In her hazy drowsiness, Wang Ya had a dream. She dreamed she had become a Yellow Springs Other Shore Flower blooming by the Wangchuan River and along the Yellow Springs Road. She watched as one soul after another passed by her and stepped into the Yellow Springs. She saw them recall memories from their past lives, endless joys and sorrows playing out on them, ultimately leaving only helplessness. No matter how much joy or sorrow they had in life, the moment they remembered their previous existence, it was all so helpless and sorrowful. Many wandering souls got lost on the Yellow Springs Road, lingering there. They were reluctant to leave the human world, unwilling to enter the Underworld for reincarnation, yet unable to return to the living realm. In their pain and confusion, they tried every means to lure the souls stepping onto the Yellow Springs, pulling them to stay. The undead wandering the Yellow Springs Road were trapped in memories and fantasies from their past lives, endlessly replaying the deepest pains or most longed-for scenes in their hearts, filled with the joys and sorrows of the human world. Their sorrow infected her. She wanted to soothe their grief, but she could only watch their sadness and helplessness time and again, feeling equally helpless herself. Vaguely, she always felt there was another presence in her body. Though she couldn’t see or touch it, she could clearly sense another existence living inside her, rooted in the Yellow Springs just like her. They shared the same roots, the same life. They depended on each other, coexisting, yet never meeting. The joys and sorrows of the human world seemed to play out by the Sanchu River, by the Yellow Springs, on her very self. Daoists and monks passing through the Yellow Springs had preached to her, but they couldn’t dispel the sorrow in her heart or that rootless attachment. The Buddha said: “The Other Shore Flower blooms for a thousand years, falls for a thousand years, flower and leaf forever apart. Love is not bound by Karma; fate decrees life and death.” Once fate ended, no matter how deep the bond, they could not unite. Just like life and death, just like her and Ye Zi, born from the same root.
Wang Ya felt an ache in her heart, as if filled with tears that couldn’t flow. Her inner self brimmed with unwillingness. She wanted to struggle, to resist. She refused to be controlled by fate…
The inner oppression and grief made Wang Ya open her eyes. What she saw was no longer the scenery of the Yellow Springs, nor the figures of that monk and Daoist walking away with their backs to her, nor her own silhouette standing by the Yellow Springs gazing into the distance. The one accompanying her was no longer that Ye Zi she could sense but not touch. Instead, she saw Huang Qi sitting beside her, and she herself was leaning on Huang Qi’s shoulder.
Huang Qi’s voice gently sounded: “Wang Ya, did you have a nightmare?”
Wang Ya straightened up and touched the corner of her eye. No tears. She denied coldly, “No.”
Huang Qi said, “You slept restlessly. Your breathing was heavy and erratic.”
Wang Ya glared fiercely at Huang Qi. “Zheng Yanxia, you’re so annoying!” Suddenly, a strange sensation hit her. She clearly sensed that the Substitute Doll she had placed in the hotel room had shattered. The moment it shattered, she felt a massive surge of yin qi and faintly heard a roar: “Oh no!” Wang Ya’s mood instantly lifted, and she broke into a smile. She pulled out her mobile phone to check the time. Yo, just past eight in the morning. They had gotten into her room this quickly? Wang Ya’s bewitching face revealed a wicked grin. “Huang Qi, call the hotel and ask who rushed into the room I was staying in.”
Huang Qi furrowed her brows, took out her phone, stared straight ahead, and dialed the number using the raised keypads. In this era of touchscreen smartphones everywhere, Eldest Daughter Huang still used an old-fashioned button phone.
The call connected quickly. Wang Ya, sitting next to Huang Qi, clearly heard a man’s voice on the other end: “Miss Huang, hello.” She recognized it as Manager Gao’s voice. She also heard several shouts and chaotic noise. Some called “Fourth Uncle,” others cursed her.
Huang Qi frowned, told Manager Gao she could already hear the commotion, gave a few instructions, and hung up. She asked Wang Ya, “Wang Ya, what did you do in the hotel room?”
Wang Ya let out a light hum and said indifferently, “Nothing much. I just left twelve Talisman Soldier Dolls. These twelve Talisman Soldier Dolls form a Death Spirit Great Array. Once it detects the presence of a living person, the array activates, summoning yin spirits from the Underworld. If you’re lucky and Ox-Head and Horse-Face happen to be available, it might summon them too. It doesn’t last long—just the time it takes for one incense stick to burn—and the range is limited to the hotel room.” She had just sensed the Substitute Doll shattering and the yin spirit aura; it was all the work of that Death Spirit Great Array.
Zhang Qingshui, Old Tang, and Huang Qi all fell silent upon hearing Wang Ya’s words. The only sound in the car was Wang Cheng’an’s steady sleeping breaths.
Because of that chaotic dream, images kept flashing in Wang Ya’s mind from time to time, putting her in a bad mood. Seeing the three of them silent in unison, she simply closed her eyes again to rest.
By noon, Wang Cheng’an started clamoring that he was hungry. Old Tang pulled off the highway and found a farmstay restaurant not far from the expressway. He also saw several tourist buses parked nearby. Seeing that the farmstay catered to tour groups, Old Tang drove further ahead.
Wang Ya glanced at the farmstay from the car and spotted something eerie about it. She said to Old Tang, “Old Tang, park up ahead.”
Huang Qi furrowed her brows. “Wang Ya, this isn’t the time to get involved in other people’s business, is it?”
Old Tang asked, “What’s wrong?”
Huang Qi said, “The farmstay we just passed has ghostly qi.”
Old Tang coughed dryly. “Wang Ya, don’t you have enough trouble on your plate already?”
Wang Ya snorted coldly, offered no explanation, and simply said, “Park up ahead.”
Old Tang said, “Lingnan is Ghost Family territory. Make any noise, and the Ghost Family will know.”
Seeing Old Tang had no intention of stopping, Wang Ya turned to Wang Cheng’an and said, “Dad, wait for me in the car!” Ignoring whether the car was still speeding on the highway, she twisted her body, reached over, and tried to open the door to get out.
Old Tang quickly pulled over to the side of the road and shouted, “Eldest Daughter, can you settle down for once?” Before he finished speaking, Wang Ya had already climbed over Wang Cheng’an, pushed open the door, and gotten out, heading straight for the farmstay courtyard from earlier.
Old Tang sighed deeply. “You two stay in the car and follow. I’ll go check.”
Zhang Qingshui said, “Let’s go together.” She pushed open the door and got out, quickening her pace to catch up with Wang Ya and handing her a baseball cap. “Cover your face.” With that heavy demonic aura—even with the Conceal Qi Talisman—it wasn’t suppressed much. Topped with that face that could topple nations, parading around like this was simply asking for trouble.
Wang Ya stood under a bamboo grove about a hundred meters from the farmstay. She pointed at the little girl in the courtyard who was bouncing around holding a small umbrella, with cute twin braids tied with red ribbons. “See that? Broad daylight at high noon, and she dares to come out. Not shallow cultivation at all.”
Huh, I wonder if Ye Zi and Huang Qi are gonna have some connection?