Chapter 153: Ah Yin’s Breakdown
Jiang Bai gazed at her, the corners of his lips curling into a faint arc.
That smile sent an inexplicable shiver down Ah Yin’s spine.
Then, she watched as Jiang Bai raised his right hand and gave it a gentle wave; immediately, from the distance, a massive block of profound ice came hurtling toward them!
With a resounding thud, the ice block landed right in front of Ah Yin, smashing deep into the soft soil and sending a shower of grass clippings flying.
Ah Yin looked at the block of profound ice with a puzzled expression.
The ice was crystal-clear and utterly free of impurities. Through its transparent depths, one could clearly see a person frozen within.
It was a middle-aged man—covered in scars, sporting a scraggly beard, and with dried bloodstains still clinging to his face.
Ah Yin’s beautiful eyes instantly widened in shock!
Her pupils constricted violently, and her breathing came to a sudden, abrupt halt!
Is that... Brother Hao?!
It is Brother Hao!!!
Even though he was covered in scars, even though his face was stained with blood, and even though he looked as wretched and desperate as a stray dog, Ah Yin recognized him at a single glance!
"Bro... Brother Hao...?!"
Ah Yin’s voice trembled violently, laced with the verge of tears and utter disbelief.
She threw herself toward the ice block, her trembling hands caressing the cold, profound ice.
"How... how could this happen...? Brother Hao... how did you end up here...?"
Inside the ice.
Tang Hao’s eyes were similarly wide with shock!
He stared at the figure before him—ethereal yet incredibly familiar—and his mind went completely blank!
Ah Yin?! How could Ah Yin be here?!
Did that person... find the cave where Ah Yin was hiding?!
But... aside from him, who else knew about that cave behind the waterfall on the back mountain of Holy Spirit Village?!
Countless questions collided wildly within his mind, yet he could find no answers.
He wanted to speak; he wanted to shout; he wanted to tell Ah Yin to run—but he was utterly powerless to do anything.
Frozen within the ice, he could only stare blankly—gazing at Ah Yin’s exquisite face, watching as her hands gently caressed the surface of the ice, as if she were caressing his very face.
Ah Yin spun around abruptly, fixing her gaze upon Jiang Bai. In those azure eyes, the tenderness and serenity that had once resided there were gone; all that remained were shock, anguish, fury, and a trace of... despair.
"It was you?!"
Her voice trembled and cracked, yet it rang out with startling clarity: "It was you—wasn’t it?!"
Jiang Bai met her gaze, his expression remaining utterly calm; he even offered a slight nod. "It was me. And what of it?"
Ah Yin’s body began to tremble violently!
She glared at Jiang Bai, her voice practically ground out through clenched teeth: "You... why would you do this?!"
"Why did you inflict such harm upon Brother Hao?!"
"Lady Ah Yin."
Jiang Bai spoke slowly, his voice even and composed: "Tang Hao believed his power completely dwarfed mine, so he sought to teach me a lesson. He intended to enslave both me and my girlfriend—to make us serve as dogs for his son. The fact that I didn’t kill him on the spot was, in itself, an act of great mercy."
Upon hearing this, Ah Yin felt as though she had been struck by lightning!
She stood frozen in place, the fury and anguish on her face gradually giving way to a sense of indescribable bewilderment.
"No... that can’t be right..."
She murmured the words softly, as if trying to convince herself: "A-Hao... he isn’t that kind of person..."
Jiang Bai watched her, the curve of his lips deepening slightly; his smile held a distinct edge of mockery. "Lady Ah Yin, if Tang Hao isn’t that kind of person, then what kind of person is he?"
Ah Yin faltered, momentarily stunned.
Jiang Bai continued, his tone casual and dismissive, yet every word cut like a knife: "Is he a man of deep loyalty and integrity? Someone who cherishes all life—including Soul Beasts—and kills only those that are truly evil? Just a simple, rough-hewn fellow who happens to enjoy swinging a hammer?"
Ah Yin parted her lips, yet no words escaped them.
For she suddenly realized... that what Jiang Bai had said... actually seemed to be true?
Wasn’t that precisely the "Brother Hao" she had always known?
A man of profound loyalty and righteousness; one who loathed evil with a passion. Though his temper could be volatile, his heart was kind; he never slaughtered the innocent indiscriminately, and he had always shown mercy toward Soul Beasts...
Hadn’t he?
Watching Ah Yin’s look of utter bewilderment, Jiang Bai could not suppress a smile. "Lady Ah Yin, what you see is merely what he wants you to see."
Ah Yin’s entire body shuddered!
These words—like a sudden clap of thunder—exploded within her mind!
Merely what he wants me to see...
She spun around abruptly, fixing her gaze upon Tang Hao, who remained encased within the ice.
Those eyes—once brimming with love and trust—now began to reveal a faint trace of... wavering.
Jiang Bai offered no further words.
He stood his ground, silently observing Ah Yin—watching her struggle amidst her shock and confusion, watching as the trust and understanding she had built over two decades began to show their very first cracks.
Inside the ice.
Tang Hao’s eyes were locked unblinkingly upon Ah Yin.
Seeing the bewilderment in her gaze—witnessing that flicker of doubt—an unprecedented terror surged within his heart!
No... Ah Yin... don’t listen to him... I’m not that kind of man... I truly love you...
Yet, he could not speak.
He could only watch helplessly as Ah Yin’s expression grew increasingly complex.
The world within the tower fell into a terrifying silence.
The only sound was the rhythmic gurgling of the water flowing from the Eye of Ice and Fire.
Ah Yin’s heart, however, could find no peace.
Jiang Bai watched as that flicker of doubt gradually surfaced within Ah Yin’s deep-blue eyes.
The corners of his lips curled upward ever so slightly.
The fire has been lit.
Now is the perfect moment to fan the flames!
Jiang Bai spoke slowly, his voice calm: "Ah Yin, have you ever truly stopped to consider this: why is it that when you became pregnant, Tang Hao didn’t take you back to the Clear Sky Sect to carry the child in safety? Instead, he dragged you all over the continent?"
Ah Yin’s body trembled almost imperceptibly.
"And then—what a remarkable coincidence," Jiang Bai continued, "you just happened to be discovered by the Spirit Hall’s Title Douluo, who sensed your Spirit Beast aura?"
He paused, fixing his gaze directly upon Ah Yin: "When you first met the Tang brothers, you were merely at the Spirit King rank, were you not?"
Ah Yin nodded instinctively.
She remembered it all with perfect clarity.
Back then, she had only recently emerged from the Blue Silver Forest; her cultivation was still shallow, and she was filled with both curiosity and longing regarding the world of humans. Then, she met the brothers, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao.
At that time, she naively believed she had found true love.
"And the Tang brothers," Jiang Bai’s voice was unhurried and steady, "were already on the verge of becoming Soul Douluos back then."
"And powerful experts at the Soul Douluo level—provided they focus their mental energy—are indeed capable of detecting the aura of a Soul Beast."
"You spent several years together; can you honestly guarantee that you never gave yourself away, not even once?"
Ah Yin’s pupils contracted ever so slightly.
She wanted to refute him; she wanted to say, "That’s impossible," or argue, "If they really had sensed it, they would have made their move long ago."
But though she parted her lips, she found herself unable to utter a single word.
Because... she couldn’t make that guarantee.
A transformed Soul Beast of the fifth or sixth rank would inevitably leave traces behind.
Provided the observer was sufficiently keen and meticulous—and given enough time for those subtle clues to accumulate—it was entirely possible for them to uncover the truth.
And Tang Xiao and Tang Hao were direct disciples of the Clear Sky Sect; having undergone the most rigorous training since childhood, how could they possibly lack such keenness?
"You..."
Jiang Bai’s voice rang in her ears like the tolling of a judgment bell: "Do you dare to gamble on the nature of humanity?"
Ah Yin’s entire body shuddered!
Humanity...
She had lived for a hundred thousand years, witnessing countless acts of deceit and intrigue among Soul Beasts, as well as the boundless greed and cruelty humans inflicted upon them.
Yet, she had always believed that Tang Hao was different.
He was forthright, he was rugged, he treated her with tenderness and consideration, and he had vowed to protect her for a lifetime.
Could it be... that all of it was a lie?
Could it be... that from the very beginning, it was nothing more than a meticulously crafted trap?
"I..."
Ah Yin parted her lips, attempting to speak, only to discover that her spiritual form had begun to tremble uncontrollably—growing faint and flickering unsteadily.
It was a manifestation of a soul destabilized by overwhelming emotional turmoil.
She could not accept it.
"Tell me..."
Jiang Bai’s voice, like a sorcerer’s incantation, continued to echo in her ears: "In Tang Hao’s heart, which holds greater importance: you, or the Clear Sky Sect?"
Ah Yin offered no reply.
Yet, her silence spoke volumes. Jiang Bai let out a soft sigh, his tone tinged with a hint of sarcasm: "I imagine you, too, understand what the Clear Sky Sect means to Tang Hao."
"It is his roots, his home—the very place where he grew up. The glory of the Clear Sky Sect, its legacy, its standing within the world of Soul Masters..."
"These things—for Tang Hao—are an obsession etched into his very bones since childhood."
"And you... you are nothing more than a beautiful, naive woman—a transformed Soul Beast—whom he happened to encounter by chance."
Ah Yin’s body trembled violently; the tears she had been holding back could no longer be contained, and they spilled forth from her eyes.
"No... it’s not like that..."
She murmured, her voice hoarse and choked with sobs: "He was so good to me... He swore he would protect me... He said he would love me forever..."
Jiang Bai watched her, a flicker of complex emotion passing through his eyes.
He did not interrupt her; he simply watched in silence as she vented her anguish—watched as she broke down completely.
It was not until her weeping gradually subsided, fading into soft, low sobs, that he spoke again: "Ah Yin, just think about it: if merely sacrificing a woman could secure for the Clear Sky Sect a Titled Douluo possessing a coveted 100,000-year Soul Ring..."
"How do you think Tang Hao would choose?"