Chapter 15 — The Abyssal King Returns

The oil lamp in the command tent burned all night without turning off, casting shadows of the heads bowed close together on the old map onto the tent wall, as a reminder that from now on, no one in the group could turn back and continue on the same path as before.

After the night of discovering Thục Di's Pure Spirit clan's bloodline, the group spent three more days at the temporary barracks to carefully discuss the plan to return to U Minh Giới. Chu Bách Thành spread out an old map in the middle of the command tent, pointed to each key location around U Minh Thiên Cung, analyzed the situation of Cố Thanh Vũ's faction based on the information he collected during seven years of hiding.

"If we return by the official route, Shadow Ve and the army loyal to Cố Thanh Vũ will definitely block the way right from the largest spirit gate," he said, tapping his finger lightly on the map. "But I know of a little-known spirit gate, hidden in a remote canyon west of the Netherworld, that can help us get inside without being immediately detected."

"Once we're inside, what do we do next?" Thục Di asked. Even though she was determined to accompany her, she still had many surprises about how a world that was completely different from the human world she knew worked.

"We need to contact the loyal former gods hiding in the royal court and gather enough forces before openly confronting Cố Thanh Vũ," Bách Uyên replied, his eyes serious as if he was planning the most important battle of his life. "Taking action too early without enough preparation will only put Tiểu Yên and Thục Di in unnecessary danger."

Diệp Uyên Thanh, who had always accompanied the group since the day she came to Vân Khê Trấn to report the news, also contributed to the discussion, carrying Điền Nguyệt Hinh's diary and her own notes as an invisible weapon but no less powerful than a sword.

"Your Majesty, when you return, this evidence will be the most important thing to convince those ministers who are still hesitant and do not dare to openly side with us," she said, clutching the diary tightly like a treasure. "I will go with you, to personally testify before the court when the time comes."

"I am grateful for your loyalty," Bách Uyên said, bowing to her in a respectful manner rarely seen from someone who once held the highest position. "Without you, I would probably still be in the dark about the truth behind all these tragedies."

During preparation, another issue that bothered Bách Uyên the most was deciding whether to let Tiểu Yên stay in the human world with a trustworthy person, or take his child with him on a journey full of dangers. Finally, after many nights of thinking, he decided to take his child with him, because the contract was still clinging to her, and staying close to Thục Di might be the only way to resolve it completely.

Chung Diệu Nga, after hearing the entire plan, pondered for a long time before speaking. "I am old and no longer fit to venture into such a dangerous place. But Thục Di, you are the student I raised from a young age, I cannot leave you alone to face a completely strange world without anyone by your side who understands medical techniques to take care of you when needed."

"Master, are you going to come with us?" Thục Di asked in surprise.

"That's right." The old woman nodded decisively. "I'll go with you, at least until everything is over. You're the only family I have left in this world, I can't let you go into danger without me by your side."

Thục Di hugged her master, tears suddenly flowing from her eyes because she was touched by the heart of the person who raised her for the past sixteen years like her own child. She knew that this decision of the old woman was not easy, having to leave a career built over many years in Vân Khê Trấn to embark on a journey whose outcome is still a great mystery.

The night before the departure, Bách Uyên took Tiểu Yên to sit by the campfire, telling her about U Minh Giới, about the good things he had built there before everything fell apart, trying to prepare her mentally before entering a world completely different from what she had known during her seven years of life.

"Dad, is that place beautiful?" Tiểu Yên asked, her round eyes filled with curiosity and worry.

"Very beautiful, my child." Bách Uyên smiled and stroked his child's hair. "But more important than the beauty of that place, you will meet the people who have loved me for so many years, the people who have been waiting for the day you and I return."

"Do I have to be a princess?" She asked, her voice a bit hesitant.

"You are always my little princess, no matter where you are," he replied, holding his child in his arms. "But you don't need to worry about complicated rituals, your job now is just to stay healthy, and trust in dad, in Ms. Thục Di, in all the people who are trying to protect you." Tiểu Yên nodded, snuggled deeper into her father's arms, her eyes gradually closed due to sleepiness but still tried to ask one more question before falling asleep. "Dad, after everything is over, can I go back to Vân Khê Trấn to live with Ms. Thục Di and grandmother Diệu Nga?"

That innocent question made Bách Uyên pause, his throat suddenly choking as if something was blocking it. He bent down, pressed his cheek against the child's hair, which still smelled of dry grass in the afternoon, hiding the stinging corners of his eyes. He realized that, even at a young age, his daughter naturally viewed Vân Khê Trấn as a real home and viewed Thục Di and Chung Diệu Nga as close relatives. "Dad, I promise, no matter what happens, I will always have a place to call home, and loved ones to return to."

He hugged his daughter tighter, looked up at the starry night sky, silently praying for a peaceful future that he had longed for seven long years, which now seemed to be very close, just a magical gate and a final battle away.

Early the next morning, the group including Bách Uyên, Thục Di, Tiểu Yên, Chung Diệu Nga, Chu Bách Thành and the most elite remaining group under his command, set out towards the secret spiritual gate hidden in the western canyon, carrying both hope and anxiety about what was waiting ahead.

The spirit gate appears in the middle of a steep cliff, a dim, swirling space like a shimmering water mirror in the sunlight, emitting a characteristic aura of Netherworld that only those who have been in contact with it can clearly feel it. Thục Di stood speechless before that magical scene, for the first time in her life witnessing a phenomenon that went beyond her normal understanding of the world.

"Is this the road that leads to the place where you once ruled?" She asked, her voice full of surprise, her hand gently reaching out to touch the strange swirling air in front of her, feeling a cool stream of energy running along her arm, different from anything she had ever experienced during her twenty-two years living in the human world.

"That's right," Bách Uyên replied, holding her hand tightly. "Once you step through, there will be no turning back, everything will officially begin."

Thục Di tightened her grip on his hand, her eyes steadily looking straight at the swirling spirit gate in front. "I have been ready, since the day I decided to save you on the side of Vân Khê Trấn road."

Before stepping through the spirit gate, Bách Uyên turned back to look at the world one last time, his eyes scanned the dark green mountains, the clear sky of a world that had supported him and his daughter for seven difficult years. He remembered the bustling countryside markets, the frugal but warm meals, the simple people who taught him what it means to live a life without power but still full of meaning.

"What are you thinking?" Thục Di asked softly, noticing the rare pensive look on his face.

"I'm thinking, no matter what the outcome of this trip is, I will never forget what humanity has taught me," he replied, turning to smile at her, a smile that was both determined and nostalgic. "Perhaps, it is those simple lessons that help me be strong enough to face what lies ahead, not magic power or authority at all."

Chu Bách Thành signaled the army to get ready, his eyes scanned every face in the group, from the steadfast Bách Uyên, the brave Thục Di, to the little Tiểu Yên holding her father's hand tightly, and Chung Diệu Nga and Diệp Uyên Thanh with equally determined eyes. He knew that this was the smallest army but also carried the greatest hope that Netherworld had ever had during the past seven dark years.

One by one, the group passed through the spirit gate, leaving behind the entire familiar human world, entering a realm that for Bách Uyên was a lost homeland, and for Thục Di and Tiểu Yên, was the beginning of a completely new chapter in life, where the fate of an entire dynasty was about to be decided.