Reaching Pillars in all. Just now he had already launched fifteen, with eighty-two left. Before setting out, he had fired one at the ghost tide outside the Jiangbei Defense Line, and had gotten an approximate killing range: ten kilometers. The range had not increased by much. But the killing power within that range had increased sharply. Even a great ghost, under this one strike, was reduced to ash and smoke. He had not met a stronger ghost creature. Judging by the speed at which great ghosts perished, he felt that even a stronger ghost creature, struck full on by a max-level Heaven-Reaching Pillar, ought to be certain to die as well. "Requesting aid!" After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line commander's voice sounded in the voice transmission talisman. Chen Fan did not pause. He lightly tapped the translucent map before him three times again. Near Fan Domain's port, of the several hundred Heaven-Reaching Pillars standing on the ground, three max-level Heaven-Reaching Pillars began to tremble. Their outer shells cracked, revealing the slender, miniature Heaven-Reaching Pillars inside. They slowly rose into the air, turned, and shot toward the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. At last— When Chen Fan had launched fifty-four max-level Heaven-Reaching Pillars in all, the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line commander's voice finally came to his ear. "The ghost tide... the ghost tide... is gone." "Hoo." Chen Fan let out a breath of relief. The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line had held. Though the price was a bit high. Tian Yi was dead. The Nightwatcher had activated. Of Fan Domain's foundation of ninety-eight max-level Heaven-Reaching Pillars, fifty-five had been consumed in all. But in the end it had held. Once the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line shattered, the threat to Fan Domain would be immense. He could not build one defense line across Jiangbei and Jiangnan. That line would be too long. Fan Domain simply did not have that many ghost stones. Even with that many ghost stones, building a defense line took time. It could not be finished in the blink of an eye. Right after— "We found Tian Yi. He isn't dead yet. He still has a little breath, but he's already close to death... I've used an altar to keep his life hanging on for now." "I'll be there at once." Two shichen later. One hundred fully equipped flying boats arrived at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. This was Chen Fan's first time coming to the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. When a flying boat drew level with the city wall, Chen Fan walked onto the wall. At a glance he saw the scene outside the defense line. The ground had been scoured nearly flat, several zhang deep. In the air a heavy scorched smell and the smell of blood mixed together. Countless fragments of ghost creature corpses, ghost stones among them, were scattered outside the defense line. "I am the commander of the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line." A middle-aged man strode up to meet him and said urgently. "Take me to see Tian Yi." "This way." The man hurriedly led the way. Soon. In a Sacrificial Tower set upon the city wall, Chen Fan saw Tian Yi, eyes tightly shut. He lay naked in the altar. His body was covered in cracks. One look was horrifying. But not a thread of blood flowed out. Only, faintly, scarlet flame seeped forth. He did not know how to treat the sick. Generally speaking, injuries like broken bones and surface wounds could be healed through an altar. Only, Tian Yi's injury now was clearly not of that kind. The broken bones and surface wounds had already been healed. But there was already no blood left inside his body. That he could live until now was a kind of miracle. For the moment Chen Fan too was somewhat at a loss. However... when he learned the news, he had already sent a flying boat to bring someone who might have a way. About the time it takes one stick of incense to burn. A flying boat shot out of the darkness and stopped at the edge of the city wall. The Medicine King Valley Master, bringing a crowd of elders, hurried down from the flying boat with bundles large and small, came to Tian Yi's side, and carefully examined him at speed. Soon. The Medicine King Valley Master rose and gave his answer. "Domain Lord Chen, this man should have used a special secret art. He burst open every blood vessel in his body, burned his blood away to nothing, and erupted with extremely great strength." "This is a secret art of certain death. It cannot be stopped." "But—" "Inside the jade plaque worn at this man's neck, a hidden layer holds a rare heavenly material and earthly treasure. It is yin in nature, and happened to neutralize a little of this violent scarlet flame." "It left him a life." "However, the blood vessels have all shattered. Right now he is only hanging on by a breath. If he has a life tablet in the Eternal Night Hall, the life tablet should already have shattered." "Even placed in an altar, he can live three days at most." "There is one method that might save him. Only—" The Medicine King Valley Master was somewhat short of confidence. He had never faced a situation this thorny. The solution he could think of was merely inferred in theory, and for the moment he somewhat dared not speak. "Speak freely." Chen Fan said softly, his face calm. "There's no better way now either. Any method is worth a try." After all, in a certain sense, Tian Yi had fallen into this state in order to help Fan Domain hold the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. He ought to reach out and aid him. Although the news had leaked out from Tian Yi. But... it had not been Tian Yi's intention either. "All right." The Medicine King Valley Master drew a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "The first step is to help him reshape his blood vessels. But the blood vessels of a human body are extremely complex. At present no one can do it." "Unless—" "Unless we plant a Ghost Blood Flower inside this man's body, let the Ghost Blood Flower's roots and stems fill his body in place of blood vessels, then plant this man in grade-ten farmland and let the Ghost Blood Flower grow quickly." "After that, feed him a Human Blood Pill, to spur blood into being." "After several months of recuperation, in theory, there is a certain chance he can live." "Wait!" Shao Qiu, standing to one side, brows tightly knit, said in a low voice, "I remember Medicine King Valley is an orthodox sect, isn't it? Not some demonic, deviant school?" "Domain Lord." "This Ghost Blood Flower is an extremely rare means of tormenting people and controlling them. Plant a Ghost Blood Flower in a human body, and the roots and stems will grow constantly through the blood vessels. It is extremely painful. When it has finished growing, it bears a fruit." "Just crush that fruit." "And the person will bleed from the seven orifices and die on the spot." "And that Human Blood Pill is worse—a pill some demonic cultivators refine from the blood of slaughtered living beings, used to raise cultivation quickly." "These are all crooked, evil ways. You're using them to treat an illness?" "What crooked, evil way? A way that can be used to save a person is a good way." The Medicine King Valley Master had still been somewhat unsure of himself, but hearing someone question his own field, he could not help retorting. "Yes, the Ghost Blood Flower is a means of torment, roots and stems growing constantly through the blood vessels. But he doesn't even have blood vessels now. What torment can it become? The roots and stems that grow will exactly take the place of blood vessels." "Can you find another way to repair his blood vessels?" "That Human Blood Pill—if it is a demonic cultivator's means of raising cultivation, it is at the same time a wondrous pill for quickly restoring blood and qi. It has a bad side. It also has a good side." "But as far as I know, refining a Human Blood Pill takes the blood of a great many mortals. How many people do you intend to slaughter to refine one Human Blood Pill?" Shao Qiu knew he should not be speaking now. The Domain Lord surely wanted to save Tian Yi. It was only that, though blood without number stained his own hands, he truly could not stand the slaughter of mortals. Especially slaughtering mortals to refine a pill. Just as the way he had once proved his strength was a night assault on Tuxian Sacred Land, not the slaughter of a city of mortals. "We won't slaughter anyone." The Medicine King Valley Master shook his head. "If every person in our whole Medicine King Valley voluntarily offers a little blood, that is enough to refine one furnace of Human Blood Pills." "If you want to eat an egg, there is no need to slaughter a whole chicken farm." Shao Qiu suddenly froze where he stood. His mouth opened and closed slightly, and for a while he could not react. How had he never thought that a Human Blood Pill could be refined this way? This... This could actually work? "We'll do it your way." Chen Fan said in a low voice, "Take him back to Sunset City in Jiangbei Fan Domain. You will personally take charge of treating him. So long as you can save him, there will be a reward." "Yes!" The Medicine King Valley Master nodded heavily. A flying boat set out overnight, carrying the Medicine King Valley people and the gravely wounded, dying Tian Yi back to Fan Domain. Chen Fan stood on the city wall of the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line and listened as the commander beside him explained how it had all come about. "That is how the matter went." The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line commander said hoarsely, his expression complicated. "Not long after nightfall, we received word that the Yellow Springs Coastal Defense Line had fallen. Tonight the ghost tide at the Yellow Springs Coastal Defense Line surged in number. It was not the usual strength at all." "Right after that," "this ghost tide landed from the coastal reaches of Yellow Springs Mouth and came to the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line." By rights, Chen Fan had no authority to ask about these things, and the commander should not have spoken of them. But somehow, when Chen Fan asked, he instinctively told everything he knew. Just like reporting to a superior. Perhaps because, without the support of the Fan Domain Cruise Missiles tonight, he would have had no chance to stand here and report. Chen Fan looked toward the place where that Nightwatcher had detonated himself. A thread of soil dyed dark green still remained on the ground. He had not seen that scene with his own eyes. But from the commander's account, he could roughly imagine it. Somehow. He kept feeling that this was too cruel to a Nightwatcher. Although, judging by the power, it was indeed considerable. But... a Nightwatcher was first a person. To completely turn a person into an object and forge him into a strategic weapon—in his eyes, that felt somewhat cruel. He did not think the Eternal Night Hall had done wrong. The fighting at the front was desperate. The Eternal Night Continent might fall at any time. In that situation no one would consider humane treatment. He only felt that these Nightwatchers were somewhat pitiable. A Nightwatcher's fated end should not be activation. No one hoped that the only fate they were born to was to detonate themselves. He believed that when these Nightwatchers' mothers bore their children, they too had not hoped their children's fate would be to detonate themselves. He roughly knew how this ghost tide had come. It ought to be the same as the attack on the convoy hauling supplies through Qiuming Basin: at any cost, break the regional lockdown, and send a ghost tide ashore into the Yellow Springs Mouth mountain region. A method like this, even for the Ghost Clan, ought to have cost no small price. In the short term. There would not be a second time. But to be safe. Chen Fan turned his head toward the commander of this Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line and said in a low voice, "I'll help you make a simple modification to the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line, and strengthen it." "But don't report this matter upward." "Once it's reported, the next ghost tide that comes may be even larger." "Understood!" The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line commander nodded, his voice trembling. He already roughly understood. This ghost tide had been coming for Fan Domain. It was only that they could not manage to land from Jiangbei or from Defense Line No. 7. They would have had to pass through several regions. The losses would have been too great. So they had landed from the Yellow Springs coastal defense line. In other words. From now on, ghost tides that meant to strike Fan Domain from the interior would basically all have to pass through here. The more information he reported upward, the more of the ghost tide would come. Before he was transferred away from the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. He certainly would not report it. This time Fan Domain's support had arrived. But next time? Next time, when Fan Domain's support was used up? Next time, when there was no Nightwatcher to buy him time? Chen Fan said no more. He only began laying copper pipes, altars, and Soul-Devouring Sculptures along the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line—simple basic structures, yet able to greatly raise the strength of a defense line. The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line was not long. It was the same length as the already fallen Yellow Springs Coastal Defense Line. Both were twenty-seven kilometers. Laying them would not take too long. And not long after this ghost tide was wiped out to the last, the Ghost Emperor beyond the waters of Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 1 had already received the news. Face dark, he sat alone on the throne of the great hall for a long time. Only then did he draw a ghost bone from his robe. He personally contacted the inside agent he had only just swayed, and said, hoarse, one word at a time: "You humans have an old saying. In war, speed is precious." "The ghost tide I sent out tonight was wiped out in an extremely short time. Do you know how great a price I paid to send that ghost tide to Fan Domain?" "Did you conceal part of the intelligence on Fan Domain?" "If Fan Domain had not stepped in, this ghost tide could not possibly have been wiped out at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line does not have strength this great." From the other end soon came a voice cursing in a fury, utterly beside itself. "I told you. Don't contact me on your own. The Fan Domain news I received is only this much. I've already told you all of it." "And what's so strange about this?" "If Fan Domain hadn't shown its potential, you wouldn't have sent a ghost tide either, would you? A power with the potential to rise quickly, having a few cards in reserve—is that rare?" "I'll say it again. Don't contact me on your own!" "And—" "Humans have another saying. More haste, less speed!" The link soon cut off. The Ghost Emperor sat on the palace throne, his face ugly, and crushed the ghost bone dead in his hand. In the short term he certainly could not send troops to Fan Domain again. Only. If he truly let Fan Domain develop as it pleased, although the chance of it rising far enough to sway the whole war was extremely small, it was still an unstable factor. Report it upward first. Let those above decide. If those above had him temporarily slow the offensive against Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 1 and concentrate on dealing with Fan Domain, then he would not mind either. He would move his whole army and go to the Yellow Springs Mouth region. Even if he had to cross two regions. Even if he had to lose a great many troops. But even the troops that remained were more than a tiny Fan Domain and the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line could stop. While he was at it, he could rest a little. Fighting every day really was tiring. The sky gradually brightened. Another night had ended. "Damn it!" Deep in the Eternal Night hinterland, inside a city set on a plain, an old man fumbled in a rush to hide the ghost bone back in his storage ring. Only then did he let out a long breath. Just now, while he was reporting to his superior, the Ghost Clan side had suddenly contacted him on their own. It had given him a fright. He had nearly been exposed. At that moment— "Boom!" The great array he had laid in the room was suddenly smashed apart by force. A huge explosion came through. "Who!" The old man's expression shifted. He looked toward the door and said loudly, face grave, "This is the private residence of Zhang Yide, Deputy Hall Master of the Eternal Night Hall Western Strategy Hall!" "Who intrudes without leave!" The next moment. The door was smashed open. A dozen people in black, faces veiled, filed in one after another, walked into the room, and surrounded the old man. Right after, an old man leaning on a cane walked slowly in and came before him. He shook the token in his hand. And said softly, "Do I need to introduce myself?" "Qiu Yisi, leader of the Eternal Night Hall's Western Field Operations Group." "By order of my superiors, I have come specially to arrest the traitor of the Eternal Night Continent, Zhang Yide. Will you surrender yourself, or shall we do this the hard way?" Zhang Yide stood where he was, his expression shifting. After a long time, his taut body suddenly went slack. A trace of a miserable smile showed. "Tian Yi... only told that piece of news to me?" "Yes." Qiu Yisi walked slowly up before Zhang Yide and said calmly, "Tian Yi considered that news rather important. Traitors have been turning up often in the Eternal Night Hall of late. To be safe, he did not dare report upward through the normal channels." "He hoped that you, as his master, would report the news upward." "But clearly," "he trusted you, his master, a little too much." "Thanks to you," "after the Ghost Clan received the news, they paid a great price and night-raided the Yellow Springs Coastal Defense Line. The line fell that very night. Nearly a hundred thousand people died because of you." "The ghost tide broke into the Yellow Springs mountain region." "And reached the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line." "Your disciple Tian Yi, and Nightwatcher No. 97 of the Eternal Night Hall's Western Field Operations Group, died holding back the ghost tide." "Fan Domain supported them in time. The Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line has not yet fallen." "The ghost tide was destroyed." "Is this the ending you wanted?" "I—" Zhang Yide's eyes were red through. On the edge of collapse, he howled, "I... I didn't mean to get Tian Yi killed. I didn't know he would stay at the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. The day before yesterday he reported to me that after leaving Fan Domain he would go to the Heavenly Punishment Mountains!" "It was I who gave him a task on short notice and sent him to the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. The commander there had only just taken up the post. I had Tian Yi go and steady the man's mind." "I—" Zhang Yide was now on the edge of collapse. He had instinctively refused to think about what would happen after he passed the news to the Ghost Clan. It was not that he did not know what might happen. He only did not want to think about it. That way his heart could feel a little easier. "I... I only wanted to pass the Ghost Clan this one message. I only wanted to leave myself a way out. I..." "There is no way out." Qiu Yisi drew close to Zhang Yide again. Both hands braced on the dragon-head cane, he said slowly, "The Eternal Night Continent and the Ghost Clan—only one side can live. This is a war with no way out." "One who betrays the Eternal Night Continent is to be put to death." "But death is a complicated matter." "Cooperate with us." "Tonight, pass intelligence to the Ghost Clan. Say that quite a few people from the Western Plain Defense Line have gone to support Jiangbei Fan Domain, worried that Fan Domain will be attacked again." "Tonight the Western Plain Defense Line is short of defenders. You can march on the western plain and attack in force." "Cooperate fully, and you can be given a quick death." Zhang Yide's expression shifted. He hesitated almost not at all, then, eyes red, nodded heavily. "Good." Qiu Yisi smiled and patted Zhang Yide's shoulder. "No need to put on this look of regret. If you hadn't been caught, you wouldn't regret it." "People only ever regret when they are about to die." "You are certainly going to die." "But at least do one decent thing before you die. When you go down and see Tian Yi, you won't be wholly unable to face Tian Yi." "Do you know?" "Tian Yi was the member of the operations group I valued most. Now that he is dead, I am actually a little grieved." "Wait!" Zhang Yide suddenly thought of something and said urgently, "In the pendant I gave Tian Yi there is a Sea-Heart Grass. After his Corpse Liberation, it can temporarily keep him—" "No need to keep him. The life tablet has already shattered." Qiu Yisi was silent a long time. Only then did he look at Zhang Yide and suddenly smile again. "No one in the whole operations group knows that Nightwatcher No. 97 is my son." "Right now I am actually quite sad." "In that instant just now, I truly hoped you would show a bit more backbone and refuse my proposal. Then I could have used all one hundred and seven tortures of the operations group on you, every last one." "The person I valued most, and my only son." "In a single night, both are gone." "I truly" "want, right now, to tear you into ten thousand pieces." With that. Qiu Yisi stayed no longer. Only somewhat unsteady, trembling, he braced himself on the dragon-head cane and walked toward the outside. A wisp of flame suddenly sprouted from the back of his neck. As familiarly as swatting a mosquito dead, he slapped out the flame on his nape, pinched a pill flat in his palm, and stuck it to the back of his neck. The operations group members in the room were not so gentle. Each with a dark face, they closed in. Toward a traitor of this kind, the inside of the Eternal Night Hall felt an extreme loathing. The group leader, because he had to act by the regulations, had no way to step out of line. But they did not care. Especially upon learning that the dead Nightwatcher was the group leader's only son, their faces grew even darker, even angrier. "You... what are you going to do?" Zhang Yide's body drew back on instinct. Somewhat panicked, he looked at the operations group members closing in. Outside. Qiu Yisi sat on the steps, the dragon-head cane hugged to his chest. Listening to the noisy cursing and fighting from inside the room, his expression vacant, he looked up through the endless heavy rain toward the dark clouds drifting in the distant sky. After a while. Only then did he take a piece of candy from his robe and, trembling, put it into his mouth. Tears slid from his eyes of themselves, followed his cheeks full of creases, and slowly fell onto his neck, covered in age spots and mottled scars. What his son had liked best, while he lived, was sweet things. He did not know whether, before dying, he had gotten one mouthful of sweetness. A Nightwatcher's fate is activation. But... that is not a son's fate. He did not want his son's fate to be activation. After a long while. Qiu Yisi slowly lowered his head. Staring at the puddle on the ground, he murmured, "Papa can't last much longer. Give it a few more days. When Papa is old, Papa will go to the front and kill a batch of ghost creatures." "And then" "come down and keep you company." As he spoke. He slapped apart another cluster of scarlet flame that had sprouted on his arm. The scarlet flame inside him was already very hard to hold down. Once he had chosen a successor, he too ought to step down. The successor he had originally chosen was Tian Yi. He had hurt for a whole lifetime. Soon, he would not have to hurt anymore.