A priest in North America, what the hell is the Demon Gate system?

Li Ang felt a burning pain in his chest; his ribs might be cracked.

James walked slowly and steadily. He looked down at Li Ang, who was lying on the ground, and there was even a hint of a smile on his face.

Even more strangely, James started to speak.

The voice was a deep male voice, with a slight southern accent: "Ridiculous priest... are you that old man's friend?"

Li Ang was startled; the guy who spoke was clearly not James.

"What exactly are you?" Li Ang asked through gritted teeth, his hand secretly reaching into his pocket. The Holy Judgment was still there, but there were only two bullets left, and they were of little use against the corpse refiner.

James suddenly tilted his head playfully. To be honest, it was a bit creepy for a big black man to do that... It reminded him of a character from a Delta Force fan-made animation.

But the next second, the voice coming from James's throat changed, turning into a high-pitched female voice: "No need to waste words with him, let's finish this quickly, we can't let that guy get away!"

"Hmm." A deep male voice came again, and James raised his right foot and stomped down on Li Ang's head!

"Hey—Sherry! Help me!"

"James..."

Suddenly, a soft female voice came, and James slammed his foot down on top of Li Ang's head.

A grayish-white figure appeared at the location of Daisy's tombstone. Judging from the outline, it looked like a middle-aged woman, but the blurred features made it impossible to see her face.

"Mom...?" A hoarse voice came from James's mouth, which was perhaps James's own voice.

"Shirley, pull him out! I'll help you!" Li Ang endured the excruciating pain as he got up, and with a grab in the air with his right hand, he summoned the Soul Banner.

"Help me?" Before Shirley could react, Li Ang's powerful divine sense once again plunged into her body!

"Wow! Wow! Such powerful soul energy...!!"

Shirley cried out repeatedly, but then suddenly realized that her soul power had increased several times over, and instantly understood what Li Ang meant.

Immediately afterward, while James was standing still, Shirley suddenly floated over, placed her hands on James's temples, and pulled him back sharply!

"roar--!"

James let out a terrifying roar, his body trembling violently.

"Now!" Shirley snapped.

Li Ang saw Shirley rip a hazy, gray soul from above James's head; the black crystal on the soul's chest trembled like a heart. After the soul was extracted, James's body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

It peeks out and disappears instantly!

Li Ang suddenly reached into his robes, pulled out the Holy Judgment, and without even having time to aim carefully, he relied entirely on the aid of his divine sense to pull the trigger on the crystal!

"Buzz—!"

A deep and majestic chant burst forth, and the silver patterns on the gun body lit up like flowing water, radiating golden light.

A bullet formed entirely of golden light struck James's soul's black crystal with lightning precision!

"Snap—!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out, and the black crystal exploded instantly!

"Ughh ...

As the crystal shattered, James's soul gradually solidified from a hazy state, and slowly, his features became clear, taking on a shape exactly like his own.

"Mom...Mom..." He looked at the figure in front of the tombstone again, his voice trembling.

Daisy's soul became clearer and gentler upon hearing the word "Mom," as if she had been inspired by something.

"James..." she responded softly, a warm smile on her face.

"My child...how could you..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her eyes were full of heartache.

Normally, Li Ang would definitely use Wa Xuedi's joke to tease him, but at this moment, he just stood silently to the side.

James looked down at the lifeless body on the ground and burst into tears.

"I...I don't know...Mom, I'm so tired, my whole body aches...I feel like I've messed everything up...Waaaaah!" He stood there helplessly, crying loudly, like a child who had made a mistake.

Daisy's soul drifted close to James, and the smoke from the incense gently enveloped the mother and son.

She reached out and stroked James's face.

"I know, child, I know...it's all in the past..." Her voice was so gentle.

Shirley floated to Li Ang's side, looked at Daisy and James, turned her head away, and wiped away non-existent tears.

"...I didn't cry." Her voice was a little choked up.

"Well, after all, you're a soul!" Li Ang retorted subconsciously.

Fuck you!!

Only James's intermittent sobs remained in the cemetery, as if he were releasing all the grievances he had held back for so many years.

"Mom, I'm sorry... I wanted you to live in a big house, but I'm useless... I've let you down..."

"James Dick." Daisy's tone suddenly became more serious, but her eyes remained gentle.

"Look at me."

James looked up blankly.

"I gave birth to you and raised you, not so that you would apologize to me," Daisy said calmly.

"I know you joined the army to give your family a better life. You were injured and suffered, but that's not your fault. This country...this world...sometimes it just unfairly treats the most honest kids."

She paused, her voice softening further: "I am proud of you, always have been, and always will be."

James opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, when suddenly a song came from the direction of the church.

"If you miss the train I'm on, You will know that I am gone..."

"You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles..."

It was Li Ang who had Nia teach the children to sing "500 Miles," and the children's innocent voices sounded incredibly melodious in the evening breeze.

Daisy and James both looked in the direction from which the singing was coming; the church lights were warm and bright in the night.

"I used to sing to you a lot when you were little, didn't I?" Daisy said softly, a peaceful smile on her face.

James stopped sobbing and calmly replied, "Hmm..."

The incense burned to its last flame, and the last wisp of smoke began to dissipate, Daisy's figure gradually fading away.

"Mom!" James reached out his hand.

"Child, it's time to say goodnight." Daisy also reached out her hand, and the mother and son clasped hands together. Soft light emanated from their bodies, which began to dissipate with the wind.

Before completely turning into specks of light, James suddenly turned his head and looked at Li Ang.

"Father."

"Um?"

"Thank you." James looked relieved, his eyes clear.

"Also...be careful of that place."

"Where?" Li Ang immediately perked up, knowing that the task of getting to the bottom of things wasn't over yet!

"An... mirror image of Uldum." James's voice trailed off.

"The power that controls me... comes from there. I see... someone there... building an altar..."

As soon as they finished speaking, James and Daisy's souls transformed into countless pure white specks of light, which dissipated with the evening breeze, leaving only the white earth bathed in moonlight.

[Sect Mission: Investigating the Roots has been completed]

[Task Reward: Contribution Points +50]

[Item Obtained: Tracking Compass]

[Note: The tracking compass can indicate the current location of the target based on items closely related to it.]

The system notification sounded in his mind, but Li Ang just let out a long breath, then leaned back and lay on the cold grass, not wanting to move.

"Finally done..."

Shirley floated to his side and looked down at his tired face.

"Oh ho, still alive? I thought you were going to become a ghost too?" Shirley couldn't help but tease.

"It's still early." Li Ang looked at the starry sky and smiled.

"Besides, my spiritual consciousness is so vast, aren't you afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it if I became a soul?"

"Get out of here!!"

Shirley's face flushed red instantly, and then she flew into the soul banner with a whoosh, no longer making a sound.

"Tsk tsk." Li Ang smacked his lips and finally managed to sit up.

The singing from the distant church stopped, replaced by applause and cheers.

Li Ang stretched his body, walked to James's body, straightened his disheveled clothes, and made the sign of the cross in front of him.

"Goodnight, Bro. You were never in the wrong," he whispered, then turned and left without looking back.

The melody of "500 Miles" seemed to still faintly echo in the night sky. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but the sound was like James and Daisy singing together.

"You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles...."

James's body lay quietly in front of his mother's tombstone, bathed in moonlight, as if covered with a white blanket.