Chapter 571 - 569: Mother, What Is This Ten Thousand Souls Banner?

Chapter 571: Chapter 569: Mother, What Is This Ten Thousand Souls Banner?

The impostor held a funeral for him and never returned to that village. Because of this, the fraud managed to usurp someone else’s identity for ten years without ever being discovered.

"That old bastard is so shameless."

"It makes me sick. Ptooey."

"Talk about a night-and-day difference. That impostor Caleb Jacobs is pure trash compared to the real Great General. And to think I actually lived in that man’s mansion for so many years."

Learning the whole story, Aaron Sinclair was thoroughly disgusted and couldn’t help but let out a few curses.

Climbing to power over another’s corpse, profiting from his sacrifice. And he even had the gall to act so arrogantly before Argentis. Meanwhile, the general who was truly loyal to his country, who risked life and limb for the nation, had met such a tragic end.

If Aaron hadn’t happened to overhear something as he was leaving the General’s Mansion and subsequently ordered an investigation, the truth would have likely remained buried forever, never to be known.

Murdering someone to steal their identity, then stealing another’s child to die in place of his own son—one crime after another. Beheading the man ten times over wouldn’t be enough.

At first, the impostor, Caleb Jacobs, had used the original’s name, Cole Jacobs. He changed it later, claiming the name ’Cole’ was bad luck for him.

Putting away the evidence, Aaron Sinclair stood up. He walked to the window and looked out. The moonlight was perfect, but his mood, however, was foul.

Murdering a General to steal his identity was a major affair. It was a crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of his clan. He picked up the evidence he’d gathered, dismissed the Hidden Guard, and went directly to see his parents.

For the first few days after arriving, Aaron Sinclair had lived in the same courtyard as his parents. However, watching them flaunt their affection for each other every day was a bit much. He was a grown man, after all, so he had moved into a separate courtyard.

He made his way from his own courtyard to his parents’. Guards stood at the entrance, bowing slightly upon seeing him.

"Greetings, Princely Heir."

He waved a hand dismissively and walked straight in.

Inside the courtyard, lanterns hung along the corridors.

He scanned the area but didn’t see his parents outside. He checked their room, but they weren’t there either.

"Mother? Are you here?"

"Dad, where are you?"

Aaron Sinclair called out twice, but there was no answer. Leaving their room, he crossed the outer corridor and headed in another direction. After passing a rockery and a grove of green bamboo, he finally spotted two people sitting comfortably in a pavilion by a small, distant bridge.

Even from far away, he could tell it was his parents. A closer look revealed his father holding his mother, feeding her grapes. Their affection was off the charts. Even Aaron felt like he’d stumbled into another one of their lovey-dovey scenes.

As he drew nearer, he waved. "Father, Mother... what are you two doing?"

Hearing their son’s voice.

Celeste Grant, who was sitting on Javier Sinclair’s lap, quickly tried to get up and move beside him, but a hand reached out and wrapped around her waist.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Celeste Grant shot him a glare.

"Our son’s here."

Javier Sinclair glanced up.

"So what if he’s here? It’s not stopping me from holding you."

She pinched his arm. "You Archfiend, you’re corrupting the boy." As she spoke, she managed to get up and sit down beside Javier Sinclair.

She raised her head slightly, a smile spreading across her face as she watched her son approach.

"Sweetheart, come over here."

’Sweetheart?’

Aaron Sinclair faltered, his face flushing. ’My mother and her pet names... I’m a grown man now.’ Once he was near, he climbed the steps and entered the pavilion.

"Heh heh, Father, Mother, hope I’m not interrupting anything, am I?"

Celeste Grant smiled and waved her hand.

"Not at all. Come here, son."

Ignoring his father’s aggrieved look, Aaron Sinclair sat down beside his mother. He glanced around and remarked, "The scenery here is lovely. No wonder you and Mother come here for a late-night tryst."

Hearing the word "tryst," Celeste Grant laughed and lightly tapped her son on the forehead. "This is called ’spending quality time together.’"

Javier Sinclair shot his son a look, then put an arm around his wife’s shoulder, pulling her closer. His eyes, however, remained on his son. "Alright, out with it. What is it?"

At his father’s question, Aaron Sinclair pulled the file compiled by the Hidden Guards from within his robes.

"Father, Mother, take a look at this."

Celeste Grant’s curiosity was piqued. She took the file, instinctively asking, "What’s this?" As she spoke, she began flipping through the documents her son had handed her. Then, she let out a whistle.

"Oh, The Celestial Bodhisattva... so the Caleb Jacobs in the General’s Mansion is an impostor." The moment she spoke, Celeste Grant slipped into a regional dialect, though she quickly corrected her speech.

"So, the real Great General died long ago. They murdered him and stole his identity. They even used a Poisonous Insect Technique to change his face. This is straight out of a soap opera."

She shook her head. "It’s just such a shame. The Great General who devoted himself to his country survived the battlefield, only to be murdered in secret." Celeste Grant had the utmost respect for any soldier who defended the nation, regardless of who they were. The knowledge that the current man in the General’s Mansion was a fake sent a wave of pure rage surging through her.

"Fuck... He really deserves to die."

Javier Sinclair nodded slightly. "Yes, he does. Keeping someone like him alive is a waste of food. He should be refined in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, then torn to shreds by thousands of soul servants until he’s nothing but dust."

Hearing this, Celeste Grant agreed wholeheartedly. "Exactly. He should experience the ’joy’ of entering the Ten Thousand Souls Banner." It was a tearing of the soul, a pain thousands of times worse than simple death.

Aaron Sinclair scratched his head, feeling like he couldn’t keep up with his parents’ train of thought. ’And what in the world is a Ten Thousand Souls Banner?’ he wondered. ’Why do I feel an urge to nod along, as if I’ve heard of it before?’ In reality, he had no idea what it was.

Driven by curiosity, he couldn’t help but ask, "Father, Mother, what is this Ten Thousand Souls Banner? What does it do? Is it really powerful?"

Celeste Grant paused, glancing sideways at her son.

"Son, we were just talking. Don’t worry about the details. The Ten Thousand Souls Banner is a type of Magic Treasure from the Cultivation World. It’s a rather demonic item that can capture Primordial Spirits and soul servants to enslave and command. It can also refine a Primordial Spirit until its very soul is scattered, preventing it from ever being reborn."

Upon hearing this, a look of understanding crossed Aaron Sinclair’s face.

"Father, Mother, you two should read fewer storybooks. Things like that only exist in legends. We probably wouldn’t see one in our entire lifetimes."

Celeste Grant just smiled, thinking to herself,

’I wouldn’t be so sure about that.’

’After all, my son’s father is The Archfiend. When it comes to Magic Treasures like the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, he could probably get them wholesale.’