Chapter 208: Resurrection

Carrying the child, Jiang Chaosheng walked toward the backstage area behind the main hall.

The guests gradually woke up.

Waking from the dream, they all reacted in completely different ways.

Some clutched their heads and wept bitterly.

They wept because the dream had felt so real, because they had lost everything all over again.

Some sighed with regret.

They regretted that the dream had ended, lamenting the loss of such wonderful things.

And still others were filled with lingering fear.

Because they knew the dream was ultimately fake, and in reality, there were many people waiting for them to come home.

But the complete lack of fear of death, coupled with the way it preyed on their true desires, made them forget they had just experienced a terrifying anomalous event.

The Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery was exactly this kind of abomination that played with human nature and desecrated the Human World.

When the two Investigators disguised as tourists came to their senses, they immediately stood up and ran over to Jiang Chaosheng.

They had many questions to ask.

‘At the very least, we need to know how this anomalous event was resolved, right?’

‘How are we supposed to write our report?’

Jiang Chaosheng remained expressionless, carrying the child with an unapproachable air as he continued to walk.

The two Investigators were startled for a moment, then hastily cleared a path.

‘We must have still been dazed from the dream!’

‘This man before us is Dusk!’

‘How could we dare block Dusk’s path?’

Jiang Chaosheng stepped onto the stage, pushed aside the curtain, and disappeared behind it.

…..

An old man in an expensive suit sat on the floor, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost his wits.

When the old man saw Jiang Chaosheng, his gaze shifted downward blankly. The moment he laid eyes on the swaddled baby, a spark returned to his eyes.

“My daughter! My daughter!”

The old man scrambled to his feet, reaching out to grab the child.

Jiang Chaosheng let out a cold snort.

A terrifying pressure descended, instantly snapping the old man to his senses.

With a THUD, the old man fell to his knees. He looked up at Jiang Chaosheng, his eyes pleading.

“Immortal, I beg you, please give my daughter back to me.”

Jiang Chaosheng frowned.

He was reminded of the mother from his dream.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Chaosheng handed the swaddled infant to the old man.

The old man was overjoyed. Taking the child, he said over and over,

“Thank you. Thank you, truly, thank you so much.”

Jiang Chaosheng walked over to a chair and sat down, pressing a hand to his temple to ease his fatigue.

“What is your relationship with the Evil Qilin?”

The old man froze for a moment.

“The Evil Qilin?”

Jiang Chaosheng pressed his lips together.

“The World Honored One.”

Fear and an unquenchable hatred instantly surged in the old man’s eyes. He spoke through gritted teeth, one word at a time.

“He deceived me!”

….

The old man’s name was Gu Chuan. In his youth, he had made his fortune in Meiqi Country, building his business from the ground up.

When he grew old, he entrusted his company to a confidant, returned to the Xia Kingdom, and bought this small island to live out his retirement.

He had lived a magnificent life, his only regret being… that he had no heir.

Of course, at seventy years old, he was no longer capable in that department.

He had thought he would simply live out the rest of his days like that, but then he unexpectedly met his ‘True Destiny Celestial Maiden’.

A young woman, with a disposition remarkably similar to his mother’s, entered his life.

The young woman was innocent and pure. Her every expression captivated him, and soon, they were together.

To Gu Chuan’s amazement, after being with the young woman, his virility returned. It was as if he were eighteen again.

The young woman explained mysteriously, “This is all the work of the World Honored One. Because I love you so much, I… asked for some Magic.”

When Gu Chuan learned that such a wondrous person actually existed, his long-buried obsession stirred to life once more.

He wanted a child.

And so, the young woman introduced the Evil Qilin to Gu Chuan.

The Evil Qilin became Gu Chuan’s guest of honor and performed magic on him daily.

Then, something exhilarating happened.

Sure enough, the young woman became pregnant!

Gu Chuan was delirious with joy and became completely obedient to the Evil Qilin’s every command.

The Evil Qilin said that until the child was born, the mother had to remain in Peng City for the duration of her pregnancy.

The place she was to stay was an old house, its walls covered in Talismans, its doors and windows sealed shut, never seeing the light of day.

Every night at the stroke of midnight, the Eight-foot Bride, clad in red, would appear in the old house to perform Magic on the young woman and Gu Chuan.

Gu Chuan was terrified, but for his child to be born safely, he gritted his teeth and endured it.

In the seventh month, the Evil Qilin suddenly returned and commanded the Eight-foot Bride to use her Magic to induce labor, forcing the child to be born.

The child was born, which should have been a joyous occasion, but Gu Chuan couldn’t bring himself to feel happy.

Because…

The moment the child was born, the young woman died. Before Gu Chuan even had time to grieve, he was terrified by the baby.

The child’s left eye was malformed from birth.

Its deep purple pupil was abnormally large, and its gaze was filled with malevolence.

Whenever the baby opened its eyes, that one eye would dart about restlessly, as if contemplating how to destroy the world.

The Evil Qilin forcibly took the child, and Gu Chuan chased him all the way to the Dream Island Resort.

Most of the employees at the Dream Island Resort had been replaced by strangers.

Gu Chuan later learned that he had been caught in a deception from the very beginning.

His young bride, like the other new employees, was actually a disciple of the Evil Qilin.

He had been seduced by the young woman because he possessed what was called a Pure Yin Body.

Only through his union with the young woman could the eye manifest in this world in its most perfect form.

…

Jiang Chaosheng now understood why the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery had replaced the baby girl’s own left eye.

If the Evil Qilin wanted to ‘bring salvation to all living things,’ he had to fully unleash the power of the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery.

Early on, the Evil Qilin had hidden the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery within the mother’s body.

Then, by having the Eight-foot Bride cast her Magic on Gu Chuan, he ensured that after the union, the Bride could manipulate the Yin Qi inside the mother to help the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery fuse with the fetus.

In order to reawaken, or even resurrect itself, the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery would have cooperated with the Eight-foot Bride, striving to become a parasite in the eye of the fetus.

And indeed, the Evil Qilin had succeeded.

Not only did he cause the Eye of Deceit and Treachery to reawaken at a terrifying speed, he also allowed the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery to gradually develop its own consciousness.

‘In the dream… the voice that tried to beguile me, that must have come from the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery, right?’

Gu Chuan suddenly looked up at Jiang Chaosheng, tears streaming down his face.

“Immortal, you were able to kill that Demon Monk, you must be a true Immortal! Please, I beg you, take this eye away and save my child! Please? The Gu Family will build a temple and erect a statue in your honor, Immortal! We will worship you for generations to come!”

Jiang Chaosheng watched Gu Chuan weep as he held his daughter, and his brow furrowed.

‘Of course, I have to take the eye,’ he thought. ‘But… whether I can save the baby is another matter entirely.’

‘If I can get her back to Antique Shop Zero, there might be a chance.’

‘But it’s a long way from here to the South Sea. If the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery starts to reawaken on the way, there’s no telling what kind of chaos it could cause.’

Jiang Chaosheng reached for the baby girl.

Gu Chuan hastily held the child out with both hands, his face full of hopeful expectation as he looked at Jiang Chaosheng.

Jiang Chaosheng took the infant, his hand moving toward her eye, intending to pluck it out.

Gu Chuan didn’t know what Jiang Chaosheng was doing; he just watched with a hopeful expression.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Chaosheng saw Gu Chuan’s look of anticipation.

‘A father’s love and a mother’s… they’re so similar!’

The hand that was about to pluck out the infant’s left eye changed its course, instead stroking her little face gently.

‘Getting sentimental again tonight,’ he mused.

Jiang Chaosheng gazed at the infant, who was sleeping soundly from exhaustion and pain. Unable to bear the thought of causing her more suffering, he said,

“Daji.”

He didn’t want this infant, who could die at any moment, to endure any more pain.

“As my husband commands!”

An ethereal voice rang out.

A gentle blue light emerged from Jiang Chaosheng’s chest and settled upon the infant.

The baby’s expression grew more peaceful, her tiny chest rising and falling steadily. Daji had already shielded her from all pain.

Jiang Chaosheng once again moved his hand toward the infant’s left eye.

“Hee hee hee… little Chaosheng, what do you think you’re doing?”

A voice filled with deception, Enchantment, treachery, and malice flooded into Jiang Chaosheng’s mind.

Jiang Chaosheng narrowed his eyes, staring at the infant’s left eye, which had suddenly snapped open and was brimming with malice.

‘This thing… it’s starting to reawaken again.’

The Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery stared at Jiang Chaosheng and said,

“You want to save this child, is that it? Hee hee hee… This child is only a seven-month baby, born far too early. She’s only alive because my power is sustaining her. The moment I leave her left eye, she will die.”

Jiang Chaosheng’s hand froze.

A mocking glint appeared in the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery.

“However, if you leave this child alone, I will take over her sea of consciousness once I am revived. She will still die.”

Jiang Chaosheng narrowed his eyes.

“Are you trying to convince me to take you out of her, or to leave you in? If I remove you from the infant, you won’t be able to revive yourself, will you?”

The laughter from the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery grew louder.

“Whether I revive or not is irrelevant. I just… love to see the look of helplessness on human faces! Hee hee hee…”

Jiang Chaosheng’s brow smoothed out. His hand continued its movement, his fingers reaching into the infant’s left eye socket…

There was no blood.

Daji’s Magic protected the infant’s physical body.

The scene wasn’t gory at all.

The voice of the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery became laced with astonishment.

“You… you… If it’s really you, how could you harm a mortal?”

As it spoke, there was an imperceptible hint of excitement in its tone.

Jiang Chaosheng suddenly recalled something.

‘In the Dream World, the Last Human Emperor in the tower said he had died because of Deceitful and Wily.’

‘This thing… has it mistaken me for the Last Human Emperor?’

Just then, the infant’s breathing began to weaken. She was on the verge of death.

Having been corroded by Yin Qi and tormented by the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery for so long, the baby, born two or three months premature, was succumbing to death.

Without a trace of panic on his face, Jiang Chaosheng pulled out the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, aimed it at the infant’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.

With a single thought.

‘I will hit the sickness and pain in the infant’s body and soul.’

[Secret of the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun: Divine Fire.]

[By infusing the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun with Spiritual Power, the bullet, imbued with the breath of Divine Fire, can harm any named target within range according to the user’s will.]

[These targets include, but are not limited to: wandering souls, physical bodies, viruses, gods, and Demons.]

[The more Spiritual Power is infused, the stronger the might of the Divine Fire.]

The Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun didn’t fire a bullet, but instead shot out a gout of flame.

As the fire merged into the infant’s body, color gradually returned to her pale little face, and she let out a loud WAHHH and began to cry.

Jiang Chaosheng suddenly felt a wave of weakness wash over him.

The exhaustion from overdrawing his Spiritual Power was so great that his consciousness began to blur.

A triumphant gleam appeared in the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery, the look of a successful ploy.

“Hee hee hee, little Chaosheng, I’m leaving now.”

It began to pulse with black light, trembling violently as it tried to escape from Jiang Chaosheng’s grasp.

‘It didn’t care about being revived?’

‘Wrong!’

‘It cared a great deal!’

It had simply wanted to trick Jiang Chaosheng into saving the infant, forcing him to expend a great deal of power so it could seize the opportunity to escape his control.

In the Dream World, it had been able to see any information it wished.

Jiang Chaosheng’s origins, his identity, his friends, and… his supernatural abilities.

Of course it knew Jiang Chaosheng had an old gun capable of reviving someone on the brink of death!

‘Reawakening?’

‘It’s not like it absolutely needed a human body to reawaken.’

‘It would just take a bit longer, that’s all.’

‘Survive… and then find another person to host it.’

‘The effect wouldn’t be as good as with this infant, but it wouldn’t be that much worse. Time could make up for the difference.’

Jiang Chaosheng’s hand gripped the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery tightly. He slowly brought it up to his face, his gaze dark and profound.

“After witnessing your web of lies in the dream, I had no intention of believing a single word you said.”

The Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery sensed that something was terribly wrong.

“You… What are you planning to do?”

Jiang Chaosheng slowly brought his face closer to the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery.

The Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery seemed to understand. A look of utter horror filled it, and it screamed in terror,

“You, don’t! Are you insane?!”

Jiang Chaosheng opened his mouth and swallowed the Left Eye of Deceit and Treachery in a single gulp!