Chapter 30: The Future Grand Chancellor

The Guo family residence was modest, with only two elderly maids and two young servants.

Guo Xiang, estimating it was about time, decided to go outside to greet the benefactor of the Guo family.

Hearing a knock at the door quickened his pace.

When he opened the door, a smile spread across his face, but before he could utter a word of politeness, he found no one outside.

Perplexed for a moment, he thought he might have misheard and was about to close the door.

“I’m here,” a young girl’s voice called out.

Guo Xiang then lowered his gaze and found himself locking eyes with Fang Yuean. He stood stunned for a moment before regaining his composure. “Are you the Great King?”

He wanted to confirm it.

Having been able to see his son’s ghostly form, Guo Xiang had grown to accept many inexplicable things.

Fang Yuean extended her hand and handed over a clay figurine. “This is a gift I brought for you.”

Guo Xiang accepted it absentmindedly and lowered his gaze.

The clay figurine was painted in vivid colors, capturing a lifelike expression of his son’s most carefree smile. Who else could it be but his child?

Guo Xiang felt his chest grow warm, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. Regaining his senses, he laughed heartily, “Please, come in.”

He had imagined, after hearing his son repeatedly mention the “Great King,” that their benefactor would be a towering man. He never expected it to be a little girl.

Guo Xiang felt a pang of regret. He should have asked his son more questions. He’d even prepared several jars of wine.

When Madam Guo first saw Fang Yuean, she too was momentarily taken aback. But the exquisitely adorable child quickly won her heart. She embraced Fang Yuean warmly and led her to the dining room.

Since Fang Yuean was quite small, she struggled to see the dishes on the table while seated.

Guo Xiang scratched his head, then hurried to his study to fetch a set of finely bound books. He stacked them on the chair, placing a soft cushion on top.

Once Fang Yuean was seated properly, Guo Lang appeared alongside the maid carrying the dishes.

After the maidservant withdrew, the three living family members and one ghost sat at the table.

Guo Xiang, who had initially intended to offer a toast of thanks, paused when he noticed Fang Yuean’s unblinking focus on the dishes. In the end, he simply said, “Let’s eat.”

He smiled as he used the communal chopsticks to serve food onto Fang Yuean’s plate. He also placed several dishes in front of Guo Lang’s setting, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

Madam Guo, seated beside Fang Yuean, attentively cared for her, adding food to her plate from time to time.

Fang Yuean sweetly said, “Thank you, Auntie.”

Madam Guo smiled, finding it hard to believe this little child possessed such remarkable abilities.

She refrained from asking further questions.

That day, Fang Yuean’s elder brother had instructed them to keep his visit confidential.

She understood now that the child’s secrets were even more crucial to protect.

Madam Guo steered the conversation toward lighthearted topics, chatting with Fang Yuean. Guo Xiang occasionally chimed in.

Fang Yuean, clever and eloquent, responded in ways that had the Guo couple laughing out loud more than once.

Guo Lang smiled throughout, watching the scene before him with comfort and relief.

This was what he had hoped for—for his parents to move on with their lives and regain their happiness.

With that, he no longer had any lingering regrets.

Throughout the meal, the Guo couple didn’t dare speak directly to their son.

Watching their son’s increasingly faint silhouette, Guo Xiang quickly picked up his wine cup, using drinking as a distraction. Yet, he couldn’t hold back a tear that rolled down his cheek.

He hurriedly wiped it away.

He had agreed with his wife to hide their sadness over these few days to ensure their son’s peace as he departed.

But he had failed.

Seeing her husband like this, Madam Guo could no longer maintain her composure. Unable to restrain herself, she stood up, embracing her son’s fading form, and broke into uncontrollable sobs.

Guo Lang, tears streaming down his face, smiled and said, “Father, Mother, I can no longer fulfill my duties as your son. I’m sorry. I hope you’ll live well and not remain trapped in the past.”

Guo Xiang covered his eyes, turning away. But in the next moment, he could no longer hold back. He passed through his son’s figure and embraced his wife.

The family cried together in a heart-wrenching scene.

Even Huai Ze, overcome by emotion, shed tears, using his wings to cover his face as his body trembled.

[I can’t handle scenes like this.]

Fang Yuean, now full, put down her chopsticks. She discreetly swallowed a celestial pill and then raised her hand to knock Huai Ze unconscious.

Huai Ze slumped onto the table, a tear sliding from his closed eyes.

Fang Yuean thought for a moment, picked up a chopstick, infused it with spiritual energy, and began writing in midair:

“May your wishes come true, and joy follow you;
May you be a talented star under divine protection;
May you bring peace to the world as Grand Chancellor,
Live a full life, and be worshipped for generations.”

With a wave of her hand, the golden words shimmered, eventually transforming into radiant light that settled onto Guo Lang’s form.

Guo Lang, his head bowed in tears, was already beginning to fade and did not notice Fang Yuean’s actions.

Guo Father and Guo Mother, realizing their son’s form was disappearing, closed their eyes, stifling their sobs with muffled cries.

In his final moment before vanishing, Guo Lang slowly raised his head and smiled at Fang Yuean.

“Great King, thank you.”

As the words left his lips, his figure gradually dissolved into golden specks of light, ascending into the air.

Fang Yuean closed her eyes, adjusting her breathing.

Across the world, clouds shifted, trees swayed with the wind, water rippled gently, and all living things thrived.

A fresh breeze stirred, making the wind chimes under the eaves jingle crisply.

The ascending golden light paused, drawn by the indoor breeze, coalescing into a single glowing point before drifting gently into Madam Guo’s womb.

Simultaneously, the hundreds of ghosts who had absorbed Fang Yuean’s scattered spiritual energy within the Lin family’s residence experienced a surge of power. Those bound by seals found their bindings broken, allowing them to reincarnate. For those unjustly killed, unseen forces began to shift events in the human world, bringing evidence to light and ensuring that the true culprits would face justice.

One by one, the ghosts vanished from the Lin residence.

The moment Fang Yuean reopened her eyes, the chiming bells fell silent, and the breeze grew still.

A wave of warmth surged from all directions, flooding into her body.

She felt around herself and recalled Huai Ze’s earlier explanation that this was the power of merit.

It seemed to be a valuable thing.

Every time this power surged into her, her spiritual energy would recover slightly.

She certainly wasn’t going to tell Huai Ze that even without completing the tasks assigned by the Divine Sovereign, her spiritual energy was gradually restoring itself.

Fang Yuean put down her chopsticks and shook Huai Ze awake.

“Little Immortal, wake up. You said you couldn’t handle scenes like this, yet you insisted on watching and cried yourself unconscious.”

Huai Ze groggily opened his eyes, sitting up in shock.

“Guo Lang is gone?”

Fang Yuean, busy packing leftovers into oiled paper she had brought out from her space, replied:
“Yes. The moment you saw it, you fainted on the spot.”

“Why so quickly?!” Huai Ze scratched his head with a wing.

He couldn’t seem to recall what had happened.

Looking at the grieving couple still crying, tears welled up in his eyes again as he let out a long sigh.

Fang Yuean quietly left the Guo residence.

By the time she stepped outside, the sky was already growing overcast.

Huai Ze perched on her shoulder, still immersed in the atmosphere from before, his mood melancholic.

After a moment, he murmured,
“Strange. I can’t calculate where Guo Lang will reincarnate.”

Fang Yuean paused mid-step, kicking a stone.
“Why would it happen so quickly? If you can’t figure it out, that’s perfectly normal. You’re always coming up short with calculations.”

“Who says so?!” Huai Ze shot her a sidelong glance but muttered to himself,
“Even stranger, I seem to have gained a significant amount of merit for no reason.”

Fang Yuean’s lips curved into a slight smile.
“You helped free those wronged spirits; it’s natural you’d earn some merit.”

Huai Ze opened his beak but then closed it again, unable to pinpoint what felt off after a long silence.

That night, heavy rain poured outside, with lightning splitting the sky and thunder roaring.

A brilliant white bolt of lightning streaked across half the night sky, striking directly toward Yuhua Mountain.