Chapter 26

Xue Ming thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She rubbed them hard and looked up again, seeing the giant crane already soaring into the sky, its flaming feathers illuminating the world in a brilliant red.

Xue Ming clung to the wall, dumbfounded, watching the majestic crane fly overhead, unable to react for a moment.

Is this Jiang Xing? The little white crane that used to hop around on its thin legs, barely reaching her knees, and when turned into a paper crane, was not much bigger than a date?

It flapped its wings, creating a powerful wind that instantly disrupted the vortex around the locust tree. The semi-transparent mist rose with the wind, and the little ghosts scattered in all directions were swept into the wind, emitting sharp, dolphin-like screams, all being sucked into Jiang Xing’s beak. The few remaining ones were pecked up one by one like grains of rice.

Xue Ming turned back and saw Yu He still standing there, like an outsider watching the commotion, without any action. Without his intervention, Jiang Xing could handle everything.

At this moment, she realized that the “Yan Chixia” shout earlier was not directed at her. From the beginning, she had been misled. Knowing nothing, she had stepped into this carefully woven trap when she first crossed into this world.

Until now, she still didn’t know the true identity of her current body, but she understood that Yu He was actually Yan Chixia. That night, he had hidden his surname when she barged into the small house by the lotus pond. His name should be Yan Yuhe. This was hilarious, like finding a lottery ticket one day and discovering it was a multi-million-dollar winner. When you excitedly go to redeem it, the staff tells you the ticket has expired. And then, you comfort yourself: It’s my luck to have found it, my fate to have lost it, it doesn’t matter. Then you discover it wasn’t a lottery ticket but a huge IOU.

Xue Ming was in such a state now. Not only was she not the righteous demon-slaying Yan Chixia, but she had become an unknown person who had committed many sins.

Xue Ming inexplicably wanted to laugh. She no longer cared about the battle situation, sat down by the wall, and began to ponder life.

Jiang Xing folded its wings and landed, standing by the locust tree. Thousands of wails sounded simultaneously, and the formation on the ground burst into an intense light and cracked into hundreds of winding fissures. Black tree roots emerged like pythons. The locust tree rapidly grew taller as if coming to life instantly. Its trunk twisted like rubber, absorbing the corpses hanging from its crown—the dense roots wrapped around Jiang Xing’s long legs.

The ground shook violently, more intensely than before. Xue Ming no longer had time to ponder life and got up to find a safe place. The surroundings were already in ruins, more tragic than an earthquake scene. The uneven ground significantly reduced Xue Ming’s ability to escape. Any slight carelessness would cause her to trip over unknown objects and fall to the ground.

Seeing the flying tree roots coming towards her, a green figure with fluttering sleeves suddenly appeared in front of Xue Ming.

Xue Ming looked closely and saw a young woman standing before her, waving her sleeve and cutting off the tree roots. The woman turned her head, revealing a youthful face, and smiled at her, “Sister, do you remember me?”

Of course, Xue Ming remembered. Wasn’t this Lu Man pestering her that night? She was delighted. “Great, so you are a good ghost. I wronged you before. Good sister, are you here to save me?”

Lu Man smiled and said, “It seems you still haven’t remembered. Jiang Ruoming, I will only save you this once. Will you come with me?”

Hearing this name now was like Sun Wukong hearing the incantation from Tang Sanzang; Xue Ming immediately started to have a headache. “Wait, how do you know? I wondered why you were bugging me for no reason before. So you had a plan all along?”

“Yan Chixia is here. I don’t have time to explain much. You’d better trust me now,” Lu Man floated to her side and whispered, “If you want to know the whole story, come with me.”

Xue Ming was confused, “How can I trust you? I don’t even know you well.”

“Then do you trust them?” Lu Man turned her head, pointing to the sky.

Xue Ming looked up and saw ‘Ning Caichen’ standing on an intact rooftop, a few steps away from Yan Yu He, facing each other and talking. It was too far to hear the conversation, but she could see their mouths moving. Lu Man leaned closer and blew a breath into her ear. The cool wind entered her ear, making it instantly clear. ‘Ning Caichen’s’ voice followed, “So? Shall we act?”

Yan Yuhe replied, “It’s not the right time yet.”

‘Ning Caichen’ laughed, “Are you reluctant? I see you two have been very close these days. What? Even the famous Yan Chixia has a day of romantic feelings?”

Yan Yuhe sneered, seemingly disdainful, “Do you think I can’t tell what’s important?”

Lu Man whispered to Xue Ming, “They’re discussing how to strip your soul.” Just these few words made Xue Ming’s heart turn cold.

The sound of the wind drifted away, and she could no longer hear their conversation. The surroundings were still noisy. Looking from afar, the two standing on high ground exuded the aura of righteous figures. On the other side, Jiang Xing was entangled with the locust tree, stepping on the blackened roots with its long claws as if playing.

Xue Ming was anxious and uneasy, her thoughts tangled and chaotic.

Seeing that Jiang Xing was about to crush the locust tree, Lu Man’s tone became urgent, “There’s no time! Are you coming or not?”

Amidst the swirling wind, Xue Ming quickly considered various possibilities and gritted her teeth, “I’ll go.”

Lu Man said, “Take off the Yang Gathering Talisman.”

Xue Ming looked at her warily, then listened to her explanation, “The Yang Gathering Talisman is filled with Yan Chixia’s yang energy. If you wear it, no matter how far you go, he will find you.”

Hearing this, Xue Ming tore off the Yang Gathering Talisman hanging around her neck and threw it forcefully, “To hell with it.”

Lu Man then stepped forward and grabbed her hand. Instantly, the sound of the wind roared in her ears, and the scenery before her eyes blurred. When her vision cleared again, she was standing in a bustling marketplace. Colorful lanterns were everywhere, and the street had densely packed stalls. People were coming and going, and vendors shouting filled the air.

“Where is this?” Xue Ming steadied herself and looked around, feeling a sense of familiarity.

“The Rakshasa Ghost Market,” Lu Man replied, “the place you visited before.”

“That’s right,” Xue Ming said expressionlessly, “Since you know I was here before, you should also know that I almost died after leaving here last time.”

Lu Man smiled, “Don’t worry. Although you took off the Yang Gathering Talisman, your body is still full of yang energy. This place is perfect for hiding your aura. Besides, I promised to tell you the whole story. Follow me.”

Xue Ming thought she would be taken to some powerful place, but to her surprise, they arrived at the entrance of the Heaven and Earth shop. Last time, she had a conflict with the old man here and took many things. Now she felt embarrassed to go in, but Lu Man pushed the door open and called out, “Old Cui.”

Cui Ren, who was accounting behind the counter, looked up and immediately put down his pen, a smile spreading across his face. From behind the counter, he said, “Oh, little golden immortal, what brings you to my humble shop?”

Before he finished speaking, he saw Xue Ming following behind, and his face changed drastically as if facing a great enemy. His voice rose, “Old aunt, why are you here again?” He looked behind her, relieved that the Jade Face Ghost King was not there.

Xue Ming smiled awkwardly. As soon as she approached, Cui Ren hurriedly retreated, hiding behind the counter and covering his face, “This is unbearable. Why is your yang energy so strong?”

Xue Ming’s face turned slightly red, but thanks to her thick skin, she didn’t mind much. She pondered the name “Little Golden Immortal,” feeling like she had heard it somewhere before.

Lu Man leaned on the counter, tapping it twice with her fingers, “I’m here to buy some information. Bring the pen and ink.”

Cui Ren responded quickly, turning to fetch a pen and a piece of paper, then lighting a candle beside them, “Please.”

Seeing Lu Man pick up the pen, Xue Ming also leaned in, successfully pushing Cui Ren into the corner, where he glared at her unfriendly. She looked down and saw Lu Man writing a name on the paper: Jiang Ruoming. Then she wrote the birth date: July 15th, the year of Gui Mao, at the third quarter of the hour of the Rat. This was the most yin-filled birth date Xue Ming had ever seen. The heavenly stem Gui belongs to the yin water, the earthly branch Mao belongs to the yin wood, and July 15th is the Ghost Festival. The third quarter of the hour of the Rat is the time of the day with the heaviest yin energy. No wonder this body was extremely yin. She was born at the time when the gates of the underworld opened and ghosts roamed at night.

After writing, Lu Man took the paper and held it over the candle flame. Instead of burning, the paper was covered with a layer of fire, and different characters began to appear on it. Once the entire paper was passed over the flame, Lu Man handed it to Xue Ming, “See for yourself.”

Xue Ming took it and looked. She was initially worried that the characters would be too difficult to understand, but she found that although they were literary, she could still grasp their meaning.

The paper roughly stated that Jiang Ruoming, 19 years old, was originally a disciple of the Tai Xu Sect. A month ago, she used demonic techniques to kill two senior uncles and injure dozens of fellow disciples. Then, she stole the sect’s treasure and fled down the mountain. Along the way, she disguised herself as her senior brother Yan Chixia, deceiving treasures from seven sects before disappearing. This Jiang Ruoming was the original owner of the body Xue Ming now occupied. It was unknown what happened after she arrived at the temple, but by the time Xue Ming crossed over, she was already dead.

Xue Ming glanced at Lu Man, “I remember hearing from others that the Little Golden Immortal is a favored concubine of the Jade Face Ghost King. What is your relationship with Jiang Ruoming, and why did you come to save me?”

Lu Man took out two gold ingots from her sleeve and placed them on the table, saying, “This information was bought from the Ghost Realm’s Know-It-All. I could have told you myself, but you were suspicious of me, so I wanted you to see for yourself to prove I’m not lying. My relationship with Jiang Ruoming is complicated, but I will answer all your questions. For now, we need to find a place to stay.”

“Then I have one question,” Xue Ming said seriously, staring at Lu Man. “Is Jiang Ruoming still alive?”

The deer spirit replied, “Naturally.”

Xue Ming lowered her head in silence, her expression dark and unclear.

Lu Man waited for a moment; seeing that Xue Ming was not speaking and was not as emotional as expected, she asked, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

Xue Ming quickly raised her head and touched her stomach, “Oh, I’m a bit hungry now. Can you get me some food for the living?”

Lu Man turned to Cui Ren, “Prepare an upper room and some food for the living.”

Cui Ren pocketed the gold ingots with a smile and led them to the back courtyard, towards a grand building. On the way, Lu Man asked, “You don’t seem afraid. Earlier, I thought you were very timid.”

Xue Ming was indeed a bit scared, facing these powerful beings and the sinister-sounding Jiang Ruoming. But since she occupied this body, she had no reason to give it up. If the ghostly Jiang Ruoming wanted her body back, Xue Ming could generously offer her old body. Although it was hit by a car and the bones were shattered, with some steel pins and a crutch, it might still be livable. In any case, this body had a new name now. No matter who she was before, she was now Xue Ming.

Xue Ming said, “Let me eat first. I’ve been through a lot tonight, and I’m hungry.”

Meanwhile, the locust tree was trampled to pieces, its remaining roots scattered and quickly losing their original color, turning ash-white like burnt remains. The ground was a mess, with walls shattered and the earth cracked like scars. The corpses hanging from the tree were scattered and quickly dried up, leaving only shriveled skin wrapped around bones. Everything quieted down, with only a gentle breeze swirling in the desolate area.

Yan Yuhe stood by the broken wall, the last place he saw Xue Ming. Her presence had disappeared entirely from this place.

Jiang Xing called out a few short cries from a distance, then flew over with something in its beak. It had returned to its previous size, flapping its wings rapidly, and landed beside Yan Yuhe, dropping the item into his hand. It was the gray Yang Gathering Talisman, with its string broken. The Bagua diagram on it was still slowly rotating, emitting a strong yang energy. This yang energy had made Yan Yuhe believe that Xue Ming was still in the area.

“Escaped again?” ‘Ning Caichen’ stood nearby with his arms crossed, shaking his head and clicking his tongue, “With her extremely yin body, once she slips away, she’s as slippery as an eel. I told you we should have acted directly earlier.”

Yan Yuhe looked down at the Yang Gathering Talisman in his hand. With a clench of his fist, the talisman turned to dust and scattered from his palm. His expression was cold, and his beautiful eyes narrowed, hiding the accumulated anger within. His entire demeanor exuded a menacing aura as he spoke calmly, “Gu Jinglan, do you want to die again?”

‘Ning Caichen’ laughed heartily, showing no fear, but took a few steps back, saying, “But she certainly can’t leave the Ghost Realm. She has set up more than one place to gather corpses and energy. Just search elsewhere. Why get so angry?”