Chapter 181
Chapter 181
Blood.
It was my blood that had given every one of them a chance to be reborn.
When I cut my finger to draw the Thunder Summoning Talisman, the wisps of black energy that flew over to devour the blood on my fingertip had been the Souls lingering in Tafeng Village.
After taking in a single drop of my blood and surviving the great upheaval in Tafeng Village, they had not only gained the chance to come back to life, but some had even become younger than they had been before.
A pack of monsters!
“It looks like the situation in Tafeng Village won’t be resolved anytime soon,” Liu Junyan said. “Xiao Jiu, let’s head back for now.”
He was right.
If my guess was correct, the only way to put a complete end to the situation in Tafeng Village was for me to die.
Tafeng Village and I were destined to remain entangled until death put an end to it.
After we returned that day, I remained in low spirits, dazed and distracted by everything that had happened.
Another incident cropped up outside. Before Liu Junyan left, he told me to go to bed without him that night, since he would probably be back late.
As usual, Li Qingying and I kept watch over the Southern Study until midnight. When no customers showed up, we closed for the night, tidied up, and went to bed.
But the moment I fell asleep, I heard someone calling beside my ear.
“Ah Li… Ah Li, it’s time for you to return and fulfill our marriage agreement.”
Even in my sleep, I recognized the voice immediately. It belonged to the man from Yellow Springs Road — the one called Brother Qiu.
He claimed to be my fianc?.
I had thought that after I was rescued from Yellow Springs Road, I would have little to do with him ever again.
I never expected him to be able to contact me through my dreams!
What in the world was going on?
The voice drew closer and closer until it sounded as though he were right beside my ear, whispering to me.
I jolted awake.
Just as I sat up, the bedroom door opened. Liu Junyan was back.
Almost on instinct, I sprang from the bed and threw myself into his arms.
Liu Junyan froze for a moment, then instinctively wrapped his arms tightly around me. “Xiao Jiu, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
“Ah Yan, I’m scared.”
Even then, my voice was still trembling.
It wasn’t the dream itself that frightened me. Perhaps it wasn’t even Brother Qiu. It was the Phoenix Clan behind him.
I had struggled for eighteen years, and now, with my nineteenth birthday just around the corner, I had finally found my place in the world. I had someone I loved and friends who cared about me. I was terrified of losing it all.
I was afraid my present life would be forcibly dragged into the affairs of my previous one.
I didn’t want to be Feng Linu again. I only wanted to live a peaceful, ordinary life as Xiao Jiu!
Liu Junyan had no idea what had happened. He scooped me into his arms, carried me back to bed, and lay down beside me. Stroking my hair, he asked, “Xiao Jiu, are you still shaken by what happened in Tafeng Village?”
“No.” I shook my head and told him the truth. “Something happened when my Souls were lured away to Yellow Springs Road.”
I recounted everything that had happened after I met Brother Qiu, leaving nothing out.
The more Liu Junyan heard, the deeper his frown became. Finally, he asked, “Is that why you suddenly brought up meeting each other’s families before?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“If you truly exchanged betrothal cards as he claims, then this could be rather troublesome.” Liu Junyan looked at me, his expression grave. “After what happened in Tafeng Village, there’s a cruel truth I didn’t dare mention to you before…”
“What is it?” I asked.
“You’ve probably already realized that the villagers of Tafeng Village didn’t come into this world through normal Reincarnation,” Liu Junyan said. “Xiao Jiu, you were also born in Tafeng Village, so…”
Liu Junyan trailed off, clearly struggling to say the rest.
But I understood now. “So in all likelihood, I didn’t come into this life through Reincarnation either. In that case, it’ll be hard to sever all the ties from my past life. As long as Brother Qiu refuses to let go, I won’t be able to escape my fate of returning to fulfill that marriage agreement. Is that right?”
The possibility filled me with despair.
Why was it that whenever things finally started looking up, something always had to go wrong and send me plunging back into the abyss?
Was I simply not worthy of happiness?!
“Xiao Jiu, you were only betrothed. You exchanged birth charts, but you never consummated the marriage, nor were your names entered into the Underworld Marriage Registry. There is no official record, so this will be easy to deal with,” Liu Junyan said. “Even if the two of you truly were husband and wife, you’re my wife now. Even if I have to fight my way into the Halls of the Ten Yama Kings, I’ll put your name beside mine.
“Your name can only appear beside Liu Junyan’s in the Underworld Marriage Registry.”
In the Realm of the Living, men and women registered their marriages with the Civil Affairs Bureau.
But marriages involving the Yin-Yang realms, no matter the pairing, ultimately had to be registered in the Underworld Marriage Registry.
So if Liu Junyan and I wanted to make our marriage official, we wouldn’t receive a marriage certificate. Our marriage would be entered into the Underworld Marriage Registry instead.
Marriages in the Upper Realm were, of course, a different matter.
Then again… marriages were rare in the Upper Realm to begin with.
Liu Junyan sounded utterly certain, but my eyes still reddened.
Deep down, he knew as well as I did just how great a price we might have to pay to protect our love.
Before this, I had insisted on going up the mountain alone, thinking that once I had completely unraveled the mystery of my origins, I could devote myself wholeheartedly to standing beside Liu Junyan and facing the Four Great Fiends Formation.
But… fate had other plans.
Liu Junyan crooked a finger and tapped the tip of my nose, deliberately keeping his tone light. “Xiao Jiu, relax. This isn’t as difficult as you think. Just leave everything to me.”
For now, it seemed I had no choice but to trust him.
I wrapped my arms tightly around Liu Junyan’s waist and buried my face against his chest, leaning into him for a long, long time.
I couldn’t even remember when I eventually fell asleep.
But it seemed that as long as Liu Junyan slept beside me, that thing couldn’t bother me again.
So for many days afterward, no matter how busy Liu Junyan was, he always came back at night to sleep beside me.
The New Year was almost upon us. Although Li Qingying and I still kept watch in the Southern Study until late every night, neither of us wanted any more customers to come.
This would be the first New Year since the Pawnshop reopened.
It would also be my first New Year at the Pawnshop without Granny here to spend it with me.
I didn’t ask for festivities. All I wanted was peace.
Every now and then, I would also wander past the entrance of the Teahouse to see if the proprietress had returned.
She had been gone for nearly ten days without a single word.
Jiang Yingxue was only hanging on thanks to Jin Wuya. Without him, her soul probably would have dispersed by now.
On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Qingying and I went into the county seat to buy New Year supplies. We returned rather late, and at the boundary leading into Wufu Town, we unexpectedly spotted the Red Banner Child squatting by the roadside.
The tiny figure was barefoot, clutching the Red Banner in his arms while using a tree branch to scribble aimlessly on the ground.
The little fellow had always had a mind of his own.
Back when the incident at the Zhu Pan River occurred, he had shown up uninvited at the critical moment and helped us.
Once everything settled down, he quietly left again and hadn’t appeared since.
His sudden appearance today surprised both Li Qingying and me.
He seemed to sense something as well. He looked up at our car, immediately rose to his feet, and trotted over to meet us.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but his lower lip seemed to be sticking out. He looked exactly like a wronged child who had finally found his parents and was ready to complain…