Yu Ruoyin noted down this name and wanted to ask more, but the speaking sister’s face suddenly twisted and distorted. Another woman’s face slowly emerged, somewhat blurry, yet clearly showing no resemblance to the sister.
After that face appeared, the sister’s voice changed. Yu Ruoyin and the others heard a clear, crisp female voice: ‘Gou Nanchun… take her to find Gou Nanchun.’
That face appeared hastily and vanished just as quickly, but the message it brought was crucial.
She said to take her to find Gou Nanchun.
This ‘her’ should refer to this sister, while Gou Nanchun was someone else.
Yu Ruoyin pondered silently. Lu Qingzhen suddenly strode quickly toward the twin sister. “You…”
She walked faster and faster, even showing a hint of anxiety. Only when she grasped the sister’s wrist and pressed the nether token into her palm did she cry out in surprise. “You’re not a ghost!”
Not a ghost? Then what was she?
Yu Ruoyin and Zhuang Ciyue both followed curiously. The three of them surrounded the twin sister. Yu Ruoyin examined her closely and indeed noticed differences from before. After the twin sister and that phantom fully vanished, her spirit body became more solid. The luo skirt she wore gradually mended back to pristine condition, revealing her true appearance.
Her pupils were no longer the pale green of a ghost, nor the scarlet red of a malevolent spirit. Instead, they held a light pink hue, an exceedingly beautiful color—like spring flower buds in summer, shy yet on the verge of blooming in their most splendid form.
With the arrival of those pink eyes, her features changed as well.
No longer exuding deathly pallor, she retained the same look but now appeared pure and lively, like an elf.
She truly did not seem like a ghost.
Yu Ruoyin was curious, and Zhuang Ciyue was equally so. “Lu Yin Official, if she’s not a ghost, then what is she? She clearly had ghost qi on her earlier.”
“A spirit.” Lu Qingzhen eyed the sister strangely and tugged at the sleeve of her luo skirt. Seeing little reaction, she continued, “Setting aside guardian soul spirits, those fake spirits manufactured by the Netherworld, true spirits are far rarer than demons or ghosts. They’re not common, nor as easy to identify as ghosts or demons. Demons have kin, but no two spirits in this world are alike—their differences in temperament and powers are vast, with few similarities.”
“Though Xia Yu and her sisters of the Four Spirits originated from the same source, their powers differ starkly, and their personalities are worlds apart. Spring’s core power is wind and rebirth, summer’s is fire and good fortune, autumn’s is rain and purification, winter’s is snow and beautiful dreams. Though all possess natural forces and blessing powers simultaneously, their powers are entirely distinct, and moreover…”
Zhuang Ciyue suddenly grabbed Lu Qingzhen and glanced stealthily at Xia Yu, who leaned against the counter drinking. She lowered her voice. “Lu Yin Official, are you saying she can bring good luck to people?”
“It’s outrageous, right!” Lu Qingzhen shot a disdainful glance at Xia Yu, then turned back to Zhuang Ciyue. “They are the guardian spirits of the four seasons, each with the power to bless life. Though I hate to admit it, Xia Yu truly can bestow good fortune upon lives.”
“Does Lady Xia really bless lives?”
“Of course not.” Lu Qingzhen answered categorically, her face full of regret. “What a waste of such a great power.”
Yu Ruoyin instinctively glanced toward Xia Yu. She seemed a bit drunk and had not heard their conversation; she merely drank faster and faster.
She stopped Lu Qingzhen, who was about to sigh more. “Sister Qingzhen, you still haven’t answered Sister Yue’s question.”
Yu Ruoyin steered Lu Qingzhen back to the topic. Lu Qingzhen pointed at the sister and continued, “Spirits are inherently spirit bodies, similar to souls. The biggest difference is ghost qi. The reason she had ghost qi was likely because she was tainted by the aura of the dead, and that remnant soul consciousness clung to her spirit body. She even lent her power to that remnant soul consciousness, creating the illusion.”
That meant there were no twin sisters at all. Both the sister and the elder sister were splits from this spirit herself.
This also explained why the elder sister could not speak—power could be divided, but the dominant consciousness could not.
The remnant soul consciousness could only convey fragmented words, and even that required a trigger.
“Lu Yin Official, why does she look so silly and dazed?” Zhuang Ciyue pointed at the spirit. “She seems to lack intelligence.”
Indeed.
When she had been the twin sister, she spoke a bit more.
After her spirit body fully merged, she barely spoke. Her eyes always fixed on one spot without moving. Her features were pure and lively, yet her expression was vacant—as if she had lost her wits or been bewitched.
The question went to Lu Qingzhen, who fortunately loved to talk and did not speak nonsense.
She knew these matters well.
Lu Qingzhen steadied the spirit’s shoulder and pressed the nether token to her forehead. As light pink glow emerged, wisps of pink mist floated from between the spirit’s brows. The mist gathered above her head, gradually forming two characters: “Nan He.” Once the mist coalesced, Lu Qingzhen withdrew the nether token. “Most spirits are born from blessings and graces, innately possessing great power and bearing the duty of guardianship from birth. This duty becomes a contract weighing upon them, especially for those born from worship, guarding individuals or families—their contracts are particularly stringent. Only after the master’s death, when the contract lifts, can they truly be free. If the master dies and they fail to lift the contract in time, their intelligence dissipates bit by bit until they lose their wits entirely and scatter.”
Lu Qingzhen pointed at the pink mist. “Nan He is written on her contract seal—that is her true name.”
“Is lifting the contract difficult?”
“Not difficult.” Lu Qingzhen shook her head. With a wave of her hand, the pink mist dispersed. “The contract between a guardian spirit and her master is the closest to equality. Once the master dies, the spirit can lift it automatically. I can’t fathom how she ended up like this.”
Zhuang Ciyue said, “What’s hard to understand? Her master died, and she didn’t lift the contract.”
Yu Ruoyin asked, “Sister Yue, are you saying she’s self-destructing?”
“Yes!”
Self-destruction.
It was possible.
If she truly self-destructed, her bond with her master must have been deep.
Her master? Gou Nanchun?
Then… whose was that remnant soul consciousness? Gou Nanchun’s?
Lu Qingzhen hooked her arm around Yu Ruoyin’s shoulder and looked at Nan He with her. “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, her mind is incomplete—she has no idea what she wants. You’d best not take this deal.”
“Do we have no way to lift the contract?”
“Only the spirit herself or her master can undo a spirit contract.”
Lu Qingzhen shook her shoulder gently. “Give up. Give up.”
Yu Ruoyin looked at Lu Qingzhen and shook her head firmly. “No, I have to help her.”
“Xiao Yu classmate, kindness is a virtue, but excessive kindness…”
Yu Ruoyin interrupted Lu Qingzhen. “Sister Qingzhen, Auntie Ning said I must help her.”
Jiang Huaining’s words proved effective. Lu Qingzhen fell silent at once and asked skeptically, “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Lu Qingzhen could not understand. “If Boss Jiang forcibly lifts the spirit contract, it would only harm her, with no benefits, and moreover…”
She glanced toward Xia Yu again, eyes full of wariness.
Yu Ruoyin understood immediately. Lu Qingzhen feared that helping Nan He would drain Jiang Huaining like helping Sang Xi had, so she did not want Yu Ruoyin involved.
Yu Ruoyin did not want to get involved either, but since Jiang Huaining instructed her to do so, there must be a reason.
Out of trust in Jiang Huaining, she had to persist.
Zhuang Ciyue was equally puzzled. “Could this spirit have an unusual background?”
“Unlikely.” Yu Ruoyin shook her head. “They all came to me on their own.”
Lu Qingzhen gripped Yu Ruoyin’s wrist tightly. “Xiao Yu, you mean they were all drawn to you?”
“Yes.”
“Oh!” Zhuang Ciyue’s eyes lit up. “Then do they have some connection to you? I heard from Great-Aunt that in our line of work, the hardest thing to escape is fate. Though it’s said that when people die, the lamp goes out and old grudges are wiped clean, once you dabble in yin-yang matters, past life’s karmic debts come knocking in this one. Xiao Yu, could you be her master?”
Yu Ruoyin looked deeply at Nan He. She felt no familiarity with her.
By Zhuang Ciyue’s logic, Yu Ruoyin felt a past connection with Sang Xi was more likely.
Lu Qingzhen knocked Zhuang Ciyue hard on the head. “Your great-aunt is wrong. Any soul that passes through the reincarnation realm has already been judged by the Netherworld for past grudges and enmities—what more is there to repay?”
“Romantic debts, duh.” Zhuang Ciyue said carelessly. “The Netherworld’s judgments might not cover everything.”
Lu Qingzhen tsked twice at her carefree, sloppy demeanor. “It’s no wonder Ruoyan looks down on you—the Netherworld’s rules mean more to her than the heavens.”
Mentioning Xing Ruoyan darkened Zhuang Ciyue’s face.
Lu Qingzhen patted her. “Take Xiao Yu to the Ghost Market. I’ll head back to the Netherworld to check on Gou Nanchun.”
“That won’t be easy to investigate.”
“Plenty of people named Gou Nanchun, but few with a guardian spirit.”
“Alright.” Zhuang Ciyue agreed readily, then realized. “My bone brush broke—I can’t take Xiao Yu to the Ghost Market. It’s so dangerous; if something happens to Xiao Yu… We’ll wait here for you to return. We can’t check Gou Nanchun at the Ghost Market anyway.”
Lu Qingzhen rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Who said to go to the Ghost Market for Gou Nanchun? I’m telling you to take Xiao Yu classmate to buy things Painting Witches need.”
“Huh?”
Not just Zhuang Ciyue—Yu Ruoyin was surprised too.
Lu Qingzhen pointed at Yu Ruoyin’s Painting Witch Secret Manual and handed her a black jade token. “Weren’t you going to become a Painting Witch?”
Before Yu Ruoyin could reach for the token, the long-silent Xia Yu spoke up. “Hey! The Four Spirits Shop isn’t so poor that its boss lady needs outsiders to provide for her.”
Xia Yu’s hand shook, tossing over a red jade token.
Yu Ruoyin had not even reached out when the token flew into her hand.
