Spirit Reaper - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: I Believe in You — She didn’t want to fail Qin An’s trust…

Upon clicking in, Yu Wuyi was met with massive blocks of exclamation marks and the original poster’s wild speculations regarding this mysterious living person.

“Breaking News! Her Highness Zonglan fell in love at first sight with a living person while traveling the human realm!! It had to be them!! This person was also smitten with Her Highness at first sight; the two hit it off and signed a marriage contract on the spot! They recently held their wedding ceremony in the mortal world!”

“Her Highness Zonglan was a hero in her past life, devoted to her duties and indifferent to marriage. Who would have thought her heart would finally bloom after death!! This editor is quite shocked. Although I wanted to dig up more dirt on that living person, unfortunately, my sources refuse to reveal more!!”

“1F: What?! After all that, you don’t even know if the person is male or female, old or young? I seriously doubt the authenticity of this post!”

“2F: No! I refuse to accept this! A perfect existence like Her Highness Zonglan—if even I’m not good enough, who could possibly be worthy?!”

“3F: Caught a ‘dream girl’ fan of Her Highness Zonglan on the floor above!”

“4F: Just quietly dropping a side note—it seems Her Highness didn’t just get married; she also signed a new living Underworld Emissary. Mmm, think about it, just think about it…”

“5F: Replying to the floor above, I’ve seen that new little Emissary! She’s quite handsome—red lips, white teeth, and moist eyes like a puppy. Most importantly, she smells incredible!”

“6F: If we speculate like this… hehe, Her Highness Zonglan is eating well…”

The messages piled up into the thousands, and the heat continued to climb, rightfully shooting to the top of the forum’s rankings.

Yu Wuyi, on the other hand, grew increasingly speechless as she read. Truly, once the protagonist of the gossip becomes yourself, it loses its flavor. Qin An and she only had a marriage of convenience; how did it turn into such a sensational “love at first sight” story here?

And as for “5F,” she reasonably suspected it was one of the two Guards—Black or White—who had stopped her at the palace gates…

“Maybe… is there a possibility that Zonglan and that person are just in a marriage of convenience where each gets what they need…?” Yu Wuyi gritted her teeth and posted her first comment on the forum.

The ghost netizens were no slouches when it came to surfing the web. Before long, a thread began to build under her comment.

“1F: Each gets what they need? Our Her Highness Zonglan has everything she could want. What could she possibly need from a living person?”

“2F: Who are you to call Her Highness Zonglan by her name? Here’s a tip: you better delete that while you still can.”

“3F: Huh? A default avatar and a default system name? A newbie? If you don’t know the rules, go read the Underworld Rule Manual! Be careful, or your careless speech will get you thrown into a frying pan!”

As the comments flew further and further off the rails, Yu Wuyi eventually deleted her attempt at a struggle.

She followed the steps mentioned by the netizens and clicked on the so-called Underworld Rule Manual.

“Underworld Rule Manual, Article 1: Do not address the Eleven Kings of Yanluo by their names. This is great disrespect! Violators will be fried in a cauldron for forty-nine days!”

“Underworld Rule Manual, Article 2: Do not enter the Upper/Lower Heavy Districts or the Ghost Gate without permission. Violate this at your own risk!”

There were exactly one hundred rules, and reading them chilled Yu Wuyi to the bone. The thought of those souls she had seen earlier—fried like tempura—made her break into a cold sweat. She certainly didn’t want to end up like that.

“What are you looking at? Why do you look so terrified?”

Qin An’s voice rang out abruptly beside her ear. Yu Wuyi turned her head and met that beautiful profile.

“No, it’s—it’s nothing…” Instinctively, Yu Wuyi tried to hide the map she hadn’t yet closed behind her back. But such a small trick couldn’t escape Qin An’s eyes, and the map smoothly changed hands.

“The Underworld Rule Manual?” Qin An narrowed her eyes, flipping through it. “Those guys actually have the heart to draft something like this?”

“You don’t need to worry about these. They were only created to maintain order. You know how ghosts are—without rules, things fall into chaos.”

“But you are my person. You only need to listen to me.”

“What ‘my person, your person’… saying a contract relationship so ambiguously…” Yu Wuyi grumbled secretly. Though her face didn’t show it, the tips of her ears were already crimson.

“By the way… when did you get here? So stealthily… weren’t you busy?” Thinking of the page still open on the map, she felt a bit guilty. If Qin An saw what she had been looking at…

“I am returning to my own room; naturally, I come and go as I please. You, on the other hand—trespassing into someone’s private chamber? Hmm?”

“I—I can explain, I…” Yu Wuyi panicked, her head shaking like a rattle.

“Fine, I know.” Qin An let out a light snort and sat on the edge of the bed, beckoning Yu Wuyi over. “Come here, let me see the wound on your arm.”

“Ah? Oh, right, okay.” Yu Wuyi didn’t expect this reaction. She froze for a moment before nodding quickly and sitting obediently beside Qin An, extending her injured arm. “It’s nothing serious. After the bronze lions licked it, the wound almost vanished.”

“By the way, how are those little ones? After they pushed me into the room, the thing that ambushed us chased after them… I wanted to go out, but the door was locked…” Mentioning the lions, Yu Wuyi’s tone became urgent.

“They are cast from my magic and ten-thousand-year-old Black Copper; naturally, they are fine. You, on the other hand—you were hurt and still thought about going out to save them?” Qin An poked Yu Wuyi’s forehead helplessly. “Fortunately, those little ones had the sense to lock the door, otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting here in one piece.”

“Yu Wuyi, remember this: I didn’t seek you out to watch you get chased around like a stray dog every day. In the future, I might not always be able to arrive in time to save you like I did before.” Qin An’s tone turned solemn. Yu Wuyi lowered her head, not daring to make eye contact.

“I don’t mean to force you to become strong overnight, but the current situation is not optimistic. Maintaining the superficial peace of the Underworld is already enough of a headache. I’m sorry.” Qin An sighed, her voice softening. “I was too impatient. Don’t take it to heart.”

“This time, it was our lack of oversight.”

“By the way, the ambusher has been caught. It was a runaway from the Lower Heavy District. I’ve ordered it to be thrown into the Eighteenth Level for punishment, and it will be re-imprisoned afterward.”

“That thing was originally meant for me; I’m sorry you were involved.” Qin An paused. “You’re injured and shaken. Rest here today. I have some matters left to settle.” She stood up, preparing to head for the door.

Yu Wuyi was quick, grabbing Qin An’s wrist. Catching Qin An’s puzzled look, she turned her head and whispered, “No need to apologize, I understand. I will do my best to improve myself and help you… and not just for you! I just don’t want the human world to become a hell too.”

“Mm.” Qin An gave a light laugh. “I believe in you.”

“Get some rest. I’ve told you everything you need to know. When you wake up, you can go back.” With those words, Yu Wuyi watched as Qin An’s figure gradually vanished.

Left alone in the massive room once again, Yu Wuyi collapsed backward like a deflated balloon, sinking deep into the soft mattress.

Wrapped in the bedding, she felt an inexplicable sense of security. It felt like being in a warm embrace.

Drowsiness finally hit her along with that sense of peace. Yu Wuyi slowly closed her eyes, and her world fell into darkness.

…

When she woke up again, the sun was high in the sky. The shouting from the village entrance loudspeaker was truly a dream-disturbing nuisance.

“Eggs! Fresh eggs! Selling cheap—!”

“So noisy!” Unable to bear it, Yu Wuyi sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. When she saw the decorations around her, the remaining sleepiness vanished instantly.

She was already back from the Underworld? Where were Grandma and Qin An? Did they come back with her?

At that thought, she flipped out of bed and ran outside to find Yu Song.

However, after turning the entire courtyard upside down, she couldn’t find a trace of Yu Song.

Unable to find her grandmother, Yu Wuyi tapped the jade pendant at her neck and whispered, “Qin An? Qin An? Are you there?”

Just like her grandmother, she received no response from Qin An. Now she couldn’t sit still. In a fit of heat, she turned around, intending to replicate the steps she took to go to the Underworld.

But she seemed to have forgotten—to go to the Underworld, timing was paramount.

As a result, no matter how many times she dunked herself into the water vat, she gained nothing but lungfuls of water.

“You child! I just went to the village entrance to buy eggs, and you’ve made such a mess of yourself? Stop at once!” Through the ripples of water, Yu Wuyi heard Yu Song’s shocked cry, and then she was scooped up from behind and pulled out of the water.

“Cough, cough, cough—” Yu Wuyi slumped on the ground, breathing with difficulty. Water dripped from her soaked hair and clothes, wetting the ground.

“I… I couldn’t find you anywhere when I woke up, and there was no sound from Qin An…” Yu Wuyi took the towel handed over by Yu Song and dried herself. “I thought you didn’t come back…”

“Even if we hadn’t come back, you shouldn’t have risked yourself like that. You child, I don’t know who you take after with this reckless streak.” Yu Song sighed, unable to bring herself to use a harsh tone.

“Okay, okay, I know, Grandma.” Seeing that Yu Song wasn’t going to scold her, Yu Wuyi acted cute. “Since you’re fine, what about Qin An? Did she come back too? Calling her through the jade was useless…”

“Didn’t she say she would stay inside the pendant?”

“Don’t worry so much. She has her own arrangements and will appear at the right time.” Yu Song’s answer was vague. Though Yu Wuyi felt something was off, she didn’t press further.

After all, with her amateur skills, she wouldn’t be able to help even if she knew Qin An’s plans. Presumably, Qin An didn’t need her right now…

It was fine if Qin An wasn’t around. She had relied on her enough over the past thirteen years; now it was time for her to test herself against the ghosts and monsters.

She didn’t want to be a hollow Underworld Emissary who only had theoretical knowledge, zero practical experience, and always relied on a “big tree” for shade.

Inexplicably, Yu Wuyi recalled Qin An’s parting words. She began to feel surprised—surprised that, from the bottom of her heart, she truly did not want to fail Qin An’s trust.