Chapter Ninety-Six: Mistakenly Entering the Barrier

“Brother, where are you going? Why are you leaving me behind?”

Shangguan Wan’er was a ghost, and her mind was keener than any ordinary mortal’s, so of course she could see through what I was thinking.

Looking at the sadness on her face, my heart softened. I put an arm around her shoulders and said, “Wan’er, I just heard my mother’s voice. She and my second uncle were taken by the Lord of the Underworld. As a son, shouldn’t I go seek revenge? As a husband, shouldn’t I go to the underworld and rescue your sister-in-law?”

“Brother, if you’re going to save Mom and Sister-in-law, must you forget about me? I’m your little sister, aren’t I? How can I bear to leave your side? The blood amber can keep my body from decaying, but it cannot protect my soul,” Shangguan Wan’er said softly, clinging to my arm.

“Little sister, go home. Trust me. I’ll definitely be back tomorrow night.” I knew that beyond gratitude, what I felt for Wan’er was love as well—of course, the kind of love that belonged between brother and sister. In Wang Ying’s absence, she had been the one caring for my food and daily life, encouraging me, helping me out of every difficult place. She was gentle, kind, and beautiful in a way that seemed almost unreal. Yet the more she was like that, the less I could let her follow me to the underworld. There was nothing there but corpses and more corpses, ghost soldiers everywhere. How could I take her to such a place?

Shangguan Wan’er held fast to my arm, stubborn and unyielding. “No, I’m not going back. Wherever you go, I go too. I want to go to the underworld with you. I want to help you avenge our godmother. I want to help you save Sister-in-law.”

“No, Wan’er. You must go back and wait for me. If I don’t return, then go find Wei Qi and tell him I can’t come back. You can separate the living from the dead, and return to the state you had before.” I had made up my mind: I absolutely could not let Wan’er go to that kind of place.

“Brother, aren’t you my brother? Do you really want me to go back down into that darkness? Who is there in that darkness? Zi Yi has already turned to ashes—do you know what ashes are? He has no soul left at all. And you want me to spend the rest of my life alone underground?” Wan’er’s eyes reddened.

Hearing her say that, my heart clenched with a bitter ache. This girl had really suffered too. Still, for her to exist in the world in this state was not a bad thing. But how could I possibly let her accompany me to the underworld? That place was nothing but blood, wind, and slaughter. “Wan’er, you really can’t go to the Nether City. If anything happens to you, however small, how would you ever go looking for Zi Yi?” I knew her heart had always held Zi Yi.

“Hehe, maybe Zi Yi is in the underworld,” Wan’er said with a light laugh.

“Whatever the case, you cannot go. The Nether City is not a place for you.” My mind was made up. Under no circumstances would I let her come.

“Brother, if I don’t go with you, I’m afraid you won’t even find the boundary of the underworld.”

“That’s true. Do you know where the boundary is?” That was exactly what had been troubling me. Last time I had gone into the king’s tomb with them, but we had never found the road leading to the underworld.

“Come on, follow me.” Shangguan Wan’er smiled and pulled my hand as she ran forward. “When I came to look for you just now, I saw the boundary of the underworld in the moonlight.”

I could not entirely disbelieve that. After all, Wan’er was part human and part ghost; there were many things she could see that I could not. If she could help me find the boundary leading into the underworld, that would be wonderful—but I still could not let her follow me inside.

“Wan’er, why are we heading down the mountain? I remember the boundary was inside the king’s tomb,” I said as she dragged me downhill.

“Brother, you’re so foolish. There can be many spatial boundaries, just like entrances to caves. I really did see it.” Still holding my hand, she ran me down the slope. Feeling the soft, cold touch of her little hand in mine, my heart warmed. To have such a beautiful ghostly little sister was already more than enough. If my family were safe, if Wang Ying were by my side, and then there were also such a lovely and tender-hearted younger sister—what more could one ask of life?

Those were all only ifs. The road ahead of me was like this mountain path: full of thorns and the unknown.

Soon we reached the foot of the mountain, where a hexagonal pavilion stood ahead. On it were several characters engraved in shadow: the Pavilion of Literary Heart. This was one of the scenic spots of Mount Fulai. Why had Wan’er brought me here?

“Brother, look. Isn’t that the boundary?” Wan’er stood on the pavilion and pointed toward a ridge in the distance. In the moonlight, ripples of light shimmered there. The rocks on the mountain were steep and jagged—how could there be water in such a place? Clearly, it was not water. If it had been, it would already have flowed away.

The boundary. That was definitely the boundary. Remembering the boundary inside the king’s tomb, I realized it was the same thing, only the one in the tomb had been darker, whereas this one glowed brighter beneath the moonlight.

“Wan’er, don’t follow me. I’ll go over there, and you go back and wait for me,” I said, letting go of her hand and dashing toward the ridge.

“You mean, you’re not taking me? You’ll regret it, you rotten brother,” came Shangguan Wan’er’s offended cry from behind me. I thought to myself: if I took you, that would be what I’d regret.

But when I reached the ridge, I truly did regret it. From afar, the boundary, clear as a mirror, had vanished, replaced by sheer, rugged stone. How could it have become like this?

I searched the ridge for a long while. Aside from rocks, grass, and trees, I could not find the boundary anywhere. It was maddening. Had I taken the wrong path?

“Hehe, Brother, you can’t find it, can you?” Just as I was at my wit’s end and did not know what to do, Shangguan Wan’er stepped out from the side.

“Wan’er, I can’t find it.”

“Look, it’s right here, isn’t it?” With a sweep of her hand, a smooth, mirrorlike space truly appeared before me. It was the boundary.

“Why didn’t I see it just now?” I still could not figure it out. The moment this girl arrived, the boundary appeared, and when I was alone, I could not see it. Why?

“I’ll tell you why. I’m from two thousand years ago. In my time, sorcery was far more powerful than it is now. Your era belongs to technology, and technology runs counter to sorcery. Our sorcery is better than technology in certain strange realms. Don’t worry about that now. This boundary won’t stay open for long, so hurry inside.” As she spoke, Shangguan Wan’er pulled me by the hand and dragged me in.

A sensation like an electric shock raced through my entire body. I had already entered the boundary. Wan’er stood beside me, still holding my hand.

“Wan’er, go back out quickly. This really is not a place for you,” I said.

“Brother, I forgot to tell you—I can come in, but I don’t know how to get out,” Shangguan Wan’er said with a grin.

Maddening. Well, fine. Since we had come in together, I might as well let her stay with me. Having someone beside me was better than being alone.

After taking only a few steps forward, I felt that something was wrong.

Looking at the brilliant flowers blooming all around us, I suddenly understood. “Wan’er, we took the wrong road. This isn’t the underworld.”

“Not the underworld? How can you be sure?” Shangguan Wan’er’s bright eyes fixed on me, touched by innocence and confusion.

“I’ve been to the underworld city of the nether realm. Everything there is gray and dim, without color. The scenery is very much like the world of the living, but it has no trace of vitality.”

“What? How could that be? Then we didn’t go to the underworld at all, and we’re still on Mount Fulai in Juxian?” Wan’er’s face was full of doubt as well.

“That... shouldn’t be Mount Fulai. Look, this is a plain! And when we came in just now, it was night. Now it’s daytime.” I looked up at the sky and nearly blacked out. There were actually many suns hanging overhead.

“Wan’er, what is going on?” I asked, pointing to the cluster of suns above us.

Wan’er stared at the blazing sky, mouth agape, and after a long while finally said, “Brother... did we travel through time into ancient times?”

Travel through time? Ancient times? Had she been watching too many brainless dramas?

“No way. Was ancient times like this? Were there multiple suns in the sky back then? The story of Hou Yi shooting down the suns is a legend, not real.”

“Brother, look, what is that?”

Just as neither of us knew what to do, a red figure flashed past ahead of us at terrifying speed. That blood-red shadow looked far too familiar. Wasn’t that the Sky-Howler Beast I had captured before?

How could it be here? No, that was wrong. The Sky-Howler Beast I had caught had been given to Wang Ying, and it had even become tiny. This one was so huge—it could not be the same one. But never mind whether it was or not. I should chase after it first and see.

“Wan’er, after it!” I grabbed Shangguan Wan’er’s hand and rushed after the crimson figure.