Chapter 183

Chapter 183

The moment I saw that shadow, my mind went completely blank.

“Fu Wan?!”

I’d wondered before whether Fu Wan’s wisp of Essence Spirit might one day return to this world after being nourished by Merit.

After all, since the Pawnshop reopened, Fu Wan wasn’t the only person to make a Soul Sacrifice to the Hexagonal Palace Lantern. Yet hers was the only Essence Spirit that had remained inside it.

That alone was enough to prove she was special.

With a unique fate like hers, I would have found anything possible after she had been nourished by such an immense amount of Merit.

And now, Fu Wan had truly manifested from the Hexagonal Palace Lantern.

Her figure was incredibly faint, though, as if even the slightest breeze could scatter her.

I turned to open the door, but Liu Junyan wrapped an arm around me and pointed toward the West Street Entrance.

Following his finger, I saw the mounted figure with a saber at his side, standing silently in the shadows of the West Street Entrance. From that distance, he gazed in Fu Wan’s direction.

Fu Wan was looking back at him.

At that moment, it felt as though my heart had been twisted in a vise.

I was overjoyed that Fu Wan and Zhao Zixun had finally met again after more than a century, yet their experiences — and their current states-filled me with sorrow and worry.

Fu Wan’s Souls had only just taken shape and were still unstable. As for Zhao Zixun… he counted as a Walking Corpse now, didn’t he?

The two of them weren’t even the same kind of being anymore.

Fu Wan’s Souls remained visible for only a short while before returning to the Hexagonal Palace Lantern.

Zhao Zixun, however, stayed atop his warhorse at the West Street Entrance for a very, very long time.

He didn’t reluctantly depart until the roosters began to crow.

“It seems Zhao Zixun has indeed regained some awareness,” Liu Junyan said. “Now that Chen Ping is no longer controlling him and he has no army of Ghost Soldiers to command, you could say he’s a free man.”

Freedom meant different things to different people.

As Zhao Zixun gradually regained more of his awareness, wouldn’t he only become increasingly lost?

For a soldier like him, nothing could be more tragic than having no troops to lead.

I couldn’t help asking Liu Junyan, “If Zhao Zixun ever wanted to join our ranks, would you take him?”

“Yes!” Liu Junyan answered without hesitation. “He has sinned, but he didn’t commit those sins of his own volition. At the end of the day, he was a victim too. If we can bring him under our command, guide him properly to Salvation, and have him serve us, he’ll become an irreplaceable general in our ranks.”

My gaze instinctively flicked toward the string of Prayer Beads in Liu Junyan’s hand, and the words Evil Monk surfaced in my mind again.

The aura of slaughter Zhao Zixun carried was simply too overwhelming.

There was no telling how many women throughout Wufu Town had died at his hands and been skinned by him.

And that wasn’t even counting the army of Ghost Soldiers in the Zhu Pan River.

Before becoming Ghost Soldiers, perhaps they had all been living, breathing soldiers who followed Chen Ping into battle across the land.

Of course, Zhao Zixun had only been a blade in Chen Ping’s hand. Chen Ping was the true culprit.

Even so, an ordinary sacred Buddhist sanctuary would find it very difficult to accept an existence like Zhao Zixun, wouldn’t it?

Liu Junyan… really was different from an ordinary monk.

I smiled. “If that day ever comes, then if only for Fu Wan’s sake, I think I could accept him too.”

Liu Junyan ruffled my hair. “Go back and get some more sleep. It’s still early.”

I crouched down and gathered the Black Cat into my arms.

At first, it struggled fiercely, but once I picked it up, it sniffed me all over and abruptly settled down.

It was much larger than an ordinary house cat and rather heavy in my arms, so I hitched it higher with both hands.
The Black Cat rested its chin on my shoulder and sprawled there lazily.

This was the first time it had ever been so affectionate with me, and I was flattered beyond belief.

Delighted, I glanced at Liu Junyan without daring to make a sound. I was afraid I might startle the Black Cat and make it refuse to let me hold it anymore.

Liu Junyan, however, merely stroked the Black Cat’s back. “It likes Buddhist aura and the scent of incense offerings.”

It suddenly made perfect sense!

No wonder it had liked Liu Junyan from the beginning. He received incense offerings, after all.

Now that Liu Junyan had dedicated a Buddhist votive lamp to me at the Great Dharma King Temple, I had an affinity with Buddhism as well. That was why the Black Cat was willing to stay in my arms after sensing the Buddhist aura on me.

What a picky little thing.

Then again, it was the Du’e Maotan and had emerged from a Temple. It was only natural that it would like such things.

Back then, I’d had a sudden stroke of inspiration and included it in my incense offerings. That had turned out to be an excellent decision.

Lunar New Year’s Eve arrived before I knew it.

Too much had happened over the past year. I had lost Granny, but I had also gained the protection of many others. All things considered, I had still been fortunate.

Early that morning, I called Yu Nian and asked if she could spare the time to come celebrate New Year’s with us.

To my surprise, Yu Nian agreed without hesitation. “I’ll head over this afternoon. Tonight, I’ll stay up with you to see in the new year.”

My mood brightened even further, and I spent the whole morning humming as I bustled about.

Yu Nian arrived at the station in the county seat a little after three that afternoon. Li Qingying and I were already there waiting for her.

The moment Yu Nian came out of the station, we spotted her in the crowd.

She was holding something in her arms, covered by a large piece of red cloth. It was impossible to miss.

I helped her into the car.

Li Qingying drove, occasionally glancing in the rearview mirror at the object in Yu Nian’s arms.

I sat beside Yu Nian. In the end, I couldn’t contain my curiosity. “Senior Sister, what are you holding?”

“Grandmistress’s and my mother’s spirit tablets.”

Yu Nian’s answer made my heart lurch.

Although I had never formally joined the sect, I had received Granny’s guidance. Yu Nian’s Grandmistress and mother were also elders whom I ought to honor.

I had a fair idea what Yu Nian intended by bringing their spirit tablets here at a time like this.

Sure enough, Yu Nian continued, “Xiao Jiu, I know this may not be proper, but I still want to ask on behalf of Grandmistress and my mother. Could their spirit tablets be enshrined in the Pawnshop too? They both died horrible deaths. If they could receive the Pawnshop’s incense offerings, it should be good for them.”

I agreed without a second thought. “Of course. I can make the call on that.”

Yu Nian was deeply grateful, while I found myself wondering if I should move Granny’s spirit tablet there as well.

But then I reconsidered. Granny had already entered Reincarnation and begun a new life. Even if her spirit tablet were enshrined on the altar, it would serve no purpose.

Compared to Grandmistress and Yu Nian’s mother, Granny had met a much better end.

When we returned to the Pawnshop, I was stunned. We had only been gone a short while — how had so many people arrived?

Liu Junyan was there.

Hui Moqiong, who had been run off his feet lately, had also made it back.

Dou Zhile and Dou Jinsuo were sitting on the sofa in the Rear-facing Room’s living room.

Jin Wuya was with them as well.

Even Lord Xiao had come.

And then there was Hu Yulin, hiding his face behind a fan as he coughed softly…

For all I knew, everyone had simply wanted to get together because it was New Year’s Eve.

Still, the sight of them all gave me the sudden, uncanny feeling that something momentous was going to happen tonight…