tl note: the laughter “jiujiujiu” is how the coffin old man laughs, and the reason why it’s the title will be explained later on
Wu Rong was dreaming.
Since the implantation of the Zhengyang Seed, the initial fusion of Yin and Yang Qi has often left him feeling drowsy, like a hibernating snake, unable to muster much energy.
During this period, every time Wu Rong fell asleep, he had the same dream.
He would find himself in a place burning with dark, red flames. As far as the eyes could see, the surroundings were shrouded in a dense black fog. Flames lay like a plush carpet, burning at Wu Rong’s feet, yet he didn’t feel any heat. As he walked, the flames followed him.
The dark red firelight wasn’t very bright, flickering dimly, illuminating only a small area as the light was swallowed by the black fog in the distance.
The endless darkness was like the ravenous maw of a demon, capable of devouring all, but Wu Rong felt no fear. He was experiencing a “lucid dream”, meaning he was fully aware that he was dreaming.
He had been to this land of dark red flames in his dreams numerous times before this, and he knew what he would see soon after. This time was no different from previous times. He chose a direction and walked forward, walking for a long, unknown duration. Underfoot, the darkness was filled with pale things and the void.
All of them were human skeletons.
Broken and sharp bones, some yellowed, some pale, and some brittle as if they’d been scorched by fire. Gradually, the ground became littered with bones, and Wu Rong walked on them, feeling the texture under his feet. More and more bones accumulated, and in the distance, he could see bones piled up on an upward slope, like a mountain of bones.
Wu Rong climbed up the mountain of bones, and fragments of bones tumbled down from under his feet. The dark red flames stopped at the base of the pile, resembling a lush, dark red sea of flowers when viewed from a distance. The bone mountain wasn’t very tall, and Wu Rong was about to reach the summit. What was strange was that in his previous experiences dreaming, around this time, he would usually start to wake up, and the surroundings would become increasingly blurry. However, this time, the dream seemed to be unusually long-lasting, and Wu Rong didn’t feel like he was about to wake up.
With some confusion, Wu Rong finally reached the summit of the mound of bones.
Ding ling ling—
A clinking sound echoed clearly.
Despite there being no wind, the copper coins hung on red strings were swaying slightly, resembling unique wind chimes. An intricate web of intersecting red threads filled the entire space before him. These red threads weren’t thin; they seemed to contain strands of golden threads that glittered. Some of the red threads had decayed, revealing pure gold threading inside. Peering through the expanse of red threads towards the center, Wu Rong could faintly see a black lacquered coffin standing there.
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.
During his previous dreams, Wu Rong had sensed that this array of red threads, adorned with copper coins, seemed to be a sealing formation designed to secure the coffin in the center. Every time he reached this point in the dream, he would soon wake up, leaving no opportunity for him to carefully examine his surroundings. However, this time was different. Wu Rong took the chance to walk around the periphery of the red thread formation and discovered that at the northern, eastern, western, southeastern, and southwestern directions, where the red threads converged, there were no copper coins but rather gold charms attached. It was just that the gold charms in the eastern and southeastern directions had turned black and decayed.
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The coffin was peculiar, as Wu Rong had never seen a coffin standing upright like this before. The place itself was strange, with white bones, dark red firelight, talismans, and an upright coffin, all exuding an eerie atmosphere. Surprisingly, Wu Rong detected no trace of Ghost Qi in this place, which felt exceptionally clean, akin to a Heavenly Masters’ temple.
Suddenly, the surroundings began to blur, and Wu Rong felt slightly dizzy. He knew he was about to wake up from the dream, but the black coffin in the center gave him a strange and distant sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere long ago. The darkness gradually transformed into a misty, leaden gray – like the arrival of daybreak. Wu Rong’s body also grew increasingly weightless, without any sense of gravity, about to drift off like a wisp of fog.
No, he didn’t want to leave.
It was rare for this dream to last this long, and Wu Rong didn’t want it to end right now. However, like every time before, he had no control over when the dream would conclude. He could only try his best to remember everything he saw today. The coffin in the center appeared to have some patterns, but Wu Rong couldn’t see them clearly. Tempted, Wu Rong took a step forward. However, he forgot that he was currently as light as a wisp of fog, and he didn’t manage his force properly. He’d floated forward too much.
Then, he collided with the red threads.
Ding ling ling—
Ding ling ling ling—
All the copper coins began to chime crisply. Not just the strand Wu Rong had bumped into, but all the copper coins across the formation clinked in unison, swaying without any wind, and resonating with increasing intensity. Soon, the clamor became overwhelming, and Wu Rong felt disoriented. His brain buzzed incessantly. The surroundings, the mountain of bones, and the dark coffin gradually blurred. His body floated upwards, about to awaken from the dream.
But in the next moment, Wu Rong watched in amazement as the lid of the black coffin at the center of the red thread formation slid open, revealing a man in red robes with flowing ink-black hair, lying motionless inside. Apart from his pale complexion, he appeared perfectly preserved. With arched eyebrows and eyes closed, he seemed as if he were in a deep slumber.
The moment Wu Rong saw him, his heart shook violently. Under the surge of emotions, his vision plunged into darkness, and he was entirely pulled out of the dreamland.
Ding ling ling—
Ding ling ling ling—
Wu Rong kept his eyes closed and promptly turned off the alarm. The sight of bones, red strings, and the black coffin still lingered before his eyes, their vivid colors contrasting strongly. However, what shocked him the most was the man inside the standing coffin; his appearance and clothing were identical to the Big Ghost!
He was bleeding.
Wu Rong vaguely saw that there were intersecting black nails inside the coffin, piercing the man’s body and affixing him to the coffin’s interior. Blood had stained his clothes, flowing down the nails like a river of blood. Could it be that he dreamed of the place where the Big Ghost’s body was?
Wu Rong recalled the red string and the copper coin formation, as well as the five golden talismans he had seen in his dreams, with two of them turning black. These matched the two layers of seals the Big Ghost had undone. He had frequently dreamed of this scene lately; was the Great Ghost trying to communicate with him through these dreams?
“Brother Rong, it’s time.”
“Mn.”
Wu Rong reluctantly pulled his thoughts together and opened his eyes. He met Huang Mao’s concerned gaze who asked, “I was just reading messages from cousin and you fell asleep. Have you been too tired recently?”
“I’m fine.”
The air conditioner in the car was blowing a cool breeze. Wu Rong, who was a little motion sick, sat in the back seat, and the window next to him was opened by a slit. After successfully connecting with the ‘Jade Collector’ on the Ministry of Public Security’s forum, Wu Rong took the jade to Foch Road as agreed, but unexpectedly fell asleep halfway.
“Sleepiness is a normal side effect during periods where Yin-Yang balance,” Bai Gu chimed in, understanding the situation. He tried to comfort Huang Mao with a few words, “There are often some reactions after establishing contact.”
Upon hearing that Wu Rong had been sleeping more lately due to the Yin-Yang contract, Huang Mao chuckled awkwardly and didn’t pursue the matter further. Wu Rong, on the other hand, knew that what Bai Gu had described didn’t entirely match his own situation. After signing the contract with Fu Qing, he had researched Yin-Yang contract side effects online. In theory, after establishing such a contract, the merging of Yin and Yang would result in their daily synchronization, intuitive understanding, and increased emotional connection between the two parties. It was commonly referred to as having a “telepathic bond.” Dreams of each other during sleep would also become more frequent.
However, since signing the contract with Fu Qing, Wu Rong had been dreaming constantly, yet Fu Qing was not present in any of these dreams. Instead, today’s dream seemed to have been mostly about the Big Ghost. It was indeed odd because even if the Big Ghost was related to Fu Qing, assuming he was his father or closest kin, it was unheard of to have dreams about your father-in-law every night after signing a contract with his son.
Moreover, Wu Rong always felt that his sudden telepathic communication with Fu Qing was too abrupt, especially during the instance when the Big Ghost had broken the two seals. Considering everything together, Wu Rong had some vague suspicions but couldn’t be certain. He decided to put these thoughts aside for now and concentrate on the task at hand.
Wu Rong had arranged to meet the mysterious woman at 4 PM, and it was currently 3:45 PM. The area of Foch Road was a newly developed zone in Yangjiaping in recent years, well-planned and fully equipped, with detached villas that resembled Western-style house suburbs. The lush vegetation around each villa provided a peaceful and quiet environment. However, it was almost too quiet, as there wasn’t a soul in sight on the street except for them.
“They must have all relocated to the city center,” Huang Mao commented.
The public security department has begun moving residents from the peripheral communities of the safe zone to the safer city center. Foch Road offers a great view, and patrol cars from the public security department still passed by here daily, but it was no longer as safe. Those who could afford to live here had either found other ways to leave Yangjiaping or had moved to the city center.
Only Ms. Mo still insisted on living here, as if she was stuck in her house. The volunteers from the Ministry of Public Security tried to persuade her several times but could not get her to move.
“She’s probably a determined old lady,” Huang Mao speculated. “She’s got to be at least seventy or eighty years old. Long-lived indeed.”
There was very little information available about the mysterious woman. Even with Wu Rong’s access to the Federal Special Police’s database, the information on her was scarce. He didn’t know her specific age or appearance, just that she was an eccentric elderly woman who preferred to keep to herself, liked to raise cats, and had a particular fondness for jade.
She hated Heavenly Masters the most.
So Wu Rong had refrained from bringing Su Xiaomi with him this time, leaving him at home to watch over the place.
“Mew~”
A sweet and coquettish milky cat’s meow came from the nearby passenger seat. A pure white Persian cat lay there, dignified and well-behaved, curling its furry tail. It seemed quite happy to have accompanied Wu Rong on this outing. It had groomed itself so well that its snow-white fur resembled silky satin.
However, Huang Mao was puzzled and commented, “Brother Rong, how come this cat isn’t growing? I remember when I first saw it, it was this small. Why hasn’t it grown, despite eating so much? Could it be a dwarf cat?”
Within the milky Persian cat’s inner thoughts, it meowed and protested, “Who’s a dwarf cat, meow? It’s you humans who have no sense of size!”
The cat hurriedly rubbed against Wu Rong’s leg, and its sweet meow became even sweeter. Nearby, Bai Gu couldn’t help but smile, resisting a laugh. When he first saw the group of cat spirits in Wu Rong’s villa this morning, he was almost taken aback. Seeing this familiar milky Persian cat again and watching it act like a cat was quite unexpected. Although Bai Gu had expected that these spiritual creatures would naturally gravitate to the person with the strongest luck and follow them, just like the weasel cubs encountered in Chaozhou, once there’s a second time, there will be a third time. He was surprised to find that this one had taken on the appearance and habits of a cat. Bai Gu had seen it this morning, nibbling on a bun with a furrowed brow like in pain, and when Wu Rong walked by, it even wagged its tail like a dog.
It was truly extraordinary.
Dingling.
The hour was exactly four o’clock, and the brisk ringing of a bell came from the direction of the villa, attracting everyone’s attention. In full view of everyone, the automatic fence door outside the villa slowly opened, and at the same time, an electronically synthesized androgynous voice sounded:
“Mr. Wu Rong, please come in.”
Editor: Cloud Chip Cake
Ahaha what cat this is a catdog the perfect mix. My bet is the big ghost is our fu’s missing spirits
2+2, Ah-Rong. 2+2.
most aztán az mc már nem szűz vagy még mindig szűz😓😳
now then the mc is no longer a virgin or still a virgin??🤔
…good question… I’m placing my bet on still v!rg!n, I don’t doubt Fu Daozeng’s ability so since Shan Rong isn’t in a wheelchair it prob means they didn’t do that and only kissed or got a little touchy touchy… …jó kérdés… Én a Still v!rg!n-re teszek fogadást, nem kételkedem Fu Daozeng képességében, így mivel Shan Rong nem ül tolószékben, valószínűleg nem tették meg *ezt * és csak csókolóztam, vagy kicsit tapintatos volt… btw Google fordítót használok, így lehet, hogy nincs értelme a mondatnak.
Theory 1: World 1 (Ghost King Wu Rong) and World 2 (normal Wu Rong) souls were suck out of a spatial crack or something similar, e.g. the reborn people who meets a special requirement and World 2 Wu Rong, and the souls were transported into world 3 (current story timeline), in world 1 Wu Rong and Fu Qing fell in love but Ghost King Wu Rong died and human Fu Qing died so Fu Qing stayed as ghost, after Ghost King Wu Rong’s death his soul reincarnated into normal Wu Rong, later spatial crack opened and souls were sucked in it and after going into World 3 the souls from World 1 enters the body making the people reborn, but Wu Rong and Fu Qing are special conditions, Wu Rong’s soul from World 1 reincarnated into World 2 so World 2 Wu Rong’s ghost was summoned and he went into World 3 Wu Rong’s body as a “reborn” person without memories of World 1 Wu Rong because he reincarnated into World 2 Wu Rong before spacial crack stuff happened. For Fu Qing it’s because Nan, his ghost after he died in World 1, found Wu Rong and sticked to him and refused to return to the main body, basically Fu Qing was meant to also be a “reborn” person…
Theory 2: Before World 1, 2, and 3 existed there is a World 0 where Wu Rong and Fu Qing lived with different identities, a timeline when the Tienkengs first opened, they were sucked in and became heavenly ghost after much difficulty, they fell in love, then the heroes came and freed their soul from this torture but Nan didn’t leave because his obsession wasn’t eliminated so his soul split in 2, one went on to reincarnate while one stayed as a “ghost” which is Nan (or another possibility they were one of the heroes who sacrificed who were in love but died to save mankind, Nan remained cuz during the process he got vengeful and sh!t happened) but later on in World 1, because Wu Rong killed so much in his previous life he was a disaster star and the heaven hated him, karma came along and that goes on with Ghost King Wu Rong, and because Fu Qing’s soul was split he had heavy Yang constitution cuz his sins from killing was all taken by Nan.
tbh, I don’t know if Fu Qing from world 1 was also missing a soul so I feel theory 1 is more possible, but if you’re interested in my theories then feel free to reply so I can explain them more in-depth and explain my reasoning behind proposing such theories and many more to why it would make sense.