Chapter 101 Fire Mirror
Faced with Xiao Wu's unspoken but clearly visible doubt, Qing Bai was genuinely stunned for a moment before he said hesitantly, "Maybe it's because I'm... not human?"
Little Zhen was holding his head in confusion. Wu's voice trembled: "No, not a human?"
So what are you?
Qing Bai suddenly smiled, and his eyes with smooth and graceful lines and rich color gently curved into a lovely arc, like a crescent moon hanging high in the sky, or like a winding stream in the mountains after the early spring thaw. The originally quiet and cold Qing Bai instantly became amiable because of this smile.
...It was a lovely smile, though a little out of place. Who would suddenly laugh so happily upon learning their name wasn't in the Book of Life and Death?! There was even a hint of... relief? It was like he'd finally figured out some long-suffering mystery.
Having been a ghost for several years, Xiao Wu had the good fortune to witness many big scenes and was definitely not a coward. However, facing Qing Bai's sudden smile, he couldn't help but shudder. It was not because he was afraid that he had a dagger hidden in his smile, but because he was shocked by the strong emotions contained in his light smile.
It's human nature. After all, if a cheerful, outgoing person, beaming all day, suddenly bursts out laughing, others will simply sigh, "How happy!" or perhaps even a sigh, because laughter is normal for such a person. It would be a strange thing to see them suddenly stop smiling and become serious. But Qingbai wasn't the type to live a daily life of pure joy. Even after just a brief time together, Xiao Wu had already noticed that he didn't smile often, and each time he did, there was a reason.
The smile of such a person is indeed precious, like a fleeting appearance of Udumbara, but precisely because of its preciousness, it is easy for people to be on high alert.
Xiao Wu: Why is he laughing? Did he suddenly come to his senses? Is he laughing out of anger? Or is he laughing at how our Yin Sikong is just a name that doesn't live up to its reputation? Or is it because I, in my excitement, pulled the head off and rubbed it in my arms, looking really stupid...
Xiao Wu's mind was in turmoil, with all sorts of speculations flying around. But Qing Bai, on the other hand, was genuinely relaxed and happy. To ensure the authenticity of his happiness, he even asked, as if to confirm, "Does this Book of Life and Death only record the births and deaths of humans? Does it also have entries for other creatures...or is it possible that there are omissions?"
Xiao Wu looked at the handsome man in front of him with a raised brow. He was wearing all black and standing in the dark and dark underworld that had been there for thousands of years, but he seemed to be glowing. The two heads on his neck and in his arms nodded subconsciously, and then shook their heads quickly after they realized what was happening.
"The Book of Life and Death doesn't just record the births and deaths of humans..." Seeing Qing Bai's expression suddenly serious, Xiao Wu's heart sank, and he hurriedly explained, "The Book of Life and Death can't just record people. After all, some people are barely human in this life, but they might be reborn as animals in the next. Although each life is different, to the underworld, which controls the lives of all living things and maintains the cycle of reincarnation, they are just different forms of the same soul. So, whether it's a human, a pig, a dog, a flying ant, or a mosquito, every detail must be recorded. If there is any injustice or dissatisfaction, the merits and demerits can be clearly stated."
Qing Bai hesitated for a moment and said, "What about the spirit beast? Is the spirit beast..."
Xiao Wu immediately understood Qing Bai's implication and waved a hand back and forth, "Although the word 'beast' is used, spirit beasts are mostly born and raised by the spiritual energy from all directions. They are born without flaws and most of them live to the end of time. Even when they die, their souls disperse completely, with no past life or afterlife, so naturally they won't be recorded in the Book of Life and Death."
There is neither a past life nor an afterlife… Qing Bai repeated this sentence over and over in his mind several times before he heaved a sigh of relief. He felt that after death, the soul would be scattered and scattered, which was a clean destination. If he were to reincarnate, who knew what his next life would be like, who knew who he would be mixed up with, and who knew if he would ever meet someone in such a big world…
"Since your name isn't in the Book of Life and Death..." Xiao Wu carefully placed the beauty's head back on her slender neck and asked curiously, "So, Qingbai, what kind of spirit beast are you?"
She had been in the metaphysical world and the underworld for several years, but she had never seen a spirit beast. She only knew one master of divine beasts, and she didn't know the difference between a spirit beast and a divine beast...
Qing Bai didn't answer immediately. Instead, he proposed a hypothesis: "What if a living spirit beast, through some... some magical means, could forget its past and live a normal life as a human child and grow up normally?"
It sounds like this situation is a bit similar to her friend who has a big boss with a divine beast... Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, then, with the caution that a staff member of the underworld should have, said, "That divine beast you're talking about, is it... is it you?"
Qing Bai didn't expect her to make such a guess, but he nodded in agreement: "...it could also be me."
After all, there is still no conclusion as to how this endangered spirit beast cub from the underworld ended up in the human world and stayed in the Tong family for more than 20 years.
Xiao Wu also realized that he had said something stupid. If that spirit beast was really Qing Bai, wouldn't he know if there were any so-called "magical methods"? In the context, he was obviously referring to his short-lived ex-boyfriend Jun!
It's just... Xiao Wu was just about to say that she was not very talented and had just died a few years ago. According to the calculation of the underworld, she was still a 90% new ghost. Although she was successful in her career and rose directly from the local City God Temple to the underworld, in this process, in addition to her own efforts, she also relied on the help of various nobles... In fact, she knew nothing about the race of spirit beasts.
A familiar voice suddenly blew into the office from afar, like the wind: "What could be you?"
When Xiao Wu heard the voice, her eyes lit up. Although she was a newcomer to the underworld and knew nothing, her immediate boss, a veteran who liked to meddle in everything, knew everything!
However, when they looked up, Xiao Wu and Qing Bai were both shocked.
Xiao Wu exclaimed, "Mr. Yin, why is your sleeve broken?!"
It's not just the sleeves, there are few intact parts on Yin Weihuai's body. His gorgeous clothes seem to have been baptized by bullets and swords. The scorch marks from fire coexist with the cuts from sharp weapons, and the round holes left by the fangs are side by side with the fragments torn by the claws. It's hard for its broken body to still hang on Yin Weihuai to maintain the little dignity he has left.
As for Yin Weihuai himself, apart from his pale face, there were no visible wounds. It might be that ghosts would not suffer any external injuries even if attacked.
Qing Bai didn't care about Yin Weihuai's sleeves. He just looked out the door, but he didn't find the person who had left with Yin Weihuai before.
Qing Bai frowned: "Nine years?"
Upon hearing the word 'Nine Years', Yin Weihuai gritted his teeth and said, "Sir Nine Years... Haha."
In just a short while, the burn marks and cuts on the rags hanging on Yin Weihuai's body "healed" one after another, revealing the gorgeous and delicate texture of the fabric itself. This piece of clothing seemed to be growing on its own... In the end, only the torn long sleeves were left, and because the missing piece of fabric was quite large, it was still slowly recovering.
What does the sneer mean? Qing Bai's anxious heart made his tone colder. He asked again: "What about nine years? Why didn't he come back with you?"
Yin Weihuai wiped his face with his hand and said with a wry smile, "Don't worry, Master Jiunian is fine. He just... he just took up his sword and went to chase that guy Suijing for a thousand miles!"
As he spoke, Yin Weihuai suddenly sighed in grief and anger: "I should be the one in trouble!!!"
Qing Bai: "Flint mirror?"
"That damn Lingxi tribe leader!" Yin Weihuai was so angry that he was spinning in circles, his intact sleeve futilely drawing a lonely arc in the air. However, his anger didn't seem to be directed solely at Sui Jing. The fact that Jiu Nian had been missing so far also played a significant role. "What about the agreement that we were only going to meet him?! What about the agreement that if anything unexpected happened, you would immediately kidnap me?!"
"As soon as I saw that guy, I didn't even say a word and just sharpened my claws! The two beasts engaged in a fierce battle! If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have been kicked and thrown into the frying pan of hell!"
Yin Weihuai's words were full of tears, but Qing Bai didn't quite believe it. "You mean Jiunian attacked the Lingxi clan leader the moment he saw him? Or transformed back into his original beast form and attacked? A close combat that was so intense that it was practically shattering? And he almost kicked you into a frying pan?"
It's no wonder Qing Bai doesn't believe it. The Jiu Nian that Yin Weihuai described as a beast who was ruthless, quiet, and got down to business as soon as they met was very different from the Jiu Nian that Qing Bai knew. It can't be said that they were exactly the same, but they were completely unrelated... Even if Jiu Nian really had two faces and was not the well-behaved, gentle, and steady young man that Qing Bai thought he was, he wouldn't be so... reckless, right?
Although he was sad and angry, Yin Weihuai also understood Qing Bai's distrust at the moment. After all, if he had not experienced it himself, he would never believe that the Nine-Year Master, who was always gentle and polite to people and ghosts, insisted on the supremacy of the law and had never committed lynching, would do it without saying a word!
Back then, Sui Jing released the Ten Ghost Kings to wreak havoc in the underworld, fighting all the way from the entrance to the reincarnation platform. In such a thrilling and urgent situation, the adults gave him the opportunity to speak and argue. But this time, not to mention him, even Sui Jing was stunned. He took two claws before he fought back in a panic.
Thinking of this, Yin Weihuai suddenly had an idea: Could it be that because Jiu Nian suffered a great loss that time because he insisted on his principles and showed mercy, he attacked Sui Jing as soon as they met today?
He said he just wanted to "meet the source," but in fact, he had already made up his mind to completely solve this problem this time...
While it made sense both publicly and privately, legally and morally, he revealed the existence of the flint mirror to Jiunian precisely because he knew this gentleman was fair and just in distinguishing right from wrong. However…how much of this trip today was for the sake of purging the underworld? How much was it for the sake of this young Lingxi cub before him?
Yin Weihuai couldn't think of anything, but his grief and headache were gone. Not only was his heart as calm as water, he could even laugh. "Fuijing was placed in the City of the Dead by those old ghosts in the underworld, where he was well fed and well cared for. Ghosts rarely come there. Aside from a certain bald man who always goes back and forth between the City of the Dead and the Eighteen Hells chanting sutras to pray for the dead, there's only one city of dead ghosts trapped there... But Jiunian's move has spread throughout the underworld. Even though I left secretly and quickly, there are still many ghosts in the underworld who have eyes. There are always a few sharp eyes. Judging by the time, I'm afraid it won't be long before the underworld summons me for questioning."
As soon as Yin Weihuai finished speaking, a ghostly blue fire rushed in from the wide-open window, and then slowly unfolded in front of Yin Weihuai. After reading the message in the fire, the ghost fire silently turned into a wisp of green smoke.
However, this ghost fire was not a notice to summon him for questioning as Yin Weihuai had guessed, but a secret order to all the underworld officials and city gods, ordering them to try their best to rescue the Lingxi Flint Mirror from Jiu Nian if they encountered it.
The word "save" is really intriguing.
Qing Bai also saw the contents of the will-o'-the-wisp, and his face suddenly turned cold: "Does this mean that you are issuing a hunt down order against Nine Years?"
"How could that be? Master Jiunian has guarded the underworld for tens of millions of years. He has made great contributions and has worked hard. The kings of the underworld will not issue a killing order..." Yin Weihuai lifted up half of his sleeve and gently waved away the green smoke in front of him. His tone was extremely firm, "We dare not issue one either."
Qing Bai's expression eased a little, but his tone was still cold: "Then what does this mean?"
Yin Weihuai looked at Qing Bai with regret in his eyes, shook his head and sighed, "Over the years, there have been too many ghosts in the City of the Dead, and even more wounded souls in the world... Do you know why, after that great battle that nearly overturned the Nai River, only the Suijing Beast remained of the Lingxi Clan?"
Without waiting for Qing Bai to respond, Yin Weihuai gave the answer directly: "Although Lord Jiunian single-handedly killed the Ten Directions Ghost King and turned the tide, he accidentally crashed into the Samsara Platform and his soul left his body... It was Suijing who dealt the fatal blow to those Lingxi who survived the melee."
"Because he knows that whether it's the underworld, the netherworld, or the human world, spiritual resonance is indispensable."
"As long as he is the only Lingxi left in this world, and as long as Naihe hasn't given birth to a new Lingxi to replace him, the underworld won't dare to do anything to him. He has nothing to fear."
Xiao Wu: "The Lingxi clan leader slaughtered the entire Lingxi clan?!"
Qing Bai: "Nine years ago, I crashed into the reincarnation platform?!"
The two spoke at the same time. After they finished speaking, Xiao Wu seemed to suddenly realize something and looked at Qing Bai with wide eyes in disbelief.
Qing Bai didn't care about her, but just stared at Yin Weihuai, repeatedly asking: "Are you sure you bumped into the reincarnation platform, not bumped into it?" The difference of one word represents a world of difference in meaning.
"What about the soul leaving the body? Does it mean that his soul was knocked into the reincarnation platform? If it is in the reincarnation platform, does it mean that he can enter the reincarnation cycle and be reborn? If he is reborn, will it affect his lifespan? After his soul returns, will he remember his years as a human?"
"???" Yin Weihuai, who had just told a secret of the underworld and was waiting for Qing Bai's reaction, was caught off guard and was covered in a bunch of messy questions.
Confused, Yin Weihuai couldn't help but reflect: Was the secret he revealed not explosive enough? Or was this little Lingxi just naturally unique?
If he remembered correctly, he just mentioned the incident of Jiunian crashing into the reincarnation platform and his soul leaving his body as a prelude to Suijing's massacre of the tribe later... right?
Why do you act like this is the point?
Yin Weihuai didn't understand, Yin Weihuai didn't comprehend.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
