Chapter Fifty-Five: The Choice

Until this moment, I had always wondered about the true identity of the Ghost-faced Marquis—why he had helped me time and again, and what sort of visage lay hidden beneath his mask. When I finally saw his face, I was utterly unprepared for the truth.

It was a face exactly like mine, only weathered by twenty years of hardship, bearing the marks of time—more worn, more aged.

“Father!”

Just as I had seen that groom in the illusion, whose face mirrored my own, I was left not only in shock but also with an overwhelming sense of sorrow and helplessness.

Never did I imagine that the father I had never met would turn out to be the Ghost-faced Marquis, right hand of the Lord of the City of Unjust Death. Twenty years ago, he, along with the people of East Gate Village, had been killed by the Taoist nun and ended up here. I had no idea what he had been through, or why he had become the lord’s trusted aide—perhaps he had been waiting for me all this time, to help me seize the Seal of the Underworld Lord.

The Ghost-faced Marquis was raised in the air by the Lord of Unjust Death, who gripped his throat tightly. Yet he showed no sign of fear or pain. At that moment, two figures suddenly dropped from the city tower, their necks caught and strangled by iron chains, dangling in midair.

Those two were none other than Wang Feiyang and Lu Li.

Both were still alive, but their faces were contorted in agony and twisted in pain. The iron chains bit mercilessly into their necks, turning their faces a ghastly purple, the veins on their foreheads bulging as if they might die at any moment.

My heart plummeted instantly. Without thinking, I dashed toward the city tower, but a squad of ghostly soldiers clad in crimson armor immediately blocked my path. From above, the icy voice of the Lord of Unjust Death resounded: “Nine-Yin Absolute Pulse, the Seal of the Underworld is mine, but you may use it to save only one party.”

A chill swept through me as I stared fixedly at the Lord of Unjust Death, demanding to know his intentions.

“It’s your choice: the lives of your two brothers, or your father’s life. Choose!”

My mind was thrown into utter chaos. So this was the “good show” the Lord had promised. I could not understand why he would force such a cruel choice upon me.

On one side, my own father—though dead since the day I was born, blood is thicker than water.

On the other, two sworn brothers, comrades through life and death. I could only choose to save one side. Never did I expect to face the infamous dilemma of choosing between one’s wife and mother, yet here it was, thrust upon me.

Honestly, I had no idea what to do. I stood there, dumbfounded, unable to make a move.

Once again, the cold voice of the Lord echoed: “Nine-Yin Absolute Pulse, I have given you your chance. But you must decide quickly, or I fear they will not survive much longer.”

My heart trembled. I looked up to see Wang Feiyang and Lu Li on the city wall, their eyes already rolling back. If those chains were not removed soon, they would be dead within moments.

At the same time, the Ghost-faced Marquis, his throat still in the Lord’s vice-like grip, began to roll his eyes as well, his neck making gruesome cracking sounds as the pressure increased.

I glanced at Wang Feiyang and Lu Li, then at my father. Saving one meant dooming the other, but if I refused to choose, both sides would perish.

No one could understand the torment within me. If I hadn’t known that the Ghost-faced Marquis was my father, I would have chosen to save Lu Li and Wang Feiyang without hesitation. But now...

As I wrestled in agony with my decision, my father’s anguished voice suddenly rang out: “Dao’er, I have failed you. Remember my words—live well.”

A shock ran through me. Instinctively, I shouted “No!” But it was too late. My father let out a cry of pain. In the next instant, several bloody holes appeared in his body with a series of dull thuds.

He had chosen to end his own life rather than force me to make such a cruel decision.

His body slipped from the Lord’s grasp and collapsed to his knees. A heart-wrenching pain tore through me—I felt as if I might explode.

“Endless Yellow Springs, boundless dark magic, prohibitions of the eight directions. Five Elements Slaughter the Immortals!”

I bit my fingertip, letting blood flow freely as I chanted the incantation of the Yellow Springs, drawing its totems in the air. Within me, a surge of powerful energy roared through my veins. At last, a phantom figure wielding a war blade emerged from the totem and moved behind me.

Sensing the dreadful aura emanating from me, the ghostly soldiers in crimson armor looked on in terror. Eyes red with rage, I drove the black phantom forward, cutting down the ghost soldiers one by one, slashing my way straight to the Lord of Unjust Death.

The Lord’s face lit up with excitement. “So this is the legendary Yellow Springs Spell—only usable by drawing upon the power of the Underworld Lord’s Seal.”

Without hesitation, I sent the black phantom slashing at him. To my dismay, the blow did not harm him at all; it merely forced him back a few steps.

I was not surprised, for I knew my own strength. Even with the Yellow Springs Spell, before the unfathomable might of the Lord of Unjust Death, I was but an ant.

As I drew back the blade, I sent another slash at the iron chains on the city wall. The chains snapped, and Wang Feiyang and Lu Li fell heavily to the ground.

Thankfully, both survived. After a fit of violent coughing, they slowly stood. Wang Feiyang drew the rattan blade at his waist, while Lu Li began reciting the Sword Incantation.

I rushed to my father, but my hand passed straight through his body—he was already turning transparent, the clear sign that his soul was about to scatter.

“No! Don’t!”

Desperately, I clawed at empty air where my father should have been, feeling nothing. He still wore a faint smile, and slowly stretched out his hand, as if to caress my face. Yet this simplest happiness had already become the most extravagant fantasy.

“Live well.”

It was the first and last thing he said to me after I learned he was my father. As the words left his lips, his form dissolved before my eyes, breaking into countless fragments.

On the other side, the Monkey, gravely wounded and unable to rise, witnessed this scene and suddenly charged at us in a frenzy. With a sickening thud, he dashed his own head against the city wall and died instantly.

I stared blankly at the Monkey’s corpse, then at the shattered remains of my father in my arms, feeling as though I might collapse at any moment.

A sigh drifted over from the Lord of Unjust Death. “What a display of fatherly love, what a show of brotherhood, what devotion between master and servant. But in all my life, the thing I have hated most is affection.”

With that, he leapt onto the city tower, wrapped his arm around a seductive woman and turned away. From above, her surprised cry rang out, “Lord, you’re crying!”

The Lord’s face suddenly turned cold, as if her words had struck a nerve. He seized her skull, and with a sickening crack, her head burst into a mist of blood.

“Scholar, kill them.” The Lord sighed, then gave the Yin-Yang Scholar his final command. “Take the Seal of the Underworld Lord!”

No sooner had he spoken than the Yin-Yang Scholar flashed before us, striking at me with his palm. I hastily summoned the black phantom to block him, but though the Yellow Springs Spell was formidable, my own strength was lacking. The shadow blocked only one blow before it was dispersed.

At the same time, swarms of ghostly soldiers surrounded us. I could no longer muster the Yellow Springs Spell—this was my limit.

Just as we thought death was certain, from the swirling yellow sands in the distance came the voice of Old Man Yi: “Too late, I’m too late!”

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