Chapter 82: Underworld Relics

Dodo’s memories did not end there. After an unknown length of time, she regained consciousness.

She awoke from darkness, her memories returning.

She stood on the bank of a river, overgrown with weeds, the water murmuring softly, all around desolate.

She looked down at her feet—and there… there was a strange feeling…

At that moment, her little head suddenly fell from her neck, rolling onto the ground.

Her vision shifted from above to below.

Dodo frantically tried to catch her head, but without it, she lost balance and fell.

Dodo stared in terror at the scene, then burst into loud sobs.

“Dad… Mom… save me… save me…”

But no one answered her.

Exhausted from crying, she tried to pick up her head with her hands—and realized her body had already picked it up.

Dodo quickly placed her little head back on her neck; it felt no different, and she felt no pain.

But she dared not look down again, holding her head with both hands, afraid it might fall off once more.

The unfamiliar surroundings made Dodo anxious; she hurried up the riverbank.

Following a narrow path along the bank, she ran and ran, not knowing how far or how long, and felt no fatigue…

Yet the barren wasteland filled Dodo with fear.

She ran while crying out for her dad and mom.

After yet more unknown time, she finally saw people.

“Auntie…”

She ran up eagerly, wanting to speak to them.

But they ignored her completely—and collided right into her.

Dodo was startled, feeling a sharp pain—only then did she notice the flames on their head and shoulders.

The sting came from those flames.

Terrified, Dodo scrambled backward and fell, her head rolling off again.

They ignored her and walked away.

Dodo’s eyes lost their luster; she cowered in a corner, cradling her head, whispering sobs, calling softly for her dad and mom…

She became a lone wandering soul, drifting through the streets.

During this time, she met many other “people.”

There was Grandma Zhang, Grandpa Lu, Uncle Pangsheng, Aunt Xiao Jing—so many, all kind to Dodo.

But one by one, they left Dodo.

Grandma Zhang and Grandpa Lu put down everything and returned to their hometown…

Uncle Pangsheng, heartbroken after Aunt Xiaomin remarried, vanished without a trace…

Aunt Xiao Jing left for another city with Brother Aming…

…

In truth, Grandma Zhang and Grandpa Lu returning home was not literal—it was the ghostly way of saying that when all living people forgot them, when they let go of all attachments, they would return home and dissolve into smoke and dust.

Uncle Pangsheng was a man Dodo knew before death; he died in the line of duty, and soon after, his wife remarried. Dodo last saw him by the river, and then he disappeared.

As for Aunt Xiao Jing, Dodo met her after death; Brother Aming was her son, and when he got into university, she went with him to another city.

Besides these, there were many other ghosts—some good, some bad. When she met the bad ones, she kept far away, and so far, no harm came to her.

To Dodo, these ghosts were merely passersby. Some tried to take her with them; others told her her parents had already left.

Yet in the end, Dodo stayed. She had her Route 6 bus, and a home she could never return to.

Dodo’s memories after death were chaotic, disordered—perhaps because without a body, she lost certain logic and cognition.

Dodo was lonely, riding Route 6 bus back and forth, yet never finding her home.

But Dodo was also a strong and innocent child; for all these years, she never chose to forget her parents. She firmly believed they would find her and take her home.

Shen Siyuan withdrew from Dodo’s memories, took a deep breath, and sank into emotion, unable to shake it off for a long while.

Then he noticed Yin Xingyue standing nearby, watching him with concern.

At her feet crouched a dog—not a prized breed, but an ordinary yellow mongrel, not very old, and now it too stared at Shen Siyuan.

“Where’s Dou Dou?” Shen Siyuan asked casually.

“She went home,” Yin Xingyue said.

“Is this the dog you mentioned?” Shen Siyuan’s gaze fixed on the mongrel.

Yin Xingyue nodded.

“It doesn’t run from you anymore?” Shen Siyuan asked offhandedly.

“It’s mainly afraid of Dou Dou. When Dou Dou’s gone, it’s not afraid anymore,” Yin Xingyue said.

Shen Siyuan extended a finger and beckoned the crouching little mongrel. The dog hesitated, then rose and slowly walked to Shen Siyuan.

This was his first time seeing a ghost dog.

He reached out and stroked its head, murmuring with emotion: “What is it you can’t let go of, that keeps you from leaving this world?”

The puppy couldn’t speak, only wagged its tail incessantly.

“Probably can’t bear to leave its master,” Yin Xingyue said beside him.

“Take it for a walk. I have something else to do,” Shen Siyuan said.

If it were Dou Dou, she’d instinctively ask, “What ‘four’ do you have?”—curious to the core.

But Yin Xingyue simply nodded obediently, picked up the dog on the ground, and vanished in a gust of yin wind.

Watching them leave, Shen Siyuan summoned the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner], pinched a hand seal, and Dodo drifted down from it.

At this moment, Dodo was much like Dou Dou when first entering the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner]—her whole body wreathed in Ming fire, completely unaware of how to suppress it.

The only difference was a ring of You blue light around her neck wound, like a blue necklace.

“Banner Master Brother~”

Seeing Shen Siyuan, Dodo’s face lit up with delight.

Entering the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner] branded her with a mark, implanted a memory, and made her recognize Shen Siyuan as her master.

Shen Siyuan smiled and nodded to her.

Dodo looked down at the Ming fire burning in her hands, clenched them, her face full of curiosity and joy.

“Wow, I’m burning!” she exclaimed.

Then she curiously waved her arms, tracing arcs of blue flame through the air.

The flames didn’t hurt her—instead, they felt warm and comforting.

Suddenly she realized, clutched her head with both hands, and cried out to Shen Siyuan: “Banner Master Brother, Banner Master Brother, my head won’t fall off anymore! My head won’t fall off anymore…”

“I know, but you also… uh…”

As he spoke, she pulled hard with both hands—and yanked her little head off again.

But the wound’s edge was no longer empty void; it now glowed with You blue Ming fire.

At that moment, a sudden yin wind swept through the room. Dodo released her grip—her head didn’t fall, but floated in midair…

“Wow, my head can fly!” Dodo exclaimed excitedly.

Shen Siyuan: …

“Is this the useless Flying Head Technique?” Shen Siyuan thought.

He knew well—it was merely Dodo gaining control over yin winds, lifting her own head, not any actual Flying Head Technique.

Her head circled the room twice, then settled back onto her neck.

Shen Siyuan seized the moment to ask: “Dodo, do you remember where your umbrella came from…?”

Before he finished speaking, Dodo frowned slightly: “Umbrella?”

Then she waved her hand—and an umbrella appeared in her grasp. Instantly, the Ming fire along her body surged down the handle, spreading across the entire canopy, igniting the whole umbrella in a strangely divine glow.

The crane in the crane-and-pine pattern on the umbrella came alive, transforming into a palm-sized immortal crane, circling and soaring through the flames, occasionally letting out joyful crane calls.