Chapter 345: Caught

The first thing the siblings saw after reaching Chang’an was Gu Ying struggling against a horde of zombies at the east gate.

"Brother Yihao! We have to help Gu Ying!"

The situation was dire, with undead and imperial soldiers locked in a stalemate. The higher the mountain of corpses piled, the more difficult it became for the soldiers to gain the higher ground. Gu Ying was the only cultivator here, but even with a Radiant Core, she was barely keeping the ghost army at bay.

To make matters worse, a new horde was redirecting from the northern side.

Leaping with a giant burst, Yihao landed hard in the middle of the swarm. Gu Ying’s look of surprise quickly melted into joy at the three children.

Not wanting to get caught up in Yihao’s frenzy, Mingshen and Anji bailed and reunited briefly with Gu Ying to exchange a few words.

"Gu Ying!" Anji ran up to her bodyguard since childhood and hugged her tightly.

Gu Ying was a woman of few words, but in that moment, her tears spoke volumes about her worry, joy and relief. Mingshen watched silently and decapitated a few zombies that made it past the front guards. He made eye contact with the general and knew his task. With Yihao here, Gu Ying can accompany Anji to do what she has to do.

"Go," he smiled at his younger sister. "Your brothers can handle things here."

Anji hesitated. However, watching her brothers fight helped her solidify her resolve. She would do this for her family even if it would make them sad in the end.

"Gu Ying, let’s go. Take me to the ancestral hall. I have to finish what shifu could not before it’s too late."

Wordlessly, Gu Ying carried her charge and disappeared into the forbidden city.

Once inside, the eerie silence and lack of people made the contrast with the chaos outside more significant. Gu Ying took a shortcut, and they reached the ancestral hall in no time. The barrier around it hummed, and Anji recognised it to be her shifu’s handiwork.

Whoosh!

Too quickly for anyone to react, Anji’s shadow disappeared from beneath her feet almost as if it were sucked into the ancestral hall. The creepy phenomenon scared both of them, but the screams from inside the ancestral hall shocked Gu Ying into action before her mind could keep up with the events.

"Your majesty!"

Inside, Anji saw the royal couple huddled in a corner. More importantly, they were staring at a figure in the centre with terrified eyes. Yet, even in fear, the boyish emperor shielded his wife with his body.

The figure in the centre of what appeared to be a trap formation hissed at the sudden attack. Anji quickly realised it was a soul net. Her shifu had done as she requested, and Song Min, who had infiltrated the imperial city, was finally caught.

Seeing the living emperor for the first time, Song Min’s memories resurfaced. The faces of his hated enemy blurred together, and he struggled in the spell, attempting to kill the man before him dressed in golden dragon robes.

Unbothered by the murderous ghost general, Anji quickly joined the royal couple’s side.

"Don’t be afraid," she consoled. "It will soon be over. Your Majesty, I’m going to need to trouble you for the most important part."

Although confused and scared, the Emperor nodded, not quite taking his eyes off the murderous ghost who looked rather distorted. Anji recognised that as a form of soul disintegration. The very poison Song Min used to corrupt the golden scale was the same poison that was killing him.

With Gu Ying on guard, Anji explained in simple terms how she would require a small wine cup of the Emperor’s blood for a new spell. It was impossible for Anji to completely dispel the soul-corrupting poison, but she could definitely use a substitute and redraw the sacred array.

Inside her, Grandpa Jin mourned silently. The dragon pearl he gifted Anji would soon be lost to the mortal world. However, he respected her decision.

"I’m going to substitute the ancient relic with a new one to preserve the array and end the war. However, the authentication must be verified by the bloodline chosen by heaven."

Redrawing the binding element of the ancient array took time. Anji left the emperor alone and ignored Song Min. The soul-corrupting poison was thankfully well suppressed, giving her enough time to work. Her shifu did an amazing job of repairing the array and even made a new secondary seal. As expected of the meticulous prophet, her foundation made Anji’s work easier.

Gu Ying watched as Anji pulled at invisible threads in the air, chanting and fixing talismans at different spots in the ancestral hall for about an hour. Although she spent a good amount of time in the Mystical Qilin Sect, it was her first time watching a spell master at work.

Creating the nest for the new anchor was the easy part, even if it was tedious. Anji had already severed the connection between the corrupted golden scale and the main array with the four sacred mythical guardians. Using her golden core fused with the golden dragon’s pearl as a crucible, she was burning through life force with every passing minute. Yet, the final part of the spell required her to pull the golden dragon’s pearl from her inner world and imbue it into an object to be guarded.

"I need to create a new medium," Anji explained to the royal couple. "Something to contain the golden dragon’s pearl that will be guarded for generations."

Removing her longevity locket with an incomplete number of ribbons, Anji smiled.

"Can I trouble your Majesties to take care of this for me? It’s something very precious gifted by my family, shifu and godmother."

Gu Ying recognised it at once, and a sinking feeling made her want to reject the idea. However, the Empress was too quick to agree.

"We will," she smiled. "A niece of the Noble Consort is worthy of being recognised in our imperial family register. You will be remembered as one of our own for generations to come, and offered incense generation after generation in this ancestral hall."

From the trap, Song Min laughed. How ironic for a fallen God to be worshipped for generations at an ancestral hall. However, Anji ignored his mockery.

Pulling out the dragon pearl from her inner world, Anji infused it into the longevity locket and entrusted it to the Empress, collapsing from exhaustion almost immediately.

Alarmed by her collapse, Gu Ying was immediately by Anji’s side. However, instead of resting, Anji asked Gu Ying to support her for the final part of her ritual.

"The last part is to awaken all four guardian beasts to recognise the new token," Anji explained. "I have to unseal my golden core to do it."

Hearing how Anji was about to unseal the very seal that was created to save her life, Gu Ying protested. Yet, there was only unmoving resolution in those eyes.

"Young mistress, please don’t do it. How will I explain to the Master and Lady if anything happens to you?"

Anji had never seen Gu Ying cry before. Lizi was normally the more emotional one. However, the tears streaming down this Manchurian beauty’s face broke Anji’s heart a little.

"Tell them that the prophecy has been fulfilled and thank them for raising me to fulfil my duty. This daughter has been unfilial to leave before they do. But if the worst should happen, please bury me beneath my persimmon tree at home."

Although there was so much that Gu Ying did not understand, she agreed. After all, what else could she do?