Chapter 1774: Down Memory Lane
When the ghosts heard that, they immediately offered up flattery.
“The Ghost King really is wise and cunning!”
“None are as crafty and treacherous as the Ghost King!”
“No, we should say that you are as cunning as a ghost.”
“But we are ghosts to begin with…”
When he saw that the ghost generals were about to fight against each other, the Ghost King’s eyelids twitched. He said, “In this kind of situation, you should use the words ‘divine strategy’ and ‘wonderful planning’.”
“But aren’t we ghosts enemies of the divine? Why would we use those words to describe ourselves?” another ghost general asked in confusion.
The Ghost King was speechless. He had thought that there was something wrong with Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick’s heads, but now, it seemed none of these ghost generals were all that bright. As such, he said, “Our forces are important right now, so you six should not take risks. Leave that person to the human world; that should be enough. Heed my summons and come to my side as quickly as possible.” Afterward, the black mist disappeared. The generals weren’t given any chance to question him.
…
Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo were both shocked when they heard the results of Zu An’s interrogation. They both cried out in alarm, “Isn’t the Ghost King invincible then? He’s completely impossible to kill!”
If he had both immunity to physical and elemental attacks, how else was anyone supposed to face him?
“It might not be entirely impossible,” Jing Teng said with a pensive expression.
“What do you mean?” the others asked, quickly looking at her.
“I still haven’t thought of a plan yet,” Jing Teng said with a smile. “But the heavens would never create a being without any weaknesses. There’s definitely something we haven’t noticed yet.”
Zu An nodded. That was similar to his previous suspicions, but for some reason, he just felt that Jing Teng was hiding something from him.
The group quickly returned to the tattered house by the mountain and fields. They could hear Little Ying bawling from far away. Jing Teng was shocked and rushed over.
The group exchanged a look. Could it be that a ghost had passed by while they were missing? Only when they arrived did they see that Little Ying was carrying her mother and crying bitterly. The elder was dressed in bright clothes, but she had already closed her eyes forever.
Jing Teng comforted her in a soft voice. Little Ying wiped her eyes and asked, “Grandmother, why don’t I see her soul after she died?”
Jing Teng replied in consolation, “The reason why ghosts appear is that the dead often still have lingering thoughts that haven’t been settled. Your mother already found her daughter in her final moments before death and had her wishes fulfilled, so she wouldn’t become a ghost.” She kneeled down by Little Ying’s side and continued, “Look at your mother’s face. Didn’t she pass away with a smile? She’ll quickly enter the cycle of reincarnation. Isn’t that a kind of happiness in itself”
Little Ying was a ghost herself, so she knew that creatures like her couldn't enter the cycle of reincarnation in their current form, and that they were abnormalities. Sooner or later, the world would reject them, so being able to return to the cycle was indeed a kind of happiness too.
“Mom’s life was too miserable in this life. I hope she can be a bit happier in her next life. It’s all because her daughter was unfilial…” Little Ying said, her tears flowing uncontrollably. The others were also left feeling broken-hearted.
When she calmed down a bit, the others helped bury her ash altar together with her mother. There was no one left in their family, so there was naturally no need for any complicated funeral etiquette. She only wanted her mother to be laid to rest.
As the ash altar was buried, and since her unreconciled will had already been fulfilled, Little Ying’s body began to grow fainter. She thanked Jing Teng for all of her care over the years, then pulled Zu An to one side. Her head tilted a bit as she carefully looked at Zu An. She didn’t say anything.
Zu An was a bit puzzled, asking, “What does Miss Little Ying wish to say?”
“You really are handsome… It’s a pity that I wasn’t able to sleep with you and stayed a maiden my entire life. I never expected it to stay the same even as a ghost,” Little Ying said with a sigh, her voice full of regret.
Zu An was speechless. However, Little Ying giggled and said, “I’m joking with the young master.” She put away her smile and said in a hushed voice, “Young master, our matron is actually really pitiful. You definitely have to take good care of her.”
Zu An couldn't help but say with a chuckle, “Lady Jing is a strong woman. She’ll be able to live a more dazzling life than anyone else without anyone taking care of her.”
Little Ying shook her head and said, “Young master, you don’t understand her enough. She’s actually the greatest example of someone who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She looks tough on the outside, but she’s especially soft inside, especially after what happened back then.”
Zu An became silent. What is the nature of love in this world...
“Young master, our matron was already betrayed once in the past,” Little Ying said, giving him a deep look. “Please don’t make her experience it a second time.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not that kind of person,” Zu An said, stunned. “Miss Jing and I aren’t even in that kind of relationship. What betrayal is there to speak of?”
Little Ying smiled and said, “The young master will understand in the future.”
After saying that, she didn’t wait for his response and turned around to leave. She expressed her gratitude to both Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo, then kowtowed three times to Jing Teng. Finally, she reluctantly disappeared into the wind.
Jing Teng sighed deeply. The people closest to her had disappeared one by one. How could she not feel sad?
“Cheer up. Little Ying fulfilled her desire before leaving,” Zu An said in consolation.
Jing Teng gave him a look, and her complexion eased a bit. She asked, “What did she say to you earlier?”
Qiu Honglei was also curious and looked in their direction. Zu An’s expression became a bit unnatural as he said, “It was nothing more than a normal goodbye.”
“Is that so? She seemed to have said more to you than me before she left. I really raised her all these years for nothing,” Jing Teng said. However, even though she sounded a bit annoyed, she wasn’t really angry.
Zu An chuckled and said, “We’ve already finished Little Ying’s burial, so let’s look for your original body now, so you can be restored sooner.”
“Do you want to get rid of me that badly?” Jing Teng asked, staring at him.
Zu An was stunned. He asked, “Don’t you want to find your original body as quickly as possible?”
Jing Teng didn’t say anything else and turned around, not paying him any more attention.
Qiu Honglei’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Why did she just feel as if something wasn’t quite right between the two of them?
…
After dealing with Little Ying’s situation, the group went deeper into the Zhi River area. They could clearly feel that there were more people coming and going around them, with quite a few of them even being powerful cultivators. But with Jing Teng leading the way, they mainly traveled across more remote areas and didn’t really have any conflict with others.
They soon arrived at a mountain. As they ascended the mountain, Wei Suo suddenly pointed at a distant peak and said, “Look, what a huge tomb!”
The others followed the direction he was pointing at. Sure enough, there was an extremely grand tomb in the distance. Normally, tombs were placed underground, but this one was above ground. It extended as far as the eye could see, without any end in sight. Its scale and style looked just like that of an imperial tomb, but it was even larger.
Some of the most powerful dynasties’ imperial tombs were cut into mountains, where one mountain would hold one tomb. However, this great tomb wasn’t inside a mountain, but rather built all across the surface. The main tomb in particular seemed to extend endlessly. They really wondered just how the creators had managed to accomplish such a thing.
The entire tomb seemed ancient and mysterious. They could feel the pressure coming from it even from tens of thousands of kilometers away, as if it were hiding something really frightening.
“Those cultivators are probably all here for this great tomb,” Zu An said. He could make out the numerous people who had gathered around the great tomb’s entrance. They had clearly already been there for some time. They had clearly separated into a few camps and were on guard against each other.
“Don’t worry. They won’t be able to enter for quite some time,” Jing Teng said calmly, despite the others’ excitement. She didn’t even pay the great tomb much attention.
“How do you know?” Qiu Honglei asked suspiciously.
“If they could enter, would they be loitering around the outside of the tomb entrance?” Jing Teng replied nonchalantly. “You can feel that terrifying pressure even from far away. It’s completely impossible for them to brute force their way in.”
“Then is there any meaning in all those people rushing all the way to the Zhi River?” Zu An asked. He wondered if Yan Xuehen and the others would also head over to check out the situation, if all of the world’s most outstanding people were gathering here.
That dog Zhao Han is definitely going to be here. He’d never let this kind of opportunity go. I really hope the others didn’t end up bumping into him.
“If I’m not mistaken, this great tomb’s seal will open up on its own,” Jing Teng replied.
“Do you actually know some secrets about this place?” Qiu Honglei couldn't help but ask.
“It’s just that I received Immortal Ruler Baopu’s guidance and ended up learning about some things. I don’t know any more than that either,” Jing Teng said, shaking her head.
Qiu Honglei gave her a look. Like hell I’ll believe you! Look at the way you’re acting!
Seeing as she didn’t want to talk about it, Zu An didn’t continue to chase her either. Instead, he asked, “Why did you bring us to this mountain then?”
Jing Teng stared into the distance with a rather melancholic expression before saying, “That’s the house I used to live in.”
When they followed the direction she was looking in, they saw that there was a place with birdsong and fragrant flowers midway up the mountain, clearly much richer in spiritual energy than the surrounding areas. Deep in the trees, they saw some scattered flying eaves and bracket sets. However, most of the courtyard was already covered beneath vines and other plants. If Jing Teng hadn’t pointed it out, they probably wouldn’t have noticed the residence even if they walked right past it.
But Zu An quickly frowned. He realized that there seemed to be someone inside!
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