At this moment, there was a commotion from somewhere, and someone shouted, “A sacrifice is being held in the holy temple, and Shengzun has issued a ban. Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you cannot go in!”
“What kind of sacrifice? It’s clearly a divine marriage for Ninth Brother. Get out of the way!”
I looked towards the commotion and saw dozens of guards with swords rushing in and fighting with the red-robed priests guarding the door of the stone temple. A figure in luxurious clothes stumbled in, only glanced in the direction of the altar, and then he stood there stiffly.
“Mother… what are you doing?” He stared at my corpse, staggered a few steps, and muttered, “What are you doing? Aren’t you… holding a divine marriage for Ninth Brother?”
“Go, call your ninth brother over…” That female demon lying on the ground suddenly said hoarsely.
I thought of what the madam said, and my heart tightened. No, Nalin must not be called! She must be trying to harm Nalin! I shouted, but they obviously couldn’t hear anything. Naluo turned a deaf ear to that female demon’s words, and without even looking at her, he staggered to the altar and knelt beside my body. The scars all over my body made me look miserable. Perhaps he was shocked. He stared at my body in a daze. After a long while, his hand trembled and reached out to my open chest: “Mi Jia? Mi Jia, wake up…”
But my corpse naturally couldn’t respond to him.
“Mother, what have you done? What have you done!! Cough, cough…” He howled, his eyes turned red, and he started coughing violently. His coughs were rapid and loud, as if he wanted to cough out all his internal organs. He was unable to breathe, gasped, vomited a mouthful of blood, and fell headfirst on my corpse.
“Naluo? Naluo!”
I called his name and saw that female demon staggering to her feet, grabbing the back of his neck and lifting him up: “You’re useless. You can’t even complete a simple task. You’re not even half as good as your brother. What else can you do except be a decoration? What’s the point of giving birth to you?” She laughed in anger, “Forget it, I’ll use you for now…”
After saying that, she bit Naluo’s neck.
I opened my eyes wide in shock and saw blood-red veins crawling up from the back of her hand to Naluo’s cheek in an instant. He was trembling all over, his head tilted back, and he groaned in pain.
“What are you doing! He is your son!” I roared and rushed to them, but my hands went straight through Naluo’s body. I could do nothing but watch her lips fade away and his trembling body gradually become motionless. He was thrown to the ground like a rag doll. He raised his eyelids with his dying breath and looked at my body. He stretched out his trembling hand and grasped my hand. His pupils shrank, a tear slid down the corner of his eye, and his lips moved, as if he was trying hard to say something.
I put my ear to his lips.
“Regret… I shouldn’t…”
“Send His Majesty back to his palace to recuperate. Capture the rest and interrogate them. I want to know who dared to poison the sacrifice I chose.”
“Yes. Shengzun, how should we deal with the body of this sacrifice?”
That female demon turned her head and glanced at me. The red lines on her face had disappeared, leaving only a few on her neck, my revenge failed. Not only did I lose my life, but I also made the gate knife hanging over the heads of the two brothers, Nalin and Naluo, fall faster as well.
“It’s useless if it’s dead. Burn it, make it into a lamp, and place it under the shrine in the Ascension Tower. He loves this child so much, let this child accompany him day and night. However, before the Saint Lord ascends to heaven, the fact that this child is dead must be kept secret. If the Saint Lord asks, just say that this child has not recovered yet and is still recuperating here with me.”
I looked up at the dome of the holy temple, wanting to fly out and find Nalin, asking him to escape quickly, but my soul was lingering in the air, unable to leave. Soon, I realized that my soul could only follow my corpse. I watched as several priests gathered around and lifted up my corpse. A door on the altar opened, revealing a stone staircase. They walked in and walked to the darker and wider stone hall below. Countless skinny people were trapped in cages, some without eyes, some missing arms and legs, and some without skin on their chests and backs. It was a living hell on earth. I saw many ghosts like me floating in the air and was powerless.
They were all imprisoned here, using their flesh as stone to pave the way for these people to ascend to heaven.
I watched my body being thrown into the huge furnace. The flames started, and in a moment, all the bones and flesh were burned, leaving only a spine and a skull. The craftsmen picked them up from the black ashes, chiseled them open, and made them into lampstands and lamp bowls.
I stared numbly at the lamp made from my own bones when I suddenly heard the craftsman exclaim, “Hey, what is this red thing? Why is it embedded in the bones?”
Another craftsman leaned over to take a look: “It looks like a ring?”
“It looks quite valuable. How about chiseling it out…”
“Don’t chisel around, it’s embedded deep. Be careful not to damage the lamppost, or you’ll have to pay with your own bones!”
The craftsman who carved the lamp shuddered and dared not chisel around anymore.
I reached out and touched the ring embedded in my spine, the ring that Nalin gave me.
I had to do something to save my love.
Suddenly a cold wind blew from behind. I looked back and saw a pair of slender figures holding paper umbrellas, one red and one blue, floating in the air not far away.
Although I had never met them before, I realized that they were ghost errands who came to pick me up.
I hid behind the light but saw that they did not come up to arrest me but just floated there in the distance. A faint voice came: “Life and death are determined by fate. If you are unwilling to die here and do not want to reincarnate, after the first seven days, your three souls and seven spirits will all be scattered, and you will be like them, with only a trace of spiritual thought left, and become a ground-bound spirit here, unable to be reborn.”
I shook my head: “I don’t want to be reborn, I don’t want to reincarnate. I beg Lord Ghost Errands to allow me to stay here and protect my lover.”
“You are not a fierce ghost, but a new soul. How can you protect your lover?”
I couldn’t believe it: “How come I die so miserably, but I’m not a fierce ghost?”
A long sigh came from the other side: “Because you are kind by nature, until death, the love in your heart is still greater than hatred. If you turn into a fierce ghost and fulfill your wish, your soul will scatter away and you will not be able to see us.”
I was stunned. My love for Nalin made me unable to protect him. How ironic!
I clasped my hands together and bowed to them: “I want to be a fierce ghost! Lord Ghost Errands, please let me become a fierce ghost. I want to protect him. Even if my soul is scattered and I cannot be reborn, I am willing to do it!”
“We can’t do anything about this. However, if you really miss him, blow air at an object. If the object moves, he might be able to sense it.”
I was stunned and tried to blow at the lamp. Sure enough, the candlelight flickered. I was grateful in my heart: “Thank you for reminding me, Lord Ghost Errands!”
“You guys, bring all the newly made lamps here.”
Someone behind me said loudly. I was startled and looked back. It was the fat priest who spoke, followed by the thin man with a gloomy face. The craftsmen presented the lamps they had on hand. The fat priest took the one made of my bones and walked out. My soul couldn’t help but follow him. Then I heard a faint voice coming from behind: “Remember, the limit is seven days. This place has the strongest yin energy and is the entrance to the ghost gate. We will wait for you here. If you don’t come, we can’t save you anymore.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” I bowed deeply in their direction.
“Dang-dang-dang—”
As the bell rang through the sky, the gate of the Ascension Tower opened in front of me. I looked inside the gate and saw Nalin was just a few steps away, but he couldn’t see me and didn’t know that we were separated by life and death.
“Welcome the Saint Lord out of seclusion.” The priests at the door bowed to him together. Nalin just nodded at him and hurried out the door.
“Bandan, has Mother cured him?” Nalin glanced at the lamp in the fat priest’s hand and did not notice anything unusual, and cast his eyes towards the direction of the holy temple. I stretched out my hand in midair, wanting to touch his face, but my fingers went straight through, only stirring up a slight breeze.
The fat priest smiled calmly and said, “Shengzun has great powers. She has naturally healed him. Now, she is personally preparing for your wedding.”
“Great, I’ll go pick him up right away.” Nalin smiled, and his pair of blue eyes, like still water, began to sparkle and become lively as he was in his youth. But before he finished speaking, the priests all knelt down.
“The Saint Lord has not yet ascended to heaven, and Shengzun has specifically instructed that the Saint Lord must marry the Goddess Consort in the god body.”
He frowned and said, “I don’t know why, but for the past three days, this lord still hasn’t been able to break through the barrier. I was just about to consult Mother about it.”
“Nalin.” A woman’s soft voice came from afar. I looked up and saw that female demon standing on the tower on the top floor of the temple. Behind her, there was a figure dressed in red, but he was wearing a crescent-shaped headdress, and his face was covered by the tassels of the hanging veil.
I opened my eyes wide, the figure was very similar to me.
Could it be that she wanted to use someone else to impersonate me and deceive Nalin?
“Your goddess consort is safe and sound. You can continue to practice without any worries. Mother will take good care of him.”
“Mi Jia!” Nalin called out, my heart trembled, and I looked back at him. He was also looking in my direction, his eyes going straight through my soul and looking towards the top of the tower.
“Nalin, I’m here; don’t worry, I’m fine.”
A voice similar to mine answered.
I was startled, then figured it out.
That female demon was determined to send Nalin away to kill me. She must have thought of this strategy of replacing the original with the fake one long ago. However, if Nalin could not see through it, he would be one step closer to death.
I was extremely anxious. I saw Nalin’s eyes were fixed on the tower and he said, “Mother, can you allow him to lift the veil so that I can take a look at him?”
I looked back and saw that that female demon nodded slightly. The person in the wedding dress and with a similar body shape to me actually raised his hand and opened the veil, revealing a face that was exactly the same as mine — of course, if even the figure and voice were imitated, how could it not be a disguise?
“That’s not me, Nalin!”
I looked back at him and yelled, while Nalin’s eyes were fixed, the corners of his lips slightly raised, obviously believing it.
“Go back, if you still can’t break through the barrier tonight, Mother will help you.”
“Nalin!” I called his name loudly, waving my hand in front of his eyes, but he couldn’t see me at all. Remembering the ghost errand’s reminder, I blew at him, but Nalin had already turned around and entered the palace gate.
The priests placed the lamps in their hands under the shrine one by one, including my lamp. I shouted his name at the top of my lungs. I don’t know if it was because Nalin sensed something, but when he passed by the shrine, he paused and glanced at all the newly replaced lamps, frowning deeply.
There was both disgust and pity in his blue eyes.
He must have known the origin of these lamps.
After the priests left, he also stopped in front of the shrine, clasped his hands in front of his chest, knelt down, stared at the lamp, and bowed three times.
“I promise you all, when I ascend to heaven, I will definitely help you all to pass to the afterlife, and I will stop all this, I will never allow my mother to kill innocent people again.”
“Nalin, I beg you to leave here quickly…”
I cried bitterly, but he couldn’t hear a word I said. He stood up with a calm expression.
I was panicking and blew hard at the lamp. The flame of my lamp flickered and went out. Nalin looked down and apparently noticed something. He lifted up the lamp made of my bones, picked up the lamp holder on the altar, and lit the candle wick in the center of the butter lamp.
I blew again, the candle flame went out, and a drop of grease slid down the back of his hand.
He frowned, glanced under the lamp along the dripping lamp oil, and his gaze froze.
—A drop of lamp oil was falling on the ring that I swallowed and embedded in my spine, like tears.
