Soulbound: Chronicles Of A Shadow Assassin-Chapter 42: Unexpected Twist
Alas, his cries and pleads were all for naught. The cloaked man placed his palm atop the man’s head while muttering a spell.
The effect of the spell was immediate. The man’s body began emitting a blue mist akin to smoke, which flowed directly into the cloaked man’s body.
A sharp cry of agony escaped the man’s lips, the black of his eyes vanishing, leaving only the whites as his skin began to shrink together, turning sallow and sunken—almost as if his bones were going to pop out of his thinning skin at any moment. The man’s body was contorting in ways that seemed impossible, and Jingwei who was watching felt a wave of horror wash over him.
The cloaked man didn’t stop until the man stopped screaming and collapsed lifelessly to the ground, his body dark blue in color.
With the last man dead, silence reigned in the eerie underground hideout. Jingwei stayed rooted in place, shocked by what he had just witnessed. His skin crawled at the sight of the lifeless bodies on the floor, his eyes darting nervously between the cloaked man and Yan Jianyu.
"You have done well." Yan Jianyu’s voice broke the silence, getting the attention of the cloaked man. The cloaked man slowly turned around to face Yan Jianyu, the hood of his cloak obstructing his face and only revealing his ghostly black lips.
"By doing this, you have returned to your normal self." Yan Jianyu continued, smiling at the cloaked man with pride. "You will not go berserk for a long while."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of the cloaked man’s lips, merely acknowledging Yan Jianyu’s words with a nod of his head.
"I guess I’ll see you around at the palace, then." He said, and without saying anything further, he turned around and walked away, passing by Jingwei as he approached another exit.
As soon as the cloaked man was out of sight, Jingwei finally moved to stand beside Yan Jianyu, his footsteps echoing softly. He tried to hide his curiosity by wearing a blank expression on his face, but it seemed Yan Jianyu could sense the curiosity wafting from him like a palpable scent.
Without Jingwei asking, Yan Jianyu briefly explained the reason behind the scene Jingwei had just witnessed, his voice low and measured. "Feeding the souls of humans to Transmigrators who are starting to show signs of going berserk is a way of allowing them to continue to be of great use." He said, and then turned his head to face Jingwei, his expression suddenly serious, eyes narrowed.
"Did you kill that courtesan whose body Mingyu transferred his soul into?" He asked, He asked, not giving Jingwei the time to digest the brief explanation he had given.
Collected, as expected of someone Yan Jianyu had selected to be his trusted person to handle so many things he was too busy to do, Jingwei immediately nodded, his expression unwavering. "Yes, my lord. We have also discarded the body at the Crystal Cove lake, as per your instructions." His voice was steady, his words concise, and Yan Jianyu’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before he nodded, seemingly satisfied with Jingwei’s response.
"Did you check for the blue symbol of the dragon?" Yan Jianyu asked, his voice laced with a hint of curiosity. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Jingwei paused for a brief moment, something flashing in his eyes, a fleeting glimmer of uncertainty that he quickly suppressed.
Luckily for him, Yan Jianyu was no longer looking his way, his attention focused elsewhere, or he would have definitely caught on that something wasn’t right.
"Yes, I checked." Jingwei answered, his voice firm, his expression neutral.
Yan Jianyu hummed in amusement, a low, throaty sound that seemed to vibrate through the air. "The Mingyu I used to know would never lose to you in a fight," Yan Jianyu said, his words dripping with conviction. "Even with your men by your side, he would still have been able to finish you off, easily. But I guess he must have lost his powers because of the body he transferred his soul into."
Jingwei whose expression had turned sour on hearing how Yan Jianyu spoke highly of Mingyu’s skills, raised an eyebrow in inquisition when he heard Yan Jianyu’s conclusion as to why Mingyu was easily killed by him. "Do Transmigrators sometimes lose their powers in the process of the ritual?" He asked, highly interested to know more about the unexpected twist.
"If a soul is too strong and it enters an unbefitting body, then there’s a chance for such a soul to lose its powers," Yan Jianyu answered earnestly, his words measured and deliberate.
Jingwei’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing with the implications of this new information. "Really?" he asked, his curiosity peaked, but his voice was laced with a hint of skepticism. "Is this a conclusion you just arrived at, or have you witnessed a case prior to Mingyu’s?"
Yan Jianyu merely smirked, pausing for a moment as he looked into space, his mind wandering off into the past.
One fateful afternoon, as the sun began its descent into evening. He had secretly followed Jiang Renxing to Crystal Cove Lake, hiding behind a cluster of trees at the hill’s edge.
From this vantage point, he watched as Long Zihan emerged from the water, his icy-blue hair glistening in the fading light.
Yan Jianyu crouched low, his eyes fixed intently on the scene unfolding below.
As Jiang Renxing rushed down the hill to aid Long Zihan, Yan Jianyu crept closer, careful not to be seen. He darted between the trees, his footsteps silent on the earth.
From a new hiding spot behind a boulder, he observed the reunion, his curiosity piqued by the concern etched on Jiang Renxing’s face.
When they entered the nearby cave, Yan Jianyu hesitated, then decided to follow, keeping a safe distance. He watched from the cave’s entrance as Jiang Renxing and Long Zihan settled in, their conversation a mixture of worry and desperation.
As the Dragon Scale Ritual began, Yan Jianyu’s unease turned to fascination. As the ritual went on, he could sense something was amiss, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He stayed hidden, observing as Jiang Renxing’s soul was pulled into Long Zihan’s body.
He saw Jiang Renxing, now in Zihan’s frail form, collapse to the ground, unconscious. The sound of his labored breathing and faint coughs echoing through the cave.
Long Zihan, now in Jiang Renxing’s body, stood up, his movements swift and decisive. He walked to the cave entrance, where he scribbled a message on a rock.
Yan Jianyu’s eyes widened as he read the words: "Forgive me, my friend. I can’t die like this with my kind being wiped out. I shall make Zi Yu mine tonight. If she bears a child, just know that the child belongs to me."
As Long Zihan finished writing, he glanced around cautiously, and Yan Jianyu quickly hid behind a nearby pillar, holding his breath.
Long Zihan seemed to sense nothing out of the ordinary and exited the cave, disappearing into the evening shadows.
Once Long Zihan was gone, Yan Jianyu emerged from his hiding spot and approached Jiang Renxing’s unconscious form. He reached out to touch his shoulder, expecting to sense the powerful flow of spiritual energy that typically emanated from a mage. But to his surprise, there was nothing. It was as if Jiang Renxing’s body was empty, devoid of the spiritual power that once coursed through him.
Yan Jianyu’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing with questions. But a malicious glint suddenly flashed in his eyes, the corner of his lips tugging up into a smirk.
"What do you think? Have I?" Yan Jianyu chuckled before patting Jingwei’s shoulder, "Bury these bodies. They are starting to reek." He ordered as he walked away.
Jingwei wasn’t satisfied with being left hanging with no response to his question, but he could do nothing but heave a sigh. At least his deceit hadn’t been found out.
He took the bodies out of the underground hideout through the other exit before summoning his men to carry them while he followed after them.
The bodies where sneakily taken to the woods where no one would be threading at such an ungodly hour, and they were set on fire. But there was an extra dead body on the ground as well—that of a woman.
One of Jingwei’s men walked up to him. "What are we going to do with this courtesan’s body?" He asked, pointing to the dead courtesan who had tried to sell Jinxing’s spirit plaque to them. "We have performed the revelation spell countless times, but the symbol of the dragon isn’t appearing. That could only mean that she isn’t Mingyu."
Jingwei stayed silent for a while, reaching into his robe to take out the spirit plaque he had kept with him.
"Search the Golden Lotus where this dead courtesan used to work at." He finally spoke, giving out an order to the man. "Find the real owner of this spirit plaque... and do it discreetly."
