No matter how much her heart ached, she could not change what had already transpired.
The images upon the massive screen continued to play…
For the next few days, Luo Wushuang was uncharacteristically quiet.
Every day, she would lie along the path that new souls were forced to take when entering the Underworld, chewing idly on the stem of an Equinox Flower. This way, the moment her sister appeared, she would be the first to see her.
She waited for another five or six days.
Just as Luo Wushuang’s patience was beginning to fray, the Black and White Messengers approached, leading a soul with extreme caution.
The moment she saw her sister’s soul, Luo Wushuang’s eyes lit up. “Sister!” she cried out instinctively.
Spitting the flower stem from her mouth, she ran toward them with joy.
However, her happiness lasted only a fleeting moment. Once she saw the state of the soul, the smile froze on her face.
Shangguan Liqian’s soul looked vacant and dazed. Her entire being was muddled and confused; worse yet, her spiritual form had become nearly translucent.
Luo Wushuang’s call failed to elicit even the slightest reaction.
“Why is she like this?” Luo Wushuang felt a chill in her heart as she demanded an answer.
The soul-reaping Envoys took a step back, explaining carefully, “Miss Shangguan remained in the mortal realm for too long. Two of her three souls are missing, and her seven mortal spirits have begun to dissipate. We fear… she will soon vanish entirely.”
Vanish? What did they mean, vanish? Sister was already a ghost; if she vanished now, where was Luo Wushuang supposed to find her?
A colossal wave of terror engulfed Luo Wushuang, and her face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Just as she was falling into despair, Granny Meng—who should have been at the Bridge of Helplessness brewing her soup—suddenly appeared behind her.
“There is one way to recover Miss Shangguan’s missing souls and spirits,” Granny Meng said in a hollow voice.
Luo Wushuang spun around, her eyes burning with an intense, piercing light. She stared fixedly at the old woman and asked in a hoarse voice, “What is it?”
Her voice trembled so violently she could barely form the sentence. She looked like a drowning woman catching hold of a final straw.
Granny Meng sighed, her gaze seeming to look through Luo Wushuang at someone from the distant past. After a long silence, she spoke slowly.
“Cross the Yellow Springs and wade through the River of Forgetfulness. You must search for the soul fragments scattered within those waters. However…”
“However what?” Luo Wushuang pressed impatiently.
“However, the River of Forgetfulness is exceptionally treacherous. Countless vengeful spirits dwell within. One careless step and you will be lost in the depths forever, never to return.”
Or rather, the chances of returning were one in ten thousand.
Luo Wushuang showed no sign of fear or hesitation. Her eyes were filled only with the hope of finding the rest of her sister’s soul.
Suppressing the agitation in her heart, she declared, “I will go!”
As if she had already anticipated this choice, a flicker of helplessness crossed Granny Meng’s eyes. After a moment of thought, she said, “Your Majesty may leave Miss Shangguan here for us to look after. You should go alone to search for the fragments.”
Doing so would ensure the search wasn’t delayed while keeping Shangguan Liqian safe—a perfect solution.
Beside them, the Envoys nodded in frantic agreement. The River of Forgetfulness was dangerous enough on its own; if she insisted on carrying another person, the difficulty would be absolute.
The spirits all assumed Luo Wushuang would temporarily hand Shangguan Liqian over to them.
But after a brief moment of reflection, Luo Wushuang refused.
“Thank you, Granny Meng, but I will carry Sister on my back while I search!”
In her sister’s current state, Luo Wushuang didn’t trust anyone—especially not these people who had already deceived her several times.
Granny Meng was caught off guard by the Empress’s sudden politeness, but seeing her insist on bringing a soul that was on the verge of fading, the old woman shook her head helplessly.
“You foolish girl,” she sighed.
She reached into her robes and produced a shimmering Soul-Protecting Jade Pendant, handing it to Luo Wushuang. “This jade can help your sister’s soul temporarily resist the erosion of the malicious spirits in the river. Whatever happens next depends on your own fates.”
Luo Wushuang took the jade and offered her thanks before carefully hanging the pendant beside Shangguan Liqian’s soul.
Then, she gently hoisted the soul onto her back. With a look of grim determination, she walked toward the River of Forgetfulness.
In the Nether Realm, the Road to the Yellow Springs led directly to the Bridge of Helplessness.
The bridge spanned the River of Forgetfulness, where dark green waves churned and roiled. Faint, agonizing shrieks echoed from the depths of the water.
Upon the bridge stood cold, indifferent ghost guards. They escorted the deceased, forcing them into a line to receive soup from Granny Meng.
Occasionally, a soul would cause a disturbance. Without a word of mercy, the guards would spear them and toss them into the turbulent river.
Following a cry of pain and despair, those souls would transform into malicious spirits within moments, sinking to the bottom to become part of the horde that blocked anyone attempting to pass through the waters.
Luo Wushuang ignored the churning water and the wailing spirits. She resolutely stepped into the River of Forgetfulness with her sister on her back.
The moment she entered, bone-chilling water enveloped them. The wails of countless vengeful ghosts rang in her ears.
Watching through the giant screen, Shangguan Liqian saw those vengeful spirits reaching out, trying to grab them and drag them down into the depths.
Luo Wushuang remained expressionless. She drew the Imperial Sword from her waist and swung it again and again, cleaving through the malicious spirits that blocked her path.
With every movement, a thick, ink-like black mist rose around her, filled with the cries of a thousand wraiths.
Luo Wushuang was deaf to it all. She focused entirely on searching the water.
As they ventured deeper into the river, the current grew swifter, and the corrosive power of the malicious spirits intensified. Luo Wushuang gritted her teeth, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Yet her gaze remained steadfast. Carrying her sister, she struggled forward through the treacherous currents.
All for the sake of finding those remaining soul fragments.
As for the Shangguan Liqian being carried so carefully, she remained largely unaffected thanks to the protection of the jade pendant.
Luo Wushuang occasionally glanced back at the soul on her back. A trace of morbid, obsessive joy flashed in her phoenix eyes.
Sister was hers, in life or in death.
She would gather her sister’s fragments one by one from this river and piece them back together until she had a whole sister again—one who could cry and smile.
Luo Wushuang stumbled with every step, yet the light in her eyes was blindingly bright.
There is a piece here, and another over there. They are all Sister…
Though the piercing chill of the river was almost unbearable, the thought that she had already recovered most of her sister filled Luo Wushuang with uncontrollable joy.
She endured the scouring force of the river, moving forward one step at a time.
She did not know how long she had been walking. She had found many fragments, but it was still not enough.
Her sister’s soul had become much more solid, yet her eyes remained vacant.
She had to keep looking. She had to keep searching…
Liqian really underestimated all of the things Wushuang did for her