After saying this, Ash felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

He knew how rude and arrogant his words were.

Unlike someone like him, who is carefree and has no attachments, Black Crow carries the blood debt of his sect being slaughtered, the honor of reviving Ya Sha Jin, and his attachment to this land.

Especially with the revenge against the Mercury Wooden Horse, which is not only the inevitable path for Black Crow to realize his ideals but also the greatest motivation for him to live. Before meeting Ash and the others, Black Crow was completely filled with resentment towards the Mercury Wooden Horse. If he could personally slay it, he would be willing to die the next second.

To give up revenge and leave Senluo would almost be a denial of Black Crow's entire life value.

The last time Ash asked Black Crow to leave together, the latter said he needed to think about it, but Ash didn't hold much hope.

With short lifespans and intense beliefs, every Senluoian has a self-destructive tendency to bloom. Black Crow would never give up revenge just for being afraid of death.

Actually, there was still over ten days of travel; Ash could have slowly discussed it with Black Crow, or teamed up with Igula to use psychological suggestions to soften Black Crow, instead of proclaiming it with such direct, almost commanding words. But in this strange situation of being pursued, an inexplicable impulse made him voice the deepest request to his comrade whom he had shared life and death with multiple times.

Black Crow silently looked at him, remained quiet for a while, making Ash almost think he was about to get hit, then he softly said, "I—"

Boom!

The roof suddenly exploded, it was unclear what was detonated inside, but the entire roof was blown off!

Ash and Black Crow happened to be on either side of the eaves, instinctively kicking to avoid as the roof exploded, as if fleeing along two separate paths. By the time Ash reacted, Black Crow had disappeared to the other side, while he almost fell to the ground, with shouts and cries of pursuit coming from behind.

"Stop!"

"Run again and I'll shoot!"

"Damn thief!"

Ash quickly fled to a narrow alley, an easy place to escape, then suddenly remembered something, directly revealing a treasure pouch and tossing it behind him: "Take it back!"

Without caring what was inside, he dove into an alley, rolled up his sleeves, removed black silk stockings, dismantled the red ponytail, and reversed his coat. Coming out from the alley, his appearance was completely transformed, and those pursuing him glanced at him and ran past hurriedly.

Fortunately, he had been transformed into the Sword Maiden by the Mirror of Flowers and happened to have seen the Sword Maiden impersonate a few times, otherwise he couldn't have replicated it.

Ash walked through the crowd nonchalantly, returning to the Fox Lamp icehouse, but couldn't help feeling a little regretful.

He actually should have said that where there's a way to leave, there's a way to come back. Once his magic is mastered, and he becomes a one-man army, he could return to help Black Crow slay the Mercury Wooden Horse; or perhaps not mention it at all, just invite Black Crow to visit Gospel for a few days.

Escape is easier to accept than giving up, even if the probability of return is low, at least there is a chance.

Now, even the excuse to deceive himself is gone, Black Crow must choose between revenge or leaving. Compared to heading to an unknown country and relying on others' charity—this feeling is inevitable in a foreign land—pursuing revenge aligns more with Black Crow's interests and emotional needs.

Maybe, Black Crow has already quietly left. Since the destination is different, there's no reason to travel together, he will continue to assassinate the Mercury Wooden Horse, while Ash and the others embark on the journey home.

Ash sighed, looking up at the boundless night sky, his gaze dropping slightly, suddenly seeing a terrifying yet familiar figure at the icehouse entrance. Since Ash and they had escaped from the other side, the flow of people had been drawn there, leaving the icehouse entrance sparsely populated, making that figure seem even lonelier and thinner.

When Ash walked over, Black Crow tossed him a pouch, precisely the treasure pouch. Ash opened it to see it was full of gold coins.

"You managed to keep it?" Ash was somewhat surprised.

"They can't beat me," Black Crow said.

Ash was stunned, then remembered that in the mage-prohibited Black Robe Town, as a mere mortal, Black Crow was almost invincible. Ash should never have run; Black Crow alone could take them all on.

"Then..."

"But this is a crime," Black Crow said, "this is not the property of the Four Pillars God Sect or some villain, but the rightful property of the auction house. Although it wasn't intentional, we did plunder others' property."

"I committed a crime, do you know what this implies?"

Ash blinked and tentatively asked, "It implies you're no longer pure?"

"In the Ya Sha Jin sect, if a Judgement Warrior commits a crime, they have to close themselves off for reflection, temporarily suspending duties. Crime must be met with sanctions, both as an expectation of all beings and a personal requirement of Ya Sha Jin."

"During the period of self-reflection, a warrior needs a Judge to monitor their reflection progress and psychological state. When the Judge deems the reflection complete, the warrior resumes duties, being under the Judge's control during this time," Black Crow said, "who do you think is suitable to be my Judge?"

Ash immediately answered, "Igula."

Black Crow just quietly stared at him, Ash glanced at the money bag in his hand and silently stuffed it into his coat: "Ahem, actually I think Judge Ash sounds quite good too."

Black Crow nodded, turned, and walked into the icehouse.

"I will do my best."

Do your best for what? For reflection? Or for letting go?

Ash was filled with various emotions, feeling touched yet somewhat ashamed. He returned to the icehouse, with Qikara looking at him curiously and asking, "What happened outside, why is it so lively?"

"Oh, someone robbed the auction house's money."

With that, Ash handed the money bag to Igula. Igula glanced at the bag full of gold coins, looked at Ash, wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Alright, everyone!" Ash clapped and said, "We're leaving Black Robe Town tomorrow and embarking on our journey home! Whatever you want to buy or eat, now's your last chance, tonight it's all on Young Master Bokin!"

"Really? Add an order here, please!" Qikara immediately shouted.

Igula glared fiercely at the Beastman, but didn't oppose.

Harvey looked at Black Crow, then suddenly asked, "Tamasi, what kind of corpse spots do you like?"

"By the way." Ash looked at Igula and Harvey: "You two must not slack on the Void Realm Exploration, aim to quickly coalesce the Rainbow Wings, I might be able to help you guys a bit."

Ash knew they had guessed some of his secrets, possibly knowing he was one of the four black-robed mages — after all, it took Ash a whole day to return from the Void Realm, this flaw was too big.

But Igula hadn't asked anything, and Ash hadn't said anything. Yet he remembered that Igula and Harvey leveraged external powers to ascend to the Distant Realm, at the cost of never being able to summon a Four-winged Technique Spirit on their own and naturally having no chance at Ruby Mountain.

Now Ash had the Dream Awakened Divine Being, though it couldn't yet be brought into reality, it was only a matter of time to solve this problem. At that time, using it on Igula and Harvey, they could walk the Path of Origin to reach Ruby Mountain.

"Tonight is the last night, so shouldn't we skip the Void Realm?" Qikara said, "Starting tomorrow we'll be eating and sleeping in the wind, tonight is likely the last night in a hotel, let's stay up all night playing cards!"

Ash's eyes brightened, "Sure, sure."

"I want to play too."

Everyone looked at Black Crow in surprise, eyes filled with disbelief, as if the lonely figure had spoken on its own. Qikara froze for a moment and asked, "Do you know how to play?"

"I'll learn by watching," Black Crow said.

"Are you daring to call yourself the King of Cards?" Igula sneered, "Tonight I'll see what you're made of."

"Oh, Mr. Bokin, are you playing too?" Qikara looked at Gwen: "My blood is getting fired up!"

"Why are you getting fired up for playing cards like this…"

Black Crow said, "By the way, where exactly are we going?"

Igula said, "We're not going to the bottom layers of Senluo as Ash must not have told you correctly. We are going to the deepest layer of Senluo, which will ensure the Sky Gate is secure."

"The Silent Spiral."

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