Another incense stick’s time passed before Chi Yu finally woke up.

When Li Xin saw him open his eyes, he immediately rushed forward.
“Senior Brother, you’re awake! Are you still feeling unwell anywhere?”

Chi Yu looked at Li Xin and gently shook his head.
“I’m fine. I just absorbed too many souls at once and couldn’t bear it for a moment.”

Seeing that Chi Yu could speak normally and slowly sit up, Li Xin finally relaxed.

“That’s good.”
He carefully helped Chi Yu get out of bed.
“Senior Brother, let’s go greet your friend, and then we should head back to the Mortal Realm. Chang Wuchang and Chang Youchang will worry if we stay too long.”

Having merged half of his soul fragments, Chi Yu’s mind had become much sharper. He glanced at Li Xin and chuckled.
“You’re worried they’ll be concerned? Seems more like you don’t dare linger in the Underworld.”

Li Xin was immediately exposed and gave an awkward laugh.
“Senior Brother, uh… what’s the difference?”

“If I were discovered by the Emperor of the Underworld, I’d surely be trapped here with no way back. After living alongside them for a thousand years, of course they’d worry about me,” Li Xin said stiffly, trying to defend himself.

Chi Yu snickered.
“Alright, alright. Even if you hadn’t said so, I would’ve wanted to leave early. As a ghost envoy bringing a living soul into the Underworld, that’s no small offense.”

Only then did Li Xin realize, and he chuckled sheepishly.
“Senior Brother, you’ve gotten good at teasing people. Having fun tricking me?”

Chi Yu let out a soft laugh.
“Not bad, not bad. My dear Buyi is just as slippery as ever.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xin froze.
“Senior Brother… you… you remember me?”

Chi Yu nodded, his eyes reddening.
“Buyi, you’ve suffered all these years.”

Li Xin was overwhelmed with emotion—Chi Yu had finally remembered him.

All these years, he had been waiting for this moment. It was this belief that had sustained him through the pain of every soul transfer.

Reincarnating by transferring the soul was like being stripped alive. Without unwavering determination and obsession, one would never endure it.

Over the course of a thousand years, Li Xin could no longer count how many times he had endured this agony.

He pulled Chi Yu into a tight embrace.
“Senior Brother, for you, anything is worth it. I’m not afraid of anything.”

The longer he hugged him, the tighter he held him. Chi Yu could clearly hear Li Xin’s rapid and powerful heartbeat, and feel the emotions he had suppressed for so long, unable to release.

“I thought that after destroying Dongrong, the world would be at peace, and you would have a safe life. I never expected you to be so persistent… it’s my fault for dragging you into this.”

“Don’t say that, Senior Brother. It was my own obsession. Back then, I wanted to kill Crown Prince Chengyou to avenge you, but before I even got the chance, Dongrong was destroyed. That bastard died too easily,” Li Xin said bitterly, filled with regret.

“And what about Master?” Chi Yu quickly asked.
“I remember Master was still alive at the time. What happened afterward? Did Emperor Chengyou and the Crown Prince give him trouble?”

Li Xin didn’t want to tell him the cruel truth, thinking it would be better if Chi Yu didn’t know.

So, he only gave a vague reply.
“Back then, I was afraid of dragging Master down, so I never returned to the sect. After Dongrong fell, Fude Temple declined too. Our fellow disciples and Master disappeared without a trace.”

Chi Yu looked disappointed.
“You never tried to find them?”

“I did,” Li Xin said, hugging him even tighter.
“But I never found any news. After a long time, I gave up. The only thought left in my heart was to bring you back.”

Chi Yu sensed something was wrong, but for a moment couldn’t put his finger on it.
Based on Li Xin’s personality, he shouldn’t have easily given up on searching for Master, his teacher who had raised him.
So why?

Could it be… something terrible happened?

Thinking of this, Chi Yu immediately asked,
“Buyi, you can’t hide this from me. Did something happen to Master?
With the Crown Prince’s nature, he wouldn’t have let Master go easily after the sacrificial ceremony was ruined. He would have forced him to come up with another plan.”

Li Xin suppressed the anger and sorrow boiling in his heart.
He didn’t want to tell Chi Yu that everyone at Fude Temple had been massacred.
Chi Yu was too sensitive—if he knew, he would be overwhelmed by guilt and despair.

Li Xin shook his head.
“I don’t know. Maybe Master realized things were going south and arranged for everyone to leave separately. Maybe he himself went into hiding.
When the time came for ascension, he might have achieved immortality.”

Chi Yu nodded gloomily.
It seemed Li Xin either truly didn’t know, or was deliberately hiding it.

If he was hiding it… no matter how much he asked, he wouldn’t get an answer.

Chi Yu patted Li Xin’s back.
“Alright, be good. If you keep hugging me like this, my soul will be squeezed apart.”

Li Xin realized and quickly let go.
“I lost control. I’m just so happy.”

Chi Yu smiled lightly.
“It’s fine. Let me go say goodbye to You Jiang, then we’ll leave the Underworld.”

“Okay,” Li Xin readily agreed.

Chi Yu told him to wait at the pavilion ahead, while he went to You Jiang’s door.

He knocked lightly, knowing the Emperor of the Underworld was still inside, and respectfully saluted.
“Your Majesty, blessings upon you.
This humble servant Chi Yu requests an audience.”

After a moment, You Jiang’s voice sounded from within.
“Chi Yu, you’re awake? That’s wonderful.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened.

You Jiang looked at Chi Yu with joy and pulled him inside.
“I thought you wouldn’t wake up so soon. After absorbing so many soul fragments, how do you feel?
Is your soul body any better?”

Chi Yu nodded.
“Much better. I have strength again, and my mind is clearer.
I also… remembered some things from my past life.”

You Jiang immediately asked,
“What did you remember? Was I included?”

Chi Yu shook his head honestly.
“No.”

“That’s disappointing,” You Jiang muttered.
Then he asked,
“Who did you remember?”

“A lot of people,” Chi Yu said—and suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit him.

Seeing him clutch his head, You Jiang knew he was unwell and quickly stopped asking questions.
“Alright, don’t force it. I won’t ask anymore.”

Chi Yu shook his head to clear it, but it was useless.

You Jiang held him up with concern.
“What’s wrong with you?”

When the Emperor of the Underworld heard the commotion, he immediately came out from the inner room.
“What’s going on? Why so noisy?”

You Jiang quickly shouted at him, “Old man, hurry over here! Chiyu looks like he’s in a lot of pain!”

The Emperor of the Underworld couldn’t bear to see You Jiang so anxious, and he immediately came over.
“Let me take a look.”

He reached out to probe Chiyu’s soul and discovered that it was unstable. He then formed a spell seal above Chiyu’s head from a distance and sent it into Chiyu’s body.

“All right now. He just fused with his soul and isn’t quite used to it yet. His soul is a little unstable, but it’s nothing serious,” the Emperor of the Underworld comforted You Jiang.

You Jiang was half skeptical.
“That’s it?”

“Of course!” The Emperor, seeing You Jiang didn’t fully trust him, was a little annoyed.
“It’s just a little ghost — you think I can’t even handle that?”

Seeing him a bit angry, You Jiang also flared up.
“I’m just asking because I’ve never seen it before. What’s wrong with that?”

The way they bickered — from their voices and their postures — it was impossible to tell who was the emperor and who was the commoner.

The Emperor immediately backed down.
“No, no, it’s fine, it’s fine. Ask whatever you want.”

You Jiang huffed and turned to look at Chiyu. Seeing he could now stand steadily, he immediately asked with concern,
“Chiyu, are you feeling better?”

Chiyu took a deep breath and nodded.
“Yes, I’m better.”

Then he turned and bowed deeply to the Emperor of the Underworld.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your assistance.”

The Emperor of the Underworld flicked his sleeve.
“No need to thank me. Thank You Jiang. If it weren’t for him, I couldn’t be bothered to help you.”

Chiyu lowered his head even further, not daring to say anything more.

You Jiang, knowing the old man was still holding a grudge, reluctantly went forward to coax him,
“Your Majesty is mighty and broad-minded, and treats his subjects with kindness. A little spell like this is just a flick of the fingers for you. How could you possibly stand by and do nothing?”

As he spoke, he gave the Emperor a charming smile.
“Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor’s anger instantly vanished.
Who could resist this little fox?

“All the sweet talk comes from you. Still, I just like that mouth of yours — you can infuriate me half to death, and also coax me until I’m perfectly happy.”

You Jiang, voice sweet and syrupy, continued acting spoiled.
“Isn’t that just because Your Majesty spoils me? Otherwise, no matter how clever I am, it wouldn’t matter.”

The Emperor of the Underworld was completely delighted.

Seeing that he was in a good mood, You Jiang immediately followed up,
“Just now, didn’t Your Majesty say you were going to reward Chiyu with a magic item?”

The Emperor’s smile disappeared instantly.
“Little fox, waiting for me right here, huh?”

You Jiang tilted his chin up proudly.
“So? Are you giving it or not?”

“I…” The Emperor was speechless.

As the dignified ruler of the Underworld, he had to keep his word. But seeing this little fox defending Chiyu so much made him feel bitter.

You Jiang had long since figured out the Emperor’s temperament. He quickly gave him an out by turning to Chiyu and saying,
“His Majesty is merciful. He said he would bestow you a magic artifact to help you find the location of the rest of your soul. You must be very grateful for His Majesty’s benevolence.”

Chiyu immediately knelt down and kowtowed heavily.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward!”

Since he had been raised up like that, the Emperor couldn’t say anything else. He conjured a compass out of thin air and handed it to Chiyu.

“This is the Heaven and Earth Soul-Chasing Compass of the Underworld. Whether it’s a god, a demon, a human, or a monster — as long as it has ever existed in this world, even if it has turned to dust, this compass can find it. It’s unaffected by any external magical forces.”

Hearing this, Chiyu felt like the compass weighed a thousand pounds.
“Your Majesty, to grant me such a treasure — I dare not accept it!”

The Emperor waved his hand.
“If I give it to you, then take it. Go back to the mortal world and search for your soul properly. Once you find it, this item will also assist you in merging your soul, so you won’t have to keep running back and forth.”

Chiyu didn’t catch the underlying meaning in the Emperor’s words and quickly thanked him again,
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration.”

You Jiang, sharp as ever, instantly caught on.
The Emperor was clearly trying to kick them out.

He shot the Emperor a fierce glare.
— Sour old man!

Having achieved his goal, You Jiang didn’t say anything more. He went up to help Chiyu up.
“With this magic item, your efforts will be twice as effective. Hurry along now.”

As he spoke, he led Chiyu toward the door. When they reached it, he leaned close to Chiyu’s ear and whispered,
“If you need anything, come find me. Don’t be shy.”

Chiyu gave a soft laugh and nodded.

Leaving You Jiang’s room, Chiyu quickly headed toward Li Xin, grabbed his hand, and started dragging him away.
“Dawn’s almost here. We have to hurry back to the mortal world, or we’ll have to wait another whole day.”

Li Xin, pulled along by Chiyu, was completely dazed.
His entire mind was focused on the fact that Chiyu was holding his hand — he didn’t hear a single word Chiyu said, nor did he respond.

Not that Chiyu was expecting a response. This wasn’t a discussion.

He hurried forward, completely unaware of the expression on Li Xin’s face.

Dragged along by Chiyu, Li Xin didn’t even know how he managed to keep up. It wasn’t until they exited the Ghost Market that he finally realized this was real.

Chiyu had actively held his hand.

His senior brother had finally held his hand again!

Li Xin was overjoyed, his cheeks burning red.

It wasn’t until they had walked for a while without hearing Li Xin speak that Chiyu finally noticed something was off.
He turned and saw Li Xin looking dazedly at their joined hands, a mix of infatuation, shyness, and a hint of uncertainty on his face.

Chiyu immediately felt like Li Xin’s burning gaze was scorching his hand.
He quickly let go.
“What’s wrong? What are you looking at?”