Sly kept picking up stones from the riverbank and hurling them forcefully toward the center of the river. The river was about ten meters wide, not particularly large, so the stones easily landed in the middle, right where a pile of rocks had accumulated.
With a loud cry, Sly immediately began to shout, clearly upset and furious. She stomped wildly on the rocks scattered on the ground, her face twisted into a snarl—completely different from before.
Lord Shenyan walked over, casually picked up a stone, weighed it in his hand for a moment, then with a swift motion, threw it out. Instantly, the stone split the river and sank straight to the bottom. I swallowed hard—such overwhelming strength, yet not a single drop of water splashed. It was truly unbelievable.
A flurry of clapping echoed, as Sly kept slapping her hands together and picked up another stone to throw. But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t match Lord Shenyan’s feat.
"Is she trying to imitate you?"
Lord Shenyan nodded, chuckling softly.
"You could say that."
Lord Shenyan continued, saying that back then, even after Sly begged for mercy, he still wanted to kill her. After all, she had ruined so many families—even if Sly was mentally unstable, she still had to pay for her cruel pranks.
"If I had killed her back then, maybe I’d have ended up just like I did in life!"
"Why didn’t you do it?"
"I remembered John Chou. Back then, when I killed him, I hesitated for a moment, but I still went through with it—to avenge others, to bring justice. When I was alive, I never killed anyone by mistake; every person I killed deserved it. The only one I killed wrongly was John Chou."
I responded with a soft 'oh.' Lord Shenyan looked melancholic as he sat by the river—this was clearly his unresolved burden. I could somewhat understand why he wanted John Chou to kill him with his own hands; he truly was a righteous man.
"Sly came out of Mount Shade. I’ve seen some of her memories—she was killed by bad people a long time ago, and her death was miserable. That’s why she broke down inside. After she was caught, she developed Deathbane Syndrome, and the Underworld Court abandoned her here. But instead of turning into stone, she survived."
"She’s a girl?"
I muttered in surprise. Lord Shenyan nodded, then walked over and crouched down beside Sly.
"Do you remember the place you took me before? The one full of fruit trees? I need to go there now. Take me."
Sly looked up at Lord Shenyan, tilting her head as if she didn’t quite understand.
"Lord Shenyan... heh..."
A few stiff, mechanical words came from Sly’s mouth. She couldn’t speak like a normal person, and seemed not to understand what Lord Shenyan was saying. Lord Shenyan patiently repeated himself to Sly, gesturing with a stone as he explained.
I crouched nearby, sitting quietly on a stone, watching. I remembered the first time I saw Lord Shenyan—I hadn’t been afraid of him. Only now did I slowly start to understand: he may be a Ghost Sovereign, an evil spirit in the ways of ghosts, but he possessed eyes that were utterly righteous.
It was those eyes that dispelled all my fear of Lord Shenyan. So, whenever John Chou asked him to take me to the Forest of Desire, or when we spent time together, I never felt any wariness toward him. John Chou would even entrust him with important matters.
"By the way, Lord Shenyan, are your subordinates here too?"
I asked, recalling that John Chou once said Lord Shenyan should go to Yin Mountain Crossing to summon his subordinates back.
Lord Shenyan nodded.
"If time permits, I’ll make a trip to Yin Mountain Crossing. Things in the Living World are complicated right now—I need help."
I gave a soft 'oh.' Then Lord Shenyan stood up and looked at me.
"Your five friends have already found the whereabouts of the Dream Legion."
I swallowed hard.
"The Five Oddballs from the Forest of Desire?"
Lord Shenyan nodded. It had been years since I’d heard anything about them—Hu Tianshuo also said they hadn’t contacted him either.
"There’s a major battle ahead. I can’t handle the Dream Legion alone, especially with Three-Eyed involved. That’s why I need to call back my subordinates."
I let out a sound of acknowledgment. It seemed Lord Shenyan had been working behind the scenes all along.
"Did John Chou ask you to do this?"
Lord Shenyan nodded.
"John Chou said the Dream Legion has now fallen into the hands of the Immortality Society and the Ghost Syndicate. They’ll definitely use these Blue Wraiths for something. You were present during the attack on Redmane’s Domain, weren’t you?"
I nodded. Although those Blue Wraiths were all copied by Three-Eyed using ghost soul traits and weren’t as strong as the originals, they did deal a heavy blow to the Hall of Malice. Many of Redmane’s subordinates were injured.
"What about John Chou’s Dream Legion? Has Mr. Brown already gone looking for them?"
Lord Shenyan shook his head.
"There are some things that only John Chou can resolve personally. Even though Mr. Brown is the actual leader of the combat faction in the Hall of Bloodbane, those fierce ones won’t listen to him—they’re waiting for John Chou to give them an answer."
The reason the Seven Ghost Sovereigns are so powerful is because of their Dream Legion. Their own strength, combined with their legion, makes them a formidable force. That’s why, at their peak, they could challenge the Underworld Court and make every practitioner uneasy.