Chapter 75

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, everything has turned into past clouds and smoke, the curtain has fallen." I clapped my hands, forcing a light laugh and said

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 laughed and said, "It's pretty scary?"

"But you're a Daoist, ghosts shouldn't be afraid of you, right?" I remained silent; people fear ghosts, ghosts fear people, going round and round we're back to the starting point

"Actually, there are some things in this world that are scarier and more sinister than ghosts, right?" She muttered to herself

"Maybe." I laughed, and suddenly I recalled a saying of Confucius: "Harsh governance is fiercer than a tiger." Those in power, are they not also people? After all, what Confucius meant to express is that the human heart is more treacherous than ancient 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 planning to deal with that cockroach in the toilet?" Seeing me silent, Taozi asked again

Damn it, after Taozi's reminder, I finally remembered there was still a tomb lord lingering in the toilet. I hurriedly rushed to the women's restroom nonstop. But when I arrived at the toilet, I discovered the magic circle had a breach, and the tomb lord crawled out from that gap

Damn it, after this thing left, where could I 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 tomb lord had already fled, and I don't know where it went

In the end, I could only give up. No matter where he ran, I had done my best. I believe there won't be fewer Daoists in this world; if the tomb lord harms people, a righteous person will surely apprehend him

Taozi made a phone 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 appearance is slightly inferior to Yao Yirong's, that 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 those cute emojis of Taozi and Ali appear online, I always call her and playfully say, "Taozi, I'm Ali, how are you?" And the response is always her hearty laughter

Of course, that's a story for another time

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

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

"Ya, ya..." Little Fat, seeing me, happily jumped from beside me onto my shoulder

"Ya... ya" Little Fat continued to giggle and jump on my shoulder

"Ya, ya, what prophecy is this from another country, what does it mean?" I turned my puzzled gaze toward Red Granny

Red Granny gazed fondly at Little Fat, then smiled and said to me: "Little Fat's words are learned from comic books"

Red Granny's explanation left me somewhat speechless; it's said that during the time I was away, Little Fat became excessively obsessed with those little-person comics, and the "ya ya" language is just the language of the comic's main character

Everyone says comics are addictive, and this is truly not false; look, even Little Fat's soul is addicted, unable to extricate itself

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

While saying that, I raised the Mao Mountain jade I had prepared for her

Murong Jiaja wore a white robe, pure as snow; she walked over to me, smiled and said: "Don't worry, although I haven't seen the outside world for hundreds of 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 hand at Little Fat and said: "Because of him"

I skeptically glanced at Little Fat a few times; well, he's quite cute, wearing a red belly band, all chubby, possessing an undeniable instant-kill charm toward women

"Where are your thoughts?" Murong Jiaja gave me a sideways glance: "You don't feel that there's a mark on his body?"

Murong Jiaja's words left me stunned; I searched Little Fat's body for a long time but found nothing of the mark she mentioned

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

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

Murong Jiaja frowned, pondered for a moment, then seemed to understand something, and gave me a mysterious smile: "The secret on his body, you will know in the future"

That statement really left me baffled, but she's not wrong—at least the appearance of that armored soldier soul 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 took out the jade pendant and placed it before her

She pointed to the hallway outside and said, "First place it under the moonlight"

After I placed the jade pendant in the hallway, Murong Jiaja again said: "Go get a brush and mercury"

"Brush and mercury? No ink?" I asked

She shook her head: "No need"

Immediately, without any preparation on my part, Murong Jiaja suddenly took hold of my hand. Then, with her slender hand turning lightly, she grasped my hand, picked up the brush, dipped it in mercury, and drew a strange pattern on the jade pendant

Although Murong Jiaja is a spirit, her touch felt no different from a real person's; when our hands met, I actually could feel that icy, smooth sensation 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's still female

I just stood there like a puppet, held by Murong Jiaja's hand, stroke by stroke tracing on the jade pendant; the mercury dripped onto the pendant, all merging in, with not a single drop leaking out

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

After speaking, her soul 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 moment, after a day's hustle, I should have been exhausted. Yet when I grasped this jade pendant, I genuinely felt refreshed and clear-headed, as if I had soaked in a hot spring, washing away all fatigue, with even every pore of my body relaxing.

After coming to, I fell silent for a moment and asked Murong Jia Jia: "Can you tell me who you are, and why do you know so much?"

What Murong Jia Jia drew was a rune, one of great antiquity that ought to have been lost. From the timing of her drawing, the placement of the jade, every detail unexpectedly matched perfectly with a Qimen formation; each stroke of the rune was naturally perfect, and once the brush lifted it became the Spirit-Gathering Array recorded in ancient texts.

All of this, following Little Fat, once again added a mystery to my heart.

"I have forgotten who I am, I only remember a name, I only remember that I am 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 matter? After all, she is merely a poor soul who has lost her memory.

Pangzi still hadn't returned; I ran to bed and slept soundly, and it wasn't until the next morning that the phone in the room 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, something big!" Pangzi's voice rose several decibels.

"What could be worth your excitement? Could it be that QingSongShu went to play matchmaker for you and Silijing?" I teased him, rubbing my sleepy eyes.

"Damn it, I'm talking about Yuan Qiu—he's looking for us!" Pangzi said, relieved: "Looks like we're going on a long trip."

Although his voice was lowered at the end, he couldn't hide that excitement. Needless to say, he must be thrilled because he has a chance to escape Yang Qiye's clutches.

"Fine, I'll be there soon, you and Yuan Qiu wait for me at the stall." He hung up the phone, stretched, looked at the morning sun slanting into the room, and couldn't help sighing: "Another day begins, being raped by this cruel reality."