Vindicated After a Wrongful Death - Chapter 36

Xiang Zhongjing had only visited the forbidden grounds behind the Qu Yi Sect once, and he vaguely remembered it being surrounded by a dense forest.

Sixty years had passed, and the trees had grown a full circle thicker. Xiang Zhongjing looked up at the branches that blotted out the sky, feeling once again the tangible passage of time.

Qu Xing led the way. The further they went into the back mountain, the more terrified he seemed to become, his body even trembling slightly.

Gu Congxu, who had been coiled around Xiang Zhongjing’s wrist, suddenly transformed into human form. He stood beside Xiang Zhongjing, his brow furrowed as he stared ahead.

Xiang Zhongjing smiled. “Not angry anymore?”

“I wasn’t angry.” Gu Congxu shot him a glare and pointed ahead. “There… is an aura I find very familiar.”

Xiang Zhongjing asked, “A dragon bone?”

Gu Congxu shook his head. “It doesn’t feel like it.”

He looked pensive, clearly having a suspicion in mind but lacking certainty.

Xiang Zhongjing didn’t press him. It was only a few steps further, anyway; once they entered the forbidden cave, everything would become clear.

The sky had grown dark. Pushing aside the thick, hanging branches, Xiang Zhongjing directed the Netherfire to float around them, illuminating the path ahead.

After walking for a while longer, a cave mouth that looked like the gaping maw of a ferocious beast appeared nearby.

Upon seeing the entrance, Qu Xing took a deep breath to suppress his fear. He turned his head and said coldly to Xiang Zhongjing, “If you don’t want to die, you had better not go in.”

Xiang Zhongjing narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Sect Master Qu, you wish you could grind my bones to ash right now. If entering meant certain death, you’d be eager to kick me inside. Why would you be kind enough to warn me?”

Qu Xing’s lips thinned, offering no rebuttal.

Xiang Zhongjing gave a light nod, and Gu Congxu, with a frown, released the restriction on Qu Xing. The two of them then walked side-by-side toward the entrance.

Qu Xing stood where he was, watching them enter with cold eyes.

Xiang Zhongjing and Gu Congxu walked into the cave together. The further they went, the faster Gu Congxu’s heart raced, much like a spirit beast feeling a crushing pressure from its bloodline. Yet Gu Congxu knew very well that in the vast Three Realms, even including the Cloud State, no spirit beast possessed a pressure that could surpass his own.

Gu Congxu pressed a hand against his pounding heart; the sensation coming from the cave nearly caused his spiritual power to flow in reverse.

Noticing his physical distress, Gu Congxu hurried to check on Xiang Zhongjing. After all, he was a True Dragon, while Xiang Zhongjing was merely a mortal whose Nascent Soul was still trapped.

However, when Gu Congxu’s gaze landed on Xiang Zhongjing, he found that the man seemed perfectly fine. Instead, he was leisurely stroking the two clusters of Netherfire on his shoulders as they vied for his attention.

Sensing Gu Congxu’s gaze, Xiang Zhongjing arched an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Gu Congxu lowered his eyes. “Nothing.”

Ever since he had seen that abrupt memory in Xiang Zhongjing’s sea of consciousness, Gu Congxu had been trying to find evidence that he was not the reincarnation of his master.

But the more he looked, the more Gu Congxu discovered, to his horror, that there was actually more evidence suggesting Xiang Zhongjing was indeed his master.

Gu Congxu’s mind was in turmoil, his face darkening until it looked ready to drip.

If Xiang Zhongjing really was his master’s reincarnation…

Gu Congxu suddenly dared not think about it.

In the time it took to exchange a few words, the two had reached the heart of the cave.

Gu Congxu could no longer withstand the discomfort. Feeling dizzy, he instinctively leaned toward Xiang Zhongjing.

Xiang Zhongjing caught him with a steady hand, asking in surprise, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Congxu remained silent.

Xiang Zhongjing was extremely sharp. Recalling Qu Xing’s strange behavior and seeing Gu Congxu’s pale face, he knew there must be something in this cave. He patted Gu Congxu’s head and said, “Why don’t you hide in my sleeve for a bit?”

Gu Congxu dodged his hand. Even as miserable as he felt, he still let out a cold snort. “I will not.”

Xiang Zhongjing had no choice but to let the dragon hide half his body behind his back.

The cave was pitch-black. The Netherfire darted inside like swimming dragons, lighting up the surroundings.

The floor was covered in dense, intricate formations similar to those in a Sumeru Tower. Some were even touched up with blood; these were likely the spirit-beast control formations Qu Weixian had mentioned.

Gu Congxu felt a sudden chill and urged, “Hurry and find the dragon bone.”

To Xiang Zhongjing, this was merely a cold, ordinary cave. Seeing a dignified True Dragon shivering like this, a suspicion he had previously dismissed as a joke finally took root in his mind.

Xiang Zhongjing’s thoughts raced, though his face remained unreadable.

He set Gu Congxu aside and stepped toward the center of the formation.

However, the moment Xiang Zhongjing’s foot touched the array, the surrounding darkness was pierced by beams of red light. The glow on his face was eerie, looking like some mysterious sacrificial rite.

Xiang Zhongjing was murmuring inwardly when he suddenly heard Gu Congxu cry out, “The dragon bone!”

Xiang Zhongjing looked toward the center of the formation and, sure enough, saw a crystal-clear segment of dragon bone.

He frowned slightly.

This dragon bone seemed a bit different from the one at the Great Spirit-Beast Ceremony.

The bone sat atop a short stone pillar at the center of the array, emitting a pure white light. When the blood-red glow of the floor’s formation illuminated it, one could vaguely see something trapped inside the bone, which was about the length of a forearm.

Xiang Zhongjing’s brow furrowed. He directed the Netherfire to float over and form a circle, fully illuminating the bone.

Once he saw clearly, Xiang Zhongjing gasped in shock.

Trapped at the very center of that dragon bone was actually a human soul.

Before Xiang Zhongjing could even process whose soul it was, Gu Congxu seemed to go mad. He transformed into a giant dragon on the spot and charged toward the bone with a roar.

The crushing pressure emitted by the entire array was actually coming from that soul. The dragon bone itself didn’t contribute much; rather, it seemed to be the spiritual tool keeping the soul imprisoned.

Xiang Zhongjing was nearly sent flying by a flick of Gu Congxu’s tail, but he managed to direct the Netherfire to a safe spot.

Gu Congxu was in an unprecedented rage. The dragon’s vertical pupils glowed with a sinister crimson light as he lunged ferociously toward the soul within the bone.

Normally, Gu Congxu was all talk. Even toward Qu Weixian, who had desecrated his master’s remains, he had only gone so far as to bite his hand. His temperament among spirit beasts was actually quite docile.

Gu Congxu was like a child who had been pampered since birth, ignorant of the world’s ways and sometimes terrifyingly naive, believing whatever anyone told him. Previously, Xiang Zhongjing had wondered why he was known as an “evil dragon.”

Only now did he suddenly understand.

Gu Congxu… was actually a dragon who had fallen into a demonic state.

Xiang Zhongjing watched in horror as Gu Congxu stumbled toward the center of the array, struggling against the pressure of the soul. The killing intent and hostility radiating from the evil dragon were too heavy and thick. Without spiritual power to protect him, Xiang Zhongjing felt a phantom sensation that if he even made a sound, the mindless Gu Congxu would snap his neck.

Gu Congxu used every ounce of his strength to reach the dragon bone, but after only a few steps, it seemed he would never get there. His body went limp, yet he still struggled to move forward.

As Xiang Zhongjing watched the crimson demonic eyes of the giant dragon slowly shed two tracks of bloody tears, his heart twinged with pain.

At that moment, the soul that had been incessantly emitting the crushing pressure suddenly dimmed for a split second. It seemed to recognize Gu Congxu; the hostility gradually faded, and the red light of the floor’s formation dimmed bit by bit.

Xiang Zhongjing only saw a black shadow blur past him like an arrow from a bow. He turned his head to see that a freed Gu Congxu had already coiled himself around the pillar. Shrinking his size, he wound himself around the dragon bone in the middle, coil after coil.

After wrapping himself several times, Gu Congxu timidly bit the tip of his own tail, as if this was the only way he could protect his master’s soul.

Two tracks of tears flowed slowly from his vertical pupils.

Xiang Zhongjing tentatively stepped forward. “Sangeng?”

Gu Congxu’s pupils constricted as he turned his cold, demonic gaze toward him.

Seeing that the dragon didn’t seem inclined to harm him, Xiang Zhongjing walked up and placed his hand hesitantly on the small dragon’s head.

Gu Congxu moved slightly, almost submissively rubbing his head against Xiang Zhongjing’s palm.

Xiang Zhongjing breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

The Netherfire flickered in and out, floating forward to surround the dragon bone as if dancing for joy.

Soon, Gu Congxu, who had nearly succumbed to his inner demons, calmed down. He descended from the pillar and transformed back into human form, sitting on the ground looking utterly despondent. The tear tracks on his face weren’t yet dry, and he held the dragon bone in a death grip.

Xiang Zhongjing crouched down to look at him.

Gu Congxu stared at him intently for a good while before murmuring, “Did I hurt you?”

Xiang Zhongjing said softly, “You did. Your tail brushed against my waist. Do you want to strip off my clothes to take a look?”

Gu Congxu: “…”

Gu Congxu, who had just been a weeping evil dragon, looked at Xiang Zhongjing and suddenly burst into a short laugh.

Xiang Zhongjing laughed too.

Gu Congxu reached up to wipe away his tears. Holding the dragon bone in his hands, he said cryptically, “The dragon bone Qu Weixian used to open the Soul-Settling Coffin back then was not this one.”

Seeing that he didn’t plan to cry anymore, Xiang Zhongjing felt relieved. “How do you know?”

“This bone contains a fragment of my master’s soul. It isn’t something a little nobody could just pick up.” Gu Congxu used his well-defined fingers to stroke the silhouette of the figure trapped within the bone—a figure sitting upright whose face could not be seen. He said softly, “And you… even with that memory, it’s impossible for you to be my master’s reincarnation.”

Xiang Zhongjing had no idea what memory he was talking about. He arched an eyebrow. “Which memory?”

Gu Congxu didn’t answer, only saying, “Only those with a complete soul can enter the cycle of reincarnation. With this fragment of his soul trapped here…”

Two more tracks of tears flowed slowly from Gu Congxu’s vertical pupils. He laughed and cried at once. “I was the one who forcibly sent his soul to the Nine States, but I forgot there were people in the shadows plotting against him, turning him into a lonely, wandering ghost with an incomplete soul.”

Xiang Zhongjing couldn’t be his master’s reincarnation, because it was impossible for his master to have reincarnated at all.

Xiang Zhongjing hesitated, trying to understand Gu Congxu’s meaning. “Are you saying the other soul fragments you sent out are now wandering as ghosts?”

Gu Congxu nodded.

The dragon bone from the Great Spirit-Beast Ceremony had contained nothing, meaning that fragment was already loose in the Nine States.

Soul fragments scattered across the Nine States would naturally be drawn to each other. One day, they would fuse and enter the cycle of reincarnation.

But now, with one fragment trapped in this wretched cave, how could he ever enter the cycle?

The more Gu Congxu thought, the more desperate and hateful he became.

He gripped the dragon bone tightly, his expression dark and sinister. He said sharply, “I’m going to kill everyone in the Three Sects!”

Previously, when Qu Weixian destroyed his master’s remains, Gu Congxu felt that even if the body was gone, his master would still reincarnate, so it wasn’t too great a loss.

But now, the last shred of hope had been severed by this trapped soul.

Gu Congxu’s eyes, which had always been as bright as stars, were now as dull as dead ashes.

Seeing him like this made Xiang Zhongjing sad as well. He raised his hand to pat Gu Congxu’s hand, but his fingertip accidentally brushed against the dragon bone. Suddenly, the bone that had lost its luster erupted with light once more.

Xiang Zhongjing gasped and quickly pulled his hand away.

Gu Congxu watched in shock.

In an instant, the soul within the bone acted as if it had been drawn by some attraction. It shot straight out of the dragon bone, transforming into a streak of light that dove into the space between Xiang Zhongjing’s brows.

Xiang Zhongjing stumbled, knocked backward by the force of the light.