This is a road to redemption paved with bitterness. Lan Yin seemed to awaken from a daze—he had to do something. Looking at Leonard Lane now, as a father, he felt obliged to act.
All the authority of the Lan Family had already been handed to the ten-year-old Leonard Lane. He handled every matter with the composure of an adult, managing everything with meticulous order.
"Leonard, do you want to go out and play? I know some fun places nearby."
Lan Yin walked into the study, but all he received was a cold reply. He had lost count of how many times this had happened. Leonard had never called him 'father,' nor did he call his mother so; it was as if he had chosen to forget them, and even his tone carried a hint of contempt.
Though the family sat together at the table every day, what they faced was always the coldness of Leonard Lane. To his relatives, Leonard acted as if they didn't exist. Even his younger siblings, who wanted to play with him, were hesitant to approach.
In these short seven years, Lan Yin had no idea what Leonard Lane had gone through in Hades, but he was now filled with a violent aura, speaking to everyone around him in a commanding tone—including his own parents.
Lan Miu’s words before leaving were not forgotten by Lan Yin. From time to time, he would remind Leonard to believe in the existence of the Sacred Spirits, but every time, his son’s fierce retorts would shut him down.
From initial tolerance to anger, within half a year, Lan Yin’s heart was tormented and filled with grief and resentment. He knew well that his son’s transformation was, in large part, his own fault. This was a responsibility he should have shouldered, but instead he had passed it to Leonard, who never had any choice in the matter.
Finally, this anger erupted because of a certain incident.
The young Lancy Lane and Blake Lane, being mischievous, were making a racket in the courtyard, disturbing Leonard as he reviewed some documents. He burst out in fury, shouting and even striking his younger siblings.
When Lan Yin arrived, his wife Judy Luo was holding the injured Blake Lane and wiping away tears. Leonard Lane watched it all with a faint smile, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
"Why did you hit them?"
"No reason. They interfered with my work. It was their fault..."
With a slap, Lan Yin struck Leonard Lane across the face. In an instant, Leonard raised his fist to hit Lan Yin back.
"Husband, don't hurt Leonard!"
Judy Luo cried out, but Lan Yin gripped Leonard's fist tightly.
"You have no right to lecture me. You're nothing but..."
Leonard stopped, swallowing the rest of his words. Lan Yin before him was consumed by rage, a suffocating murderous intent emanating from his body. In his ten years, Leonard had never seen his father like this. Since childhood, he’d only known his father as a weak man, who had even betrayed Hades in his youth. Though he was the Guide, he was cowardly and incompetent, publicly defeated by Jason Su, bringing disgrace to the Lan Family and making them the laughingstock of Hades.
Lan Yin released his son's fist, turned heavily, and walked over to comfort his wife and the two children. Then he left the residence, wandering the empty streets. His heart ached terribly—apart from the time with Miss Mo Yu, this was the most pain he'd ever felt in his life.
As a man, he felt utterly weak and powerless, unable to change anything. Even his own son had raised a hand against him. Clutching his chest, waves of burning pain spread through his body as he entered the tavern.
He drank bowl after bowl of liquor, yet Lan Yin had never felt so wretched. No matter how much he drank, he couldn't get drunk—if anything, he only grew more lucid.
Once again, he had lost. He was unworthy as a father, and unworthy as a husband. Despair and helplessness consumed him—he wanted to escape this situation.
With a crash, Lan Yin smashed the teacup and slashed his wrist hard. Crimson blood flowed out, but no matter how many times he tried, he could only watch the wound heal itself over and over.
Lan Yin gave a bitter laugh. He had no idea where to go next, or what to do. All he knew was that he was powerless—unable to do anything or even hear anything anymore.
Just then, a commotion broke out on the street. Lan Yin immediately stood up—it was people from Hades, and not just one or two, but many. Among them, Lan Yin sensed several powerful individuals: they were Guides.
Lan Yin immediately poked his head out and looked down. A long caravan, resembling merchant traders, was passing through. But the four leading figures—Lan Yin recognized them clearly—they were Guides from Hades.
Lan Yin hurried out of the tavern and, as soon as he stepped outside, ran into Jason Su. Beside him were Wendy Hsieh, Troy Duan, and Julian Lu—three other Guides.
After glancing at Lan Yin, Jason Su sneered and walked away. Lan Yin was about to leave when suddenly a hand reached out from the crowd and grabbed him from behind.
"What do you want..."
In an instant, Lan Yin rushed back into the tavern. He widened his eyes at the sight before him—a man in plain white scholar’s robes, half-smiling, sat at a table: John Chou.
Although Lan Yin had only met this fiend once before, he knew very well—this was one of the Seven Ghost Sovereigns, Bloodbane, who openly opposed the Underworld Court and made the entire supernatural world fearful.
"It’s been a long time. Won’t you join me for a drink?"
John Chou swirled the wine in his glass. Lan Yin slowly walked over—if the people from Hades were here, it had to be related to the Hall of Bloodbane. He quietly sat beside John Chou, who glanced outside and sneered.
"Quite the spectacle. Mr. Brown and Xiao Rong must have already gone ahead. Let’s wait a bit before heading over—one’s got a temper, the other kills without blinking. Neither listens to reason."
"What do you mean?"
Lan Yin asked bitterly. He knew this fiend, John Chou, was no simple ghost. Last time he’d been spared, perhaps because John Chou was in a good mood, but today felt different—Lan Yin had no idea what had happened.
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"Here’s the situation: your people from Hades have encroached on our Hall of Bloodbane’s territory, and even fought with our men, injuring one of my subordinates. So Mr. Brown and Xiao Rong came over, planning to eliminate the source themselves."
At once, Lan Yin thought of his son Leonard Lane. All ten major clans in Hades had their own public businesses, but behind the scenes, they managed personnel and divided territories. The Hall of Bloodbane’s domain was indeed close to the Lan Family’s territory. Though Lan Yin had once wandered in by accident, he later learned the two places were only a hundred li apart—not far at all.
Lan Yin immediately stood up and rushed toward the residence. The gates were shut tight, surrounded by people from Hades, who had already begun setting up ritual arrays. It looked like a fierce battle was about to erupt; the locals had been evacuated by the Hades people.
"Either hand over the person, or all of you will die here today."
An angry voice rang out in the courtyard. In an instant, a terrifying ghostly aura filled the residence, making Lan Yin tremble with fear. It was the number two of the Hall of Bloodbane, Wrathful Asura Zane Zhuang, and another commander, Ronan Wu.
Leonard Lane stood beside Jason Su and the other three Guides. Jason Su glared angrily at Zane Zhuang.
"You've already killed hundreds of our people—isn't that enough? Now you dare come to our doorstep. Hmph, don't think we're afraid of you!"
Lan Yin watched quietly from the side, while Leonard Lane smiled at the two fiends who had surrounded them. He stepped forward and spoke with a smile.
"What damned Hall of Bloodbane? You fiends think too highly of yourselves. There are so many of us in Hades..."
With a whoosh, Jason Su's angry expression turned to shock. The three other Guides tensed up, as John Chou suddenly appeared in front of Leonard Lane, reaching out a hand.
"Kid, I've mellowed out a bit these past few years. Otherwise, I would have killed you already."
Everyone from Hades present looked rather uncomfortable.
"Young Master."
"Boss, why did you only just get here?"
Ronan Wu ran over, smiling brightly.
"You owe us an explanation for today. After all, you struck first and injured my man. You can't just brush it off with a few words—what kind of logic is that?"
Leonard Lane glared angrily at John Chou, a streak of crimson flame emerging. Jason Su immediately held Leonard back, glaring at John Chou with resentment.
"Lord Yama..."
"None of our business. In short, either we destroy you or you hand over the culprit."
Zane Zhuang roared in anger, his body swelling, green ghostly energy illuminating the entire courtyard. Three heads and six arms grew from his body.
"Who knows who will win? Set up the formation."
Jason Su suddenly shouted, but his expression instantly changed.
Lan Yin stared intently at the surroundings. Clusters of ghostly green light appeared—all were Blue Wraiths.
"Hmph, John Chou, they injured Sister Violet Swallow—we can't let that slide. I haven't had a good fight in ages, and I'm itching for one!"
A high-pitched female voice rang out. John Chou nodded.
"No, we can't just let it go. I'll say it again: hand over the culprit. This isn't a request—it's an order. Otherwise, not a single person in this city or any of you from Hades will be left alive today."
There was no time for anyone from Hades to think. These martial ghost groups were powerful—they had defeated the Underworld Court's attacks several times, and in the end, the Court could only compromise.
"I was the one who ordered it."
Lan Yin slowly stepped forward, smiling as he walked up to John Chou.