Bai Fanlu blended in with the crowds of ghosts who were also crossing the chain bridge. From a distance, he could see Meng Po distributing soup bowl after bowl to the passing ghosts.

Regarding the appearance of Meng Po, the book already gave rich and colourful descriptions, so Bai Fanlu was not surprised at it. Meng Po was a name that sounded like a granny’s but this entity was, in fact, a young woman.

Whenever she smiled at the ghosts, her alluring yet aloof temperament never failed to draw them in as they eagerly received a bowl of that bitter soup. Yet if any of them attempted to chat her up, she would never pay them any heed unless she was in a terribly good mood.

The original owner and Yun Zhan had encountered her more than once. He recalled that in the book, Bai Fanlu merely uttered the first few words to his first question and Meng Po got annoyed at once. He had to wait three days and three nights before she bothered to converse with him and finally agreed to return Yun Zhan’s soul and spirit in exchange for his right towards reincarnation. In short, this woman was both arrogant and unreasonable.

Bai Fanlu naturally didn't dare to be slipshod at interacting with her because of her perverse nature. He stepped forward, gave a slight bow but did not speak. He had learnt this lesson from the original owner that silence was golden.

Let me wait and see, Bai Fanlu thought, there is still time to observe Meng Po’s present mood.

If he was not lucky enough to catch her at a good time, Bai Fanlu will leave to rescue Xiao Liu. After sending the youth back to Tianshu Sect, he would then ask Ling Qingzi to send him to the Ghost Realm once more to continue with this mission.

Here at the Yellow Spring, there was also sunrise and sunset. When Bai Fanlu first entered the Realm, the sun was hanging above and he decided that by the time the sun drew close to the horizon, and if Meng Po was still ignoring him, then he would head out.

Time passed slowly, and finally just as Bai Fanlu was contemplating whether to leave, Meng Po suddenly yelled at someone out of nowhere, "Hey stubborn kid, are you still not planning to reincarnate today!"

After shouting and noticing that no one responded, she added impatiently, "Tsk! What a nuisance! How many days have passed since, and you are still hovering in this old lady's view!”

There were no other ghosts on the pier, but Bai Fanlu saw a figure at the banks in the distance.

"Humph! Forget it, less work for this old lady!”

Meng Po spun around, rustling her black gauze skirt and as if Bai Fanlu was non-existent, she leaned in the air casually. She didn’t seem to be leaning on anything but was able to sit so steadily with her bare ankles brushing the waters of the Yellow Spring. The scene was one of a beauty playing in the water.

Bai Fanlu thought for a while, then turned and approached the figure on the banks.

When he got closer, he realised that it was a young man dressed in cotton robes.

Normally, the appearance of a ghost was what it looked like right before its final moments. The clothes on this young man were worn out and had patchwork. Other than numerous large and small holes which were revealing of the state he was in, the only strap used to fasten his hair was also loose, causing half of his hair to fall down. In short, he looked embarrassingly messy.

The man was kneeling on the banks, facing the Yellow Spring, his hands clasped together, as if praying.

"Young man?” Bai Fanlu greeted him, and the man quickly opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Why do you refuse to reincarnate?”

Perhaps many passing ghosts had asked him this same question. The young man was not too surprised when this was posed by Bai Fanlu. He simply sighed, "My mother was seriously ill, yet I left her. I can't let it go in my heart.”

"I see..." What a filial son. How pitiful indeed. Bai Fanlu thought, and then persuaded, "But if you don't reincarnate, nothing will change either. Since your mother is alive, she must hope that you can rest in peace.”

"I know that," the young man lowered his head, "but I have heard people say that if you make a wish upon the Yellow Springs for forty-nine days, you will get your heart’s desire.”

Bai Fanlu thought at once that these words seemed to be used by the rotten Taoist priests to deceive people.

Sure enough, Meng Po sneered at this point, "I have told you so many times before, but you refuse to believe me. You chose to trust those charlatans instead.”

The youth became gloomy, but still knelt stubbornly. Bai Fanlu asked him, "What’s your heart’s desire?”

The young man did not bother to hide. He probably thought that if one did not believe him, they would just laugh if off and joke that he was being delusional. “I want a Snow Lingzhi.”

Snow Lingzhi? Bai Fanlu was startled.

The system’s side mission of ‘A Compassionate Mother, A Child’s Filial Piety’ turned out to be waiting for him right here!

Bai Fanlu’s face was covered by his veiled hat, and the young man couldn’t see his expression. At this time, the man continued, “My mother has been coughing and wheezing all year round and only a Snow Lingzhi can cure her. I have searched far and wide like a madman and in the end..."

The young man laughed miserably and his eyes were reddened. Bai Fanlu almost understood immediately when he saw this reaction. Seeing the man’s bruised appearance and the knowledge that nine out of ten people lost their lives attempting to collect medicinal herbs grown high in the mountains, Bai Fanlu knew that he fell to his death during his search.

Bai Fanlu wanted very much to pat the young man on his shoulder, but the other party was just a ghost. If he patted him, his hand would probably pass straight through.

So he took a step forward and squatted down, with his back facing Meng Po, and whispered, "I can help you.”

Upon hearing this, the young man suddenly spun his head to look at Bai Fanlu.

Bai Fanlu gestured, telling him to keep quiet, and then with a flick of his wrist, a white Snow Lingzhi appeared in his palm.

The young man widened his eyes in disbelief.

"This…"

"Tell me where your home is and your family name. Then, leave the rest to me.”

Meng Po glanced at the two men from time to time by the banks of the Yellow Spring. They seemed to be conversing and the expression on the youth's face changed from great shock to relief. Next, he stood up and walked towards her.

"I'm here to reincarnate.”

The young man's words surprised Meng Po so much that she raised her eyebrows, "What! Changed your mind so soon? That's good, come on.”

Meng Po stretched out her hand, and a bowl of soup appeared in front of the young man's eyes. She smiled leisurely, "Drink this and this life is over. In your next life, I wish you a long life.”

Hearing these words, Bai Fanlu thought that Meng Po did have a human side to her.

The young man held the bowl with both hands, cast a look at Bai Fanlu, raised his head and gulped down the entire bowl. Then, he stepped into the Yellow Spring, and never looked back.

The waves of the Yellow Spring rippled and calmed down again very soon.

Meng Po suddenly said, "How about you? Not reincarnating?”

It seemed that she was finally willing to talk to himself, so Bai Fanlu thought for a while, "I also have an unfulfilled wish.”

"Ha!” Meng Po chuckled, "It just so happens that I am bored. Tell me then."

"I wish to let a shadow demon re-enter the reincarnation cycle.”

"Shadow demon?” Meng Po was surprised at first, and then smiled again, "Who is he to you?"

It was probably the second time someone asked him a similar question but this time, Bai Fanlu’s answer was, "Confidant.”

“Confidant?” Meng Po shook her head, "A gentleman willingly lays his life down for a confidant. This saying must be true.”

This seemingly superfluous ‘saying’ made Bai Fanlu sense that Meng Po could have discovered that he was ‘not dead’, but did not expose him. Instead, she explained, “It's difficult, but it's not completely impossible..."

Bai Fanlu's face was hidden behind the white gauze, suppressing his overwhelming joy, he heard Meng Po add another line, "If I were to tell you, how does it benefit me?”

No freaking way. Bai Fanlu recalled the original plot. Did she want him to offer up his right to reincarnation again?

At this, he asked, "Do you want my right to reincarnate?”

"You..." Po Meng suddenly covered her mouth and broke into a giggle. The silver fish swimming near the surface of the Yellow Spring were frightened and swam off, "Why do you think like this, you silly boy. Why would I want your right to be reincarnated?”

"..." Bai Fanlu felt ridiculed, so was he deceived by the plot again?

"As long as you do one thing for me, I will tell you the way. Whether you succeed or not with this method, is solely on you. This is a fair exchange. Do I seem so unreasonable?”

Hearing Meng Po's unstoppable laughter, Bai Fanlu realised that he was really a little stupid, "Then what do you need me to do?”

Meng Po straightened up slightly and placed two fingers on the side of her cheek. Her face was beautiful and a smile blossomed, "It’s simple. Go to the solitary cable bridge on my behalf and ask the annoying ghost a question.”

“Erm… The annoying ghost? Are you referring to... Wu Zhong?”

"Just ask him if he has figured it out. If he has, tell him to come here as soon as possible. Otherwise, the old lady won't wait any longer.” Meng Po gave a cold snort and raised her chin proudly. Yet, there was a visible blush on her charming and alluring face.

Bai Fanlu realised at once that he had been asked to be a matchmaking messenger, which was a much easier task than he imagined.

Under the intense gaze of Meng Po, Bai Fanlu returned to the solitary cable bridge, while Wu Zhong was still sitting at the same spot.

The ghost went on fishing, but Bai Fanlu was clueless as to where he kept all those he managed to catch.

"Senior Wu, Meng Po wants this junior to bring you a message…”

"I know.”

Wu Zhong was not the least surprised. With a tug of his fishing rod, a reflective glare flickered and the fish was gone. The empty hook fell back into the water once more.

Bai Fanlu waited for a while, but did not hear him continue, "Senior Wu?”

Wu Zhong answered leisurely, "You can return her these words.”

"Oh, okay…"

Just reply 'I know'? Meng Po will not be angry, right? Bai Fanlu was about to leave with a sense of anxiety, when Wu Zhong suddenly said "Hey".

Bai Fanlu turned his head and saw Wu Zhong looking at him with a gentle smile on his face, "Leave quickly after finishing your business here. If I have a chance to see you again in the future, how about I tell a story?”

Tell me a story?

Bai Fanlu was puzzled. Although Wu Zhong did appear to mention this casually as if expressing a joke, Bai Fanlu was vaguely interested in his proposition. He intuitively felt that this story was worth listening to.

Bidding farewell to Wu Zhong, Bai Fanlu took his words to Meng Po.

As he expected, Meng Po was indeed not very pleased, but after she snorted sullenly, she did not say anything further to make things difficult for Bai Fanlu. Instead, she happily shared with him the solution.

"The shadow demon can't be reincarnated because his soul is damaged. On the other hand, there are people in the world who die with intact souls but without having fully developed bodies.”

"Therefore, you only have to find such a physical body, attach the shadow demon to it. Let him live in the human world for around twenty years, and the shadow demon’s soul can be made complete. That way, he may re-enter the reincarnation cycle.”

At this time, Bai Fanlu thought of the phrase which the system mentioned, "To live is to die, and to die is to live”. He understood it all at once. So that's what it meant! This trip to the Ghost Realm was really worthwhile after all.

Bai Fanlu thought to himself, and finally double checked that the seven Nether Ghost Flames in this treasure pouch were all there, and finally felt at ease. Then, Bai Fanlu returned the same way he came.

When he arrived at the entrance of the Ghost Realm, the markings under his feet lit up, and in the blink of an eye, the icy breath felt by his whole body reminded him that he had returned to Xun Huang's side.

"Did you get them?”

"En.”

Bai Fanlu glanced at Xun Huang, but didn't plan to hand over the items immediately.
Xun Huang smirked as if he had guessed what Bai Fanlu was thinking. He raised his left hand, and his human hand suddenly turned into a ferocious dragon claw with sharp talons, facing Bai Fanlu’s side.

Bai Fanlu didn't dodge, for he had the Ghost Flames in his possession. If Xun Huang dared to go back on his word, he would immediately destroy the treasure pouch.

However, each of them had their own needs now. Bai Fanlu trusted that Xun Huang would not inflict such harm to others with his self-interest as collateral damage.

Sure enough, Xun Huang placed his left hand on his right dragon's claw, then he lifted his index finger and pulled hard. Without even frowning, a piece of dragon scale which had the appearance of an ice jade was flipped up and floated towards Bai Fanlu.

"This is a piece of my dragon scale. It is enough to relieve the poison in the boy’s body. Take it!”

Bai Fanlu was delighted! He quickly grabbed the dragon scale in his hand, and at the same time the treasure pouch was opened, and seven Nether Ghost Flames flew out.

After that, he couldn’t be bothered about Xun Huang as he turned and flew out of the secret door, leaving the temple.

When Bai Fanlu swung open the door, Xiao Liu was still in the same place, sitting with his eyes closed and adjusting his breath. His whole body was glowing in blue light. The moment Bai Fanlu saw him, a memory of a person flashed across Bai Fanlu’s mind, overlapping with the youth before him.

"Gege!”

With this sound, a name which almost came to his mind was abruptly brushed off. Bai Fanlu got anxious at this, and stepped forward to support Xiao Liu.

He was still horribly cold and Bai Fanlu didn't say anything more. He took out the dragon scale, and handed it over, "Quickly, consume this.”

Xiao Liu opened his mouth obediently and took it, causing Bai Fanlu to be slightly relieved. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt the ground shaking. There were muffled sounds coming from below as if something was sliding and about to emerge from the ground beneath.

The next moment, the floor was cracked and overturned, revealing a large chunk of bright white ice.

No, it wasn't ice!

‘Ice’ would not be solid enough to break through the earth in this manner.

Bai Fanlu and Xiao Liu looked at each other, and quickly erected a barrier around themselves.

In the next moment, the ‘ice’ completely broke through the soil. It had huge semi-circular scales attached to it, and next, was the appearance of sharp talons that were thicker and longer than a human body...

All four of the dragon's claws rose from the ground. The creature then took a step on the roof causing it to collapse and the sky to be covered with frost and ice.

This was the true form of Xun Huang. He had awakened!

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1 Comment

  1. LicoLico

    Oh, hope everything will be alright with our little shadow demon!
    Thank You for the new chapter (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

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