The eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang sized up the man in white. “Who’s he? You all seem to know.”
Indeed, both Baili Wuchang and Wen Nuan knew Bai Wuchang quite well.
Bai Wuchang was not Baili Wuchang’s subordinate yet, but soon, when the current little bean sprout Bai Wuchang retired, Bai Wuchang will become Baili Wuchang’s subordinate and work with him.
The little white cat escaped several times before. It turned out he was avoiding Baili Wuchang, because after he met Baili Wuchang, Baili Wuchang would discover his identity.
To be honest, Wen Nuan was quite surprised that the “tabby cat” was Bai Wuchang. He originally thought that the tabby cat was very strange, too spiritually intelligent, and was always following Song Xing around, which made him suspicious. And now…
Wen Nuan stared at Bai Wuchang, showing an incomprehensible expression. He asked, “Xiao Bai, where is Xiao Hei?”
Bai Wuchang was silent for a while, his lips tightly pressed together and his eyes as calm as a pool of stagnant water.
Bai Wuchang remained silent for about half a minute. Wen Nuan seemed to be particularly in a rush, not urging him to answer at all. Instead, he stared at the other intensely, as if he didn’t want to miss any of the microexpressions on Bai Wuchang’s face.
Bai Wuchang finally spoke, but his answer was evasive. “I stole the Youxian pillow. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
“Xiao Bai,” Wen Nuan sighed loudly, shaking his head. “That’s a classic example of ‘three hundred taels of silver are not hidden here’. If you answer like that, you’re immediately giving yourself away. That means your purpose of taking the blame is actually to help someone else get away with it. And that other person is most likely Hei Wuchang, who has the best relationship with you.”
Bai Wuchang’s expressionless face finally showed cracks. His pupils shrank sharply, and he couldn’t stop clenching his hands. His subtle reactions seemed to verify Nuan Nuan’s guess.
Wen Nuan saw that he became silent again, as if he was making the last, meaningless passive resistance.
Wen Nuan thought it was strange from the get-go when the Youxian pillow was stolen. The Youxian pillow was being temporarily stored in the Hell Chain Hotel. It was so tightly guarded that it should have been foolproof. However, the Youxian pillow managed to quietly disappear with no one noticing.
Wen Nuan said, “At that time, Fan Liangda said that the key had never left him. You and Hei Wuchang said that no one had entered or left the safe where the Youxian pillow was stored. There were no signs of breaking into the safe’s barrier. The Youxian pillow seemed to have disappeared into thin air in the strong room.”
It seemed unimaginable without heads or tails. However, this world had so many seemingly unimaginable things that turned out to be rather mediocre in effect. If one just changed to a simple and straightforward way of thinking, the problem would be solved in a flash.
Wen Nuan continued, “At that time, I couldn’t help but wonder, how could the Youxian pillow disappear in such a situation? Unless…someone lied…”
If the strong room did not exist at all, the disappearance of the Youxian pillow would make sense. If the conditions for the strong room held true, then someone must have lied, and the secret would be cracked.
“But I see now,” said Wen Nuan, looking at Bai Wuchang. “The person who lied wasn’t just one.”
From Bai Wuchang’s haste to hide something, he was definitely trying to protect someone. Even though Wen Nuan hadn’t been around Heibai Wuchang for that long, he could tell that the two were very close. If there was anyone Bai Wuchang would lay his life down for to cover, it could only be Hei Wuchang without a doubt.
Wen Nuan paused. “Then the thief who stole the Youxian pillow…was Hei Wuchang, probably.”
If Hei Wuchang used his guard post as an advantage to steal the Youxian pillow, he could easily lie and say that nobody passed by the strong room while passing as the thief under everybody’s nose.
But if Hei Wuchang was the thief, then why was Bai Wuchang in front of them?
Wen Nuan’s gaze seemed to see through his soul. “The person who knocked me unconscious and whispered an apology by my ear must’ve been you, Xiao Bai.”
The Bai Wuchang in front of them wasn’t someone originally from this world eighteen years ago. If the eighteen-years-ago Baili Wuchang didn’t recognize Wen Nuan, he wouldn’t recognize the person who was to be his subordinate eighteen years later.
The Bai Wuchang in front of them was the very one that Wen Nuan and Baili Wuchang knew, appearing in the memories made eighteen years ago. In other words, Bai Wuchang was “invading” this world’s space.
He didn’t have the same extent as Baili Wuchang’s spiritual capabilities, so if he wanted to go back in time, he could only do so using the Youxian pillow.
Wen Nuan recalled that when he had entered his dorm, he had been shocked to see the Youxian pillow there on his own bed.
He had wanted to pick it up and return it to Baili Wuchang, but he was rendered unconscious. Before he had completely fainted, he faintly recalled hearing someone whisper an apology to him.
At that time, because Wen Nuan was too muddleheaded, he couldn’t figure out who the voice came from. Now that he thought about it, he was sure it was Bai Wuchang’s voice.
The blurred lines became clearer and clearer to everyone.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wen Nuan spoke once more. “Baili Wuchang said before that right now, we’re in someone’s memories. The person who stole the Youxian pillow wanted to create these memories…so this must be Xiao Hei’s memory…”
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Eyes shining, with some hesitation, Wen Nuan asked slowly, “Could it be that Xiao Hei…is Song Xing?”
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As such, it wasn’t hard to guess the truth.
As Wen Nuan spoke, even he surprised himself. No matter if it was when he was three or if it was during these past two days, his impression of Song Xing was very good, and he wanted to help Song Xing. But Wen Nuan never expected Song Xing to be Hei Wuchang.
Song Xing’s temperament was very warm, but because of the daily hardships he had to go through, he became gloomy and taciturn.
Whereas Hei Wuchang…
He was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. He never seemed to stop talking, and he would say things that would give your head a spin.
Song Xing and Hei Wuchang were like two extremes, but today, in Wen Nuan’s mind, they overlapped.
Song Xing, who was still alive now, would die soon, and after his death, Song Xing would become Hei Wuchang. This is why the Heibai Wuchang eighteen years ago was different from the Heibai Wuchang that Wen Nuan knew.
Wen Nuan’s gaze was a little complicated. Looking at Bai Wuchang, although several mysteries had been solved, more confusion arose in Wen Nuan’s heart.
Wen Nuan couldn’t help but ask, “If Xiao Hei used the Youxian pillow to relive memories from eighteen years ago, what did he do when he came back? Is the black shadow in the equipment room Xiao Hei? Why do Song Xing and Hei Wuchang look completely different?”
Bai Wuchang didn’t seem to have the mind to speak at all. He had been listening to Wen Nuan’s analysis silently. It was not until this moment that he made any sound.
He laughed.
He laughed dryly, and one could faintly tell there was a distinct bitterness to it. Bai Wuchang said, “Wen Nuan, you really are smart…”
Though he didn’t directly confirm anything, with this sentence, he basically cleared up many of the questions Wen Nuan had, meaning that he had made no mistakes.
Bai Wuchang had given up resisting. His gaze fell aimlessly into the night sky, his eyes swaying, probably recalling something distant.
Bai Wuchang’s voice was very soft as he sighed and said, “Hei Wuchang is…Song Xing. Song Xing is going to die soon and disappear from this world, and only then will Hei Wuchang appear.”
Wen Nuan’s guess was correct. As for why Hei Wuchang’s appearance was the way that it was…
Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang looked exactly the same. No matter whether it was how tall or short they were, or how thick or thin they were, the difference was only in the color of their clothes. One wore black and the other wore white. The rest was identical.
However, Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang were not twins at all, not even related by blood.
Bai Wuchang said, “Song Xing’s soul was distraught after he died. I wanted to keep him, so I gave him half of my soul and reshaped Song Xing…” That is, Hei Wuchang.
As a result, Song Xing, who accepted Bai Wuchang’s soul, completely lost his previous face and figure, and transformed into an existence exactly like Bai Wuchang.
So much so that…
Bai Wuchang laughed bitterly. “So much so that he didn’t remember what happened.”
Bai Wuchang prevented Song Xing’s soul from scattering into thin air, but the Song Xing leftover changed in appearance, and his memories of the past were also completely erased. In a flash, he didn’t remember anything.
Song Xing became Hei Wuchang like this. You could say that Hei Wuchang already had nothing to do with Song Xing from the past. But Bai Wuchang was glad, because this way, Hei Wuchang could be happy every day. He didn’t need to go through hardships anymore, nor did he need to hold onto any hatred.
The first time Bai Wuchang ever encountered Song Xing was in front of the convenience store.
At that time, Bai Wuchang was still a lonely ghost, wandering the world without any purpose, not knowing what to do or what his name was. He wandered around for too long, and everything became meaningless to him.
That day, Bai Wuchang saw Song Xing, a boy with a gentle smile, squatting in front of a convenience store, feeding a little white cat.
How envious…
Bai Wuchang stood nearby, watching the interaction between Song Xing and the white cat.
For the first time, Bai Wuchang also longed for someone to chat with him, so that he would not wander around alone every day.
Bai Wuchang stood blankly in front of the convenience store for ten days. He didn’t need to eat or drink. Every day, he watched Song Xing come and leave. He would wonder when Song Xing would come, or why Song Xing sometimes didn’t.
The little white cat was a stray cat adopted by Song Xing. To be honest, Song Xing couldn’t even fill his own stomach, so it was a bit difficult to raise another cat.
Perhaps, like Bai Wuchang, he occasionally felt lonely, so raising a cat will give him a little comfort.
Just a little after Bai Wuchang had been standing in front of the convenience store for ten days, the little white cat died. When it was crossing the road, it was struck by a car, never to move again.
Bai Wuchang looked at the white cat’s body numbly. The color of blood didn’t bother him. But at that moment, Bai Wuchang thought of Song Xing. Song Xing was coming soon. If he saw the white cat dead, wouldn’t he be very sad?
That day, Bai Wuchang made a decision. He possessed the body of the dead white cat, limping over to lay in front of the convenience store, waiting for Song Xing to come and feed him.
As expected, Song Xing came and was shocked when he saw the wounded white cat. He immediately sent him to the vet to get him thoroughly treated.
After that, Bai Wuchang followed Song Xing every day, staying by his side all the time. He no longer needed to envy the little white cat, because…
Song Xing is mine…
With Song Xing’s company and care, Bai Wuchang thought that he would never be lonely again. There was no longer a need to wander around.
But who knew that such days would pass in a blink of an eye. Not long after, Song Xing died…
Bai Wuchang narrated the story between him and Song Xing expressionlessly. His tone seemed to be as if he was talking about some other person’s past events and had nothing to do with him at all.
But Wen Nuan could feel it; there was a strong sadness and pain melting in the air.
Sometimes, peace was pain.
Bai Wuchang said, “I didn’t dare to believe Song Xing was dead, nor that his soul was going to vanish. I was deeply hurt. All I wanted was to bring him back to life, and then I would be okay.”
Listening up to here, Baili Wuchang couldn’t help but furrow his brow. “When Song Xing’s soul was going to vanish, even if you used your spiritual ability to share half of your soul with him, you wouldn’t be able to rescue him. Both of your souls would disappear.”
After a person died, the soul would separate from the body and lose yang qi. If the soul was not in order, the remaining yin qi could not be gathered and be complete. Besides incomplete mental consciousness, in severe cases, the soul would easily disappear over time.
Bai Wuchang nodded and said, “It is true. I alone could not save Song Xing. But I had a leaf of the dong ming herb.”
“What?” Baili Wuchang frowned deeply. “Have you seen Dong Ming?”
Wen Nuan couldn’t understand what they were talking about for a while. Dong ming herb? I think I’ve heard that somewhere.
Wen Nuan recalled carefully. It was probably in one of his strange dreams. In a dream, Baili Wuchang seemed to have mentioned the dong ming herb.
At that time, Baili Wuchang in the dream ridiculed Wen Nuan, saying that Wen Nuan was just a small dong ming herb.
But what exactly was the dong ming herb? It seemed to only appear in myths and legends.
Bai Wuchang shook his head, but then nodded.
Baili Wuchang said, “What do you mean?”
Bai Wuchang replied, “I did, many years ago…but I don’t remember anymore.”
Bai Wuchang met a person. They seemed to have said something, and the person gave him a piece of an herb with an unattractive appearance.
He was a strange person…
Bai Wuchang could no longer remember that person’s appearance or voice. He only remembered his own impression of that person.
Unpredictably, it was a strange person with a strange herb who saved Bai Wuchang’s most important person for all these years.
“Don’t remember?” Baili Wuchang fell into deep thought after hearing this.
Indeed, they didn’t remember. Whether it was Bai Wuchang, Ying Zi, or Tang Qizhuan, they all forgot about one person. Baili Wuchang was included; his memory was slowly fading away.
Baili Wuchang had always been looking for Wen Nuan. No matter day or night, he kept searching. But during such a long search, he suddenly discovered one day that the memory of his master gradually became blurred…
First, it was his warm smile, then his appearance, and then every bit of him, just like rushing water, kept flowing away, impossible to catch.
Baili Wuchang only remembered the familiar scent and the words of his former master…
If I’m not around in the future, will you forget about me?
These words were like a curse. Even if Baili Wuchang was one-hundred percent unwilling, his memory kept fading, so much so that when Wen Nuan first appeared in front of him, Baili Wuchang couldn’t completely confirm who he was.
Baili Wuchang didn’t know why. The only good thing was that no matter how much he forgot, he still found Wen Nuan again.
Wen Nuan was thinking about Bai Wuchang’s words when he suddenly felt Baili Wuchang’s gaze and looked up at him strangely.
Baili Wuchang sighed and reached out to rub the top of his hair.
“Hey!” Wen Nuan’s thoughts were disrupted, and he waved away Baili Wuchang’s hand. “Don’t touch my hair, you’ll mess up my style!”
Baili Wuchang was amused by him.
The story was not over yet. After Bai Wuchang split his soul for Song Xing, Hei Wuchang appeared with the same face as Bai Wuchang and amnesia.
Fair enough, Bai Wuchang thought. This was good enough.
Hei Wuchang, who had no memory, was very optimistic and chatted non-stop all day long. Though once afraid of being lonely, Bai Wuchang was lonely no longer.
It was this year that among the subordinates of Baili Wuchang, the original Heibai Wuchang retired, and the position of Heibai Wuchang was vacant. It was necessary to find and promote a new ghost.
By chance, Bai Wuchang and Hei Wuchang came to work for Baili Wuchang and officially became ghost envoys.
In fact, it stood to reason that at that time, Heibai Wuchang’s spiritual power and cultivation were very weak, and they were simply not qualified for such a great ghost position.
But it was a coincidence. Baili Wuchang hated being tied down. After the retirement of the previous Heibai Wuchang, the superiors assigned Baili Wuchang two new subordinates. When Baili Wuchang saw the list, he became angry. It turned out that they got the job based on connections. It was said that they were the daughter and son of a certain executive from the Underworld. Because they thought Baili Wuchang was handsome, they wanted to follow him every day.
Baili Wuchang immediately turned against this, tearing up the hiring letter, and selected two new people to be directly promoted, who are now the present Heibai Wuchang.
When Heibai Wuchang were first promoted, their spiritual power was very weak and they were often criticized. However, they worked with Baili Wuchang, and within a year or two, their spiritual power and experience improved by several levels. Everyone almost forgot that they had not been employed for long at all.
Bai Wuchang liked this kind of life very much. Every day was fulfilling, and he could be with Hei Wuchang all the time.
Sometimes, Bai Wuchang would feel that Hei Wuchang talked too much and gave people a headache. But thinking about the past, Bai Wuchang felt that it was best for Hei Wuchang to keep talking like this and be happy forever.
“I’m too selfish,” Bai Wuchang lowered his head and whispered. “He died in such pain, but I don’t want him to take revenge…”
Song Xing did not die of natural causes. Wen Nuan had known this for a long time. Now hearing Bai Wuchang’s words, Wen Nuan frowned. Could it be that Song Xing was deliberately murdered?
🥺
Wow! I totally wasn’t expecting this!
Thanks for the chapter!
So good, thanks for the chapter!!
Cliffhanger 😭
I feel so bad for Heibai Wuchang, I’d never have known that Hei Wuchang was Song Xing 🤧
This is so sad 😭 who knew that behind hei wuchang’s bubbly and talkative personality was a despairing past TAT