I Stay

Yue Qianchou Yan Tuo, whom Yue Qianchou hadn't seen in a long time, arrived. The former elder of Fu Xian Island, now a prisoner, was being lifted up like a chick. The Ghost King, who was carrying him, threw him to the ground with a clattering sound of his armor, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and retreated to the side.

Yan Tuo in white, disheveled hair. His clothes were tattered and stained with blood, as if he had been whipped. He looked as if he had aged decades in an instant, and there was no trace of the domineering elder he once was.

Yue Qianchou stared coldly down below. If he hadn't been so arrogant back then, how could he have been tricked into coming here by a few casual words? However, Yue Qianchou hadn't expected him to have aged so much. His once well-maintained hair was now completely white, and his face was full of wrinkles. If he didn't know who this person was, no one would recognize him. It should be known that the higher one's cultivation level, the slower one ages. How could this be?

After a little thought, Yue Qianchou understood. At his age, having locked his Dantian and sealed his cultivation for several months, his body was deprived of the nourishment of True Essence, which naturally accelerated his aging. Moreover, he had been tortured. He didn't know what Yu Ji had done after she understood his meaning of "as long as I don't kill her."

Like a centenarian in the mundane world, Yan Tuo staggered around the hall, his dazed gaze finally meeting the cold stare of the king seated high on the throne. He suddenly realized it wasn't the gaze of the smiling woman, and then the gaze spread across the entire face... Yan Tuo's pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out in a hoarse voice, "Yue Qianchou, Yue Qianchou, it's you..." He stumbled forward a few steps, when a ghost general stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you!" A large slap sent him crashing back to the ground.

Ziyi couldn't bear to watch any longer and gritted her teeth, saying to Yue Qianchou, "If you want him dead, it's just a matter of a word from you. Why do you have to torment him like this?"

Yue Qianchou glanced at her coldly, said nothing to her, and instead addressed the crowd below. "Old man Yan Tuo, it's been many years. I never thought we'd meet again. Where has your arrogance gone, that you used to boss me around?"

Yan Tuo got up again, looked around and then at the person sitting high above, and suddenly understood everything. Now, Yue Qianchou was the one in charge. With blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, Yan Tuo shook his white hair and said with a bitter smile, "It seems I was deceived by you. You have a grudge against my son, so why would you spare his life? My son must have died tragically at your hands long ago."

Yue Qianchou sneered, "I never lie. If I say your son is alive, then your son is alive. Besides, you are a dying man, so I have no reason to lie to you."

Upon hearing this, Ziyi immediately looked at him with some suspicion. The generals and Yu Ji, on the other hand, had puzzled expressions. They were people who knew the details, and none of them expected that the disciple of the dignified Punishment Envoy of the Demon Ghost Domain could lie so openly and without batting an eye, especially in front of so many people. If they didn't know the truth, it would be hard for them not to believe it.

Yan Tuo's cloudy eyes lit up immediately, and he said, "Yue Qianchou, where is my son? May I see him?"

"Of course, no problem at all." Yue Qianchou waved his hand generously, which surprised Yu Ji and the others, who wondered where he was going to find a son to present to them. Then he added, "However! Your son was always against me on Fu Xian Island back then, and I still harbor resentment. Now that you two are both here, one of you has to stay behind to appease me!"

"What do you want?" Yan Tuo asked.

"It's simple. I never do things that involve annihilation." Yue Qianchou stood up and said coldly, "I just arrived here today to settle this matter. Either I release the restraints on you and let you go, then I'll kill your son. Or you stay and continue to suffer, and I'll release your son. Only one of you, father and son, can live. Choose now!"

The group of ghost generals immediately became interested, their gazes all focused on Yan Tuo. Yan Tuo hesitated for a moment, then quickly replied, "Yue Qianchou, I hope you keep your word. I... will stay, and you must let my son go." The atmosphere in the hall instantly became tense, and the ghost generals' gazes towards Yan Tuo immediately changed—they looked at him with admiration!

Damn it! What a touching display of fatherly love. Yue Qianchou glanced at the emotionally moved woman in Ziyi, feeling quite displeased. He had originally wanted to watch a good show of the dark side of humanity and teach this girl a lesson, to let her know what it means to have a domineering air that sees through people's nature, and to let her know that there is a reason why someone is pitiful. He wanted to prevent her from being disobedient in the future, but now, things have only gotten worse. He's afraid she'll become even more outrageous.

Yue Qianchou had no idea that Yan Tuo had been begging people to come to the Demon Ghost Domain with him, but they were all too afraid to come. So, even though he knew the chances of survival were slim, he still came here to save his son, showing that he had long been prepared to die.

Although you are good to your son, you have failed to discipline him properly, which has harmed both him and yourself. You still have to pay the price. Yue Qianchou narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Release the restriction on his Dantian, let him go to the cave to pick up his son, and let them leave together."

The words sounded nice, but everyone knew that Yue Qianchou had already sentenced Yan Tuo to death. Yu Ji nodded to those below, and immediately someone went to lift the restrictions on Yan Tuo. Ziyi bit her lip and said nothing...

Yan Tuo froze on the spot upon hearing this. Only when his whole body trembled and the True Essence in his Dantian surged out and rapidly circulated, nourishing his nearly withered body, did he believe it was true. He stared blankly at Yue Qianchou. Yue Qianchou took out a few spirit pills and threw them out, saying, "Recover as soon as possible, so it will be easier to pick up your son and leave together later."

Yan Tuo, whose ban had been lifted, immediately Yan Tuo thrown elixir into his palm, stared at Yue Qianchou, and slowly said, "Yue Qianchou, I will not tell anyone about what happened in the Demon Ghost Domain, or I will be punished by the heavens." After saying that, he put the elixir into his mouth and sat down cross-legged on the spot.

No one spoke in the hall; everyone stared at Yan Tuo. Knowing his fate, their expressions were a mix of sympathy and pity. Yue Qianchou silently put his hands behind his back. He truly wanted to release Yan Tuo, but now was not the time to show his soft heart. At this moment, sacrificing someone to demonstrate his cold-bloodedness was necessary, because he might one day take over the Demon Ghost Domain. Demons and monsters could only be suppressed by force, and Bi Changchun's actions had been effective and served as a warning.

Within a canyon only a dozen miles from the Ghost King's Palace, a pervasive atmosphere of gloom and desolation hung in the air. The temperature was near freezing, and a howling wind whistled eerily. Nothing grew in the surrounding barren landscape. At the bottom of the dark, iron-colored canyon, a funnel-shaped opening suddenly appeared, flaring outwards and narrowing inwards. The marks on the opening revealed that it had been carved out by the icy, piercing winds blowing from within over the years. On the cliff top opposite the opening, a group of people stood in a neat row, with Yue Qianchou, Yu Ji, Ziyi, and Yan Tuo in the center...

P. S.: Originally, this chapter was supposed to be about Yan Tuo sacrificing his son to save his own life after enduring so much torture. However, when I got to the part where Yan Tuo made his decision, I froze... Although the planned sequel would have been a much more dramatic and engaging story than this one, and longer, I just couldn't bring myself to write it. I gritted my teeth several times, but still couldn't bring myself to write. I even inexplicably started thinking about what it would be like to become a father myself... It wasn't until I burned my hand with a cigarette butt that I realized I'd dug a hole I couldn't fill. I stubbed out my cigarette, abruptly changed the subject, and had Yan Tuo say his last words, depriving Yue Qianchou of a chance to display his domineering side in front of Ziyi. But there should be plenty of opportunities like that later. Fortunately, Yan Tuo is just a fleeting character in this book; affecting one chapter won't have a significant impact. He's just a minor character anyway, destined to be reincarnated sooner or later, so let him have his moment of glory... Also, these past few days have been bizarre; constant power outages and my computer suddenly crashing have been incredibly frustrating and costly. Looks like I'll have to get a new laptop. Sigh! I'm not going to ramble on anymore; there aren't many words to begin with, and if I keep going, it'll surpass the main text... Feel free to continue criticizing! I'll continue deleting posts and comments; I have that right, so please understand...

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