Chapter 51: Antelope

“It’s me.”

“We’ve got to go now…”

“Doesn’t matter where. The further, the better!”

Qin Ye forced himself to stay awake as the car drove further and further away. After some time, the driver couldn’t help but shiver slightly, “What the hell. Why is it so cold today?”

Cao Youdao must be summoning all of the Yin spirits in the entire City of Salvation… Qin Ye clenched his fists. It’s almost 5 a.m. There’s no way he’s going to make another move tonight. But tomorrow… or the day after, the entire city is going to break out into chaos!

All of the Yin spirits were toting a red-coloured lantern. Their feet didn’t move, and yet they continued to drift forward slowly. A single word “Cao” was written in blank ink on all of the lanterns.

When the clock struck five, Qin Ye finally shut his eyes.

After some time, he was awakened to someone shaking him. Wang Chenghao leaned in towards him with concern, “Brother Qin… how are you feeling? Do we need to send you to the hospital?”

After getting a room, Qin Ye collapsed onto the bed and slept for eight hours straight.

He possessed a constitution that was vastly different from that of a normal human being, and he had already recovered substantially from his wounds after just one night’s rest. He leaned against the bed and muttered to himself.

There was no way that Cao Youdao would give up on the shard of one of Hell’s primordial treasures so easily. If possessing the first shard could allow him to survive Hell’s great collapse, then what would the second shard enable him to achieve?

That’s right. The amount of Yin energy at their disposal meant that there was still no way for them to remotely detect the other’s presence if they were in different parts of the city. After all, a Soul Hunter was only supposed to have charge over a county’s affairs. That said, this still didn’t change the fact that Cao Youdao had seen Qin Ye’s face. Furthermore, Yin spirits… possessed an ethereal body by nature.

There was simply nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide!

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Cough cough…” Just then, a weak and hoarse voice crept out of nowhere. Qin Ye was slightly taken aback, “Arthis? You’re awake?”

Minutes later, Arthis' feeble voice called once again, “Do you know something…”

Qin Ye was displeased, “This is your fate.”

Without waiting for Qin Ye’s response, she explained, “When preyed upon by a tiger, the antelope will fight back with its horns… cough cough… but that said, it will most certainly attempt to escape before its fight response kicks in.”

Qin Ye’s face felt somewhat warm. He didn’t know just when exactly Arthis had come to develop such a profound understanding of him. Yet the fact that Arthis had slowly peeled away the layers of pretension to reveal the deepest contemplations of his heart made him feel incredibly exposed and embarrassed.

Qin Ye didn’t understand why Arthis had changed the topic so abruptly. Regardless, he pursed his lips and shook his head.

“One hundred and thirty years ago, an incarnate revenant appeared in the mass graves of Southriver. Five Hellguards stationed at the cities nearby were killed in the line of duty. Even an Infernal Judge was hurt. Yet, none of them retreated a single step…”

Qin Ye’s face grew redder and redder. Arthis' words were like flames that were gently licking his face, causing his face to burn and boil. Qin Ye shifted his gaze awkwardly and muttered, “It’s not as though I’d wanted to--...”

Each sentence spoken was like a powerful bolt of lighting, cleaving apart the last of Qin Ye’s pretenses and revealing his innermost core.

“Did I have a choice?!!” Qin Ye stood up abruptly. Having the deepest contemplations on his heart exposed bit by bit was akin to having a flame burning in his heart. Over time, even the dampest explosives hidden away in the deepest corner of his heart would ignite and explode violently.

“Run?! What else can I do but run?! Soul Hunters are on a completely different plane of existence than Netherworld Operatives! I’d already almost died back then in the Fenglai hotel!!”

“Then did you ever ask me of your own volition?!!” Arthis boomed at the top of her voice before coughing vigorously. Wang Chenghao blinked his eyes awkwardly and attempted to steal away into a corner. Yet before Wang Chenghao could exclaim, “I’ll leave”, Qin Ye glanced over at him with his bloodshot eyes and chopped down on Wang Chenghao’s neck. Wang Chenghao immediately fainted and collapsed onto the bed.

The soul sphere shook vigorously. This was the first time that the two had confronted the shortcomings of the other in such an intense manner, almost as though they were bullfighting. Qin Ye’s chest rose and fell heavily with his intense breaths. Arthis panted as she continued, “The only questions you’ve ever asked me about is how to resolve a problem. But… but you’ve never once asked me… how exactly you should get stronger at all!!”

“Hell has collapsed, and evil ghosts abound in the mortal realm… We’re only a few years away until the massive supernatural upheaval… cough cough… It’s not as though you can’t muddle on through and live merely for your survival… But that said, if you continue like this, you’ll one day encounter an evil ghost so powerful that it will tear you to shreds before you even know it!!”

Dead silence.

Neither was willing to concede any ground. The thoughts that were hidden in the depths of each of their hearts were now exposed to the other. Under the confluence of intense emotions of shame and fury, none of them spoke a single word to the other for some time.

Arthis' voice was feeble, like a candle in the wind, “Reach 200 merit points… cough cough…”

“Think for yourself!” Arthis gasped, “If you can’t figure a way out, then think of a way to leave the City of Salvation and find a reclusive forest to hide in and struggle for your own survival… I’ll find another host to pledge allegiance to - one that wouldn’t give me so many heart-stopping moments!”

Her voice stopped abruptly.

The veins on Qin Ye’s head throbbed several times before he reluctantly called out, “Arti?”

“It’s easy for you to say.” Qin Ye snorted, “One vengeful apparition only gives me 20 merit points. And it’s not as though the gates of Hell are open once more for me to reap and harvest from a gathering of ghosts. I’d be old enough to have a full head of white hair by the time I gather 180 merit points!”

Nobody spoke another word.

The world was changing. If he chose not to discard his old habits and adapt to the situation, the world would leave him behind in no time.

When Wang Chenghao came to his senses again, he was greeted by a peculiar image.

Qin Ye sighed sullenly, “I’m contemplating whether I’m going to take responsibility for you or not.”

“Don’t feel like talking.”

He touched his own buttocks quickly to make sure everything was fine before finally feeling reassured once more.

1. This is the reference to the famous statue called the thinker.