Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Fake Zhang Qixi leaped, falling from the twenty-third floor like a butterfly caught in a raging storm.

“She’s getting away!” Chen You shouted. He wanted to rush over and grab Fake Zhang Qixi, but it was already too late.

Mo Chen blurred and instantly appeared in midair.

But just as he reached out, Fake Zhang Qixi laughed and vanished into thin air.

It was spatial ability! Fake Zhang Qixi possessed spatial ability too!

“Trying to run?” Mo Chen’s eyes turned cold. He disappeared from the air as well.

Chen You leaned over the railing, completely at a loss. “What are we supposed to do now?”

Yun Jianyue turned and left the rooftop. “What else can we do? Let the one with the bigger grudge chase her.”

Still dazed, Chen You instinctively followed Yun Jianyue and Si Wuming. The moment they left Zhang Qixi’s company, Chen You’s phone rang.

“What? There was another accident at that intersection?”

After hanging up, Chen You stared at the other two with his clear, slightly foolish eyes.

He said nothing, yet somehow seemed to have said everything.

Yun Jianyue sighed. “Let’s go take a look at the scene.”

By the time they arrived, the people involved and the victim had already been taken away. The police were still there, cleaning up the aftermath.

The county official had also hurried over after hearing about the incident. While Chen You discussed the matter with him, Yun Jianyue and Si Wuming had already finished examining the scene.

“The resentment here is pretty strong.” Yun Jianyue could see it clearly: resentment was continuously seeping up from beneath a large stretch of road in the area.

Si Wuming nodded. “There’s an earthbound spirit.”

This place had once been a mass burial ground. Later, countless unmarked graves had accumulated here, until they were flattened two years ago to build the road.

Many of the dead had lost the places that housed their souls, so naturally, their resentment had grown intense.

Drivers whose birth charts were a little weaker, or who had recently been having particularly bad luck, were easily blinded by ghosts when they drove along this stretch of road. That was what caused the accidents.

With the county official’s request for help, Si Wuming dealt with the earthbound spirit in just a few minutes.

“The earthbound spirit has dispersed, but the resentment hasn’t. You should still file a report with the higher-ups and have specialists come to perform rites and purify the area,” Yun Jianyue reminded Chen You.

Chen You asked, “What about Yu Lu?”

Yun Jianyue fell silent as well. Fake Zhang Qixi had devoured both one of Yu Lu’s souls and one of her spiritual essences. Yu Lu could only wait to die.

Wu Sulian was the truly pitiful one. She had been used so thoroughly without knowing anything at all. In middle age, she had lost her family and home, and now had to bury her own child.

“I’ll try,” Si Wuming suddenly said.

Yun Jianyue and Chen You were both stunned. Neither understood what Si Wuming intended to try.

Under the cover of night, they returned to the psychiatric hospital. Yu Lu’s mental state was fairly stable now; she was merely sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze.

When she saw the three of them, Yu Lu gave them a pale, bitter smile.

“Have you come to see me off?”

Yun Jianyue frowned. “You know?”

Chen You: Know what? Why was he the only one who never understood anything? Why was everyone in this world so fond of speaking in riddles? Could they show a little consideration for a middle-aged man whose brain wasn’t exactly the sharpest?

Yu Lu’s face was deathly pale. She shook her head, then nodded. “As long as my parents can live safely and peacefully from now on, so what if I can’t be reincarnated?”

“It’s not that you absolutely can’t reincarnate. It’s just that your soul is incomplete. You’d have to spend at least ten lifetimes as an animal before you could become human again,” Chen You explained helpfully.

But with the current state of the underworld, even ordinary people had to wait in line for decades before reincarnating. Yu Lu’s remnant soul would probably dissipate before her turn ever came.

Unless they could pull some strings and have an underworld official let Yu Lu cut in line.

And ten lifetimes as an animal probably meant starting out as a paramecium.

Yu Lu accepted her fate.

“Granny Chang once told me that my family was destined to be poor. That no matter what, we could never enjoy wealth or status in this lifetime. At first, I was very unwilling to accept it. Why should my life be decided by some empty, meaningless fate?”

“But now I understand. I’m just an ordinary, powerless person. What could I possibly do to fight back? If I refused to follow fate’s arrangements, my life would only become even more miserable.”

Yu Lu looked at Si Wuming, her expression gradually turning manic. “Am I right? This is how lowly ordinary people like us are. Tell me, am I right!”

Si Wuming grew somewhat tense, unable to understand why Yu Lu was staring at him.

He was not used to being watched. He was more accustomed to hiding in the shadows.

That was why he always ended things quickly, returning to hiding at the fastest possible speed.

That was also why he liked staying with Yun Jianyue. She was dazzling enough that whenever she appeared, everyone’s attention went to her instead of him.

Yun Jianyue took a small step forward. She was petite and could not completely shield Si Wuming from view.

But the moment she stood in front of him, her presence soared to towering heights.

“I know you want to go crazy, but hold off for now,” Yun Jianyue said. “If you go crazy again, watch out. I’ll go crazy first, just to show you how it’s done.”

Lu Changxue: Damn, that’s more like it. That’s my best friend!

Yu Lu had been eager to go mad, but her frenzied expression froze slightly. Yun Jianyue pressed her advantage.
“We’re here to help you, so you’d better cooperate. I’m not some delicate little miss. I have plenty of strength and ways to make you cooperate!”

The more Chen You listened, the more outrageous it seemed. They had clearly come to do a good deed, so why did Comrade Yun look like a tyrant?

If Lu Changxue could hear Chen You’s thoughts, she would surely pat him on the shoulder with the composure of someone far older than her years and tell him this:

You’ll get used to it.

After saying that, Yun Jianyue turned to Si Wuming and asked, “By the way, how are we supposed to help her?”

Yu Lu: ???

This was ridiculous! She didn’t even know how to help her, yet she wanted Yu Lu to stop freaking out first. How was that reasonable?

Si Wuming took incense, candles, and joss paper from his carry-on bag. He lit the incense and candles, then burned the joss paper.

Strangely, although the incense, candles, and joss paper were clearly burning, they gave off no smell at all. There was not even any smoke.

Once the incense and candles had burned away completely, the entire psychiatric hospital suddenly plunged into darkness.

At the end of the corridor, a nurse cried out in alarm, “Why did the power suddenly go out?”

At the same time, the temperature inside the room continued to drop, becoming as cold as an ice cellar.

When the cold nearly froze Chen You to death, an ethereal Road to the Yellow Springs appeared inside the room.

An underworld escort with a fierce face, a broad and heavyset body, a short stature, and a dark complexion stepped out from the Road to the Yellow Springs. He wore a black official hat stamped with four large characters: “Peace Under Heaven.”

This underworld escort was none other than the famous Black Impermanence Fan Wujiu!

“Eighth Master.” Si Wuming dipped his head slightly in greeting.

When Black Impermanence saw that Si Wuming had summoned him, his expression softened considerably. With a trace of respect in his eyes, he returned a slight bow. “Mr. Si. May I ask what important matter prompted you to summon me?”

Si Wuming explained the situation in a few concise words. After listening, Black Impermanence’s gaze fell on Yu Lu, who stood there dumbfounded.

After withdrawing his gaze, Black Impermanence nodded lightly. “This woman has thirteen days of life remaining. Once her allotted lifespan ends, I will personally guide her into reincarnation.”

“Thank you,” Si Wuming said.

Black Impermanence glanced at Yun Jianyue and found her staring at him without blinking. Rather than taking offense, he merely curved his lips into a faint smile before looking away again.

“In that case, I shall take my leave.” Black Impermanence reopened the Road to the Yellow Springs. When his figure vanished at the far end, the phantom of the road dissipated as well.

Even after the room had fallen completely silent, Chen You remained crouched in place with both hands over his head.

He asked cautiously, not daring to look up at all. “Has Eighth Master left? Can I raise my head now?”

“He left a while ago,” Yun Jianyue said.

Chen You cautiously raised his head and glanced around. After confirming that Black Impermanence really was gone, he sprang to his feet and let out a long sigh of relief.

Was Comrade Si a little too incredible? He could even summon an underworld escort holding an official divine position!

Heaven knew, when Chen You saw Black Impermanence, he had nearly stopped breathing and died on the spot! For a Taoist of his cultivation level, looking Black Impermanence directly in the eye meant having one’s life claimed immediately!

“Comrade Yun, why didn’t you crouch down with your head covered just now?” Chen You was still shaken. Fortunately, Black Impermanence had given Comrade Si face. Otherwise, Comrade Yun would have been in serious trouble!

“Is that some kind of rule? Black Impermanence seemed pretty friendly to me. He even smiled at me.” As a relative newcomer to metaphysics, Yun Jianyue had no idea what Chen You was so afraid of.

Chen You’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in shock.

What?

Black Impermanence was friendly?

He was nuclear-friendly, maybe!

That was Black Impermanence, who would claim your life at the slightest disagreement!

Once, there was a young Taoist whose master summoned Black Impermanence. Not understanding the rules, the young Taoist looked at Black Impermanence for a moment too long. Black Impermanence immediately threw him into a cauldron of boiling oil, where he fried eight hundred times before stuffing his soul back into his body.

Afterward, that young Taoist returned to the secular world in tears.

“So I’m the only lowly one here…” Chen You suddenly empathized with Yu Lu. He felt terribly insignificant too.

These two young comrades from the municipal bureau were both far too extraordinary.

One could summon Black Impermanence at a young age and even get him to make an exception.

The other could make Black Impermanence treat her with such kindness that she seemed to be some incredibly well-connected insider.

Yu Lu, whose entire worldview had been shattered, was still standing there in a daze.

Everyone, who would believe it? She had seen Black Impermanence.

Even after everything supernatural she had witnessed, seeing Black Impermanence while she was still alive was an overwhelming shock.

Before leaving, Yun Jianyue pulled an apple from her pocket and handed it to Yu Lu.

“I heard you really like Christmas.”

Yu Lu stared blankly at the apple in her hand. At some point, light snow had begun drifting down outside the window.

So today was Christmas.
When they left the psychiatric hospital, light snow was falling.

The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow as white snow danced through the air.

This small county town welcomed its first snow of the year.

“It’s the first snow! I heard that lies told during the first snowfall are forgiven!” Lu Changxue shrieked.

“Sweetheart, you’d be better off watching fewer Korean dramas. Besides, that’s a Korean drama from many years ago. Korean dramas these days are all about unhinged characters.”
Yun Jianyue spared no effort to ruin the atmosphere.

As a middle-aged man whose edges had been worn smooth by life, Chen You looked at the season’s first snow and could only sigh, “Looks like I’ll be staying up late to write another report.”

Lu Changxue: These humans aren’t even as romantic as a ghost like me!

Yun Jianyue and Si Wuming took a taxi back to City A that night. The taxi dropped Yun Jianyue off at school first.

Before she got out, Si Wuming pressed an apple into her hands.

The Innocent Show-Off King looked at her with a pair of dewy eyes and said softly:

“Merry Christmas.”

Lu Changxue was deeply moved. “Who could withstand that? He really… I’m crying my eyes out!”

Yun Jianyue could withstand it just fine.

She accepted the apple and patted Si Wuming on the shoulder. “Apples are actually supposed to be given on Christmas Eve. I gave Yu Lu an apple because that apple had already been sitting in my bag for half a month.”

The Innocent Show-Off King watched helplessly as Yun Jianyue got out of the car and closed the door. His usually cool and aloof expression cracked slightly.

The driver asked in his booming voice, “Handsome, where should I take you next?”

Si Wuming gave an address in a hollow voice. He covered his face with one broad palm, as though he could no longer bear to face the world.
After an exhausting weekend, Yun Jianyue slept wonderfully.

As for the mission report, that was Si Wuming’s job. What did it have to do with an unaffiliated employee like her?

By the time she woke up, the snow had stopped. Yun Jianyue discovered several missed calls from Zhou Benxin on her phone.

Only after washing up did Yun Jianyue call Zhou Benxin back.

As soon as the call connected, Zhou Benxin’s familiar booming voice echoed through the dormitory from her phone.

“Senior, do you have classes these next few days? Could you come with me to see my sister?”

Yun Jianyue said, “I haven’t had classes in ages. I’m only staying at school so I can use studying as an excuse to avoid clocking in at work. What happened to your sister?”

Zhou Benxin said, “It’s a little complicated. We’d better talk in person.”

The two of them quickly made plans to meet at a restaurant so they could talk over lunch.

Once all the dishes had been served, Zhou Benxin spoke with a solemn expression.

“Actually, my sister is a snake woman.”

Yun Jianyue said, “What? So your family doesn’t have a single normal person?”

Lu Changxue, floating in midair, said, “Take that back and let me make the sarcastic remarks.”

Zhou Benxin no longer needed external help to see Lu Changxue. And it was not only Lu Changxue; he could see many other ghosts as well.

So he heard every word Lu Changxue said.

“Seniors, your complaints aren’t wrong, but could you let me finish first?” Zhou Benxin said, close to breaking down.

The woman and the ghost exchanged a glance, instantly changed their expressions, and became serious, cooperating fully with Zhou Benxin.

Zhou Benxin said, “My sister was born in the summer. At the time, our whole family still lived in the countryside, where snakes often appeared during summer. It was the busy farming season, so my parents would often leave my sister sleeping on the bed while they went out to work.

“Every time they came back, they would find snakes curled up and sleeping at both the head and foot of my sister’s bed. They scattered realgar powder all around the house, but it was useless. The snakes kept coming anyway.

“My grandmother went to a Daoist temple and found a female Daoist practitioner. She said my sister was the reincarnation of a snake woman and would attract snakes until she turned eight. She would also become as sleepy as a snake in winter. In other words, she would hibernate.

“After she turned eight, my sister really did stop attracting snakes to sleep beside her, and she no longer slept for such long periods in winter. But this year, she started hibernating again.

“At first, she didn’t tell me. I called her several times, and when I realized she was sleeping day and night, she finally told me. She’s pregnant now, and I’m worried something might happen to her. Since you’re part of the supernatural circles now, Senior, I was hoping you could come take a look at my sister.”

Yun Jianyue nodded. “Got it. A new instance has appeared.”

“A new storm has appeared! How can we stop moving forward?” Lu Changxue sang excitedly, successfully exposing her childhood memories.

Zhou Benxin: Why do my two seniors seem even more mentally unstable after only a few months apart?

“All right, eat up. We’ll set out as soon as we’re done!” Yun Jianyue began inhaling food at top speed.

After eating, the two humans and one ghost set off on their journey.

They drove from noon until nightfall before finally arriving at Zhou Ruyan’s residential complex.

Zhou Benxin parked in the underground garage. Yun Jianyue watched the scene outside with the eager expression of someone enjoying juicy gossip. “Wow, that young couple is really going at it!”

“What young couple?” Lu Changxue exclaimed, excitedly following Yun Jianyue’s line of sight.

In the corner of the garage, a tall man had a woman pinned against the wall, seemingly locked in a passionate kiss.

No one could resist juicy gossip, and Zhou Benxin was no exception.

He looked over, only for his face to turn dark when he recognized the man’s familiar profile.

The man who appeared to be passionately kissing someone was his brother-in-law!

And the woman wasn’t his sister.