She Comes Into My Dreams Every Night - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Hearing is Believing, Seeing is Believing

“Can my memory be restored?” Su Huaiwang looked at her calmly and asked.

“No,” Lei Yinyin gave her a straightforward reply.

They were currently sitting in Lei Yinyin’s house. Su Huaiwang had only been here a few times while dropping off the dogs, and those were mostly fleeting glances. Now that she was sitting peacefully inside, she finally had the chance to observe the decor that was vastly different from her own home.

Unlike Lin Jue’s house, which was decorated almost exactly like hers, Lei Yinyin’s current residence was filled with her unique personal marks.

Calligraphy and paintings Su Huaiwang didn’t understand, and talisman papers were stuck everywhere, along with incense burners, unknown herbs, and flowers… which gave the space a unique, mysterious charm.

Lei Yinyin saw her gaze drift toward the talismans, so she explained: “Those are anti-ghost talismans. If they work, they can prevent Lin Jue from eavesdropping on us.”

“Eavesdropping?”

“Yes, a ghost of Lin Jue’s caliber, anything she wants to know, nothing can escape her sight and hearing. Even the barrier talismans I’ve placed here are just child’s play to her.”

Su Huaiwang looked up, somewhat curious.

Although reluctant, Lei Yinyin still clarified for Lin Jue: “But according to what she said, she has no interest in violating other people’s privacy.”

Su Huaiwang didn’t dwell much on the topic of personal privacy, instead picking out the point that interested her: “A ghost of her caliber? Is she very powerful?”

Lei Yinyin nodded, her expression low: “She’s one of the most powerful ghosts of the last few decades, and a troublesome wraith at that.”

“Wraith? What does that mean?”

Lei Yinyin looked up at her in surprise: “Didn’t she tell you? A wraith is a ghost born from resentment.”

“She did mention that part, something about a collective of resentment.” These concepts were a bit difficult for a modern person who had never encountered tales of the supernatural.

“A ghost born from resentment receives the world’s protection. We cannot kill her. Even if her current body is destroyed, she will eventually be reborn in some corner, unless—”

“Unless?”

“Unless her resentment, or rather, her obsession, is eliminated.”

“It feels like a plot device very suitable for a dramatic development,” Su Huaiwang shrugged and muttered.

“Actually, the method of eliminating obsession isn’t necessary for most wraiths.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wraiths can only act against the targets involved in their sins—the so-called perpetrators. Once they kill an innocent person, they will transform into a malevolent ghost. Once they become a malevolent ghost, although their danger level increases significantly, they become easier to kill.”

At this point, Lei Yinyin sighed: “Although I hate to admit it, Lin Jue is indeed a rare type of wraith, seen once in a century.

“Since her birth, she has never harmed an innocent person. It’s precisely because of this that she is so frustratingly difficult to deal with.”

There was one more thing Lei Yinyin didn’t say. She was conflicted.

That was, Lin Jue didn’t refrain from killing innocents because she didn’t want to become a malevolent ghost, but simply because she didn’t want to.

A year ago, she could have killed the Celestial Masters who came to suppress her, as promised—an eye for an eye, self-defense. She would not have become a malevolent ghost.

But at the last moment, she still held back.

Lei Yinyin only recently learned about this. Logically speaking, she should thank Lin Jue properly.

Su Huaiwang watched the conflicted Lei Yinyin for a long time, then suddenly spoke: “So you are looking for her obsession now?”

“Huh?” Lei Yinyin was startled, but quickly recovered: “Strictly speaking, I am protecting you.

“Her obsession is very clear and doesn’t need to be searched for. I’m staying here because I’m afraid she will harm you.”

Su Huaiwang was confused: “Didn’t you say she has never harmed an innocent person? I shouldn’t… have anything to do with her matters, right?”

She brainstormed for a moment before tentatively saying this.

Lei Yinyin nodded, her expression serious: “That’s true. But a year ago, she almost harmed you. A wraith is uncontrollable. What if one day—”

“Why are you so nervous?” Su Huaiwang interrupted her.

She looked at the Celestial Master’s tightly clenched fists, gripping so hard that the entire layer of skin was unnaturally red.

Lei Yinyin’s immediate reply was professional ethics: “To serve the people wholeheartedly, never abandon, never give up…”

“Say something outside of your civil service exam material.”

“…I was once deceived by a wraith,” Lei Yinyin lowered her gaze.

“Is it something I can hear?”

“It’s not a secret, many people know about it.” Lei Yinyin shook her head, her face relaxed.

“That wraith was a little girl who was abused to death by her family, so her obsession was simple: she wanted to kill her parents and siblings.

“Sounds pitiful, right? I thought so too, and she wasn’t a major ghost, just a weak little one.

“Such a small child, turned into a ghost. If I captured her, she’d be locked in a ghost-binding cage. How uncomfortable, how lonely. And now the Demon Subjugation Office is short-handed. They might not resolve her obsession. More likely, they would just wait until her family passed away naturally and then hold a reincarnation ceremony for her.

“In that case, she would have to live in terrifying dreams for at least sixty or seventy more years. That’s too cruel. So I concealed the matter, hoping to find another way for her to reincarnate.

“—Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, there is one more way to eliminate a wraith, which is to influence it, to make it let go of its obsession on its own. You can imagine how difficult that is.

“How could I have been so confident back then, thinking I could influence it?

“It started well. The wraith went from attacking me on sight to calling me ‘sister.’ I confined her in my house. The place was remote, and I thought no one would notice.

“But at some point, she actually befriended another girl from the neighboring village. That girl would secretly sneak over to my house every day to find her.

“I thought—friendship, maybe this was part of influencing her. So I somewhat indulged this behavior happening right under my nose.

“Until an emergency business trip. When I returned, I found that little girl dead in my house.”

Lei Yinyin let out a long breath: “Since she became a malevolent ghost, there was nothing more to say. I could only kill her.”

“And,” she lowered her gaze: “The ripple effect of that incident was huge. After all, someone died, so there had to be an explanation.

“So now you understand, wraiths cannot be trusted. They only retain negative emotions—pain, hatred, sadness, and the like. As for those beautiful emotions—they don’t have hearts, how could they produce those emotions?

“Ha, that wraith, no, malevolent ghost, was crying even before she died, saying she never intended to kill, but suddenly, for a moment, she felt jealous…”

Lei Yinyin’s breathing was slightly rapid. She took two or three deep breaths to calm down.

She looked up at Su Huaiwang, a faint smile on her face, but only determination in her eyes: “So, a wraith cannot be trusted. They can even deceive themselves. Whatever she told you is not true.

“A wraith, from beginning to end, does not understand love.

“It’s nothing more than greed, nothing else.”

Her lengthy discourse finally ended. She looked up at the woman’s expression.

The woman’s expression was calm, only a slight crease at her brow.

Lei Yinyin’s eyelid twitched. She quickly continued: “The reason your memory can’t be restored is also because Lin Jue did it. Everything about you can be manipulated as long as she wills it! Your power dynamic is unequal! Don’t believe her words! This is fundamentally not—”

“Not love,” Su Huaiwang finished for her, her expression still unperturbed.

“But in this world, how many situations are truly equal? Falling in love with a person is probably not much better than falling in love with a ghost,” Su Huaiwang touched the side of her face, as if contemplating something.

Lei Yinyin frowned: “This is not a situation that can be compared. Your most important priority right now is how to escape Lin Jue. If you are willing, the Demon Subjugation Office can provide you with accommodation. She will show some restraint…”

“Why should I escape Lin Jue?” Su Huaiwang countered.

Lei Yinyin was stunned: “Didn’t you… come to me because of this fear?”

“Did I say I came to you because I was afraid?” Su Huaiwang was slightly puzzled, then shifted her gaze: “I only came to ask you because my lover has a new identity I don’t quite understand, and I wanted to learn more about it.”

She hadn’t expected to hear such a long story from Lei Yinyin. The story was exciting, but

What did it have to do with her?

No matter what Lei Yinyin was implying, Su Huaiwang was impervious.

Su Huaiwang’s words shocked Lei Yinyin no less than the first time she saw her mother perform lightning magic when she was young.

Her eyes were wide with disbelief. Her lips moved, but she couldn’t utter a single word.

Su Huaiwang stood up: “It’s getting late. I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for telling me so much today.”

Her thanks were sincere, but they made the person sitting across from her instantly slump.

“So you are absolutely going to choose her?” Lei Yinyin’s voice was very low, her fingers tightly digging into the sofa, carrying a helpless pain.

“I wouldn’t say absolutely,” Su Huaiwang left herself an out: “I just want to see how long this relationship can last. It’s not like first loves are guaranteed to last forever, right?”

“You will die.”

“That’s a bit inauspicious,” Su Huaiwang paused in her step. After a lighthearted comment, she became serious: “But I am an adult. The choice is mine, and I won’t hold anyone responsible.

“Besides, if I were to doubt the person I like based solely on someone else’s one-sided story, wouldn’t that make me too unconfident? I should at least see for myself before deciding, right?”

Her tone was light, forming a stark contrast with Lei Yinyin’s heavy voice.

Lei Yinyin looked at her for a long time, finally relenting: “…If you need help, you can come to us. I’ll be staying here for a while. Although I might not be able to defeat her, I can at least buy you some time.”

Su Huaiwang pursed her lips: “That’s a bit too much trouble. It would be a waste of public resources, and I would feel uneasy.”

“Protecting every citizen is our responsibility. There is no such thing as a waste.”

Seeing that she couldn’t argue with her, Su Huaiwang could only give up trying to persuade her:

“Oh, right, there’s one more thing I forgot to ask.”

“What?”

“What is Lin Jue’s obsession?”