The moment the Yellow Springs Flower bloomed, Lin Wantang froze from head to toe.
Blood-red words surfaced in the heart of the flower.
Stroke by stroke.
As if someone had used fresh blood to write down a truth sealed away for a thousand years.
“First memory unlocked.”
“Unlocked content: Shen Yueli did not die in Youxu.”
Lin Wantang stared at those words for a long time without speaking.
Ye Chenyuan stood beside her.
His gaze fell on the Yellow Springs Flower, and for the first time, an unmistakable change appeared in his expression.
“You saw it?”
Lin Wantang looked up.
“Yeah.”
“What?”
She didn’t answer.
She merely held out her wrist in front of him.
After Ye Chenyuan read the line, the coldness in his eyes sank inch by inch.
“Impossible.”
“You think it’s impossible too?”
Lin Wantang gave a bitter smile.
“I’ve heard that way too many times lately.”
“Shen Yueli’s death record is real.”
“But the Yellow Springs Flower says she didn’t die in Youxu.”
Ye Chenyuan fell silent.
Lin Wantang looked at him.
“So what do you know?”
“I know you didn’t die in Youxu.”
“What?”
She froze.
Ye Chenyuan closed his eyes.
“Before you fell into Youxu back then, I brought you out.”
Lin Wantang’s heart jolted violently.
“You brought me out?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did I still die?”
“Because…”
Ye Chenyuan paused for a moment.
“Your soul was already incomplete.”
Lin Wantang frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“When you came out of Youxu, you had only half a soul left.”
“Where did the other half go?”
Ye Chenyuan didn’t answer.
Lin Wantang suddenly thought of Shen Yuexi.
“Shen Yuexi?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Ye Chenyuan looked at her.
“You.”
“Me?”
“The other half of your soul is also inside you.”
Lin Wantang stood there in a daze for a long time.
Her head suddenly felt like it was about to explode.
“So who am I, exactly?”
Ye Chenyuan was silent.
“Lin Wantang?”
“Shen Yueli?”
“Or… Shen Yuexi?”
“You’re all of them.”
“And none of them.”
Lin Wantang took a deep breath.
“Does everyone in the Netherworld talk in circles like this?”
Ye Chenyuan looked at her.
“Because the truth itself is a mystery.”
“Then take the mystery apart.”
She looked at the man.
“I’ll ask one question at a time.”
“You answer one at a time.”
Ye Chenyuan didn’t refuse.
“All right.”
The two of them returned to the Netherworld Palace.
Gu Changsheng was already waiting outside the main hall.
The moment he saw Ye Chenyuan return, he went to meet him.
“My lord.”
“What is it?”
“Before Star Lord Siming left just now, he left something behind.”
Gu Changsheng took out a golden jade slip.
“This was sent by the Heavenly Court.”
Ye Chenyuan accepted it.
Four words appeared on the jade slip.
“Seven-day deadline.”
Below them was a map of the Three Realms.
Three locations on the map had been marked blood red.
The Yellow Springs Ferry.
Youxu.
And—
The mortal world.
Lin Wantang frowned.
“Why is the mortal world marked too?”
Gu Changsheng said, “Because departed souls have been disappearing throughout the Three Realms lately.”
“The souls of the dead in the mortal world haven’t entered the Netherworld.”
“In the Celestial Realm, immortal souls have also been vanishing for no apparent reason.”
“And every trace eventually points to Youxu.”
Lin Wantang fell silent.
“So that means…”
“Youxu is devouring souls from all three realms.”
“Yes.”
“Shen Yuexi is saving people too?”
“That’s how it looks at the moment.”
Ye Chenyuan’s brows drew together.
“She isn’t the mastermind.”
Lin Wantang looked at him.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“How do you know?”
Ye Chenyuan didn’t answer.
But Lin Wantang already understood.
He definitely knew more.
“You’ve fought her before?”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
“Many.”
“Has she always wanted to kill me?”
“No.”
“Then why did she become like this?”
Ye Chenyuan looked into the distance.
“Because she hates you.”
“Hates me?”
“Not the you standing here now.”
“She hates the you from a thousand years ago.”
Lin Wantang fell silent.
“Why?”
Ye Chenyuan didn’t answer.
But Gu Changsheng suddenly spoke up.
“Because she believes you caused the death of the person most important to her.”
Lin Wantang stiffened.
“Who?”
Gu Changsheng didn’t continue.
Ye Chenyuan shot him a cold look.
Gu Changsheng immediately shut his mouth.
Lin Wantang couldn’t help frowning.
“Are you two hiding something from me?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Lin Wantang pointed at Gu Changsheng.
“You just said you were.”
Gu Changsheng: “…”
Ye Chenyuan rubbed his brow.
“We’ll discuss this later.”
But Lin Wantang refused to let it go.
“No.”
“The more you refuse to tell me, the more I want to know.”
Ye Chenyuan looked at her.
“You need to rest now.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Your soul has just unlocked its first memory.”
“If you keep investigating by force, your soul may retaliate.”
Lin Wantang froze.
“What will happen?”
“Memory loss.”
“Or…”
Ye Chenyuan paused.
“Your soul could scatter.”
The smile slowly disappeared from her face.
“That serious?”
“Yes.”
“Then I won’t investigate.”
Ye Chenyuan seemed to let out a breath of relief.
But the next second, Lin Wantang added,
“I’ll investigate after I wake up.”
Ye Chenyuan: “…”
Gu Changsheng silently turned around.
For the first time, he felt that after His Highness met Miss Lin,
he truly had no way to deal with her.
That night, Lin Wantang had a dream.
In the dream, she stood in a field of snow.
Snow fell all around her.
A massive palace stood ahead.
In front of its gates stood a young man dressed in white.
His figure was strangely familiar,
but she could never make out his face.
“You came.”
The young man spoke.
Lin Wantang looked at him.
“Who are you?”
“You don’t remember me?”
“No.”
The young man smiled.
“Then let me introduce myself again.”
He held out his hand.
“My name is…”
His voice was suddenly swallowed by the wind and snow.
Lin Wantang frowned.
“What’s your name?”
The young man didn’t answer.
He merely reached out and brushed the snow from her shoulder.
“Are you really going?”
“Yeah.”
“Youxu isn’t a place you should go.”
“But I have to.”
“Why?”
Lin Wantang lowered her head.
“Because someone is waiting for me.”
“Who?”
“She is.”
“Shen Yuexi?”
“No.”
She raised her head.
“It’s someone else.”
The young man’s expression suddenly changed.
“Don’t go looking for him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’ll kill you.”
Lin Wantang froze.
“Who?”
The young man didn’t answer.
He suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Promise me.”
“Don’t trust the Netherworld King.”
Boom!
A thunderous crash suddenly rang out between heaven and earth.
The dream shattered.
Lin Wantang jolted awake.
Her chest heaved violently.
A blood-red moon hung high outside the window.
She sat up.
Cold sweat covered her forehead.
“This dream again.”
She wiped her face.
But this time, she remembered one thing.
That young man.
Although she couldn’t see his face clearly,
his voice…
She had heard it before.
Just yesterday.
“Don’t trust the Netherworld King.”
Lin Wantang murmured softly,
“Who are you?”
Early the next morning, at the Soul-Reaping Office,
Lin Wantang had just sat down when an unfamiliar underworld enforcer approached her.
“Miss Lin.”
“Hmm?”
“Someone is looking for you.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where?”
“The Ghost Market.”
“Man or woman?”
The underworld enforcer thought about it.
“A man.”
“What does he look like?”
“Dressed in white.”
The pen in Lin Wantang’s hand hit the desk with a sharp clack.
White clothes?
The young man from her dream?
She immediately stood up.
“Let’s go.”
Xie Qi grabbed her arm.
“Wait!”
“What?”
“His Highness said you can’t go anywhere alone lately.”
“I wasn’t planning to go alone.”
She pointed at Xie Qi.
“You’re coming with me.”
Xie Qi: “…”
“Come on.”
“All right.”
The Ghost Market was bustling with activity.
Lin Wantang searched the entire way.
Finally, she stopped in front of a teahouse.
A man in white sat beside the window on the second floor.
His back was straight.
His black hair was like ink.
He held a teacup in his hand.
He seemed to sense her gaze and slowly turned around.
Their eyes met.
Lin Wantang froze from head to toe.
In that instant, something deep in her mind felt as if it had been struck hard.
Familiar.
Far too familiar.
And yet she had clearly never met this man before.
The man rose to his feet.
“Shen Yueli?”
Lin Wantang’s heart jolted.
“You know me?”
The man didn’t answer.
He simply stared at her for a long time.
Then he suddenly frowned.
“You really did forget.”
Lin Wantang walked upstairs.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“You really don’t remember me?”
“No.”
“Then look at me.”
Lin Wantang lifted her eyes.
The man’s irises were a very pale silver-gray.
Like snow.
Like the moon.
And like someone buried deep within her memories.
A sudden pain struck her chest.
A name slipped from her lips.
“Shen…”
The man’s expression changed drastically.
“You remembered?”
But Lin Wantang frowned.
“No.”
“I just feel like…”
She stared at his face.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
The man fell silent.
After a long while, he said softly,
“We have.”
“Where?”
“A thousand years ago.”
Lin Wantang’s breath caught.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at her.
“My name is Bai Heng.”
“I used to be your Soul Guardian.”
“Your Soul Guardian?”
“Yes.”
“After your soul was torn apart, I was ordered to protect you.”
Lin Wantang froze.
“Ordered by whom?”
Bai Heng didn’t answer.
His gaze passed over Lin Wantang and landed on the person behind her.
Xie Qi’s expression changed.
“Miss Lin.”
“What is it?”
“Someone’s here.”
Downstairs, a powerful underworld aura was drawing near.
Bai Heng stood up.
“He’s here.”
“Who?”
The next moment, the entire Ghost Market suddenly fell silent.
Every departed soul lowered its head at the same time.
Not one of them dared to speak.
A black figure walked into the teahouse.
Ye Chenyuan.
Gu Changsheng followed behind him.
The man lifted his eyes.
The instant he saw Bai Heng, a murderous intent flashed through his eyes.
“Bai Heng.”
Bai Heng looked at him in turn.
“Ye Chenyuan.”
The two men’s auras collided in midair.
The tables and chairs throughout the teahouse began to tremble.
Lin Wantang stood between them.
“You two know each other?”
Bai Heng gave a cold laugh.
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“A thousand years ago, he killed me with his own hands.”
Lin Wantang stiffened.
“What?”
Ye Chenyuan’s expression was icy.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Bai Heng stood up.
“Why can’t I come?”
“Because she isn’t the Shen Yueli of that time anymore.”
“Whether she is or not isn’t for you to decide.”
Ye Chenyuan’s eyes darkened.
Netherfire suddenly flared to life.
Bai Heng raised his hand as well.
Silver light gathered in his palm.
The two were about to make their move when Lin Wantang suddenly stepped between them.
“That’s enough!”
Both forces stopped at once.
She turned to Bai Heng.
“You said he killed you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to stop me from telling you the truth.”
Lin Wantang looked at Ye Chenyuan.
“Is that true?”
Ye Chenyuan was silent.
Bai Heng gave a cold laugh.
“You don’t dare say it?”
“Then I’ll say it for you.”
“A thousand years ago, Shen Yueli didn’t die at all.”
“The person who truly died—”
He suddenly stopped.
His gaze fell on Lin Wantang.
“Was her.”
The color drained from Lin Wantang’s face.
“What did you say?”
Bai Heng looked at her.
“The one who truly died was the you standing here now.”
“What does that mean?”
“Shen Yueli survived.”
“And you…”
“Are the soul that was reborn after her death.”
Lin Wantang’s mind exploded with a roar.
“Bai Heng!” Ye Chenyuan suddenly shouted.
But Bai Heng didn’t stop.
“You’ve always thought you were Shen Yueli.”
“But you’re not.”
“Shen Yueli is already dead.”
“You’re merely what she left behind after her death—”
“Her second life.”
Lin Wantang stood rooted to the spot.
Countless fragments flashed wildly through her mind.
A hospital bed.
Milk tea.
A car accident.
The Netherworld.
The Netherworld King.
Shen Yuexi.
And the snow from a thousand years ago.
All the images blurred together.
She suddenly clutched her head.
“Ah—”
Ye Chenyuan immediately stepped forward.
“Wantang!”
She abruptly backed away.
“Don’t touch me!”
The man’s hand stopped in midair.
Lin Wantang looked at him.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.
“What do you two really think I am?”
No one answered.
Bai Heng said quietly,
“Someone who was never supposed to exist.”
Lin Wantang stared at him in a daze.
“I… was never supposed to exist?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why was I born?”
“Because someone defied fate and changed your destiny.”
“Who?”
Bai Heng’s gaze fell on Ye Chenyuan.
“Ask him.”
Lin Wantang looked at Ye Chenyuan too.
The man closed his eyes, as if making an extraordinarily difficult decision.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
“I did.”
Lin Wantang stopped breathing.
“What?”
Ye Chenyuan looked at her.
“I was the one who brought you back to life.”
“I was the one who…”
“Stole your soul from the Book of Life and Death.”
The entire world fell silent, leaving only the sound of the Yellow Springs flowing.
Lin Wantang stared blankly at him.
At last, she understood.
Why her name wasn’t in the Heavenly Book.
Why the Netherworld had performed a wrongful soul-reaping on her.
Why she didn’t have a complete destiny.
Why Shen Yueli’s death record had been altered.
Because—
She was never supposed to exist in this lifetime.
Her life had been forcibly stolen back from a thousand years ago.
And the person who had done it
was the man standing before her.
“So…”
Lin Wantang’s voice was very soft.
“That’s why you kept saying you didn’t want me to know?”
Ye Chenyuan didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
“Because once you know,”
“you’ll understand.”
“That your life now…”
He paused.
“Was bought with my life.”
Lin Wantang suddenly looked up.
“Your life?”
Ye Chenyuan said nothing more.
Behind him, Gu Changsheng lowered his head.
Because he knew
the real secret still hadn’t been fully revealed.
A thousand years ago, in order to send a soul that had already died back into reincarnation, the Netherworld King Ye Chenyuan had paid with his own Netherworld King destiny and forcibly rewritten the Book of Life and Death.
From that day on, he had only a thousand years left to live.
And today
was exactly the final year.
Lin Wantang didn’t know any of this.
All she knew was that the man before her seemed far more dangerous than she had imagined.
And much, much more foolish too.
She looked at him.
Then suddenly asked,
“Why did you save me?”
Ye Chenyuan didn’t answer.
Lin Wantang asked again,
“A thousand years ago, why did you bring me back to life?”
The man was silent for a long time.
In the end, he said only one thing.
“Because I promised you.”
“Promised me what?”
Ye Chenyuan looked at her.
In those eyes that had been cold and desolate for a thousand years,
for the first time, unmistakable emotion surfaced.
“I promised you…”
“As long as you still wanted to live,”
“I would make sure you lived.”
Lin Wantang’s eyes suddenly reddened.
And at that exact moment, the Yellow Springs Flower on her wrist bloomed again.
A second line of blood-red writing appeared.
“Second memory unlocked.”
“Unlocked content: A thousand years ago, Shen Yueli once said to Ye Chenyuan—”
The blood-red words paused.
The next moment, a line slowly surfaced.
“If I die, forget me.”
Lin Wantang stared at that sentence.
Her entire body went rigid.
And Ye Chenyuan’s face
in that instant,
turned white as death.