Not a good person
Thick fog rolled in again, but this time it came and went quickly. After the fog cleared, the surrounding area revealed the shape of a mountain path, and the sun was still shining brightly overhead.
Si Mucheng squinted at the bright sunlight. In the evil spirit dream, the sky was always gloomy, and seeing such sunlight suddenly was very uncomfortable. After a while, Si Mucheng quickly moved to the side, and only breathed a sigh of relief when his gaze fell on Wen Ya not far away.
"Master? Are you alright?" Si Mucheng strode forward, not forgetting that in the dream, the resentment on Li Huaming had been transferred to Wen Ya.
Wen Ya remained indifferent. She shook her head and said nothing. Wen Xiaofeng spread its wings and flew to her shoulder, then squatted down and remained still.
There were Wen Ya's unused luggage bags on the ground, which Si Mucheng picked up. Zhao Wentian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that things were resolved: "Thank God, we're finally out."
Si Mucheng raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. It had only been about five minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
At this moment, the woman who had been standing by the tree in a daze seemed to come back to her senses. She slowly walked up to the three people and bowed deeply: "...Thank you all."
Si Mucheng looked her over curiously. The woman didn't look well, was thin, and her eyes were full of worry. He had never seen Zhou Kangyan before, but now he understood. Being drawn into the evil dream together meant that the only other people besides the three of them could be the parties involved.
He thought of what Li Huaming had done to her and couldn't help but feel pity: "What...what are your plans for the future?"
Zhou Kangyan smiled, but her emotions didn't fluctuate much: "We still have to live." She turned her gaze back to Wen Ya, her eyes filled with nostalgia. She leaned closer and whispered, "Miss, I still have to thank you. Otherwise, I would have been trapped there to death."
Wen Ya nodded slightly: "You have to thank yourself. If you hadn't made up your mind, none of us would have gotten out."
Zhou Kangyan's eyes followed her, as if she were looking through her at someone else.
Seeing that Zhou Kangyan was staring at Wen Ya, Zhao Wentian sighed helplessly, walked over, and said, "Let's go back to my Taoist temple to rest."
Zhou Kangyan then came to her senses. She tugged at her clothes and said with a smile, "I... I won't go. Since that person... has been dealt with, I have to go back."
Wen Ya remained silent, but Si Mucheng was very polite: "Ah, won't you have a meal before you leave?"
Zhao Wentian couldn't help but laugh; this kid was really quite outgoing.
Zhou Kangyan shook her head: "I only came to Yuhuang Mountain to deal with that person. Now that everything is alright, I won't bother everyone any longer."
Upon hearing this, Si Mucheng did not press the matter, but simply nodded and did not try to persuade him to stay.
Zhou Kangyan took one last look at Wen Ya. She always wondered if Xiao Li would look like this when she grew up. But she knew that she no longer had the right to think about Xiao Li. She could only live the rest of her life by atoning for her sins.
"Wait a minute." Zhao Wentian suddenly spoke up. Zhou Kangyan turned around and looked at him. He walked over and handed her a folded triangular talisman. "Take this. You just went through something like this. This talisman can calm your mind."
Zhou Kangyan accepted it: "Thank you."
Once she left, she never looked back.
The three watched her go until her figure completely disappeared into the lush greenery, then Zhao Wentian clapped his hands and said, "Let's go then."
Wen Ya nodded and reached for her bag, but Si Mucheng was quick and grabbed her bag, taking two steps to Zhao Wentian's side. He pretended not to know anything and chatted with Zhao Wentian: "Brother Zhao, was the talisman you just gave her a calming talisman?"
Zhao Wentian didn't understand their witty banter and was simply led astray by Si Mucheng: "Yes and no."
Seeing Si Mucheng's puzzled expression, Zhao Wentian finally finished keeping him in suspense and said with a smile, "That calming talisman has an additional use. It will make people gradually forget about ghosts and gods. Today's events are nothing but a mayfly's dream, preventing the living from being trapped by the obsession of ghosts."
Si Mucheng nodded, understanding. "An Shen Fu PLUS."
He couldn't help but glance back again. Wen Ya, carrying Wen Xiaofeng on her shoulder, slumped silently behind him, looking rather leisurely. He thought that if he hadn't inexplicably gained the ability to see ghosts, he would probably have been dealt with by a talisman like everyone else, and would have thought of it occasionally as just a nightmare about his grandmother.
After walking along the mountain path for about ten minutes, they finally arrived at Yuhuang Temple. Si Mucheng looked up at the simple and ancient plaque at the entrance; judging from its appearance, the temple was indeed quite old.
Before they even entered, someone came out of the Taoist temple and their eyes lit up when they saw Zhao Wentian: "Junior Brother, you're back?"
Zhao Wentian greeted him with a smile: "Junior Brother, look who's here."
Although Zhao Wentian's junior brother came from a Taoist temple, his attire was not like the Taoist priests in Si Mucheng's impression, who wore hair in a bun and Taoist robes. He wore a very ordinary T-shirt and trousers, and his short hair was also very neat. If Si Mucheng had met him at the foot of the mountain, he would not have thought of him as a Taoist priest at all.
The junior brother's gaze shifted from Si Mucheng to Wen Ya, and he suddenly broke into a smile: "Wen Ya? Is that you, Wen Ya? You've come to Qicheng? When did you arrive?"
Si Mucheng looked at Wen Ya, but saw that Wen Ya's attitude was unpredictable. He just nodded and didn't say anything else.
But the junior brother didn't feel neglected and warmly welcomed them inside. He glanced at Si Mucheng and asked, "And this gentleman is...?"
Zhao Wentian was about to answer when Si Mucheng interrupted him: "I am Wen Ya's disciple!"
"Ha! Wen Ya has even taken on a little apprentice. That's amazing." The junior brother laughed.
Wen Ya glanced at Si Mucheng without saying a word, as if she wanted to tell him to stop making trouble, but in the end she didn't say anything.
Seeing that she didn't deny it and was even standing beside her with a smile, Si Mucheng asked, "Master, are you tired?"
Upon hearing this, the junior brother quickly nodded: "Come in and rest your feet, have a cup of tea."
Zhao Wentian casually asked, "Where's the old man?"
"Master is in the library," the junior brother replied.
Zhao Wentian thought for a moment and then said, "You greet them." He then gestured to Wen Ya with his eyes.
Wen Ya nodded and followed Zhao Wentian.
"Hey!" Si Mucheng was confused and wanted to follow Wen Ya.
Wen Ya turned around and said, "Sit down for a while first."
Hearing her words, Si Mucheng fell silent and obediently sat down. His junior brother brought him a cup of tea: "Tell me, how did you become Wen Ya's disciple?"
Si Mucheng was also very interested in Wen Ya's childhood, and immediately started chatting with his junior brother.
Wen Ya followed Zhao Wentian toward the library.
Yuhuang Temple was no different from what she remembered. Passing by Jingxin Hall, she saw the open door and the neatly arranged tables and chairs inside, just as before. Her eyes flickered slightly.
"Do you remember when we were studying here?" Zhao Wentian took the initiative to speak. "We would get up early in the morning and read the Tao Te Ching. Who could resist that? Only you could do it without fail. Back then, I admired you more than anyone else."
Wen Ya smiled upon hearing this, but the smile vanished in an instant.
Zhao Wentian was used to her mannerisms and didn't feel embarrassed, continuing to lead the way in a nonchalant manner.
When he arrived at a house, he knocked on the tightly closed wooden door and called out loudly, "Old Master."
A short while later, an aged voice came from inside the door: "Come in."
Zhao Wentian pushed open the door and entered. His eyes were met by a solid wood desk directly opposite the door, with the writing implements neatly arranged and many books piled on it. Wen Ya stared directly at the old man behind the desk. The old man had white hair tied in a bun and wore a gray Taoist robe. He looked very old, but it was hard to pinpoint his age because his eyes were clear and his spirit vigorous. Standing there, he had a somewhat otherworldly air about him.
Wen Ya lowered her eyelids and said respectfully, "Great-Grandpa."
"Wen family girl." Old Master Zhao put down the book in his hand, looked at Wen Ya calmly, and then waved to her.
Wen Ya slowly walked over, while Zhao Wentian simply continued to stand at the door without moving.
“You’ve grown up,” Grandpa Zhao looked at her intently, then suddenly sighed, “Your maternal grandfather… please accept my condolences.”
Wen Ya nodded. The Wen family line was dwindling in number. Even when her maternal grandfather was alive, the Wen family didn't go out much and didn't interact with other families. Wen Ya only knew some younger members of other families when she was young at Yuhuang Temple, but they weren't close. Old Master Zhao was the eldest in the family and had some dealings with the heads of this trade. Of course, he also knew Wen Ya's maternal grandfather. Upon hearing the devastating news and seeing Wen Ya, the old man couldn't help but show a hint of sorrow.
But his disappointment was short-lived. He composed himself and got down to business: "Wentian mentioned your family's magical artifact. If it's convenient, could I take a look at it?"
Wen Ya's purpose for this trip was this, and there was no question of convenience. She took out the Soul-Returning Lamp from her handbag and handed it to Old Master Zhao.
Grandpa Zhao took it and examined it from all angles. Zhao Wentian couldn't help but walk closer. He exclaimed, "Eh? This thing has changed again? Last time I saw its petals weren't glowing."
“Yes,” Wen Ya said softly, “when I took it out to check last night, I found that one of the six petals was shiny.”
"It wasn't lit before?" Old Master Zhao asked.
“It was the wick that was flickering before,” Zhao Wentian stepped forward and said, “Grandpa, did you notice anything?”
Old Master Zhao shook his head and handed the Soul-Returning Lamp back to Wen Ya: "After Wen Tian told me about it that day, I searched through some ancient books, but the records were only a few sentences long. Actually, this is a family heirloom of your Wen family, and your Wen family should have relevant records."
Wen Ya frowned slightly. She didn't know if there were these things at home: "Grandpa never told me about them." She found the Soul-Returning Lamp when she went home to sort through her grandfather's belongings. She recognized it, but since she knew that this magical artifact had been dormant, she only kept it as a keepsake.
Old Master Zhao pondered for a moment: "However, ancient books say that the Soul-Returning Lamp does have the power to bring back souls, but the method of use has long been lost, and no one knows how to use it. As for how the ghost was attracted to the Soul-Returning Lamp and came to us, we have no idea."
Wen Ya knew that since Old Master Zhao had said that, it meant that he had limited information and had done his best. She nodded, "Thank you."
Grandpa Zhao waved his hand and said nothing more.
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