Chapter 713: Extra Chapter 2: Gazing into Past Lives

Li Qingying's words had just fallen when a gust of yin wind rose from the flat ground, immediately followed by a clattering sound, and we all looked toward the ruined small temple.

We saw that the spirit tablets on the offering table had all weathered into powder.

The small temple collapsed completely; as the offering table fell, the powder blew up in the wind, and soon only a tiny patch of ruins remained.

I was startled and drifted out of the Soul-guiding Lamp.

Li Qingying immediately stopped me, telling me to stay inside the Soul-guiding Lamp.

Xiao Jiu waved her hand and said, "This small temple's ritual site was never aimed at Wanwan; over a hundred plus years, Wanwan's parents, and even the entire village's yin lifespan and fortune, have already been almost completely drained. That recent whipping utterly destroyed the ritual site, so the temple's collapse was inevitable."

Li Qingying worriedly said, "In other words, regardless of whether this small temple exists, the other party is still continuously stealing Wanwan's yin lifespan, right?"

Xiao Jiu nodded: "Yes."

She then said, "Qingying, go check at the Chenghuang Temple; if you need help, find senior sister and let her accompany you. Wanwan, we're returning to the Dang Pu."

On the way back, Xiao Jiu drove; I had wanted to sit cross-legged in the back seat and circulate my qi, hoping to stabilize my soul through ghost cultivation.

But I found it completely useless.

My soul body went from nearly solid to semi-transparent again, taking only about half a day.

If this continues, I'm truly not far from utter annihilation.

Since my soul body recondensed completely in the Soul-guiding Lamp, I've been cultivating the ghost way all along, backed by the Dang Pu, and things have gone smoothly; I haven't felt this powerless in a long time.

But I hold a breath of resentment in my heart; I cannot just admit defeat like this.

I need to figure all this out.

I need to avenge my parents, I need to see Zhao Zixun again to confirm his safety, I… squeak…

A sharp screech of brakes suddenly rang out, startling me from my thoughts, and I looked at Xiao Jiu in surprise.

I had just opened my mouth to ask what was happening, but after Xiao Jiu slammed on the brakes, she had her hands on the steering wheel and was actually looking at me worriedly.

At the moment our eyes met, Xiao Jiu suddenly reached out and lightly embraced me, whispering in my ear: "Wanwan, relax! Let go! Don't let yourself become obsessed; your current state makes you easy to exploit, and once you fall into demonhood, even if we wanted to help, we couldn't."

Only then did I realize that while I was wandering in my thoughts just now, I had already hovered on the brink of falling into demonhood.

My yin lifespan has been continuously stolen, and my soul body is very unstable.

In this situation, as Xiao Jiu said, I am easily swept up by obsession and plunged into the abyss of the demonic path, heading down a road of no return.

Xiao Jiu had just noticed this, which is why she hit the emergency brakes, promptly pulling my thoughts back.

But she can remind me momentarily; she cannot possibly watch me constantly.

Only by myself firmly holding my belief can I safely survive this tribulation.

"Wanwan, give us a little more time; believe that we will surely uncover the truth of this matter."

Xiao Jiu was still giving me psychological work.

I gratefully said, "Xiao Jiu, rest assured, I will guard my own heart."

Xiao Jiu urged: "Wanwan, if you ever feel something is off, immediately return to the Soul-guiding Lamp, without any hesitation; first preserve your soul body, then everything else can follow."

To avoid making Xiao Jiu worry or get distracted, I immediately returned to the Soul-guiding Lamp.

The Merit Light of the Soul-guiding Lamp enveloped my soul body, and I instantly felt relaxed in body and mind, soon entering meditation.

By the time I opened my eyes again, Li Qingying had already returned.

I promptly drifted out and inquired about the situation.

Li Qingying seemed somewhat at a loss for words, stammering: "I and Senior Sister Yu Nian indeed looked up those names on the spirit tablets in the Chenghuang Temple, but strangely, they have no relation to one another."

I exclaimed in surprise: "No relation at all?"

"Yes." Li Qingying explained, "Those spirit tablets come in pairs; their surnames differ, and they lived in different places while alive. The only similar suspicious point is that they all died young, without children."

No children means no lineage, so they are not my ancestors.

After a moment's thought, I asked, "What about my great-grandfather? Who gave birth to him? Which clan did he come from? Have you found that out?"

"This is the second point of doubt." Li Qingying continued, "For now we haven't found, aside from your family, the parents or clans of the other tablet owners; they seem to have appeared out of nowhere and died hastily, with no origin and no destination."

No origin, no destination…

But no one in this world truly pops out of a stone crack, right?

This is clearly problematic.

Moreover, the problem is huge, huge.

Li Qingying comforted: "But don't rush; this information can still be pursued further, though it will involve some complications—certain special divisions of the Chenghuang Temple are off-limits to me, so I've returned first, and Senior Sister Yu Nian will continue the investigation."

Indeed, having connections in the court makes things easier.

I thought, if it weren't for Yu Nian, this matter of my family would truly be cut off here.

Now it seems there's nothing to do but wait.

Just as we were speaking, A Cheng arrived.

A Cheng's face was solemn; he sized up my soul body from head to toe, showing an expression that said, "Indeed, it's as expected."

Xiao Jiu asked him why he had suddenly come to the Dang Pu.

A Cheng said, "Sister, someone is secretly manipulating this matter; I divined that Miss Fu's situation is bad, so I rushed over to check."

Xiao Jiu pondered: "A Cheng, do you mean there are two groups secretly operating all this?"

A Cheng nodded: "One group is related to our Feng Clan, the other to General Zhao and Miss Fu."

He paused, then looked at me solemnly and said: "Miss Fu, I sense that your soul body is continually growing weaker, but through your birth characters I have also divined some other information, possibly unfavorable; would you mind if I, using some ancient shamanic techniques, directly through your soul body, attempt to peek into your past life?"

Xiao Jiu shook her head: "I've already tried to trace back via shamanic methods, but couldn't uncover Wanwan's past life."

I was first startled by A Cheng's words, then immediately startled again by Xiao Jiu's.

When had Xiao Jiu attempted to trace back my past life?

A Cheng laughed: "Sister, my shamanic cultivation has improved a bit, but it's only an attempt; don't get your hopes up too high."

Xiao Jiu reassuringly rubbed A Cheng's head, then asked me: "Wanwan, can we let A Cheng give it a try?"

I certainly am willing.

Having obtained my assent, A Cheng placed two fingers horizontally on my wrist.

I immediately felt a powerful force emanating from A Cheng's fingertips, penetrating my Soul Body and rushing straight to my heavenly spirit cover.

Only then did I truly grasp the true meaning of the two words 'to peek' that A Cheng uttered.