Mei Jingwan’s words surprised not only Yu Ruoyin but also Nan He. “You… she…”
Her temperament was soft, and when faced with such a matter, she stammered, unable to speak a complete sentence.
Seeing that Mei Jingwan’s gaze toward Yu Ruoyin grew colder and colder, as if she wanted to skin her alive and pull out her bones right then and there, Nan He hurriedly stood in front of Yu Ruoyin.
Nan He turned sideways to shield Yu Ruoyin a bit. “Yin Messenger Mei, you… you mustn’t misunderstand. Xiao Yu really has a wife.”
“A spirit?” Only then did Mei Jingwan notice Nan He. She frowned in disgust. “To think a spirit would get involved in such filthy business. Whose guardian spirit are you? Or has your master died, leaving you without discipline?”
Yu Ruoyin had previously thought Xing Ruoyan’s words were harsh, but compared to this yin messenger, Xing Ruoyan was far better.
When Xing Ruoyan’s temper didn’t flare up, she was actually quite easy to get along with.
Yu Ruoyin vaguely recalled Xia Yu saying that the Yin City yin messengers had pursued Lu Qingzhen, and Lu Qingzhen disliked that Yin City yin messenger, which was why she hadn’t wanted to travel with them to Yin City. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was this very Mei Jingwan before her.
As she thought of this, she couldn’t help but give Mei Jingwan a couple more glances.
This gave Mei Jingwan even more room to vent. “Heh, as expected, birds of a feather.”
Yu Ruoyin could only steel herself and repeat, “Yin Messenger Mei, I really already have a wife.”
Mei Jingwan sneered repeatedly, clearly still thinking she was lying.
“Since you say you have one, is she prettier than me?”
“Of course she is!”
Yu Ruoyin wasn’t a ghost, but facing a Netherworld ghost like this, she still felt her momentum weaken by a third involuntarily.
Thinking of Jiang Huaining suddenly gave her confidence.
The sentence she said to Mei Jingwan rang out the loudest.
“Heh.”
Yu Ruoyin spoke the truth, but Mei Jingwan didn’t believe her and only sneered coldly.
Mei Jingwan was convinced she was lying and mocked her falsehood.
She apparently didn’t think such a Yu Ruoyin could find a beautiful wife.
Yu Ruoyin’s sensitive nerves were plucked. She lost her composure. “Are you mocking me? What right do you have to mock me? My wife is beautiful, a million times more beautiful than you. If you’re not convinced, then swallow it. We’re here to save you, not to listen to your nonsense!”
Nan He tugged at her. “Xiao Yu, we… we still need to destroy the altar. This isn’t the time to argue.”
Yu Ruoyin knew her retort made her seem childish and ridiculous, but right now, she couldn’t control herself.
Why?
She didn’t even know her wife was Jiang Huaining, yet she already thought she wasn’t worthy?
“No, I want to argue with her.”
“Xiao Yu…”
Nan He gripped Yu Ruoyin’s sleeve tightly, nearly tearing her clothes.
She didn’t dare let go, afraid the argument would turn into a fight.
Mei Jingwan curled her lip disdainfully. “Childish ghost, I have no interest in arguing with you. I still need to…”
Mei Jingwan said no more. She stood up from the blood pool, seemingly about to walk out. Blood water dripped continuously onto her body, yet it didn’t harm her in the slightest.
The corrosive effect of the blood water seemed ineffective against these two brides. Lu Qichun, still soaking in the blood pool over there, was also unharmed.
Mei Jingwan had just taken half a step when the blood water suddenly bubbled up. A force pressed her back down to sit.
She couldn’t help glaring at Yu Ruoyin and pointed a finger at her. “You must be very satisfied with this outcome!”
Mei Jingwan’s finger had just been soaked in the blood water and, under the red glow, looked like a block of ice—nearly transparent.
With this glance, she suddenly noticed something off.
The yin energy on Yu Ruoyin’s body was fading.
She raised her brow oddly. “You’re not a ghost?”
Yu Ruoyin stared at her intently, her reason battling her anger.
She now disliked Mei Jingwan even more than Lu Qingzhen did.
“Yin Messenger Mei, we just said it earlier. Xiao Yu isn’t a ghost, and she doesn’t want to marry you. We’re not accomplices with those who trapped you.” Nan He kept Yu Ruoyin behind her and explained patiently. “We’re here to rescue you. Do you know how to destroy the altar?”
Yu Ruoyin pushed at her from behind. She hurriedly added, “Xiao Yu, this might be a misunderstanding. Yin Messenger Mei only spoke that way because she misunderstood us.”
That didn’t cover up the fact that her attacks were too sharp.
Yu Ruoyin stayed silent, feeling stifled.
Mei Jingwan’s aggression lessened a bit, but her words remained harsh. “Rescue me? With how many of you here, you dare say you’re here to save me?”
“Four… four.”
Nan He answered truthfully, only to receive Mei Jingwan’s mocking laugh. “Overestimating your abilities.”
Even a clay figure has a temper, let alone Nan He, who wasn’t made of clay.
Nan He grew a bit angry too. “Yin Messenger Mei, your words are a bit too cutting. We…”
Although they had come for Gou Nanchun, they had endured hardships along the way to reach here, all for Mei Jingwan’s life as well. They had even retrieved her nether token. Her words were truly piercing.
The sarcasm in Mei Jingwan’s eyes intensified. “Do you even know where this is? With just four people, you dare boast about saving me? You couldn’t even damage the corner of the altar!”
“No wonder Sister Qingzhen doesn’t like you.”
“You know Lu Qingzhen?” Hearing her old friend’s name finally made Mei Jingwan speak properly. “Has she come?”
“Heh.”
Yu Ruoyin found that she had grown thorns at some point. After Mei Jingwan pricked her, she only wanted to prick back.
Even though she was a bit afraid of Mei Jingwan, she no longer wanted to speak nicely and only wanted to retort with cold laughs.
Not only did she not speak herself, she also tugged at Nan He to stop her.
Mei Jingwan probably realized she had offended her and actually took the initiative to explain the situation.
Mei Jingwan finally explained the situation to them. The reason her words had been so barbed and she had suspected Yu Ruoyin so much was because ghosts truly wanted to force her into marriage—not just one, but a group.
Yin City had experienced turmoil some time ago. Mei Jingwan had just reported it to the Netherworld when she was schemed against.
She hadn’t expected the yin messengers under her to collude with outsiders, deceive her, knock her out, and take her nether token, leaving her unable to contact the Netherworld.
Normally, if a Soul-Severing or Yin-Severing Yin Messenger met with trouble, the nether token would automatically report to the local authority. For Yin-Severing Yin Messengers like them, it reported directly to the Netherworld. However, there was precedent for lending nether tokens to subordinate yin messengers, so as long as a yin messenger wore it, the Netherworld wouldn’t receive the signal. Thus, Mei Jingwan fell into dire straits.
When she woke again, she was trapped in this place, surrounded by a bunch of spirit mediums.
It took Mei Jingwan several days to figure it out. The mastermind wanted to raise ghosts. It wasn’t like the chaotic times anymore, with fewer wrongful deaths. Even though the Netherworld was short-staffed and had to rely on ghost-hunting Daoists for help, maintaining stability wasn’t too difficult. Large-scale, rampant evil ghosts were rare now.
If the mastermind wanted to use ghost power for evil, they had to resort to crooked methods—like raising ghosts.
But raising ghosts was too slow; it wasn’t realistic to nurture them powerfully in a short time.
There was precedent for Painting Yin Masters engaging in spirit intercourse with ghosts, leading to rapid strength gains for both sides. And the stronger the ghost in spirit intercourse, the more power one gained. Thus, Mei Jingwan was targeted.
Ordinary ghosts were strong, but unlike Netherworld yin ghosts, they lacked special powers—especially Soul-Severing Yin Messengers like her, whose nether tokens held power bestowed by the Nether King. Mei Jingwan ranked in the top three among yin messengers; even some minor yin officials weren’t her match. She was a prime choice. However, spirit intercourse required mutual consent. Even if the mastermind had ways to control their minds, raising a group of ghosts through spirit intercourse would be too difficult and time-consuming. That was why they targeted spirit mediums.
Spirit mediums had yin-evil traits and could host yin ghosts long-term. Skilled ones could even accommodate a hundred ghosts at once.
If the spirit medium’s body was suitable, just one Yin-Severing Yin Messenger like Mei Jingwan could nurture a hundred ghosts.
Lu Qichun was the spirit medium chosen by the mastermind.
Strangely, though Lu Qichun was a spirit medium, her body was exceptionally unique, with spiritual energy flowing within. Forget a hundred ghosts—even a thousand might be possible. The mastermind trapped them here to first use the altar to connect her body with Lu Qichun’s, achieving compatibility, then control their consciousnesses.
Time in the barrier flowed much faster than outside. Now, the sacrifices were sufficient, yin energy gathered. They only awaited the red moon’s rise, when she would marry Lu Qichun—and a hundred ghosts at once.
How could she not go mad? That was why she had been so sarcastic toward Yu Ruoyin, thinking her one of those hundred ghosts.
Yu Ruoyin was very angry, but upon hearing this, she couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for her.
The pity didn’t linger long, for Nan He looked at her suspiciously. “You…”
Yu Ruoyin knew Nan He was sensitive to emotions. She must have sensed something to react this way, rather than pitying Mei Jingwan.
Unfortunately, Nan He didn’t voice her thoughts. She silently gazed at Lu Qichun and slowly asked, “Do you know how to damage the altar?”
“What good would telling you do?” Mei Jingwan curled her lip disdainfully. “This altar connects to the barrier—it’s the center of the array. The array eye is sealed. To damage the altar, you’d need to destroy at least seventy-two live sacrifice points simultaneously. With just your four people, do you have that power?”
Nan He tugged Yu Ruoyin back a step, her expression off.
She was always kind-hearted, yet she showed no sympathy toward the pitifully trapped Mei Jingwan. That was indeed strange.
Yu Ruoyin couldn’t help asking her, “What’s wrong?”
“Something’s not right…”
Nan He’s voice was faint and barely audible as she shook her head lightly.
She only said something was wrong but didn’t explain what.
Mei Jingwan lowered her head slightly. “What are you suspecting?”
“Your emotions are off. You seem to be… showing off…”
Mei Jingwan angrily interrupted Nan He. “Showing off what? Showing off that I’m about to marry a hundred ghosts? Are you mocking me?”
“The anger is real…”
Nan He muttered softly, her gaze toward Mei Jingwan now tinged with guilt.
Mei Jingwan snorted coldly and waved her hand. “Go on, then. You can’t save me. Don’t throw yourselves away here too.”
“This sentence…” Nan He was a bit confused now and could only speak from the heart. “No, we will save you, and Nan Chun too. I’m very powerful. Even if I’m not enough, Granny… Granny Zhuang is very powerful too.”
“Granny Zhuang?” Mei Jingwan lowered her voice, asking uncertainly, “You mean Zhuang Huaisu?”
It wasn’t strange that she knew Zhuang Huaisu, but her tone was odd, faintly carrying expectation and excitement.
Yu Ruoyin, who knew the truth, thought that if she didn’t, one might assume Zhuang Huaisu was her old flame.
Yu Ruoyin didn’t answer Mei Jingwan immediately. She supported Nan He, whose thoughts were in turmoil, and asked softly, “Yin Messenger Mei, can’t you report this place’s situation to the Netherworld now?”
She already harbored resentment toward Mei Jingwan. Nan He’s faint mutterings had drifted to her ears, and the bit of pity that had just arisen vanished completely. She now felt Mei Jingwan was problematic in every way.
Mei Jingwan gripped her nether token tightly. “We’re all trapped in the barrier now. The nether token can’t contact the Netherworld at all.”
Mei Jingwan paused slightly, then suddenly lifted her head, joy appearing on her face. “If the Granny Zhuang you mentioned is Zhuang Huaisu, why not have her report to the Netherworld? Can she send a message to the Netherworld?”
She couldn’t, but Zhuang Huaisu could?
