Volcanic Age

Two days later.

Jia Wuliang stood before them with a serious expression on his face.

"I'll be in your care from now on. Please make sure to call me Great Hero rather than Sovereign,"[1] Zhou Xuchuan said.

To summarize, all forty-five Pseudo-Phantoms, including Jia Wuliang, had chosen to come under Zhou Xuchuan.

Zhou Xuchuan had given them a day, and in the end, they reached one conclusion.

None of them could rebel even if they wanted to, and as long as the Phantom Sovereign had control, if they refused the offer, they would have had to live in the Hebei Branch for the rest of their lives.

Although they all harbored resentment toward the Valley of Phantoms, they had to set that aside for now, given the reality they were facing.

Revenge was important, but it wasn’t as important as freedom.

"Don't delude yourself. We have no other choice but to follow you and your dirty tricks. This isn't loyalty."

As soon as the Pseudo-Phantoms accepted the offer, Zhou Xuchuan gave them orders.

First, they had to protect the people around him. He even planned to give them portraits later so they could recognize who required protection.

Second, they had to keep his secrets. Those secrets mainly concerned the very existence of the Valley of Phantoms.

Third, they couldn't get interfere with his plan. He gave them explicit orders not to do anything that may harm his goals.

This third order mainly specifically applied to the Phantoms, as he needed them for his plans and couldn’t risk the Pseudo-Phantoms causing them harm.

While they were extremely dissatisfied with the third order, none of them voiced their objections. After all, complaining wouldn't change anything.

"Also, if you're going to use us, at the very least, don't make us work with them. I'd rather kill myself than help my enemy."

"I'm not using you; I'm asking for your help… whatever. Since you don't trust me, it's just a waste of time. Moreover, I have my own tact, too, so don't worry about that."

The Pseudo-Phantom's resentment toward the Phantoms was beyond imagination.

Of course, it was only natural, considering they had been treated like slaves all of their lives and were forced to endure all kinds of suffering under the pretext of training.

"No one can kill our hearts, and no one can take away our emotions. Even if you control our bodies and our flesh, our hearts and souls won't submit to you."

The Pseudo-Phantoms seemed obsessed with their minds, and it seemed that all of them suffered mental trauma during the process of Mind-Killing.[2]

“Little Ghost.”

“Yes, Great Hero."

"Just how the hell does Mind-Killing work?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, he called Little Ghost aside and asked, only to be astonished when he heard her explanation.

The process Little Ghost described was more cruel, inhumane, and demonic than he could ever have imagined.

"In case a Phantom gets captured, Phantoms must learn how to endure torture. So, we torture the recruits first to build their tolerance for it in the future."

From the start, the training wasn't normal.

"If a recruit survives the torture, we bring a trainee whom they have been with since childhood."

"Wait, you're not saying…"

Assassins usually learn not to form relationships from a young age. Personal relationships were just obstacles in the way of assassination.

However, the Valley of Phantoms was a little different. They intentionally left recruits alone, allowing them to develop relationships. They didn't get involved, even if some of the recruits became lovers along the way.

"Then we order the recruits who developed feelings for each other to kill each other, and then use drugs to…"

“Enough."

Zhou Xuchuan didn't want to hear anymore. He could already guess what would happen next.

Judging from Little Ghost’s tone, it seemed there was even more to the process, but Zhou Xuchuan wasn't particularly curious. It just made him upset.

Even though the Valley of Phantoms would become an indispensable force for peace, they could hardly be considered righteous.

‘The Three-Eyed Godly Thief. That bastard really was crazy, wasn't he?’

It was understandable that the Phantoms hated him so much. On the contrary, it would be stranger if they didn't.

The most heartbreaking part was watching Little Ghost, who was still a child, saying such things so casually.

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't even begin to imagine what she had gone through.

***

Zhou Xuchuan and Luo Xiaoyue decided to stay in the Valley for a while to get their bearings. Little Ghost took them deep within the valley when Zhou Xuchuan asked if there was anywhere to rest.

The Valley of Phantoms seemed to be untouched by human hands. However, there was a small residence hidden deep inside.

“This is really too much.”

Even though it was called a residence… this wasn't a place where people could live.

A wooden building stood in the midst of the valley. While it was spacious, there were no rooms, only bedding organized on the floor.

On the other hand, the facilities, such as the armory, library, and infirmary, were excellent. In fact, it was so clean that it seemed a little unnatural.

"I've been looking for shelter for years—no, decades, to think there was a place like this…" Jia Wuliang muttered dejectedly.

When they had arrived at the valley and started their training, they had slept anywhere they could. Once they had escaped, they had thought that the Phantoms’ base had to exist somewhere, and they had searched for years intending to destroy it.

However, let alone the base, they couldn't even find a clue of where the Phantoms had run off to. To think they had come here so easily.

"Don't be so sad; you were inside of a formation all this time. I'll call you when we're leaving, so go rest."

Even after arriving at the Phantoms' base, the Pseudo-Phantoms couldn't relax.

Having always lived under the threat of Phantoms or madmen, they found it hard to sleep properly.

Moreover, it was the first time in what seemed like forever that they had a flat place to sleep, and the unfamiliarity made it even harder to rest.

In the end, even though it wasn't necessary anymore, they decided to take turns sleeping.

“Little Ghost.”

“Yes.”

Little Ghost appeared as if she was jumping out of the shadows. Luo Xiaoyue found herself startled each time the Phantoms appeared.

Since she couldn't sense their presence, it felt like she was seeing a ghost, and her heart nearly burst out of her chest more than once.

"How do I contact the other branches?"

"We can send coded letters through homing pigeons."

"I'll have to ask you to do it this time."

Instead of responding, Little Ghost just pulled out a brush and some paper.

The first thing that he had to inform the other branches of was the appearance and identity of the new Phantom Sovereign. He had to make sure that Mount Hua or his allies wouldn't get harmed by the Phantoms, whose blades had no eyes.

"Do you think they'll trust the information about me?"

"Whether they do or not, they won't act recklessly. There are different codes of conduct for things that they have witnessed themselves versus those they were just informed of. The orders you can give will be limited."

"So the control ability doesn't extend to letters, then."

Although it was possible for him to protect those around him temporarily, there were still restrictions on viewing intelligence reports or assassination requests.

After sending letters to each branch while absorbing this new information, Zhou Xuchuan stayed in the library for a while and conducted various investigations.

The Phantoms answered any questions he had, but they wouldn't tell him anything unless he asked. This meant he would never be able to question them for whatever information he didn't at least know to ask for, he had to scour the library to find useful information.

The library contained basic knowledge of the Valley of Phantoms and information about elixirs or techniques that the Valley possessed, as well as an array of other information.

Considering how much information they had, it was difficult for Zhou Xuchuan to read through everything. So, he only picked out the important ones and memorized them.

Still, that alone was a considerable feat.

Time flowed quickly, and soon half a month had passed.

Zhou Xuchuan had memorized all the important information. He had even learned the basics of cryptography.

"Senior brother. It's almost time now. Everyone is waiting."

Around the hour of the dragon, Luo Xiaoyue came to call him.[3]

“Okay.”

Zhou Xuchuan closed the book and put it back on the bookshelf.

He was getting tired of the Valley of Phantoms anyway.

Since the Valley had no concept of taste, there was no other food except for grain pills.

"Let's go."

Zhou Xuchuan left five of the Phantoms in the Hebei Branch in case of an emergency and to keep in touch with the outside world.

The Pseudo-Phantoms all followed him out. Some of them felt awkward about leaving after they had spent several years, several decades even, trapped.

Still unable to believe it, they whispered among themselves.

The path Little Ghost led them on was different from the one Zhou Xuchuan and Luo Xiaoyue had taken to come into the Valley. When Zhou Xuchuan asked about it, Little Ghost explained that the Valley had multiple entrances and exits. Among them, there was a path that didn't require traversing countless formations, even though the path itself was complicated and required extensive wandering around.

When they stepped outside, the sunlight greeted them warmly.

“Ha! Who knew sunlight could be this welcome!”

Zhou Xuchuan exclaimed, shielding his eyes with his hand and smiling. Luo Xiaoyue, who was behind him, also smiled happily.

Since the Valley of Phantoms had been dark except for the glowing moss, the sunlight was especially welcome.

"Ha…"

Jia Wuliang opened his mouth in surprise. All the other escapees, including him, had the same reaction.

Sob, sob.

Not long after, someone started crying quietly.

They burst into tears, relieved that they had safely escaped hell. No one laughed at them.

Zhou Xuchuan and Luo Xiaoyue said nothing. They could somewhat understand how the Pseudo-Phantoms felt.

“What will happen to us now?” Jia Wuliang asked, his eyes red from crying.

“Do as you wish.”

“Do as we wish?”

"Yeah. If I need you, I'll send a Phantom to find you. I'd be happy if you could stay by my side, but considering how long that would take, I can't ask that of you—not when you've just gained your freedom."

Jia Wuliang made a slightly surprised expression and closed his eyes. Dozens of thoughts passed through his mind.

The silence didn’t last long. He was the first to speak.

“To be honest, I, no, we don’t completely trust you yet.”

Though they had returned to the outside world they had longed for, things still didn't seem real.

They suspected that there had to be some kind of trap lurking somewhere. That was how exhausting and difficult their lives had been.

"This might even be a dream. So, we want to confirm it ourselves. If what you're saying really is the truth and you haven't lied to us, then we will accept your offer and help you."

‘As expected, this won't be enough to resolve their grudges with the Phantoms. Still, this much is still a success.’

Since Zhou Xuchuan had already set up restrictions for the Pseudo-Phantoms, it didn't matter if he let them go.

At the very least, he was promised an alliance.

He was satisfied with that.

"We'll be going now."

"Okay. If you don't have anywhere else to go, go to the Gold Will Merchants I told you about yesterday. I'll leave them a note, and they'll help you."

“… Thank you.”

With those final words, the presence of the forty-five Pseudo-Phantoms disappeared.

“They really left.”

"Yeah, seems like it."

"Are you really sure it's okay to let them go?"

Luo Xiaoyue was worried for Zhou Xuchuan.

If the Pseudo-Phantoms' grudge against the Phantoms ever turned against the Phantom Sovereign, things could quickly spiral out of control. Human resentment was scarier than one would think, and resentment in the gangho murim was even more so.

After all, this was a world of repayment, for better or worse. That much was clear just by looking at the past.

"I explained the restrictions I placed on them, right?"

"Yes, you did. But…"

She was still anxious. There was no such thing as a perfect restriction in this world.

Luo Xiaoyue had always been cautious, even as a child, only growing wiser as she matured.

"If I don't let them go, then what do you suggest? Should I lock their minds in the mind prison?"

"Well…"

Luo Xiaoyue couldn't respond right away. Her concern for her senior brother clashed with her moral compass.

She genuinely didn’t know what the right choice was.

"Yes, it's true; if I make a mistake here, I might end up getting stabbed in the back. Like you said, there's no such thing as a perfect restriction."

Zhou Xuchuan wasn't a genius. There was a very good chance that he had missed a weakness or loophole in his restrictions on the Pseudo-Phantoms.

The Phantoms had no individuality or emotions, meaning that he didn't have to worry about being betrayed, the Pseudo-Phantoms, however, were different.

A person's will wasn't an ordinary thing.

He knew well how great and scary it could be from the Era of War and Chaos.

"Then why…"

"Why did I let them go?"

"Yes."

Zhou Xuchuan turned his back and smiled faintly.

“I just wanted to.”

Seeing that smile, Luo Xiaoyue's eyes widened in surprise. However, she soon relaxed, returning to her usual cheerful self, a smile on her lips.

1. I know this sounds a little arrogant, but remember, Great Hero is a common way of addressing someone of Zhou Xuchuan's position. He's not telling them to stroke his ego or anything with this. ☜

2. You don't say. ☜

3. Roughly 7 am to 9 am. ☜

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