Chapter Eighty-Seven; The Closer the Better

The first thing I heard was, “What do we do, Master? This girl is alive and breathing. No matter what, we can’t let her die.” Wei Seven had a softer heart than I did, and he spoke up first.

“Exactly. She’s only a girl, and an adopted one at that. Whatever happens, we can’t just let her disappear like this,” I said.

“What you’re saying makes sense. But the situation before us is this: she isn’t human. At the very least, her heart isn’t a human heart. She’s cultivating a terrifying art that feeds on yin. Once she succeeds, she’ll become the enemy of all mankind. She’ll be able to drain a person’s soul with ease.” Li Danian frowned as he spoke, and from the severity of his expression I knew he took this matter very seriously.

“Then what are we supposed to do? Killing someone is against the law,” I said, making my meaning plain. I was reminding Li Danian that murder was out of the question, and he had better not even think of it.

Li Danian nodded. “Yes, murder is illegal. And if we told the authorities this girl was a messenger of supreme yin and that she was practicing this yin-devouring art, no one would believe us. This is difficult. Killing her is not the answer. We have to stop her from cultivating it.”

“That would be one way, but how do we carry it out?”

“Da Chuan, do you know what your own body is?”

“Master, what do you mean?”

“Da Chuan, you have a body of pure yin, but you have a human heart and a human body. Such a thing appears only once in a thousand years. I want to use you to guide this girl, to make her give up this yin-devouring art. Though the rest of us are also yin-crossers, our bodies are a mix of yang and yin. If we stay too close to her, we’ll only feed the fierceness in her heart.” Li Danian put an arm around my shoulders as he spoke.

“Master, are you serious or not? I believe you when you say I have a body of pure yin. But can I really guide her? She was born with a ghost’s heart. What can I possibly use to change her?” After hearing Li Danian’s words, I felt the task was impossibly hard. I didn’t have that kind of ability. And there was something else weighing on me too: Wang Ying. I had no idea what had become of her soul, and her body was still being cared for by Shangguan Waner. How could I be in any mood to sit here and reform Yueyue?

Li Danian looked straight into my eyes. “Da Chuan, if you do not try to guide this girl, she will have to die. As her fierceness grows and her cultivation of the yin-devouring art deepens, there will only be two possible ends. Either she succeeds in mastering it and can kill whomever she pleases, or she is discovered and slain by a yin-crosser. I believe you do not wish to see either outcome.”

What could I do? Truthfully, I wanted neither of those endings.

“Da Chuan, how about you stay here for the time being and try to guide Yueyue, while Wei Seven and I take care of Wang Ying for you? What do you think? This is work done for the people of the world.” Wei Seven had always been a man with the whole realm in his heart.

Things had reached this point, and I no longer had the right to refuse. Since I had become a traveler between the worlds of the living and the dead, I had to handle well the bond between human and ghost. If I truly could guide Yueyue back from the edge, that would count as a merit indeed. “All right then. It’s just that I don’t know how to go about it.”

When Li Danian heard my answer, he patted my shoulder. “Child, remarkable. You will be the pride of our kind, and the finest among us in the years to come.”

I took his praise for what it was.

The three of us called Chen Hao and his wife over and explained everything to them from beginning to end. Chen Hao’s mouth practically went crooked with shock. “You’re telling me this is true?”

“It’s all true. If you don’t believe it, take her to the hospital now and get an ultrasound. She simply has no heart.”

Hearing Li Danian say this, Chen Hao nodded again and again. He said this girl really had once had an ultrasound done, and there was indeed no heart. At the time they thought the machine had malfunctioned, but now everything fit.

Chen Hao and Cui Mei were both reasonable people. Once it was explained to them, they agreed to let me stay in their home for the time being and try to guide Yueyue back onto the right path.

“Master, what should I do?” Since everything had been laid bare, I no longer felt awkward asking. I asked directly.

“Stick with her in everything, from food and clothing to daily life and movement. Keep a close watch on her. Don’t let her go near graveyards. The closer you are to her, the better. Your yin energy can suppress the demon in her heart. Once that demon is driven out, she will return to how she was before. Even if she has no human heart, without the indulgence of ghosts, she will not make trouble.”

Li Danian made it sound simple, but it was actually a difficult matter. The closer the better—what exactly did that mean? Was he expecting me to share a bed with her? Yueyue was only a fifteen-year-old girl.

Fortunately, Chen Hao and Cui Mei were both fairly understanding and said nothing more.

After giving his instructions, Li Danian and Wei Seven left. Before he went, Li Danian called me aside and said gravely and in a low voice, “Da Chuan, there is something I must tell you. This matter carries risk. The fact that she has a ghost’s heart means she is like a ghost in every way, so you must be careful when you are with her. And there is another piece of good news: you have a body of pure yin. If your essence and blood are fed into this girl’s body, all the fierceness in her will vanish at once. Do you understand what I mean?”

Of course I understood what Li Danian was getting at, but I could never do such a thing. Yueyue was only fifteen, just a child, a girl. Even a beast would have to show restraint, and I was no beast. Naturally, I had a line I would not cross. For Wang Ying’s sake, I would not do it.

After they left, I stayed behind. Chen Hao was good to me, serving fine wine and good food, but my thoughts were a tangled mess, and I had no heart to taste any of it.

After drinking a little, it was getting late, and I began to feel sleepy. Chen Hao and Cui Mei sat with me for a while, and when they saw I could no longer hold out, they said, “If Master Wang is sleepy, then go and rest.”

The words were somewhat reluctant, but also helpless.

I nodded and headed toward Yueyue’s room on the second floor. Halfway there, Cui Mei called me back.

“Sister Cui, is there anything else you wanted to remind me about?” I asked, seeing that her face and eyes were full of unspoken words.

“Brother, Yueyue is still just a child. Let’s not tell anyone about this, all right?” She spoke very tactfully, as though she were only warning me not to spread the matter around, but in truth she was reminding me that Yueyue was still a child. I could stay with her and guide her, but I must not harbor any improper thoughts.

“Sister Cui, don’t worry. I’m not that kind of man.”

Cui Mei’s face turned red, and only then did she turn back to her room.

I went upstairs, and when I reached Yueyue’s room, I hesitated somewhat. Li Danian had told me to stay as close to Yueyue as possible—how was I supposed to do that?

After a while, I still pushed open the door and went in.

Yueyue was still tied to a chair by her father and mother. Seeing me enter, she flipped her hair and revealed that thin, sharp little face of hers. “Who are you? Who let you in?”

I smiled warmly. “I’m your friend. I came to keep you company.”

“Get out. Get out right now, or I’ll shout.” Her face instantly darkened with anger.

“Don’t be impulsive. I’m only here to keep you company, nothing improper. See? You sleep in the bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.” The girl had a fierce temper, so I had to take the soft approach.

“How nice for you. What gives you the right to share a room with me? If you don’t get out, I’ll call someone.” Yueyue was relentless, glaring at me fiercely.

“Yueyue, don’t be angry. I really did come to keep you company. If you let me stay, I’ll help you untie the ropes.”

Yueyue froze for a moment. “You really want to stay in my room?”

“Yes. I came specially to keep you company.”

“All right. First, untie the ropes. Second, you’re not allowed to interfere with my personal freedom. Otherwise, get the hell out.” Though she wasn’t very old, she swore without hesitation.

“No problem. I’ll do everything your way.” I planned to stay first and advance step by step. In the end, the goal was to sleep near her—not to take advantage of her, but to be close enough that I might guide her with my pure yin blood.

As I untied her ropes, I got a clear look at her whole body. She was not tall, very slender, and thin to the point of fragility. She wore a black camisole nightgown that exposed her collarbones and her elegant neck. Altogether, she was a kind of intelligent little doll, delicate and aloof.

“What are you staring at? Want me to dig your eyes out?” The moment she caught me looking at her, she shot me a vicious glare.

“Heh, it was nothing. Purely accidental. It’s late, so you should rest early.” I pointed toward the corner.

“Stop talking. Don’t disturb me.” With that, Yueyue flopped onto the bed and was asleep at once.

Looking at her frail body, I truly wanted to sleep beside her. It was really not to take advantage of her, but to be nearer to her so I could guide her back. But I did not dare. If I climbed into her bed now, she would probably go mad. So I lay down in the corner and forced myself to sleep there.

In my dream, I suddenly seemed to hear some faint sound. When I opened my eyes abruptly, I found Yueyue’s bed empty. That girl had taken advantage of my sleep and disappeared somewhere without a trace.