Chapter 1749: A Deal
When she heard the words ‘Ghost King’, Little Ying clearly shivered. The cool and elegant Grandmother’s expression also became grave.
“The Ghost King is the ruler of all ghosts. All those who haven’t passed on to the yellow springs and yet remain in this world obey his orders. He has incomparably powerful strength, and no one dares to defy him,” Grandmother explained. After a pause, she looked at Zu An and said, “Your cultivation is very high, but you’re still far from the Ghost King’s match.”
Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An, a hint of worry in her eyes. Wasn’t this world a bit too dangerous if there was someone so powerful?
Zu An remained calm. He had already experienced countless chaotic situations and wasn’t scared of some Ghost King. He asked, “Are there many ghosts in this world?”
The beauty paused for a moment, then said, “There are constant wars here, and the people of the world have become ignorant and cruel. That’s why demons and ghosts roam freely.”
Qiu Honglei couldn't help but look at her curiously, asking, “Are you also a ghost?”
“I’m a fiend, not a ghost!” the beauty snapped impatiently. Qiu Honglei had just been too vicious with her methods earlier, so she didn’t have a good impression of her at all.
“What’s the difference between fiends and ghosts?” Wei Suo asked while reflexively rubbing his skin.
“Are you guys done yet? Are you curious babies or something?” the beauty asked in irritation, but she still replied, “Fiends are born from the essence of the world. All things in the world can become fiends, but it isn’t so easy to become a fiend. On the other hand, there are some fiends that are more sinister and can’t absorb the world’s essence for their cultivation, so they decide to suck out people’s blood essence instead. Their cultivations often rise quickly, but they’re usually filled with killing intent. They all end up as nothing more than murderous beasts.”
Zu An’s group couldn't help but give her an extra look. This woman’s temperament was graceful and refined, and there was a refreshing fragrance coming from her. She clearly wasn’t the type who absorbed blood essence.
Zu An wondered if such fiends were the result of flowers, plants, birds, and beasts developing intelligence. They didn’t seem to be the same as the Fiend races of the outside world.
The beautiful woman continued, “As for ghosts, normally, they come into existence after people perish while retaining a strong lingering will. Normally, once they perish, people first enter the yellow springs, then enter the cycle of reincarnation. However, there are some who die unnatural deaths, or perhaps have too many cherished desires when they die. Their powerful will allows them to remain in this world. Among those wills, resentment is the most powerful. That’s why most ghosts are resentful souls or malicious spirits that instinctively harm others.”
Zu An’s group was shocked as they listened. They all looked at Little Ying, whose face reddened from their stares. She instinctively hid behind the beautiful woman.
The beauty harrumphed and explained, “She’s one of the rare kind-hearted ghosts. She isn’t a malicious spirit.”
Zu An asked curiously, “Little Ying, what kind of lingering will do you have?”
According to what they were saying, one had to have a very powerful lingering will in order to become a ghost.
Little Ying’s face reddened. She replied, “I wanted to go back home and see my parents one last time.”
The beautiful woman added, “She was always filial to her parents, but because of an unfortunate event, she died in a foreign land…” Then, she gave a rough account of Little Ying’s history.
Zu An’s group was filled with sympathy as they listened. They hadn’t expected her to be so pitiful.
Qiu Honglei asked curiously, “Then why didn’t you go back home? Could it be that you’re trapped here?”
The beautiful woman raised a brow, sensing that Qiu Honglei was implying something, but she didn’t say anything.
Little Ying hurriedly waved her hands and said, “Actually, Grandmother has been protecting me. This world is full of monsters and evil spirits who swallow up others to make themselves stronger. I’m so weak that I’ll definitely be eaten if I leave her protection.”
“Then, since you’re so nice to her, why don’t you see her off on this trip?” Qiu Honglei asked. Because of their earlier conflict, he felt an instinctive dislike for the gorgeous woman.
“That’s because I can’t leave this place,” the beauty answered frankly.
“Why is that?” Zu An’s group all asked in confusion. Even though they didn’t know whether she was a tree fiend or a vine fiend, judging from the strength she had shown, there was no reason for her to be bound just because she was a plant.
The beauty didn’t reply; instead, she hesitated. Then, she looked at Zu An and said, “Human, let’s make a deal.”
Qiu Honglei vigilantly stood in front of Zu An and asked, “Why would you make a deal with him alone and not with all of us?”
The beauty said calmly, “It’s because I can’t trust the rest of you. However, the character he displayed earlier made me feel that it might be worth the risk.”
Zu An patted Qiu Honglei to reassure her, then asked, “What kind of deal?”
“I’ll help you find those companions you speak of, but you’ll help me with something,” the beauty said, staring deeply at Zu An. For the first time, there was a hopeful look in her eyes.
Zu An didn’t agree immediately. Instead, he said skeptically, “But you said you’ve never seen my companions. How will you find them?”
“I’m a fiend who transformed from a green vine, so I’m naturally close to all plant life. There are plants all over the world. I can ask for their help to search for your companions, which will definitely succeed,” the beauty explained. She paused for a moment before adding, “But I’d need to pay a great price for that, so I need you to help me with something.”
Zu An was moved. This world didn’t seem to be that small. He wouldn’t necessarily be able to find his friends that easily with his own two eyes. If something bad happened and one of them were forced to remain here forever, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Things seemed as if they would be much easier if he had the help of the vine fiend.
As such, he asked, “What kind of thing?”
The beautiful woman slowly said, “Because of an opportunity in the past, I was granted intelligence by another being. I was even given the name Jing Teng. I was naturally close to the human race…
“Then, I fell in love with a human man. Everything was perfect at first, but later, once he found out about my real identity as a fiend, he became scared of me and we became estranged. Eventually, he worked with my enemy to kill me on our wedding day.” When she reached that point in her explanation, her gaze turned completely cold.
Zu An and the others exchanged a look. They hadn’t expected her to have such a past, to have been betrayed by her lover. No wonder she didn’t trust humans at all. Even Qiu Honglei felt sympathy for her. Her impression of the woman became a bit better.
“If you’ve already died, what’s going on right now?” Zu An asked curiously.
The beauty replied, “Even though I refused to believe that he had killed me, the one who granted me enlightenment in the past had told me I would experience a great tragedy. That’s why I separated a seed from my body and buried it nearby just in case. Later, when my original body died, the seal on that seed was activated and I was reborn.”
Zu An was quite shocked. This fiend really had some incredible methods. She could actually be reborn after dying!
The beauty continued, “Unfortunately, I lost most of my strength after I was reborn. I’m now incredibly weak. Only by merging with my original body can I recover my peak strength.
“But I already told you that the people of this world are treacherous and monsters are everywhere. I can still protect myself by using some special restrictions I left behind in the past, but if I leave this place, many monsters will want to devour me and take my power. That’s why I never dared to leave this place to search for my own body even after all these years.”
She paused for a moment and continued to look at him, then said, “So, I’m asking you to help retrieve my original body. With your cultivation, I believe that as long as we remain careful, there’s a chance of ensuring my safety.”
Zu An remained silent for a bit. Then, he slowly said, “You said earlier that you would use all of the plants in the world to help me find my friends. That’s something you can probably only do with all of your original body’s power, right?”
“That’s right,” the beauty said with a nod. “With my current strength, I’m indeed incapable of that.”
Qiu Honglei couldn't help but say with a snort, “What a plan you have here. We want to find someone, and yet we have to help you with your goal first.”
The beauty smiled and replied, “Isn’t this a win-win situation?”
Zu An said with a serious expression, “This isn’t a fair deal. We still have other ways of finding our people and don’t need to rely on you. However, you have to rely on us.”
The beauty shook her head slightly and said, “Perhaps you don’t know this, but this world is far greater than you could imagine. It would be hard for you to find every single person even if you scoured the entire world. But as long as I recover my strength, I can definitely find them all.”
“Definitely?” Zu An repeated, stunned.
“Right, definitely!” the beauty replied. Her voice carried a mysterious confidence, and there was a profound meaning behind her expression. “Furthermore, if you help me, you might very well receive unfathomable benefits.”
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