[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-invincible-female-ghost-is-a-bit-of-a-hopele":3,"chapter-the-invincible-female-ghost-is-a-bit-of-a-hopele-the-invincible-female-ghost-is-a-bit-of-a-hopele-chapter-241":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Invincible Female Ghost Is A Bit Of A Hopeless Romantic",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":12,"novelImage":21},{"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},1706429,2180,"Chapter 241: I... I Once... Didn't Want to Sit Either...","the-invincible-female-ghost-is-a-bit-of-a-hopele-chapter-241",241,"\u003Cp>The moment the seam opened, the black air didn't \"pour\" out so much as exhale like a long-suppressed living thing, twisting along the coffin rim and lunging straight toward the center of the stone path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When that qi hit the ground, it did not dissipate. Instead, it crawled slowly along the edge of the ash circle, like a layer of black oil spreading through a crack in the stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire talisman's light couldn't reach it, lightning couldn't suppress it, even the cold light in Song Qinghe's sealing plate shrank back at a single touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt less like ordinary yin energy and more like an ancient kind of \"field.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's heart sank. He knew the thing had finally slipped past the three false shells of \"borrowing the lamp, borrowing the seat, borrowing the name\" and was probing out its real foothold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't let it spread across the floor,\" he said in a low voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is a yin seat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once it fills, the seat becomes alive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Heng gripped his sword tighter and asked in a heavy voice, \"How do we break it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time he did not walk straight; he stepped the Seven Stars reversed gang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His left foot first touched the inner edge of the ash circle, the right foot then slanted in half an inch, then he spun his body, sliding out like a gust moving over the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each step he placed was accompanied by a faint short incantation to break the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stars press the ground, the ground must not cry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Step on the malice, malice shall not act.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I trace a line to sever your spread, I stamp a mark to lock your root.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Urgently, urgently, as by the law's command!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his third step, his short blade suddenly sliced backhanded, cutting a very shallow arc into the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though shallow, that arc seemed to tear open a corner of the yin seam in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black qi indeed halted, letting out a faint hissing, like a serpent's belly dragging over gravel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper-masked figure saw this and suddenly raised its hand to flip the register, its finger tapping three quick times on a particular page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its motions were swift, but Lu Yuan's eyes were quicker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's trying to replenish the seat root!\" Lu Yuan shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lin Zhaoxuan, strike the register corner, not the coffin!\" he barked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without asking why, Lin Zhaoxuan shifted the Thunderclap Token horizontally and began reciting a string of thunder incantations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right culture shatters, left martial astonishes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heaven book's corner, earth register's tendon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I borrow thunderfire to sever your page, do not let the yin names be nailed again!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bluish-white lightning did not strike straight down but slanted to slice the lower-right corner of the register.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That paper corner instantly charred and curled, and the black blood seeping from the register's edge was cut off in a single line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper-masked figure's body lurched as if someone had pulled its sinews; it staggered back half a step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that half-step, Lu Yuan saw where the black qi outside the coffin had spread to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't creeping outward randomly; it was following that extremely thin pale \"seat mark.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That white mark had originally been in the palm of the soil mound; now, as the black qi seeped in, it slowly became a blurred footprint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's forming a seat,\" Song Qinghe cried out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's gaze went ice-cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When a foot touches, the seat is made.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that he suddenly stabbed his short blade into the ground, the blade slanting into the black-ash circle and somehow standing firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his right hand made a seal, and his index, middle, and ring fingers tapped the hilt three times in succession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He exhaled a deep, extremely strange \"nailing-seat formula.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heaven nails one, earth nails three.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Human heart for nail, ghost foot hard to hang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I borrow the blade as a seat-stabilizing stake, borrow your yin spread as the counter-hammer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nail an inch, drop an inch, nail until your foot won't heed the king, nail until your soul won't recognize return.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Urgently, urgently, as by the law's command!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the last line he slammed his left palm down on the pommel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The short blade felt as if nailed by invisible force into the stone path. The black qi under the point abruptly stalled and was forced back half a foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The forming footprint gave a soggy plop, as if stepping into rotten mud, sinking back a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last the paper-masked figure made an extremely low cough, like something squeezed through paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It raised its head, and the crack in the white paper mask slowly widened to both sides, revealing a thread of black \"true mouth\" within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You cannot sever the seat root.\" it said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its voice was not loud, but sounded more human than before, like someone speaking with a wet tongue pressed to paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The seat root is in the roster, the roster is under the lamp, there are lamps under lamps.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing that, Lu Yuan's brow twitched sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Under lamps?\" Song Qinghe's face changed as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper-masked figure did not answer further; instead it snapped the register closed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that snap was not retreating; it seemed to lock something deeper into the paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next breath, those paper-skin faces that had already sunk along the sides of the stone path suddenly puffed up all at once, as if the yin qi surging in the register was being pumped into them mouth by mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's borrowing the register to nurture shells!\" Zhou Heng shouted urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan said coldly, \"Not only that. It's going to mirror the shell back at us, to reflect our shadows.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had he spoken than faint black shadows concurrently surfaced on the stone path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were not the normal shadows of the people standing there, but thinner, longer, more twisted silhouettes, like another layer of human forms lit from beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each black shadow clung to a person’s feet, trembling as if about to crawl up an ankle the next instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't step on the shadows!\" Lu Yuan yelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao were terrified and pulled their feet back, nearly tripping themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is a mirror-seat,\" Lu Yuan said quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's borrowing the black register to reverse the lamp. When the lamp reverses, the under-ground shadow becomes a seat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whoever keeps steady feet sits first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Qinghe's face went pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what do we do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and suddenly pulled an old little pouch of black incense ash from his bosom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the ash came out, a faint sandalwood and smoke scent rose—like offerings pressed against temple beams for years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Altar ash?\" Zhou Heng blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we don't scramble the shadows now, this game will really seat people to death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened the pouch, pinched out three bits, first smearing them on the back of his blade, then on the rim of Song Qinghe's sealing plate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last bit he flung hard toward the center of the stone path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Incense ash sets the boundary, fire qi becomes the gate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ash falls in three parts, the shadow cannot form a body.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those with names retreat, the nameless sink.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Urgently, urgently, as by the law's command!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the ash hit the ground it made a faint rustle, like countless little insects being buried in soil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black shadows clinging to everyone's feet went chaotic; their edges blurred and no longer kept the neat order of a seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time the paper-masked figure truly flared with anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It raised both hands and the register pages flipped on their own; the faint red fingerprints on the paper suddenly glowed one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each fingerprint that lit added a pale cold gleam further down the stone path, as if a small lamp underground had been lit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crap, it's opening the inner seat,\" Song Qinghe gasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The outer seat was broken; it wants to open the inner layer!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's gaze darkened further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So there really is another layer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly turned his eyes to the shrunken coffin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black eye in the coffin seam had not multiplied, but it was noticeably closer, as if someone were pushing it slowly toward the lid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Threads of black qi squeezed out of the seam, and the yin seat spreading on the ground had already half-formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's in the coffin isn't only the master,\" Lu Yuan murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's the seat-eye. If the seat-eye doesn't die, no amount of cutting outside will help.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Heng asked, \"How do we extinguish it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan was silent for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Lin Zhaoxuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your thunder, redirect it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Zhaoxuan blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Redirect?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lead the thunder into the coffin seam, but do not blast it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Use a Returning Thunder.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Zhaoxuan looked puzzled. \"How do we return it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan pointed with his right hand to his blade at his feet, to the ash on the ground, to Song Qinghe's plate, and to the coffin seam that kept seeping black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First borrow the thunder pattern on your token.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then borrow the altar-heart qi on my blade.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then borrow the yin-yang rotating light from Miss Song's plate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Finally, use the incense ash as the guide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thunder must take the return path, not the straight path.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When thunder enters the coffin, it must not damage the outer shell but strike the inner eye.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke rapidly now, as if not daring to delay even a breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will lay down the path for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember: thirty percent force outward, seventy percent returning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When you raise the token, do not be hasty, not fierce, not straight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Repeat the formula with me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Zhaoxuan's expression grew solemn; he nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You say it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan inhaled deeply and formed the \"Guide Thunder\" seal with his right hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His thumb pressed the root of his ring finger, index and middle fingers rose together like a lead, small finger slightly splayed, palm outward, as if holding an invisible wire of electricity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slowly chanted an extremely rare Returning Thunder incantation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thunder comes from the heavens, not to slay but to open.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Borrow me a single returning road, lend you a place of no return.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One part goes yang, one part goes yin, three parts follow the coffin rim, seven parts trace the earth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If thunder meets fire, the fire will retreat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If thunder meets water, the water will return.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If thunder meets ash, the ash becomes bridge.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Order!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the final word, Lin Zhaoxuan immediately understood. He raised the Thunderclap Token but instead of striking down it tilted and sank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The token's tip lightly touched the cold light on the rim of Song Qinghe's sealing plate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Qinghe's wrist trembled, and the Yin-Yang Fish on the plate sped up, the black and white lines being drawn out by the lightning into an extremely fine arc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That arc crawled along the incense ash on the ground like a silver-white slender snake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's eyes brightened and he shouted, \"Go!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sweat already showed on Lin Zhaoxuan's forehead, but he followed Lu Yuan's steps and slowly pressured the token.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lightning indeed no longer struck wildly; it traced along the ash, the plate's glow, and the altar-heart qi on the blade, inch by inch returning toward the coffin seam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Keep the rhythm!\" Lu Yuan barked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Three inches before the token tip, pause half a breath, then press half an inch!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Within the three inches, do not let the tip tremble!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the half breath is incomplete, the thunder won't fall!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When pressing the half inch, follow the coffin rim!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chant!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Zhaoxuan immediately chanted in time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lightning, hugging the ground, really followed that thin ash bridge and slowly returned to the coffin seam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper-masked figure was frantic enough to make the register tremble and squealed,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do not lead thunder into the eye!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan yelled back, \"Too late!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he suddenly swung his short blade. The coin on the blade's back flashed blood-bright and struck exactly at the thick black qi at the coffin lid seam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightning and blade-qi collided into the coffin seam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment the coffin thundered as if something below had been blown over, followed by a piercing, excruciatingly unpleasant shriek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shriek was not a ghost wail but like thousands of fine needles violently scraping metal, making scalps prickle and teeth ache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The coffin lid violently trembled and the seam opened half an inch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The glossy black eye within contracted slightly in the lightning and showed an oily gray membrane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's injured!\" Song Qinghe cried with relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan did not relax; he shouted fiercely, \"Don't be glad too soon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's pulling out the inner seat-eye.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had he said that than behind the black eye in the seam even more tiny white dots appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dense and countless, they were like clusters of tiny needle holes pushing outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Heng sucked in his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are those?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's gaze chilled like ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are its eye-servants.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Each eye is a named soul.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the thunder doesn't burn them all at once, they'll use the eyes to bite back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he finished, an extremely thin, extremely white finger slowly slid out of the seam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That finger was too slender to be human, like a chopstick of paper mache, its fingertip smeared with black oily gloss. It bent outward and pointed directly at Wang Cheng'an.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Cheng'an went white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why is it pointing at me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's heart leapt and he shouted, \"It registered the shadow under your feet!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Step back half a pace, don't let the shadow cling to the ground!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Cheng'an nearly dropped to his knees in fright and hurriedly retreated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that step backward landed on the edge of the black shadow behind him; he felt a chill at the ankle, like threads of ice winding up, and nearly lost his footing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Heng lunged to pull him back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan was even faster. The short blade swept across, the coin on the blade's back slapped the ground with a sharp sound as he shouted,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shadow to shadow, foot to foot!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Man walks the yang road, ghost walks the yin bridge!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Open!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That shout rang heavy, as if it tore an invisible line apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Cheng'an felt his ankle loosen; he barely steadied himself, white as paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't move.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan said softly, \"It wasn't trying to drag you just now. It wanted to borrow your shadow back into the coffin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Qinghe felt a chill in her heart. \"Borrow the shadow into the coffin?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Lu Yuan stared at the coffin seam and said slowly, \"This thing doesn't only crawl outward.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It can also pull outside living qi back in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Every extra eye it raises is another return road.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He abruptly fixed his gaze on the register whose spine had already split.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As long as the register remains, it can keep registering.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But if the register breaks, it is left with only eyes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Zhaoxuan's heart moved. \"Then how do we break it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan lifted his short blade, the tip lightly flicking up a pinch of incense ash from the ground, drawing in the air a thin Return symbol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It registers by the register, recognizes seats by the lamp, borrows bodies by the eyes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What we must do now is divert all three at once.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The register—we cannot let it flip to the end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The lamps—we must not let them light.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The eyes—we must not let them open again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Heng said in a grave voice, \"How do you want us to coordinate?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's gaze swept calmly but decisively across each face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhou Heng, guard the right banner foot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don't need to kill, just sever lines.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut red threads, pry paper bones.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Song Qinghe, keep your plate's heart aimed at the coffin seam. Do not shift.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When I give the order, reverse your plate three times.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First turn to illuminate names, second to illuminate shadows, third to illuminate paths.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lin Zhaoxuan, your Thunderclap Token must not be fierce anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want you to use Falling-Thunder Nails.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When you see my signal, strike one line, nail one eye—no more, no less.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cheng'an, Erxiao, you two mustn't run.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Keep spreading the earth salt, refill it behind my steps into a reversed eight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember, the mouth of the eight faces the coffin, not the people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both of them nodded hurriedly, hands trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally Lu Yuan looked coldly toward the paper-masked figure at the end of the stone path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As for it—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slowly raised his short blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will sever its seat root.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time the paper-masked figure showed clear fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The register in its hands flipped wildly; the last few pages all spread open, red dots, fingerprints, and black lines tangled into a filthy living web.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Repair the seat... repair the seat...\" it murmured. Its voice was no longer steady but like wind drilling into torn paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan gave it no time to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lunged forward in a continuous line of gang steps; the short blade carved a cold white arc through the air and he roared,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Humans have three souls, the earth has three bridges.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Seats have three roots, registers have three nails.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Today I borrow my blade to sever your nail, borrow thunder to shake your name, borrow the plate to shatter your shadow, borrow ash to seal your road!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Urgently, urgently, as by the law's command!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the final word Song Qinghe violently reversed her sealing plate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First turn: the plate's light shone straight on the register; the red dots all dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second turn: the plate's light slashed across the paper-masked figure's chest; a fine crack appeared on the white paper mask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third turn: the plate's light fell directly on the coffin seam; the black eye shrank violently and the coffin emitted a low gasping sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same moment Lin Zhaoxuan's Thunderclap Token struck a line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Drop!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bluish-white lightning like a nail slammed onto the white finger probing from the seam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The finger instantly charred and curled; the coffin emitted a hoarse cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Heng at that moment cut the last red thread on the right banner with his sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Rend!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the break, the white banner slumped and fell to the ground without paper bones to support it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao used the moment to finish the reversed-eight of salt. Once the salt line formed, the black shadows were forced back half a foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan used the gap and darted at the paper-masked figure like an arrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not slash the register or cut eyes; his blade point aimed straight at the red line of black blood seeping from the register's edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This line is your name root.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I sever your name root—let's see how you register seats now!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper-masked figure seemed to accept there was nowhere left to retreat. It violently pressed the register to its chest as if to use its own body as a shell to block the blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lu Yuan had already gathered the altar-heart qi, the incense ash path, the lightning-nail, and the sealing plate's light. His aura converged, and the blade tip moved so fast it left only a white streak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laugh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade did not pierce flesh; instead it cleanly severed that red line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The register, as if losing its marrow, flopped half open with a slap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, three of the azure day lamps around the stone path went out at the same time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining light paled and dimmed as though about to go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper-masked figure convulsed. The white paper mask cracked open to reveal a face glued with paper pulp and black blood beyond recognition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked once human; now only a layer of skin burned thin by yin-fire remained. Its eye sockets were empty, without eyeballs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are not the mastermind,\" Lu Yuan stared at it, his voice low as a cold blade scraping stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are also a person of the seat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper-masked figure's mouth twitched as if to smile but could not produce it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It forced out broken, halting words from its throat like someone crawling out of a long-shattered dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I once... didn't want to sit...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yuan's pupils constricted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at that moment, the glossy black eye in the coffin seam suddenly tilted upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to have finally waited for something and let out an extremely soft, almost satisfied sigh,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those two words fell lightly to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the stone path, the coffin lid was slowly pushed open by a larger hand from within.\u003C\u002Fp>",3457,"2026-06-06T14:45:54.834Z",1,"novelbin.me","af058b6c4529081c2ebff8f857776aecbbc58e951fd253443127f248f1103fbd","the-invincible-female-ghost-is-a-bit-of-a-hopele-chapter-51","the-invincible-female-ghost-is-a-bit-of-a-hopele-chapter-240","https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-invincible-female-ghost-is-a-bit-of-a-hopele-cover.jpg"]