She rubbed her hands, uncharacteristically nervous. “I do not mean it is bad. I just think living like that must be exhausting.”
Yu Ruoyin did not argue. “I… I will change.”
Zhuang Ciyue stared at Yu Ruoyin intently and said with certainty, “Xiao Yu, you have something on your mind?”
“No, nothing.”
Her denial came too quick. Zhuang Ciyue sighed faintly. “Were you not going to change?”
Another long silence followed.
She still could not voice all her inner doubts, but facing someone who cared so much made it hard to keep lying. “Yue-jie, next time.”
Zhuang Ciyue would not drop it when a red shadow suddenly appeared in the Ghost Market.
The red shadow closed the distance at extreme speed. It was a woman in a red robe wearing a blood-red mask.
The blood color made her skin look deathly pale and eerie. She carried a lantern with ghostly blue flames that cast an even stranger glow on her face. Instinct told Yu Ruoyin she was not human.
Yu Ruoyin noticed a token at her waist similar to Xing Ruoyan’s.
She had just guessed the identity of the newcomer when Zhuang Ciyue already shouted, “Yin general! You’re a ghost general, aren’t you?”
Yin generals were divided into generals, vanguard, and ordinary yin soldiers. The ghost before them was a general.
No wonder she wasn’t afraid of the Buddhist incantation. She sensed the Buddhist incantation still drawing closer to them.
The ghost general didn’t answer Zhuang Ciyue. She approached them with a forceful posture. Ghostly qi coiled around her body as it pressed against the protective barrier. The golden Buddhist patterns instantly turned into chains that bound her four limbs. The golden light trembled as strands of golden fire began burning from her neck and right arm. The flames soon spread across her entire body.
Yet she didn’t stop. She continued forward.
The chains binding her snapped one by one. Traces of damage appeared on her robes.
Yu Ruoyin didn’t want to offend the yin general and quickly called out, “Nan He.”
Nan He hurriedly withdrew the protective barrier. The shattered chains vanished without a trace.
The ghost general lightly patted her robes, and the tattered red robe immediately restored itself.
She still didn’t speak. She walked step by step up to Nan He. “Spirit?”
She reached out to remove Nan He’s hat but pulled back sharply before touching it. A low, raspy voice emerged from her throat. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Nan He blankly tugged at the sleeves of her black robe and stood motionless.
Yu Ruoyin feared the yin general and took the initiative to speak up. “General, we didn’t mean to linger here. We lost track of time and got trapped.”
“Go.” From the lantern the ghost general carried flew strands of deep-blue yin threads that wrapped around Yu Ruoyin and the other two. “I’ll send you out.”
She turned and walked ahead. The yin threads pulled the three along in her footsteps.
They had only taken two steps when a strand of golden fire drifted from the Red Jade Fruit and burned through the yin threads.
Yu Ruoyin stopped. She noticed a flash of golden light on Nan He’s wrist, and the yin thread linked to her snapped as well.
In the end, the ghost general’s yin threads only held Zhuang Ciyue.
The ghost general didn’t turn back. Two more yin threads flew from the lantern. “If you want to leave, don’t resist my power.”
Zhuang Ciyue turned her head and saw the broken yin threads on them. She widened her eyes in shock. “Xiao Yu, Nan He aside, how did you break free of the yin qi? This general’s power is very strong.”
“No, it wasn’t me.”
She told the truth, but Zhuang Ciyue misunderstood. “Nan He, why did you undo the yin qi for Xiao Yu and not me? Playing favorites!”
Nan He didn’t answer her. She reached out and hooked the yin thread, letting it wrap around her wrist again.
Yu Ruoyin followed her example and let the yin thread coil around her as she walked forward with the ghost general while talking to Zhuang Ciyue. “Sister Yue, is this general very powerful?”
“A yin general appearing here at this hour must be chasing Netherworld abominations. If she weren’t strong, she wouldn’t dare come. She might even be one of the Ten Great Ghost Generals. Though yin messengers and yin generals are similar in rank, yin messengers have a high casualty rate and don’t live as long on average. In terms of strength, yin generals are superior—especially the selected Ten Great Ghost Generals, each at the level of a top yin messenger.”
“That’s what they say, but I still think being a yin messenger is better. They die a lot, sure, but they’re free. They can travel freely between the yang world and yin world. Yin generals can’t come to the yang world easily without the Nether King’s orders, or they’ll be punished. If I died, I’d definitely go be a yin messenger—though that’s not up to me. I heard the Netherworld selects ghosts based on fate. Those with heavy yin fate stay in the Netherworld, while those with heavy yang fate compete for yin messenger spots. They say you can apply based on personal preference, but very few succeed. After all, it concerns ghost power growth.”
“…”
Zhuang Ciyue seemed to forget the ghost general was walking ahead and freely vented her dislike for the yin general profession.
“Sister Yue.”
Yu Ruoyin called out. Zhuang Ciyue then realized her slip.
She coughed twice sharply, her face full of regret.
Yu Ruoyin quickly apologized to the ghost general on her behalf. “My lord, sorry, she didn’t mean…”
“No need to apologize. She’s right.” The expression under the ghost general’s mask was inscrutable. Her cold, ethereal voice didn’t sound like a joke. “I think yin messengers are freer too.”
With the ghost general’s lead, they successfully exited the Ghost Market without the ghost gate fully closed.
Outside the Ghost Market was different from when they arrived. Layer upon layer of golden mist covered the original yin fog. The dazzling golden light dazzled their vision.
Yu Ruoyin’s eyes blurred. Before she could react, her body suddenly fell into a warm embrace.
She instinctively struggled but suddenly heard someone call her. “A’Yin.”
Jiang Huaining!
Jiang Huaining’s voice.
Yu Ruoyin’s vision hadn’t recovered yet. She subconsciously reached out to touch the person holding her—a slender waist, a familiar fragrance.
Her nose twitched lightly along the scent, tracing it to the crook of the neck where it was strongest.
Her nose tip brushed lightly against the crook. She felt soft, supple skin and a slight tremble.
She was certain now. The one holding her was Jiang Huaining.
Yu Ruoyin couldn’t help but hug Jiang Huaining back, burying her head in the crook of her neck.
Warmth enveloped her. The heat dispelled all the cold, soothed her restlessness, and gradually calmed her chaotic heart.
This was her pillar.
“My lord, I missed you so much.”
With an outlet for her emotions, Yu Ruoyin realized she relied on her even more than Nan He did.
She couldn’t see Jiang Huaining’s expression, but she felt Jiang Huaining hug her tighter.
Jiang Huaining must have missed her too.
The voices around her ears were noisy. Yu Ruoyin couldn’t make them out clearly, only catching bits of argument.
Suddenly, one voice rang clear—the ghost general’s. “Lord Jiang, are you trying to smash our Ghost Market?”
Her vision slowly recovered, and she finally saw the situation clearly.
The golden mist hadn’t appeared from nowhere. It emanated from Jiang Huaining’s body—not intentionally, but now surging wildly toward the closed Ghost Market. The ghost general standing in the golden mist was wrapped head to toe in golden fire. The damage to her red robe was far worse than when she met Nan He, and even her skin bore burn marks.
Not just her—Xia Yu too.
Golden chains coiled around Xia Yu.
The chains had barbs that pierced her skin. Blood mixed with flames seeped from the wounds, igniting the entire chain.
Lu Qingzhen had returned from the Netherworld and now stood by Xia Yu’s side, guarding her.
Xia Yu looked weakened, but her aura hadn’t diminished at all.
She looked toward Jiang Huaining and spoke to Lu Qingzhen. “Still think I’m crazy? Take another look now—who’s crazier, Jiang Huaining or me?”
Lu Qingzhen didn’t speak, but the respect in her eyes when looking at Jiang Huaining was gone, replaced by complexity.
She took a deep breath. “Boss Jiang, Xiao Yu and the others are out.”
Jiang Huaining didn’t speak. She clenched her hand, and the golden mist shrouding the Ghost Market dispersed.
Her lips instantly paled. The strength in her arms holding Yu Ruoyin weakened, and she suddenly slumped. Yu Ruoyin caught her in time, preventing her fall.
Jiang Huaining gripped Yu Ruoyin’s wrist and tilted her head. A sweet, metallic taste surged in her throat as she spat out two mouthfuls of blood.
The blood’s color was odd—gold mixed with red—but still shocking.
Yu Ruoyin’s body stiffened. Her arms trembled as she held Jiang Huaining. “M-my lord!”
She was afraid.
Afraid something had happened to Jiang Huaining.
Jiang Huaining hadn’t feared anything since seeing her. She gripped Yu Ruoyin’s wrist, golden mist swirling in her eyes. “Did A’Yin just call me ‘my lord’?”
Yu Ruoyin realized too-intense gazes could burn like fire. She dodged instinctively. “Th-they all call you that, don’t they?”
“A’Yin.”
Jiang Huaining coughed lightly, blood flecks drifting out.
Yu Ruoyin held her tightly, supporting her weakened body.
The careful way Yu Ruoyin protected Jiang Huaining caught Xia Yu’s eye. The golden chains around her had dispersed. She leaned on Lu Qingzhen and let out a low chuckle. “Jiang Huaining, you should thank me. Lian Zhen’s demon power can awaken memories. Maybe the little girl saw something too.”
“You did it on purpose!” Lu Qingzhen froze, then pulled away. Seeing Xia Yu’s body slump, she softened and grabbed her arm.
“No, I didn’t tell them to go to Lian Zhen. They went on their own.” Xia Yu wickedly hooked her arm around Lu Qingzhen’s neck and whispered in her ear with a laugh. “A’Zhen, I should thank you—for suggesting she come to the Ghost Market for painting witch materials.”
Lu Qingzhen irritably pinched Xia Yu hard. “What exactly do you want?”
“Lian Zhen’s demon core.” Xia Yu boldly stated her demand. “Half-human, half-demon—a five-thousand-year demon core is so precious…”
“Take her demon core, and she’ll die!”
Lu Qingzhen was furious, but Xia Yu didn’t care. “You don’t want her to die, Jiang Huaining doesn’t want her to die—why not ask if she wants to die?”
“What do you mean?”
“The person she’s looking for—once she finds them, she’ll die.” Xia Yu was badly injured. She and Jiang Huaining were evenly matched in weakness, both barely standing without support, yet her arrogant demeanor unchanged. “That’s why our boss at the Four Spirits Shop never did business with Lian Zhen despite her visits so many times.”
Jiang Huaining leaned on Yu Ruoyin and walked forward, not even bothering to glance at Xia Yu.
“What’s the point of stopping a demon who wants to die?” Blood still flowed from Xia Yu’s wounds, but she showed no sign of stopping. “Are you blaming me? Didn’t you give me hope? The jade puppet’s corpse pill…”
“Xia Yu!” Jiang Huaining cut her off. “You shouldn’t have schemed against A’Yin.”
“I didn’t know they’d spend so much time in the Ghost Market. Lian Zhen failed—how’s that on me? You…”
Jiang Huaining gave her a cold look. “Do you really not know how long it takes to awaken sealed memories?”
Xia Yu fell silent.
Yu Ruoyin didn’t know why things had escalated like this, only that it started with her. “Sorry, I caused trouble again.”
“A’Yin.”
Jiang Huaining stroked the Red Jade Fruit on Yu Ruoyin’s neck, hinting she knew everything that happened. “Abominations differ from ghosts—they’re qi. Once they possess your body, my power won’t recognize your qi anymore. You… cough cough…”
“Don’t abominations only possess dead objects?”
Zhuang Ciyue’s confused voice came over.
She didn’t know, but Yu Ruoyin did. She was dead.
Once an abomination entered her body and Jiang Huaining’s power couldn’t recognize her, her body would shatter like that day—bones fully broken, flesh mixed with torn sinews… complete death.
Jiang Huaining was afraid.
