Soul Contamination

Meanwhile, by the time Zhang Ye and Constantine returned to the League of Assassins’ fortress, it was already late at night.

Since the two of them had both dealt with Damian Wayne, the current leader, the Assassins standing guard outside did not stop them. After a merely symbolic exchange, they quickly let the two inside.

Only after entering the fortress did Zhang Ye realize that there was more to it than met the eye. Unlike its Chinese-style exterior, the inside resembled an enormous maze. Since the fortress was embedded into the mountainside, its interior was far larger than Zhang Ye had imagined.

Although it was late, no one seemed to have any intention of resting.

They had been talking for some time. Kara and Clark sat together. Though this was their first meeting, there was little distance between them; clearly, they had already come to see each other as close family.

It made sense. At this moment, they needed each other more than anyone. With the trust of family bound by blood, they could encourage one another and emerge stronger from the fragility in their hearts.

Damian Wayne and Jason, on the other hand, looked far less harmonious. Jason sat alone in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, staring darkly at Damian Wayne across from him, while Damian Wayne held an ice pack to his face with an awkward expression.

The two had gotten into a fight right from the start. Although Jason had gone all out, he had only wanted to vent. After all, Damian Wayne was Bruce’s son, and he did not want to hurt the kid too badly.

But later, when Jason saw Dick Grayson, who had been killed by Doomsday Para-demons and then revived after Damian Wayne soaked him in the Lazarus Pit, he dragged Damian Wayne off without a word and gave him a brutal beating. This time, he truly held nothing back, aiming every blow at his face.

Everyone tried to stop him, only to find they could not. If Black Canary had not intervened in the end, an enraged Jason might have torn one of Damian Wayne’s legs off.

Of course, despite getting beaten badly, Damian Wayne harbored no resentment toward Jason at all.

He knew why he had been beaten, and he knew why Jason was so furious.

The Lazarus Pit was no wonderful thing. Though it possessed the power to revive the dead, the consequences of that power were often far worse than one might imagine.

Pulling a dead soul back from hell this way would inevitably contaminate its once-pure soul during rebirth.

But could a soul really be contaminated?

As someone who had experienced it firsthand, Jason had clearly felt what it was like for his soul to be tainted by evil. The experience of seeming to be filled with madness, his eyes brimming with bloodlust, was something Jason never wanted to go through a second time in his life.

Sometimes, he even wished he had never been revived. This kind of rebirth had made him realize with certainty that he was no longer the person he had once been. During the time after he returned to Gotham to fight for justice, he had felt more like a demon.

And under those circumstances, seeing Dick Grayson, who had been revived through the Lazarus Pit, Jason could no longer suppress his anger.

Damian Wayne did not understand what kind of power this was. What he had done was trample on the dignity of Dick Grayson’s sacrifice as a hero.

Looking at Dick Grayson, who had fallen into extreme, uncontrollable madness, Jason felt as though he were seeing his former self. How could he possibly keep his temper in check?

After all that had happened, no one else was in the mood to chat. When they prepared to find Zhang Ye, their backbone, they realized that Zhang Ye and Constantine had disappeared somewhere.

So they sat quietly in the room and waited for Zhang Ye and Constantine to return. That wait lasted more than three hours.

When Zhang Ye and Constantine entered the hall, they too noticed that the atmosphere was somewhat off.

"Where did you go?"

Kara was naturally the first to notice Zhang Ye. The moment she saw him, she immediately stood up, her eyes full of concern.

"We just went for a walk. Don’t worry." Zhang Ye smiled, then patted Constantine on the shoulder. "Constantine and I had some magical insights to exchange. As you know, the magic in our two worlds isn’t the same."

Constantine did not mind Zhang Ye patting his shoulder. He merely lit a cigarette and called out to Damian Wayne. "Have your people bring out some liquor. I need to relax properly."

For some reason, Damian Wayne thought Constantine sounded slightly cheerful, but he did not think much of it. One hand covered his swollen face while the other gestured for the Assassins to arrange some drinks.

"Zhang Ye, I… I might need to ask… ask you for a favor."

Seeing Zhang Ye take a seat, Jason, who had been unable to wait any longer, immediately spoke. However, he was not someone who usually asked others for help, so the words did not come easily.

Zhang Ye could see Jason’s helplessness. From his evasive glances and Damian Wayne’s badly beaten face, Zhang Ye understood what he wanted help with.

"Is it because of Dick Grayson?" Zhang Ye picked up a cup of tea that had already been poured. Not caring whose cup it was, he took a light sip.

At once, everyone’s attention turned toward Zhang Ye.

"You… you already knew?" Jason sighed stiffly.

"Yes, I had heard something about it. I’ve also heard a few things about the Lazarus Pit in this universe. But you should know that the side effects of soaking in that pool vary in severity from person to person." Zhang Ye set down the cup and spoke softly.

"I know. I experienced it myself, so I understand it especially well," Jason said seriously.

No, you don’t.

Looking at Jason Todd’s determined expression, Zhang Ye could not help picking up the cup again.

Indeed, in many branches of DC’s Multiverse, Jason’s resurrection had been attributed to soaking in the Lazarus Pit. But Zhang Ye knew that what had truly brought Jason back to life was Superboy-Prime’s destruction of the Wall of Reality.

During the Infinite Crisis event, Superboy-Prime had damaged the Wall of Reality, known as the origin of reality. The violent disturbance in time and space had been no less than throwing a punch at the Multiverse’s timeline. That power had forcibly rewritten certain established facts that had already occurred in some universes.

Jason’s death had been one of them. That reshaping of reality had caused Jason to crawl directly out of his grave.

At the same time, that large-scale destruction of reality had affected many parallel universes, causing Jasons in most universes to return from the dead for one reason or another.

And this, in turn, had allowed Jason’s madness after soaking in the Lazarus Pit to be kept under control, rather than becoming as severe as what others had suffered.

Watching Zhang Ye’s expression gradually turn solemn, the hope in Jason’s heart instantly plummeted. He did not know whom else he could turn to if even Zhang Ye could not help Dick Grayson.

"There’s an old saying in China: ‘The wise do not speak of strange phenomena, strength, disorder, or spirits.’ It seems you truly haven’t inherited Bruce’s teachings. Aren’t you curious why Batman never willingly touches this sort of thing?" Constantine said with a chuckle.

But he swiftly changed the subject and looked at Zhang Ye. "Of course, you don’t need to worry. Witch Raven has a way to deal with your stray little bird. What he’s thinking about now should be something else. By the way, is there no whiskey here?"

Ignoring Constantine’s last remark, Jason immediately stood up and looked at Zhang Ye hopefully. Even Damian Wayne could no longer remain calm, and his face filled with delight.

"You really have a way to save Dick Grayson?"

"Don’t get too excited. I do know a little about some evil, dark powers." Zhang Ye set down his now-empty cup again and carefully chose his words before answering.

"But removing Soul Contamination is not an easy matter. I can only say that I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to resolve this problem."

Upon hearing that, Damian Wayne suddenly felt no pain at all from the wounds on his face. He hurried to Zhang Ye’s side, wishing Zhang Ye could begin treating Dick Grayson immediately.

If there was anyone Damian Wayne had wronged most in his life, it was undoubtedly the first Robin, the current Nightwing, Dick Grayson.

After Damian Wayne formally joined the Bat-Family, Dick Grayson had cared for him like a gentle older brother, attending to him in every possible way.

Damian Wayne knew that Dick Grayson and his father had some misunderstandings between them. Both were stubborn, and neither was willing to lower his head. In the end, Dick Grayson rarely returned to the Batcave. But Dick Grayson had never taken those emotions out on Damian Wayne.

Even Dick Grayson’s sacrifice had been because he wanted to save Damian Wayne from the Doomsday Para-demons.

If not for that, Damian Wayne would not have disregarded everything and taken Dick Grayson’s body away, insisting on using the Lazarus Pit to bring him back despite everyone’s attempts to stop him.

Seeing Damian Wayne and Jason both looking utterly impatient, Zhang Ye said no more and rose to his feet.

"Then take me to see him."