Chapter 583

During this time we went smoothly; the New Year's Eve rewards confused my mind, and I actually overlooked such an important matter.

Yin Dang Hang was assigned to the Nether Realm; our focus naturally fell on Yin Dang Hang having a backer, but we forgot the change in operating rules brought about by the shift from pawnshop to Yin Dang Hang.

The operating rule of Wufu Town Pawnshop is: if the Yin side has a request, it cannot be refused.

But initially, my senior sister's operating rules for Yin Dang Hang were different from those of Wufu Town Pawnshop.

The patrons faced by Yin Dang Hang are those who were pre-screened, sent invitations, and received within the stipulated time those holding Yin Dang Hang invitations.

And those patrons are basically not people of the living world.

In other words, after Wufu Town Pawnshop became Wufu Town Yin Dang Hang, the rule remained unchanged, but the business received was almost entirely Yin.

If we still operate according to the rule 'if the Yin side has a request, it cannot be refused,' then wouldn't I have to accept any business?

Take tonight as an example: I had just fallen asleep when my soul was summoned below; if I hadn't been alert and noticed the cat's stickiness there, I couldn't refuse this business.

How much trouble would completing this business in a muddled way bring?

A newly dead soul who died before its time, I collected a heap of funeral clothes from her and then resold them to those lonely souls and wild ghosts.

That newly dead soul carried merit; the clothes she wore in life were stained with the breath of living souls, also bearing some merit, and could temporarily conceal or compensate for the sins and resentments of those few lonely souls and wild ghosts.

Perhaps by wearing those funeral clothes and relying on the little old lady's merit and living-soul breath, they could bluff their way through and cross the Naihe Bridge.

Once they bluff their way through, the Nether Realm can hold me accountable.

This setup directly traps me.

I raised my hand and slapped my forehead, vexed: 'What a hot potato! After receiving the appointment on New Year's Eve, I should have immediately drafted new operating rules for Yin Dang Hang, submitted them to Yin Dang Hang's direct jurisdiction department, and waited for approval before opening for business...'

'Submit to whom?' Liu Junyan retorted.

Yeah, submit to whom?

'The New Year's Eve Yin envoy appointment was just a few words spoken; Xiao Jiu, you didn't receive a definite appointment document, nor do you know which department is Yin Dang Hang's direct jurisdiction.'

'I had suspicions then, thinking it might be held up at the year-end, the appointment document would take some time to arrive, and then the direct jurisdiction department would send someone to liaise with you; I even thought the Nether Realm might have summoned Old Three early just to pave the way for this.'

'As a result, nothing I waited for arrived; Old Three also vanished without a trace, but instead you encountered trouble first; if it weren't for your broad experience and great strength now, then...'

Otherwise I might not be able to return from below intact.

Even if I returned, the behavior of being frequently summoned below causes great harm to my body.

Among Yin Yang practitioners, there are people specialized in this; their physiques are special, and going into Yin is their basic skill.

But I am not.

'The Yin envoy said then, changing the pawnshop to Yin Dang Hang and placing it under the Nether Realm; the Yin envoy wouldn't dare say such a falsehood, he merely blurred the concept, so… someone in the Nether Realm wants to obstruct Yin Dang Hang's business.'

'Yin Dang Hang was originally run by my senior sister; their obstruction of Yin Dang Hang's business, is it aimed at me, or at… my senior sister?'

Thinking of this, my heart started pounding wildly.

If it's aimed at me, not wanting me to take over Yin Dang Hang, then mentioning the appointment on New Year's Eve would be unnecessary; isn't that superfluous?

So, fundamentally it's aimed at Yu Nian.

I grabbed Liu Junyan's hand and exclaimed: 'The reason I want to take over Yin Dang Hang is that I hold a breath in my heart; I'm afraid, I'm afraid of A Cheng's witchcraft dream-capture spirit verification; my senior sister still exists somewhere in this world; I think, as long as I manage Yin Dang Hang well, I will eventually wait for her to come home; now someone is obstructing my management of Yin Dang Hang, does that roughly mean they don't want my senior sister to return? A Yan, my senior sister really still exists, right?'

At this moment, my thoughts were extremely chaotic, yet inexplicably clear.

No matter from which angle I analyze, I feel I am correct.

Liu Junyan pulled me into his embrace, his big hand rubbed my hair, soothed me a bit, then he said: 'Xiao Jiu, perhaps you can break free from conventional thinking, stand at a higher dimension to oversee the whole picture, and you'll find that the truth of the matter may be contrary to your analysis.'

Contrary?

'You mean, it's not that someone wants to obstruct my senior sister's return, but that someone wants her to return?'

Liu Junyan nodded, prompting: 'Xiao Jiu, have you ever wondered why the final Heng was trapped in Yu Nian's body and shot to death?'

'A creature that claims to be indestructible and immortal, why can Yu Nian's body imprison it?'

'Furthermore, pushing forward, the Heng guided Dìshì to fixate on Yu Nian; is it truly just for her Buddha bone?'

I shook my head: 'Before going to the Zàng Qū, I indeed thought a Buddha's whole body relic was too rare, my senior sister was targeted because of her Buddha's whole body relic, but later I saw the seated Buddha in the ancient god temple, even emptiness, could satisfy this condition; my senior sister is not the only option.'

'Yeah, Yu Nian was selected, not because of the Buddha bone.' Liu Junyan said, 'Is there a possibility that, in fact, from the start, the one fixated on Yu Nian's flesh was itself the Heng?'

I sank my heart, deep in thought.

Liu Junyan continued analyzing: 'The Heng exhausts heavenly secrets; even after you broke the dream, she never gave up resistance, but grew braver in battle; when did it truly show fear?'

'It's when a third shadow appears on Yu Nian's body!' I said, 'Yu Nian herself has two shadows, one is herself, one is Fán Chén's, and the third shadow is the one that ultimately decides the Heng's life and death, but I can't figure out where it comes from.'

Liu Junyan obviously had a guess: 'I think it should be the Ferry person's.'

One sentence awakened the dreamer.

Yeah.

That shadow appeared on Yu Nian's body after the Ferry boat disappeared.

And at that time, the man standing firm on the Ferry boat was gone.

All clues at this moment connected into a line.

Initially, in Huicheng Funeral Shop, that ghost couple asked Yu Nian to weave a netherworld boat for them.

Yu Nian said she knew how to weave, but couldn't guarantee that the netherworld boat she wove could truly cross the Wangchuan River.

But that ghost couple were quite certain, Yu Nian's woven netherworld boat, could.

Why were they so certain?

They should have gone to beg the Ferry person, but the Ferry person has been missing for years, yet they turned to Yu Nian... aside from inheritance, I can't think of any other possibility...