Chapter 1344: Return No More

**Chapter 1345: No Turning Back**

"Why are you worried about me?" Chen Ling asked calmly, making no attempt to resist the arm that held him. "I am already the king of the Ghost Mocking Abyss. I was born to be here; this is my true home. What is there to worry about when you're going home?"

"Two days ago, we had a dream," Jian Changsheng said, looking at Chen Ling accusingly. "You slapped each of us in that dream."

"...That was just a small accident, and it's already resolved."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But you can't stay here," Jian Changsheng said, gesturing with his chin towards Sun Bumei, who was still retching in the corner. "Spade said this place is extremely ominous. If you remain here, something bad will happen."

"Extremely ominous?" Chen Ling's gaze shifted to Sun Bumei.

After retching, Sun Bumei looked up at Chen Ling, and their eyes met across the distance... A faint golden light flickered imperceptibly in Sun Bumei's eyes.

The next second, Sun Bumei froze in place.

"Say something, Spade!" Jian Changsheng urged, seeing Sun Bumei frozen.

Sun Bumei looked at Chen Ling, his expression changing repeatedly before finally settling on a complex gaze...

"Yes... extremely ominous."

"See!" Jian Changsheng exclaimed, releasing Chen Ling's arm. With his hands clasped behind his back, he strolled around the restaurant like a supervisor, occasionally tutting.

"Heart, I'm telling you... this place of yours is truly no good."

"It's cold, it's dark, and there's no sunlight all year round. I'm telling you, if you live here too long, even if you don't get unlucky, you'll definitely get rheumatism."

"And look at your walls—how long has it been since they were maintained? They're damp... The infrastructure is terrible; there isn't even an electric light. If not for these candles, you wouldn't see anything at all... I think your palace, apart from being large, has nothing good about it."

After listing a multitude of faults, Jian Changsheng stopped in front of Chen Ling, standing proudly with his hands behind his back and a beaming smile, practically broadcasting, "I have a surprise."

Chen Ling was somewhat puzzled by the sudden fault-finding but shook his head and explained:

"The Ghost Mocking Abyss is a disaster territory, not a human domain. There are no good architects here, nor is there any power supply... This is simply how it is here."

"Heh heh, guess what?"

Jian Changsheng's eyes shone like stars. With two fingers, he pulled a document from his pocket, his lips curving into an uncontrollable smile.

"Well, I happen to have a letter of pardon signed by the Xuanyu Domain government here... It not only absolves a certain person of all their past 'crimes' but also specially invites that person to become a citizen of the Xuanyu Domain, complete with a complimentary, exquisitely furnished three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment in the city center..."

"Call me Brother Jian, and I'll tell you who this person is, how about it?"

Jian Changsheng had never been so smug. It was as if he hadn't pulled out a mere document, but a "Heart Admiration Voucher." The moment he produced it, he could already picture Chen Ling's utterly shocked expression.

Pardoning the notoriously infamous "Heart 6" and granting him legitimate domain citizenship...

Who else in the world could achieve such a feat besides Jian Changsheng?

With this, Chen Ling could leave this dark, dilapidated underground "insect lair" and return with them to live in the Xuanyu Domain. He would no longer have to live in fear, nor endure being shunned by everyone; all the past injustices he suffered would finally have a chance to be cleared.

Originally, Jian Changsheng had intended to tease Chen Ling a bit before finally presenting this generous gift. However, he simply couldn't hold back; he was too eager to see Chen Ling's reaction upon receiving it.

And Chen Ling, just as Jian Changsheng had anticipated, froze on the spot.

Gazing at Jian Changsheng's smug and proud smile, and the document signed by the Xuanyu Domain government in his hand, Chen Ling suddenly understood the true nature of the transaction between Jian Changsheng's group and the Xuanyu Domain...

A long-forgotten warmth and feeling of gratitude welled up from deep within him, but immediately, it was followed by an even heavier wave of pain and bitterness.

Chen Ling simply stood there, quietly looking at Jian Changsheng.

His gaze was incredibly complex...

After a brief silence, Jian Changsheng shrugged with displeasure.

"If you don't want to call me Brother Jian, you could at least praise me, right? What does this silence mean?"

The figure in the crimson opera robe remained silent, not even reaching out for the document...

For some reason, a sudden fear gripped Jian Changsheng. He muttered something under his breath and directly thrust the document into Chen Ling's hand.

"Alright, Heart, I went through all that trouble to get this for you, and you won't even say something nice... Never mind, never mind. Here, take it. Pack your things, and we'll leave soon, okay?"

Jian Changsheng sounded like a child who had done something wrong, his voice even carrying a hint of pleading as he looked into Chen Ling's eyes and uttered the last two words.

Chen Ling looked down at the pardon in his hand, bearing his name. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

At this moment, even the usually slow-witted Jiang Xiaohua sensed that something was amiss in the atmosphere.

He glanced at the frozen Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng, then at Sun Bumei, whose expression was complex. Just as he was about to step forward and speak, Jian Changsheng's irritated voice suddenly rang out.

"No, Heart!! What exactly do you mean?!"

"Do you have any idea how much effort the three of us put into getting this document?! We finally got it for you, traveled all this way to bring you back to a better life, and now... you're just going to play mute and not say a word?!"

"Take off that ugly, broken mask, and speak!!"

Jian Changsheng's chest heaved. He lunged out like lightning, grabbing Chen Ling's mask, intending to rip it off. To his surprise, the mask's material was so fragile that with a slight pull, it shattered in mid-air!

A cold gust of wind, rising from an unknown source, swept through the dimly lit restaurant, causing the wall-mounted torches and table candles to flicker wildly.

In the flickering shadows, a dark, grotesque face appeared before the eyes of all three.

All three froze simultaneously.

Shadow-like layers of skin continuously peeled away from the grotesque face. Human features were barely discernible on it; only an unsettling, chilling strangeness remained... This was the face of a disaster.

Chen Ling stood silently, his crimson opera robe swaying gently in the wind.

He simply gazed at Jian Changsheng, who was standing close by. A bitter smile formed on his dark lips, but regardless of his true emotions, on this face, the smile only appeared chilling and eerie...

"Heart... your face..." Jian Changsheng finally realized that the face he had seen before was not an illusion.

Chen Ling let out a soft sigh:

"Spade..."

"I can't go back."