The Taoist temple had been a formation from the moment it was built; this courtyard was the formation's eye.
It did not matter where the corpses lay. The blood automatically flowed along a certain path. Once human blood left the body, it would turn into clotted jelly within minutes, yet at this moment, it remained bright red.
The rain had stopped. Beneath the cold light of the waning moon, the atmosphere was eerie and frigid. All the previous frolicking sounds had vanished. Xie remained motionless and silent for a long while.
"Ah..." Hong Dao heard a long sigh. He could not help lowering his head, and his brow bone gave an almost imperceptible twitch.
What was True Person thinking about?
Did he feel some regret—or remorse—in his heart as well?
"What we have now is enough. The remaining two died outside the temple, so there is no need to move them here."
"Go outside the temple and gather the bodies. Do not let anyone disturb us."
Xie was still Xie. After a long while, he regained his calm and gave the order. Watching Hong Dao retreat into the small courtyard, he stood amid the stench of blood, gazed into the distance, and let out a long sigh.
"By doing this, I fear even Hong Dao, whom I painstakingly raised, will develop a rift with me. It will be difficult for us to be as close as we once were."
"But this is unavoidable."
"The Dragon Lord and I are bound by layer upon layer of shackles. They have endured for centuries and cannot be removed without great power."
"Yet, Dragon Lord, you never expected this, did you? Twenty years ago, I devised a plan to kill the Crown Prince from the side. Though the Emperor struck the blow and suffered