The Netherworld's bells rang nine times in all. Each toll was heavier than the last. When the final toll faded, the entire Yellow Springs Ferry fell deathly silent. The previously bustling Ghost Market seemed to have been pinned down by an invisible hand. Every departed soul stopped in its tracks. Every underworld enforcer drew a weapon. Even the waters of the Wangchuan River seemed to freeze for a moment. Lin Wantang stood before the Netherworld King's palace, staring fixedly at the woman in the middle of the river. White robes. Long hair. Her brows and eyes. The shape of her face. Even the slight upward curve of her lips when she smiled was exactly the same as Lin Wantang's. If Lin Wantang hadn't seen her standing in the Wangchuan River with her own eyes, she might have thought she was looking at a mirror. "Miss Lin." Xie Qi's voice trembled. "She... she looks exactly like you." "I saw her." Lin Wantang tightened her grip around her wrist. The Yellow Springs Flower was trembling violently. It was as if it had encountered an aura both extraordinarily familiar and extraordinarily dangerous. The woman in white raised her head. Her gaze passed over layer upon layer of underworld enforcers. At last, it landed on Ye Chenyuan. "Netherworld King." She smiled softly. "It's been a thousand years." Ye Chenyuan's expression was cold. "You shouldn't have come." "Why shouldn't I have come?" The woman chuckled. "This was my home to begin with." Lin Wantang froze. Home? She looked at Ye Chenyuan. "Who is she?" Ye Chenyuan didn't answer. The woman answered for him. "You really don't remember me?" She looked at Lin Wantang. "Sister." The single word fell, and Lin Wantang's heart clenched. Sister? Did she have a younger sister? No. She had only ever had one younger brother. She absolutely did not have a younger sister. Yet the woman had called her sister. And her tone was so familiar, as if they had known each other for many years. Lin Wantang stared at her. "Who are you, really?" The woman didn't answer. She simply raised a hand. A wisp of black energy drifted from her fingertips. In the air, it condensed into a flower identical to the Yellow Springs Flower on Lin Wantang's wrist. "You'll remember soon." "Everything." "Including..." She looked at Ye Chenyuan. "How you died." Lin Wantang's expression shifted. "You know?" "Of course I know." The woman smiled. "Because in your previous life, I was the one who sent you into Youxu." Boom! As her words fell, the netherflames surrounding Ye Chenyuan suddenly surged. The entire Yellow Springs River was illuminated by black flames. "How dare you." The man spat out only two words. A thunderous roar rang across heaven and earth. The woman's figure swayed slightly. Yet she continued smiling. "What?" "Has His Highness the Netherworld King gotten angry?" Ye Chenyuan raised his hand. Countless netherflames transformed into chains and swept toward the woman. But she didn't dodge. She merely extended a hand. A blood-red token appeared in her palm. The instant the token appeared, all the netherflames came to a halt. Gu Changsheng's expression changed drastically. "That's..." Xie Qi stared in shock. "The Youming Order?" Lin Wantang was confused. "What's the Youming Order?" Gu Changsheng didn't answer. He only looked at Ye Chenyuan. "My lord." "I know." Ye Chenyuan's voice was terrifyingly cold. "What she has in her hand is the previous Netherworld King's token." Lin Wantang froze. The previous Netherworld King? Could that mean... This woman had once been the Netherworld King too? The woman in white smiled. "It's been a long time since I've heard that title." "You still remember." "Of course we remember." She lowered her head and looked at the token in her hand. "After all, this thing was mine to begin with." Lin Wantang was completely bewildered. She looked at Ye Chenyuan. "Who is she?" Ye Chenyuan didn't answer. But the woman suddenly raised her hand. A black petal drifted toward Lin Wantang. Ye Chenyuan instantly stepped in front of her. The petal landed on his shoulder. Sss— The black robe was immediately eaten through, leaving a hole. Lin Wantang's pupils contracted. "Ye Chenyuan!" "Step back." The man's voice was low. "Don't touch her." The woman watched this scene. Then she suddenly smiled even more delightedly. "You're still protecting her." "A thousand years, and you haven't changed at all." Cold fury churned in Ye Chenyuan's eyes. "Neither have you." "What?" "You still like using other people." The woman's smile stiffened. The next moment, her figure began to turn transparent. "I only came to say hello today." "As for our real reunion..." She looked at Lin Wantang. "We'll talk after you remember me." "Wait!" Lin Wantang instinctively took a step after her. But the woman had already transformed into countless white petals. They scattered over the Yellow Springs. At the same time, the evil ghosts that had crawled out of Youxu seemed to have received a summons and turned into black mist one after another. One hundred and twenty-seven black shadows. In the blink of an eye, they had all vanished. The Yellow Springs returned to calm. But no one thought the matter was over. Because everyone knew— that woman had only come to issue a warning. The real danger had only just begun. --- "Seal off the Yellow Springs." Ye Chenyuan turned around. "All underworld enforcers, return to your respective offices immediately." "Find out the identities of those one hundred and twenty-seven departed souls." "And—" His gaze fell on Gu Changsheng. "Bring out every Netherworld dossier from a thousand years ago." Gu Changsheng froze. "Every one?" "Every one." "Including the forbidden files?" "Including them." Gu Changsheng's expression shifted. "My lord, those dossiers aren't..." "I said—" Ye Chenyuan enunciated each word. "Every one." Gu Changsheng lowered his head. "Yes." Lin Wantang stood to the side. She hadn't spoken a word. Only after all the underworld enforcers had dispersed did she speak. "Ye Chenyuan." "Hmm?" "You know her." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Ye Chenyuan looked at her. "I know her." "She used to be the Netherworld King too?" "Yes." "Why did she call me sister?" Ye Chenyuan fell silent. "Because she's not human." "..." "She's the soul-contract spirit of your previous life." Lin Wantang froze. "Soul-contract spirit?" "A thousand years ago, you signed a soul contract with her." "What kind of contract?" "A symbiotic contract." Lin Wantang frowned. "Then why did she try to kill me?" Ye Chenyuan didn't answer. "And there's something else." Lin Wantang continued questioning him. "She said she was the one who sent me into Youxu." "Is that true?" Ye Chenyuan closed his eyes briefly. "It is." Lin Wantang's heart sank. "Then why did you protect me?" "Because what happened back then wasn't as simple as you think." "What exactly happened?" Ye Chenyuan looked at her. "Knowing now would only put you in greater danger." Lin Wantang gave a bitter laugh. "I already had my soul wrongfully reaped." "I caught evil ghosts on my first day at work." "And now I've run into a past-life enemy who looks exactly like me." "Do you really think I can get any more dangerous?" Ye Chenyuan: "..." "So tell me." Ye Chenyuan said nothing. Just then, Gu Changsheng came hurrying over. "My lord." "What is it?" "Someone from Tianting is here." Ye Chenyuan's eyes darkened. "Who?" "Siming Xingjun of the Celestial Realm." Lin Wantang froze. "Tianting?" "Yes." Gu Changsheng looked at Lin Wantang. "He says..." "He wants to see her." --- The main hall of the Netherworld King's palace. Lin Wantang saw the legendary envoy from Tianting for the first time. A man in silver robes stood in the center of the hall. His brows and eyes were cool and austere. He held a golden celestial book in his hand. When he saw Lin Wantang, he frowned slightly. "That's her?" Ye Chenyuan stood on the raised dais. "Say what you came to say." Siming Xingjun ignored him. Instead, he looked at Lin Wantang. "Do you know who you are?" Lin Wantang couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Why does everyone keep asking me that lately?" Siming Xingjun: "..." Xie Qi nearly laughed out loud. Gu Changsheng hurriedly lowered his head. Siming Xingjun's expression darkened. "Lin Wantang." "Your current identity is extremely unusual." "How unusual?" "Your name isn't in the celestial book." Lin Wantang froze. "What does that mean?" "The celestial book records the destinies of the Three Realms." "Mortals, cultivators, and ghosts all have a destined fate." "You alone..." Siming Xingjun stared at her. "You have none." "I don't have a destined fate?" "Correct." "What about before?" Siming Xingjun was silent for a moment. "A thousand years ago, you did." Lin Wantang's heart tightened. "What was it?" Siming Xingjun didn't answer. He simply opened the celestial book. Golden light instantly flooded the entire hall. A name appeared. Shen Yueli. Lin Wantang froze. "Shen Yueli?" "That was your name in your previous life." She stared at those three characters. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted deep in her mind. "Ah!" Lin Wantang clutched her head. Countless unfamiliar images surged into her mind. Heavy snow. White robes. The Yellow Springs. A massive palace. And a girl standing before her. "Sister." "Are you really going?" "I have to." "But Youxu is dangerous." "I know." "Then I'll go with you." "No." "Why not?" "Because if I don't come back..." The scene abruptly broke off. Lin Wantang's eyes flew open. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat. At some point, Ye Chenyuan had come to stand beside her. "Don't think about it anymore." Lin Wantang looked up. "I remembered something." "What?" "Her." "Who?" "That woman." She closed her eyes. "Her name is..." "Shen Yuexi." Ye Chenyuan's eyes shifted. "You remember?" Lin Wantang nodded. "She's my younger sister." The entire hall fell silent. Siming Xingjun frowned. "No." "She isn't your sister." Lin Wantang looked at him. "What do you mean?" Siming Xingjun closed the celestial book. "She's your shadow." "Half of your soul, left behind before your soul split apart." Lin Wantang's expression changed. "My... half?" "Yes." "A thousand years ago, you were originally one entity." "Then, because of something that happened, you separated your evil thoughts, attachments, and part of your memories." "That formed her." Lin Wantang's mind went blank. "So she isn't my sister." "She's me?" "In a sense, yes." Siming Xingjun looked at Ye Chenyuan. "That is also why she can use the previous Netherworld King's token." Lin Wantang finally understood. Why they looked exactly alike. Why the other woman knew everything about her. Why she called her sister. The truth was— They had once been the same person. --- "Wait." Lin Wantang suddenly remembered something. "If she's my shadow," "then why did she try to kill me?" Siming Xingjun fell silent. Ye Chenyuan spoke. "Because one of you had to disappear." "Why?" "The seal on Youxu." Lin Wantang looked at him. "Sealing Youxu required a complete soul as the pillar anchoring the seal." "After you split into two, your soul was incomplete." "So..." Lin Wantang's face went pale. "She tried to kill me so she could devour my soul?" "Yes." "Did she succeed?" Ye Chenyuan shook his head. "No." "Because I stopped her." Lin Wantang froze. "So that's why you were injured a thousand years ago?" Ye Chenyuan said nothing. But Siming Xingjun spoke. "It wasn't merely an injury." "In that battle, he almost lost his soul completely." Lin Wantang turned to look at Ye Chenyuan. The man's expression remained calm. As if none of it had anything to do with him. Yet she suddenly felt a sharp ache in her chest. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because it doesn't matter." "How could it not matter?" "A thousand years have already passed." "But you remember." Ye Chenyuan fell silent. Lin Wantang looked at him. "You remember everything." "Yes." "Then have you been waiting for me all this time?" The man didn't answer. But his silence itself was an answer. --- Siming Xingjun suddenly said, "Lin Wantang." "Hmm?" "I didn't come today just to tell you these things." He raised a hand. The golden celestial book unfurled again. A heavenly decree appeared. "In seven days, Youxu will fully open." "When it does, a calamity will befall the Three Realms." "And you—" His finger came to rest where Lin Wantang's name was written. "are the only person who can stop it." Lin Wantang froze. "Me?" "Yes." "Why?" Siming Xingjun looked at her wrist. "Because the Yellow Springs Flower has already acknowledged you as its master." "And your soul is the only one capable of bearing both life energy and death energy at the same time." Lin Wantang was silent for a moment. "What do I need to do?" "Find Shen Yuexi." "And then?" "Kill her." The hall fell silent. Lin Wantang abruptly raised her head. "No." Siming Xingjun frowned. "She's the core of Youxu." "Only by killing her can Youxu be stopped." "I won't kill her." Siming Xingjun's expression was cold. "You have no choice." "I do." Lin Wantang looked at Ye Chenyuan. "I can find another way." Siming Xingjun sneered. "Who do you think you are?" Lin Wantang didn't answer. She merely lowered her head and looked at the Yellow Springs Flower on her wrist. She suddenly remembered the girl from her dream. Shen Yuexi. She had once said to Lin Wantang: "Sister, I'll go with you." If she truly was another half of herself, then Lin Wantang didn't believe it. She didn't believe the other woman had been evil from the beginning. Something must have happened. Someone must have concealed the truth. And she— would uncover it herself. "I won't kill her." Lin Wantang spoke again. "I want to find out the truth." "What really happened a thousand years ago?" Siming Xingjun stared at her. After a long while, he suddenly closed the celestial book. "Very well." "Since you've made your choice," "you can bear the consequences yourself." As his words fell, a flash of golden light swept through the hall. Siming Xingjun vanished. --- The hall fell silent once more. But Lin Wantang remained standing where she was. Ye Chenyuan walked up to her. "You shouldn't have agreed." "Agreed to what?" "To go in seven days." "I didn't agree to him." "But you've already decided to find Shen Yuexi." "Yes." "It's dangerous." "I know." "You could die." "I've already died once." Ye Chenyuan looked at her. "This time, I won't let you die." Lin Wantang suddenly smiled. "That sounds a lot like a death guarantee." "I keep my word." "Good." She nodded. "Then come with me." Ye Chenyuan froze. "What?" "Didn't you say you wouldn't let me die?" Lin Wantang looked at him. "Then stay with me." The man was silent for a moment. "All right." "It's a promise." "It's a promise." --- Late that night, Lin Wantang returned to her room. She sat at the table. Then she opened the dossier she had brought back from the Soul-Reaping Office that day. She wanted to investigate Shen Yuexi. But strangely, the Book of Life and Death didn't contain her name at all. She searched through every dossier. There was nothing. Until finally, in an old, yellowed booklet, she found a line of tiny writing. "Shen Yuexi, soul born from Shen Yueli." The next line had been covered over with black ink. Lin Wantang picked up the candle and held it over the page, inch by inch. At last, she could make out what had been concealed. "Shen Yuexi is not an evil soul." "At the moment of her birth, she was ordered to protect Shen Yueli." Lin Wantang's breath caught. Protect her? Then why had she tried to kill her later? She kept reading. But the final line left her completely rigid. "The person who truly betrayed Shen Yueli—" The name after it had been torn away. Only a blurred surname remained. Ye... Lin Wantang abruptly looked up. Outside the door, a black figure stood in the moonlight. Ye Chenyuan. He seemed to notice her gaze. "What is it?" Lin Wantang looked at him. Her fingers slowly tightened. For the first time, a terrifying thought occurred to her. Maybe the truth from a thousand years ago wasn't anything like what Ye Chenyuan had told her. And the person who had truly betrayed her... was very likely right beside her. Ye Chenyuan approached. "Wantang?" Lin Wantang closed the dossier and put on an unconcerned smile. "Nothing." "I'm just suddenly a little tired." The man looked at her. He didn't notice the suspicion that flashed through her eyes. And the moment he turned around, a line of bloody words suddenly appeared again in the dossier in Lin Wantang's palm. "Do not trust the Netherworld King." Her breath stopped abruptly. The next instant, the bloody words vanished, as if they had never appeared. Lin Wantang looked up. Outside the window, the sea of Yellow Springs Flowers was silent and still. And for the first time, she realized— what she truly needed to uncover might not be just the truth behind her death. It might also be the truth about the man she had once loved deeply, who might have concealed it from her for a thousand years.