Must We Stand By and Watch Them Die?

Ye Wanqing's pupils contracted sharply. Caught in a pincer attack from both front and back, she had no other choice.

In that split second, she made her decision.

She forcibly twisted her body, abruptly diverting the trajectory of the light sword that had been aimed at the short, burly evil soul master.

At the same time, she condensed a small sacred light shield in her left hand and met the shadow blades attacking from the side.

"Bang!"

The light sword collided with the giant ghost claw, erupting with a deafening boom.

Using the recoil, Ye Wanqing drifted backward.

At the same time, the light shield barely blocked three shadow blades.

But two still pierced through her defenses, slashing viciously into her left ribs and right leg.

Blood sprayed.

But a fierce glint flashed through her eyes. Taking advantage of her retreat, she ignored her wounds and clenched the fingers of her right hand!

The light sword that had been knocked away did not dissipate. Instead, it exploded in midair into dozens of tiny golden light arrows, pouring down like a torrential rain and enveloping the two evil soul masters!

"Last gasp!"

The short, burly evil soul master roared. The ghost giant crossed its arms, black mist condensing into a thick shield bearing a ghostly face.

However, just as the light arrows were about to strike the shield, a cold smile touched Ye Wanqing's lips. Her left hand formed a seal—

"Explode!"

The light arrows all detonated at the instant before impact!

Sacred power transformed into dense shockwaves, blasting cracks across the ghost-face shield.

The short, burly evil soul master grunted and staggered backward.

And at that moment, Ye Wanqing moved.

She charged desperately at the thin evil soul master. The remaining soul power around her burned madly, and the angel phantom behind her burst forth with one final blaze of brilliant light.

"Crazy woman!" The thin evil soul master's face changed in alarm, and he immediately tried to retreat.

But Ye Wanqing was too fast.

Her entire body became a streak of golden light. In an instant, she closed in, her right fingers held together like a sword, the last of her sacred power gathered at their tips as she thrust straight for his heart!

"You're courting death!"

A vicious light filled the thin evil soul master's eyes. Rather than retreating, he advanced. Black mist condensed in his hand into a pitch-black dagger, which he thrust at Ye Wanqing's chest as well.

It was a move to trade life for life!

"Pfft!"

"Rip!"

The sounds of two sharp weapons piercing flesh rang out almost simultaneously.

Ye Wanqing's fingers pierced the thin evil soul master's heart. Sacred power surged into him in an instant, purifying his internal organs and soul alike.

And his dagger sank deeply into her left breast, only a hair's breadth from her heart.

Blood poured from the wound, staining her pale golden dress red.

"Little..." The thin evil soul master's eyes widened. Black blood spilled from his mouth as his body fell stiffly backward, his life force swiftly fading.

"Second Brother!"

The short, burly evil soul master's eyes nearly split with rage as he roared and lunged at Ye Wanqing.

Ye Wanqing pulled out her bloodstained fingers, her body swaying once.

She knew she could not hold on much longer.

Excessive blood loss, depleted soul power, severe internal injuries...

But she could not fall.

At the very least, she had to buy Guyi enough time to escape.

The short, burly evil soul master had gone mad. The ghost giant swung its massive claws down at Ye Wanqing with world-destroying force.

Ye Wanqing took a deep breath and used her last shred of strength to mobilize the remaining sacred power in her body, condensing a palm-sized light shield before her.

She knew it would not stop the attack.

But if she could gain even an instant, she could find an opportunity to perish together with him.

However, just as the ghost claw was about to descend, an unexpected change occurred!

The short, burly evil soul master suddenly let out a shrill scream. The black mist around him churned violently, as though it had been struck by some powerful stimulus.

His movements stalled for a brief moment.

Though Ye Wanqing had no idea why, she would never let this chance slip away!

Gritting her teeth, she turned the light shield into a short sword and shot forward like an arrow loosed from the bow, thrusting it into the short, burly evil soul master's heart!

"You..."

The short, burly evil soul master lowered his head to look at the golden short sword embedded in his chest, his eyes full of unwillingness and disbelief.

His body began to collapse. Black mist scattered in all directions, and the ghost giant vanished into nothingness.

"Let's... die together!"

Before dying, he exhausted his final strength and slapped his palm toward Ye Wanqing's forehead.

Ye Wanqing no longer had the strength to dodge. She could only watch helplessly as the palm grew larger and larger in her vision.

Then, she suddenly felt a warm force coming from behind her.

A slender hand pressed against her back. Gentle power flowed into her body, bringing a moment of clarity to her fading consciousness.

Immediately afterward, a golden barrier lit up before her, blocking that fatal strike.

"Boom!"

The short, burly evil soul master's body completely disintegrated, turning into black smoke that filled the sky before dispersing into the air.

With nothing left to support her, Ye Wanqing's body went limp and fell backward.

A pair of strong arms caught her.

She barely opened her eyes and saw the outline of a young boy swaying in her vision.

Then, she heard her daughter's heart-rending cry:

"Mother!"

Li Changqing supported Ye Wanqing and slowly laid her flat on the ground.

Ye Guyi stumbled over and fell to her knees beside her mother. Her trembling hand reached toward that pale face, but she did not dare touch it, afraid that with one touch, her mother would shatter.

"Mother..."

Tears spilled from her eyes and fell onto Ye Wanqing's cheeks.

Ye Wanqing struggled to open her eyes. Looking at her tearful daughter, she forced out a smile. "Guyi... are you alright?"

Ye Guyi shook her head desperately, her voice choked with sobs. "I'm fine, Mother. What about you? How are you?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she realized what a foolish question it was.

The wound in her mother's chest was still bleeding. Her pale golden dress had already been dyed dark red.

There was not a trace of color left in that once peerlessly beautiful face, and her lips were as pale as paper.

Ye Wanqing gave a bitter smile, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible. "I'm afraid... I won't survive."

"No! You will!"

Ye Guyi tightly grasped her mother's hand. "Mother, you'll be alright! We'll find a healing-type soul master! There has to be a way!"

Ye Wanqing shook her head, looking tenderly at her daughter. "Silly child... I know my own body. My soul power is exhausted, my meridians are shattered, and my heart meridian is damaged... Holding on until now is already a miracle."

She raised a trembling hand and gently wiped the tears from her daughter's face. "Don't cry... You are the inheritor of the Sacred Angel Martial Spirit. You must be strong..."

Ye Guyi bit her lip and desperately held back her sobs, but the tears would not stop falling.

At that moment, Ye Wanqing seemed to notice something.

There was not only her daughter here.

There was also a young boy.

He looked no older than ten, with refined features and a composed air.

He wore simple cloth garments, yet they could not conceal his extraordinary bearing.

"Who is he?" Ye Wanqing asked softly.

Ye Guyi wiped away her tears, glanced at Li Changqing, and briefly explained what had happened.

After hearing her daughter's account, understanding flashed through Ye Wanqing's eyes, followed by deep gratitude.

She struggled to sit up, but Li Changqing reached out and pressed her back down.

"Auntie, there is no need to get up."

"You are badly injured. It would be better for you to speak while lying down."

Ye Wanqing smiled faintly, her voice weak but sincere. "Thank you for saving our lives. If you had not arrived in time, Guyi... she likely would have..."

"You're too polite, Auntie."

Li Changqing waved his hand, speaking as though it were nothing. "Slaying evil soul masters is not only your responsibility. If we encounter them, naturally we should help."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the corpses of the two evil soul masters on the ground. His tone carried a hint of emotion. "Still, I did not expect the outcome to be this dire. If I had not happened to pass by, there might no longer be any Sacred Angel Martial Spirit in this world."

At his words, bitterness flashed through Ye Wanqing's eyes.

Indeed. If this young boy had not happened to pass by, mother and daughter would likely both have fallen here today.

And the Holy Angel Lineage would likely have ended with them.

"Right!"

At that moment, Li Changqing seemed to recall something and could not help asking, "Right, how did you two end up provoking a group like this? From the looks of it, this was not a spur-of-the-moment attack. It seems they came prepared, specifically targeting your Holy Angel Lineage."

Ye Guyi's attention was drawn back.

She pursed her somewhat dry lips and explained quietly, "We heard that villagers had often been disappearing from several villages near the Shadowy Forest. We suspected evil soul masters were behind it, so we came to investigate. In one village that had nearly been destroyed, we found some survivors. They had been imprisoned by evil soul masters and were going to be used as cultivation materials... We rescued them, but then we were surrounded by a large group of evil soul masters who had rushed over after hearing the news. Mother took the initiative to lure away the two strongest Soul Emperors so the survivors and villagers could retreat, while I went to draw away another group. Then..."

Her voice lowered, filled with remorse and lingering fear.

If they had been more cautious, perhaps they would not have fallen into such a desperate situation.

After listening, Li Changqing was silent for a moment before asking, "Before rescuing them, didn't you first investigate your enemies' strength and arrangements? You just charged in headfirst?"

Ye Guyi's face turned red, then pale. She defended herself in a small voice, "The situation was urgent. Those villagers were in imminent danger. How could we have had time to investigate in detail? If we were one step too late, more innocent people might have died!"

"So what?"

Li Changqing sneered and asked with utter disdain, "Do you really think those villagers' lives were more important than the safety of you and your mother?"

Ye Guyi froze, then raised her head in agitation. "You! How can you say that?"

"Saving people in danger and defending the weak against the strong are the duties of soul masters, especially those of the Holy Angel Lineage!"

"Must we stand by and watch them die?"

"Duty?"

Li Changqing sneered, mocking her without restraint. "So for your so-called duty, you can disregard the cost, fail to understand the enemy, charge headfirst into a trap, and end up nearly getting both mother and daughter killed?"

"Have you considered that if you died, would the villagers you rescued be able to live?"

"Would the evil soul masters spare them?"

"And if you died, there would be two fewer Holy Angels in this world capable of restraining evil soul masters and perhaps saving even more people in the future!"

"Can't you do that calculation?"

He paused, his tone carrying a near-cruel lucidity utterly at odds with his age. "Of course, I am not saying that you should stand by and watch people die."

"But if you save someone, you must do it with a method and with wisdom."

"You must first make sure that you survive before you have the right and ability to save others."

"If you cannot even protect your own life, and even drag your loved ones' lives into it, what meaning does this kind of rescue have beyond moving yourselves?"

"It is nothing more than foolish sacrifice."

"I..." Ye Guyi opened her mouth, wanting to refute him.

But she found that while Li Changqing's words were harsh, they were like a needle, precisely piercing through certain beliefs her mother had instilled in her all this time.

She remembered her mother teaching her to cherish justice, to bravely resist evil, and to protect the weak...

Yet it seemed she had never told her so plainly that before upholding justice, one must first learn to protect oneself and weigh the costs.