In a somewhat oppressive atmosphere, after a long pause, the King finally spoke slowly.
His mouth did not move, but his voice emanated from his abdomen.
"I am a king, yet I have never had an heir, no son. This has been a constant worry for me, but my body can no longer bear children."
"Therefore, I raised Loulan as a son, hoping she could inherit the family business. I would watch her every training session from behind the scenes—being exiled to the desert, trapped in dungeons, and collecting herbs alone in Black Snake Valley."
"I saw it all. She is my pride. Though I never said it aloud, I knew it better than anyone."
As the King spoke, the Princess was moved.
"I was strict with her because she is a princess, the future queen. She must have a cold demeanor."
"My resentment, alas, is also because of you, Loulan."
Upon hearing this, Princess Loulan became somewhat flustered.
She rarely spoke to her father in her life.
She might not even speak a word to him in a day.
This was much like contemporary students, whose interactions with their parents often revolve around money, topping up their transport cards, and exchanging red envelopes, with hardly any deep communication.
Now, hearing the King's words, Princess Loulan was touched.
But she was unsure if it was true.
"After her death, to be so humiliated... she was my daughter, and yet I could only rely on her alone to protect the people, to protect the city. I always forced others, but my own strength was not even as good as hers."
"I hate my lack of strength, I hate that I am just a coward. So, I gathered the souls of everyone in the city. I protected them for so long, it's time they contributed some strength for me."
"I killed the souls of the enemy soldiers who invaded Loulan. They are not worthy of lingering in my Loulan."
The King's voice gradually became trembling, and then cold.
There was a hint of madness.
Zhang Tian remembered the blacksmith.
"The princess has gone mad."
Was that princess referring not to the Princess, but to the King?
Wasn't his current state no different from madness?
Princess Loulan had not expected that her death would have such a profound impact on her father.
But how had she never noticed his efforts before?
"Is all of this true?"
Princess Loulan looked bewildered.
The King remained silent; the answer was self-evident.
Zhang Tian looked at Princess Loulan.
"It's your turn. Why did you dislike him, why did you hate him, why did you attack this place so many times?"
Zhang Tian asked, and Princess Loulan also began to speak.
"I was left to fend for myself since I was young, enduring countless hardships. My only companion was that white camel."
"Perhaps, in my heart, it was my only family."
"As for my father, the most I heard were tales of how he cared for the children of common families, showering them with affection, yet I was never shown any concern."
"When I was on the brink of death several times, where was he? When I was attacked by desert monsters, where was he?"
"In the end, it was still me defending Loulan, yet even in death, I never saw him come to save me."
Princess Loulan poured out a torrent of words.
Lin Tian took a breath. It could be said that the resentment of these two people was born from each other.
They both liked to bottle things up, burying countless small matters in their hearts, only for them to erupt in the end.
"Old Hu, I feel like I'm playing the role of a peacemaker."
Fatty whispered from the side.
"Boss calls this subduing the enemy without fighting. You wouldn't understand."
Hu Bayi said. Fatty looked depressed; good heavens, he didn't understand again.
"Tch, as if you understand emotions that well."
Fatty scoffed. He had figured it out; as soon as he found something he was slightly good at, he would immediately praise it profusely.
Hu Bayi was dumbfounded. What was wrong with this fatty? He was even getting smug.
"No, it's not like that, it's not like that."
The King denied it as he heard Princess Loulan's heart-wrenching cries.
He wanted to prove himself, but he just didn't know what to say.
He was inherently not good at expressing himself.
"Towards outsiders, he was respectful and amiable. Towards his own, he was cold and distant. Alas."
Zhang Tian sighed deeply.
Then, Zhang Tian thought for a moment and spoke.
"Legend has it that on the path to the underworld, after crossing the Naihe Bridge, you will see memories of your past life, and the memories of others. Perhaps, walking across, the answers will become clear."
"However, Princess, I feel that the King's words are not lies. After your death, he led the people to the battlefield."
As Zhang Tian spoke, Princess Loulan was stunned.
She knew that her father would rather die himself than implicate the people of the city. There was a saying, wasn't there?
"If I don't go to hell, who will?" Princess Loulan knew her father's stance on Buddhism well. Seeing him now, willing to risk the lives of the entire city...
Even imprisoning their souls.
Thinking of this, Princess Loulan looked at the corpse before her again. She felt that he seemed different from before.
"Is it that some things can only be understood when seen with one's own eyes?"
Princess Loulan murmured.
Both she and the King were such people; they wouldn't shed tears until they saw the coffin, stubborn to the end.
Otherwise, their conflict would not have lasted so long.
"Some things are not necessarily true even if seen with one's own eyes, but seeing them firsthand is always better than hearing about them and making guesses in your heart."
Zhang Tian spoke, then looked at the King.
"I see your resentment is dissipating. Those people have gained their own consciousness, and they don't seem to have blamed you."
"I suggest releasing those people first."
Zhang Tian said. The King did not speak, likely agreeing to this matter.
Zhang Tian nodded, then produced a talisman.
Following that, Zhang Tian walked towards the mural on the wall.
The people in the mural were even more lifelike.
Without hesitation, Zhang Tian affixed a Yanluo Talisman to it.
The Yanluo Talisman, commonly known as the Ghost Talisman.
This type of talisman was similar to Buddhist salvation rituals, capable of achieving reincarnation.
In truth, Taoist culture is no less than Buddhist culture, but few people pay attention to it.
Most people prefer to embrace novelties from abroad, thus neglecting our own excellent traditions.
"Roar..."
As the talisman was affixed, black smoke began to billow from the mural.
Simultaneously, black smoke also billowed from the King's body.
It was clear that when the spirits in the mural were absolved, it was equivalent to the King's resentment being absolved.
If the mural was absolved, the King would also be absolved, by the same principle.
"This is..."
Princess Loulan was startled. Her heart trembled, but she did not intervene.
"Thank you, brother."
At this moment, a familiar voice called out.
The next moment, the familiar appearance of the blacksmith emerged.
After the blacksmith appeared, he handed Zhang Tian two jade pendants.
"This is for you. I hope it helps. Finally, liberation."
With these words, his figure entered the ground through streaks of black lines.
Zhang Tian, however, was left with two jade pendants.
He knew without a doubt that one was for body refinement, and the other was for artifact refinement.
The King's figure also began to dissipate.
"The truth will come to light. Loulan, I have wronged you."
With the King's final words, his physical body vanished into thin air.