All around, aside from the constant sound of sobbing, there were only the panicked voices of the four men: "Ivy, Ivy—"
Ivy turned her head. When she saw the light return to their eyes and the four men climbing toward her, tears burst forth uncontrollably. Stabbing blades, cut skin, pierced bones—she hadn't cried once, always gritting her teeth and persevering.
But the moment she saw the light come back into their eyes, she couldn't hold back anymore and burst out crying. It was as if she could see every scene of them fighting and dying for her, clear as day.
Her tears surged like a tide, never ebbing.
"Don't come, don't climb up here..." Ivy sobbed.
"Ivy, don't be afraid. We're here. Don't be afraid..." Eli Crane's gentle voice sounded again. Hearing it, Ivy couldn't help but cry out loud.
At that moment, she felt the most beautiful sound in the world was his calm, breezy, gentle voice.
"Wifey, Liam’s here to save you—Liam’s here!" The usually bookish Liam Willow was now uncharacteristically determined. The sharp blades tore through his untrained skin with ease, and every time he pulled himself up, Ivy could almost hear the hiss of blood flowing.
"Liam..."
With that, she handed Little Pretty to Grandpa Judge. "Grandpa Judge, can you watch him for me?"
"Of course!" Grandpa Judge nodded and smiled kindly.
"Wifey, wifey..." Butterfly Rogue crawled to Ivy's side, tears streaming down his face. He wanted to pull her into his arms, but her body was stuck fast on the blade points, so he didn't dare move too much.
"What are you doing?" Ivy stared as Butterfly Rogue struggled to slowly lift her. Instantly, the blade points stabbed even deeper into his chest, and as he took her weight, the blades pressed down further.
"Butterfly Rogue, what are you doing?" Ivy shouted anxiously, already guessing what the four were planning.
"Slow down, hold on and go lower..." Blood began to spill from Butterfly Rogue's mouth, his face twisted in pain.
"Idiot, put me down, hurry!" Seeing him like that, Ivy's heart was about to shatter. She struggled to break free—if she could, she’d drag him off those blades herself! But Butterfly Rogue’s next words froze her right up.
"Don't move, my bones are about to fall apart." As he spoke, sweat dripped down like beans. Blade Mountain really was a place to torture souls—here, even ghosts felt pain as if they had flesh, but couldn't die, just suffer endlessly.
Butterfly Rogue carefully passed her down to the next person—Caleb Miles.
"Ivy..." As soon as Caleb caught Ivy, his body sank lower onto the blades, his mouth spilling blood.
"You idiots, idiots!" Ivy couldn't move, didn't dare to move. She wanted to argue, but she knew these guys were all stubborn as bricks—if she tried to move recklessly, who knew what kind of disaster would happen.
"Of course!" Grandpa Judge nodded and smiled kindly.
The surrounding ghosts sobbed uncontrollably. With a scene like this, how could they not be shaken, not be moved?
"Daddy..." The Ghost Princess's tears fell too. Seeing Ivy fight so hard for them moved her deeply, but when the four men—who weren't supposed to recover their memories—suddenly did and climbed up barehanded, she was shocked.
She could tell they didn't hesitate at all, as if it was just something ordinary.
But when she saw them, covered in blood, passing Ivy down from one to another, her shock was beyond words.
"You guys, wait for me, I... I..." Ivy grew anxious, wondering how she could get them down from there.
"Don't come up," the four of them said in unison. They didn't want her climbing back up; even if it meant being nailed to Blade Mountain forever, as long as she stayed safe, they didn't care.
"Idiots, you absolute idiots!" Ivy didn't care about the tear tracks on her face; she just wanted to reach out and climb Blade Mountain again. How could she bear to leave them there?
"Daddy... Daddy, please spare them..." The Ghost Princess tugged at King Hades's sleeve, begging again and again.
King Hades remained expressionless, but glanced down at his daughter—it was the first time since she was born that she'd ever pleaded for someone else.
[Author's Note: Skipped non-narrative content per translation guidelines.]
[Author's Note: Skipped non-narrative content per translation guidelines.]
"I know," King Hades let out a relieved sigh and smiled slightly. With a wave of his hand, the four on the mountain instantly landed on the ground.
"Caleb, Liam, Butterfly Rogue, Eli..." Ivy called out through her tears.
"We're fine," they said with gentle smiles, clearly not wanting to see Ivy cry.
"Big brother, big sister, wuwuwu—" Little Pretty ran over and dove into Ivy's arms, sobbing. Clearly, he'd been scared out of his wits by everything that just happened.
Then King Hades waved his hand again, and in an instant, they all disappeared.
The ghosts spun in circles, baffled. "What happened? Where did they go? They were just here!"
"Yeah, even that little ghost is gone!" one ghost cried.
"Alright, what are you all staring at? If you’re not busy, get back to Youdu—quit loitering!" The leftover underworld officials started shooing the gossiping ghosts away.
The ghosts were reluctant to leave—they desperately wanted to know what happened—but with the officials watching, they could only hang their heads and shuffle away.
Ivy and the others felt everything go black; when they opened their eyes again, they were in a blazing hot place. Looking down, Ivy was instantly startled.
They were standing on a wooden bridge, and below was a gigantic cauldron. The oil inside bubbled and churned, and at the bottom, naked ghosts kept stoking the fire, as if trying to make the cauldron boil over.
"Sis!" Little Pretty, still clinging to Ivy, had been brought along too.
Ivy didn’t say anything—she just patted Little Pretty’s head and looked to King Hades.
"If you want to take them back to the living world, there’s one last trial: jump into the oil cauldron. If you can do it, I’ll let you all go!" King Hades said, expressionless.
"Daddy..." The Ghost Princess froze, then blurted, "If she jumps, her soul will be destroyed!"
"Enough!" King Hades snapped at his daughter, frowning.
Ivy glanced at the Ghost Princess, her hostility fading. Then she looked up at King Hades. "If I say I’ll do something, I’ll do it—as long as you keep your word!"
With that, she handed Little Pretty to the judge. "Grandpa, can you watch him for me?"
"Of course!" The kindly judge nodded and smiled.
"Sis..." Little Pretty clung to her, reluctant to let go.
"Be good," she said, then took a deep breath and prepared to jump. But just then, the four men stubbornly stepped up beside her.
"Huh? What are you doing?" Ivy frowned at her four husbands.
"Life and death, never apart—no matter what you face, we’ll be with you." Eli smiled gently, taking her hand with unwavering resolve.
"That’s right—whatever happens, we won’t let go!" Caleb stood on her other side, gripping her hand tightly.
"Come on, Little Bunny!" Caleb reached out to Liam, while Eli grabbed Butterfly Rogue’s hand.
Such unwavering determination told Ivy that no matter what she faced, they would never abandon her.
Seeing this, Ivy said nothing, just smiled. "Alright, then let’s share our blessings and face hardship together."
With that, the five of them exchanged happy glances. Smiles bloomed on their faces—wherever Ivy was, that was heaven. For her, it was the same. Without hesitation, they gripped each other’s hands and jumped together.
=======Author’s Note========
PS: This morning at six, Yiyi got up early to write and add extra chapters. This time, I didn’t notify readers, just quietly updated as thanks for your constant support. Your tolerance and kindness moved me to tears. Other than writing well, adding chapters is my most direct way to repay you. Love you all! You made me cry, wuwu~~