Chapter 36 Part 2

If not for this female ghost suddenly appearing, she and her owner would still be living their peaceful, leisurely days!

“This female ghost… seems to be someone my owner knew.” After hesitating a moment, Ah He voiced her speculation. She’d heard that story in the afternoon. If someone’s obsession had arisen because of her owner, it had to be that person—the one who brought her owner out of the cage, yet ultimately chose the nation over family, right? She didn’t really understand. In her view, just living their own little life was happiness enough. Toward the person her owner missed so deeply, she felt a grain of resentment.

Jiang Yiguang nodded. “Yes.” She didn’t quite know how to phrase it, either. Tell the cat demon, “The female ghost has been captured”? If so, the little cat demon would surely leap three feet high in fright. She turned her gaze toward Fu Juan. She didn’t understand why Fu Juan had chosen to come to Crabapple Street, rather than “carrying out immediate execution” on the female ghost, or bringing her back for processing at the Xuanzhen Dao Court’s Xuanyi Bridge branch in Jiang City.

Fu Juan understood Jiang Yiguang’s look. She offered a simple explanation: “Resentment and malice have clouded her clarity. Perhaps once her obsession is resolved, she will speak of the evil Daoist.”

Jiang Yiguang let out an “Ah,” glimpsing a trace of human warmth in Fu Juan. She had assumed Fu Juan would use some divine power like “soul searching”; she hadn’t expected Fu Juan was willing to resolve the female ghost’s obsession. Thinking this, she unknowingly voiced her thoughts aloud. Fu Juan gave her an odd look and, after a lengthy silence, finally said, “Read fewer web novels.”

Jiang Yiguang: “…”

Wang Xuanming said, “The Nightmare Prayer among the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Techniques might work.”

Fu Juan said coolly, “Then you try it.”

Speechless, Wang Xuanming scratched his head and stopped talking.

Seeing Wang Xuanming utterly defenseless against Fu Juan’s coldness, Jiang Yiguang suppressed a laugh as she turned, hugging the black cat, and stepped away from Fu Juan’s line of sight. Her thoughts were scattered; she quickly recalled the newest “Daoist Skill Points” she’d earned. They might encounter that evil Daoist again soon; she’d need to bolster her self-preservation skills.

Fu Juan said nothing more. She took out the spell talisman sealing the female ghost and, just outside the small courtyard, used the Dream Marriage technique—also one of the seventy-two Earthly Fiends. This technique could plague someone with nightmares, destroying their spirit through dreams. Naturally, Fu Juan wouldn’t use it that way. She merely borrowed this method to allow the female ghost to enter the old lady’s dream, hoping to wear away the ghost’s obsession. The female ghost had been a soldier in life; her willpower was extremely strong. Only by touching the softest place in her heart could her pervasive baleful aura be easily dispelled.

Inside the house, the old lady lay curled up, her body hunched. The passing years had left deep marks upon her. The once elegant, graceful young woman had entered her twilight years, her face creased with wrinkles; only her eyes retained their original gentleness and purity amidst the passage of time. But within the dream, the regrets brought by time faded little by little. The old lady walked forward, bewildered, moving against the flow of light and shadow. With her steps, time too slowly peeled away. She seemed to return to the past, once more the young woman filled with wholehearted sincerity and hope, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with the person she admired wholeheartedly through the alley where crabapple blossoms drifted down.

But parting was inevitable, just as it had been before, scene by scene replaying.

The farewell of bygone days had been silent and melancholy. She hadn’t wanted to become a stumbling block on Yan Zhenghe’s path forward, nor dared she ask, “Will you come back?”

But in the dream, having transformed back into a young woman, she found a measure of courage. She abruptly seized the other’s slender, fair wrist and asked, “Will you remember me?”

“Yes, I will. I’ll write to you.” The other’s reply was firm yet gentle. “Between us, only death shall part us; no separation in life.”

The young woman’s eyes widened instantly.

The face, long blurred in memory, gradually faded away as the dream shattered. The old lady woke with a start. She tottered up to sit, groped for the water glass at her bedside, and took a sip. After a moment, she lay back down, her breathing rapid. A rasping “huh-huh” squeezed from her throat. She closed her eyes, wanting to re-enter that dream. But she didn’t fall asleep. Listening to the wind outside the courtyard, her tears fell, trailing over her deeply lined face and slipping into her silver-white hair.

Long ago, the old woman had understood: the person she waited for could never, ever return in this lifetime.

–

The burnt talisman paper drifted to the ground, its ashes scattering with the wind.

As the caster of the spell, Fu Juan had also glimpsed the entirety of the dream. Yet her face showed not the slightest trace of emotion. The female ghost had only just emerged from the dream, at her absolute weakest moment. Fu Juan didn’t hesitate. She used a spell to disperse the baleful energy, setting to work dispelling the evil, miasmic aura from her body and restoring her original features.

Jiang Yiguang had been wholly absorbed in petting the cat. Suddenly sensing a disturbance in the “Qi Flow,” she spun around abruptly and saw Fu Juan, pale-faced and drenched in cold sweat, casting a spell. Her body was clearly at its absolute limit, yet she recklessly drove the technique further; the churning blood and qi could no longer be suppressed, seeping from every orifice. “Have you gone mad?!” Shaken, Jiang Yiguang’s emotions overpowered her reason. Her hands releasing the cat demon Ah He, she frowned and glared at Fu Juan. Her heart rate skyrocketed.

Clearly, she was so indifferent, so apathetic to everything—then why push herself so desperately? At this moment, she saw within Fu Juan a “sense of fragmentation” and “incongruity” identical to her own.

Fu Juan replied calmly, “I am resolving the problem.”

Jiang Yiguang’s heart sank.

In the original storyline, she was also a “problem” for Fu Juan to resolve, wasn’t she?

A wave of weariness and irritation surged up inexplicably. She raised her eyelids; from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Wang Xuanming’s worried face.

With the male lead right here, why should she butt in and meddle? Did Fu Juan need her concern? Why couldn’t she just maintain peace of mind? Was it only when she didn’t see Fu Juan that she could attain true freedom, body and soul?

She said nothing more, turned, and left.

Wang Xuanming was baffled. He shouted toward that resolutely departing figure, “Hey? Jiang Yiguang?”

Fu Juan kept her head down, silent. Exhaustion and pain swept over her like ocean tides, only to be forcibly suppressed by her iron will.

—

After storming back to the hotel in anger, Jiang Yiguang finally remembered she had accepted a main storyline mission. If she completed this mission, Fate’s manipulation over her would be weakened once again. Having come this far, she couldn’t just abandon it now. But if she had to go back and seek out Fu Juan, she was utterly unwilling. After thinking it over, she cursed out the system internally. On one hand, it seemed useless; without it, she might’ve remained a mediocre, worthless waste. On the other hand, when she genuinely needed it, it always sank into hibernation, offering no help whatsoever—not even willing to disclose the “plot” to her.

The system couldn’t resist. After its beep-beep mechanical sound, it defended itself with a sentence or two.

【Host, you must understand, your future depends on yourself. The system can only show you different paths. The final choice is yours, and how far you can go is also up to you.】

Jiang Yiguang scoffed lightly, then asked, “Then why did you appear? Who made you appear? Are you ultimately here to help me, or to harm me?”

【I will never harm you.】

Jiang Yiguang sneered. “And why should I believe you?”

The system fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject: 【Would the Host like to use the Eternal Space?】

Jiang Yiguang let out a light scoff. She knew she’d get no answers. She stopped badgering the system, gathered her emotions, and entered the Eternal Space with her consciousness. She had originally expected to see one of the 36 Celestial Methods, but when the scroll fully unfurled, what she saw were the four seal-script characters: “Dark Lady Sword Art.” Displayed on the screen was a “sword manual”—legend dictated it was authored by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden. What appeared in the Eternal Space wasn’t fixed; there were talismans like the Evil-Subduing Incantation, techniques like Scatter Beans to Form Soldiers, and now, “swordsmanship.” It was said that one should value mastery over breadth—if she dabbled in a little bit of everything, would she end up accomplishing nothing? Or was the system letting her witness all paths, so she could choose one to truly master?

Jiang Yiguang had no time to ponder further. By the time she emerged from the Eternal Space, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and voiced her speculation to the system.

This time, the system didn’t go silent; it quickly responded.

【If the Host is willing to pursue only a single path, that is also permissible.】

Jiang Yiguang laughed humorlessly.

Could she possibly master everything? Not unless the Eternal Space could be permanently active. After thinking a moment longer, Jiang Yiguang asked, “If I break free from this cursed fate, the system will disappear, right? Then what about the Eternal Space? Will I still be able to use it?”

【It should… be possible?】

The system’s usually flat electronic voice wavered, tinged with a bit of uncertainty.

Jiang Yiguang’s eyes glinted slightly.

So the system and the Eternal Space weren’t actually one entity?

“Then what do I have to do to obtain the Eternal Space?”

The system: 【Please do not reach beyond your grasp, Host.】

Jiang Yiguang: “…” Once she no longer needed the system, sooner or later she would be someone who “burns the bridge after crossing the river” and thoroughly smash it to bits!

That day had thoroughly drained her both mentally and physically.

After washing away her exhaustion, Jiang Yiguang, lying in bed, quickly sank into sweet dreams.

—

Elsewhere, Fu Juan had refused Wang Xuanming’s escort and returned to the hotel alone.

Three little paper dolls slipped out from her sleeve, their faces full of anxiety and concern.

“Little Juan, you’re hurting your body too much like this. You don’t need to push yourself so hard.”

“Yes, this isn’t just your responsibility alone. So many people in the Xuanzhen Dao Court can handle it, right?”

“Your own health is what matters most. If the old master and mistress found out, they’d be heartbroken.”

…

The “old master and mistress” the paper dolls referred to were, of course, Fu Juan’s parents, Zhang Xuanji and her husband.

Fu Juan’s eyes were dark and deep. She said coldly, “They won’t find out.” A moment later, a strange, grotesque smile bloomed on her face. “They were once so full of righteous fervor, not flinching even at death. Am I wrong to learn from their example?”

The little paper dolls froze. Hesitantly, one said, “But your body—”

Fu Juan’s smile didn’t fade. Against her pale cheeks, that smile carried a startling, unsettling eeriness.

She said, “I am not a cripple.”

Her words were a cruel, swift blade, carving open the old wounds of her past herself.