The surrounding world and the person before her shattered into countless particles of dust. After what felt like a long, solitary experience of time, Shang Can finally regained consciousness.
As her mind began to clear, she sensed an extremely cold, ghostly energy rushing toward her face. Instinctively, she held her breath and quickly rolled to the side to dodge it.
Only then did she open her eyes.
Shang Can found herself standing on the ground, facing the dark red world belonging to the Ghost Realm—this sight surprisingly offered her a slight sense of relief.
However, this was not the time to relax and let her guard down in order to escape the illusion.
Just where she had dodged, there were two vaguely outlined figures. Their ominous aura and hideous faces clearly revealed their identity as ghosts.
“…Was that illusion just now your doing?”
Shang Can did not rush to attack; after all, she had just awakened, and her mind was still a bit muddled, filled with countless unresolved matters. But the ghosts before her showed no intention of conversing calmly. Upon seeing their prey suddenly awake and dodge, their faces grew even more ferocious as they lunged at her without hesitation.
Shang Can clicked her tongue in annoyance, instinctively wanting to summon the Heavenly Fire to defend herself, but the moment she used her spiritual energy, an agonizing pain shot through her body, causing her vision to darken. Almost immediately, an inexplicable chill surged through her meridians, catching her off guard, and she spat out a mouthful of black blood.
The blood of the living further provoked the ferocity of the ghosts. Shang Can barely managed to evade their attacks, feeling an unprecedented heaviness and stiffness throughout her body, her internal condition remarkably poor.
She had no time to ponder why she had sustained such severe injuries. In a rush of thought, she reached for her waist, only to grasp empty air.
Looking down, she noticed that the sword and pouch she had originally worn at her waist were nowhere to be found.
…What terrible luck, just when it rains, it pours. Shang Can felt she had no strength left to even manage a bitter smile and decisively shifted her stance, clenching her fists.
With no way to use spiritual power or wield a sword, facing off against them alone was the worst scenario imaginable.
“But just the two of you ghosts,” she murmured, the lingering gloom in her chest morphing into a surge of defiance, “won’t be able to take my life.”
A moment later, she exhaled a breath of stale air, slowly wiping the blood from the corner of her lips.
The two ghosts that had just been menacing were now lying on the ground, their humanoid forms gradually disintegrating, dissipating into a cloud of black mist.
This encounter was different from her previous skirmishes with ghosts in the cultivation world. At that time, they had disguised themselves as monsters, but now they were appearing in their original humanoid forms—presumably how they looked in life.
Shang Can coldly observed the ghosts’ dissolution, recalling the sensation of penetrating their bodies moments ago. A wave of nauseating sweetness surged in her throat, which she barely suppressed.
…It felt unsettling, akin to killing someone. Yet, with her entire body in discomfort, she couldn’t afford to dwell on it.
Even though she had just resolved the immediate crisis, Shang Can had little time to pause and recuperate. The noise from her earlier struggle had drawn the attention of other ghosts, and she could now hear indistinct sounds of movement in the distance.
Unfamiliar with her surroundings, she could see the River of Forgetfulness nearby, but it was no longer where she had fallen in. Regardless, lingering was not a viable option. Shang Can had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue along the bank of the river.
After walking for about the duration of a tea break, she finally relaxed a bit upon confirming that she no longer heard any rustling noises. She found a large rock and sat cross-legged on the ground.
The surroundings were not entirely safe, but she needed time to assess her situation.
Before entering Fengdu, she had been inexplicably swept into the River of Forgetfulness, and after getting caught in the ghosts’ illusion, she now found herself on the riverbank.
Her clothes and hair were still wet. Shang Can touched the damp hem of her clothing, feeling the coldness against her skin.
But there were no clothes to change into at the moment, and for some reason, she didn’t feel particularly cold—at least her chest was warmed by a certain heat—
Shang Can’s heart stirred as she reached into her robe.
“…This is already soaked through.”
She first touched a damp talisman, carefully pulling it out with a complex expression.
It was the talisman Pei Chen had given her, meant for escape and concealing her presence. He had repeatedly instructed her to keep it close, so Shang Can had stashed it in her inner pocket, preventing it from being lost along with her pouch. However—
Even if she didn’t know whether the talisman would still work when wet… Shang Can silently traced the crimson powder that had turned to mush on it, sighing inwardly. It was no surprise that the original writing of her name had become illegible; this talisman was likely completely ineffective now.
Such an important talisman, and it had no waterproofing? Shang Can thought with a hint of annoyance but quickly let it go: who would have guessed it would get soaked in the waters of the River of Forgetfulness? That stuff was different from ordinary water.
There was no point in contemplating these matters now. Shang Can had thought that the warmth in her chest came from this talisman; now it seemed unrelated. She felt puzzled, unable to recall what else she had on her, but the weight in her robe was inexplicably heavy, so she reached into her pocket again.
Her fingers touched something warm and smooth.
Shang Can’s heart skipped a beat as she hurriedly pulled out what she had found.
It was a familiar translucent jade plate, once securely worn at someone’s waist.
However, the originally intact translucent jade now showed faint cracks, and the characters “Yun Duan” inscribed on it were also crookedly split.
“—”
Shang Can’s mind went blank for a moment. No matter how she racked her brains, she couldn’t recall how this jade plate had ended up in her possession. This pocket was pressed against her body; it was impossible for Yun Duan to have stealthily placed such a large jade piece into her pocket without her noticing—
…Unless she had taken it herself.
Staring blankly at the jade plate, Shang Can’s mind raced as she lightly touched its edge. The slightly warm jade plate trembled and suddenly transformed into a paper crane.
The paper crane was small and well-proportioned, but a long crack ran through its body. It flapped its wings slightly, then fell silent, reverting back to the shape of the jade plate.
In an instant, Shang Can recalled a particular night in the inn at Yan Yang.
Yun Duan had folded a paper crane to demonstrate how to summon spirits.
“This is to attach spiritual energy to a tangible object for summoning. There’s also a method for shaping spiritual energy, but this one is more commonly used.”
The woman in white lowered her gaze at the paper crane resting in her palm and softly said, “I give this to you.”
“…Summoning and shaping.”
Shang Can’s mind buzzed, and her throat felt tight. She anxiously clutched the jade plate but was reluctant to apply too much force, nervously loosening her grip.
…She couldn’t remember when Yun Duan had made the preparations to separate summoning from shaping, then combine them to deceive her by disguising her life-saving jade plate as a paper crane.
Even before she was swept into the River of Forgetfulness, she distinctly remembered Yun Duan properly hanging this jade plate at her waist—it must have been a fake.
All of this was an elaborate scheme to keep her in the dark.
Now, the reason she had been able to escape the River of Forgetfulness and found herself on the bank was already clear.
It was Yun Duan’s jade plate that had saved her life. The cracks on the jade plate, indicating that the spell had become ineffective, served as the best proof.
Why had the spell that was supposed to connect the jade plate to its owner activated in Shang Can’s case? Her chaotic mind was unable to find an answer, but she quickly realized that Yun Duan must have known the spell had already activated.
“…”
Shang Can bit her lip in frustration and carefully returned the jade plate to her robe.
Setting aside everything else for now, she needed to reunite with Yun Duan as soon as possible.
Shang Can braced herself to stand, but this simple action sent a mournful cry of weakness throughout her body, prompting her to angrily clench her teeth and straighten up.
Having been saved from death—she really wanted to see Yun Duan soon.
This was the first time in a while that she and Yun Duan were acting separately. Shang Can felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
Her current physical condition was far from ideal. She had not sustained any external injuries, but internally, she was in shambles, and there was no medicine to take.
Most critically, she had lost her means of disguise.
Shang Can did her best to conceal her presence and aura, cautiously maneuvering around several ghosts.
With Pei Chen’s talisman rendered ineffective, she had no choice but to avoid combat as much as possible, feeling tense throughout her journey.
Yet, perhaps due to her clothes being drenched in the waters of the River of Forgetfulness, Shang Can’s passage was relatively smooth; apart from her condition upon waking, she had not been attacked by any other ghosts.
…By the way, her clothes showed no signs of drying, continuing to drip water, uncomfortably clinging to her body.
She now looked just like a water ghost. Shang Can thought somewhat gloomily, wondering if she might catch a cold like this—surely, ghosts wouldn’t catch colds, right? If she sneezed, would she accidentally expose herself?
The journey was just too monotonous; she had started thinking about these ridiculous things.
Shang Can stopped in her tracks and sighed deeply in her heart.
Not good; she had no sense of whether she was getting closer to a familiar place.
Simply put, she was wandering aimlessly, hoping to perhaps see Fengdu.
She guessed that Yun Duan and Pei Chen would react in some way after she fell into the River of Forgetfulness, but ultimately, they would probably head to Fengdu. After all, they had come to the Ghost Realm with a mission—although her own mission hadn’t even begun, and she was the one who had fallen into trouble.
Shang Can furrowed her brow in distress, knowing that her thoughts were overly idealistic, but she couldn’t come up with any other plan. She could only silently pray that Yun Duan hadn’t done anything foolish after she fell into the water and that she was properly following the presumably more rational Pei Chen to Fengdu.
But finding Fengdu was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Although she had no idea how vast the Ghost Realm was, the fact that she could see no trace of Fengdu from her current vantage point indicated that she was certainly far from where she had fallen into the water.
It seemed a bit troublesome.
It had been a long time since she had experienced this situation where she couldn’t even use her spiritual energy. She felt overwhelmed by the many issues weighing down on her, making it rare for Shang Can to feel somewhat awkward.
She glanced around; she was currently in an open field, completely devoid of any ghostly figures. All she could see were sparse patches of grass and flowers.
Shang Can hesitated for a moment but ultimately gripped the bamboo whistle at her chest, hesitantly bringing it to her lips.
…Originally, she had thought this thing might make too much noise and didn’t want to use it, but given her current circumstances, it seemed there was no better option.
She recalled the words of Wan Shao when leaving Biluo Huangquan: “Blow this when you encounter trouble! For example, if you hit a ghost wall, get lost, or trip over a stone—”
At that time, she had found Wan Shao’s words amusing, but who would have thought she would actually get lost in the Ghost Realm…
Fortunately, she had listened to Wan Shao and hung the bamboo whistle around her neck, so she hadn’t lost it. If it turned out to be useful after blowing it, she would definitely treat Wan Shao to a good meal when she returned.
Shang Can sighed in resignation and took a deep breath before blowing into the bamboo whistle with all her might.
To her surprise, the whistle emitted no sound whatsoever.
…Could it be that it was damaged by the waters of the River of Forgetfulness? Shang Can anxiously examined the whistle, then tentatively patted it and blew again, still producing no sound.
“Crack.”
Just when she began to consider giving up, Shang Can suddenly caught a sound coming from not far behind her, like something being forcefully pried open and then bursting.
She turned around to see a vibrant crimson flower by the roadside, its stem rigid and trembling without any wind, causing the ground beneath it to crack open.
Shang Can cautiously stepped back two paces, and the flower suddenly burst forth from the ground with a loud pop, exploding in brilliant red light that forced her to squint her eyes. She soon heard the sound of something landing.
“…It’s so noisy! Who is cursing me in the dialect of flower spirits?!”
A voice filled with annoyance came from in front of her—a woman’s voice that, despite the yelling, still sounded somewhat charmingly haughty.
Shang Can focused her gaze, and the flower before her had astonishingly transformed into a woman in a red dress, with stunning features and a slender waist, but her expression was filled with righteous indignation, looking quite furious.
Ah, she probably recognized who this spirit was…
Shang Can looked at her familiar features and cautiously asked, “…Are you the spirit of the Blood Lotus?”
“Hmm? How could you not recognize me and still curse me!”
The woman was furious, exclaiming, “You were just insulting me as an old ghost! Using a language that only flower spirits understand—clearly, those spirits that speak such a language are all ancient! All ancient!”
“…”
Shang Can fell silent and offered a somewhat embarrassed smile.
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