Chapter 146: Their Vacation (5)

Tang Ya awoke in complete darkness, feeling herself lying on hard, dusty ground.

Her spirit master's keen hearing immediately picked up various sounds—the crackling of a bonfire, footsteps, hushed conversations. She recalled the black-cloaked man she had encountered before losing consciousness… Where exactly had that person taken her?

The arrogance, recklessness, and bloodthirsty killing intent brought by her Dark Blue Silver Grass had temporarily subsided. Tang Ya immediately controlled her breathing, hoping that no one would notice she had awakened. That way, she could gather more information.

But her wish did not come true.

"She's awake, Your Highness." A cold female voice came from dangerously close.

A chill ran down Tang Ya's spine—someone had been right beside her, observing her for who knew how long, and she hadn't even noticed?!

"I see," a somewhat indifferent male voice responded.

Tang Ya forced herself to regulate her heartbeat. She heard the rustling of movement—someone was leaving, while another person sat down beside her.

"Open your eyes," the male voice commanded.

A strange pressure—one that seemed to come from deep within her very bones and blood—enveloped her. Some natural, innate force compelled her to obey. Almost involuntarily, she opened her eyes.

Realizing what she had done, Tang Ya's face turned deathly pale. She jerked upright, staring at the person before her with extreme vigilance.

The night in Sunset Forest stretched above her like an eerie curtain. The bonfire, tinged with an unnatural crimson hue, burned with an unsettling stillness. The flames crackled, sounding like the flow of fresh blood, as if they had just been drawn from someone's throat.

A strange, sickly-sweet scent lingered in the air.

In the distance, spindly tree branches cast skeletal shadows against the firelight. Figures draped in black cloaks stood or sat around the clearing, their silent presence turning the place into a scene straight out of hell.

Beside her sat a young man with ash-gray hair. His features were sharp and cold, and the flickering firelight deepened the shadows on his face. Under the ridge of his brow, his violet-gray eyes gleamed ominously. Though his posture was casual—elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlocked—his mere presence felt suffocating, like a monstrous beast slowly crushing the space around her.

"Who… who are you?" Tang Ya tried to keep her voice steady but failed miserably. Her words came out shrill and trembling, like a terrified five-year-old, exposing her fear completely.

Never in her life had she been so afraid of someone.

"Your martial soul is the Dark Blue Silver Grass." The gray-haired young man didn't answer her question. He didn't even look at her, merely speaking to himself. "That is your original sin. Now that you've started embracing this darkness… it means you will never be able to rid yourself of the thirst to devour others' lives. I understand you, sister. But you must restrain yourself. Abandon this dark power. It is not too late to turn back. Stay away—"

Though his tone was calm, something in his words stabbed at Tang Ya.

"Understand?!" She found it laughable.

The monster inside her roared again. The pain of losing her parents and her home—the wounds that had forced her to live under someone else's roof—began to throb. Maybe it was the young man's gentle demeanor, or maybe her boiling anger momentarily made her forget her fear.

"You understand what?!" she shouted, fury overcoming her reason. "Do you think I wanted this?! They killed my family! They took my home! When my sect fell, not a single so-called ally reached out to help! I need revenge! I must have revenge! I don't have my ancestors' talent or their opportunities! I cannot evolve my martial soul! The ordinary Blue Silver Grass is weak and pathetic! If I don't do this, how am I supposed to get my revenge?!"

The black-cloaked figures stirred, murmuring angrily at her disrespect toward the Holy Son. But before they could act, the Holy Maiden stopped them.

"You think I don't understand?" The young man named Lan Lingtong laughed. He grinned, revealing a row of sharp, shark-like teeth that gleamed coldly in the firelight. "You think I don't understand?"

He stood up, towering over Tang Ya, his smile twisted with malicious madness.

"I understand too well."

A terrifying, suffocating pressure.

A blood-red soul ring rose behind him. Beside it, three abyss-black rings swirled like bottomless voids.

A blade-like, sapphire-colored leaf halted inches from Tang Ya's eyes.

That eerie blue was pure, beautiful, and deadly. A toxic fragrance wafted from it, failing to mask its underlying metallic scent—like rusted blood.

A thin red line throbbed along the blade's surface, pulsating with murderous intent, whispering of its insatiable hunger for life.

Tang Ya felt it—an undeniable fear emanating from her very martial soul.

Fear… and yet…

If the king desired her life, she must offer it without hesitation.

"When I was just an embryo, I was a mindless monster, completely controlled by sin. Ha! I was even worse than you! At least you had the choice to fall into darkness!" Lan Lingtong laughed madly, his sharp teeth clicking together. "When I was born, I drained the life and soul from the mother who bore me! The only reason I'm standing here today—capable of rational thought, capable of having this conversation with you—is because a noble person refused to let me be consumed by my instincts. They sacrificed their life to save me!"

A sorrowful, aged voice echoed in his memory:

"The noble bloodline of the royal family should never be like this. I don't know who twisted you into this state, but I must correct it."

"Fool! Idiot! Do you think—" He screamed at the memory, then violently pulled himself back to the clearing, glaring at Tang Ya with something close to hatred—or perhaps he was staring at his own reflection in her eyes.

"My teacher guided me, taught me right from wrong, showed me how to use human reason to control myself! You have no idea how many times my martial soul's darkness has hurt the people around me!"

"Be careful, the Holy Son is losing control," the black-feathered cloaked man, Mo Zhi, said gravely. He had heard rumors before. The woman with blue eyeshadow beside him also tensed, preparing her soul power, her face full of caution.

Behind them, Lan Fozi made a subtle hand gesture, signaling them to stay put, though her own expression remained serious.

Just as the madness in Lan Lingtong's violet-gray eyes reached its peak, three tiny golden scales on his forehead suddenly glowed. A radiant, sun-like warmth bathed the clearing.

He instinctively raised his hand, only to flinch back as if burned. He shut his eyes tightly.

As if doused with ice water, his frenzied emotions cooled instantly. In a blink, he was once again the indifferent Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Church.

"As you can see, a martial soul is tied to one's very soul. The sin carried by a martial soul will always influence your emotions and nature. It will keep urging you to kill, to destroy. That evil will always, always be there—until you slaughter everyone who loves you. Until you die." His voice was cold. "Years ago, I made my choice. After my mother, I have never taken another life."

"Now, it's your turn to choose."

A long silence.

"I choose power." Tang Ya lifted her head. Her beautiful eyes gleamed with chaotic purple-red light. "I must avenge my parents. I must reclaim my home. I must restore my sect. I will pay any price."

She stared at him defiantly.

Tang Ya vaguely guessed what that beautiful yet terrifying martial soul truly was.

She could not lie to it. She could not deceive him.

For a subject must never deceive their king.

But she would never abandon her vengeance.

"Is that so?" Lan Lingtong merely nodded indifferently. "The Holy Church will not interfere with your free will. But you must still come with us."

(End of Chapter)