Chapter 183: I Can Decide This

When I saw that shadow, my brain froze for a moment.

Fu Wan!!

I had previously wondered whether Fu Wan's wisp of soul, nourished by merit, could possibly reappear in this world.

After all, since Dang Pu reopened, it wasn't just Fu Wan who offered her soul to the Hexagonal Palace Lamp, but ultimately the only soul that could remain in the lamp was Fu Wan alone.

This is enough to show that she is special.

For a special fate, nourished by a large amount of merit, I think whatever happens is only natural.

Now, Fu Wan has truly manifested from the Hexagonal Palace Lamp.

But that figure is very faint, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

I turned around intending to open the door, but Liu Junyan grabbed me and pointed his hand toward Xijiekou.

Following his finger, I saw under the shadow of Xijiekou that the guy on horseback with a knife stood there silently, gazing far off toward Fu Wan.

And Fu Wan was also looking at him.

At this moment, my heart felt as if it were being twisted tightly.

I was both delighted that Fu Wan and Zhao Zixun had finally reunited after crossing a hundred years, and felt sorrow and worry for their fate and current state.

One is a newly formed, still unstable soul; the other… Zhao Zixun is basically a walking corpse, right?

Now they can hardly be considered the same species, can they?

Fu Wan's soul appeared only briefly before quickly returning to the Hexagonal Palace Lamp.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zixun sat on his warhorse, lingering at Xijiekou for a long, long time.

Only at the time of rooster crow did he reluctantly leave.

"It seems Zhao Zixun indeed has some consciousness now." Liu Junyan said, "Now he is free from Chen Ping's control and has no netherworld troops to lead, making him a free person."

Freedom means different things to different people.

For Zhao Zixun, as his consciousness continually returns, he will likely become confused, right?

For a soldier like him, having no troops to command is the saddest thing.

I couldn't help but ask Liu Junyan: "If one day Zhao Zixun wants to join our unit, would you take him?"

"Yes!" Liu Junyan said firmly, "He is guilty, but his sins were not of his own doing; fundamentally, he is also a victim. If we could bring him under our command, properly guide him, and make him useful to us, he would become an irreplaceable great general in our hands."

I unconsciously glanced at the string of Buddhist beads in Liu Junyan's hand, and inevitably thought of the two words 'evil monk'.

The killing aura Zhao Zixun bears is too heavy, too heavy.

The entire Wufu Town died at his hands; I don't know how many women he flayed.

Not to mention the netherworld troops in the Pearl Plate River.

Those netherworld troops… perhaps before becoming netherworld troops, they were still living soldiers who followed Chen Ping in his eastern and western campaigns.

Of course, Zhao Zixun is merely a knife in Chen Ping's hand; the true culprit is Chen Ping.

But ordinary Buddhist pure lands would hardly accept an existence like Zhao Zixun's, right?

Liu Junyan…… is ultimately different from ordinary monks.

I chuckled and said, "If that day ever comes, even for Fu Wan's sake, I should be able to accept him."

Liu Junyan rubbed my head and said, "Go back to sleep; it's still early."

I crouched down and pulled the black cat into my arms.

At first it struggled fiercely, but after I picked it up, it leaned against me, sniffing left and right, and suddenly calmed down.

Its size is much larger than an ordinary house cat; holding it feels a bit heavy, so I lifted it up and down with both hands.

The black cat's chin rested just on my shoulder, lounging lazily.

This was the first time it had been so close to me, leaving me somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

I eagerly glanced at Liu Junyan, not daring to speak, afraid to disturb the black cat, lest it no longer want me to hold it.

Liu Junyan, however, rubbed the black cat's spine and said, "It likes the Buddha aura and the scent of incense."

I suddenly understood!

No wonder it liked Liu Junyan from the start, since Liu Junyan receives incense offerings.

Now Liu Junyan has offered a Buddha lamp for me at the Great Dharma King Temple; I too have a karmic connection with Buddhism, so the black cat only wishes to stay on me after sensing the Buddha aura on my body.

This guy is really picky.

But it is originally a Calamity-Passing Sandalwood Cat, coming out of the temple, so liking these things is completely normal.

Back then, I was inspired and also offered incense to it; that decision was quite correct.

·

New Year's Eve arrived quietly.

This year too many changes occurred; I lost my grandmother but gained the protection of many people; all in all, I am still fortunate.

Early in the morning I called Yu Nian to ask if she could find time to come over and spend the New Year together.

To my surprise, Yu Nian readily agreed: "I'll rush over this afternoon; tonight I'll keep vigil with you."

My mood improved even more; I spent the whole morning humming a little tune while busying myself.

In the afternoon, after three o'clock, Yu Nian arrived at the county city station; I and Li Qingying were already waiting at the station.

When Yu Nian left the station, we spotted her at a glance in the crowd.

Because she was holding something in her hands today, covered with a large red cloth, making it very conspicuous.

I helped her into the car.

Li Qingying drove, occasionally glancing in the rearview mirror at what Yu Nian was holding.

I sat beside Yu Nian and eventually couldn't help but ask: "Senior sister, what are you holding?"

"They are the spirit tablets of my senior aunt and my mother."

Yu Nian's answer made my heart skip a beat.

Although I didn't formally become a disciple, I was guided by my grandmother; Yu Nian's master's wife and mother are also elders I should venerate.

Yu Nian brought the two spirit tablets over at this time; I somewhat guessed what she intended.

Indeed, Yu Nian then said: "Xiao Jiu, I know it's not proper, but I still want to plead for my master's wife and mother; could we also enshrine their tablets in the pawnshop? They all died tragically; if they could receive the incense offerings of the pawnshop, it would be good for them."

I didn't even think and replied: "Sure, I can decide on this."

Yu Nian was very grateful, while I pondered whether I should also enshrine my grandmother's tablet.

But then I thought: my grandmother has already reincarnated; enshrining her tablet on the altar would be meaningless.

My grandmother's ending is actually much better than that of the master's wife and Yu Nian's mother.

When we returned to the pawnshop, what surprised me greatly was that, after just stepping out for a moment, how did so many people come into the pawnshop?

Liu Junyan was there.

The recently busy Hui Moqiong also rushed back.

Dou Zhile and Dou Jinsuo were sitting on the sofa in the guest hall of the rear building.

Jin Wuya was also there.

Even Xiaoye came.

Also, Hu Yulin, lightly coughing while covering his face with a fan...

This gathering, although likely because it's New Year's Eve and everyone wanted to get together.

But it made me instantly feel an illusion that tonight, something big might happen…