I Need To Find A Way To Make Her Love Me Again - Chapter 37

Ziruo’s voice carried a hint of bashful annoyance, but Guan Fei, acting as if nothing were wrong, spoke in a reminiscent tone: “I’m not talking nonsense, isn’t this…”

Yi Rong suddenly stood up and said, “I’ll go settle the bill.”

Interrupted, Guan Fei noticed something tugging at her hem, it was a small shadow fish. Jiaoyu glanced at the fish under the table while eating her wontons, remarking to the person beside her, “You certainly talk a lot.”

Hearing this, Guan Fei stopped her teasing and said, “Alright, I won’t disturb your meal then, Yuyu.”

Seeing this, Yan Xingyu rolled her eyes. “I’m the one being disturbed here, okay?”

Guan Fei laughed. “Xingyu, I didn’t mean it. Forgive me.” She then pivoted to a new topic. “If you want to return to Yulan Palace, I suggest you wait a few days.”

“Why?” Yan Xingyu asked.

“The Ghost City is about to open. I heard that when it opened last year, Yulan Palace attracted quite a crowd of ghosts and monsters. This year should be no different.”

Yan Xingyu laughed at this. “Are the few of us really afraid of a few ghosts?”

Guan Fei replied, “We aren’t afraid, but it’s a hassle. Besides, Yulan Palace is mostly just deserted halls now.”

Yan Xingyu pondered for a moment. Yi Rong returned and sat beside her again. Yan Xingyu glanced at her but remained firm: “I still need to return to Yulan Palace as soon as possible.”

“I’m just giving you a heads-up,” Guan Fei responded. “Since you don’t want to change the itinerary, we shall set out as planned.”

Yan Xingyu hummed in agreement, finished her last wonton, and looked up as the evening lights flickered to life. The shadows of people swayed under the lamps, and the night buzzed with noise.

As the bright moon rose high and all things fell silent, the sound of leaves brushing against robes echoed through the mountain paths. Yan Xingyu hadn’t expected that when she said “as soon as possible,” Guan Fei and the others would literally push her to rush through the journey without rest.

What should have been a week long journey from Fucheng to Yulan Palace was compressed into three days. If her spiritual veins hadn’t been repaired, she truly wouldn’t have been able to keep up with these “immortals.”

Looking at the people leading the way, she said, “How about we find a place to rest for a bit and climb up to Yulan Palace tomorrow?”

Guan Fei replied, “Xingyu, the Ghost City could open at any moment. It’s best for us to reach Yulan Palace as quickly as possible to avoid the opening window.”

Yan Xingyu felt helpless. Though she was the one who wanted to hurry, this pace was exhausting. Moreover, she hadn’t expected Yulan Palace to be situated deep within a mountain range, she wasn’t thrilled about navigating mountain paths in the dead of night.

Seeing how the others walked on the rugged terrain as if it were level ground, she couldn’t help but remark, “Guan Fei, sometimes I really think you aren’t blind. Are you faking it? This mountain is so steep and the path so dark, yet you walk more steadily than I do.”

“Xingyu, I use spiritual energy to probe the path. Whether it’s day or night makes little difference to me.” Guan Fei held the hand of the person beside her and added, “However, Yuyu almost tripped just now.”

Jiaoyu glanced back and said, “If you can’t see the road, let Yi Rong lead you.”

“No need, I’m not that fragile.”

Over the past few days, Yi Rong hadn’t spoken much to her. Even after leaving the city, she continued to wear her bamboo hat. Separated by a veil of gauze, she seemed to intentionally create a distance between them. Yan Xingyu didn’t want to force herself into an awkward situation; she decided to wait until the Yulan Palace matters were settled before having a proper talk.

Jiaoyu also noticed the growing estrangement between the two. She had thought about intervening to ease the tension, but seeing that Yan Xingyu wasn’t receptive, she remained silent.

Yan Xingyu was breathless from the climb and wanted to pause. Seeing Guan Fei and the others moving forward tirelessly, she stopped to take a few breaths, only to find they had already put a significant distance between them.

She shouted, “Wait! Stop walking, let’s rest for a moment!”

Guan Fei turned back, about to say they were almost there, when she heard Jiaoyu exclaim, “There’s something strange ahead!”

Guan Fei was startled, why hadn’t her spiritual senses detected anything?

Jiaoyu saw several giant boulders standing before them. The moonlight was bright, and the forest shadows rested quietly under the silver glow.

But the shadows of the stones were different.

Watching the stone shadows expand toward them, Jiaoyu’s internal alarm bells rang. She grabbed Guan Fei, pulled her into her arms, and leaped away just as the area was consumed by the encroaching shadow.

She called out to Yi Rong, who had been standing silently, “Take Yan Xingyu and go! Don’t touch that stone shadow!”

As soon as Jiaoyu spoke, Yi Rong also sensed the anomaly. Obeying the instruction, she pulled Yan Xingyu into her protective embrace and flew into the air.

“Ah! What’s happening?”

Yan Xingyu grabbed onto Yi Rong, looking down to see the black shadow expanding across the ground. “What is that?”

Yi Rong looked down and said, “The Gate of the Ghost City.”

…Yan Xingyu couldn’t be that unlucky, could she?

Hearing Yi Rong’s words, Guan Fei said, “Great, we’ve run right into it. We should leave first and wait for the city to open fully before coming back.”

Jiaoyu knew the situation was thorny. Without hesitation, she prepared to fly further away with Guan Fei.

Yi Rong had the same intention, but suddenly, a blue butterfly half a meter tall burst from the black shadow. With lightning speed, it grabbed Yan Xingyu’s ankle, pinning them down.

Yan Xingyu gathered her energy into a blade and struck downward. The blow pierced the giant butterfly, but it instantly dissolved into countless tiny butterflies that swarmed toward them.

Seeing the black shadows rising from the ground to form city gates and buildings, Yi Rong summoned her shadow fish to counter the butterflies.

The Ghost City gates had opened, and they couldn’t escape in time. Yi Rong took off her bamboo hat and placed it on Yan Xingyu’s head. She descended, landing on a street between the buildings, pulling Yan Xingyu close to her and signaling her to stay absolutely still.

When Yan Xingyu steadied herself and looked up, the world had transformed. Surrounded by tiered buildings and pavilions, they were now standing within the heart of a budding city.

Ding-ling, ding-ling… The sound of bells drifted from afar. She turned to see ghosts with colorful faces and ferocious tusks, dressed in magnificent robes. Laughing and sticking out their tongues, they emerged one after another from the shadows.

The shadow fish finished devouring the blue butterflies and returned to its master. Yi Rong frowned at the endless stream of ghosts. she commanded the small fish to slip inside Yan Xingyu’s outer clothing, pressing against her skin to completely mask her human aura.

Unaware of the intent, Yan Xingyu felt a sudden icy sensation that made her shiver. Sensing her movement, Yi Rong pulled her even closer and whispered, “Don’t move.”

That low whisper, accompanied by a breath of warmth, brushed against the tip of her ear and traveled straight to her heart. It was a level of intimacy different from before, striking a sensitive chord.

The gesture caught Yan Xingyu off guard. Her breathing hitched, and she froze in Yi Rong’s arms.

Once the horde of ghosts finally passed without noticing Yan Xingyu’s out of place human presence, Yi Rong breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling the erratic rhythm of the person in her arms, she assumed she was afraid and said, “It’s alright, they didn’t see us.”

Yan Xingyu gave an uneasy “Mm.” She watched the departing ghosts, trying to keep her voice normal as she asked, “Where are they going?”

“I don’t know,” Yi Rong said, looking up at the sky which resembled a pool of thick ink. “We are inside the Ghost City’s barrier. We can’t get out for now.”

Yan Xingyu noticed smaller ghosts appearing nearby, chattering and frolicking, very different from the first group. She asked, “Do they appear in waves?”

“Possibly,” Yi Rong replied. “I’ve never been here either.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Stay put. Once the Ghost City gates close, we’ll be able to leave naturally.”

Hearing this, Yan Xingyu looked at the way Yi Rong was holding her. She gave a slight push and said, “Guan Fei and the others must be worried seeing us trapped here. Staying still isn’t great, maybe we should try to find an exit.”

Feeling the slight push, Yi Rong felt as though Yan Xingyu was reluctant to be near her. Her eyes dimmed, and she released her hold. After a moment of silence, she said, “True. Perhaps we should follow those ghosts and see where they are heading.”

Yan Xingyu nodded. On the surface, she followed quietly, but her mind was a chaotic mess.

She couldn’t deny that she liked Yi Rong’s closeness, but she also felt that Yi Rong didn’t actually have “those” feelings for her. She felt Yi Rong was a good person, and rather than chasing a romance, she preferred to protect Yi Rong’s pure heart.

But these unintentional flirtations and moments of closeness made it impossible for her to stay calm. She wanted to scream, Yi Rong, stop being so close to me!

Yet, she feared hurting her feelings.

The memory of those soft lips brushing against her ear flashed through her mind, and her heart began to thud wildly. She was truly being driven mad…