Chapter 31: A Brief Parting—Promise You'll Wait for Me

The shift occurred so rapidly that Lin Zhao felt dazed for a brief moment.

He quickly recovered, realizing that the Old Tree was worried Bo Ren might expose the secret of his Golden Crow blood—after all, since that ghastly thing had drawn his blood earlier, how much had it discovered?

Beside him, Weisheng Wu instinctively exclaimed in alarm, "You killed him? You should have captured him and taken him before the Lord of the Di State!"

Ji Yaoguang lowered his hand calmly, gazing at the limp body of Bo Ren on the ground. He glanced briefly at the small bird still in hiding and said gently, "Aren't there two more right beside you?"

Bo Rang and Weisheng Luo’s expressions shifted instantly. After the initial shock, the latter immediately adopted a respectful demeanor and said, "Sir, you may not be aware, but I have not defected to the Source Ghost. I was merely cooperating with him temporarily to probe his plans. I hope you will look into this, sir."

Bo Rang let out a sound of disbelief and remarked to Weisheng Wu, "Your father’s ability to lie is truly impressive."

Ji Yaoguang couldn't help but chuckle softly. "I heard your entire conversation just now. You can explain it to the Lord of the Di State."

Weisheng Luo’s expression turned ghastly; cold sweat beaded on his palms, and he struggled to keep his voice from trembling. "Who are you to arrest me? I am an official scholar sent by the Wu State, and a student of the Great Mountain Tu Master, the Tu Wu. Do you know what that means?"

Ji Yaoguang asked with a hint of confusion, "Does it mean she has to spend money to purge her own ranks again?"

Weisheng Wu crossed his arms and sneered, "Old man, stop struggling. Just surrender to this Wu Shang. You won't die; at worst, it’s just a lifetime of labor in the Lightless Sea."

"Unfilial son!" Weisheng Luo’s face turned livid. "Have you no respect for your elders? Who gave you the right to speak?"

"If you serve the Source Ghost, you aren't fit to be my father. Pay your penance early so I can inherit the family business and sever ties with you," Weisheng Wu retorted with a scoff. "Don't be a coward. You’re making me look down on you."

"Um, Lord Qing Di..." Bo Rang whispered.

The Weisheng father and son froze simultaneously. The son grabbed Bo Rang, demanding, "What did you call him?"

Qing Di? What... Qing Di?!

"He is Qing Di Ji Yaoguang," Bo Rang replied.

"No, no! How could the Wu Shang Qing Di come here?" Weisheng Wu was so agitated he nearly bit his tongue. "Doesn't he guard the Lightless Sea and rule over the six eastern states? He has such heavy responsibilities—how, how could he possibly be here?"

Who was Qing Di? He was the son of the Wu God, a being above the Heavenly Wu, standing among the ranks of those who had ascended to divinity, poised to become the next Wu God and inherit the authority of the Spring God! Everywhere he went, the land fell under the Spring God’s authority, where the Sacred Wood forests spread, nourishing all the states and protecting them from the disasters of the Purple Sun. To the people of the Wu State, he was the second most important figure, right after the Wu God himself.

It wasn't that he looked down on his own father, but for such a figure to personally arrive to arrest the old man—it was like gilding the old man’s face! It was a blessing he couldn't have earned in several lifetimes!

Weisheng Luo knelt on the spot, prostrating himself completely. He looked as if he had been pulled from a pool of water, shaking like a sieve.

"I don't know. My brother said he was, so he probably is," Bo Rang said, still looking timid. "Personally, I wouldn't advise you to take my brother's body. You killed him, which triggered the mark. I think you should find somewhere to hide."

Ji Yaoguang paused, turning to gaze at him. "Tell me, what mark?"

Bo Rang scratched his head. "I don't know. My brother said he was going to pull off something big, so it was very dangerous and he likely wouldn't survive. If he died, I was to hide in the underground palace immediately. Also, have you heard any sounds?"

Weisheng Wu sensed something wrong too. Uneasy, he looked left and right. "What sounds? I... I think I do."

It was low and distant, like someone whispering in a dream, or the faint, ghostly chanting occasionally caught in the mist.

Ji Yaoguang stared at the corpse that appeared perfectly normal. "Come with me to see the Lord of the Di State."

As he spoke, he reached out to hoist the limp body.

The next second, his wrist was caught.

Ji Yaoguang looked up. Lin Zhao shook his head at him. "This body is not right. It looks free of any disaster, but I suddenly feel like it would be delicious."

At that moment, the sounds lingering in the surroundings seemed to draw closer.

They were no longer just whispers and soft chants; there were voices of many people calling names in his ears, though they were unclear and made his ears itch.

In Ji Yaoguang’s spiritual perception, the entire massive academy was being enveloped by these whispers. The young Wu disciples had already noticed the anomaly and were beginning to panic, while the scholars shouted for the disciples to gather quickly, take the Sacred Wood, and hide in the nearest underground palace.

Almost simultaneously, along with the whispers, thin, pale mists condensed from the void like layers of light gauze, flowing slowly.

"Petty tricks!" Ji Yaoguang’s face turned cold. The ghost mask on the back of his hand flew into the sky, instantly expanding to cover the entire academy. It opened its mouth wide and inhaled sharply.

Like a great whale drinking water, the surrounding thick mist swirled and converged under the powerful suction, spiraling into a massive pillar of wind that shot into the sky. Within the mist, tiny, ghostly black shadows were sucked in along with it. The whispers, calls, and chants immediately turned into piercing screams, as pale, spectral faces struggled and appeared within the howling wind and clouds.

The memory of this technique was so vivid that Lin Zhao was instantly attacked by the trauma of his past, and he looked at Ji Yaoguang with a hint of hostility.

But the hostility lasted only a few seconds before he saw the corpse on the ground undergo a silent, drastic change in that short amount of time.

Bo Ren had been pale and slender, but now, his thin corpse was completely covered in blood-colored granulation. Small blood vessels mixed with the tissue, intertwining into a bloody membrane. Roots burrowed into the ground, and the membrane pulsed gently, as if gestating some unspeakable horror.

"What is this thing!" Weisheng Wu was terrified, grabbing Bo Rang by the collar to demand an answer.

"I—I don't know!" Bo Rang waved his hands repeatedly. "I just followed my brother to get by; I really don't know what these are."

*It looks delicious...*

Lin Zhao instinctively wanted to approach, but Ji Yaoguang pulled him back with quick reflexes.

"Don't touch it. Its corrosive power far exceeds that of the feather." Ji Yaoguang retreated three steps with him. He crossed his hands over his chest and then extended them. In an instant, many small, fresh green sprouts grew upon the bloody membrane, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye, submerging the membrane in lush greenery.

The sprouts continued to grow, quickly becoming a ten-zhang-tall tree intertwined with vines, its canopy stretching out to shade the entire courtyard.

But Lin Zhao looked at the base of the tree’s roots, where a layer of blood-red had already emerged.

He instinctively knew that within an hour at most, the tree would be corroded, and whatever was beneath it would naturally be impossible to suppress.

"A-Zhao," Ji Yaoguang said to him solemnly, "I am going to see the Lord of the Di State. You... you should follow those disciples and take shelter in the underground palace first."

"You aren't taking me to see the Lord of the Di State because you're worried he might have a problem too, right?" Lin Zhao asked in a low voice.

"The Lord of the Di State shouldn't be a problem, but his younger brother..." Ji Yaoguang shook his head. He looked at A-Zhao with concern, but ultimately smiled. "Protect yourself. I will return in half an hour. Remember, do not show that totem!"

Lin Zhao nodded. "Rest assured, I will wait for your return."

Ji Yaoguang summoned the ghost mask and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared toward the far wall with the three of them like a phantom.

Lin Zhao watched him walk away, inexplicably feeling a sense of emptiness and reluctance.

"What is this? I should feel freer now that he's gone!" Lin Zhao looked at the tree and the thing beneath it, licked his lips, and squatted by the roots. He wanted to touch it, but thinking of the incident with the feather, he huffed and decided not to be stubborn, retreating decisively.

He walked into the vast playground. The surrounding disciples were excitedly and fearfully discussing the ghost mask totem from earlier, debating its rank, and unanimously agreeing it must have been a Heavenly Wu.

A Heavenly Wu!

That was a person of great importance. Even in the Di State, only the Lord and the Deputy Lord were Heavenly Wu, and the Deputy Lord was like a mortal due to old wounds, unable to use his power.

He wondered which Heavenly Wu had descended.

However, since a Heavenly Wu had arrived, it was all the more reason to hide in the underground palace. If a Heavenly Wu were to fight, they, the students of the academy, would be caught in the crossfire.

To be safe, it was better to go to the underground palace.

Lin Zhao watched the students’ lively discussion. After thinking it over, he deactivated the concealment spell on his necklace. His appearance was no different from these disciples, and even his youthful, untamed aura matched theirs perfectly; no one suspected his identity.

"Are there any disciples who have already accommodated a beast soul?!" A young man in his twenties stood on a slender conch sculpture, shouting loudly. "We are short-handed! The young disciples in the Eastern District need to be divided into 1,200 teams to evacuate to the underground palace. If you can help, gather here quickly."

Lin Zhao walked up to him and summoned the Bo beast he hadn't paid attention to in a long time. "I have one. Sign me up."

"Good, good, good. Junior brother, go over there and register." The young man immediately pointed the way.

Lin Zhao followed the direction, registered the name "Zhao," received a golden cloak, and was handed a guide-bee. The teacher in charge of the tasks told him that once he picked up the children, he just had to follow the bee; it would lead them to a safe place.

"Am I going alone?" Lin Zhao felt like backing out; he wasn't very confident about leading so many children.

"In the mist earlier, many teachers were polluted to the critical point and are currently being treated. If you don't help, the children will just have to wait for someone else," said the old man in charge of the tasks, who was just an ordinary mortal. "If you aren't going, put the paper down."

Without further ado, Lin Zhao took the paper, released the guide-bee from its box, and followed it.

"What a good boy," the old man smiled and assigned a task to another disciple.

The guide-bee carried a small, highly visible feather. Lin Zhao followed the bee and soon arrived, following the tasks on the paper to wake up the children who were napping at their desks.

The children, both boys and girls, had chubby, sleepy faces. They rubbed their eyes, hair messy, and skillfully put on their own clothes and shoes. Calling out "Big brother, big brother," they asked if it was time to eat, then naturally formed a line of two.

"This task is too simple; how can there be such well-behaved children? Roll call now," Lin Zhao picked up the roster. "I'll call your name, and you answer. You Tai Tuo... Meng Ti... Suo Ying..."

After the roll call, the children responded enthusiastically.