Redemption

With those words, the suffocating pressure blanketing the front lobby vanished completely. Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi breathed a small sigh of relief as the sensation of being stared down by a hungry wolf faded away. The woman at the front desk narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the young man and woman across the counter, then cast an imperceptible glance outside the hotel. "Understood. Please wait a moment, guests." Retracting her gaze, she left them with those cold words and walked deeper into the hotel, the click-clack of her high heels fading into the distance. "Phew..." Xie Lingxi exhaled, her delicate face pale. She whispered, "Brother Yuanshi, I—I just thought of something..." Zhang Yuanqing turned his head to look at her. Xie Lingxi shared her suspicion. "We couldn't find any information on 'Master Wuhen.' Is it possible that it's not because he's obscure, but—but because our clearance is too low?" If even a receptionist possessed such terrifying pressure, one could well imagine what level Master Wuhen was. Zhang Yuanqing nodded with a grave expression. "I thought of that too. So, just now, I was actually planning to run, and I was quite confident I could get away." "Huh?" Xie Lingxi was startled, her bright eyes going wide. "My legs went totally weak back there. I didn't even dream of running—I just wanted to bury my head under your armpit." *That's why I was confident I could get away. I only need to run faster than my teammate...* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally. He extended his arm, tucked Xie Lingxi's head under his armpit, and asked, "Does this give you a sense of security?" "Brother Yuanshi, let me go! Quick, let me go! This is so embarrassing..." Xie Lingxi struggled vigorously. Pulling her head out from under his armpit, she straightened her askew headphones and lowered her voice. "Brother Yuanshi, my headphones are an item. They can eavesdrop on any sound within a five-hundred-meter radius." She listened intently and whispered, "That woman got into the elevator... The elevator stopped on the fourth floor... She opened the door to the second room to the left of the elevator... She's gone?!" Xie Lingxi looked up, dumbfounded. "She disappeared." Disappeared? Did that room block out external eavesdropping? Zhang Yuanqing patted the young girl's shoulder, signaling her to stay calm. The two waited in silence. During this time, Xie Lingxi repeatedly glanced outside the hotel, finding a sliver of reassurance only after confirming that the bodyguards her family had brought were watching her closely. About ten minutes later, she tilted her head and whispered, "She's out..." A few minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing heard the chime of the elevator. The cab returned to the first floor, followed by the click-clack of high heels. The attractive, mature woman returned to the lobby, looked at them, and said, "Follow me!" Her cold gaze swept over the solemn young pair, and she gave a faint scoff. "If you're scared, you can always turn around and go home." Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "Big Sister, you look kind and gentle—a good person through and through. We're not scared." Xie Lingxi said delicately, "Auntie, we're only here to pass along a message. We have no ill intentions." The woman's expression softened, and she gave a slight nod, leading them into the elevator up to the fourth floor. Standing in the corridor, she looked toward the second guest room to the left of the elevator and said, "Go in." Zhang Yuanqing saw the room number: 404! *What a great number...* The corner of his mouth twitched. Pulling Xie Lingxi along, he walked up to the door and turned the knob. *Click!* The instant the soft click of the latch sounded, a tranquil yet immense power seemed to envelop them, and the scenery before their eyes shifted rapidly. The corridor's carpet turned into rustic blue-glazed tiles, the whitewashed walls turned into a structure of mixed brick and timber, and the incandescent lights became shimmering candlelight. Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi looked around in astonishment. They were standing in the main hall of a temple. The dome ceiling, seven or eight meters high, featured a sunken caisson with raised meander patterns, painted with a host of Buddhas and gods. Beneath the caisson sat a five-meter-tall golden Buddha, one hand in a mudra and eyes cast downward, its countenance seeming at once merciful, majestic, and austere. Eighteen thick candles burned upon the offerings table, their light bright and clear. Beneath the Buddha was a prayer mat, upon which sat a monk in a cyan patch-robe. He was tall and broad-shouldered; even seated cross-legged, he was as tall as Xie Lingxi standing. Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi exchanged a stealthy glance, shock and apprehension in their eyes. Just moments ago, they were in a hotel corridor; the next instant, they were inside an unfamiliar temple. Had there not been an absence of instance notifications by their ears, both would have suspected they had entered the Spirit Realm for another quest. *This Master Wuhen is even more terrifying than I imagined. What level of Spirit Realm walker do you have to be to pull off something like this...?* Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, looked at the back clothed in cyan robes, and spoke respectfully. "Might you be Master Wuhen?" "A Night Wanderer and a Musician. Are you members of the official organization?" A low, raspy voice drifted over, carrying a strange tone as though enduring some manner of agony. "Yes!" Zhang Yuanqing didn't dare conceal the truth. Silence lingered in the hall for a dozen seconds before the low, raspy voice echoed once more. "What did Ashamed to Be a Father say before he died?" Zhang Yuanqing's voice dropped unconsciously. "He asked me to pass a message to Master: 'I am deeply sorry, but even now, I still do not know whether it is I who was in the wrong, or this world.'" As he spoke those words, he recalled once more the look in Ashamed to Be a Father's eyes before he died—eyes flickering with hatred and sorrow. Silence fell upon the hall once more, lasting so long that Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi grew uneasy. At last, Master Wuhen let out a sigh. "I see." Xie Lingxi hesitated a moment, summoned her courage, and asked in a small voice, "Master, he saved my life, and he was not an evil man. Wh-why did he end up becoming an evil profession?" The monk in the cyan robe spoke slowly. "He once had a daughter. She was clever and well-behaved, excelling in her studies all throughout school. When she entered college, she gradually changed, pursuing materialism and blindly competing with her peers. To support his daughter, Ashamed to Be a Father worked day and night, desperately earning money, yet he could less and less satisfy her demands. Until one day, he discovered that his daughter had borrowed heavily from online loan sharks and had had indecent photographs taken of her. "He had no means to repay those debts, and felt even more that his daughter was a disgrace who had brought shame upon their family. Father and daughter had a fierce argument, and he threatened to cut ties with her. Ashamed to Be a Father believed that all of this was his daughter's fault—that she had turned materialistic, selfish, and unrecognizable. "Later, the loan company took control of the girl, forcing her into the flesh trade, toying with and humiliating her without restraint. In utter despair, she jumped from a building to her death. "Ashamed to Be a Father broke down. He began to feel that it was he who was in the wrong. If only he could have provided his daughter with an affluent life, if only he had the money to pay off her debts, none of this tragedy would have happened. Countless times he regretted that argument. If only he had comforted and stood by his daughter back then, perhaps what followed never would have come to pass. It was he who had shoved his daughter into the abyss with his own hands. "After his daughter died, he sought to sue that loan company and prosecute the villains who tortured and drove her to death. But that loan company wielded immense local influence, and he lost the lawsuit. "He fell into a long depression and came to realize that the fault lay not with his daughter, but with him, and with this world. He believed that humans cannot change their environment, that humans are shaped by their surroundings. When society howls about materialism and money in your ear all day long, you will inevitably be influenced, becoming money-worshiping and materialistic. No one is an exception. "His daughter had not yet stepped into society and did not understand the sinister nature of human hearts. She was lured into spending, lured into debt, and ultimately ended up on a path of no return. This world was utterly rotten, so he decided to avenge his daughter personally... "He broke into the loan company, slaughtered the scoundrels who had humiliated and driven her to death, and then fled the scene. It was precisely that massacre that earned him a character card, making him a Bewitching Demon. "Ashamed to Be a Father was an extremist, but he was not a bloodthirsty monster. Yet once one embarks upon an evil profession, there is no turning back for life. He walked further and further down this road of no return; the higher his level grew, the more agony he endured. "Until one day, he met me, and thereafter followed by my side to cultivate, hoping to dissolve the hostility in his heart and find redemption. But he was too extreme. He did not wish to slaughter the innocent, yet stubbornly refused to reconcile with this world. "Perhaps death was the best end for him..." *No wonder he saved Xie Lingxi. His daughter was about her age, and he had regretted not reaching out to pull his daughter back countless times. That desperate leap forward hadn't been to save Xie Lingxi—it was to save the daughter who had jumped to her death all those years ago...* Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the little green tea. Xie Lingxi stood dazed and speechless, the rims of her eyes reddened. He let out a quiet sigh and said, "Master, I believe he has already found redemption." Master Wuhen, his back turned to them, gave neither agreement nor denial. With a gentle wave of his hand, two faint glimmers swam from his sleeves, landing beside Xie Lingxi and Zhang Yuanqing's feet. The two looked closely to find two pieces of ink-black jade, half the size of a palm. Within them, faint black light surged, shifting into all manner of forms, dreamy and illusionary. After gazing at them for only a few seconds, Xie Lingxi and Zhang Yuanqing felt their vision blacken, their heads spinning with dizziness. "Thank you for bringing back his last words. It is called the 'Dream-Traversing Jade Talisman.' Crush it, and you can contact me. Should you encounter danger, I will lend my aid once. This is limited to the real world; it is ineffective within the Spirit Realm." Master Wuhen said flatly, "Depart." The Buddha statue and the candlelight twisted and shattered. Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi were back in the hotel, standing before an open doorway. Inside lay a standard single room. At their feet lay two black jade stones.