"Lan Yin, do you truly hate the Hades Circle so much? Must you oppose Hades' Will? Can't you hear it—the Four Sacred Beasts' mournful cries..."
I stood quietly beside Lan Yin. Beneath our feet lay a massive, black Black Tortoise, sprawled on the ground. I looked over the summoned black Four Sacred Beasts—each one radiated fury, their expressions savage and fierce.
Lan Yin crossed his legs casually, sitting atop the White Tiger's back. His gaze was wild and unrestrained. The Black Dragon coiled around him began to stir, rumbling in its throat. Lan Yin stretched out his right hand, playing with the dragon's chin. The Black Dragon seemed comfortable, eyes closed in contentment.
"There's nothing I can't get past. It's just..."
Lan Yin paused mid-sentence, then released his grip. The Black Dragon slowly left his body, gradually expanding in size.
"It's just that there's no going back. Instinct...is called despair..."
With a thunderous roar, the ground shook—the Black Dragon instantly swelled dozens of times larger. In that moment, black clouds covered the sky, lightning crackled, and bean-sized drops of black rain fell from above. The dragon spiraled upward, rising higher.
Above Lan Yin's head, the dragon sang its long cry. Suddenly, I saw Su Jianle raise the Phoenix Blade high, chanting under his breath. The cry of a Vermilion Bird rang out—a fiery red Vermilion Bird, transformed from the Phoenix Blade, appeared in an instant. The crimson glow illuminated the sky.
Black and red formed a stark contrast.
"So that's how it is? Despair's power is far more comforting, far more reliable than hope! There are things I know are wrong, yet I persist. Even with no path forward, I still want to move on. Do you know why?"
Lan Yin slowly stood up, gazing at the four figures from the Yellow Springs in the distance, and shouted loudly.
"You've lost your mind, Lan Yin. If you still refuse to yield, then today, the three of us will join forces right here to destroy you."
Zhao He roared, but Lan Yin suddenly burst into wild laughter. Black raindrops kept falling, his expression growing even more deranged. He raised a hand, clenched it tightly, and with a guttural sound, the Black Dragon swirling in the clouds above descended.
"Because... I refuse to accept this..."
With Lan Yin's furious shout, the Black Dragon in the sky suddenly took a deep breath. Accompanied by a deafening dragon's roar, a crackling sound erupted, and a mass of black lightning spewed from the dragon's mouth, shooting toward the four figures of the Yellow Springs.
In that instant, I saw the massive Vermilion Bird struck by the black lightning; it cried out, and its flaming body was instantly obliterated in the lightning, the immense black glow staining the entire world around it.
There was no sound at all. Lan Yin narrowed his eyes, his expression changing. The immense black lightning instantly evaporated the water in the lake before him, sending up clouds of white steam.
Lan Yin sat back onto the White Tiger's spine, quietly watching the distance. At that moment, I saw the black-wrapped area before me—the black lightning was gradually fading away.
Now, the black clouds in the sky slowly dispersed, revealing a deep blue sky and letting sunlight pour down. Only above Lan Yin's head did the black clouds remain, the Black Dragon shrinking bit by bit, circling and winding back around Lan Yin.
"So, is it someone else's turn now?"
Lan Yin said casually. I glanced over and saw that, at some point, two more people had appeared—both likely from the Yellow Springs. One was Wang Ming, and the other was an old man, bald, with a snowy white beard, hunched over a cane. At that moment, I noticed a vast stretch of red silk, like a flying carpet, beneath the five of them.
Zhao He, Su Jianle, Wang Shuo, and Wang Su all knelt quietly on the ground. Wang Ming and the old man stood together, both stepping onto the extended red silk and slowly approached.
Lan Yin raised his hand, and the Black Dragon coiled around him immediately left, diving into the mountains. Moments later, it emerged, holding Wang Ming's Soul-Gathering Gourd, then flew toward Wang Ming.
"No matter what, thank you, Mr. Wang Ming."
Wang Ming accepted the Soul-Gathering Gourd, still wearing his gentle smile. The old man beside him looked helpless, sighing repeatedly.
"Well, Lan Miu, these are your descendants. How exactly did you teach your Lan family heirs? Every one of them is such a headache."
"Wang Ming, I have headaches too. If I'd known, I never would have recorded everything about the Yellow Springs in the ancestral home. Sigh, Lan Yin..."
The old man called Lan Miu called out, and Lan Yin laughed, then stood up and bowed respectfully.
"You're a polite grandson, at least. Sigh, things have come to this—let it be. Come back to the Yellow Springs with me."
"The Will of the Yellow Springs—what exactly is it? I read the inscription you carved. Tell me, what is it, truly?"
Lan Yin stared intently at Lan Miu, clearly desperate to know the answer.
"Grandson, even if you know, what difference does it make? No one can defy the Will of the Yellow Springs. You should have seen it clearly: when a Yellow Springs dweller joins with an outsider, what is born? The child in the womb is affected by the Will of the Yellow Springs. If either parent is not from the Yellow Springs, the energy required for birth becomes terribly imbalanced. In the end, the outsider is doomed to die an unnatural death. All of this was predetermined; nothing you do can change it."
Lan Yin sat down again, then threw his head back and howled at the sky.
"Then I'll use these hands to bury the Yellow Springs and return everything to zero."
As Lan Yin spoke, Wang Ming just laughed and shook his head.
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click 'Next Page' to continue reading the exciting content!
"From the moment you were born and learned of the Yellow Springs, you denied your own existence. Then, your friend's appearance made you begin to accept yourself, living between hope and despair. Lan Yin, how old are you this year?"
Wang Ming asked, and Lan Yin replied.
"Twenty-one."
"Yes, for these twenty-one years, you've always denied the essence of the Yellow Springs, yet you also accept it. You want to resist, but you're afraid of failure..."
"What do you understand about me? Failure—only failure, again and again. Last time, this time, every time. Why is it that we of the Yellow Springs must suffer like this..."
Lan Yin was extremely agitated, as if questioning the two before him.
"Such is life, grandson. You're only twenty-one. In this world, nothing goes as one wishes. What you've seen and experienced in these short twenty-one years is just a passing phase in your life. Why trouble yourself so? Many things aren't clear to you yet—after all, you're still human..."
Lan Yin laughed loudly, but suddenly his laughter came to an abrupt stop.
"Nonsense! Tell me, what exactly is the Will of the Yellow Springs?"
Lan Yin questioned again. At that moment, Lan Miu slowly walked toward him and took out a diamond-shaped token from his robe. It bore the character 'Lan,' golden with a pink inscription, engraved with the same pattern I'd seen on the great stone gate at the Lan ancestral home—the Lan Family crest.
"What are you doing?" Lan Yin asked as Lan Miu approached and handed over the waist token.
"This is proof of the Lan Family, proof of the Soul Guide. Grandson, my lifespan is nearly at its end. I had hoped that you and that young lady would have a child to inherit the position of Soul Guide, but now, you..."
Lan Miu had already come before Lan Yin, handing him the token.
"I've already decided—I will never return to the Yellow Springs, not for the rest of my life..."
With a bang, Lan Miu raised his cane and struck Lan Yin on the head, then straightened up and looked at him seriously.
"It's not enough. Your lifetime is not enough. If you wish to contend with the Will of the Yellow Springs, what you need is time. Grandson, if you understand, then from today onward, you are the Soul Guide of the Lan Family..."
Lan Yin stared blankly at the token, hesitating. I could see the struggle within him; though his right hand reached out, he was reluctant to accept it.
With another bang, Lan Miu struck Lan Yin's mouth with his cane, scolding him.
"Grandson, if you're truly a man, then since you started all this, you must bear it yourself."
Lan Miu spoke earnestly, placing his hand on Lan Yin's shoulder. Lan Yin's eyes widened.
"The Will of the Yellow Springs—what is it, truly? Even we Soul Guides, even the Ten Yama Kings, do not know. This vast, unknown force—its will has, since ancient times, regulated and guided the people of the Yellow Springs. Grandson, we of the Yellow Springs did not come into being when the Underworld employed us; we existed long before the Underworld ever recruited us."
As Lan Miu spoke, he set down his cane and floated in the air, grasping Lan Yin's hand, opening his palm, and pressing the token into it.
"No one can defy the Will of the Yellow Springs. If you truly wish to seek its origin, go to the Yellow Springs itself. Everything irreversible began there, and it will take countless years to unravel. Since the challenge has been issued, how can you abandon it halfway and leave it behind..."
Lan Yin accepted the token and hung it at his waist. At that moment, I saw a yellow glow rise, and Lan Yin's body slowly returned to normal, all his wounds vanishing.
"Ah, I understand now. I will inherit the position of Soul Guide. Thank you, Lan Miu. I'm truly grateful—for everything, whether it's the Yellow Springs or my friends."