Chapter 316: You're committing murder!
Bang!
The Eight Trigrams Mirror was smacked away by the chains, landing before The Youth.
The Eight Trigrams Mirror no longer pulsed with potent energy as it had before, nor did it burst forth with dazzling light. It had grown dim, appearing no different from the kind of Eight Trigrams Mirror a common charlatan might wield.
Pfft!
The Youth gazed at the Eight Trigrams Mirror before him and couldn't help but spit out another mouthful of blood.
With his magical artifact damaged, he, as its master, naturally suffered the repercussions. Drawing talismans with his essence blood had already inflicted harm upon his body, and now the artifact's damage only compounded his injuries.
The Youth did not become enraged despite his severe injuries; he was merely unwilling, unwilling to accept such a defeat.
However, he had no other recourse now. Using heaven and earth as a medium, and drawing talismans with his essence blood, was already his strongest trump card, yet before Yang Haoran, it proved utterly useless.
He knew he was no match for Yang Haoran; they were simply not on the same level of existence, their strengths too disparate.
"I'm outmatched. If you're going to kill me or carve me up, just get it over with. " The Youth wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then spoke to Yang Haoran in a deep voice.
"If I intended to kill you, you'd already be dead by now," Yang Haoran said with a smile. Then, with a flick of his hand, the chains dissolved into wisps of Yin Qi and dispersed.
"Hmph, don't think I'll thank you just because you didn't deliver a killing blow. A heretic like you, I—"
The Youth's words abruptly stopped, and he stared in shock at Yang Haoran's side.
Yang Haoran's smile remained unchanged as he glanced beside him, only to see Wu Mei charging at him, a brick in her hand, aiming for his head.
The little girl behind him paled, wanting to rush out and stop her, but she found her body seemingly restrained, utterly unable to move.
Of course, even if she could rush out, she wouldn't be able to stop Wu Mei. After all, she was merely a Wánglíng; her spirit body completely incapable of obstructing Wu Mei in any way; she would only pass through her.
However, she hadn't thought so far ahead. Her desire to rush out and stop Wu Mei was merely an unconscious act, yet some unknown force had suddenly appeared, pinning her spirit body firmly in place.
Wu Mei had been constantly looking for an opportunity to strike at Yang Haoran. Her thinking was simple: if she killed Yang Haoran, then The Youth would surely dispose of the little girl as well, and by then, no one would know about her murder of the little girl.
Although killing Yang Haoran would also be murder, she could claim self-defense. Even excessive self-defense wouldn't matter much, as its nature was far better than outright murder.
She had seen Yang Haoran's strength with her own eyes. She knew killing him would be difficult, but she had been backed into a corner. Whether Yang Haoran killed her tonight or not, she would still face death. Since that was the case, why not give it her all?
It was precisely because she harbored such thoughts that she dared to strike at Yang Haoran.
Watching Wu Mei, her face contorted in ferocity, lunging at him, Yang Haoran's smile vanished, replaced by an expression of abject terror.
His appearance suggested he had been utterly startled by the sudden turn of events.
"Don't!"
"Don't!"
Two cries of "Don't! " rang out simultaneously, one from Yang Haoran, the other from The Youth.
Both voices were filled with terror. The Youth's terror was genuine, while Yang Haoran's, however, felt somewhat awkward—exaggerated and unreal.
Yang Haoran seemed to have been scared senseless, standing frozen and forgetting to dodge, while The Youth wanted to intervene and stop Wu Mei, but it was already too late.
"Die!"
Wu Mei's face was a mask of savagery as she roared, bringing the brick in her hand down fiercely towards Yang Haoran's head.
Strangely, at that moment, Yang Haoran's protective Yin Qi seemed to have lost its efficacy; it couldn't block Wu Mei's approach, nor did it obstruct the incoming brick.
Just as the brick was about to strike Yang Haoran's head, a surge of powerful energy suddenly erupted from within his body.
Bang!
Wu Mei, along with the brick in her hand, was sent flying.
Meanwhile, the barrier Yang Haoran had previously set up suddenly vanished. Wu Mei's body wasn't blocked by the barrier; instead, she hurtled towards the distant steel frame.
Upon seeing this, The Youth wanted to get up and catch Wu Mei, but to his surprise, he found his body unable to move.
His body seemed to be held captive by an invisible force.
Just as he tried to understand the nature of this restraining force, it suddenly vanished, and he could move his body once more.
By then, however, it was too late to reach out and catch Wu Mei, yet he still rushed towards her with the fastest speed he could muster.
Bang!
Wu Mei's body slammed violently into the steel frame. She slid down to sit on the ground, then spewed out a mouthful of blood.
However, just then, a bundle of rebar loosened from above and rained down. She had no time to dodge, and in her terror, she instinctively opened her mouth. One of the rebars pierced directly through her mouth, impaling her body like a skewer through roasted meat, fixing her to the ground, the rebar standing perfectly straight.
Blood seared from her mouth and nose, and Wu Mei's eyes bulged, holding no emotion other than sheer terror.
She knew she was close to death, and so her mind could hold no other emotion than the dread of her impending demise.
The Youth appeared before Wu Mei. The scene before his eyes twisted his entire face, for Wu Mei's end was truly tragic beyond measure.
He recalled how he had just guaranteed Wu Mei's safety, yet in the blink of an eye, she had died before him in such a manner. This outcome was truly difficult for him to accept.
The Youth spun around abruptly, glaring at Yang Haoran with a distorted face, his eyes blazing with fury.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you? ! With your abilities, how could you possibly not dodge her attack? ! And my body suddenly freezing earlier—was that your doing? !"
The Youth was extremely agitated. He pointed at the spot where the barrier had been, continuing to roar at Yang Haoran: "That barrier was perfectly fine, how did it suddenly disappear? ! And how did this rebar just fall down for no reason? ! How did it happen to turn her into this? ! You're committing murder! Aren't you afraid of retribution for doing something so heinous? !"
Yang Haoran dropped the terrified expression, offering a faint smile as he responded to The Youth: "You mustn't slander me. She actively attacked me, trying to kill me, and was repelled by my protective Yin Qi. How can that be my fault? Didn't you see her attack me? Didn't you sense her killing intent towards me just now?"
"As for why your body suddenly couldn't move, you suffered such severe injuries, it's perfectly normal for your body to be momentarily beyond your control. How can you blame that on me?"
"Regarding the barrier you mentioned, that barrier never exerted much power; it was just a very ordinary one. You easily tore open a gap in it earlier—didn't you notice that?"
"The barrier wasn't strong to begin with, and you forcibly breaking it consumed quite a bit of its power. A barrier that could have lasted a little longer, due to your destruction, just happened to run out of energy the moment she was thrown back. Can you blame me for that too?"
"There's nothing I could do about her fate. Who told her to actively attack me and try to kill me? You know, this isn't the outcome I wanted to see."
Yang Haoran shook his head with an air of helplessness, as if all this was merely a coincidence, one he truly didn't wish to see.
Though The Youth was not old, he wasn't foolish. Yang Haoran's words struck him as utterly false; how could he possibly believe them?
"You're spouting nonsense! You're utterly spouting nonsense! You—"
Before The Youth could finish speaking, a sound like chains clashing suddenly echoed around him. His heart startled, and just as he realized something was wrong, his body was tightly bound by several chains.
"You—what are you doing? ! " The Youth roared at Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran did not immediately reply. He flickered, vanishing from his spot. The Youth's face changed, thinking Yang Haoran was about to deliver a killing blow.
But he didn't. When Yang Haoran reappeared, he was beside Wu Mei's corpse, then he reached out and forcibly condensed Wu Mei's soul into a Spirit, extracting it from her body.
Wu Mei's spirit body had its eyes tightly shut, currently in a state of deep slumber.
"You bastard! You'd actually do something so inhumane as killing someone and extracting their soul? !"
The Youth cursed loudly, but Yang Haoran still didn't reply. The Soul-Gathering Bead on his ring glowed faintly, drawing Wu Mei's soul inside.
Then, Yang Haoran flickered and appeared before The Youth. Looking at the enraged young man, he sighed, then offered a faint smile and said, "Allow me to show you a film. But in this film, there's no joy, only the ugliness and brutality of human nature."
As his words fell, Yang Haoran, disregarding The Youth's struggles and roars, pointed a finger at The Youth's glabella.
As Yang Haoran's finger landed, a Death God Seal appeared on The Youth's glabella, and The Youth abruptly ceased struggling, as if he had been suddenly struck by a paralysis spell.
"Ghost Eye, open!"
Yang Haoran's smile vanished as he uttered a low command. As his words faded, the Death God Seal on The Youth's glabella flared to life. Simultaneously, wisps of Yin Qi began to appear in his eyes.
Initially, there was little Yin Qi in his eyes, but then it grew, becoming denser and more pervasive.
Though The Youth was now unable to move or speak, his consciousness remained clear. He didn't know what Yang Haoran intended to do to him. He wanted to resist, but his resistance was utterly futile, achieving nothing at all; he could only allow Yang Haoran to manipulate him.
As the Yin Qi in his eyes intensified, The Youth's eyes began to blacken. A few breaths later, his eyes had completely transformed into an inky black.
This was the Ghost Eye, a unique ocular technique possessed only by those of the Underworld Office. The Youth was an Exorcist, not from the Underworld Office, and the reason he currently possessed the Ghost Eye was merely that Yang Haoran had temporarily granted him this ability through his own power.
"Take a good look, The Youth. Don't always judge things merely by their surface."
With that, Yang Haoran used his finger to tilt The Youth's face, directing his gaze towards the bewildered little girl.
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