Chapter 82

Chapter 82

“Mogu, I trust you’ve been well.”

At that moment, Ren Fengjue, possessed by the Lord of the Underworld, wore a faint smile. On the surface, he looked no different from usual.

But the Netherworld aura from the Underworld clinging to him was simply too dense.

So dense that, under its influence, the entire Ren Residence seemed to have been transformed into a ghost city.

“Xia Ximo” listened to that name, one that should have been incomparably familiar, and suddenly found it strange.

Mogu.

She had almost forgotten it.

“Only the living are worthy of the words ‘been well.'”

She was the same as ever, proud to the bone no matter whom she faced.

“Ren Fengjue” smiled and nodded. “From the sound of that, you still want to remain in the mortal world?”

Those words made Wuyou, who was huddled in the corner, prick up his ears despite himself.

He thought, I knew the Earth Lord wouldn’t personally come here for no reason!

A strange look flickered across “Xia Ximo’s” face as well. “I still have a chance?”

“You do.”

His answer was firm. “But there are conditions. It depends on whether you’re willing to agree.”

“What conditions?”

“Ren Fengjue” said solemnly, “As that little Daoist said, once the Yin-Yang Fiend is fully refined, it will bring no benefit to my Underworld Administration.”

“I want you to help Ren Fengjue solve the Fu Tower Case and eradicate the ghostly thing behind it. That will be the condition for your resurrection.”

“Of course, after you light the Soul-Ferrying Lantern, you may also enter reincarnation again.”

But “Xia Ximo” fell silent.

After waiting and waiting without hearing a response, Wuyou could no longer care about his fear. He stepped forward and tugged at the hem of her clothes. “What are you still hesitating for? This is such a good chance. Hurry up and take it.”

“I have conditions too.”

No one expected her to answer like that.

Wuyou nearly spat blood.

Naturally, the Lord of the Underworld was displeased to hear this. “Mogu, you are quite bold!”

With the slightest flare of his anger, a chilling wind howled in from every direction, nearly knocking the two Yin Souls floating in midair off balance.

And yet that red figure remained straight-backed, resilient as a pine.

She had never bowed.

Not in the halls of the Underworld Administration a hundred years ago, and not now in the mortal world.

“Xia Ximo” did not so much as blink. She looked at the “person” before her. “The Yin-Yang Fiend can throw the order between the Underworld Administration and the mortal realm into chaos. As the Lord of the Underworld, of course it gives you a headache.”

“I’m helping you solve a problem. Am I not even allowed to make a request?”

At that, “Ren Fengjue” laughed.

Behind that smile was a rare trace of tolerance from the Lord of the Underworld. “Fine. Tell me your request.”

“Xia Ximo” said, “The rules of the mortal world, plus the rules of your Underworld Administration-everywhere I turn, I’m bound hand and foot.”

“With this mortal body of mine and that meager bit of soul power, how am I supposed to fight the ghostly thing in Fu Tower?”

“If my soul and body are separated again, won’t all my efforts be ‘ruined at the last moment’ once more?”

Her tone sounded entirely self-mocking, but Wuyou, standing to the side, broke out in a cold sweat on her behalf.

This woman really dared to say anything!

Sure enough, a hint of wavering appeared between “Ren Fengjue’s” handsome brows, but he said, “Mogu, I’m afraid you’ve forgotten what you’re capable of. Without rules, you’d likely overturn the entire mortal world.”

The corners of “Xia Ximo’s” lips lifted slightly. “No need for praise.”

“…”

“Ren Fengjue” seemed to think for a moment before saying, as if with great reluctance, “At most, I can give you thirty percent of your soul power. That will be more than enough to destroy the ghostly thing in Fu Tower.”

“No.”

She rejected him flatly, leaving no room for negotiation. “I want fifty percent.”

“You!”

Well, well. She actually dared bargain with the Lord of the Underworld!

Seeing that the Earth Lord was about to get angry again, Wuyou wished he could crawl into the lantern right then and there.

Who would have thought that after a long silence, he would actually agree?

“Fine. I will give you fifty percent.”

“But you must also remember this: if you disrupt the karmic order of the mortal world, or if you slaughter the innocent indiscriminately, I will immediately cast your soul back into the Nine Abysses, never to be reborn for all eternity.”
“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

If it had been any other ghost granted special permission by the Earth Lord, they would have dropped to their knees and knocked their head against the ground at least a couple of times.

Yet her expression remained as cool as ever. She stood ramrod straight, exactly as she had a hundred years ago, when a hundred thousand Underworld Runners had escorted her to the Nine Abysses.

She had been imprisoned in that place for a full century.

And her temper had not changed in the slightest…

The Earth Lord felt the faint stirrings of a headache.

Forget it. He would not argue with her.

“Come here.”

He extended his hand. A beam of golden light gathered at his fingertip, and he gently tapped the space between her brows.

The Red Lotus Seal, symbolizing the Ghost King Seal, bloomed between her brows, and Karmic Fire burned in the depths of her eyes.

“By my power, let the soul take host within the body.”

–

Xia Ximo’s eyes flew open, and her expression changed at once.

Ren Fengjue was lying beside her, so close they were almost face-to-face.

Outside the window, the sky was already fully bright.

A streak of morning sunlight shone in through the lattice window, falling perfectly across his handsome brows and eyes.

At such a close distance, even the texture of his skin was clearly visible.

Her heart skipped. She immediately sat up.

The person beside her was disturbed by the movement and slowly woke as well.

The next second, Ren Fengjue was startled too.

“M-Miss Xia?”

For a moment, he almost thought his eyes were deceiving him. He could not help reaching out and lightly touching her.

The sensation was real…

She had actually come back to life.

“This…”

Xia Ximo swept a cold glance over his hand.

Only then did Ren Fengjue realize just how improper this situation was.

He rolled out of bed. His cheeks and the tips of his ears had already gone completely red. Flustered, he had no idea how to explain any of it.

“Last night… I…”

“I have offended you greatly!”

Xia Ximo, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm. She asked, “Offended me how?”

It was not hard to guess that after Ren Fengjue had been possessed by the Earth Lord of the Underworld Administration last night, his soul and consciousness had yet to return to their proper place, so he would naturally have fallen into a deep sleep.

But why had he not slept outside? Why had he shared the same bed as her?

That was a question for the Lord of the Underworld.

Ren Fengjue knew nothing about the possession, and he was even more confused by his own “behavior” from the night before.

After more than twenty years of life, this was the first time he had been so mortified that he could not get a word out.

Unable to sort out his thoughts, he simply retreated a few steps. Just as he backed up to the doorway, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Yan Zhengchu stood beyond it, with Tianqing following behind him.

“Young Marquis, I came to check on Miss Xia’s body…”

Daoist Yan had woken up that morning in a daze.

For a while, he could not tell whether Xia Ximo’s ghost coming to find him last night had been real or not.

Of course, he also paid no mind whatsoever to the fact that Ren Fengjue had spent the entire night in Xia Ximo’s room.

That was, until he saw Xia Ximo standing safe and sound by the bed. This time, there was no way he could remain unshaken!

“What?”

“No, wait-what?”

“Are you human or a ghost?”

Xia Ximo said nothing, but the morning sun cast her shadow clearly onto the wall.

Yan Zhengchu could not help rubbing his eyes. Then he looked at Ren Fengjue and asked, “When did she come back to life?”

Ren Fengjue covered his lips and gave a light cough. That was a question he truly could not answer.

“This matter…”

Both men were equally bewildered.

Tianqing, however, heard the commotion from outside and immediately rushed in.

“Miss Xia, I knew Heaven would protect someone as good as you! I knew nothing would happen to you!”

She rushed forward excitedly and wrapped Xia Ximo in a tight hug.

Held like that, Xia Ximo’s body only stiffened for an instant before relaxing again.