All Chapters of The Risen Ghost: Master of the Chaotic Origin : Chapter 111
- Chapter 120
134 chapters
Chapter 111 (The ghost in plain sight) Han Ruo’s POV
The ritual chamber was silent except for the steady hiss of incense burning in the bronze basin.Sandalwood smoke curled upward in pale ribbons, gathering beneath the carved ceiling beams like restless spirits searching for form. I sat cross-legged in the center of the ritual chamber, the silk of my ceremonial robes heavy against my skin. Outside, the heavens were screaming; a violent, cleansing downpour that battered the palace roofs without mercy, the storm turned the entire imperial city into a drowned graveyard of shadows and silver.I closed my remaining eye, letting the darkness behind the lid expand.In that darkness, I mapped the board.Lately, the palace had become too loud with movements.The emperor was tightening surveillance across the inner palace, even outside our ritual chambers. Patrol rotations changed without warning, new unfamiliar faces replaced ordinary guards, even the maidservants were changed. The emperor masked it well, under the pretense of using guards
Chapter 112 (The one behind the prince) Han Ruo’s POV
I closed my eye briefly.Even now the realization carried weight. Not because of sentiment, not because his aura was different, not because he possessed something even I don’t understand.. but because of consequences.The Long bloodline was a poison to the stability of the Empire. If Long Chen resurfaced publicly, old factions would awaken overnight. The nobles still loyal to the previous emperor would crawl from their graves.The military would fracture. The court would split open. Ministers would plead loyalty to the strongest. Civil war would follow. The word ‘balance’ would collapse.And I, Han Ruo, had sacrificed too much preserving balance to allow the Empire to drown in old ghosts.Which was why the real danger was not Long Chen himself. It was the person helping him.That hidden hand understood exactly what it was doing.Someone was carefully cornering Wei Jue, using Long Chen as both knife and bait.The dead should stay buried, I thought, the old ache in my facial scar thrummi
Chapter 113 (The emperor’s blind spot) Wei Jue’s POV
The weight of the crown had never felt so heavy. I leaned back in the dragon throne, my fingers tracing the cold, carved jade of the armrest. The Council Hall was filled with the rhythmic, suffocating drone of the High Ministers, but my mind was leagues away, buried in the scrolls currently locked in my private study.I had spent the last three nights dismantling Han Ruo’s life and history, beyond what the palace records carried. On paper, Han Ruo was one of the empire’s mighty pillars. A man who had surrendered his blood-stained general’s plate and dignified sword for the silk of a priest to maintain the world’s balance. But the deeper I dug, the more that balance looked like a carefully constructed lie.There were holes in his history. Massive, gaping voids. A five year period during and after the border wars in his military records simply... disappeared. No campaigns, no casualties, no commendations. It was as if Han Ruo had never swung a blade during that war, but he was there
Chapter 114 (The last incense) Chen’s POV
Sleep didn't come.Every time I closed my eyes, the image of that steaming teacup burned behind my eyelids. You’re chasing the wrong hand.The words looped endlessly through my skull like a curse whispered through hollow walls.And then, there was another bigger issue. “Two eyes. No scar.” Wei’s words had systematically dismantled the fragile structure of my suspicions. If the man who visited us in our absence wasn’t Han Ruo or his ghost… then who was he?If Han Ruo wasn't the shadow orchestrating this nightmare from the dark, then I had spent too long staring at the wrong executioner.By dawn, my mind was a fractured maze. I forced myself back into the guard uniform, the fabric stiff and cold against my skin. As I walked the high stone pathways toward the grand ritual chambers, my eyes cataloged every passing robe.It has to be a Taishi.No lower official, no mere minister could command the resources to mask their presence so flawlessly, let alone control the palace without leavin
Chapter 115 (The sealed hollow chamber) Chen’s POV
The silence that followed the slamming of the bronze doors didn’t last.It was swallowed instantly by the spirit chant.Dozens of Taishis including the young apprentices remained prostrated on the freezing stone, their foreheads pressed against the stone floor, their voices merging into one vast, ancient sound that pressed against my ribs from the inside.This was the final stage. I knew the protocol; they were pouring their collective spiritual reserves into the array, anchoring the tether between the palace and the heavens.Above us, the sky answered.A violent crack of thunder ripped through the grey morning. The hall trembled faintly beneath my boots as spiritual pressure gathered within the sealed sanctuary beyond the bronze doors. The pressure was familiar; I had witnessed this ritual as a child prince countless times from elevated viewing pavilions beside my father.This was normal. After the Head Taishi enters and initiates the first prayer, the heavens weigh his cultivatio
Chapter 116 (Ashes beneath heaven) Wei Jue’s POV
The rain had begun to drizzle by the time the final stage of the ritual began.From the Upper Pavilion, the entire ceremonial district of the palace could be seen beneath the grey heavens; the towering prayer halls, the bronze lantern lines, the drifting incense smoke rising from the sacred sanctuary like threads binding earth to the skies.Or at least…That was what it was supposed to look like.The upper pavilion smelled of cedarwood, rich wine, and the gamey tang of dried deer meat.It was an ancient tradition, a rare moment of feigned camaraderie where the Emperor and his highest ministers sat in elevated comfort to await the conclusion of the Heaven-Anchoring rite. Below us, the faint, rhythmic hum of the Taishis’ spirit chant drifted up through the rain, a soothing blanket of sound that promised continued stability for the empire.“The storm eased faster than expected this year,” Minister Qiu remarked lightly, warming his hands over a bronze heater. “It seems the heavens contin
Chapter 117 (An anchor for the shattered) Chen’s POV
The door slammed against the wall hard enough to shake the entire house as I kicked it through.Yan Hu shot upright from the low table near the herb furnace, nearly knocking over a tray of drying roots. Long Wei turned sharply from the window, his expression instantly tightening the moment he saw the blood soaking through my arms.The storm outside followed me in, a spray of freezing rain cutting through the humid, suffocating heat of our safe house. My breath came in heavy, jagged tears, my muscles still vibrating with the terrifying, absolute resonance of the Sovereign's power I had just unsealed. But I didn't have time to master my own trembling energy.I had a dying man in my arms.“…Chen?” Yan Hu’s voiced sounded like an echo. With a harsh stride, I crossed the room and laid Han Ruo onto the low wooden bed. The white ceremonial robes of the Head Taishi were ruined, scorched black at the hems, soaked through with dark, thickening blood that smeared across the clean sheets.Yan Hu
Chapter 118 (An Anchor's path) Long Wei’s POV
The shivering boy who lay screaming in the dark of Gu’s Cauldron died a long time ago.I had to remind myself of that as I stepped between Brother Chen and Brother Hu, my heart hammering fierce and steady against my ribs.Their gaze and attention turned to me and for the first time, I didn't see pity in their eyes. I saw fear, but it wasn't for what I was. It was for what I was about to do.They listened, judged and argued for minutes before they finally agreed to use my help. "Sit," Brother Hu commanded, his hands trembling as he reached into his medicine bag. His usual calm aura was entirely gone, replaced by a frantic, jagged energy. "Sit, Wei, and listen to me very carefully."I sat on the bed with my legs crossed beside the dying Head Taishi. The room smelled of bitter herbs, rain, and the thick stench of Han Ruo’s blood."Your mind is going to want to wander," Brother Hu said, pressing a small, clay vial into my hands. The liquid inside was thick and black as ink. "Drink it. It
Chapter 119 (Jagged pieces) Long Wei’s POV
“Now who do we have here?”The voice was smooth, cultured, and dripping with the dark, leisurely amusement of a predator who had just found a new toy in its cage.My breath trapped itself in my lungs. I stood paralyzed in the bloody water.Across the pavilion, Han Ruo continued to smile. He picked up a white weiqi stone and placed it on the board with a soft clack sound. Just like every part of the memory, Han Ruo was a ghost trapped in a loop, completely unaware that the entity across from him had just broken the rules of reality.Whatever you see there is not real. They’re at the rot memories of a dying old man. Brother Hu’s warning echoed faintly in my mind. Even though I wanted to be strong and deny the facts, I knew Han Jun could see me. The faceless scholar rose from the table. The movement was impossibly smooth, lacking the natural hesitations of a human body. As he stepped away from the pavilion, his pristine robes dragged through the blood-soaked water, yet they did not di
Chapter 120 (He saw me too) Long Wei’s POV
The courtyard violently ripped apart.I crashed into mud and the next thing I saw was chaos. The smell of burning flesh and hot iron hit me so hard I gagged.Siege towers burned like massive torches against a black sky. Spiritual energy tore through the clouds in streaks of violent crimson and gold, shattering mountains in the distance. The ground shook under the stampede of thousands of screaming men.This memory was dense, heavy and real. Through the smoke and flying arrows, I saw him; General Han Ruo. He was a demon of war, his heavy armor shattered and slick with gore. His sword carved through enemy ranks in desperate, sweeping arcs. One side of his face was a ruined mess of blood from a fresh, jagged scar, but he didn't retreat. He stood at the front, taking the brunt of the assault, shielding the younger soldiers, his voice shattered through the atmosphere boosting his soldiers morale as they leapt forward in full force. He wasn't the calm Taishi I saw. He was a protector, bl