Announcement;

When she said that, I felt relieved; if I were truly the reincarnation of Ziyi, things would be far more complicated. I was born in the countryside, and though I'd attended school for a few years, my thinking remained rather traditional. Most importantly, they're all ghosts—how could I dare entertain thoughts of harems or anything of the sort?

So, I decided to stay with Wang Ying. I'd wait until her soul recovered, until her seven-day rebirth was complete, and then we would journey together to her hometown.

As for Shangguan Wan'er, her intelligence, gentle elegance, and angelic beauty were all qualities I admired. But she was my sister, and above all, she loved only one person—Ziyi—while I was merely Wang Dachuan.

“Brother, no wonder my heart aches so deeply. It's because Ziyi's sword has appeared! I believe Ziyi must be within. Could you give me this sword? I want to search for Ziyi and for the Blood Linglong with you.” Shangguan Wan'er caressed the Fengchi Sword with her slender fingers, cherishing it dearly. Her affection for Ziyi was evident in her treatment of the sword.

Now wasn't the time for such dilemmas—the priority was to find the Blood Linglong; if we could discover any trace of Ziyi, all the better. As for why there was a stone statue in the tomb that looked exactly like me, that would have to be studied later. Our immediate task was to press forward, to find what—or whom—we sought.

With two humans and two ghosts, our presence felt much stronger. I had expected the ancient tomb to be calm, but after seeing those barefoot footprints, I felt unsettled; things would not be so peaceful here.

“Dachuan, isn't it strange? Why is there a stone statue of you here?” Wei Qi asked softly as we walked ahead.

“How should I know? It must be a coincidence.” Though I said this, doubts gnawed at me—it really did look too much like me. I furtively turned my wrist over for a glance; thankfully, there was no dragon-shaped blood mark on my skin, and Shangguan Wan'er had just said I looked nothing like Ziyi.

“Dachuan, you're not an ordinary person! My hand burned painfully when I touched the Fengchi Sword, but you were unharmed. Clearly, you have a connection to this sword—perhaps you are its true master.”

“Stop it, Wan'er already said I'm not.” I quickly interrupted Wei Qi, for I truly didn't want such a result.

“Dachuan, my intuition is usually right.”

He hadn't finished speaking when we saw a vast cavern ahead, lit by torches. Wei Qi swallowed his remaining words. How could this be? Yesterday, we hadn't dared enter for fear of excess carbon dioxide, yet now the cavern was aglow. Strictly speaking, these were not torches, but century-old oil lamps. The lamps, resembling basins, hung from the cave walls; a wick protruded, crackling as it burned, filling the air with a peculiar scent. The smell was oddly similar to the one drifting over crematoriums. Was the fuel human fat, extracted and burned?

“Stop right there.” Wei Qi gestured for everyone to halt. Two thousand years had passed, yet lamps burned in this cavern—who could know what had transpired within?

“Dachuan, could someone have gotten here before us?” Wei Qi stared intently at the spacious, brightly lit hall inside.

“I don't know. But we've seen footprints, so maybe...”

“Brother, you wait here. I'll go in first. I'm a ghost—even if someone's ahead, I needn't fear them.” With those words, Shangguan Wan'er floated forward. It was understandable—after two thousand years, her soul suddenly awakened, and in the tomb she found her lover's weapon; her urgency was real.

Though she was a ghost, she had arrived with a corporeal form, so she was no different from a living person. If she encountered someone like us, a mediator between worlds, she might not have the advantage, so we hurried after her.

Luckily, the immense cavern contained no people or living creatures. In the main hall, however, we spotted a stone coffin.

“Could this be King Shao'ang of Ju's tomb?” I asked Wei Qi.

He shook his head, just as uncertain, and turned to Shangguan Wan'er for answers. Wan'er, meanwhile, wandered the cavern, Fengchi Sword in hand.

“Should we open it?” Since we’d come this far, we shouldn’t leave empty-handed. I conferred with Wei Qi.

“I think we should—open it.” Wei Qi began to help me push the stone coffin lid.

“Ah!” As we strained to open the coffin, Shangguan Wan'er cried out. The Fengchi Sword dropped from her hand, and she covered her mouth, terror-stricken.

Wei Qi, Xuan Li, and I rushed over. What we saw chilled our blood. Against the stone wall stood a corpse—dry and shriveled, its skin gray-black and wrinkled, parts of its face rotted away, exposing white, jagged teeth.

I felt a cold dread—could this be Ziyi? If it were, and Shangguan Wan'er saw her lover in such a state, her grief would be unbearable.

“Wan'er, what's wrong?”

“He, he...” Shangguan Wan’er could not get the words out, pointing at the corpse.

Oh no, it really might be Ziyi. I forced myself to look again.

“He, he moved.” Shangguan Wan’er finally managed.

Heavens, why didn’t she say so sooner! As I watched, the corpse indeed began to move, swinging a bronze spear at me with lightning speed.

As the spear was about to strike my head, my body seemed to float, and with a bang, I was flung aside. At the critical moment, Shangguan Wan'er snatched up the Fengchi Sword, pushing me away at lightning speed.

“Who are you, to dare touch General Ziyi’s Yunlei Fengchi?” Seeing the sword in Shangguan Wan’er’s grasp, the corpse withdrew, no longer attacking.

“Who are you, and how do you know the Yunlei Fengchi?” Shangguan Wan’er, realizing the corpse recognized the sword, eased her grip and quickly asked.

“I am Tianxing, subordinate to General Ziyi. Who are you?” the corpse replied.

“Tianxing, Deputy General—you’re Tianxing? Don’t you recognize me? I am Shangguan Wan’er!” Tears welled in her eyes, and her voice trembled at the sight of an old comrade.

“Princess Shangguan? No, impossible—you don’t look like her, and her clothes were different. Who are you, really? Whoever you are, leave General Ziyi’s Fengchi Sword and go—I have no wish to take your lives.” The corpse paced back and forth like a living man, making my heart quake.

“I am Shangguan Wan’er. I know all about Ziyi—his birthday is June 24th, his horse is named Moonlight White, his Fengchi Sword was forged by the blacksmith Wang at Meteorite King Village...” Tears streamed as she spoke.

“You—could you truly be Princess Shangguan?” The shriveled face twitched.

“I am! Deputy General Tianxing, please tell me—where is General Ziyi?” Seeing Tianxing recognize her, Shangguan Wan’er’s voice broke with emotion.

Tianxing drew closer, scrutinizing her carefully. Suddenly, his hollow eyes blinked, and two streams of black blood trickled down. “Princess Shangguan, I—I failed you. I couldn’t protect the General. I deserve a thousand deaths.”

“Deputy General Tianxing, please, don’t be like this—tell me, what happened to Ziyi?” Shangguan Wan’er pleaded, her urgency understandable. After two thousand years, she met her lover’s deputy and desperately wanted news of her beloved.

“It was the night he was poisoned. General Ziyi and I went to Fulai Mountain to seek Daoist Zhen, searching for the Blood Linglong. But when we arrived, we found Daoist Zhen murdered—killed by Prince Shao'ang’s brother, who murdered his own sibling and put the three Blood Linglong pearls into the tomb, rather than feeding them to him. Upon learning this, General Ziyi and I secretly infiltrated Ju’s royal tomb, but both of us were poisoned by corpse worms. We would never escape—the General turned to stone, and I became a dried corpse. I wander this tomb daily, but dare not crawl out, for the corpse worms are venomous. Should I see sunlight, I’d turn to ashes.” Tianxing spoke with sorrow.

“Corpse worms? There are corpse worms here? Where?” Wei Qi couldn’t help but ask, shaken by the tale.

“See that stone coffin? They’re inside. Their duty is to protect the tomb and the Blood Linglong pearls. Once the coffin is opened, they’ll emerge—ferocious beyond compare.”

Damn! How could this be? Corpse worms guard the Blood Linglong. Even Ziyi and Tianxing couldn’t overcome them; how could we hope to succeed? All we could do now was pray the corpse worms were dead as well, dried up like Tianxing.