Chapter 585 - 283: The Third Human Pillar from Twenty Years Ago?

Chapter 585: Chapter 283: The Third Human Pillar from Twenty Years Ago?

Every night, Yue Linglong would stand before the Red King Mansion.

No matter how heavily it snowed, she would arrive without fail.

’It’s already come to this...’

Second Lady thought to herself that this was a marriage decreed by the Emperor, a political union that could not be refused. Whether Yue Linglong ended up as a wife or a concubine, she was, in the end, one of the Zheng Family. If she were to freeze, Zheng Xiu would be the one to suffer the loss. Thus, Second Lady repeatedly invited Yue Linglong into the Red King Mansion.

At first, Yue Linglong refused, saying politely that she would just wait at the entrance. The Red King had not yet forgiven her.

When Second Lady brought the matter up,

Zheng Xiu just gave a faint smile. "A fine display of feigning retreat to advance."

Second Lady started twisting Zheng Xiu’s ear again. "She just turned sixteen this year! When her father died, the poor girl hadn’t even been born."

"So what?"

"You!"

Second Lady was infuriated by Zheng Xiu’s casual attitude.

After finally getting Second Lady to let go, Zheng Xiu rubbed his red, swollen ear. ’The way you’re doting on her, Yue Linglong seems more like your little brother than my problem,’ he thought. But aloud, he said, "I’m telling you, Second Lady, do you realize that in the entire world, you’re the only one who can twist a Prince’s ear? You’re even more badass than the Emperor."

"Hmph! Even if you became the Emperor, I’d still be the Emperor’s older sister. I’ll always be your senior."

Second Lady was easily diverted.

"Hey, keep your voice down. If word of such treason gets out, our whole family could be executed."

Second Lady immediately stopped talking so recklessly, but she still wanted to persuade Zheng Xiu to treat Yue Linglong better.

Zheng Xiu didn’t agree.

In truth, he had no desire to deal with Yue Linglong. It wasn’t about love or hate; in his eyes, no matter how beautiful or special she was, she was just a stranger. She couldn’t compare to Feng Bei.

Three days after Gu Qiutang’s discovery of the "Hundred Ghosts March,"

Zheng Xiu had been contacting Gu Qiutang every day.

Gu Qiutang had said he wasn’t entirely certain if the character on the Hundred Ghosts Banner was indeed "Zheng."

If it was "Zheng," how could that be explained?

Did the vengeful spirits of the Zheng Family Army, defeated twenty years ago, still wander the wastelands, their resentment undying?

Before he’d glimpsed the Path and learned of the world’s hidden mysteries, Zheng Xiu would have scoffed at such a notion. But now, it was a case of better to believe it than to dismiss it.

’If that’s the case... would Dad be among them?’

What was the Hundred Ghosts March, really?

Specific conditions were required to witness the Hundred Ghosts March.

According to Gu Qiutang, the first was a "full moon," and the second was "heavy snow."

A full moon wasn’t hard; one just had to wait. Heavy snow wasn’t difficult either, as it was common in the northern wastelands. But when it snowed, dark clouds often obscured the moon. To have both conditions met at once... was truly difficult. No wonder the Rumors of the "Hundred Ghosts March" had been circulating for months, yet so few had witnessed it firsthand.

Only someone like Gu Qiutang, who had actually believed Zheng Xiu’s crazy talk, would find a snow-capped mountain and lie in wait for two solid months. Motionless as a stone in the frozen landscape, eyes unblinking, he was the one who finally managed to witness the bizarre spectacle.

At first, Zheng Xiu kept this matter to himself, telling no one.

But Feng Bei, being a partner connected to the very window of his soul, soon sensed that something was weighing on Zheng Xiu’s mind.

During an intimate moment, their heads close together, Feng Bei listened in, secretly eavesdropping on his thoughts.

Zheng Xiu’s worries were, surprisingly, about Zheng Haoran.

’But what could she ask? "What’s wrong with your father?" He was already enshrined in the memorial hall. What more could possibly happen to him?’

So, after they had made love, Feng Bei lay atop Zheng Xiu, tracing circles on his chest with a fingertip. She asked pointedly, "If—and I’m just saying if—your father were still alive, do you think he would approve of me as a daughter-in-law of the Zheng Family?"

Feng Bei never mentioned Zheng Haoran in front of Zheng Xiu, just as Zheng Xiu would never mention Feng Nantian in front of her.

"You’ve been ’listening’ again," Zheng Xiu sighed. "I told you, forcing yourself down two Paths will cause them to conflict. If you don’t handle it properly, you’ll end up like the Monk, lost to madness, unable to even recognize yourself."

Feng Bei seemed unconcerned, having long since come to terms with it. She smiled faintly. "I lost track of myself long ago. And aren’t you quite pleased by that?"

"Er..."

Zheng Xiu was left speechless.

The "pleasure" of two different people might sound enjoyable, but the reality was far from it. Ever since Feng Bei began to occasionally manifest a second personality, Zheng Xiu had been constantly worried about her mental state. He hoped her "abnormality" was just a temporary illness, one that would heal on its own over time or once her journey along the Path smoothed out.

Among those Zheng Xiu knew, besides himself, Feng Bei, and the Monk, he had never met another Mystic who dared to walk more than one Path. He had seen the Monk’s condition firsthand; the Monk seemed to have reached a stable state, able to "coexist peacefully" with his other personalities. Feng Bei’s current condition, however, was not nearly as optimistic.

Since the subject of Zheng Haoran was now open, Zheng Xiu no longer held back, telling Feng Bei everything Gu Qiutang had discovered.

Upon hearing this, Feng Bei shot up from under the covers. After a moment of deep thought, she said, "Don’t tell me... it’s the Ghostly Realm?"

Zheng Xiu froze. A moment later, Feng Bei’s words struck him like a bolt of lightning, and a realization exploded in his mind.

He remembered the Rumors that had circulated among the common folk years ago. They said that on the battlefield, Zheng Haoran’s aura of bloodlust billowed into the heavens, and the surrounding blood and gore had coalesced around him into a suit of flesh Armor, turning him into a veritable god of death as he slaughtered the Barbarians without mercy.

As a child, he had dismissed such tales as folk legends, exaggerated by the common people. But now, thinking back on it...

"Twenty years ago!"

"Could it be..."

"My father... he was the third Human Pillar from twenty years ago?"

"You, Wei Chen, and... my father!"

"Damn it all!" Zheng Xiu slammed his fist down, a blow that would have shattered the bed frame. But Feng Bei’s hand shot out, light as a feather, and caught his fist mid-air.