Vindicated After a Wrongful Death - Chapter 6

After Xiang Zhongjing lay back down in the coffin, he bit the tip of his finger and quickly sketched a complex formation on the lid a sequence he had stared at for sixty long years.

For all those years, he had dreamed of breaking out of this stone prison, yet now that freedom was within his grasp, he chose to seal himself back in with his own hands.

Xiang Zhongjing looked up at the bright red formation. The blood had not yet dried, and a single droplet trembled at the edge before finally sliding down, landing on his cheek with a soft drip.

He suddenly remembered that back then, he hadn’t known how to cast even the simplest of arrays.

Every three years, the Three Sects would gather their young disciples for lectures on the Dao. Xiang Zhongjing was a solitary soul, his mind entirely focused on his sword. Aside from Jin Chuling and Su Cansheng, he rarely spoke to anyone.

Jin Chuling possessed a genius talent for formations. In his youth, he was spirited and high-strung, frequently showing off his skills to Xiang Zhongjing.

Xiang Zhongjing had a gentle temperament, always offering soft-spoken praise so as not to cause him even a moment of displeasure.

Xiang Zhongjing worked hard to learn for half a year, but he couldn’t even memorize the most basic patterns. Jin Chuling, having been placed on a pedestal, began to feel that a “dullard” who only knew how to practice the sword was unworthy of him. He would often act the part of a pitiful victim while weaving stinging words into his conversation.

“Brother Xiang has worked so hard, it’s just that this formation is too difficult!”

“That Su Cansheng is such a waste, he can’t even learn this array. I have to teach it a second time… Brother, don’t be angry, I didn’t mean you were like him!”

“Brother, let’s not study this anymore. You just focus on your sword. If Master asks, I’ll help cover for you.”

Cover for what?

Cover for the fact that Xiang Zhongjing was “useless”?

Jin Chuling never knew how Xiang Zhongjing felt back then, hearing those bloodless, cutting words.

He only knew that today, sixty years later, when Xiang Zhongjing, who supposedly couldn’t even master a basic array, drew a top-tier formation in an instant, the regret in his heart surged like a tidal wave in a storm, threatening to drown him.

The moment the coffin lid slid shut, a flash of crimson appeared in Jin Chuling’s eyes.

Inside, Xiang Zhongjing lay peacefully at the bottom, eyes closed as he prepared to wait for death.

Gu Congxu’s mocking voice drifted through his mind: “You’re really going to do nothing?”

With his eyes still closed, Xiang Zhongjing replied lazily, “If I were younger, I would have lopped off their dog heads with a single strike by now.”

Gu Congxu said pointedly, “You still can. Just give your body to me, and I can swallow three of those people outside in one bite.”

In the outside world, Song Youqiu, who was watching Jin Chuling break the array with great interest, suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

Xiang Zhongjing chuckled. “Is there really a difference between dying at their hands or yours? I hate making choices. It’s better to just let nature take its course. Who knows, maybe those two still have a bit of a conscience and won’t kill me?”

Gu Congxu sneered, “Do you think that’s possible?”

Xiang Zhongjing thought about it. When those two sealed him away sixty years ago, they hadn’t shown a shred of mercy. After sixty years, even the deepest feelings would have been eroded by time. It was indeed impossible.

“Fair enough,” Xiang Zhongjing said. “Then let’s wait for death together.”

Gu Congxu: “…”

Gu Congxu hadn’t expected Xiang Zhongjing to be so stubborn, preferring death over surrendering his body. He hesitated for a long time, finally gritting his teeth as a sentence escaped his lips: “I can help you escape, and I won’t possess you, but you must pay me a reward.”

This was exactly the sentence Xiang Zhongjing had been waiting for, yet he maintained his “ready for the afterlife” facade. He said nonchalantly, “The most valuable thing I have is the Lamp Leak. You want that?”

Before Gu Congxu could respond, Xiang Zhongjing added an “Oh,” and lightly brushed his own lips, smiling suggestively. “They say dragons are lustful by nature. If you want me to pay with my body, I suppose it’s not out of the question.”

Gu Congxu: “…”

Gu Congxu’s face went dark. He racked his brain for an insult, but the dragon was young and inexperienced, his vocabulary of “dirty words” mostly learned from Xiang Zhongjing’s own influence. Finally, he managed a cold, “Vulgar!”

Xiang Zhongjing didn’t mind the insult, instead letting out a laugh.

“Sancheng, you really are a cute dragon,” Xiang Zhongjing praised. “Once I’m out of this secret realm and have broken my engagement with Jin Chuling, I’ll consider becoming Dao companions with you.”

Gu Congxu couldn’t out-talk him and simply let out a cold snort to indicate “in your dreams.”

After their banter, Gu Congxu nearly forgot the urgency of the situation until the sound of the formations on the coffin lid being broken layer by layer reminded him.

Seeing that the people outside were about to break in, Xiang Zhongjing was actually resting his head on his hands, staring blankly at the array on the lid as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

He didn’t care, but Gu Congxu did.

The dragon couldn’t hold back any longer and hissed, “I’ll save you, but you give me one hand.”

Xiang Zhongjing opened his eyes, his thick, dark lashes casting a shadow that almost hid the expression in his eyes. He smiled and said, “What do you want my hand for? To gnaw on it like a pig’s trotter?”

Gu Congxu: “…”

Outside the stone coffin, Jin Chuling’s vertical pupils were crimson. The feigned pitiful act had vanished from his face. He had unconsciously shifted into his adult form, his large palms pressed firmly against the stone coffin as he used all his spiritual power to tear through the blood-stained array.

Su Cansheng shouted sharply, “Are you trying to kill him?!”

“He won’t see me.” Traces of either demonic patterns or spirit markings appeared on Jin Chuling’s face. His pupils were so red they looked ready to bleed. His voice was low and sinister: “How could he refuse to see me?!”

Seeing that Jin Chuling looked ready to destroy the stone coffin entirely, Su Cansheng suddenly drew his sword. His sword intent filled the air like a torrential rain, sweeping toward Jin Chuling.

Normally, Jin Chuling would have transformed into his true form to fight back, but right now he seemed to have gone mad. He didn’t even move, standing his ground and taking the brunt of the sword-rain that felt like a thousand cuts.

Su Cansheng’s hand faltered.

Jin Chuling was covered in blood, appearing like a different person in an instant. Tears slowly fell as he stroked the red shadow on the stone coffin, murmuring, “Brother loved me so much. He never got angry no matter what I said. Why is he ignoring me this time?”

Song Youqiu hugged his little coffin and retreated silently, wanting no part in this clash of madmen.

After Jin Chuling finished talking to himself, his expression shifted back to one of malice. He said grimly, “He’s easy to coax. As long as I act a bit soft, things will surely go back to the way they were.”

Back to sixty years ago… when Xiang Zhongjing was completely obedient to him.

Jin Chuling thought obsessively as his demonic power suddenly erupted, violently shattering the barrier Xiang Zhongjing had set up.

The coffin lid let out a faint sound, and without a second thought, Jin Chuling threw the lid aside with a single palm strike.

The heavy lid crashed to the ground, making the branches of the Great Tree shudder.

Withered leaves drifted down, swirling onto the edge of the coffin before being blown inside by the wind from Su Cansheng’s frantic approach.

A dry leaf landed gently on a stray curl of hair.

Jin Chuling stood frozen, momentarily unsure how to react.

Su Cansheng arrived right behind him. The sword he usually valued above his own life clattered to the ground, ignored.

Inside the stone coffin, Xiang Zhongjing lay quietly with his eyes closed. The red robes from sixty years ago were tattered and old. Whether due to the coffin or the array, the wound on his left hand where Su Cansheng had stabbed him was still bleeding, refusing to heal.

Xiang Zhongjing’s face hadn’t changed at all. His clothes were a mess, and his dark hair was spread across the bottom of the coffin like chains, making him look like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, unable to escape no matter how it struggled.

There wasn’t a sound inside the coffin, not even the sound of breathing. For a moment, Jin Chuling feared that Xiang Zhongjing was dead.

With bloodshot eyes, he reached a trembling hand toward the bottom of the coffin, wanting to check if there was any breath left.

But before his cold hand could touch Xiang Zhongjing’s face, the man who had been as still as a corpse suddenly snapped his eyes open. His originally dark pupils had turned into golden, vertical slits, staring back with an icy gaze.

“Xiang Zhongjing” raised his right hand and grabbed Jin Chuling’s wrist. His golden pupils were filled with a haughty disdain, as if he were looking at an ant.

“Just a little snake,” Gu Congxu said with a mocking smile. “You dare behave so insolently in my presence?”

Jin Chuling’s pupils shrank in shock.

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