"No, I cannot accept this…." Han Shun murmured as he continued shaking his head. He clenched his fist once more, trying to hold the rage building up inside his body. "I've built everything and thrown myself to the devil, so I can be with him. How… HOW COULD THIS BE?!"

Han Ye had a thin, mysterious smile, "No need to be so devastated, Han Shun."

Han Shun lifted his head and glared at Master Han Ye, who was still resting easily on the same spot. Han Shun got aggravated because he was devastated right now, and Master Han Ye didn't seem to care.

"Master Han, do you not realize I'm also your responsibility? I am your disciple, for fuck sake!" Han Shun yelled desperately. He was so close to jumping into the deep lake under the pavilion and ending it all because there was no point in living without his Bai Gege. 

"Don't be too hasty, Han Shun. You're not over yet," Han Ye replied. "You don't need to act like it's the end of the world."

"IT IS THE END OF MY WORLD!" Han Shun yelled desperately.

"Han Shun, do you not realize how lenient Bai Shijue is?" Han Ye asked. "He is supposed to kill you once he finds that you've been dealing with an evil god. But he let you go and even told you the way to the Undead Swamp, so you could have your own place to stay. He is being unnaturally lenient for being the bringer of the light because he spared a young man— who is basically the apostle of the darkness."

Han Shun didn't get what Master Han was implying here, "Does that even matter? He kicked me out of his life! He forbids me to meet him again, and he even said that he will be the one who kills me if I wreak havoc!" 

"And you truly believed that?" Han Ye asked.

"Of course! Bai Gege is always true to his words!" Han Shun insisted, and Han Ye only chuckled full of mirth as he realized that Han Shun was still a dumb young man who took all of Gege's words at heart. 

"You're such an idiot, Han Shun."

"SHUT UP!" Han Shun was already at his lowest. He didn't need another beatdown, not someone who had tempted him to the dark side. 

"Don't be angry. I was just laughing at your innocence," Han Ye said with a smile. "Han Shun, your Bai Gege will never hurt you. He never does and never will."

"But…"

"Did he ever hurt you even if you made a terrible mistake? I remember that you bullied that kid back in the mortal realm, Han Min. Han Shun scolded you, but he didn't beat you up. He even got to taste the heaven tribulations three times because you got heavily injured, and needed instant recovery, so Bai Yunyu is forced to use his forbidden technique for you three times. You will never feel it because you're not an immortal cultivator anymore. But heaven tribulation is absolutely painful. Even someone as powerful as Bai Shijue will still feel the absolute pain," Han Ye said thoroughly.

Hearing all the sacrifices Bai Gege made for him only made him feel even worse. Han Shun regretted everything now but at the same time…

"To make a pact with you is the only thing I can do…." Han Shun said. "If I didn't make a pact with the evil god, Bai Gege will never see my potential. He will see me as a failure and find another kid to raise until he gets the one."

"Even Bo Pengfei experienced the same, right?" Han Shun asked. "He said that he was raised by Bai Gege until he obtained his golden core at the age of 35, then Bai Gege brought him to the immortal realm."

"But Bo Pengfei didn't live with Bai Shijue. He has his own family and was raised in a master-disciple style. Unlike you, who is raised by Bai Shijue so intimately and generously."

…

Again, these facts only added even more burden to Han Shun's heart. He felt so guilty that he started thinking that killing himself would make everything better for Bai Gege and pay for his mistake.

"If you just want to rub salt to my injury, then you must wait a while, Master Han. Because I'm still absolutely devastated right now…." Han Shun said weakly. 

"That's not what I meant, Han Shun," Master Han Ye finally got up and walked toward the young man. 

Han Ye patted his head and said, "What I mean is… you don't need to be scared of his threat. It is an empty threat. He will never hurt you."

"Don't you see his tear? He is trying to stay calm amidst your betrayal, but his body is honest and cries instead. He also thought about purifying the darkness inside your heart, but because you're my disciple, there is no way for him to do it. The darkness has claimed you at this point."

Han Shun felt that Master Han Ye continued going in a circle, or maybe he just didn't get his point even now, "Then, what should I do next, Master Han? If you say that I need to stay here forever, then I might as well jump to the lake and die."

"Haha! Of course not!" Han Ye laughed amusingly, then looked at Han Ye with a smirk, "You will go to the Undead Swamp with me. You will start your real training to be my disciple."

"And what will I get for doing that? Bai Gege will be even more disgusted if I can control those gross undead…."

"Oh, we're not going to play with undeads. They're gross, indeed," Han Ye said, and he still had the same evil smirk on his face. As if everything had been premeditated according to his plan. 

"We will go into a realm called the empty realm, where my wife imprisoned me for… I don't know how long anymore."

"… and what will I get?"

"Han Shun, you will obtain my power."