A Little Courage (continued)

Telling the truth is one of the duties of the waiter. Calling yourself a friend does not mean that you are really a friend, or you may be an enemy. Especially when faced with these people, they will start fighting at any disagreement, regardless of the time and place. If the tables and chairs are damaged, the unlucky ones are them. If the other party insists on not paying compensation, do they still have the courage to sue the officials?

If guests are notified in advance, and they know that their enemies are nearby, they will be more cautious and may choose to turn around and leave, thus avoiding a lot of trouble.

However, Si Ming had received instructions from Si Jingyu beforehand, knowing that they were his own people. They traveled in two groups, one after the other, so that the first group could scout ahead and the second group could react accordingly.

"You sure know how to enjoy yourself, huh? I've been rushing here all night with a message, haven't even had a bite to eat, and you're out here strolling through the night market with a girl, living the high life."

The newcomer was none other than Hao Shuai. He had ordered a large table of dishes and was currently eating with great relish. He was chewing on a big chicken leg, crunching twice before swallowing it whole, bone and all. His ravenous eating style proved that he was indeed starving.

"I don't have any money on me, so you'll have to pay the bill for me, otherwise I'll have to dine and dash."

"Anyway, you're tough and resilient, so it's good for them to hit you a few times to vent their anger."

Si Ming took the letter from Hao Shuai, opened it, and read it. He quickly dropped his relaxed and cheerful expression, frowned, and his face became extremely serious.

"Hey, why the sudden serious expression? What did the letter say?" Hao Shuai asked.

Si Ming put the letter away without replying to Hao Shuai. After a moment's thought, he quickly made a decision, saying, "Wait for me here." Then he led Wan Ziling towards the room.

"Judging from your face, have you really encountered something troublesome?" Wan Ziling asked with concern.

Si Ming hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. Although he had made up his mind, he couldn't help but hesitate now that the moment had come. Was it really okay to tell the person involved? Would it be too cruel?

"Alright, you can't hide it forever. You'll find out eventually, and besides, as family, you have the right to know."

Upon hearing this, Wan Ziling's heart skipped a beat, and she asked anxiously, "Could it be that something happened to my brother?"

"It's hard to say right now. Zheng Jingyuan, Zhou Anping, your brother, and your father—at least one of these four has a problem," Si Ming hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the truth, "They've most likely been replaced by the Beast King Anye."

Wan Ziling's face paled, her hands clenched into fists, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Are you sure?"

"There's a 70-80% chance, so we plan to test them. My friend will pretend that I'm trapped by the Moon Devil King and the Son of the Dragon Devil and need help. The Evil-Slaying Sword School has sent Zheng Jingyuan, Zhou Anping, and your younger brother, leaving only your father behind due to injury. My friend will lead the three of them around the mountains for a day, and then pretend to receive news of my escape to come and meet me. I will then feign serious injury to test their reaction."

Seeing Wan Ziling's wavering and dazed expression, Si Ming paused, feeling a pang of pity. But then he thought, since they had already come this far, there was no point in hiding anything anymore. Rather than fabricating a white lie, it was better to tell her the whole truth to prevent her from harboring any illusions. After all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment, and the more severe the blow.

So he forced himself to harden his heart and added, "If all three of them are fine, then the problem lies with your father Wan Yebai... In fact, my friend also believes that your father is the most likely candidate to be replaced."

Wan Ziling opened her mouth, her face deathly pale. Suddenly, her heart clenched as if gripped by an invisible hand, her soul trembled, and the memories she had forgotten yesterday resurfaced in her mind, gradually becoming clearer.

The Ghost Gate, the Call, the Return, the Father's Figure...

"No, this can't be! Why is this happening? I just wanted my family to be safe and sound, why won't even that little bit of hope be given to me, ughhhhh—"

Wan Ziling covered her face with her hands, looked up and let out a shrill scream. Intense resentment surged from her body, and the shadow beneath her feet was like a demon baring its fangs and claws. Her soul began to distort and become Vengeful Transformation.

"Oh no! He manipulates the Heavenly Dao, transforms the two polarities, creates yin and yang, and reverses the universe! A pardon is warranted!"

Si Ming quickly cast a talisman, placing it between Wan Ziling's eyebrows to transform the Yin Qi.

However, this time Wan Ziling's spirit was severely shaken. In addition, she had stayed in the mortal world for too long and had already reached her limit, accumulating enough resentment in her body. Therefore, this time the outburst was far more powerful than before. Like a dam releasing a flood, the yin Yin Qi converted by the talisman was only a drop in the ocean, and the yang energy converted was also swallowed up in an instant. It was completely a drop in the ocean.

Seeing this, Si Ming had no choice but to add more magical power to activate the formation.

"Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows the law, the law arises from the heart, life is endless, the Great Unity eradicates sins, slays demons and protects the body!"

The Supreme One Sin-Removing Formation activated instantly, enveloping Wan Ziling within it. The falling light shone on the malevolent aura emanating from her, immediately producing a corrosive effect that quickly dissolved the malevolent aura.

At the same time, Wan Ziling's soul became even more violent, like a wounded beast whose ferocity was aroused, and a low, inhuman roar came from her throat.

"This is bad. The Supreme One Sin-Removing Formation is a formation for defeating enemies, not a transformation formation. Its offensive power is too strong. If the Vengeful Transformation process is forcibly stopped by external force, it will inevitably damage Wan Ziling's soul... The only way now is to rely on her own will."

This process of spiritual Vengeful Transformation is like a cancer virus. Wan Ziling is already in the late stage of cancer, beyond the reach of medicine. Si Ming's Technique Method is equivalent to chemotherapy, which can at most slow down the spread of cancer and allow Wan Ziling to hold on for a while longer. However, she will also suffer the pain of chemotherapy.

Given Wan Ziling's current perilous condition, Si Ming must increase the dosage to bring her back, but this also means that Wan Ziling will have to endure more pain. If he is not careful, it may lead to a breakdown of her soul, at which point she will not even be able to become a vengeful ghost.

"Die! Die! Die! You all must die—"

Seeing Wan Ziling go berserk, her eyes flashing with bloodthirsty red light, ready to destroy everything in sight, Liu Qingqing suddenly darted out, transforming into ropes to firmly bind her own body.

Si Ming quickly considered ways to bring Wan Ziling back to her senses. Love and justice clearly wouldn't work; she wasn't a magical girl. Wan Ziling's will was clearly in disarray, and he needed an emotion to unify it, even a negative one, rather than complete chaos. And the strongest human emotion was—

"Don't you want revenge?" Si Ming activated the Kui Drum Thunder Sound technique, each sound deafening and penetrating straight to the soul. "Isn't your wish to completely annihilate the Beast King Anye? Now you have the chance to achieve it yourself. If the Beast King truly possesses your brother or your father, then he will have a blood connection with you. Although you are currently occupying Qingqing's body, don't forget that there is a drop of Myriad Filth Tainted Blood refined from your own flesh Essence Blood. As long as you use this drop of Myriad Filth Tainted Blood as a medium, you will have the prerequisite to completely kill the Beast King Anye!"

"The Beast King Anye..." Wan Ziling reacted to the name, her body suddenly stopping.

Seeing this, Si Ming immediately pressed his advantage. "Yes, he is the culprit behind everything. Think about the deep-seated hatred between your Evil-Slaying Sword School and him, the hundreds of years of fighting, and the countless lives lost at his hands. Don't you want to avenge them?"

Your father once told me that the founding purpose of the Evil-Slaying Sword School Sect was to eliminate the Monster Race and restore peace and order to the world. Other than that, fame and power are all meaningless. If he could achieve his original goal of 'slaying evil,' he was willing to pay any price! Now you have the opportunity to fulfill your father's wish to slay evil. Are you going to give it up?"

"Father... the desire to vanquish evil..."

Wan Ziling's originally cloudy eyes suddenly became clear and firm, and the emotion symbolizing hatred began to overwhelm other negative emotions.

This method of fighting poison with poison is easy to jump from one extreme to another, and it is definitely not the right way. But at the moment, Si Ming has no other better options and can only grit his teeth and continue.

"I know you can do it, don't give up! Think about it, your enemy is occupying your father's body, wearing his face, walking brazenly within the Evil-Slaying Sword School, and secretly mocking your ignorance."

What is the purpose of the Beast King Anye's actions? He wants to completely destroy your Evil-Slaying Sword School from within. Can you allow him to commit such heinous crimes while bearing your father's appearance? Are you willing to accept this?

No! He can forget about it—

Wan Ziling gritted her teeth, clasped her hands together, and dug her fingernails into her flesh, leaving bloody marks.

"Now you have the chance to end him with your own hands, stop him from tarnishing your father's reputation, protect all the disciples of the Evil-Slaying Sword School Sect, and fulfill the centuries-old wish to slay evil. All of this is right in front of you. Are you going to stop here?" Si Ming roared like a madman beside him.

Liu Qingqing also said, "You said you'd let me lend you my body for a few more days, are you going to break that promise now?"

"Ah--"