Chapter 351

Chapter 351: Chapter 348: "The Gift of ImmortalityThe dark interior was streaked with fresh blood, as a severed head slowly rolled across the floor, dragging a long line of blood behind it.

The beheaded corpse lay at Su Ming’an’s feet.

He confirmed the person’s face again, it certainly was the princess he had just seen.

He wasn’t flustered. Instead, he turned around and suddenly heard a knocking at the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

He glanced at the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The person outside knocked on the door steadily, not seeming to find this midnight knocking odd at all.

"Who is it?" Su Ming’an called out.

The only response was the continuous, steady knocking.

Su Ming’an stepped forward and suddenly felt something grab his leg.

He looked down and saw a face that had started to decay.

The head on the floor began to slowly rise, its bulging eyeballs silently staring at him.

The thick blood and stretching skin slowly slid off her cheeks, and the hand grasping Su Ming’an’s calf belonged to the headless body.

"Swipe!"

Su Ming’an slashed off the hand with his sword, and as soon as the hand was severed from the body, it began to decay, and soon became a blur of flesh and blood that spread across the floor.

...What the hell is this?

Rather than say it was the princess of the Pulaya Royal Family, he was more inclined to believe it was a demon that had possessed her body.

He shook his leg, which still had a bloody handprint on it, while the knocking continued outside the door.

While looking at the body, he walked towards the door, seeing that the corpse had begun to move on its own, the broken flesh and fine clothes mixing together into a writhing semi-fluid.

The severed head still fixed its gaze on him, the eyeballs in its sockets seemed on the verge of popping out.

"Click."

Su Ming’an’s hand hadn’t touched the doorknob when the door opened by itself.

He quickly turned his gaze away, his back to the writhing mass of flesh.

Down the dark hallway, a young girl in a magnificent yellow dress was holding a red candle and quietly watching him.

The dim halo of the candlelight played across her smooth face; she still looked poised and beautiful.

"...Princess?"

Su Ming’an paused for a moment.

The person standing at his door had the exact same features as the indoor corpse.

Wait, then who was that one inside...?

"Good morning, Su Rin," the princess said with a slight smile. "The maid said she heard noises in your room. Are you alright?"

Seeing the princess’s expression unchanged, Su Ming’an slowly realized the complexity of the situation.

Before, he had thought that as long as he controlled the Soul Clan and the Soul Hunt, he could even overrun the whole of Pulaya.

But now it seemed that the Royal Family of Pulaya wasn’t as simple as he had thought.

Previously, when chatting with Gerald, he mentioned that the previous Pulaya Royal Family, the former King, had died suddenly, and the Queen died on the same day, leaving behind only young Princess Tulip. The barrier was unstable, and foreign enemies were peering in, making the situation of the Royal Family quite grim.

Yet Princess Tulip had quickly stabilized the situation. Despite her tender age, she had secured her place firmly, and although she hadn’t been crowned yet, she already had the bearing to command over Pulaya.

From the Pope’s attitude, it was clear that he didn’t underestimate this princess before him in the slightest.

The princess before him would be the biggest obstacle he had faced so far, and if he could conquer her or transform her...

"...Su Rin?" The princess tilted her head slightly, a smile curving perfectly on her face, "What’s wrong? Is there a problem in the room?"

"..." Su Ming’an stepped aside, gesturing for her to see for herself.

As the princess moved slowly inside, Su Ming’an turned with her, looking towards the twisted, rotting corpse within the room—

He saw a clean floor.

There were no squirming clots of blood, no dark red, blackening stains, no sinister skull staring back at him.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

"What is it?" The princess looked at him, her expression somewhat puzzled.

"Just now, someone who looked exactly like you tried to assassinate me," said Su Ming’an bluntly.

Upon hearing his words, a flicker of realization crossed the princess’s expression.

"Ah, it was her," the princess turned around, "Actually, I want to talk to you about that. It’s almost morning now... Su Rin, come with me."

She handed the candlestick to the maid standing with her head bowed beside her and then walked towards the door.

Seeing the maid made Su Ming’an freeze.

These maids always kept their heads very low, with bangs covering their faces, making it impossible to see their eyes clearly. But now, as the candlelight fell on them, they slightly lifted their faces, and he suddenly saw that they all bore the same face as Princess Tulip.

If they changed their clothes and their hairstyles, they looked like they were cast from the same mold.

He immediately focused his attention and began to observe every passing person, watching the portion of their faces that was visible.

Only then did he slowly notice something was amiss.

The faces of all the people—whether they were maids cleaning, servants on duty, or gardeners in the garden—he and the princess passed by... their facial features were almost all identical, except for differences in their skin quality due to age; otherwise, their features were indistinguishable.

...This entire royal castle seemed like a realm of clones. And Princess Tulip, in her prime, most beautiful and poised, was the queen commanding them.

Following the princess, he gradually left the castle area, walking down the stairs, heading towards the underground.

Beneath the narrow staircase, the underground space opened up into something unexpected and quite extensive.

This was an underground dungeon.

The environment was dark and damp, with an unpleasant moisture lingering in the air, and shockingly large bloodstains adorned the fragmented mud walls.

Behind the iron bars, several inmates with lifeless eyes lay in corners, having seemingly lost all sparkle, simply languishing there.

...But they still bore an uncanny resemblance to the princess.

However, unlike the maids and servants above, they appeared younger and more beautiful—even being locked up in a dungeon, they seemed well cared for.

Hearing movement, they slightly raised their heads, and then, as if they saw something, they became visibly excited.

They abruptly stood up and, like dashing against the bars, they clung to the iron grating, their eyes filled with longing.

Like dogs with tongues outstretched, they pressed eagerly against the bars, as though waiting for something.

"What is this?" Su Ming’an looked at the princess.

"Su Rin, you haven’t had a proper meal since your return," the princess said, her gaze lowered as she carefully wiped her delicate fingers with a white handkerchief.

The soft white cloth slipped over the back of her hand, revealing her blood-red fingernails. She kept her head down, her voice still carrying a gentle laugh, "...Please, help yourself."

"What?"

"A meal to welcome your return," the princess smiled, "It’s a bit makeshift, but such matters cannot be laid out in the open, so please forgive me."

Su Ming’an’s gaze moved.

Following her line of sight, he saw that the "food" the princess referred to shockingly consisted of several young women who looked just like her.

...Did she know he was from the Soul Clan?

But ever since he had started from the instance, he hadn’t felt the so-called hunger of the Soul Clan, nor had he ever laid a hand on humans.

He glanced at the girls who seemed mad, like wild beasts, and had no intention of laying a finger on them.

"What’s the matter you wanted to discuss with me?" He changed the subject.

The handkerchief in the princess’s hand slipped and fell.

She had no intention of picking it up, just slowly turned her head to look at him.

"Won’t you eat?" she asked.

"Let’s talk about the important things first," Su Ming’an said.

"..." The princess leaned forward slightly.

Her light-colored eyes, always full of smiles, were now filled with aggressiveness.

Like a wild beast finally revealing its killing intent, her gaze locked tightly onto him.

"If you don’t eat, they will commit suicide and die," her voice seemed to carry a strong sense of compulsion, "Do you know what they will do next? Their nails are long and sharp... they can easily scratch their necks and draw blood. Then, they’ll pick up the pace and the force, enlarging those bloody scratches... until they claw their necks open and draw blood."

Her voice echoed ethereally in the gloomy underground dungeon.

The light from above shone on her face, emphasizing the detachment in her eyes.

And the women who heard this started to show looks of disappointment and depression, as if they knew they were being shunned.

Indeed, they began to raise their hands and scratch at their necks.

"After their necks bleed, they will not stop; they will keep scratching, keep clawing... until the scratches gradually widen, until the skin peels off, until blood flows profusely, revealing a stretch of ghastly white neck bone..." The princess continued to speak.

Her voice was light and airy, as if unaware of the eerie nature of her words.

Meanwhile, the group of women had already scratched their necks enough to draw blood, which began to show.

From the beginning to end, they did not scream or show any signs of resistance; it was as if they were actively choosing to do so. Even more, their eyes were full of longing as they stared at Su Ming’an, almost pleading with him to hurry up and eat them.

Dampness swirled around him, as if seeping into his body. He watched the scene unfold before him, stepping back slightly, his foot pressing into a patch of congealed blood.

"What exactly is going on here?" he asked.

The princess smiled.

"It seems you really aren’t hungry," she said.

She approached the group of madly scratching women, took out a key, and unlocked the iron bars.

In the longing gaze of the girls, she raised her hand and stabbed it into the chest of one of them.

Blood splattered.

Fresh blood spattered on her fair face as she retracted her hand, now holding a vibrant Heart of the Soul Clan.

The person collapsed with a blissful expression, as if her wish had been fulfilled.

The princess licked the blood off her hand and swallowed the Heart of the Soul Clan whole.

Her movements were slow and graceful, and she ate with small bites, chewing slowly - as if enjoying a delicate pastry.

The bright red blood slowly slid down her slender fingers, blending into the crimson nails.

Su Ming’an watched her savor the "delicacy," observing her insert her hand into the chest of the next person, eating their Heart of the Soul Clan bite by bite.

Suddenly, she turned her head to look at Su Ming’an.

"What’s the matter? You have a look as if you’re watching a farce," her tone was like that of an innocent young girl, "Is it strange for humans to raise the Soul Clan?"

"The Soul Clan can raise humans, treating them as slaves, as reserves for food. So as a human, is it strange for me to keep some Soul Clan for eating?" The princess smiled.

The light illuminated her brows and eyes, her blood-stained smile appearing delicate and gentle.

"You see," she said while eating the Heart of the Soul Clan, like she was nibbling on a large chunk of finger cookies, "these girls were indoctrinated from birth with the belief that ’being eaten by the Soul Clan is an honor,’ their entire lives are for the purpose of being eaten—therefore, by satisfying their wishes, I am fulfilling their desires. Su Rin, you are a bit too heartless, they just found out they are so despised by the Soul Clan, they know their life’s wish is shattered, they really feel so desolate they want to commit suicide..."

"How so? Do you think this is absurd?"

"No," Su Ming’an said. "It’s just that people’s lifelong desires have been distorted. On closer thought, it’s not much different from the current state of Pulaya. It’s just that their desires are more twisted than those of the soul hunters who fight blindly."

"Yes," the Princess smiled. "Moreover, their deaths are far more valuable than those of soul hunters. The Heart of the Soul Clan helps humans in their cultivation, and they are also fighting for the future of Pulaya. In a way, they ’die with purpose.’"

"Can you explain why they all look like you?" Su Ming’an asked.

"Eh."

The Princess suddenly paused.

Her wiping motion stopped slightly. "You don’t know about this?"

Before Su Ming’an could reply, she continued, "...It seems the deity didn’t tell you these things. Never mind, I’ll tell you. These are some ’new gifts.’"

"New gifts?"

"The gifts bestowed upon us by the deity," the Princess said. "These people are the ’nurturing grounds’ for my next generation."

Su Ming’an frowned slightly.

He had a vague idea of what this was.

"You might have heard that the princesses of the Royal Family have the blood of Sirens," the Princess said. "The legend is not wrong, but there is some discrepancy from the truth. What she has is not the blood flowing through her body, but the soul of a Siren. She has fused with the Siren’s soul. Unfortunately, this is not replicable; only that generation of princess had it."

"One generation?"

"The one over sixty years ago when you ascended to the skies," the Princess said with a smile. "Didn’t you meet her back then?"

Su Ming’an thought back.

Indeed, in Su Rin’s Memory Stone, there was such a scene.

In the alleyway more than sixty years ago, as he was about to leave, the princess of that generation cried and apologized for his sacrifice.

"What a pity, the Siren soul of that generation was merely an accident. It was an unexpected gain when the young princess ran away to sea, not something that could be passed on..." the Princess said. "But at that time, Pulaya was in a crisis. The Siren soul could suppress the rampaging sea monsters, but what to do once the lifespan of that generation’s princess came to an end... She, with the Siren soul, could not be transformed into a member of the Soul Clan and had only a meager one hundred years of life..."

She seemed very troubled as she spoke.

But Su Ming’an had grasped the meaning.

"So," the Princess turned her head, her smile dignified as she looked at him:

"—the deity granted her the ability to ’live forever.’

"She had many, ’nurturing grounds’ identical to her. She used divine power to transform their bodies, making them more and more like her...

"Among them, the finest body, the most compatible with the Siren soul, became her ’next generation’ after killing all the other copies.

"She gained a youthful body, and thereafter, carried her soul to ’live forever’ in the new body."

Su Ming’an was silent for a moment: "The princess before me is that generation, isn’t she."

"Correct." The Princess smiled:

"...That’s why I said, ’Long time no see.’

"Long time no see, Su Rin."

Su Ming’an looked at the princess before him, who was leisurely eating the heart of the Soul Clan with blood on the corner of her mouth, looking like a madwoman.

For a moment, he recalled the young princess in the Memory Stone, who would cry, clutching her head over an inevitable sacrifice, and say "I’m sorry" with a look of utmost clarity in her eyes.

...And the Su Rin from the Memory Stone, who was bright and hearty, like a young lad.

More than sixty years had passed, and time, like a violent chemical reagent, had changed all those who had initially been true-hearted.

Immortality had become the most severe shackle upon them.

Without a firm will, "immortality" is not a fortunate gift for humans.