Chapter 140: Too Much Like Ziyu

"Buddy, we need to get out of here. What if the police show up shortly? And look, that four-thousand-year-old ginkgo tree has fallen too. The consequences are going to be severe," Fat Young said anxiously.

"If you're scared, you can leave. If you're not, come with me." I muttered an incantation to recall and store the Purple-Gold Colt, then cast a glance over the surrounding devastation before slowly walking out.

The sky.

The torrential downpour showed no signs of stopping, and rainwater rushed down the mountain in torrents. My mind was completely numb. I had known that Xingyun would die, but I never expected him to die like this. Now that he was gone, I felt no sense of triumph, nor any joy of vengeance fulfilled. Instead, my heart grew even heavier.

Rainwater fell from the heavens onto my body. Looking out at the cascading curtain of rain, I shouted toward the empty mountains at the top of my lungs, "Wang Ying! Where are you? Can you hear me calling you?"

The mountains and waters remained silent. The mountains stood quietly amidst the howling wind and raging storm. Water flowed wantonly across the earth. Yet my heart was as dead as ashes.

I walked out of Dinglin Temple alone and headed straight for the opposite slope. I remembered my Second Uncle telling me on that very slope that his protector spirits—Left-One and Right-Two—would help find Wang Ying. Xingyun had said Wang Ying vanished suddenly; could she have already been saved by Second Uncle? I had to open the barrier to the netherworld; I had to go find Wang Ying.

The slope after the rain was exceptionally slick. I stumbled my way up, only to find that the grave robber's tunnel of the ancient State of Ju tomb had been washed flat by the rain. The barrier—where was the barrier?

I raised the Fengchi Sword in my hand and struck down, blow after blow. A series of booming sounds accompanied the thunder, blasting numerous earthen pits into the ground, but no matter how I thrashed about, the barrier refused to appear.

"Buddy, this is bad! Police cars are coming, let's get out of here fast!" Fat Young must have thought I had lost my mind as he ran over and hugged me tightly.

The two of us slumped onto the ground, covered in mud and water, looking like a pair of madmen.

Looking at the utter mess on the ground, my mind felt even more chaotic. The police wouldn't convict me anyway; I had only killed one person, a murderous fiend, and they should be thanking me. Still, I didn't want to run into the police. I summoned the Purple-Gold Colt, and with Fat Young riding behind me, we returned to Luohe Town just a few minutes later.

Autumn rain doesn't cross the ridge—that saying made complete sense. While Ju County was being battered by a torrential downpour, Luohe was merely overcast without a single drop falling. Wan'er was standing right at the doorway of her aunt's house waiting for us. Seeing our disheveled appearance, she anxiously asked what had happened, and only relaxed when she heard neither of us was injured.

As soon as I finished changing my clothes, Wan'er handed me an envelope. "Older Brother, Auntie has left. She left this for you."

I took it blankly, having no idea what her intention was.

I opened it, and Auntie's delicate, fly-head script lay clearly upon the paper.

"Dachuan, I know that with your current abilities, you will certainly return in triumph. The mission your Second Uncle entrusted to me is complete, so it is time for me to go. Your auntie is a ghost-spirit, a fusion of corpse and ghost, so she cannot remain in the mortal realm indefinitely. The place I am heading to is a sanctuary for quiet cultivation, so you need not worry about me. You possess the Ultimate Yin Constitution and the Seven-Star Fiend Fate, and through sheer coincidence, you have acquired numerous magical artifacts and divine arts. Heaven protects you; you must learn to cherish this and use your abilities to bring blessings to both the mortal realm and the ghostly realm, and never let arrogance consume you. Remember this well. Furthermore, I have taken Yueyue with me. This girl is pitiful; as an Ultimate Yin Envoy, she cannot stay by her parents' side. With her level of yin energy, if she stays with them, her parents' lives would be cut short by her curse. Besides, although she has turned away from evil toward good, she has nevertheless killed many people and requires spiritual cultivation. Therefore, I am taking her away, and you need not worry. If we are fated, we shall meet again."

Added at the very end was a postscript: "There is 500,000 in cash in my drawer. I make money but cannot spend it; keep 45,000 for yourself and use it where it's needed. Just give the fat boy 50,000. Money is no good thing—too much of it will come back to bite you, so the two of you must learn how to handle wealth."

At the bottom were two characters: Auntie.

As I read on, tears began to stream down my face.

Are people who walk alone truly pitiable? Was I destined to be lonely for the rest of my life? My father left me when I was very young, and Second Uncle and my mother went to the netherworld. After finally finding a ghost-wife, I lost her, and a good friend had also vanished without a trace. Even this auntie of mine had now departed.

Fortunately, I still had Wan'er and Fat Young.

After the grief passed, I decided to leave Luohe. I asked Fat Young what he intended to do. He hesitated for a long time before saying he couldn't just abandon his aunt's shop like that and had to stay and watch over it. I didn't force him. I split the 500,000 into two bank cards—one for me and one for Fat Young—and prepared to leave.

Fat Young accompanied me to the bus station. Just as I was about to board the vehicle, the guy's eyes turned red, and he jumped onto the bus as well. "Buddy, with you suddenly leaving like this, I feel completely hollow inside. Auntie was right; money is a harmful thing. I'm not watching her shop anymore, come what may!"

I gave a bitter smile. "Then let's go."

We took the bus to Ju County, and from Ju County traveled on to Family Vegetable Garden in Wei. This was where my journey began; I held both sweet and bitter memories of this place, which was why I wanted to stay here. Wang Ying and Wei Qi were both very familiar with this area, and I believed they would come here to look for me.

The three of us first went to Yingzi's house. The girl had recovered from her illness, though her figure appeared slightly slender and a lingering melancholy floated across her face. Like me, she had been searching for Wei Qi all this time without success. I chatted with Yingzi for a long time, and she poured her heart out to me, saying that no matter what, she would wait for Wei Qi. This moved me deeply, and I made a promise to Yingzi that I would find Wei Qi no matter what it took.

Leaving Yingzi's place, the three of us went to look at Wei Qi's house, and also visited the home of Wei Qi's grand-uncle—the place where Wang Ying and I had once stayed. Because no one lived there, the ground was still covered in ruins. I pulled Fat Young aside. "Buddy, can I borrow 100,000 from your aunt?"

Fat Young grinned broadly. "What are you talking about? Auntie gave all that money to you; I only have 50,000, and you can spend it however you like. Why are you even discussing this with me?"

"That won't do. This isn't my money; if I used it entirely on myself, I'd be selfish, and I'll pay her back. This house isn't mine, yet it was destroyed by Xingyun because of me. Therefore, I must rebuild it, and I want to wait here for Wang Ying and Wei Qi."

I took the two of them to the village chief's house. Because of the previous incident, the village chief held me in the highest regard. As soon as he saw me, he grabbed my hands, asking about this and that. I explained my purpose, asking him to help find some workers and purchase bricks and tiles so I could rebuild the house of Wei Qi's grand-uncle.

The village chief was very accommodating. He helped me contact the best craftsmen and bought the bricks and tiles, and just like that, construction began anew on the plot of land where Wei Qi's grand-uncle's house once stood. Wei Qi and I did the heavy lifting, while Wan'er and Yingzi assisted, and everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

At noon one day, while everyone was resting and Fat Young and I were serving tea and water to the group, a police car drove slowly into the village and parked right at the entrance of Wei Qi's house. Seeing the police car caused my heart to sink. Could the incident at Fulaishan Mountain from before have been exposed? Just as I was considering how to explain things to the police, Yu Fang stepped out of the vehicle.

Looking at Yu Fang, my tense nerves relaxed just a fraction.

"Officer Yu, what brings you here?" I hurriedly asked.

Yu Fang cast a reproachful, sideways glance at me. "What do you mean? Can't I just come see you without a reason? Are you free tonight? I'm treating you to dinner."

"Dinner?" I was somewhat taken aback. Although it was Yu Fang, I had assumed her visit was connected to Xingyun's death, and never dreamed she had come to invite me to eat.

"What's wrong? Not going to give me face?"

"Can I bring a family member?"

"You can bring a whole family of brothers and I wouldn't mind," Yu Fang replied heartily.

"That's settled then. See you tonight." Because I was quite busy, Yu Fang left the restaurant address with me and departed.

"Buddy, who is that? She's so gorgeous—she's got the curves in all the right places!" Watching Yu Fang's retreating figure, Fat Young drooped with drool.

"Like her? If you like her, I'll introduce you!" I laughed.

"Didn't she invite you to dinner tonight? And didn't you say you were bringing a family member? Take me along with you," Fat Young said with a cheeky smile. He was quite the romantic, smitten with any girl he laid eyes on.

"Alright then!"

That evening, Fat Young and I tidied up briefly and headed into the county town. When I knocked on the door of a private dining room at the Ju State Hotel, I was struck dumb. I saw a familiar face—a face both familiar and yet completely unfamiliar.

I was certain I had seen this girl before, yet in reality, I did not know her. She looked far too much like Ziyu, my younger sister from two thousand years ago.