Mr Chen stroked his beard and shook his head, "When pushed to the brink, even the kindest person can be driven to reveal their darker side."
Because of Chen’s mental breakdown and the dissipating resentment of Liuzhu.
The illusion began to collapse, and after the space twisted, the illusion vanished.
Unbeknownst to them, night had already fallen in reality, and they found themselves in an overgrown courtyard, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky.
Ms Chen was overjoyed, she looked at Chen Muhai, who was lying in the grass, and rushed over to help him up. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveIꜰire.net
"Muhe, wake up, how are you? Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Ms Chen hurriedly checked him for injuries.
Chen Muhai slowly awoke, his eyes clear yet puzzled as he looked at them, "Mother, what happened to me? Why am I here? Did something happen just now?"
After being possessed by Chen, his consciousness and soul had fallen into a deep sleep, completely unaware of the tragic and horrifying things that had happened to his body.
"Boo hoo hoo... I’m sorry, Muhe, it’s my fault!"
Liuzhu was filled with remorse, "You kindly helped me, yet I almost took your life."
"Sister Liuzhu, don’t cry."
Chen Muhai gave her a gentle smile, "Though I don’t know what happened, I believe that no matter what, you would never kill me."
Touched by his kindness, Liuzhu burst into tears.
Crying for her foolishness, for being used by Chen, and for the way her youth had been consumed.
"Mother and Father, where did you go?"
After leaving the illusion, Chen’s puppet parents disappeared.
His timid and helpless gaze hadn’t changed yet, searching nearby frantically for the figure of his parents.
"Were you deceiving me, those weren’t my parents at all?"
When he came to his senses, Chen’s face became fierce, "If you’re going to make my soul dissipate, then I’ll drag someone down with me."
On Chen Muhai’s body, the talisman controlling his soul still remained, and Chen launched himself to try and possess Chen Muhai once more.
Ms Chen was startled, her motherly love overwhelming her, she gritted her teeth and shielded Chen Muhai.
"Chen, I won’t let you harm anyone else."
Liuzhu blocked in front of them and collided with Chen’s soul, her red trailing dress and sleeves extending endlessly, wrapping his soul into a ball, she looked towards Yu Nianzhao with sorrow, "Miss, I beg you, destroy us. I’ve helped him so much; I deserve to die, so let me perish with him."
"Sister Liuzhu, you mustn’t!"
Chen Muhai struggled out of Ms Chen’s embrace, sorrowful, "You suffered enough in life, sold to a place of vice by your parents, even in death you’re still searching for your lover. You told me clearly that you would go to reincarnation with him once you found him!"
"Muhe, you’re truly good..."
Liuzhu smiled through her tears, her sigh drifting into the air, "It’s just that I’m not good enough, I no longer have the chance to reincarnate, I’m sorry for deceiving you..."
Chen Muhai said decisively, "Alright, I forgive you!"
Liuzhu was stunned, sighing, "What a pity, I didn’t meet someone like you back then..."
"It’s not too late for everything!"
Yu Nianzhao said, "Chen Muhai, where is the urn of ashes that you helped find before?"
"Buried in my courtyard."
Although Chen Muhai had just woken up and didn’t recognize Yu Nianzhao, hearing her calm voice, he inexplicably trusted her. He quickly got up and ran back to the courtyard, retrieving an urn of ashes and proudly brought it over.
Mr Chen curiously asked, "Zhaozhao, what are you planning to do?"
"The effort to retrieve the urn was to preserve his soul. Now I intend to let his soul... dissipate."
Yu Nianzhao, without hesitation, used the Seven Star Brush to draw a talisman on the urn with swift strokes.
Golden runes emitted light from the urn.
In an instant, Chen’s soul was torn to pieces by the golden runes.
"Aahhhh—no, don’t make my soul dissipate, I was wrong, I really was wrong!"
Chen’s soul was riddled with cracks, his eyes filled with terror, still trying to grab onto Liuzhu, "Liuzhu, save me, let me consume your soul. We can coexist, we would be together as one, I would never abandon you, you’re my only one."
Even at this moment, he continued to brainwash Liuzhu.
Liuzhu scorned, "Scram! The girl was right, you’re scum, I have no more feelings for you, don’t think you can deceive me again."
The runes did not harm Liuzhu, and Chen, bound, had no chance to escape.
In just a moment, the urn crumbled to pieces, and Chen’s soul vanished in the instant when the golden light exploded.
The remaining bit of malevolence and ash was devoured by Jiu Ying.
[Whimper, Master, Jiu is hungry, just had some leftovers, it’s really not satisfying.]
[I want to eat evil souls, I want to eat purple energy!]
[Master, hungry, hungry, hungry!]
Without Divine Power, Jiu Ying starves quickly too.
"Got it, in a while, when the incense is strong, Divine Power will return too."
Yu Nianzhao understood how grief-stricken Jiu Ying was by the loss of Divine Power, comforting him, "Rest assured, you’ll definitely get a feast then."
[Master isn’t lying?]
"Mm, I keep my promises."
Finally, this calmed Jiu Ying down.
Liuzhu, bewildered, looked at her intact soul and timidly asked, "Am I okay?"
"Yes, there’s a strand of Buddhist affinity within your soul."
Yu Nianzhao approached and gently lifted her hand to pull out a thread of glowing golden Buddhist affinity from Liuzhu’s soul, "This string of Buddhist affinity has been protecting you."
Liuzhu was moved, "This was something I gleaned from meditating with a high monk, I didn’t know this strand of Buddhist affinity had been protecting me all along."
"That’s because of your kind heart; otherwise, you wouldn’t have had this opportunity!"
Yu Nianzhao said, "As long as you mend your fractured soul, relying on this strand of Buddhist affinity, you still have a chance to reincarnate."
Chen Muhai was even happier than Liuzhu, "Sister Liuzhu, you can be reborn, this is a good thing."
Liuzhu sincerely expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, Muhe."
Then she faced Mr. Chen, Ms Chen, and Mr Chen, bowing gently with clasped hands, "I’m sorry to you all, for disturbing the peace of the Chen household."
Mr. Chen and Ms. Chen only nodded slightly, deep in their hearts there was still some resentment for the near danger to Chen Muhai.
"This was a calamity for the Chen Family, you were merely one part of being used."
Yu Nianzhao said, "Mr Chen, there’s a connection between your ancestors and this Chen family. Do you remember if your ancestors once had a Chen branch in Chenzhou?"