As Xing Ruoyan held the umbrella for He Meijie, she said, ‘My lord, to speak of the formidable ones, there is indeed one particularly impressive… but…’
She trailed off, piquing even Yu Ruoyin’s curiosity enough to glance back.
Seeing Yu Ruoyin’s interest, Jiang Huaining asked, ‘What is it?’
Xing Ruoyan sighed. ‘That child is from the Painting Witch lineage.’
Yu Ruoyin did not understand what a Painting Witch was, but upon hearing it was a Painting Witch heir, Jiang Huaining’s expression flickered with a momentary reluctance.
Before she could ask, two people suddenly ran toward them from ahead.
They looked terrified, scrambling in panic. They fell to the ground but dared not pause, immediately crawling up to flee onward while shrieking, ‘It eats—it eats people!’
‘Not good.’
Xing Ruoyan shoved the Black Umbrella into Yu Ruoyin’s hands and charged toward the two.
Yu Ruoyin took the Black Umbrella and noticed how exceptionally cool it was underneath; not a ray of sunlight penetrated.
Jiang Huaining was an honest merchant who would protect He Meijie’s soul until the deal was done. Yu Ruoyin glanced at He Meijie, who had sidled up to her and cautiously shrunk under the umbrella, then turned her gaze back to Xing Ruoyan.
She knew that without the umbrella, He Meijie’s soul would be scorched; otherwise, she would not fear it so.
But she was no longer as angry now.
After realizing Jiang Huaining schemed every step—even her business with He Meijie was to stand up for her—her towering rage had long dissipated.
He Meijie had died inexplicably and still did not know who the killer was.
She was also a pitiful ghost.
Xing Ruoyan moved very quickly. She appeared behind the two women in an instant and patted each of them on the back. Both fainted at the same time.
The spot where they stood was right at the entrance to an alley.
Xing Ruoyan reached out and caught the two, hoisting them to the wall and letting them lean against it as they sat.
‘Their life souls were scared away.’ Xing Ruoyan’s expression grew slightly grave. She took out a nether token and tapped each of their foreheads, then stood up hurriedly. ‘My Lord, could we head over there first? I’m afraid they might cause trouble.’
Yu Ruoyin pointed at the two girls. ‘What about them?’
‘The yin messengers under me will come pick them up and help them find their souls.’
While Yu Ruoyin and Xing Ruoyan talked, Jiang Huaining pulled out her jade token and checked it again. ‘Let’s go. Xia Yu and the others are there too.’
‘Lady Xia is there too, so why didn’t she stop…’ Xing Ruoyan trailed off, her voice fading. She laughed helplessly. ‘I forgot. That’s Lady Xia, not Lady Qiu.’
Jiang Huaining had told Yu Ruoyin that Qiu Luo was easy to get along with, and Lu Qingzhen had said she preferred Qiu Luo as well.
Now even Xing Ruoyan showed a regretful expression that Xia Yu was not Qiu Luo at this moment, which piqued Yu Ruoyin’s curiosity about Qiu Luo to the extreme.
‘Yin Messenger Xing, what kind of spirit is Qiu Luo?’
‘Hasn’t My Lord said?’ Xing Ruoyan asked. Seeing that Jiang Huaining did not stop her, she answered Yu Ruoyin. ‘Lady Qiu Luo is the most approachable spirit in the Four Spirits Shop. She has the warmest heart and is the best spirit.’
Only after she spoke did she realize something was off and hurried to correct herself. ‘My Lord, I didn’t mean you’re not good.’
Jiang Huaining did not mind. ‘You’re right. Qiu Luo does have a better heart than us.’
‘My Lord, that’s not…’
Xing Ruoyan hurriedly explained, and from her flustered words, Yu Ruoyin gained a deeper understanding of the Four Spirits Shop employees. Jiang Huaining was a true businesswoman. She helped the Netherworld most of the time because customers came to her begging for it. Of course, if the Netherworld truly had a problem and Lu Qingzhen asked, she would help too.
This could not really be blamed on Jiang Huaining. It was due to the bigger picture.
The leaders of all sides hoped the Four Spirits Shop people would not leave the shop easily. Their power was too terrifying. If they were too active in the yin-yang realms, it would easily stir memories in some elders, reminding people of that dark era and causing panic among the newcomers.
In the outside legends, the Four Spirits Shop employees’ power was already close to that of gods and spirits. If they showed it too often, it would confirm the legends.
What the yin-yang realms needed least now was gods and spirits. Such powerful forces would either cause endless panic or face blind worship, even demands. This was not friendly to the gradually stabilizing three-way balance rules. Worse, some might propose destroying and sharing that power.
None of this was what the Nether King hoped to see.
Jiang Huaining herself did not want to see it either, so she confined that power to a completely independent space. Using power only within that independent space was the safest way.
Yu Ruoyin asked curiously, ‘Does that mean the Four Spirits really have the power of gods and spirits?’
‘None of us have seen gods, so no one knows how powerful gods truly are.’ Xing Ruoyan deliberately lowered her voice. ‘In legends, controlling the four seasons and mastering natural forces is what gods do. But as spirits go, the Four Spirits’ power is indeed excessively strong.’
Xing Ruoyan was a yin messenger in Chong City.
The Four Spirits Shop’s employee passage was on Grand Domain Street in Chong City. She was the Netherworld yin ghost who dealt with Lu Qingzhen and the Four Spirits Shop the most, aside from her.
Xing Ruoyan had it much easier when she encountered autumn because Qiu Luo would come out to help.
Qiu Luo was a warm-hearted good spirit. Even in business, she did not like taking from others.
But the one thing the Four Spirits Shop could not do was loss-making business. Once they started giving things for free, more and more people would want their wishes fulfilled without cost, especially some old demons they dealt with often. Whether Jiang Huaining agreed or not, it would be wrong. There had to be an exorbitant price so that only those willing to risk their lives would pursue their wishes.
Truth be told, Qiu Luo was not suited for minding the shop. She often overflowed with sympathy.
She was happy to help people exorcise ghosts and catch demons, and Jiang Huaining would not stop her as long as she did not expose her identity.
With her help, the yin messengers could slack off more, so Xing Ruoyan and Lu Qingzhen liked her the most.
This made it even more wrong.
Yu Ruoyin grew more confused the more she heard. ‘Isn’t she a spirit? Wouldn’t using spirit power expose her strength?’
‘Lady Qiu Luo doesn’t usually use spirit power.’ Mentioning Qiu Luo brought a smile to Xing Ruoyan’s face. ‘She knows Buddhism and is proficient in many Taoist arts. She looks more like a sorcerer. Xiao He has learned some from her too..’
A spirit using Taoist arts? Using Buddhism?
A strange feeling welled up in Yu Ruoyin’s heart. She shot Jiang Huaining a puzzled look.
Jiang Huaining’s tone was flat. ‘She has good fate.’
The words sounded familiar. Xia Yu had said something similar not long ago.
Yu Ruoyin subconsciously repeated what Lu Qingzhen had said back then. ‘Don’t all Four Spirits have the same fate pattern?’
When Jiang Huaining looked over again, her eyes held too many emotions Yu Ruoyin could not read.
She did not explain. She just said, ‘Same fate pattern, but everyone’s experiences differ.’
‘Qiu Luo…’ A flash of envy passed through Jiang Huaining’s eyes. ‘She’s a bit different.’
She refused to say exactly how she was different.
Xing Ruoyan could not answer what even Lu Qingzhen found puzzling.
Among the Four Spirits, aside from Qiu Luo, the next most approachable was Dong Yan.
Dong Yan obeyed Jiang Huaining the most. If Jiang Huaining said go east, she would never go west. Her heart was also relatively soft. As long as someone asked her, she would always lend a hand.
Dong Yan had one obvious flaw: she loved to cry.
Of course, compared to spring and summer, that hardly counted as a flaw.
Chun Chen was mute and very cold toward them yin messengers. She only stayed in the Four Spirits Shop.
Xia Yu was a drunkard who cared for nothing but alcohol. Even if everyone in Chong City died, she might not show up.
Unexpectedly, in the category of obeying Jiang Huaining, there was one who outdid her.
She had just sworn to obey Jiang Huaining, so Yu Ruoyin immediately spoke up. ‘Pretty wife, I’ll be more obedient than Dong Yan!’
Jiang Huaining covered her mouth and said seriously, ‘A’yin, I don’t need you to be that obedient.’
‘Why?’
Jiang Huaining swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and said coldly, ‘Don’t ask.’
Don’t.
Perhaps Jiang Huaining had been too good to her these past few days, making this ‘don’t’ the heaviest words.
Yu Ruoyin bit her lip and rubbed her fingers. ‘Auntie Ning, I got it.’
Jiang Huaining had already grown used to her calling her ‘pretty wife’ when happy and ‘Auntie’ when not.
She minded it at first, but now she was accustomed.
Yu Ruoyin was still too young. All her little thoughts showed on her face.
That blatant anger—she had seen it.
She should coax Yu Ruoyin, but…
Jiang Huaining pretended the topic was over. She handed the black umbrella back to Xing Ruoyan and led Yu Ruoyin forward without a word.
As they drew nearer to the red wall, He Meijie’s aura grew weaker and weaker.
Something ahead seemed to restrain her. Yu Ruoyin noticed a faint glow flickering at the back of her neck.
Jiang Huaining noticed it too. She raised her hand and lightly patted the back of He Meijie’s neck. A dark red mark floated up.
The instant she saw the mark clearly, surprise flashed in Xing Ruoyan’s eyes. ‘Ghost slave seal? Isn’t that usually on paper persons?’
This was another blind spot in Yu Ruoyin’s knowledge.
At times like this, Jiang Huaining explained without her asking. ‘Living people burn ghost money, incense, and candles to commemorate the dead. Some also burn paper persons to serve their ancestors. But some souls were weak in life, and those sacrificing to them worry they can’t control the paper persons, so they created the ghost slave seal. Write the soul’s birth details and name on paper, stick it on the paper person, and once burned with yang fire, the paper turns into a ghost slave seal, ensuring the paper person obeys the soul forever in the underworld.’
‘But… He Meijie isn’t a paper person.’
‘Right, she’s not.’
Jiang Huaining pressed two fingers to the back of He Meijie’s neck and pinched hard. The mark embedded in her skin was forcibly yanked out.
She then gently crushed it, and the mark shattered to dust at her fingertips. ‘You couldn’t approach Tong Sangqian not because you’re too weak, but because your master wouldn’t let you near her.’
‘My… master?’
‘Yes. Someone probably used the ghost slave seal to suppress your soul, keeping it from seeing Tong Sangqian.’
He Meijie touched the back of her neck in disbelief. ‘Who… who could it be?’
Xing Ruoyan tilted the black umbrella she held toward He Meijie slightly. ‘Let’s go. The truth is ahead.’
—
After Jiang Huaining crushed the ghost slave seal, their path to the barrier grew much smoother.
He Meijie showed no further adverse reactions. With the black umbrella’s protection, her soul even grew more solid.
This umbrella seemed like a treasure too.
Yu Ruoyin spent the rest of the way studying the black umbrella. Only when Jiang Huaining called her name at the barrier’s edge did she snap back.
The barrier did not look large from outside—just the size of a square room—but it was very tall.
The red wall’s height stretched beyond sight. Yu Ruoyin found it novel and looked a few extra times.
Suddenly, a force surged from inside. Invisible ropes instantly seized her hands and feet, yanking her toward the barrier. In panic, Yu Ruoyin reached out for salvation. ‘Auntie Ning!’
