Chapter 157: A Space Beyond the Three Realms

Yin Buqi looked particularly attractive while dressing.

He casually picked up a white inner robe and slipped it on, covering his exposed chest.

Adjusting the lapels and collar, he fastened his belt, his fingers bending slightly—each joint strikingly beautiful.

His long hair was caught inside his robe, so he lifted a hand to pull it out from the neckline.

With every movement, his sleeves swayed gently, his long hair cascaded smoothly, and when he draped on the red outer robe she had personally made for him, it added a touch of decadent beauty.

Jiang Niannian found herself mesmerized.

She held the golden belt he was about to fasten, but her gaze never left him.

Wasn’t he supposed to be a fox demon? She had a strong suspicion that her little fox must have some sort of bewitching magic.

Yin Buqi took the belt from her hand with one hand while the other pulled her close by the nape.

Lowering his head, he licked and kissed her lips.

“Niannian, I love the clothes you made.”

By the time Jiang Niannian regained her senses, Yin Buqi had already fastened his belt.

He looked down at her, amusement glinting in his eyes as he slowly licked the silver strand at the corner of his mouth with the tip of his tongue.

“Niannian, you taste so sweet. I’d love to kiss you all over right now…”

“You… you can’t drive in broad daylight!”

(T/N: a playful way of saying ‘don’t talk about intimate things’/euphemism for discussing or implying sexual content)

Jiang Niannian tried her best to act like Liu Xiahui, who remained calm even when a woman sat on his lap, and stood there very uprightly.

Yin Buqi’s face showed a hint of confusion.

Drive? A carriage? But he wasn’t driving a carriage… Though he didn’t quite understand the term’s meaning, he somehow grasped the implication behind Jiang Niannian’s words.

He said, “Being able to indulge in Niannian in broad daylight—what an absolute luxury.”

A meme from her modern life suddenly popped into Jiang Niannian’s mind—along with the iconic phrase: “You’re so flirty.”

She now seriously doubted whether her house fox was wearing the clothes she made or ones that Lin Pingru had enchanted!

Yin Buqi didn’t tease her any further.

He walked over, straightened her clothes, and helped her with her hair.

“Let’s go, Niannian. I’ll take you somewhere.”

—

“Come take a look, sweet and sour hawthorn, fresh and delicious!”

A vendor’s leisurely call drifted under the sunlight as he shook a flower drum, carrying a bamboo shoulder pole while weaving through the streets.

His worn-out straw shoes stepped across the bluestone pavement, his shadow stretched long by the sun.

Children ran past on either side, giggling, holding either sugar-coated hawthorn sticks or paper kites.

Jiang Niannian stared in shock at the scene before her.

“This… is Nian City?”

“It is, but not entirely,” Yin Buqi replied.

“Now, Nian City exists in a space beyond the Three Realms, between the Underworld and the Mortal Realm. There’s no real difference from the other realms. The souls of mortals who die become the lowest level of spiritual beings—no different in appearance from corpses. But spirits with a certain level of power can live here eternally, appearing just like ordinary people. In a way, this is a world for the dead.”

“A world for the dead…” Jiang Niannian murmured.

Ordinary people, after entering the Underworld, are reincarnated.

The three souls and seven spirits that carry memories and emotions dissolve into the heavens, while the remaining two souls and six spirits are cleansed and eventually shattered in the cycle of reincarnation.

They merge with other spirits to form new, complete souls for the next life.

That is why, after reincarnation, most people can never fully find their past selves.

But here, the dead do not pass through the Underworld or reincarnate.

Instead, they keep their memories and continue to live in this space.

Jiang Niannian asked, “So that means people from the Mortal Realm can come here to visit their deceased loved ones?”

Yin Buqi nodded.

“Yes. It took me five hundred years to create this space.”

Jiang Niannian frowned.

“Then… what about the previous Nian City?”

Yin Buqi hesitated, his gaze darkening.

After a moment of silence, he finally said, “Niannian… I’m sorry… On our wedding day, you died from the Twin Life Gu curse. I couldn’t accept your departure… I lost control… and the Underworld Netherfire…”

He couldn’t go on.

Every time he recalled Jiang Niannian dying in his arms…

It felt as if his entire world had collapsed, the only light in his life extinguished.

Blurry, chaotic, flickering images flashed before his eyes.

He had wandered in a daze, feverish, his head splitting as if sharp nails were being driven into his skull.

The agony was worse than having his heart and lungs torn apart, as if his soul was forever trapped in an endless abyss of darkness, never to reincarnate.

Yin Buqi said no more, but Jiang Niannian understood.

The Underworld Netherfire had burned Nian City to the ground—no one had survived.

“Niannian… I was wrong… I destroyed the city you worked so hard to build. But don’t be sad. I have restored Nian City and its people in this way. In a sense, they still live in this world.”

Seeing Jiang Niannian remain silent for a long time, Yin Buqi grew anxious.

A sharp pain twisted deep within him.

It was as if a nightmare’s shadow had engulfed him, tightening around him like an inescapable trap.

A piercing howl echoed in his ears, rushing toward him.

“Niannian… do you blame me?”

“Niannian, you can hit me, scold me, punish me however you want… I’ll accept it all…”

He stared at Jiang Niannian in a daze, his eyes filled with mist, a deep, heart-wrenching sorrow.

“Five hundred years… Five hundred years, Niannian… Do you know how happy I am that you’re back…”

“Please don’t leave me again…”

Looking at him like this, Jiang Niannian felt an overwhelming ache in her heart.

His love for her had never changed—wild and desperate.

She thought of how he slept, always resting his head against her neck, his limbs entwining hers before he could sleep soundly.

He was terrified of losing her.

“All beings with a soul deserve a place to exist.”

Jiang Niannian hugged him, smiling gently with tears in her eyes.

“You gave them a home, Buqi. You’ve worked so hard all these years.”

“Niannian… you don’t blame me?”

Yin Buqi’s tall nose brushed against her cheek, tracing down her jaw to her soft neck.

His breath trembled slightly.

“Of course not. You’ve already paid the price for your actions and found a good way to make amends. Why would I blame you?”

“Besides, if you hadn’t told me about Nian City, I would never have known. But you still chose to tell me. You didn’t want to hide it from me. That makes me very happy.”

Jiang Niannian said softly, using her gentle fingertips to wipe away the tear at the corner of Yin Buqi’s eye.

On the bustling street, amidst the crowd, they embraced—just like any ordinary, loving couple.