In the Netherworld, at the Ghost King’s Door.
Standing again in front of the residence where she had once stayed, Shang Can couldn’t help but feel as if she had returned to another world.
Since she had walked out of this door last time, she had spent an extremely long day. She hoped that today wouldn’t repeat that experience.
However, her purpose for coming here today, as well as her companions, were different from before, so the outcome should be vastly different as well.
Shang Can glanced at Yun Duan, who stood silently beside her, and tentatively raised her hand to knock on the door. Soon, she heard a familiar voice coming from inside, devoid of any tension: “Come in.”
The two pushed the door open and entered side by side, seeing the person they were looking for casually reclining in a chair in the courtyard, dressed in a loose robe as always. Her posture was relaxed, but the burn scars on her face were grotesque, making one’s heart tremble at the sight.
“Rare visitors.” Nan Shuang closed the book she was reading and lazily glanced at the two, “Would you like some tea? The regular kind.”
“… No need.”
Though she hadn’t actually consumed any poison here, the memory lingered in Shang Can’s mind, causing her to refuse Nan Shuang’s offer. She examined Nan Shuang’s face closely and hesitantly asked, “What happened to your face?”
“Oh, why are you asking me?” Nan Shuang feigned surprise, “Didn’t your heavenly fire burn me?”
Shang Can waved her hand, puzzled: “What I mean is, even if the heavenly fire did injure you back then, as a ghost clan member, shouldn’t you have some way to recover your appearance?”
“Perhaps,”
Nan Shuang shrugged, appearing uninterested. “But I’m quite weak right now and don’t want to waste my spiritual energy on such matters.”
“After all, it’s a critical moment.” As she spoke, she gestured toward the door, and Shang Can vaguely sensed some unfriendly hostility outside. “Since I got injured, quite a few ghost clan members have been eyeing this place, thinking about taking my place.”
“So even if you disapprove, I truly don’t have the energy to fix my face right now. Sorry about that.” Nan Shuang apologized half-heartedly and added, “I had three fights just yesterday.”
“To be honest, your visit today might actually help me out. As long as you’re here, those ghost clan members outside won’t dare to come knocking.”
Seeing her act as if they were there to protect her, Shang Can felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. Turning her head, she noticed Yun Duan quietly stroking the hilt of her Wuyou sword and decided to get to the point.
“We’re here today to ask you about Qin Yi.”
Nan Shuang nodded knowingly, and Shang Can pressed further, “Where is Qin Yi now?”
“Don’t know.”
Her reply was brisk and to the point, and Nan Shuang innocently spread her hands, “She might still be lurking in the ghost realm, or she may have already left. Sorry, I haven’t had the energy to look out for her these past few days — I’m being honest here. Can you ask your companion, Yun Zhong Jun, to put away her sword for now?”
It felt like a scene from an interrogation, with Nan Shuang playing the role of the bad cop while acting innocent. Shang Can glanced at Yun Duan, who had been visibly in a bad mood since entering the Ghost King’s residence, openly displaying her hostility toward Nan Shuang. When Shang Can looked over, Yun Duan was silent for a moment before speaking, “She’s deceived us once before; it’s hard to guarantee she won’t deceive us a second time.”
“Once bitten, twice shy; I understand.”
Nan Shuang, seemingly oblivious to the murderous intent directed at her, sighed and continued, “But when you came to me, I genuinely didn’t expect Shang Can to come after. I was sincerely worried she was dead and had seriously considered what I could do with the heavenly fire after she was gone. So when I saw her later, I was completely unprepared and had to urgently place her in another space.”
“I did feel a bit guilty afterward. Although it was for my own obsession, watching you search for Shang Can every day, returning empty-handed while not knowing that the person you longed for was just a wall away was truly…”
The Wuyou sword was unsheathed in response, but Shang Can was faster. In an instant, the heavenly fire formed a tight ring around Nan Shuang’s neck, ready to decapitate her with just a glance from Shang Can.
Her expression didn’t match the ruthlessness of her actions; instead, she even managed a calm smile, her tone polite, “Nan Shuang, do you really want to die?”
“…” Nan Shuang curiously touched the fiery ring around her neck, looking at the blackened fingertips, and chuckled softly, “I don’t know; I haven’t decided yet.”
“But I really am telling the truth.”
She raised her head, her eyes half-teasing, half-serious: “I never had the same goal as Qin Yi; I just wanted to use her to get you to come to the Netherworld. Therefore, after I achieved my goal, I and she basically started to go our separate ways.”
Shang Can furrowed her brow and asked, “But that day… I remember she left after speaking with you.”
“Yeah, but at that time, I was just threatening her.” Nan Shuang recalled, wrinkling her face. “Something like, ‘If you cause trouble, I’ll kill you first.'”
“Though it’s not appropriate for me as an elder to say such things, Qin Yi has always been of low cultivation. She can only make up for it with other means.” She spoke without a shred of guilt, adding, “It was true then, and it’s true now.”
“…”
With no useful information coming to light, Shang Can felt somewhat disheartened. She then heard Nan Shuang leisurely say, “But I think you don’t need to rush. Just wait. As long as you and Qin Yi are both still in this world, no matter how unwilling you are, she will always come looking for you.”
“Just like—” she paused, suddenly flashing a deliberate smile at Yun Duan, “just like this Yun Zhong Jun here, isn’t it?”
“That’s enough, Nan Shuang.”
Shang Can irritably kicked her chair, watching as Nan Shuang lost her balance and tumbled down from the seat. She sighed, “Since you’re already this weak, can’t you stop provoking us?”
“… That makes sense; I’ll hold back.”
After a while, Nan Shuang finally managed to get up from the ground. She gazed at Yun Duan with keen interest for a while before daringly speaking up, “I still haven’t figured something out; I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”
“What flaw was there in my illusion?” She looked at Yun Duan, whose expression was cold, and then at the two of them who were very close together, smiling, “It can’t be the power of love, right?”
“…”
This person truly had no memory; Shang Can helplessly rubbed her forehead. She was thankful that she had rejected the flower demon’s request to join them under the pretense of confidentiality regarding their discussion before leaving. Otherwise, the situation would have become quite chaotic.
Shang Can kept in mind that the Netherworld needed a Ghost King to guard it. Aware that the cause of this situation stemmed from her past loss of control, leading to Nan Shuang’s demise, she felt a sense of responsibility to help Nan Shuang. She couldn’t help but inch closer to Yun Duan, hoping to stop her from acting out when she could no longer contain herself.
However, this time, her concern seemed unnecessary. Yun Duan didn’t show any signs of being offended. She quietly met Nan Shuang’s gaze for a moment before raising her hand.
Just as Shang Can was preparing to intervene, she saw Yun Duan slightly push up her wide sleeve, revealing a snow-white wrist adorned with a thin, red-golden chain, upon which a flicker of flame still quietly burned.
“This is…”
Shang Can’s eyes widened as she recalled the night she first arrived at the entrance of the Ghost Realm — she had given a bundle of heavenly fire to Yun Duan.
“When A Can released the heavenly fire, it responded to me,” Yun Duan said lightly, retracting her hand back into her sleeve and gently stroking her wrist. “That’s how I knew A Can was right there.”
“It’s also thanks to it,” Yun Duan’s voice suddenly lowered, softly saying, “that I’ve been able to know A Can is still… not dead.”
The last three words were spoken with great difficulty, as if she was unwilling to touch that word from the bottom of her heart. Yun Duan’s delicate brows lightly furrowed, causing Shang Can’s heart to ache. Unable to bear the heavy atmosphere, he deliberately changed the subject.
“By the way, is Jun Kun Yao here?”
“No.”
Nan Shuang, who had been nodding along, immediately lost interest, slumping back onto the lounge chair and lazily picking up a scroll. “I haven’t seen him since that day; he’s probably left the Ghost Realm.”
Shang Can was taken aback, puzzled. “… He only knows of that one exit to the outside world. It hasn’t even been a month yet, and it’s still closed. How can he get out?”
“Who knows?” Nan Shuang waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, he hasn’t been here. If you want to find him, you can ask the other ghost clans.”
“I can’t help with his matters, and I don’t know much about Qin Yi either. Ah, but I do know where she enters and exits the Ghost Realm, so let me tell you.”
She stood up unsteadily, fetched paper and pen from inside the room, drew a detailed map marking the locations for the two, and handed it to Shang Can with a meaningful wink.
“Here. If you need any other help, I will do my best to assist you.”
Understanding her implication, Shang Can took the map and replied ambiguously, “Let’s talk about it another time.”
After leaving the Ghost King’s residence, the two walked back toward Yuan Ge’s dwelling. Yun Duan appeared much more relaxed and asked, “Do you still need her help with anything?”
Shang Can’s gaze sharpened as he looked at the map, silently rolling it up. He glanced at the tranquil Wangchuan River not far away; the water level had risen to about the same height as when they first arrived.
“… It’s hard to say.”
She shook her head, smiling. “It’s fine; if you really dislike her, you can wait outside next time you need her help.”
“No.”
The suggestion was immediately shot down. Yun Duan frowned disapprovingly, pondering for a moment before quietly saying, “Although you said it wasn’t her who hurt you, I still…”
“I know, and I’m sorry to make you worry,” Shang Can comforted softly, suddenly recalling something. “What about Yuan Ge, who has a pretty good relationship with her? I remember she said you didn’t want to stay in the Ghost King’s residence but needed a safe place to recover, so you reluctantly accepted Yuan Ge’s help, right?”
“Not bad,” Yun Duan lowered her eyelids. “Yuan Ge didn’t hurt you.”
Her words were clear-cut. Shang Can coughed lightly, laughing, “My injuries are almost healed now. We need to find Jun Kun Yao quickly and leave here together. We can’t afford to waste time on Qin Yi’s unclear whereabouts—otherwise, Lord Yu Shan will probably go crazy.”
“Jun Kun Yao did speak to him that day,” Yun Duan recalled with a light sigh. “But I didn’t have the energy to focus on other matters then, and I don’t know how he got Brother Chu Ming to agree to let us stay in the Underworld Ghost Realm to find you.”
Yun Duan was clearly aware that her actions at the time were a bit impulsive, yet she showed no signs of regret. At this point, discussing it further felt like reopening old wounds. Shang Can gazed at her with complicated emotions and sighed, “What about the three talismans Jun Kun Yao gave him to forcibly teleport someone away? Did he use them?”
“Don’t know.” Yun Duan shook her head, her words shocking. “After I confirmed I couldn’t find you that day, I threw away my talismans.”
“…”
Shang Can was taken aback, regaining his senses after a while. He urgently wanted to say something like, “Never do that again,” but the words stuck in his throat, and he could only futilely open his mouth and close it again.
“I thought Jun Kun Yao would stop me, but unexpectedly, he just watched as I discarded my talismans and then threw his away as well.”
A hint of hesitation flashed in Yun Duan’s eyes as she sighed softly and said, “Thinking back now, his feelings at that time were probably completely different from mine.”
Shang Can immediately understood the unspoken meaning in her words and silently pursed his lips.
Pei Chen must have been anxious for her then, but the bond between her and Pei Chen was far less deep than that which allowed him to stay in the Underworld Ghost Realm for a month seeking a slim chance of survival for her. He must have had other reasons for choosing to stay.
Shang Can recalled Nan Shuang’s indifference in the Ghost King’s residence and fell silent.
But what about Yun Duan’s reasons for staying?
She quietly stole a glance at Yun Duan, who was clad in a pure white robe that shone like the moon, accentuating her clean and ethereal aura, making her quite eye-catching in the dim Ghost Realm.
Shang Can had not seen Yun Duan back then, but he could only guess that she must have been flustered, driven by a stubborn desire to see the living and the dead.
Just thinking about it made him feel uncomfortable. Shang Can felt a tightness in his chest, took a light breath, and casually asked, “Yun Duan, have you been here before?”
She noticeably stiffened, but her voice remained calm and steady, without a hint of anything unusual.
“Why do you ask?”
“…”
Shang Can closed his eyes and did not respond.
He had many questions he wanted to ask Yun Duan, and she should have questions for him as well.
For example, what about the Wuyou sword on her waist? Did she know it had already developed a sword spirit? It was a spirit sword that no one but its master could touch, yet Shang Can had used it several times without any unusual reactions.
Yet Yun Duan never said anything.
Why? Even if she didn’t know about the sword spirit before, she had clearly seen it during the previous battle with Nan Shuang. Why hadn’t she said anything until now?
For some reason, Shang Can suddenly felt as if he and Yun Duan were standing on the midpoint of a narrow bridge, gazing at each other across an abyss below. They maintained a delicate balance; any step forward would drastically alter their worlds and distance, hence neither dared to move forward.
It was like two opponents who had been locked in a stalemate for too long, both waiting for the other to deliver a fatal blow.
Both were full of flaws.
They walked in silence until Shang Can finally spoke at the end of the journey, his tone very gentle: “Just making small talk.”
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