4042-chapter-31
Chapter 31
Shaoyou helped Liu Shuang up: “Are you okay?”
Liu Shuang shook her head: “What happened to him?”
Shaoyou glanced at her, amused in his heart.
He didn’t want to pry into others’ matters, so he said, “I don’t know.”
He had known for some time that the young miss of the Chishui clan had a fiery temper and wasn’t a scheming person.
Now, seeing that she was still naive and clueless about matters of the heart, her earlier arrogance was gone.
Even after being thrown down, she looked dazed, which made her seem somewhat innocent and cute.
Liu Shuang patted her skirt and said, “Don’t mind him. Let’s get down to business first. By the way, this is the Ghost Realm. I wasn’t lying when I told you that I could find the remnants of your mother’s soul. I once learned by chance that her soul is in the Ghost King’s tomb.”
Shaoyou responded with a soft “Mm,” observing her.
She didn’t appear to be lying, so the smile in his eyes faded, and he seemed lost in thought.
His nature was considerate, and he didn’t ask how Liu Shuang had learned this.
Everyone has their own secrets, and even if she were deceiving him now, he knew that as long as there was a glimmer of hope to find his mother’s soul, he would still come.
He had to ask her why she had left him and his father without a word.
He had the means to start searching, traveling all over the Eight Wilderness to find her, even when his father scolded him and ordered him to stop, calling her a traitor to the clan, a disgrace.
Yet, he never gave up.
Shaoyou didn’t believe that the gentle and powerful mother in his memories would betray his father and the clan.
Liu Shuang understood that his mother was his forbidden topic, so she didn’t say more, merely surveying the surroundings.
A tall, dark monument stood looming before them.
Liu Shuang softly read the words engraved on it: “Never Forget City.”
The words, coupled with the oppressive, gloomy sky of the Ghost Realm, suddenly stirred up Liu Shuang’s memories of her past life.
She remembered living in the Ghost Realm for a long time, but only ever traveling between the Ghost King’s palace and Qingcang Mountain.
She had never come to Never Forget City.
Yan Chaosheng had never forbidden her from coming; he knew that with her temperament, she wouldn’t dare to venture here.
Once, Liu Shuang had learned from the elder that to become the Ghost King, one had to pay a price—after death, they would not reincarnate, their soul would dissipate, and their spirit would return to Never Forget City, forever suppressing the Ghost Realm.
When Liu Shuang heard this, she assumed Yan Chaosheng’s fate would be the same: no future life, only an eternal solitary existence guarding a city, turning into the ghostly essence that formed the Ghost Realm’s lifeblood.
She cried until her eyes were red and said that if her husband’s soul were to disappear, she would follow him, not wanting him to be lonely forever.
At that time, Yan Chaosheng had watched with interest, peeling longan while she cried, imagining a sad scene.
Hearing her words, he had paused, then shoved a longan into her mouth, saying, “Shut up, why are you crying? I’m a demon, not a real ghost. Naturally, I will reincarnate. I don’t need you to accompany me in death.”
These past events flashed through Liu Shuang’s mind.
She could no longer clearly recall how she felt back then.
With her heart now gone, her fear had vanished too, and she couldn’t even remember how terrified she had once been of the Ghost Realm.
Looking at Yan Chaosheng now, he had already passed through the monument to Never Forget City and disappeared inside.
There were large patches of withered trees and silver flowers by the monument.
The brown trees had silver, sparkling flowers, which were incredibly beautiful.
Liu Shuang suddenly realized something and hurriedly reminded Shaoyou, “Be careful, don’t touch these trees.”
As Shaoyou passed under the trees, the beautiful silver flowers revealed their sharp, cold teeth.
He waved his hand, and an immortal energy swept through, causing the silver flowers to close their fangs.
Liu Shuang let out a breath of relief and said seriously, “They feed on souls.”
Shaoyou had already read about these in ancient texts, but he wasn’t careless.
He still politely thanked her, “Thank you for the reminder, Chishui young miss.”
The withered trees of the Ghost Realm were not truly dead; their ghostly energy had taken the form of trees.
If one got too close, they would merge into a swamp-like shape, swallowing people and extracting their souls.
The silver flowers were the mouthpieces through which they devoured souls.
The Ghost Realm was barren and terrifying, with no beautiful things to be found.
The most beautiful flowers that grew there might be these silver flowers, yet even they were chilling once one looked beyond their beautiful appearance.
Liu Shuang couldn’t understand how she had lived in such a place for nearly a hundred years in her past life.
The world outside was so beautiful.
How foolish she had been back then.
Seeing that Yan Chaosheng’s figure had vanished, Liu Shuang secretly rejoiced.
If anything were to happen to him in the Ghost Realm, she wouldn’t need to go to such lengths to remove this future trouble of Kongsang.
Passing through the monument, they were suddenly surrounded by swirling souls.
The pure white spiritual energy from Liu Shuang and Shaoyou immediately turned them into tempting targets.
Some bold little ghosts lunged toward them, trying to bite into Liu Shuang.
Shaoyou’s gaze turned cold, and with a flick of his wrist, a white immortal sword appeared in his hand.
The little ghosts collided with the sword, screaming as they vanished into thin air.
When he saw Liu Shuang looking at him, her face veiled by white gauze, her eyes reflected the ghosts of the Ghost Realm, which were clawing and biting in every direction.
She stood still, seemingly scared by the ghosts rushing toward them.
Shaoyou thought to himself that this “former fiancee” was nothing more than a useless little snack and sighed quietly.
No matter where this young miss of the Chishui clan had heard that he was looking for a soul, or if she had ill intentions, she was only three hundred years old, just a fraction of his age.
This marriage, he couldn’t blame her for being scared and rejecting it, leading her to act as she did.
Even Shaoyou himself, when he first learned that he was to marry into the Kongsang clan and needed to marry such a young little immortal, felt quite helpless.
Earlier, when she had come to insult him, he had indeed been very angry.
She had some skill.
Originally, the matter of spiritual binding was irrelevant to Shaoyou.
His nature was gentle and calm, but she had angered him greatly.
Anyone would lose their temper if they were rejected, forced to cancel an engagement, and then told that in the future, they’d be made a cuckold every day.
No one could maintain a good temper in such circumstances.
So, when she came to visit again, although Shaoyou had no intention of responding, nor did he want to deal with her, he had coldly left her in Kunlun.
But now, seeing her standing behind him, looking wronged, only slightly taller than his shoulder, and having taken a Huanyan bead to make herself look like this, Shaoyou’s heart softened.
Fine, what’s wrong with him?
He didn’t hold grudges.
Why bother with a little girl?
Even if she had some bad ideas, they couldn’t hurt him.
“Don’t be afraid, stay behind me.”
He thought Liu Shuang would be scared and come closer, but to his surprise, she formed a seal with her fingers, and the Jiangzhu umbrella spun down from thin air.
She tiptoed and held up the umbrella, covering him completely.
She said seriously, “I’m not afraid. I brought you here. I’ll protect you, Young Master Jimo.”
Shaoyou was stunned and smiled, “Mm.”
She said it so earnestly.
Truly, she was like a fearless calf.
Shaoyou subtly moved his fingers and secretly enhanced the spiritual energy of Liu Shuang’s Jiangzhu umbrella.
A golden glow enveloped them, and there was no need to deal with the little ghosts.
All the evil spirits were dispelled.
Liu Shuang walked toward the city, feeling strange.
Hmm, when did the Jiangzhu umbrella in her hands become so powerful?
She glanced suspiciously at Shaoyou, who was carrying a sword on his back, his expression calm, as if this place was not the Ghost Realm but his Kunlun.
Yan Chaosheng had walked for a long time and had expected Liu Shuang to catch up.
However, after some time, he noticed no one was behind him.
He began to hesitate—had he walked too fast, and she couldn’t keep up?
He slowed his pace and waited for a long time, but still, there was no sign of her.
Ahead of him, his demon eyes detected danger and involuntarily turned silver.
Yan Chaosheng narrowed his eyes.
The vast, empty valley before him seemed to transform into a pitch-black inferno in his eyes.
Within, thousands of ghosts were crying out, and vengeful spirits sought to claim lives.
The path ahead became a stage, where countless scenes of love, hate, and separation unfolded.
There were people crying, holding their children, some on their deathbeds, and even women in labor abandoned by their husbands…
So many images suddenly flashed before his eyes, and Yan Chaosheng’s silver eyes narrowed, frowning.
He couldn’t go forward.
These demon eyes of his were different from those of others.
It was thanks to them that he had avoided danger and grown up safely.
What he could see, Liu Shuang and Shaoyou might not be able to see.
Yan Chaosheng’s face darkened as he turned back.
He thought to himself that it wasn’t that he was worried something would happen to her, but if she died, who would he complain to about losing his 600 years of cultivation?
He hadn’t expected to suddenly see this scene.
Under the blood-red sky of the Ghost Realm, the girl was standing on tiptoe, holding the umbrella for the Immortal Lord.
Yan Chaosheng clenched his fists, letting out a cold laugh.
He shouldn’t have been surprised.
If she could protect him with the Jiangzhu umbrella in front of Bi Xun, she could naturally do the same for Shaoyou.
Besides, right now, she still had a favor to ask of Shaoyou.
A sense of disgust rose in Yan Chaosheng’s heart, though he wasn’t sure whether it was directed at Liu Shuang or at the version of himself from before.
He thought to himself that he shouldn’t have held onto her at the last moment and accompanied her to this ghostly place.
Let her and Shaoyou fend for themselves here.
He needed to figure out a way to return.
They were here to search for a soul—what was he doing here?
Ignoring the faint frustration within him, he turned around and walked away.
His anger toward her even made him not want to warn them not to go forward.
On the way back, he realized that the area ahead was the legendary Eight Suffering Valley.
It seemed peaceful like the mortal world, but one had to endure eight kinds of suffering, losing a layer of skin, and perhaps even losing all their cultivation, with no way out.
No one had expected that the Eight Suffering Valley, which only existed in ancient legends, would actually be in the Ghost Realm’s Never Forget City.
No wonder, even though it was the resting place of the souls of past Ghost Kings, the heart of the Ghost Realm, there was no one guarding it.
It was clearly a trap, luring people in.
Beneath the peaceful facade, it devoured people as nourishment.
Yan Chaosheng turned coldly, walking back several dozen steps.
His fists clenched, and he turned swiftly, striding toward Liu Shuang.
Perhaps it was his grim face, looking extremely unpleasant, that surprised her as she looked at him and asked, “Why are you still here?”
Yan Chaosheng almost laughed out of anger.
Indeed, he also wanted to know why he was still in this cursed place instead of just leaving!
“Do you really have to go to the Ghost King’s tomb? Even though there’s the Eight Suffering Valley ahead.”
Liu Shuang glanced at Shaoyou, who was silent for a moment before answering, “Yes.”
Shaoyou continued, “Chishui Young miss, I am grateful for the information you’ve shared. Since the path ahead is dangerous, you should return to Kunlun. There’s no need to accompany me any further.”
Yan Chaosheng sneered inwardly, then impatiently said to Liu Shuang, “Young Miss, if you trust me, leave now and come with me. If you believe he can protect you, then continue forward with him.”
“I certainly…”
Yan Chaosheng stared at her, not even knowing what he was hoping she would say at this moment.
Liu Shuang spoke resolutely, “I’ll go with Shaoyou.”
“Alright, very well,” Yan Chaosheng smiled, his lips curving into a bright, nonchalant expression, but inside, his blood surged in frustration.
He shouldn’t have asked that question, only to humiliate himself.
She clearly didn’t care about him that much.
Now, it seemed she only cared about her own appearance and Shaoyou.
Yan Chaosheng coldly said, “Good luck to both of you.”
With that, he flicked his sleeves and left.
The three of them parted ways.
Yan Chaosheng walked back toward the Netherworld Fire River, glancing back at the monument of the Never Forget City.
There, large silver flowers were in full bloom.
It was beautiful, but it was also the burial place for those two.
His heart felt hollow, as if he had lost the 600 years of cultivation.
Kongsang’s young miss had truly become the greatest disaster he’d ever encountered in his life.
Now, he couldn’t even recover the cost of what he had lost, let alone the gains.
Yan Chaosheng closed his eyes, forcing back the pain from his feet being burned by the Netherworld Fire River, and gritted his teeth as he walked back.
If she wanted to die, why should he stop her?
He wasn’t exactly a good person, and should have just laughed at their misfortune like before.
Step by step, Yan Chaosheng walked back, his heart growing emptier.
Coming here, carrying her, hadn’t felt painful, but going back alone, he now felt the searing pain of the Netherworld Fire like never before.
For some reason, he couldn’t help but recall the time he dealt with Bi Xun.
At that moment, he had been mocking her, thinking that most immortal beings were selfish and indifferent.
Yet, she had taken out a storage bag and carefully tugged at his sleeve, looking so silly and innocent.
He had never said it, but that night in the Ten Thousand Souls Tomb, when he gave up his own soul, thinking he’d become a monster—neither human nor ghost—it was her warmth that helped him endure the fear and continue on, preventing him from falling into ghost cultivation.
When the morning came and she collapsed in his arms, pale and weak, it was the first time he instinctively embraced someone.
The intense flames of the Netherworld Fire River burned beneath him, but Yan Chaosheng pressed his lips together, no longer looking back.