She Comes Into My Dreams Every Night - Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Incalculable Influence of a Romantic Mind on a Ghost

August, Minguán.

The Celestial Master stood on the mountaintop, looking out at the endless stretch of emerald peaks.

Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and the wraith’s territory was situated in the midst of it all, lush and green.

According to intelligence, after it was born from resentment, it first consumed Beiguan Village, which held the main karma, and then expanded outwards, successively consuming several surrounding villages that were also tainted with karma. Once all the karma directly related to it was contained within it, it ceased its activity, shrinking back into this mountain region.

As a wraith, it was uncharacteristically calm, which was likely why the intelligence agents hadn’t discovered it before.

Lei Zhengqing lowered her gaze. The Celestial Masters behind her were all on high alert.

Even though the wraith intentionally concealed itself, the soaring Yin energy was impossible to ignore at such close range.

Everyone here had signed a life-and-death agreement before setting off.

Although they were all seasoned Celestial Masters with abundant experience, a Heaven-Grade A wraith…

Lei Zhengqing appeared calm, but she was pessimistic about this operation, even despairing.

“What are you thinking so gloomily about?” a kind-faced old woman walked over and patted her shoulder.

Lei Zhengqing quickly responded: “Just spacing out for a moment.”

The old woman shook her head: “At your age, you still aren’t good at managing your expressions—you’re worried about the mission failing, aren’t you?”

Lei Zhengqing was uncharacteristically silent. After a long pause, she showed a helpless smile: “Indeed, nothing gets past Master.”

The old Celestial Master rolled her eyes at her: “You don’t need to worry yet. We old bones are still here. If all else fails, we’ll just achieve nirvana right here and confine it, and that’ll be that.”

Hearing this, Lei Zhengqing was greatly alarmed: “Master, you mustn’t say such things!”

The old Celestial Master raised an eyebrow: “Why not?”

“It’s bad luck to say such things before a battle.”

“What era is this? Can you stop with the feudal superstitions?”

Her Master spoke bluntly, so Lei Zhengqing simply shut up.

“Besides, I don’t think things will necessarily reach that point.”

“How so?”

The old Celestial Master gave her another look of disdain: “Modern people, stop using such flowery language.”

Lei Zhengqing felt she was in the wrong and said nothing.

“The one on the opposite side is a wraith that hasn’t killed in decades. It has likely become very close to human. The closer it is to that state, the more it cherishes its existence. It’s best for us to persuade it rather than show so much hostility from the start.”

“But,” compared to the old Celestial Master’s open-mindedness, Lei Zhengqing was worried: “It has already captured an innocent person…”

“But it hasn’t killed her, has it?” The old Celestial Master smiled: “It is still a wraith, not a malevolent ghost. There is a huge difference between a malevolent ghost and a wraith…”

The old Celestial Master, who had seen it all, had wrinkles crisscrossing her face. Recalling something, her gaze looked forward.

A thin layer of mist had appeared at the foot of the mountain at some unknown time, grayish-white, like the sky-obscuring smoke of a mountain fire.

Inside the little world, the wraith was lying in front of the bed, her amber eyes fixed unblinkingly on the woman lying on the bed.

Since this person entered her little world, her favorite thing to do was to watch her without stopping, as if she could never get enough.

To watch her, the wraith didn’t even bother to have her terrifying dreams.

She didn’t know why she watched her like this, but the desire in her heart told her so.

Watch her, protect her, and stay with her always.

An indescribable feeling surged in her empty chest, sweeter than joy, more intense than jealousy.

Lin Jue didn’t yet know what this was, but she found the term used for this feeling in her fragmented memories.

“Love.”

She had fallen in love with this person, fallen in love with this innocent person she was originally supposed to devour.

Where this love came from, and when it was born—Lin Jue didn’t know.

Perhaps it was the first time she carried her and ran out, or perhaps the hundredth time she carried her and ran out.

None of that mattered.

Lin Jue had originally planned to devour her if she ran away and abandoned her even once.

But since the second time, she couldn’t bear to.

It was the first time the wraith had tasted this unspeakable flavor.

The girl knelt on the ground, both arms resting on the mattress, gazing intently, tracing the woman’s appearance with her eyes.

Su Huaiwang.

Her name was Su Huaiwang.

The girl smiled, joyful, cautious, like an orphan who had unintentionally stumbled upon a treasure.

She reached out her head, rubbing against the woman’s helpless palm.

Soft black hair rolled under the palm. The woman in her sleep was unaware of this.

Fortunately, she still had a human body. Humans probably didn’t like the true form of a ghost, the wraith thought, squinting her eyes in enjoyment.

The amber eyes closed and then opened. The wraith’s face suddenly turned pale and indifferent.

She gently stood up from the bedside. After giving Su Huaiwang a final, deep look, she dematerialized and passed through the door.

On the other side, the Celestial Masters team had entered Beiguan Village.

The entire journey was unimpeded, and a degree of uneasiness accumulated in everyone’s hearts.

Fortunately, upon reaching Beiguan Village, they finally encountered their first obstacle.

In the mist, charred shadows of various heights and sizes, with indistinct faces, abruptly appeared, surrounding them completely.

The experienced Celestial Masters reacted quickly, immediately forming a battle formation.

“They are chang ghosts!” Lei Zhengqing shouted.

Just as they were about to strike, the charred shadows stopped, moving no further.

A young voice sounded in the mist, piercing the minds like ice.

“Leave this place.”

Lei Zhengqing’s heart pounded rapidly.

It was the wraith.

She stepped forward, bowed to the mist: “We bear no ill will. We only wish to speak with Your Excellency.”

The other side fell into a long silence. The old Celestial Master beside her couldn’t help but give her another eye roll, muttering:

“I told you not to speak so pretentiously!”

What if the one opposite was a ghost that slipped through the cracks of the nine-year compulsory education system?

Fortunately, it wasn’t.

“I have nothing to discuss with you. I will not harm the innocent. There’s no need for you to eliminate me. If you are concerned, we can swear a Heavenly Dao Oath.”

At this statement, the Celestial Masters in the team collectively gasped.

A Heavenly Dao Oath!

In all their calculations, they had not anticipated that this wraith would be so easy to negotiate with.

It was actually willing to swear an oath that, if broken, would instantly lead to demise, with no chance of reincarnation.

And judging by the light tone of the other party, she didn’t seem to take the suggestion seriously at all.

Lei Zhengqing hesitated.

Ultimately, it was the old Celestial Master beside her who stepped forward:

“The innocent you can acknowledge seem to be few.”

Only then did the Celestial Masters realize.

The entity opposite them was not a ghost born from the resentment of a dead person, which they usually dealt with, but a collective of resentment.

In other words, anyone connected to this resentment, regardless of whether they had personally harmed her, could not be considered innocent. This included perpetrators who committed similar acts across the ocean, bystanders who turned a blind eye to the acts of resentment, and institutions or groups that shielded and ignored them…

“How clever.” The female voice in the mist chuckled softly: “But what’s wrong with that? Karma and retribution. This is the price they should pay.”

Lin Jue preferred to avoid confrontation, but she also didn’t want to be easily restrained by them.

Lei Zhengqing pondered for a moment: “This condition is not unacceptable, but we can’t completely trust you.”

“What, you can’t even trust a Heavenly Dao Oath?”

“A Heavenly Dao Oath still has loopholes to exploit. Both you and I are aware that swearing the oath is also a test of trust between both parties.”

The wraith laughed again. Even the chang ghosts were forced to show a smile that was uglier than crying.

“Then tell me, how can you trust me?”

“Return the innocent person in your possession first.”

Silence, a long silence.

The mist suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, bringing beads of sweat to Lei Zhengqing’s forehead.

The chang ghosts’ expressions turned from smiling to wailing. The Celestial Masters quickly tightened their formation.

“So,” the wraith’s voice returned, devoid of both joy and anger, only indifference: “That is your goal.”

“I will not let you take her. Please leave.”

As soon as the words fell, the mist solidified, the choking smoke locking their throats. The chang ghosts’ excited screams rang in their ears.

A mountain of fierce fire blazed, fueling the slaughter’s intent.

Clouds gathered. Lightning flashed, bringing a fierce storm that swept away the smoke and suffering.

A Celestial Master shouted amidst the chaos: “She is innocent! If you kill her, you will turn into a malevolent ghost, unforgivable by the world!”

A wraith is the world’s karma. A malevolent ghost is the world’s evil. The world harbors guilt towards a wraith, but must destroy a malevolent ghost.

Lin Jue couldn’t help but say: “Who said I’m going to kill her?”

Lei Zhengqing, who was controlling the lightning magic, suddenly heard the reply and faltered: “If you’re not going to kill her, are you planning to torture her?”

“Are you sick?”

The wraith’s remark carried contempt. In all her years as a Celestial Master, this was the first time Lei Zhengqing had been spoken to this way by a ghost.

“Of course I want to keep her by my side,” the wraith’s originally sinister voice couldn’t help but turn sweet when she mentioned this. It sounded strange no matter how one heard it: “Because I love her.”

When the wraith said this, it was like forty Lei Zhengqings simultaneously unleashed an unexpected clap of thunder to the Celestial Masters who were swinging their swords to dispel evil.

The slightly younger Celestial Masters shivered. The swords in their hands almost sliced past the chang ghosts and hit their own comrades’ heads.

Lei Zhengqing was also considered experienced. Even she showed surprise: “What do you mean?”

“The literal meaning.” Lin Jue had no patience for these education-deficient Celestial Masters who didn’t understand words.

Lei Zhengqing was silent for a moment, then suddenly understood the other party’s mindset.

The corner of her lips curved, but there was no smile in her eyes.

Her long robe billowed. The Celestial Master actually soared into the air, her sword pointing directly at the location of the wraith:

“I see. This is what you perceive as love.

“Forcibly taking, seizing, disregarding the will of others, only satisfying yourself.

“Have you ever considered that she also has her own life, people she loves, and a life she wants to live?

“How much do you even know about her? Do you know what kind of person she is? If you don’t know, what is it that you love about her? And how dare you speak of ‘love’?

“You claim to love her, but does she love you?

“You are much more arrogant than you think, wraith.

“You fundamentally do not understand love. Of course, how could a ghost possibly know?

“You don’t love her at all. You are merely—

“Greedy.”

As the final word fell, like a gavel sealing a verdict in court, the world instantly changed color.

The wraith’s voice remained without sorrow or joy, with neither rise nor fall.

But everyone could tell that she was on the verge of rage, about to lose her mind.

“I have changed my mind.

“Originally, you would only have suffered some superficial pain. Now, thanks to her, you will join them and suffer the eternal, non-stop terrifying dreams with me.”

Them—the chang ghosts opened their mouths, revealing the charred interior of their mouths. Their limbs were ecstatic, not faking it.

Great. New scapegoats again.

More people were coming to suffer with them.