Chapter 90 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

The Sin Bearer

The late-afternoon sunlight shone over the courtyard of Khâm Vân Ti headquarters as the group finally emerged from the stairs leading from Khuyết Nguyên Abyss, carrying exhaustion and indescribable relief after the battle. Diệp Sương had to lean on Thanh Việt's shoulder to stand, but her eyes still followed every step of the soldiers carrying Ngộ Khắc Bình from the cave.

"How is he?" he asked as soon as a military doctor ran over to check.

"Still breathing, pulse still stable," the military medic replied, his voice cautious. "But we need to be taken home for treatment immediately, the head injury is quite serious."

*

Diệp Sương nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, even though her body was so exhausted that she could barely feel anything except the sound of her heart beating slowly in her chest. Cố Bạt Nguyên ordered a team of soldiers to escort Ngộ Khắc Bình to the best royal physician in the capital, not as a prisoner, but as someone who had just saved the kingdom.

"He betrayed his master to save us," Cố Bạt Nguyên said, when he saw Diệp Sương's questioning eyes. "In my eyes, that is not a crime of betrayal, but the actions of someone who has finally found his conscience. He deserves proper treatment, and a chance to atone for what he did in the past."

*

Lỗ Khắc Viên was escorted separately in a closed carriage, with soldiers strictly guarding him on both sides. Before the carriage rolled away, he looked back at Diệp Sương one last time through the small window, his eyes no longer had the cold and arrogant look like previous meetings, only a deep fatigue remained.

"I won't apologize," he said, his voice hoarse. "Because I still believe, much of what I do comes from a genuine fear of possible disasters. But I admit, the way I chose to deal with that fear was wrong, right from the first steps."

"That's a better start than most I ever expected from you," Diệp Sương replied, her voice calm. "As for the rest, let the court and those you have harmed judge."

*

The carriage rolled away, carrying the mastermind who had silently shaped a dark chapter in Cửu Vân's history for fifteen long years, towards the royal prison, where he would wait for an official, public, and transparent trial - something he himself had never allowed anyone else to enjoy.

Diệp Sương stood watching the carriage disappear behind the corner of the street, a strange feeling of emptiness crept into her heart, not the complete joy of victory she had imagined, but a heavy silence, as if she had just laid down a burden that she had been carrying for a long time without even realizing it.

*

That evening, the whole group gathered at the mansion, bandaged the wounds, and recounted every detail to those who remained to guard outside. Tất Bá Kỳ, after hearing the whole story, shook his head in surprise.

“I have seen many battles, but I have never heard of one that ended in healing instead of destruction,” he said, his voice filled with admiration. "You have rewritten the definition of victory, in a way no one ever thought possible."

*

Chúc Nghi Lam sat quietly in the corner of the room, her eyes distant. "I'm still in shock," she said softly. "For three years working under Master Lu, I always thought I was just a small clerk, incapable of changing anything. Unexpectedly, the very pages I risked my life to copy would become important pieces to overthrow a fifteen-year-long conspiracy."

"You were braver than many people of higher status than you," Diệp Sương said, sitting down next to her, her voice sincere. "Never underestimate the power of a small action, done at the right time, by the right person with enough conscience to do it."

*

Late at night, when everyone was gradually falling asleep after a long, exhausting day, Diệp Sương sat alone by the window of her room, looking out at the night sky of the capital city sparkling with lights. Thanh Việt, his arm carefully bandaged, walked over and sat down next to her.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly.

"I'm thinking about my parents," he replied, his voice low. "Think about it, even though we caught the mastermind today, it still won't bring them back. Justice, no matter how perfect, can't erase what's been lost."

*

Thanh Việt grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "That's true," he admitted, not trying to comfort him with empty words. "But today's justice can ensure that no other child has to go through what I went through, for the same reason. It's not a small thing, Sương." She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder, letting the last tears of a long and tumultuous day fall quietly in the quiet darkness.

*

The next morning, news began to spread throughout the capital about the arrest of Supervisor Khâm Vân Ti, accompanied by the first reports from distant border stations - the Linh Mạch upheaval in many areas that had been unstable for many years suddenly calmed down strangely, all at once, in just one night.

A letter from Tiêu Sa Pass, personally sent by Captain Sầm Nguyên Trạch, confirmed that the Hạn Thủy ravine had completely stabilized again, the highest level of stability since he took office to guard that place. Another report from Thâm Vụ Forest, sent by Lãnh Vũ himself through the Vụ Ẩn clan's contact, also confirmed the same thing.

*

"My map doesn't just heal Khuyết Nguyên Abyss," Thanh Việt said, skimming through each letter, his voice full of surprise. "Because all thirty extraction points are connected to the same center, when I soothed the roots, the effect spread back to each point, like a stream of water flowing back to its source."

Diệp Sương read each letter, a quiet but profound happiness rising in her heart, completely different from the emptiness of the previous night. "So," she said softly, "perhaps this is really what Elder Tạ Vân Khê wanted me to understand—that a right action, born of understanding instead of imposition, can spread farther than anyone dares to imagine."

*

The whole group spent the next few days in the capital, assisting with the initial legal procedures, before preparing to return to Tông Vân Các. Cố Bạt Nguyên promised to personally supervise the entire investigation and trial process, ensuring that everything takes place openly and transparently, with no shadow of concealment.

Before leaving the capital, Diệp Sương visited Ngộ Khắc Bình who was recuperating at the royal physician's office. He was awake, though still weak, his eyes lighting up as he recognized her.

"Are you really coming?" he asked, his voice still weak.

"I want to thank you," Diệp Sương replied, sitting down next to the bed. "For choosing to do the right thing, even at such a high cost."

Ngộ Khắc Bình smiled slightly, a tired but genuine smile. "Perhaps, that was the only right thing I ever did in the ten years I served under Lord Lỗ. Better late than never, I hope."

*

On leaving the capital of Lệ Dương, Diệp Sương stood on the carriage and looked back at the massive citadel one last time, the morning sunlight spreading across the sparkling tiled roofs. She thought about the journey that had passed, from the first night of discovering strange footprints on Cảnh Linh Đài, to the moment she knelt in the middle of the Khuyết Nguyên Abyss, healing a wound that had been smoldering for fifteen years.

The hardest part, she knew, was over. But the road ahead—healing not only the Linh Mạch, but also the cracks in people's hearts and in the very system that had nurtured both good and dark things over the years—was still long, requiring not only her but an entire generation willing to learn to listen instead of impose.

Miên Trà sat next to Diệp Sương in the carriage, resting her head on Diệp Sương's shoulder as she had throughout the journey. "Sister Sương," the girl asked sleepily, "after returning to the sect, what do you plan to do next?"

Diệp Sương was silent for a moment, looking toward the horizon where the sun was gradually rising and its light spreading across the road ahead. "I think," she said slowly, "I won't keep this way of drawing charms to myself anymore. I'll find a way to teach it to those who are willing to learn, so that not just me but many other hands can do the same thing wherever the Cửu Vân need it."

Thanh Việt, sitting opposite, smiled when he heard that answer. His eyes were filled with respect for the girl who had come a long way, from a child drawing on tree bark, to the person holding the key to healing an entire kingdom.

The convoy rolled out of the capital, towards the distant Vân Tiêu Peak, carrying not only the people who had overcome the greatest challenge together, but also a new, budding hope for the entire Cửu Vân kingdom.