Chapter 8: What’s a Ghost Anyway?

“Okay!” Leng You eyes paused, momentarily softening as they met Xiang Wentian’s deep, dark pupils, which held an unusual gentleness. She nodded heavily, her eyelids drooping, revealing a sudden surge of emotion in her eyes.

Quickly suppressing the rising tide of feeling, she pulled one hand from her cotton gloves and naturally extended it, allowing him to take it. In his palm was a warmth she had longed for in past lives and this one, a warmth that had always been just out of reach.

The emotion threatened to overwhelm her again. Leng You closed her eyes tightly, then took a deep breath:

“Brother, let’s go exploring!”

“Okay!” Xiang Wentian carefully tightened his grip on her small hand, afraid that her delicate frame wouldn’t withstand even the slightest pressure from him.

But he couldn’t help but be frustrated by the child’s stubbornness. Once they reached the valley floor, she refused to let him carry her any longer.

“The villagers say there are ghosts here,” Leng You said tentatively, looking around.

In her past life, she had been half-dead when Xiang Wentian had carried her out of the valley with great difficulty. Because she had been completely unconscious, she had no memory or perception of the valley floor.

Although she had been revived by a “mysterious force” and awakened yesterday, her hasty departure and the shock of rebirth had prevented her from examining the area properly.

Only now did she realize that the valley floor was a completely different world from the top.

The deep valley was nestled between two mountains, east and west. Even from the foot of the mountain, she estimated the depth to be over two hundred meters.

It was about a thousand meters wide from east to west. The southern boundary reached the fronts of the two mountains; as for the north, it was beyond her sightline, as she had never investigated how far north the two mountains extended.

However, she knew that the nearest village to the north was over a hundred miles from Black Mountain.

She wasn’t worried about that; she would have plenty of time to explore later.

The valley floor was flat. Remarkably, there was no snow, and a faint layer of greenery, like early spring, covered the ground. It thrived amidst the dense withered grass, appearing vibrant and full of life.

A tiny stream, emitting steam, meandered leisurely from the north, gradually dispersing as it reached the end of the valley, leaving no standing water.

On both sides of the stream were dense trees with red, yellow, or green leaves. Even more incredible was that many of these trees were species of redwood that should only grow in the south.

Leng You clearly remembered that in her previous life, until her death, this place had never been developed.

Poor, remote, with the villagers’ ingrained backwardness and superstition, this land remained untouched by the bustling outside world.

“It’s rather strange, but there aren’t any ghosts. Are you scared?”

The purple mist had left Xiang Wentian feeling like he was between a dream and reality, but the precocious boy showed no sign of it.

He looked down at Leng You. Although his question was genuine, he saw no trace of fear in her crystal-clear eyes, which seemed to penetrate to the depths of one’s soul.

He withdrew his gaze and continued to look around. Although he had entered the valley twice yesterday, he had been too rushed to examine it properly. Only now did he discover its wonders.

“Ghosts aren’t as scary as people.” Memories of her past life suddenly pierced her heart like daggers, causing a surge of blood.

Leng You’s black pupils constricted sharply, then darkened like ink, radiating coldness.

Indeed, compared to human malice, what was a ghost?

Xiang Wentian: “…”

He looked at Leng You in astonishment.

The chill in her delicate voice made his heart skip a beat. Moreover, such profound words could not possibly come from the mind of an eight-year-old child.

His instincts were right; within this frail child’s body resided a deeply hidden, intense hatred, even a bloodthirsty coldness.

This should not be present in such a young child, despite her tragic past.

“Brother, let’s go inside and take a look!” Quickly regaining her composure, Leng You shook the hand Xiang Wentian was holding.

This was someone she inexplicably trusted, which is why she had unconsciously revealed her emotions, but only to him.

“Mm!” Because of their height difference, Xiang Wentian couldn’t see the contents of Leng You’s eyes hidden beneath her thick eyelashes, but he calmed himself and didn’t ask any questions. He led her along the stream.

Suddenly, before Leng You could react, he picked up a stone and threw it with lightning speed.

“I got it! A fat rabbit!” Leng You broke free from Xiang Wentian’s hand and ran over, picking up a large grey rabbit that hadn’t even had time to react before it fell. It weighed at least ten pounds.

“Such strength?” Seeing Leng You casually swinging the enormous rabbit, which was almost as tall as she was, Xiang Wentian was stunned.

He looked at his own palm, understanding dawning in his eyes, yet he found it even more unbelievable.

“You too,” Leng You paused, raising and swinging the rabbit again, then looking at Xiang Wentian’s hand.

Only after Xiang Wentian pointed it out did she realize this. She suddenly wondered how strong she was now, wondering if she could uproot a willow tree like Lu Zhishen.

Then, to Xiang Wentian’s astonishment, Leng You suddenly dropped the rabbit and ran towards a large tree, about as thick as an adult’s waist, wrapping her small arms around the trunk.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed off with her little legs, her face turning red…the tree remained motionless.

Unsatisfied, she turned to a smaller tree that she could wrap her arms around, gritting her teeth, pushing off, straining…whether it was the wind or something else, the top of the tree moved slightly.

Because she had pushed too hard, she couldn’t stop herself when she let go, and Leng You sat down with a thud.

“Pfft! Cough…cough cough…” Xiang Wentian, known for his icy demeanor since childhood, suddenly lost his composure, choking on his own saliva.

Leng You: “…”

She looked up at the sky, waiting for a long time, but the lightning bolt never came.

“Youyou, promise me you won’t tell anyone,” Xiang Wentian strode towards Leng You，crouched down to meet her gaze, his eyes filled with an undeniable seriousness.

Even if her strength wasn’t supernaturally high, both Leng You and his abilities far exceeded those of ordinary people, and Xiang Wentian was more concerned about Leng You.

“This is our secret,” Leng You extended her small hand, almost free of frostbite, towards Xiang Wentian.

“…Okay!”

Xiang Wentian reacted a moment later, instinctively extending his hand and allowing Leng You to hook her little finger with his, then interlocking their thumbs.

One large and one small, one bronze and one pale, these two hands together were strangely harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

Both stared at their intertwined hands for a long time before coming to their senses.

Xiang Wentian couldn’t believe he had made such a childish gesture, but he firmly believed that this child would keep this secret, along with the purple mist and this deep valley.