Chapter 129 Nonsense about sons paying for their fathers' debts.

"The Xie family...the fourth generation."

The voice that came out of Liu Wenbai's mouth was old and hoarse, not his own voice at all. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "Xie Yingxuan's...bloodline".

Xie Xun gripped his sword tightly, but remained silent.

Liu Wenbai slowly stood up, his movements stiff and unnatural, like a marionette.

He grinned, revealing an extremely venomous smile:

Do you know who I am?

Fu Qinghuai narrowed his eyes: "Liu Hanshan. The Liu family member whose skin was peeled off and made into lanterns by Xie Yingxuan."

"That's right!"

Liu Hanshan's voice suddenly became sharp, filled with endless hatred, "That beast Xie Yingxuan! He deceived my trust, took my life, and turned me into a lamp! For a hundred years! I've been trapped in this broken lamp for a hundred years! Watching your Xie family suffer misfortune and die young generation after generation, watching your Xie family men die one by one, I'm happy! Hahaha!"

He burst into wild laughter, and Liu Wenbai's body trembled violently with the laughter, while two lines of bloody tears streamed down his face.

"But you!"

He suddenly pointed at Xie Xun, his fingernails turning black and long. "You fourth-generation, how come you're so tough?! You're plagued by bad luck and you still can't die! And you're even messing with this thousand-year-old evil spirit, ruining my plans!"

He was clearly referring to a series of conspiracies that attempted to devour Xie Xun and Fu Qinghuai's remnant souls, including the Liu family's haunted house, the entertainment industry's borrowed luck, the mirror world, the hot pot restaurant, and the school.

"It is only natural for sons to pay for their fathers' debts!"

Liu Hanshan roared, "Xie Yingxuan is dead, so this debt should be repaid by you, Xie Xun! Use your life and your soul to resolve my century-old grudge and help me escape and be reborn!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the runes throughout the hall simultaneously lit up with a ghostly green light.

The lantern shook violently, shooting out countless beams of green light that wrapped around Xie Xun like tentacles!

At the same time, the broken memorial tablets on the ground flew up again, and a painful, distorted ghost face appeared on each fragment.

These are the souls that have been consumed by lanterns and used as nourishment over the past hundred years!

They shrieked, lunging forward with a mixture of envy for the living and a yearning for freedom.

From the shadows in the corner, the vengeful spirits of children, soaking wet, emerged. They were the other collateral branches of the Liu family who had been killed by Xie Yingxuan and whose souls were imprisoned here.

A net of heaven and earth, fraught with danger!

"Xunxun, step back!"

Fu Qinghuai's eyes flashed, and the black energy around him surged, instantly transforming into a huge black vortex that forcibly shattered the green light tentacles and ghost face fragments that were the first to rush at him!

But the vengeful spirits of the children bypassed the black mist and rushed straight at Xie Xun!

They have no ill intentions, only the pain of being imprisoned for a hundred years and an instinctive desire for liberation, but this unconscious shock is more dangerous.

Xie Xun flicked his wrist, and Little Green shot out again, as fast as lightning, its venomous fangs piercing several vengeful spirits in succession.

The bitten vengeful spirits whimpered in pain, their forms faded, and they retreated temporarily, but more surged forward.

The Seven Star Sword flashed, its sharp aura forcing back the approaching vengeful spirits, but it could not completely destroy them.

They were also victims in essence, forcibly enslaved by Liu Hanshan.

"it's useless!"

Liu Hanshan, controlling Liu Wenbai's body, stood beneath the lantern and laughed wildly, "These souls have long been one with the lantern! Destroying them will weaken the lantern's power, but they will also be scattered! Xie Xun, don't you pride yourself on being righteous? Go ahead and kill these innocent souls!"

He was using moral blackmail to distract Xie Xun.

Xie Xun's eyes were cold. He ignored his shouts and parried with his sword while quickly observing the situation.

His gaze finally settled on Liu Wenbai's chest.

Beneath the hem of the garment, the most intense eerie green light emanated, and it pulsed rhythmically, like... a heart?

"Fu Qinghuai!"

Xie Xun whispered, "The core of the lantern isn't inside the lantern! It's in Liu Wenbai's heart! Liu Hanshan transferred a part of his core into the host's body!"

This allows for better control over the host and also prevents the lantern itself from being directly attacked.

"clever!"

Liu Hanshan grinned maliciously and suddenly tore open his clothes!

Sure enough, embedded under the skin of his chest was a palm-sized, pulsating, dark green object.

Sealed inside is a painfully distorted human face, which is the core of Liu Hanshan's remnant soul!

"Unfortunately, it's too late!"

Liu Hanshan roared, "This body has long been completely corrupted by me, it lives and dies with me! Kill me, and this junior surnamed Liu will also die! Xie Xun, didn't you say you wouldn't kill innocent people indiscriminately? Let's see what you choose!"

He was clearly trying to drag Liu Wenbai down with him, making Xie Xun bear the psychological burden of killing an innocent person.

Xie Xun tightened his grip on the sword.

Seeing this, Liu Hanshan laughed even more wildly, manipulating Liu Wenbai's body to deliberately crash into Xie Xun's sword tip!

"Come on! Kill me! Make this junior of the Liu family pay with his life! Make sure your Xie family owes the Liu family a life forever!"

A close call!

Fu Qinghuai suddenly stopped attacking the surrounding vengeful spirits, and in a flash, appeared next to Xie Xun.

He didn't look at Liu Hanshan, but at Xie Xun, his crimson eyes deep and unfathomable.

"Xunxun, do you trust me?"

Xie Xun looked at him.

Fu Qinghuai's lips curled into an almost insane smile: "This old bastard, after scheming for a hundred years, thinks he's got us figured out?"

He reached out and gently placed his hand on Xie Xun's sword-wielding hand.

"I'll teach you... how to break this deadlock."

Xie Xun looked at Liu Wenbai, who was close at hand, grinning as he charged toward the sword tip, and then looked at Fu Qinghuai beside him, whose eyes were focused and filled with a hint of madness and determination.

Time seemed to slow down.

Ghostly figures loomed all around, green light flickered, and the shrieks of vengeful spirits mingled with Liu Hanshan's frantic shouts.

But Xie Xun's heart was unusually calm.

He looked at the face controlled by Liu Hanshan, at the constantly throbbing chest, and at the gleeful resentment on Liu Hanshan's twisted, remnant soul's face.

Then he spoke.

The sound wasn't loud, yet it clearly pierced through all the noise, carrying an almost cold calm:

"Liu Wenbai? Innocent?"

He twitched the corners of his mouth, but the curve was devoid of warmth.

"He received your warning a month ago, knew about the unusual activity on the lantern, and knew he might be being watched. But what did he do?"

"He sent the package, diverting danger to distant, distant relatives, and then continued to stay here—was he taking a chance?"

"Or... are you also tempted by the power of your lantern, unwilling to give up the 'protection' and 'benefits' this ancestral hall might bring?"

Liu Hanshan's maniacal laughter froze for a moment.

Xie Xun's sword tip was steadily aimed at that throbbing chest, without the slightest tremor.

"What do your Liu family's and Xie Yingxuan's mess have to do with me?"

"Xie Yingxuan is a beast, and you, Liu Hanshan, are no better now, with your current state of mind?"

"In your quest for revenge and to escape, how many innocent people have you harmed? How many of your Liu family's descendants have you killed? Didn't you also harm two celebrities in the entertainment industry? The diners at the hot pot restaurant, the students at the school, the souls devoured by your lantern... what do they owe you?"

"And the idea of ​​children paying for their fathers' debts? Bullshit."