(seven)

The usually bustling streets were now deserted, except for the white ghost money that had flown in from who-knows-where and the faint dampness.

The boy followed the scent and walked slowly forward. As he walked, strange-looking people appeared around him, some holding their severed heads, others with their long tongues wrapped around their necks, and still others covering their blood-dripping wounds from the cuts.

Clearly, this is the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Humans experience a hundred different behaviors, and so do ghosts. Some see their loved ones burning paper money for them and squat beside them in grief. Others huddle together to snatch the paper money that is given to wandering ghosts by the roadside. Only the boy walks forward alone. Before he knows it, the ghosts around him begin to decrease, and the surrounding scenery gradually disappears. The night sky, which was originally filled with stars, becomes pitch black. So the boy lights a lantern.

Ordinary lanterns emit a yellow glow from burning candles, but the one in the boy's hand was bluish-green, clearly indicating that it did not contain a candle.

The boy continued walking forward, and finally, after walking for an unknown amount of time, he heard the sound of humans crying in the darkness ahead.

The boy stepped forward, and who else could it be but Cui Hui who was crying?

Cui Hui felt a light beside him and looked up from his arms toward the light. He saw the boy, who looked the same as always, but the lamp in the boy's hand made him freeze in place.

He's not stupid. Even if he's not very skilled, he wouldn't be so ignorant of the basics about ghosts and monsters. Will-o'-the-wisps are greenish-blue, fueled by the soul, and cannot ignite if they are more than five steps away from a ghost.

Ziqiu is a ghost.

The boy reached out and handed the green lamp in his hand to Cui Hui, gesturing, "Take it and go back."

From the moment the boy met Cui Hui, Cui Hui didn't say a word and just stared at him blankly. How could the boy not see Cui Hui's shock at his identity? But no matter how shocked he was, he had to go back first.

"Oh, oh." Cui Hui woke up as if from a dream, took the lantern from the boy's hand, and followed him away.

When he saw the figure again, Cui Hui stammered, but he didn't know what to say to ease the awkward atmosphere, so he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time. When the boy heard this, he turned around and looked at him, and said, "I know what you want to say. You can go back first."

"No." With courage from who knows where, Cui Hui mustered up his courage and said, "I still want to say, whether you are a human or a ghost, you, you are my friend."

Zhou Ziqiu looked surprised: "Are you sure? I'm a ghost."

Cui Hui looked at him firmly: "So what if you're a ghost? You are still Zhou Ziqiu."

"..." Zhou Ziqiu remained silent for a while, then turned around again. Just when Cui Hui thought Zhou Ziqiu was going to leave him, Zhou Ziqiu suddenly said from the front, "If you don't mind."

"I don't mind! Of course I don't mind!"

Cui shouted with delight.

He returned home in high spirits, but his father was startled when he saw him and hurriedly asked him what was wrong and why he was holding a green lamp.

Cui Hui then told him about Zhou Ziqiu's situation, but omitted the fact that Zhou Ziqiu had met him. He only said that a ghost saw him trapped in the Yin Gate and lit a soul lamp for him.

His father paused for a moment after hearing this, then brought out a white box and told him to put the soul from the paper lantern into the white box.

At first, Cui Hui was worried that his father would destroy the soul and did not want to put the soul in the white box in his father's hands. However, his father's words changed his mind and even changed his view of his father.

“Our Cui family are not ungrateful people. Ghosts are evil, but there are also ghosts with deep feelings and true nature.” His father looked into his eyes. “I am not a rigid person either. Since that ghost saved you, you cannot forget its kindness. From now on, your life belongs to another family.”

Looking into his father's eyes, Cui Hui suddenly understood the meaning behind his father's words, and he nodded firmly.

"good."

In the following five years, Cui Hui changed his previous tendency to run away and began to diligently practice his family's magic. He became a leader among the younger generation of many exorcism families and became famous throughout the world. The Cui family was also invited by the imperial court to the capital to protect the law.

Before leaving, Cui Hui went to Zhou Ziqiu's residence as usual.

For the past five years, Cui Hui would visit Zhou Ziqiu's residence every day. After that day, Zhou Ziqiu did not show any unusual behavior towards him, and their relationship remained as good as before. Cui Hui would also teach Zhou Ziqiu what he had learned.

But today is for saying goodbye.

After listening to Cui Hui's story, Zhou Ziqiu poured him a cup of tea. The bitter tea made Cui Hui grimace as he drank it: "Ziqiu, why is this tea so bitter?"

Zhou Ziqiu smiled and said, "Farewell tea is naturally bitter."

"Believe me, I will definitely come back to find you," Cui Hui said firmly, looking into Zhou Ziqiu's eyes.

"good."

But when Cui returned, he was already middle-aged.

As he walked down the changed streets and saw the same mansion as he remembered from his youth, he pushed open the door and went inside. Just like their promise from years ago, there was a young man sitting in the hall, drinking tea and reading a book, just as he remembered from his youth.

Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, the boy looked up with a smile on his face.

Suddenly, Cui Hui felt that he was still a boy. Because he didn't want to learn the things in his family, he ran away and hid in the pure land that the boy had given him.

Welcome back.

The boy's voice interrupted Cui Hui's reminiscence. Cui Hui smiled and said, "Yes, I'm back."

When they met again, the two were just like before. Cui Hui naturally walked over to Zhou Ziqiu and sat down gracefully. He picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of tea. Now that he was middle-aged, he understood that bitter tea could be tasted to reveal the flavors of life.

Zhou Ziqiu looked at the grown-up boy in front of him for a long time, and then let out a long sigh: "You have changed a lot."

Cui Hui naturally picked up where Zhou Ziqiu left off: "Yes, it's been many years."

The many years of a ghost are not the same as the many years of a human. For a human, there are countless springs, summers, autumns, and winters, but for a ghost, it is just a blink of an eye.

“I’ve seen what you’ve done over the years. You’ve done a great job. Qingdeng has a great reputation.”

Although Zhou Ziqiu has never left this place in recent years, he has always been watching Cui Hui, whether it was for making meritorious contributions and receiving rewards from the imperial court or for establishing the first exorcism organization "Qingdeng" and bringing together the scattered exorcism Taoists.

"Do you know why the green lamp is called 'green lamp'?"

Zhou Ziqiu slightly raised his eyes and looked at him—

"Is it because of that lamp from back then?"

Wen Su asked aloud.

Cui Yongle nodded. "After that, Xiao Qiu made a pact with the ancestors of the Cui family. He would protect the green lamp so that it would never go out, and the green lamp would help him find the person he was looking for."

“Me, right?” Wen Su crossed his arms.

Cui Yongle nodded: "I don't know if you've heard of a certain name, but you are his—"

"Xie Xingzhou?" Wen Su said lazily, having already guessed this.

Upon hearing this, Cui Yongle was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Wen Su to be so perceptive. No wonder he hadn't shown much surprise at the fact that Zhou Ziqiu was a ghost. He nodded and asked, "What else do you know?"

Wen Su stretched out his fingers, pressing down one finger for each item he mentioned: "I guessed many of the things I knew about Zhou Qinghe's death, Zhou Gushan's plan, and Xie Xingzhou's affairs."

Zhou Gushan is the emperor's elder brother mentioned by Zhou Qinghe, Emperor Jing of Zhou, who is famous throughout the world for bringing the Zhou Dynasty back to life.

Hearing this, Cui Yongle understood the situation. It seemed that Wen Su already knew quite a bit. When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat heavy: "In that case, I have a request for you."

"explain."

At this point, Cui Yongle was speechless. He knew what the outcome of doing this would be, but that was the outcome Zhou Ziqiu wanted, and it was also the task of Qingdeng for a thousand years. He should be happy that it could be completed in his generation.

"...Please, stay with him until the very end."

You are the reincarnation of Xie Xingzhou. With you by his side, he should be happy to leave.

It's 11:30 p.m.

Wen Su stood in the main hall of the Wen family, holding a white box containing a wisp of Zhou Ziqiu's soul. He planned to use a soul-summoning technique to search for Zhou Ziqiu's whereabouts as soon as midnight struck. However, Cui Yongle did not follow, as he was not skilled in combat.

This was something Cui Yongle and I had come up with during the day. At midnight, the gates of the underworld open, and the yin energy is abundant, making it the perfect time to guide the soul.

At midnight, the gates of the underworld appear.

The alarm clock on the phone started ringing. For some reason, the ghost bride from yesterday did not appear. However, Wen Su was happy to avoid the battle. He drew a soul-summoning talisman on the box. The talisman took effect and burst into a small cluster of flames. The flames faintly flowed with light, forming a traditional Chinese character "南" (Nan).

The Wen family mansion was located at the northern end of the mountains, which was in the opposite direction from the Wen family mansion. Wen Su immediately ran out of the Wen family mansion. The road leading to the Wen family mansion happened to extend from the south, so Wen Su ran forward along the path.

The mountain road was very quiet at night. Apart from the sound of Wen Su's breathing as he ran, there was no other sound. After a while, Wen Su's breathing calmed down.

He turned his head in confusion to look at the unchanged scenery in the mountains. He had been running for nearly twenty minutes, and normally he should be in the village at the foot of the mountain now. But as far as the eye could see, there were only countless trees and a narrow path that stretched into the depths of the mountains.

Wen Su glanced at the soul-guiding talisman in his hand that was still pointing south, then reached behind him with one hand to take out the dagger tucked at his waist and held it horizontally in front of him. The blade made a soft hum as it was drawn, and the snow-white blade reflected not only the firelight but also Wen Su's cold eyes.

There's a ghost.

Moreover, they are very strong.

Wen Su could feel the dagger that had been with him for hundreds of years was excited.

Shifting his gaze from the dagger, Wen Su took another step, cautiously pacing forward.

But what appeared before Wen Su more than ten minutes later was something he couldn't understand.

He returned to the Wen family home.

18:57:46