The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Chapter 224: Noble Promise of Dragon Mountain

"Nan Gongsi!" he exclaimed in shock. "Mother?"

"Only the blood of a member of the Nan Gong family can strengthen the Dragon Demon Covenant," Rong Yan explained. "It's either you or him. So, naturally, it should be him... He's already a mere pawn, a walking corpse... Besides, why should he cling to life? He was unfaithful as a husband, strict as a father, and respectful as a ruler. He doesn't deserve to be called human. Who knows why Nan Gongxu spared him from the torture of the Lingchi Guo curse, leaving him as an idiot?!"

Nan Gongsi stood frozen, feeling like he too had become a piece on a board, stiff and immobile.

"Di'er, I am powerless to do this myself," Rong Yan said urgently. "Now, only you... Only you can throw him into the Dragon Soul Pool, letting his blood mix with the pool... His... His worthless life can buy safety for everyone else. It would count as his... good deed after death!"

Before he could react, a sudden cry came from the direction of the Dragon Soul Pool. "What's happening? Where did these beetles come from?"

Beetles...?

Then, cries of agony filled the hall, along with the voices of Xue Zhengyong, Jiang Xi, and others giving orders. Rong Yan grew anxious. "Hurry, the Blood Bond of the Dragon Tail has been severed. There are only two more bonds left. Once they're all broken, throwing him into the blood pool won't help."

Her words snapped Nan Gongsi back to reality.

"What are you hesitating for?!" Rong Yan pressed. "He's the one who brought ruin upon the Confucian Wind Sect. Wake up, Di'er! There is no other choice. You—"

She suddenly fell silent, her voice choked off.

In the next instant, the whites of her eyes slightly rolled up, and her pupils constricted dramatically. It seemed that Xu Shuanglin could no longer endure it, and he took control of her with the fiercest spiritual energy at his disposal.

Rong Yan lost all sense of self.

A dreamlike expression returned to her face as she slowly stood up and walked toward "Bliss," retracing her steps back to the inconspicuous spot where she had first been standing. Her gaze was empty, and she muttered softly, "Sì’er… Tell Mother, what is the first part of the phrase that goes, 'If the whole world praises me, I will not be swayed; if the whole world condemns me, I will not be discouraged'?"

Nan Gongsi was trembling.

Kneeling on the ground, he trembled uncontrollably, though he was not under anyone's control. He felt trapped in an inescapable net, with no way out.

If the whole world praises me, I will not be swayed; if the whole world condemns me, I will not be discouraged.

This was what his mother hoped he could achieve, but it was so difficult.

Really, impossibly hard.

Be it memorizing the obscure and profound "Voyage of Ease and Freedom" when he was young, or being required to hit the bullseye with nine out of ten arrows, everything was just too, too challenging.

Now, she was telling him that she intended to use his father's blood to reinforce the Blood Oath of Dragon Mountain.

He listened to the sorrowful cries outside, imagining how terrifying the dragon's tail, now transformed into a beetle, must be. He thought of Ye Wangxi, still battling alone against a serpent tide in the darkness, waiting for him to uncover the truth and return.

"Si'er..." His mother's voice murmured from behind.

Slowly, he drew his long sword and approached Nan Gongliu.

Hate.

How could he not hate?

He stared at this man—

How could he not despise him?

The one who had ripped out his mother's heart, conspired with the leader of the Jiangdong Sect, betrayed Master Li of the Green Pond Manor, and brought the Confucian Wind Sect to ruins, leaving a mess and a disgraced reputation that forced him and Ye Wangxi to wander like stray dogs without a home—how could he not hate him?

He raised his sword, its snowy blade illuminating Nan Gongliu's face.

On that face, no longer youthful, there was an unusual serenity and calmness, a quality one might find in a child.

Nan Gongliu looked at Nan Gongsi, causing Nan Gongsi's hand to tremble. He turned his head away and said, "Get up."

"Who are you? Why should I get up? I want to sit here. I want to wait for His Majesty..."

"Nonsense!" Nan Gongsi bellowed at him, his heart pounding and blood rushing through his veins. "That's your brother! Where is your ambition, Nan Gongliu?! That's your brother!!"

"But he's also His Majesty," Nan Gongliu responded, startled, shrinking back into a ball. "Don't be so fierce, you... you... why are you crying?"

Am I crying?

Nan Gongsi thought, stunned.

Am... am I crying?

Bitter-salt tears tumbled down his cheeks, falling to the ground alongside his sword.

In an instant, Nan Gongsi knelt on the floor, weeping loudly.

Why was this happening?

He despised him; he thought he could truly despise him to the point of forcing his father to accompany him to the Dragon Soul Pond, to reforge the blood bond between Dragon Mountain and Wulie.

Why couldn't he hate? It was this person before him who had caused him to lose his home, his family destroyed, so why wasn't he allowed to hate?

But...

But he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

When the sword light illuminated this person's face, and he saw the wrinkles at the corners of their eyes, what came to mind was —

Surprisingly, it was when he was still very young, clumsily chasing after Naobaijin across the Howling Moon Grassland.

Unsteady on his feet, he eventually stumbled and fell.

Rong Yan stood before him, telling the bawling child, "Get up on your own."

It hurt so much.

It truly hurt, and he struggled with all his might, but he couldn't stand up.

He stretched out his hand, pleading for his mother to hold him once, to lend him a helping hand.

But Rong Yan didn't reach out, not even once.

In the end, another warm, large hand lifted the tiny him from the ground, cradling him in its embrace. Sunlight poured down, illuminating a face.

A young, gentle, and amiable face, always filled with loving kindness - the very image of a good man.

"Oh dear, our Si'er sometimes needs a helping hand too," this person stroked his soft hair with a tender gaze. "If you always pull yourself up alone, what need would you have for your parents?"

That was Nan Gongsi's earliest, most vivid memory of his father.

In this vast, echoing hall filled with the living dead, the only living soul stumbled and lurched to his feet, relying on himself.

He managed to stand, but soon knelt again.

He bowed deeply, three times, towards the direction where Rong Yan was, before rising once more and turning to leave.

Suddenly, his sleeve was tugged.

To his surprise, the one pulling him was Nan Gongliu.

"..."

Nan Gongliu fished an orange out of the basket and handed it to him. After some thought, he peeled off a segment and held it to his lips.

"Don't cry anymore. I don't know what you're going to do, but this orange is sweet – really delicious. I picked it myself; give it a try."

Nan Gongsi didn't want to eat it, but the orange segment was right at his lips, offered to him just like countless times in the past when Nan Gongliu had fed him as a child.

The tangy sweetness spread across his palate, and Nan Gongsi wiped away his tears fiercely. Finally, he made up his mind, threw down his long sword, and strode out of the main hall.

He arrived at the Dragon Soul Pond, where chaos reigned.

That dragon tail-turned-beetle was too ferocious; many cultivators had already fallen, their blood pooling on the ground. With the insects being so small, even grandmasters like Chu Wanning and Jiang Xi could only protect a few people behind them. The scene was chaotic, resembling a pot of boiling water or a cauldron of turmoil.

No one noticed Nan Gongsi's entrance.

He stepped into the hall.

A few hours ago, he had lost his spiritual core and believed that he would become an ordinary person, leading a mediocre life from then on.

But now, he suddenly realized that destiny, though it hadn't favored him, hadn't dealt him a harsh hand in the end either.

The only debt he owed...

His gaze fell upon the tunnel leading to the Soul Summoning Platform.

Ye Wangxi.

Nan Gongsi suddenly broke into a smile.

Fortunately, he hadn't found the time to thank her for her unwavering loyalty and steadfast love. He hadn't had the chance to tell her that he finally understood her kindness and affection, and was willing to be with her forever.

Otherwise, he would have unnecessarily dragged that innocent girl into his troubles...

"Thud."

So what if it is?

He didn't allow himself to ponder further. If he did, he might have lost his courage altogether. His thoughts were cut short as the seething blood pool engulfed him, turning him into bones and ashes before he could finish.

The last thing he managed to do in his life was to undo the quiver at his waist, casting away the one his mother had painstakingly embroidered for him, along with the howling demon wolf Naobaijin inside, to the edge of the pond.

Nan Gongsi felt that even as he turned to ashes, there was still a glimmer of consciousness. But it didn't hurt; he seemed to hear the sound of the quiver landing safely on the ground, Naobaijin's whimpers, and even Chu Wanning calling out his name with an uncommon loss of composure.

He wanted to respond.

He wanted to say:

Master...

I acknowledge you.

How could I not acknowledge you?

In truth, he remembered it all. That year, beneath the blossoming trees, kneeling to pay respect and become your disciple.

But you were unwilling to have me.

I have my own pride and dignity. I was afraid that you deemed me unworthy due to my lineage, so I pretended that I was too young then and had already forgotten about it.

Later, when you were willing to acknowledge me, I was still afraid of becoming a burden to you...

Now, everything's fine.

I have my Master, I recited the Taoist classic 'Tao Te Ching' for Mother, Ye Wangxi and Naobaijin are unharmed.

Speaking of which, I didn't expect to taste an orange slice before I died.

It was... peeled by that person himself...

Just like the oranges he used to feed me when I was little.

So sweet...

Nan Gongsi's soul suddenly dissipated, leaving everything faint and distant. All became mere illusions from the past, old dreams, now vanished.

Bound by the Blood Oath.

The Dragon Soul Pool suddenly erupted with blinding light. Wherever the light reached, dragon swords roared and shattered everything in their path: the dragon-tail beetles, the dragon-scale serpents, even the dragon tendons supporting the grotesque zombie horde outside were reduced to ashes and dust.

As Ye Wangxi emerged from the tunnel, drenched in blood, she caught sight of Nan Gongsi's final moment as he plunged into the pool. She saw the pool illuminated by dragon light, and all the cultivators staring at it in horror, including Nao Baijin weeping helplessly by the side, and Chu Wanning, who had bent down to embrace her...

Her sword clattered to the ground.

"Ah Si!!!"

Her cry rent the heavens with its intensity!

Wounded all over, Ye Wangxi staggered forward. Before she could reach the pool's edge or shed a tear, her severe injuries and frenzied emotions finally overwhelmed her. The snake venom spread through her body, chilling her bones and leaving her shivering.

"Ah Si..."

With trembling steps, she rushed over, her lips blue and quivering. Struggling to breathe, tears streaming down her face, she couldn't hold on any longer. She fell heavily onto the cold bricks.

Darkness swam before her eyes, but still, she clawed at the ground with her blood-stained fingers, trying to crawl forward.

Despite knowing it was already too late.

Despite witnessing Nan Gongsi leap into the Dragon Soul Pool with her own eyes.

Despite acknowledging that everything had come to an end.

Yet, she couldn't accept it, how could she accept it... how could she possibly accept it??

It felt as if, by desperately clinging on and crawling to the edge of the pool, she could bring him back. It seemed that if she persisted just a little while longer, Nan Gongsi would return to her side.

He had promised her.

In front of the snake den, he clearly agreed—

He said, "It's too dark here, I know you don't like it. Hold on for a moment, I'll be back soon."

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

And so, she persevered, clenching her teeth until they shattered, crawling inch by inch, in a daze, convulsing towards the now silent Dragon Soul Pool.

I'm here.

What about you?

It's pitch black before me, and the surroundings are freezing cold. Is another vengeful spirit on its way? Are venomous snakes about to strike again? Can you, just like before, pin them down with a spirit talisman and turn back with an imposing aura?

Say it once more, "Come with me, I'll protect you."

"Nan Gongsi... Si..." She choked, her sobs eventually turning into a heart-wrenching cry, "Come back! You swore an oath, you have to keep your promise, come back!"

But that cry didn't last long. The intense poison and injuries finally consumed her. Before she lost consciousness, her final act was to stretch out her hand, touching the wall of the Dragon Soul Pond as if she could grasp the hem of the person in the pool, keeping him by her side.

Everything was supposed to get better... There were ways to suppress Si's raging spirit core, and people had started to forgive them... It was almost over...

Yet, darkness descended once more. This time, perhaps, there would be no dawn for her.

"Si..."

Ye Wangxi muttered, her eyes slowly closing.

The malevolent spirit of the demonic dragon was finally subdued. Nan Gongsi sacrificed his mortal body to reinforce the fraying bond, merging his soul with the Dragon Blood Pool, making it impossible for Xu Shuanglin to destroy it anymore.

It was all over.

Not a single blade of grass on Dragon Mountain would ever again be under Xu Shuanglin's control. Nan Gongsi lacked the extraordinary abilities of Nan Gong Changying, but it was he who ultimately severed Xu Shuanglin's sharpest claws.

No one spoke. All that could be heard were the soft groans of the injured.

The radiance of the Dragon Blood Pool gradually faded. Mo Ran walked over to Chu Wanning. Chu Wanning had his head bowed and his eyes closed. The hand clutching the Nao Baijin was pale and cold. Veins beneath his skin stood out slightly due to his restraint.

"Shifu..."

Chu Wanning said nothing. In the end, he placed the Nao Baijin beside Ye Wangxi, along with Nan Gongsi's quiver.

He rose to his feet, tears glistening in his eyes. But when he looked towards the passage leading to the Soul Summoning Platform, those tears froze into ice.

Silent, he unsheathed his Heavenly Question sword, its golden glow illuminating his path as he stepped into the dark tunnel.

Mo Ran followed him, and the disciples of Death's Peak fell into line behind them, all in silence.

No one asked, and no one spoke.

They all understood the significance of taking the lead, yet they followed one after another, with none retreating. Then came Treading Snow Palace and Solitary Moon Night...

Before entering the tunnel, Jiang Xi appointed several disciples for healing and guarding, saying, "Stay here and take good care of the injured, especially Miss Ye. If any of these survivors lose their lives, your entire year's salary in spirit stones will be deducted."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

The door leading to the Soul Summoning Platform had already been opened. After losing many on this journey, they finally arrived at the last section of Confucian Wind Sect's Celestial Palace –

the long-awaited place for the soul summoning ritual.

The Soul Summoning Platform.