White temples

Even after getting off the train and leaving the station, Wen Ya was still somewhat dazed.

Si Mucheng carried two bags on his back and Wen Ya's travel bag in his hand. As they walked, he looked down at Wen Ya and asked, "What's wrong? You're still half asleep, Xiao Ya. I never knew you slept so well before. You must have slept for eight hours during the twelve-hour drive. Good heavens, I usually can't even sleep that long at night. You didn't eat a single bite... and of course, neither did I... I couldn't even go to the bathroom..."

He rambled on, shocked by Wen Ya's unusual behavior during the trip. At first, he even slept alongside Wen Ya, but when he woke up, Wen Ya was still asleep, without even changing her position. He was curious at the time, thinking that Wen Ya's sleep quality was really good, how could she sleep so soundly in such a position? Didn't her legs ache or her hands go numb?

Several more hours passed, and Wen Ya still hadn't woken up. Si Mucheng immediately panicked. They boarded the train in the morning and wouldn't arrive until evening, spending the entire day on the train. If anything happened to her, she wouldn't receive timely medical attention.

Fearing she might fall into a coma, Si Mucheng called her name a few times and nervously checked her breathing. Finally, he found that her breathing was even and her complexion was rosy, so he was relieved to find that she was indeed just asleep.

"Don't your legs and feet go numb after sleeping for so long? What about your neck?" Si Mucheng looked at her face and frowned. "Are you sure you're not feeling unwell anywhere?"

Wen Ya let out a breath of stale air, rubbed her shoulders, and shook her head: "It's nothing, I'm just... sleepy."

Si Mucheng was convinced: "You really are... I declare you the new generation's sleeping god."

Wen Ya: "..."

I don't know where he got so many words from.

"We...have we arrived?" Wen Ya glanced at the station sign on the platform; it was an unfamiliar place name. She paused, then hesitated. "Here..."

Si Mucheng shook his head: "Not yet, we have to transfer here. It's another eight hours' journey, we probably won't arrive in Li City until dawn. This is truly the first time I've ever taken such a long train ride... my calves are about to swell up..."

The trip left them both physically and mentally exhausted, but since Li City is a tourist city and it's currently the peak summer season, Si Mucheng felt quite lucky to have managed to buy tickets. It's just that the land of China is too vast, and those ghosts are quite persistent, managing to find their way here from so far away.

He glanced at Wen Ya's serious face and thought, "Oh no, is she hungry or sleepy again?" He was shocked: "You're sleepy again?"

Wen Ya glanced at him, her eyes filled with curiosity, but she simply said, "No."

Not having guessed correctly, Si Mucheng rubbed his rumbling stomach and asked, "Are you hungry?"

Wen Ya's expression shifted slightly, and she nodded: "A little."

“You’re the one who’s a little bit!” Si Mucheng sighed. “I’m starving. I haven’t eaten anything properly all day.” Luckily, Shangguan Qin had prepared a bag of snacks for them, which prevented him from starving to death on the train.

Wen Ya had no idea that she had been sleeping on someone's shoulder the whole way, and asked curiously, "You fell asleep too?"

Si Mucheng laughed in exasperation. He took a deep breath and said calmly, "Yeah, she fell asleep, that's why she didn't eat." He wasn't going to tell her that he had been waiting for her to wake up so they could go to the dining car together, but she still hadn't woken up by the time they arrived at the station.

Fortunately, they had plenty of time for their layover. After entering the waiting hall, the two found a place to eat. Shi Lu stayed by their side the whole time, and overhearing their conversation, she couldn't help but apologize, "I'm so sorry... I made you travel such a long way..."

Her voice was still hoarse, but at least she could make sounds.

Upon hearing this, Si Mucheng quickly waved his hand and said, "Oh, it's nothing."

Wen Ya clearly wanted to know more, so she asked Shi Lu, "Do you have any recollection of how you got that information?"

Shi Lu nodded: "It felt like someone asked me if I wanted to be resurrected to fulfill my last wish. After I answered, a bright light appeared in front of your window."

Her experience is no different from the previous ghosts' experiences; they should all be quite similar.

Wen Ya continued, "Do you remember how long you've been dead?"

Shi Lu glanced blankly at the timetable hanging in the restaurant, paused for a moment, and said softly, "It should have been a few years."

After that, no one said a word.

It is a ghost that has been dead for a long time and has not been exorcised, nor has it become an evil spirit.

Si Mucheng recalled his previous conversation with Wen Ya, which had ended abruptly. He then asked her, "By the way, you mentioned last time that the Soul-Returning Lamp was filtering ghosts? Was it filtering ghosts like Shi Lu?"

Wen Ya nodded: "It's too much of a coincidence. I suspect that the malfunctioning of the soul-searching artifacts and formations was to allow the Soul-Returning Lamp to filter out suitable ghosts. Shi Lu and the others are among those who fit the criteria."

Si Mucheng's eyes widened: "Playing this big? If I remember correctly, both Yuhuang Temple and the Shangguan family said that the soul-searching device malfunctioned a year ago. This means that someone started planning this a year ago?"

This is also what Wen Ya was worried about. The Soul-Returning Lamp was acting strangely, the Soul-Searching Device was malfunctioning, and ghosts kept coming to her door, saying they wanted to borrow the spiritual device to return to life. The ghosts all remembered that someone told "them" about the existence of the Soul-Returning Lamp, and the Soul-Returning Lamp summoned "them". Each step seemed to be premeditated.

But who is the person behind it all?

Shi Lu looked around, not quite understanding what they were saying. Si Mucheng saw Wen Ya lost in thought and knew she probably wasn't paying attention to what was happening around her, so he smiled and comforted Shi Lu, "Don't worry, we'll help you."

An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and the two people and the ghost boarded the train once again.

This trip took another eight hours.

We arrived in Li City at four in the morning.

Si Mucheng was exhausted, and when he and Wen Ya stepped into the territory of Li City, he couldn't help but yawn.

He had always thought he had a lot of energy, but today he was completely exhausted from the long journey, as if his life force had been drained.

Wen Ya showed no signs of fatigue, which made him marvel at her. She could fall asleep as soon as she got on the bus, and her sleep quality was superb. She could sleep anywhere, which was truly a gift.

But then he thought about it, and realized that Wen Ya had been traveling and wandering for many years. Thinking this, a strange feeling welled up in his heart, and he completely suppressed his original intention to tease her.

But then, they encountered new troubles.

Because it was peak tourist season, they couldn't book hotel rooms.

Si Mucheng stood at the hotel lobby reception desk, dumbfounded, repeating the receptionist's words: "Only one double room?"

The receptionist maintained her standard smile: "Yes, sir."

This was already the third hotel they had looked at. Si Mucheng was too exhausted to go to another one. He had also checked on his phone, and apart from the serious overpricing, there were no suitable rooms available.

The sun was already rising in Li City. Si Mucheng just wanted to get a good night's sleep, but his spoiled young master tendencies kicked in, and he wouldn't even look at a hotel that didn't meet his standards.

Although Wen Ya didn't understand his fussiness at all, she respected it. Seeing that the hotel finally had a room and he looked conflicted, she said, "Let's book it."

Si Mucheng was surprised: "But there's only one room."

Wen Ya thought she could go out and find a cheap hotel that should have rooms, so she said, "It's okay, one room is fine, just in case there aren't any left later."

Si Mucheng was so tired that his eyes were drooping and the corners of his eyes were red. He couldn't stay awake any longer, so he handed his ID card to the front desk and said weakly, "Open it for me."

After taking their room key, Si Mucheng and Wen Ya took the elevator to their room. Upon entering, Wen Ya glanced at the room and, finding nothing amiss, planned to tell Si Mucheng she would find another hotel nearby. However, Si Mucheng simply put his bag on the floor and lay down on the sofa. He waved his hand and said, "Xiao Ya, you sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the sofa… I'll take a nap and then wash up… I can't take it anymore, I'm too tired. I'm usually very clean, but today is a special case…" The last few words became an unconscious murmur.

Si Mucheng fell asleep just like that, but even though he was so sleepy, he still kept talking.

Wen Ya was still standing at the door, watching him sleep so casually on the sofa, even giving her the bed, and she was speechless for a moment. She couldn't just leave without saying goodbye, and she had also missed her chance to speak, so she could only go inside and close the door.

The room was quite nice, in Si Mucheng's usual style—ostentatious and glittering. The bed was large and looked very soft, but the sofa was all show and no substance; the armrests were made of wood, and the design was Baroque—clearly unsuitable for sleeping. Besides, Si Mucheng, being tall and large, was curled up on the sofa looking rather aggrieved, yet sleeping soundly.

Wen Ya gazed at Si Mucheng's sleeping face, unable to describe her feelings.

She had been sleeping on the train and wasn't sleepy at the moment. The room had a small balcony, and as dawn broke outside, Wen Ya was drawn to it. She pushed open the glass door and went to the balcony to watch the sunrise.

Their hotel was located in the city center, and because of its height, the balcony offered a panoramic view of the city. Gentle sunlight softly bathed Wen Ya's face; the entire city was already awakening.

Shi Lu was also floating on the balcony. Wen Ya looked at the scenery for a while, then suddenly asked, "What is your obsession?"

Shi Lu's hoarse voice, completely devoid of a young girl's tone, drifted in the morning breeze: "I want... to see my dad."

Wen Ya was taken aback.

Shi Lu continued, "My death was sudden... I was afraid of my dad, so I didn't take care of my health and was heartbroken... I don't know how he is doing."

Wen Ya recalled the dream she had on the train, and she smiled slightly: "Your dad and you had a very good relationship, didn't you?"

“Yes,” Shi Lu smiled, “I love my dad the most.”

Wen Ya wanted to say something more, but suddenly it occurred to her that ghosts cannot leave the place where they died. If the obsession is only to see their loved ones, such a wish should be very simple. So why has "she" been unable to leave for so long?

Wen Ya looked at her: "You haven't been found yet?"