A crushing weight pressed Zhaoyan to his knees. The crushing pressure, a punitive decree from the court above, ground his fractured arm into the paving slabs, sending sharp pain through his nerves. Beside him, Bai Yixue also bent, her pale form shimmering under the strain, her glare promising ruin to anything daring to harm her advocate.
[The First Nuptial Bow: Reverence to the Heavens and Earth.]
The adjudicator’s voice, a dry rasp cutting through the stillness, resonated deep within their chests. Zhaoyan’s neck, stiff with resistance, was forcibly bowed. His vision blurred with pain, the blood from his limb mingling with the dust on the courtyard floor. He glanced sideways, catching Bai Yixue’s gaze. Her eyes, usually pools of jade and shadow, now burned with a vibrant, possessive light, silently urging him on.
[The Second Nuptial Bow: Devotion to the Ancestors.]
Again, the unseen hand shoved them, this time lower, toward the blood-soaked altar where the skeletal remains of forgotten spirits rested in bone-ash urns. The air reeked of tallow, stale funerary frankincense, and copper shavings. Zhaoyan gritted his teeth, every fiber of his being screaming defiance. This wasn't devotion; it was subjugation. He wasn't bowing to ancestors; he was being forced to witness his own execution and Bai Yixue’s unending torment.
He felt Bai Yixue’s cold hand slip into his uninjured one, a surge of invigorating yin-energy flowing into his aching frame, momentarily dulling the edge of the pain. It was a silent promise, a bolstering of their shared resolve. He returned the pressure, a subtle squeeze, acknowledging her strength, her loyalty, and the terrifying, beautiful bond that had twisted around his heart.
[The Third Nuptial Bow: Mutual Respect and Final Binding.]
This was it. The final bend of the neck that would seal his soul to the flagstones, execute him, and condemn Bai Yixue to eternity as an asset for the ancient lord's collection. The downward drag intensified, driving their heads down until Zhaoyan’s nose nearly scraped the altar grime. He could see dark blotches dried into the limestone—centuries of coerced submission and extinguished souls.
But Zhaoyan was no ordinary soul. He was a lawyer. And lawyers didn't bow out without filing the final, devastating motion.
Fueled by Bai Yixue’s cold infusion, Zhaoyan strained against the downward drag. It was like wrestling an invisible mountain, but his will, sharpened by years of legal combat, was an unyielding blade. He couldn’t stand, but he could twist. His left hand, still gripped by Bai Yixue’s, became an anchor. His injured right fingers still gripped the decisive papers.
Just as their foreheads neared the cold altar slab, Zhaoyan roared, tearing through the estate's quiet. “I OBJECT! I FILE FOR AN EMERGENCY DISSOLUTION!”
With a sharp twist of his torso, he slammed the blood-inked talisman onto the slab, the scroll snapping open to exhibit the master's attempted mind assault. Simultaneously, Bai Yixue manifested the elder's black ledger, its stitched pages bursting open to scatter stolen soul-receipts across the altar. The heavy, tome-like ledger landed with a resonant thud, its contents undeniable.
“Under the articles of the realm's statutory code, I, Lu Zhaoyan, advocate for Lady Bai Yixue, hereby move for summary dissolution of marriage against the ‘Qingya Estate’ and all associated parties, including the so-called ‘Patriarch Wither-Bone’!” Zhaoyan’s voice, though hoarse from the strain, rang with the clarity of a courtroom declaration. “I cite extreme coercion, multi-century systemic fraud, documented unconscionable abuse, and aggravated domestic battery!”
The courtyard seemed to stutter. The colossal gravity vanished, releasing Zhaoyan and Bai Yixue from compelled submission. The mourning pipes and funeral gongs that had droned behind the bows abruptly fell silent. The drifting miasma, the ash, and the stagnant air resumed their drift, as if reality itself had reset.
[Motion Acknowledged: Petition for Dissolution of Binding.]
The arbiter’s announcement echoed with curious authority, hollow and flatly objective.
[Evidence Submitted: Record of Assault. Ledger of Spectral Repossessions. Allegations noted: Duress, Fraud, Abuse.]
[Commencing Real-Time Arbitration Protocol: Court in Session.]
The master of the estate, who had stood frozen in snarling triumph, suddenly lunged. His frame surged toward Zhaoyan, calcified knuckles hooked like talons for his throat. “Insolent whelp! You dare desecrate this sacred rite with your mortal lies?!”
But Bai Yixue was faster. A ribbon of her crimson aura snapped outward, hardening into a curved shield before Zhaoyan. The elder's claws struck the barrier, sparking a high-pitched screech of fractured power. The ghost bride’s eyes, now entirely jade green, narrowed into slits. “He speaks for me. Touch him, and I will rip your core to shreds, seam by rotting seam.”
[Violation of Arbitration Protocol: Physical Altercation During Active Session.]
[Warning issued to Patriarch Wither-Bone: Further breaches will result in prompt forfeiture of all claims.]
The magistrate’s voice was a whip-crack, sharp and final. Patriarch Wither-Bone recoiled, his form shuddering with impotent fury. The translucent shield around Zhaoyan held firm under her fierce resolve, her fingers woven securely between his.
“The petitioner demands absolute dissolution of the estate, full release of Lady Bai Yixue from every marital covenant, and total seizure of all holdings wrongfully held by this elder, including Soul-Merit, ancestral tithes, and instance wealth,” Zhaoyan declared. He even managed a slight, triumphant smirk at the Patriarch. “Plus punitive damages for unlawful confinement and severe metaphysical battery.”
A low, guttural growl rumbled from the Patriarch’s chest cavity, a sound like grinding stones. “Preposterous! This charlatan seeks to steal what is rightfully mine! The manor is my inheritance, the bride my property! These documents are forgeries, lies spun by a deceitful mortal!”
[Patriarch Wither-Bone: Rebuttal noted. However, the submitted evidence bears the indelible mark of your own spiritual signature, affixed via the ‘Decree of Ancestral Dominion’ you yourself invoked.]
[Furthermore, the ledger details numerous breaches of the ‘Auspicious Union Edicts’ regarding equitable spiritual exchange, specifically the misappropriation of ancestral Soul-Merit and the forced binding of unconsenting spectral entities.]
A crisp satisfaction settled in Zhaoyan's chest. The system was verifying his exhibits. This was it. The grand finale. The gavel was about to fall.
[The Nether-Court System, having reviewed the presented evidence and arguments, finds the accusations of Duress, Fraud, and Spiritual Abuse to be Substantive.]
[The Petition for Dissolution of Binding is hereby —]
A heavy, resonant *CRACK* echoed through the courtyard. An invisible, colossal gavel descended from the ethereal ceiling, slamming down with the force of a collapsing star. The sound vibrated through the very fabric of reality, shaking the foundations of the manor, causing the paper lanterns to explode into dust, and sending tremors through the ground.
[— GRANTED.]
The single word, spoken by the magistrate, landed like a death sentence for one, and a rebirth for another. A blinding, pure white light erupted from the altar, engulfing the entire courtyard, purging the lingering shadows and the oppressive miasma. Zhaoyan instinctively shielded Bai Yixue with his body, even as the light threatened to tear his vision.
[Final Settlement Declared.]
[The ‘Qingya Estate’ instance is hereby dissolved. All binding obligations and curses originating from Patriarch Wither-Bone are null and void.]
[Patriarch Wither-Bone: Your spiritual assets are seized. Your essence is subject to full repossession by the Nether-Court. Sentencing: Eternal service as a 'Regulatory Effigy' within the lowest tier of the Soul-Repossession Tribunal.]
[Lady Bai Yixue: Your spiritual freedom is restored. All claims against your essence are released. You are discharged from all previous oaths and bindings.]
[Lu Zhaoyan: Your claim to punitive damages is upheld. As the successful litigant, you are awarded full ownership of all remaining spiritual assets within the 'Qingya Estate' instance, including accumulated Soul-Merit, residual spiritual wealth, and the manor’s structural essence. Your performance merits the highest tier of recognition.]
[Instance completion recognized. All participants are now subject to immediate —]
The light intensified to an unbearable degree, threatening to rip Zhaoyan’s consciousness apart. He felt Bai Yixue cling to him, her cold touch the only real thing in the swirling maelstrom of light. He heard a final, enraged shriek from where the Patriarch had stood, swiftly cut short, replaced by a sound like dry bones grinding to dust. Then, a sensation of being stretched, pulled, and compressed all at once, as if the very dimensions were folding around them. He braced against the pull, well aware that even freedom in this bureaucratic hell carried an unforgiving fee.