Chapter 347

"Dust to dust, earth to earth, everything has become past clouds and smoke, the curtain has fallen." I clapped my hands, forcing a light laugh.

Taozi also forced a faint smile toward me, she said relieved: "Yes, it's all over." But anyone could hear the hint of gloom in her tone.

She asked me a question: "You say, are ghosts scary?"

I smiled and said, "They are pretty scary, right?"

"But you're a Daoist, ghosts shouldn't be afraid of you, should they?" I fell silent—people fear ghosts, ghosts fear people, going round and round we're back to square one.

"Actually, there are some things in this world scarier and more malicious than ghosts, aren't there?" she muttered to herself.

"Perhaps," I laughed, and suddenly I recalled a saying of Confucius: harsh government is fiercer than a tiger. Those in power, aren't they also human? In the end, what Confucius meant was that the human heart is more treacherous than savage beasts.

Since it surpasses beasts, it doesn't necessarily lose to evil ghosts; it seems not only later generations, but even a thousand years ago our predecessors already had a clear definition of the human heart.

"By the way, how are you going to deal with that cockroach in the toilet?" Seeing me silent, Taozi spoke up again to ask me.

"Holy shit," after Taozi's reminder I remembered there was still a grave lad lingering in the toilet. I hurriedly ran nonstop to the women's restroom. But when I arrived, I found the magic circle had a breach, and the grave lad crawled out through it.

"Damn it," after that thing left, where am I supposed to catch it? I don't have the ability to chase a cockroach all over the world. Thinking that, I ran out of the women's restroom and searched Taozi's company everywhere. Finally I confirmed the grave lad had already fled, and I don't know where he went.

In the end, I could only give up. No matter where he went, I had done my best; I believe there won't be fewer Daoists in this world, only that the grave lad will harm people, and eventually a righteous person will apprehend him.

Taozi made a call, asking someone to come overnight to handle things here. Yao Yirong is still unconscious; it seems she's seriously injured this time.

After coming out, Taozi thanked me again.

I have to say, Taozi is a very beautiful girl; although her looks are slightly inferior to Yao Yirong's, her mature aura is something Yao Yirong can never match.

I never expected that because of this incident we would later become good friends. So much so that years later, whenever the cute emojis of Taozi and Ali appear online, I always call her and playfully say, "Taozi, I'm Ali, how are you?" and the reply is always her hearty laughter.

Of course, that's a story for later; let's not mention it now.

After leaving her company, I directly took a taxi home.

When I got home, I hadn't yet had time to refine the jade pendant; opening the door, I saw this scene.

Grandma Red sat on the left side of the incense burner, while on the right were Little Fat and Murong Jia Jia in ancient attire, teasing Little Fat. The scene looked warm and harmonious; if a man were added, it would completely give the impression of three generations living together.

"Ji, ji..." Little Fat saw me and, delighted, leapt from beside me onto my shoulder.

"Ji... ji" Little Fat continued to giggle and hop on my shoulder.

"Ji, ji," what country's prophecy is this, what does it mean? I turned my puzzled gaze toward Grandma Red.

Grandma Red affectionately glanced at Little Fat, then smiled at me and said, "Little Fat's words, he learned them from comic books."

Grandma Red's explanation left me somewhat speechless; it's said that during the time I was away, Little Fat became overly obsessed with little-person comics, and the phrase "ji ji" is just the catchphrase of the main character in those comics.

They say comics make people addicted, and that's truly not empty—look, even Little Fat's spirit is immersed in them, unable to extricate himself.

I smiled helplessly, poked his nose, then turned my gaze to Murong Jia Jia, questioning doubtfully: "How did you come out? Weren't you supposed to be refining the jade pendant?"

While saying that, I lifted the Maoshan jade I had prepared for her.

Murong Jia Jia wore a pure white robe, as spotless as snow; she walked over to me, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, although I haven't seen the outside world for several hundred years, my soul isn't that weak yet."

"I came out because I couldn't resist my curiosity," she added.

I was puzzled, asked her what she was curious about; she pointed her finger at Little Fat and said, "Because of him."

I suspiciously eyed Little Fat a few times; yeah, he's quite cute, wearing a red belly band, all chubby, with an undeniable instant-kill charm for women.

"Where are your thoughts?" Murong Jia Jia gave me a sideways glance: "Don't you feel there's a mark on his body?"

Murong Jia Jia's words left me stunned; I searched Little Fat's body for a long time but couldn't find any of the mark she mentioned.

"You really don't feel it? That's a soul mark," she frowned again.

I shook my head and said no. Then I immediately asked her: "Have you discovered some secret about Little Fat?" At that moment, I recalled that armored soldier spirit.

Murong Jia Jia frowned, thought for a moment, then as if she had figured something out, gave me a mysterious smile: "The secret on his body, you'll know it later."

That remark really left me baffled, but she's not wrong—at least the appearance of that armored soldier spirit has shrouded Little Fat in a veil of mystery.

"By the way, you still haven't told me how to refine this jade pendant," I said, pulling out the pendant and placing it before her.

She pointed to the hallway outside the house and said, "First put it under the moonlight."

After I placed the jade pendant in the hallway, Murong Jia Jia added: "Go get a brush and some mercury."

"A brush and mercury? No ink?" I asked.

She shook her head: "No need."

Immediately, without any preparation on my part, Murong Jia Jia suddenly took hold of my hand. Then, with her slender hand she turned it, grasped my hand, picked up the brush, dipped it in mercury, and drew an inexplicable pattern on the jade pendant.

Although Murong Jia Jia is a spirit, her touch felt no different from a real person's; when our hands met, I actually sensed that icy, smooth, cold feeling like ice and snow.

My body trembled, my mind went blank instantly. This was my first contact with a girl; although she's a ghost, she is nevertheless female.

I just stood there like a puppet, held by Murong Jia Jia's hand, as she traced stroke by stroke on the jade pendant; the mercury dripped onto it, all merging in, with not a single drop spilling out.

I don't know how long passed, then Murong Jia Jia gave me a soft laugh: "All right, I'm going in."

After speaking, her spirit gently floated into the jade pendant.

A gentle voice came from within the jade pendant: "From now on, keep this jade pendant with you! Remember you promised me you'd find him for me."

Murong Jia Jia's words pulled me out of my reverie; at this point I had been running around all day and should have been exhausted. Yet when I grasped the jade pendant, I felt genuinely refreshed and invigorated, as if I had soaked in a hot spring, washing away all fatigue, even my pores relaxing.

Having come to my senses, I fell silent for a moment, then asked Murong Jia Jia: "Can you tell me who you are, and why you know so much?"

The pattern Murong Jia Jia drew is an ancient rune, presumably long lost. From the timing of her drawing, the placement of the jade, everything matched perfectly with a Qimen formation; each stroke of the rune was naturally perfect, and after she finished it became the spirit‑gathering formation recorded in ancient texts.

All of this, following Little Fat, added another mystery to my heart.

"I've forgotten who I am, I only remember a name, and I only remember that I'm waiting for him." Murong Jia Jia's gentle voice came from the jade pendant, answering me.

I stopped asking; even if I found out who she was, what would it change? After all, she's merely a pitiful person who lost her memory.

Pangzi still hadn't returned; I went to bed and slept soundly until the next morning, when the house phone woke me up.

I picked up the phone, and from the other end came Pangzi's excited voice.

"Hai Sheng, come quick? Something's up, a big deal!" Pangzi's voice rose several decibels.

"What could be worth your excitement? Could it be that QingSongShu went to help you set you up with Silijing?" I said, rubbing my sleepy eyes, teasing him.

"Go fuck your sister, I'm talking about Yuan Qiu—he's looking for us!" Pangzi let out a sigh of relief: "Looks like you and I are going on a long trip."

Although his voice was lowered in the end, the excitement could still not be hidden. Needless to say, he must be so happy because he had a chance to escape from the clutches of Seventh Master Yang.

"Okay, I'll be there right away, you and Yuan Qiu wait for me at the stall." After hanging up the phone, he stretched and looked at the morning sun slanting into the room, and couldn't help but sigh: "Another day begins, raped by this cruel reality."