I asked the most crucial question.
I knew nothing about the person Qing Dai was waiting for.
I wanted to find him, but had no idea where or how to help.
Qing Dai saw my earnest expression.
Her beautiful eyes held a look of gratitude.
After a long pause, she finally spoke:
"In your past life, you told me,
That in this life, he would have a fire cloud on his chest.
And only you could help me find him.
Other than that, there are no other clues."
I frowned, murmuring to myself; a fire cloud.
But I thought, if my past self was so powerful,
Able to predict my current life and guide Qing Dai to find me, why couldn't he give more hints?
There were still some other questions in my mind.
But as things stood, I could only note it down for now.
I nodded firmly at Qing Dai:
"Don't worry, Qing Dai.
If I ever see someone with a fire cloud on their chest,
I will tell you immediately."
Hearing this, a flicker of pleasant surprise appeared in Qing Dai's eyes:
"Yes, thank you, Qin Ze."
"You're welcome. You've guarded me for twenty years.
This is only right.
Go eat some of the offerings I burned!"
I said with a smile.
Outwardly, I acted as if nothing had happened.
But inwardly, I felt a sense of loss, an inexplicable discomfort.
Qing Dai was just a ghost, protecting and saving me.
Helping her find someone was my compensation.
But why did my heart feel so empty...
At this moment, Qing Dai stood up.
With a flicker, she floated directly to the offerings.
She first inhaled some incense, looking very comfortable.
Then, I saw her pick up a red apple from the ground.
Seeing this, my heart skipped a beat.
To eat an apple, she would have to take off her mask!
The thought that I might see Qing Dai's true face ahead of time made me a little excited.
I widened my eyes.
But to my surprise, as soon as Qing Dai picked up the apple, her brow suddenly furrowed.
She abruptly looked towards the distance on her left.
Seeing Qing Dai's solemn expression, I sensed something was wrong.
So I asked:
"Qing Dai, what's wrong?"
Qing Dai appeared somewhat flustered:
"Oh no, Yin Chai are coming, I have to go!"
Yin Chai?
My heart tightened, knowing Qing Dai's predicament.
She, a ghost who had been dead for over two thousand years, was absolutely not allowed to wander the human world indefinitely.
If she ran into Yin Chai, she would definitely be captured and taken down.
Having lingered in the human world for two thousand years, she would surely face severe consequences after being taken down.
"Alright, then hurry and go!"
I urged her.
Qing Dai nodded, her beautiful eyes looking at me:
"Qin Ze, take this.
If you need help, hold this and call my name."
After speaking, Qing Dai quickly took a white jade pendant from the sash around her waist and pressed it into my hand.
Before I could get a clear look at the jade pendant.
Qing Dai waved her sleeve, transformed into a gust of Yin wind, and instantly vanished before my eyes.
The surroundings suddenly became empty.
After Qing Dai left, I finally looked at the jade pendant in my hand.
It was a ring-shaped dragon and phoenix jade.
The dragons soared and phoenixes danced, it was very beautiful.
And its texture was smooth and lustrous, undoubtedly a fine jade.
I couldn't spare the time to admire it now, so I quickly put the jade pendant into my hand.
Then, I squatted on the spot as if nothing had happened.
Continuing to burn paper money, I chanted unceasingly:
"Passersby, young and old, come and partake of the incense and offerings on your journey!"
I burned as I spoke.
At the same time, I could already feel the temperature around me begin to drop.
And a wave of Yin energy was coming from behind me.
Because I had opened the Yin Gate before, my Heavenly Eyes had not yet closed.
Therefore, I could still see things invisible to the naked eye and hear sounds normally unheard.
As this gust of Yin wind appeared.
A very sharp and slurred voice sounded from behind me:
"Huh, I clearly felt it was in this direction just now, where did the ghost go?"
"There's a kid here, did he hide it?"
Another deep, rough voice, tinged with anger, followed.
When I heard these two voices, my body visibly trembled.
My face became very tense.
It was clear that the ones speaking behind me were Yin Chai.
Chen Ge had told me before.
When Yin Chai come to the mortal realm to claim souls, they should not be looked at.
If you look, your own soul would be taken as well.
I didn't want to be dragged down, nor did I want to die.
So I pretended not to hear, and didn't even think about looking at what the Yin Chai looked like.
I continued to pretend nothing was wrong, burning paper there.
But behind me, the sound of rattling chains grew louder and the chilling aura intensified.
I had no choice but to continue feigning indifference and burning paper.
Only my voice became a bit louder:
"Passersby, young and old, come and have some incense and paper money!"
As I spoke, two figures walked over from my left and right.
I didn't look up, but I could see the lower halves of the two ghosts.
One black, one white, in ancient formal attire.
Both wore long boots and carried curved hooks.
In their hands, they each held a mourning stick, one black and one white.
These sudden appearances of black and white, along with the abnormally chilling Yin energy, made me inexplicably tense and fearful.
Even without seeing their faces, seeing black and white figures holding mourning sticks.
I immediately thought of the legendary soul-reaping envoys, Black and White Impermanence.
These were Yin Chai, formidable beings not to be provoked.
Those who were alive and saw them would have their souls reaped as well...
I didn't want to die prematurely, nor was I interested in seeing their faces.
I could only continue to pretend to be stationary, as if I hadn't seen them.
Continuing to lower my head, I squatted on the ground, burning paper.
Hoping they would leave soon...
The two Yin Chai arrived in front of me and waved their mourning sticks before me.
Then I heard the white-robed Yin Chai, speaking with a slurred voice:
"Xiao Ba, this kid seems to be quite a good actor."
Hearing this, I was utterly shocked.
Cold sweat ran down my back. Did they know I could see them?
Before I could react.
I heard the black-robed Yin Chai, speaking in a deep, rough, and angry tone:
"Whether he's acting or not.
This kid looks like a short-lived soul, not likely to live past three months.
The sooner he dies, the sooner he reincarnates. We're short a soul, let's just take him down."
After saying that, the black-robed Yin Chai suddenly raised his hand.
The sound of rattling chains echoed.
The next second, I felt a chill on my neck.
An iron chain had directly wrapped around my neck...