[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner":3,"chapter-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-4":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm Not Crazy—This Is the Emperor's Banner",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2291344,4480,"Chapter 4: Ghosts","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-4",4,"\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin saw the elevator doors close and hurriedly reached out to press the B1 and B2 buttons, but paused halfway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she didn’t know Shen Siyuan, she knew he was an employee of Guanghui Animation and often encountered him at the company, so she wasn’t worried about finding him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, the most important thing was the daughter in her arms; she had countless questions and wanted to ask the little one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dou Dou, you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin opened her mouth but didn’t know what to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking for a moment, she asked softly: “Dou Dou, have you been beside Mom these past two years?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe~, and Dad too.” Dou Dou rubbed her eyes and grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then she added, slightly aggrieved: “But you couldn’t hear me or see me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m sorry, it’s Mom’s fault.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin stroked her daughter’s tiny face, filled with heartache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three-year-old Dou Dou didn’t speak clearly yet, her words were jumbled, but Jiang Wenxin, as her mother, though separated for over two years, loved her and understood her deeply—etched into her bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So with gentle guidance, she quickly learned the full story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I drank so, so much water, I just couldn’t drink anymore, my belly felt like it would burst, and seawater tasted awful…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Patting her little belly, she frowned, as if still feeling the pain from back then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then suddenly, my belly wasn’t swollen anymore, I felt light and floated up from the sea, Mom, let me tell you, I was so strong then—shoo-shoo-shoo… like a little sea turtle…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou waved her arms, beaming with excitement; she compared herself to a sea turtle because her family had once kept one as a pet and later took her to release it into the ocean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When I got to the beach… there were so many police uncles… but you couldn’t see me. I saw Mom crying so sadly—I tried to comfort you, kissed you—but you couldn’t hear or see me, and I was so heartbroken…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Dou had drowned; Binhai was a coastal city, so going to the beach in summer was normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Dou had gone to the beach with her grandparents, and by accident, was swept away by a wave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin fell seriously ill; after recovering, she sank into deep guilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Dou Dou had always been under her care, but that day she had an urgent matter, and her grandparents said they missed their granddaughter, so Jiang Wenxin sent Dou Dou to stay with them for a day—never imagining such a tragedy would happen in just one day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her husband worried she’d fall into depression if she stayed home too long, so he arranged, through family connections, her current quiet job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, after starting work, Jiang Wenxin slowly emerged from her grief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom, I’m a good little girl—I always stayed right behind you, or waited alone at home for you to get off work…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a hint of pride and a touch of grievance in Dou Dou’s voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Jiang Wenxin pulled her tightly into her arms, heart aching, then stepped out of the elevator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom knows, baby, you’re the best…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The basement on B3 wasn’t dark—it was brightly lit—but even so, every day after work, walking alone through this silent space, Jiang Wenxin still felt afraid and unconsciously quickened her pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But today, she felt no fear at all; instead, she wished to walk slower, to linger longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it, baby?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When you walk, can you go slower, like now?” Dou Dou waved her tiny hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why? Mom doesn’t usually walk fast.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, you’re too fast… hmm…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou tilted her head, thinking hard—adorable beyond words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once, I went shopping with Mom, but you walked too fast—I lost you. But I was smart, I didn’t run away, I just waited right where I was. But… but…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke, Dou’s lips pursed, brimming with grievance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I waited… for so, so long…” Dou opened her small arms to gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin’s heart ached at this—she realized she’d lost Dou Dou again. Thankfully, the little girl had been clever and waited right where she’d been left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the thought of leaving her alone, waiting in solitude, pierced her heart like needles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some uncles and aunts said they could help me find you, but Dad said not to go with strangers, so I waited right there. But… but Mom, I waited too long, I got so anxious—so please, don’t walk so fast anymore…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin noticed the problem in her words and couldn’t help asking: “What uncles and aunts?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ones who died too,” Dou Dou said innocently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned out Dou Dou already knew she herself was dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin was startled—so if that was true, were there many ghosts in this world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did all people wander the earth after death? No, that couldn’t be right—they should go to heaven. But this was Great Xia; they should return to the Underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Siyuan saw an unbelievable sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, ghosts filled the streets—some pacing under streetlights, some strolling down roads, others lingering outside shops…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People didn’t avoid ghosts, and ghosts didn’t avoid people—they were clearly separated, interfering with nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Siyuan longed to immediately summon the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and absorb these souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was now broken, most of its power lost; sweeping up so many souls at once was impossible now. Besides, he wasn’t a demonic cultivator—he couldn’t commit such a heinous act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he’d just gained this opportunity and didn’t fully understand this world yet—he should be cautious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Siyuan stepped out of the building into the parking lot, found his electric scooter, but kept observing the wandering souls along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world was strange—no spiritual energy at all, yet ghosts existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These ghosts seemed chaotic, but actually followed their own set of rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Humans couldn’t see ghosts, and ghosts couldn’t affect humans—they could even be harmed by a person’s Three Fires.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless a person’s fortune declined and their Three Fires weakened, then ghosts might cling to them; though not causing real harm, they’d bring bad luck and constant misfortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Three Fires refer to the fire at the crown of the head and the two fires on the shoulders; the stronger a person, the brighter their Three Fires—unless it was a close relative, ghosts would avoid them entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, ghosts and humans remained clearly separated, never interfering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was somewhat similar to the Great Wasteland, but the Great Wasteland had the Underworld, the Netherworld, Hell, Elysium, Divine Realms, Heaven, the Pure Land, and more—each soul had its own destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the ghosts in this world seemed to have no destination, so they wandered endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And because the world’s qi was murky, no powerful malevolent spirits could form—thus, a balance was reached, and all coexisted peacefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Shen Siyuan noticed some ghosts dissolved into particles and vanished—he felt no guiding force, only pure disappearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the countless souls passing through the streets, Shen Siyuan felt he’d forgotten something important.\u003C\u002Fp>",1169,"2026-06-20T03:53:08.657Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cb785b9ea281e9e96a49d787890f31dde8783d4c5d155baaab31d41f1f61d9bc","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-5","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-3",623,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-cover.jpg"]