Jing He hastily stepped inside before closing the door behind him. Only when the light from outside was shut out did he dare to heave a true sigh of relief. He could still be caught but for now, he had some time to put his plan into action. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself before finally looking up.

The repository wasn’t big. In fact, it only consisted of this room. There wasn’t much inside either. The repository was only home to a few artifacts. As for the one he wanted to use … it was lying on an altar on the left side of the room.

Jing He turned to look at the dagger, his brows faintly furrowing. The side of the altar beneath was engraved with a warning but he couldn’t care less. Anyway, those were only words to make those step back who didn’t have the courage to accept the risk that came with using this weapon. It didn’t matter to him though. No sacrifice was too big to ensure that Qiu Ling wouldn’t be deprived of his rights.

He paid no heed to the warning and instead looked at the practical measures to keep this artifact safe, namely, a complicated array on the ground. The faint lines shimmered blue in the darkness, plunging the area around the altar into an eerie twilight.

Jing He studied the array for a moment, not stepping forward. If he did, he would be caught in place and alarm the God of Justice as well. Then forget using the dagger unnoticed, he likely wouldn’t even manage to touch it. No, he needed to disable the array first and then, he could do as he needed. As long as he restored the array afterward, the God of Justice would be none the wiser.

Even though he wasn’t practiced in fighting, he had also enjoyed an all-encompassing education and arrays were something he had picked up easily. His uncle had personally taught him, introducing not just the arrays of the gods but even some from the mortal realm. So this task … it really wasn’t difficult to solve.

He raised his hand, channeled his spiritual energy, and a faint light lit up at his fingertips. He quietly drew the lines he needed to interrupt the array without destroying it. Finally, a smaller array was created. Jing He waved and it slowly sank to the ground, merging with the lines down there.

For a moment, everything in the repository was still, then, the light dimmed and the room was plunged into further darkness. Now, the faint light the dagger gave off became visible. Previously, it had been overshadowed by the light of the array but with that gone, the dagger showed why it could be considered a magical artifact. Clearly, its power couldn’t be considered small.

Jing He didn’t think further and simply stepped forward, reaching out for the weapon. His fingertips hesitated for a moment but then, he still grabbed the handle that was just as blood-red as the blade and picked it up.

Holding the dagger in his hand, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Now, it was time for him to act. He had made it until here. One more step and his plan would be completed.

He turned the weapon in his hand, took another moment to calm himself, and then plunged it into his chest. He gasped at the sharp pain that seemed to engulf his entire being and took a few short gasps to try and suppress the feeling.

This blade didn’t cut the body but the soul. That was why this dagger was called the soul-engraving dagger: If you put it to your own body, you could engrave your soul with whatever it was you wanted. The consequences of doing so would accompany you your whole life though and it was easy to shatter your soul which was why the use of this dagger had long since been forbidden.

Jing He furrowed his brows and closed his eyes, using his spiritual sense to observe his own soul. The tip of the blade had touched it, making a shallow cut at one spot. Compared to what he wanted to do though … this was nothing.

He took a trembling breath and faintly moved the blade, finishing the first stroke of the first word. The pain that had just subsided erupted again, radiating throughout his soul.

He gritted his teeth, pulled the blade back, and then put it to the surface of his soul’s core again, adding the second stroke. The pain made him gasp and he reached out with one hand, holding onto the altar in front of him.

He knew he couldn’t stop. After coming this far, he couldn’t stop before the engraving hadn’t been finished. It was just … it hurt so much. He had gone through a lot of things throughout his life but nothing had ever hurt him this much.

He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself, and finally added another stroke. Unfortunately, the pain didn’t get any lighter. He didn’t get used to it either. Instead, it seemed that each cut seemed to hurt more, the new pain adding to the previous pain that hadn’t quite subsided until his whole being was enveloped in only pain.

His eyelids fluttered but he forced himself to keep his eyes shut while he continued to engrave his soul. He tried to think of Qiu Ling as he did, reminding himself what he was doing this for.

Yes, this was all for the man he loved. It was worth it as long as it could ensure that he wouldn’t betray him while without his memory in the mortal realm. He had to think of that, remind himself over and over again, and he could do this. One day in the future, he would marry that man and would give him what he deserved, without any caveats or any limitations. This was merely his preparation for that day.

Word by word, the engraving took shape until finally, the last stroke was added.

Jing He couldn’t hold on any longer. He gasped, the sound barely audible if not for the fact that the room was completely empty. Every breath he took hurt and he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even pull the dagger out, making it awkwardly linger where it almost touched the surface of his soul, trembling as if it would fall the next moment.

Jing He tightly pressed his eyes shut but it took him almost a minute before he finally pulled the dagger out. His hands trembled and his whole body was coated in cold sweat. He wanted to turn and glance at the door but as soon as he let go of the altar, he fell to the ground, unable to get up again. None of his limbs did as he wanted them to and his thoughts seemed especially slow. If not for the pain still wrecking his body, he might have wondered if he was still alive or if he had accidentally shattered his soul and his body along with it.

He didn’t know how long it took until he managed to turn his body even slightly, lying on his side. Unfortunately, the movement made the pain worse and he could only shut his eyes again, continuing to lie in the darkness without doing anything.

If things continued like this, he might be caught. But then, he didn’t know what else to do. His whole body hurt to the point where even if he wanted to, he couldn’t move even while lying down. Getting up and walking out of the repository was out of the question. If he managed to stumble out of here and was seen by the God of Justice or even just one of the officials, he’d have a lot to explain.

He sighed but it still sounded more like a gasp. In the end, he simply continued to lie on the spot, waiting. When the pain seemed to have subsided by half, he cracked his eyes open again.

Hazy light fell into the room from under the door and blinded his eyes. He groaned faintly and blinked a few times to adjust. Then, finally, when his breath had completely evened out, he reached up and grabbed the edge of a stone altar, pulling himself up to his knees. He remained like that for a moment, half-kneeling, half straightened up until he finally opened his eyes completely.

The signs engraved on the front of the altar fell into his sight. He almost wanted to laugh. Maybe he had underestimated the pain this would cause but then, no matter what, he would do it again if given the choice.