Having finished delivering the medicine bowl, Li Dong heard this direction instantly when he went downstairs. Without hesitation, he took out his phone and muttered, "Let me check it out for you. Heading northeast for three thousand five hundred miles... Yun Du Mountain? Wait, that's wrong, this place is already in the sea, where's the mountain?"

Luo Xianyue chuckled, "Are you dumb? I didn't mean the ordinary northeast direction."

"Huh?" Li Dong, still holding his phone, didn't react.

It was Yin Wushu who spoke up, "The Ghost Gate."

"Ah, you have experience," Luo Xianyue said, "Gufang Street is exactly situated in the true yin direction. Starting from there, every eighty-one miles is a boundary, with two Ghost Gates facing each other in each boundary, one for entry and one for exit. The entry gate is called the true southwest, and the exit gate is called the true northeast. Follow this line in the direction of 'true northeast' for three thousand five hundred miles. The location of the Ghost Gate can vary depending on local conditions, so you won't know how to proceed until you get there."

In fact, these Yao (NT: demon) spirits, who had lived for who knows how long, rarely bothered with divination, because knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing. They had much more time than ordinary people, so they were more carefree and inclined to enjoy the "unknown". That's why Li Dong and the others were naturally unfamiliar with Luo Xianyue's methods, except for Yin Wushu, who had to find the next Yin guest every hundred years.

After Luo Xianyue explained, she suddenly remembered something and laughed, "I remember the rumors about you in the past, like how you could predict the future as soon as you opened your eyes. Some people even believed that nonsense."

Yin Wushu's mouth twitched, and he chuckled.

In fact, when he was a child, Xie Bai not only spent time with Yin Wushu day and night but also occasionally heard some rumors about Yin Wushu from others. Those rumors were varied and contradictory, with both good and bad ones, and some sounded extremely exaggerated.

In the most widely circulated rumors, Yin Wushu was either unpredictable, and no one dared to provoke him even when he smiled, or he was very ruthless, able to tear apart anyone who offended him with a single hand, without blinking an eye. It was also said that he was born with the ability to foresee the future, making divination tools unnecessary...

These rumors had been around for a long time, and the original source was unclear. At least no one alive could confirm their truth.

Yet, these rumors were completely different from what Xie Bai had seen with his own eyes, so he never took them seriously. At least when Yin Wushu consulted people for divination, he used copper coins, and those closest to him, such as Xie Bai himself, as well as Luo Xianyue and Boss Luo, were not torn apart.

Yin Wushu looked up, glanced at the sun through the glass, then swept his gaze around the room's plants before tapping his index finger lightly on the table. "Are you leaving today? It's better to wait until night. It's easier to distinguish the Ghost Gate at night."

Xie Bai responded with a "Hmm" and thanked Luo Xianyue before standing up, clearly indicating his intention to leave.

Yin Wushu grabbed his hand, looking deeply concerned. "Don't rush to leave—Are you sure you can find your way out? For every eighty-one miles, the Ghost Gate needs to be determined. If you deviate from this direction, you could end up miles off course."

Xie Bai narrowed his eyes expressionlessly. "..."

"I'll go with you—" Yin Wushu hadn't finished speaking when Xie Bai interrupted, "No need."

Luo Xianyue turned her head, pretending to be joking with Li Dong while silently mouthing, "They're both so stubborn."

From what she knew about Yin Wushu, if he really wanted to do something, the other party would never refuse. Because he could easily persuade people with just a few words, leaving them unable to argue back. So she thought that even if Xie Bai said no need, Yin Wushu would still follow along. After all, they had nurtured a relationship comparable to family over the past hundred years or so, even if they weren't father and son or master and disciple, they still had feelings similar to blood ties. How could they turn their faces and cut ties just like that?

What surprised her, however, was that Yin Wushu kept quiet, raising his eyebrows and nodding, "Okay, you don't have to accept, but I'll give you a compass to take with you. It's the one I taught you to use when you were a kid. It will help you keep a sense of direction, so you don't stray off course."

Xie Bai "...".

He watched as Yin Wushu actually pulled out a compass from his pocket, looking as if to say "I'm not joking, you really are directionally challenged." Xie Bai's face couldn't help but turn a little green. He clenched his lips tightly and confronted Yin Wushu for a long time. In the end, he reached out and grabbed the compass, putting it in the pocket of his coat. With a stiff voice, he said to Yin Wushu, "I'm leaving."

Yin Wushu reminded him again, "Make sure you have everything you need before you leave. Don't forget anything and have to search around later."

"..." Xie Bai turned and walked away.

Luo Xianyue silently turned her head again, mouthing to Li Dong, "Is that really Yin Wushu?! Has he been possessed by some filthy thing?"

Li Dong: "..."

As Xie Bai walked out of the room, then through the long and spacious living room; he could faintly hear Luo Xianyue's voice from behind, left in the glass room, asking Yin Wushu, "You've been going to Taowu Pawnshop quite frequently these past two days. Whether it's early morning or late at night, I've seen it from upstairs. What secret business are you and Luo Zhusheng plotting?"

Taowu Pawnshop... Xie Bai remembered seeing Yin Wushu coming out of Luo Zhusheng's shop across the street just this morning. At that time, there was no one else on the street.

Yin Wushu replied, "I need to go out for a few days recently, so I asked him to help look after some things."

Luo Xianyue asked again, "What are you going out for?"

Yin Wushu said, "Lost something, need to go find it."

The last syllable was cut off as Xie Bai stepped into the black mist, and he couldn't hear the rest.

*

When he returned to his residence, he suddenly remembered Yin Wushu's reminder to "make sure you have everything you need." He couldn't help but look around the room—The Ten thousand souls Tree always followed the Yin guests, ready to be summoned at any time. Apart from the Souls Tree, there were only a few other things left in the room...

Xie Bai walked to the single sofa, bent down, and picked up the miscellaneous records on the square table, flipping through it casually. He had already flipped through most of the book intermittently, with about ten pages left. For some reason, he casually put this small miscellaneous record into the pocket of his coat.

The small black cat, lying on the balcony and basking in the sun, sensed his return and meowed a couple of times. It rolled like a dumpling all the way from the balcony, crashing into Xie Bai's ankle before coming to a stop. It lay sprawled out beside Xie Bai's feet, looking as if it didn't care.

Xie Bai glanced outside the window. There was still some time before it got dark. He picked up the cat and said, "I've still got two Yin fish caught from the river here. Almost forgot about them." With that, he walked into the kitchen, wearing his slippers.

The kitchen in this room had never been used since he moved in, and it was as clean as new.

Although Xie Bai never used it, out of the intention to live an ordinary life, the kitchen had all the pots, pans, and utensils that should be there.

He reached up and took the cutting board off the shelf. With a flick of his wrist, a Yin fish fell out of nowhere, landing straight on the cutting board, maintaining the appearance of being gutted by Xie Bai right after being caught from the river, dead but with open eyes. It still emitted a fresh, moist scent, as if time had frozen, showing no signs of decay.

At the sight of Xie Bai about to cook it, the small black cat, which had been obediently curled up in Xie Bai's arms, instantly stiffened. Its limbs and claws scratched frantically, trying to escape. It seemed to think that Xie Bai, who was about to cook a freshly caught fish, couldn't make anything edible for him.

Xie Bai clicked his tongue and frowned, using spirit binding on the cat. He said, "Why run? It's not like I've never cooked before."

Many years ago, when he still lived with Yin Wushu, he would occasionally cook when he felt like it. He would make some fresh dishes or stew some medicinal meals, mostly based on recipes he remembered from the eateries in the demon market. Even until his twenties, he couldn't eat normal food and still relied on Yin corpse energy to survive. But seeing the steam rising from fresh food would always put him in a good mood, so he enjoyed the process, even though he couldn't taste it himself, only judging by the aroma.

As for the finished dishes, he couldn't eat them himself, so he could only watch Yin Wushu eat.

Xie Bai always disliked showing his true feelings, often referred to as being reserved. Every time he handed food to Yin Wushu, although he still wore a calm expression, he secretly felt a bit proud and eager to please.

The first time Yin Wushu ate something he cooked, he frowned and looked as if he had seen a ghost, saying, "Are you unable to make ends meet now? Planning to poison me and run away from home, Xie-boy?"

Xie Bai's ears turned red at that time, and with a frosty face, he raised his hand to grab the bowl and pour it out.

But Yin Wushu couldn't hold back his laughter. He stood up, protecting the bowl and avoiding Xie Bai in the yard, saying with a solemn tone, "Can't you tell I'm teasing you? After so many years, you're still so easy to fool. How will you manage in the future if you keep this up? Okay, okay, stop following me around."

In the end, he swept his long sleeves and landed on the roof, directly blocking Xie Bai under the eaves. He leisurely finished everything in the bowl, despite his ethereal appearance, he looked particularly mischievous.

Unable to reach him, Xie Bai could only stand with his hands behind his back, saying, "Disrespectful to the elderly."

Yin Wushu: "..."

Yin Wushu played this trick several times until Xie Bai stopped falling for it. Afterwards, every time Xie Bai cooked, Yin Wushu would eat everything without leaving a trace, then pat Xie Bai's head and say, "Good habit, keep it up."

Unfortunately, by the time he could eat normal food, he was alone, and he no longer had the interest or patience to cook for himself.

"Do you really have a connection with Yin Wushu?" Xie Bai glanced at the small black cat in his arms, feeling a bit suspicious.

After all, even someone as picky as Yin Wushu could eat what he made, yet this kitten looked as if it wanted to cry for help, clearly unable to appreciate good food.

Although he hadn't cooked for a hundred years, Xie Bai quickly regained his touch. He hadn't forgotten his promise to make "Ink Dotted White Jade" for the kitten, so he simmered it slowly over low heat.

The sky outside gradually darkened, approaching nightfall.

He took out the compass Yin Wushu had given him, recalled the position of the gates of the ghost realm in Guyang Street, and then checked the map on his phone. After traveling eighty-one li to the northeast, he arrived near Lilan Mountain on the outskirts of Tailin City.

After marking the location, Xie Bai packed up his belongings, poured the simmering milky white fish soup into a bowl, cooled it down in his hands, and placed it in front of the small black cat.

He didn't have the habit of sharing a bowl of soup with a cat; he just stood there with his arms crossed, waiting.

The kitten seemed to sense that Xie Bai was in a hurry and didn't mess around anymore. It obediently finished the fish soup, but its expression showed a sense of despair.

Xie Bai quickly cleaned up the bowl, wiped his hands, and picked up the black cat. He asked, "Do you want to come along, or stay and guard the house?"

The kitten dug its four paws into Xie Bai's wrist, looking like it didn’t want to die, its choice evident.

"Then behave and don't cause trouble." Xie Bai admonished, then carried the cat out, heading straight for Lilan Mountain.

With his speed, eighty-one li wasn't much. In just ten minutes, he landed at the foot of Lilan Mountain.

Looking around, the areas near the gates of the ghost realm were desolate and sparsely populated, and Lilan Mountain was no exception. In the dim light of the approaching night, the mountain looked dark, gloomy, and lonely.

Even birds and beasts were reluctant to leave their nests in this season. The whole mountain was quiet, without any sound.

So quiet that even Xie Bai, who was always silent, could hear the wind he stirred up under his feet, and even with an echo, one before and one after...

Wait!

Xie Bai's brow suddenly furrowed, and he immediately realized that it wasn't an echo at all, but someone was walking behind him!

 

Translator : DarNan