Chapter 710: Extra Chapter 2: Impossible to Guard Against

It's been over a hundred years; since I met with disaster, I have never seen my parents again.

I thought they had already been reincarnated.

But I never expected to see them again under these circumstances.

My mother staggered forward and flung her arms around me: "Wanwan, is it really you? Mother has missed you so much……"

Mother and daughter clasped each other's heads and wept bitterly.

My mother kept asking this and that, cupping my face and looking over and over; finally she inquired about my current situation, and I also asked them why they had not yet been reincarnated.

My mother sighed and said: "After your accident, we went to the Du family more than once to seek an explanation, but we, your father and I, were insignificant and powerless, never managing to see your corpse from start to finish; later, a fire mysteriously broke out at our home, and your father and I……"

It turned out they were burned to death.

Whether that fire was an accident or arson can no longer be ascertained.

I anxiously asked: "Then have your souls been drifting like this all along? It's been over a hundred years—how have you managed to preserve your souls?"

I have cultivation, so I could tell at a glance that my parents had not undergone ghost cultivation.

My mother said: "After we died, a ghost official came and led our souls to a place where the light was dim, all around were mountains, sometimes we could hear water sounds, and in a mountain hollow there was a large grindstone; my father and I were assigned to push that grindstone there."

I puzzled: "Pushing the grindstone? Why?"

The ghost official said that we died unjustly and, after death, had no descendants to make offerings or burn paper money for us, so we must push the grindstone, work hard, in order to offset the karmic obstacles we created in life.

As she spoke, she stretched out her hands, palms facing up.

I suddenly realized that both of her hands were severed!

The front half of her palms were completely burned away, and the remaining half kept emitting black vapor.

I opened my mouth to ask what was happening, but when I lifted my head, I saw that both of my parents' souls had changed appearance.

They were burned beyond recognition, their whole bodies pitch black, not a trace of human form remained.

Blood and tears streamed down my cheeks; I was so anguished I could no longer speak.

Just then, my parents' souls grew fainter and fainter……

I opened my arms to try to hold them, but I could not keep them at all.

No, I can keep them!

I will definitely be able to keep them!

I turned and went to the spirit altar, picked up the incense burner and yellow incense, and pointed toward the direction where my parents' souls were disappearing, lighting handfuls of yellow incense.

While lighting, I called out their names, shouting for them to come accept my offerings.

They have descendants!

Their descendants will make offerings and sacrifices to them!

"Fu Wan! Wake up! Wake up quickly!"

Li Qingying and Xiao Jiu's voices rose and fell, continuously calling my name.

I was altogether dazed and confused, immersed in guilt toward my parents, unable to extricate myself.

Until an intangible force was pushed into my soul body, instantly pulling me out.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself still sitting cross-legged in the original spot, having not moved at all.

The incense burner and yellow incense on the west-room spirit altar were still there; I had not offered incense.

What is going on?

Everything that just happened…… could it be that I was dreaming?

Xiao Jiu stared at me for a while, furrowed her brow, and asked: "Wanwan, what just happened? Did something unclean approach you?"

Unclean thing?

I immediately shook my head: "It's not an unclean thing; it's my parents……"

I recounted everything that had just happened to them in full detail.

After listening, Xiao Jiu said solemnly: "Despite a thousand precautions, it's truly impossible to guard against—yet the opponent still found a loophole!"

I puzzled: "Xiao Jiu, what are you talking about?"

I instinctively felt that I had made a mistake.

But those are my parents!

I could not possibly remain completely unmoved when facing them like that.

Xiao Jiu said earnestly: "Wanwan, the opponent knows your weak spot, presses step by step, and one strike hits—you have been taken in."

I was completely bewildered: "Taken in?"

"'Yes.' Xiao Jiu asked, 'Do you feel any change in your soul body?'"

Only then did I pay attention to myself; a slight sensation revealed the problem.

"'My cultivation and merit seem to have decreased a little.'"

That shouldn't be!

I clearly did nothing, and during this time I have been diligently cultivating—how could my cultivation and merit not increase but instead decrease?

Li Qingying slapped her thigh and said: "It's over—the opponent is stealing your cultivation and merit through your parents! This trick is truly vicious; using your parents to play the emotion card, how could you guard against it!"

"'To be precise, the opponent is stealing Wanwan's yin lifespan.' Xiao Jiu said, 'In fact, the opponent isn't really stealing it, after all Wanwan herself offered up her yin lifespan.'"

I felt as if I had been struck by a muffled punch, unable to believe it.

I turned back to look at the incense burner and yellow incense on the spirit altar, and finally understood.

Just now I did not actually light yellow incense to offer to my parents; what I burned was my own yin lifespan!

I cannot accept this explanation: "No, my parents love me the most; even if a knife were held to their throats, they would not bear to steal my yin lifespan! Xiao Jiu, surely something is mistaken, right?"

"'Wanwan, wake up!' Li Qingying shouted, 'Your parents are merely a pair of unjustly dead ghosts; given their abilities, their souls could not possibly survive over a hundred years. You know better than anyone in your heart that they are no longer your parents—they are merely puppets controlled by someone else!'"

Yes, I clearly had doubted that before.

Xiao Jiu patted my shoulder and said, "Making a mistake isn't scary; after all, when facing close relatives, nobody can be heartless. What I'm worried about now is that this is just a beginning. Wanwan, you've started this, and you won't be able to avoid lending out your remaining lifespan."

Xiao Jiu's worry was justified, for in the moment we were speaking, I already felt that my Xiūwéi and Merit seemed to have decreased a bit.

I felt a bit at a loss.

Li Qingying asked, "Xiao Jiu, how do we break this situation? We can't just stand by and watch Wanwan's soul scatter."

Xiao Jiu furrowed his brows, thinking of a solution.

Li Qingying scratched his head, suddenly thought of something, eyes lighting up: "Wanwan, why not return to the Soul-guiding Lamp? At least the merit energy inside the Soul-guiding Lamp can continuously supply you, ensuring your soul won't scatter."

I shook my head: "Doing that only treats the symptom, not the root; it would waste the merit of the Soul-guiding Lamp in vain, and end up nourishing someone else."

"Wanwan," Xiao Jiu suddenly asked, "can you still locate the exact spot of your family's homestead and ancestral grave? It needs to be precise."

I nodded: "I can."

Xiao Jiu said, "You lead the way; we'll go look for your parents' remains."

I felt enlightened, as if drenched in sweet dew.

Yes, to solve a problem, we must first find its root cause.

Li Qingying drove the car, heading toward my home under my guidance.

On the road, Xiao Jiu analyzed, "Sister Qingying and the Red Flag Child have already told me about the Phantom Mirror. You mentioned that the several young couples who appeared later resemble you somewhat in appearance, and now your parents borrowing lifespan has come up. Wanwan, I fear these souls will not let you go. If possible, I suggest we also look up your family's genealogy going back several generations."