Chapter 100 Book of Life and Death
A prefix for an ex-boyfriend? Short-lived?
Qing Bai said seriously: "That's certainly not an exaggeration..."
Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it wasn't an exaggeration. Seeing his clear eyes and calm demeanor, he thought that he was not the type of person who would pester and hold a grudge against her ex-boyfriend and curse him to die after breaking up. It was so disgraceful. Why would such a handsome guy do that?
Moreover, based on her rich experience dealing with various spirits and demons over the past few years, she knew that those with deep and persistent obsessions wouldn't necessarily end in a dignified manner even if their wishes were fulfilled. Material resources are finite, but human desires are endless. If their ex wasn't doing well, they might not be particularly happy, but if they happened to be living a happy life with a happy family, they would undoubtedly be filled with resentment and anger...
"It's not a breakup, not a breakup," Qing Bai corrected with a serious expression, "It's a widowhood."
Widowed...widowed? !
Xiao Wu, who had no intention of speaking the truth, was suddenly speechless.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly realized how foolish her previous reactions had been. Even after she'd reached the underworld, she was still wondering if the phrase "short-lived" was an exaggeration or a wishful thinking. If someone was truly still alive, in this information age, there were at least a hundred, if not a thousand, ways to find out a person's current situation, directly or indirectly. As for coming to her underworld to check the Book of Life and Death? Since he needed the Book of Life and Death, he must have truly...died young.
Although he understood, Qing Bai's word "widowed" had a rather strong impact. Xiao Wu looked at Qing Bai again. She was still beautiful, with delicate features, fair skin, a slender waist and long legs. But there was an inexplicable aura of... a young widow? Her previous clear eyes and brows had become transparent and cold, her calm and peaceful demeanor had become a heart as lonely and desolate as a broken heart. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pity.
Xiao Wu stared into Qing Bai's stark black and white eyes, feeling a sudden hesitation. For a widower, would it be good or bad to show her this book of life and death, a record of all past lives? Would it only add to her sorrow? And if that person happened to still be reborn, would she still...
"Miss Xiao Wu, don't worry," Qing Bai said calmly, bluntly addressing Xiao Wu's concerns. "The dead cannot be resurrected. I have no intention of staging a heartbreaking drama about a human and a ghost... I just have some confusions in my heart, and I'd like to use the Book of Life and Death to resolve them."
"Hahaha, it's best if you can think positively..." Xiao Wu felt relieved. While sighing that the handsome guy was very decent, he pulled out an ancient, heavy and weathered... safe out of thin air?
The safe was square and inky in color, looking like ancient wood or metal. The material could not be distinguished by the naked eye. The whole cabinet was integrated without a single gap or even a keyhole. There was only a majestic animal head embossed on the cabinet door, but its true form could not be seen.
"Where is your...place of residence? And in what year was he born?"
As soon as Qing Bai saw Xiao Wu's posture, he knew that the back door was secure, and he answered one by one in a very cooperative manner. Then he saw Xiao Wu skillfully stretched out a slender pale finger and smoothly poked it into the mouth of the majestic animal head on the cabinet door. The relief animal head suddenly "came alive", and its dark eyes turned left and right, then scanned Xiao Wu up and down, while making a tsk-tsk sound, as if it was tasting something delicious.
After a long while, he slowly spit out Xiao Wu's finger, then rolled his eyes and made a beeping sound - "The cabinet door is open~"
The voice is crisp and the ending tone is lingering, and it doesn't sound like a serious cabinet at first listen.
Xiao Wu smiled awkwardly and quickly pulled out a 'Book of Life and Death' with an old, surprisingly thick cover from the cabinet. He explained, "The underworld is full of demons and monsters, and there's always unrest. The Book of Life and Death is of great importance, yet it's also vulnerable, and it's often targeted. To ensure its safety and reduce our workload, I hired a skilled craftsman to build this safe. It's sturdy, easy to use, and intelligent, but the voice control system is a bit... probably inspired by a certain express delivery locker."
A master craftsman? Qing Bai subconsciously thought of the owner of a candle shop that boasted of free shipping nationwide and always used a magic conch shell to perfunctorily appease him. However, the Book of Life and Death was right before him, and his long-held doubts were about to be answered. Qing Bai had no mood for small talk. He responded emotionlessly, his eyes fixed on the Book of Life and Death without blinking: "Hmm, very good, quite intelligent..."
Xiao Wu flipped open the book of life and death, thick enough to kill someone, and searched based on the detailed household registration address. Then, while confirming the year and month, he said, "This place... 22 years ago... If I were to go into more detail, it would be... Oh, I haven't asked his name yet."
"Tsk, when will the underworld achieve paperless office? This infrastructure is so backward..." Xiao Wu complained casually before remembering that he was in front of guests. He was afraid of giving them the impression that the underworld was backward and unreliable, so he quickly made amends. "Although the basic office facilities are old and finding people depends entirely on manual pages, please believe that the Book of Life and Death is professional! We are professionals too! As long as you have a name, we will definitely find it! Even if you have the same name, don't worry! The Book of Life and Death contains detailed life stories, and we can accurately locate them without any problems!"
Qing Bai smiled to show his trust in the professional ability of their underworld staff, then pursed his lips and said softly: "His surname is Tong, and his name is Jiu Nian."
Xiao Wu's hand trembled as he flipped through the Book of Life and Death. He looked confused, as if he hadn't heard anything clearly because the underworld was so foggy today. "You said something about Tong something?"
Seeing Xiao Wu's big reaction, Qing Bai was calm instead: "Tongjiu Nian, people in winter Tong, wine is called Qingzhu wine, year is the year."
"Oh... so it's this wine," Xiao Wu said dryly, "I thought... we met someone with the same name..."
The key is that this person was brought by Master Jiunian. How awkward... Even though they don't have the same name, just a homophone with different characters, it's still awkward considering the identity of the deceased ex-boyfriend... Speaking of which, what's the relationship between this handsome guy and Master Jiunian? Although we don't see them interacting much, the atmosphere alone gives the impression of being familiar. According to Yin Jun, Master Jiunian has been living on the Samsara Platform for a long time and has only been more active recently. And since this handsome guy isn't a ghost, he's a new acquaintance... a friend? Or... Wanwan Leiqing?
At least a hundred different stand-in literature poses flashed through Xiao Wu's mind, but he didn't hesitate at all to read. He quickly flipped through the pages, and then... he finished?!
The person named 'Tong Jiunian' was not found.
It is really not a good idea to try to do two things at once. I felt so good for a while that I checked the crematorium again.
Xiao Wu was in a dilemma. She had to re-investigate, of course, but wouldn't going back now make it clear she'd been distracted and inattentive? She'd just said the staff at the underworld were professional, and now they were contradicting her... If it was just her, it wouldn't matter, but she was now representing the reputation of the entire Shangjing Underworld!
Thoughts raced, and Xiao Wu came up with a plan. He coughed dryly twice and said nonchalantly, "Although this Book of Life and Death hasn't been updated for thousands of years, it's humane to default to using blood ties as a bond. Furthermore, the more detailed the information provided, the faster and more detailed the search. You can even trace back blood ties to find information about family members..."
Seeing Qing Bai's expression show some interest, Xiao Wu quickly said, "Do you want to try it? We're already here."
Whether he was persuaded by the irresistible 'already here' spell, or perhaps he had other ideas, Qing Bai was silent for a moment before he spoke: "Tong Qusheng, Xu Muxiang, they've also... passed away."
What kind of unlucky family is this, favored by fate...
Xiao Wu took a deep breath and tried to organize his words to comfort her: "Rounding it off, this can be considered a family reunion of three. If it's handled properly, maybe they can be a family again in their next life..."
The relationship may be more complicated.
"Yes. His grandfather's name is Tong Huanbo." After thinking for a moment, Qing Bai added, "Grandpa is still alive."
That’s really not easy…Xiao Wu sighed silently.
In order to avoid repeating the same mistake, Xiao Wu didn't dare to think too much. After turning the page of the Book of Life and Death naturally, he stared intently at the densely packed small characters on the page: "Tong... Tong... Xu... Tong..."
As long as people are serious about it, there's nothing they can't accomplish, especially something as methodical and unskillful as flipping through a book. It wasn't long before Xiao Wu's eyes lit up: "Eureka! Tong Huanbo, Tong Qusheng, Xu Muxiang, Tong—"
However, Xiao Wu's joyful voice stopped abruptly after less than ten seconds.
Qing Bai's heart tightened, and he asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Wu: "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be...an accident..."
"What accident?"
Xiao Wu had a strange expression on his face. "In the Book of Life and Death, in the Tong family's Tong Huanbo lineage, under the names of Tong Qusheng and Xu Muxiang, there's no Tong Jiunian's name..."
Qing Bai was stunned, and repeated softly as if he didn't understand what was meant: "There's no Tong Jiunian's name?"
Xiao Wu nodded and confirmed again and again: "Tong Jionian's name is indeed not there."
"What does it mean to have no name?" Qing Bai asked.
What else could it mean if a name wasn't in the Book of Life and Death? Naturally, it meant, "It means this person doesn't exist..."
As soon as Xiao Wu said this, he realized that it was inappropriate. This statement was too arbitrary and not rigorous enough, but there were other possibilities.
Xiao Wu thought for a moment and said, "It's also possible that he's not the Tong couple's biological son and has no blood relationship with them, so his name isn't recorded with the Tong couple in the Book of Life and Death."
Among the two younger ones in the Tong family, the one who is not related by blood is obviously Qing Bai, so how could it be possible that Tong Jiunian... No, it is not impossible.
Thinking of the real purpose of checking the Book of Life and Death, Qing Bai instantly calmed down... This may not be a bad thing, but it may be a good sign.
After flipping through the book of life and death for a long time, not only did he not find the information he needed for the customer, but he also found family secrets that had already been taken to the grave. Xiao Wu felt a little guilty for some reason. In order to compensate, Xiao Wu actively offered advice: "It doesn't matter! If blood ties don't work, we can always start with love ties! I can still find out!"
Xiao Wu was full of fighting spirit, but Qing Bai was a little hesitant: "But... can we check the relationship as well?"
Putting aside the fact that the general domestic environment does not approve of...intimate relationships between same-sex people, strictly speaking, they were still...prematurely in love.
"Why can't you check this?" Xiao Wu joked, "As long as you're sure you're a widower, then of course you can check it!"
"Are you so idealistic?" Qing Bai also smiled, and then gave his name. "My name is Qing Bai, Qing as in "What's your business?" and Bai as in "Bai Xue." My registered residence is the same as Tong Jiunian, but I'm a year younger than him. My date of birth... I'm an orphan, so I'm not very clear... Will this affect your search?"
Of course it did have an impact, but Xiao Wu shook his head to avoid any shadows, pretending to be relaxed and speaking in a brisk voice: "Your surname is so unique, there are probably not many people like you in the country. You can find it in minutes by searching by surname!"
Qing Bai: "That's good."
…
Facts have proven that one shouldn't be too sure. Xiao Wu looked at the Book of Life and Death in front of her, which she had nearly flipped through to the edge, and held her head in her hands, questioning Gui Sheng: "Why... why is your name not in the Book of Life and Death?!"
What the hell are you two doing?!
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