Chapter 32 His Mystery
Chapter 32: His Mystery
“Without command, neither the living nor dead spirits may pass through the bronze doors.”
Luosha had told them this when they first met.
In other words, from the beginning, Luosha was not on the same side as them.
Faced with Luosha’s advancing blade, Gu Jing immediately stood in front of Luo Hongyu, desperately channeling her exhausted dantian and the Qiu Nü sword in her hand.
But Luosha didn’t even glance at her, simply stopped in her tracks and looked past her at Luo Hongyu.
“Normally, that would be the case.”
“But you can be an exception.”
“An exception…?”
Taking advantage of Luo Hongyu’s momentary confusion, Luosha reached out and the red jade from Luo Hongyu’s waist fell into her hand.
Luo Hongyu’s breath caught, and she instinctively reached for her sword.
But facing Luosha’s azure blade, she clenched her fist and remained standing in place, glaring at Luosha’s calm blue eyes beneath her helmet.
Luosha silently examined the red jade in her hand, slowly lowering her raised blade.
Under Luo Hongyu’s watchful gaze, she felt the atmosphere soften somewhat, and in those azure pupils… something like reminiscence seemed to appear.
“Good thing I wasn’t mistaken.”
Her rough gauntlet caressed the red jade, yet did so delicately, leaving no trace.
Then, she returned the red jade to Luo Hongyu, her movements revealing hints of reluctance.
“Is he well?”
He…
Luo Hongyu quickly secured the red jade back at her waist, hearing Luosha’s words.
“Do you mean Luo He?”
“So he’s called Luo He now. Hmm, a good name.”
“Wait, you know him?”
“I don’t know Luo He.”
Faced with Luo Hongyu’s questioning, Luosha simply denied it flatly.
“Since he chose you, I won’t say more. Come, I’ll lead you out of the Netherworld.”
“What exactly is your relationship with him!”
“…”
Luosha turned back, her eyes calm.
“I am the gatekeeper of the Netherworld, suppressing evil spirits. I have no relationship with him.”
“Even if I did, you need not know.”
“Past events should not be revisited. For him, the most important thing is always tomorrow.”
“Don’t ask anymore. Leave.”
Back at the bronze doors, Luosha inserted her blade into the lock.
Boom.
With a thunderous roar that seemed to split heaven and earth, the heavy bronze doors, like the lid of a coffin, gradually opened.
This dark, lightless Netherworld finally welcomed its true dawn.
As Luo Hongyu and Gu Jing walked toward the light, feeling the space gradually blur around them, Luo Hongyu looked back.
Luosha had put her blade away and was silently watching them leave.
Under her helmet, emotions flickered like the tip of an iceberg on the sea’s surface, giving Luo Hongyu a strange sense of familiarity.
She remembered that, occasionally, in Luo He’s usually still-water gaze…
There would also be such subtle rippling waves.
“…”
The space around them began to distort. Sound and vision were torn apart, dissolving into pure white.
When Luo Hongyu and Gu Jing opened their eyes again, they had returned to the small courtyard.
The husks of those fallen demons were still there. Gu Jing quickly assessed the situation, looking at the sky… only a little more than an hour had passed since they were sent to that Netherworld place.
Luosha’s parting words still troubled Gu Jing’s heart. Who was Luo He? How did he come to be? She knew these things all too well.
What exactly was all this…
“Senior Sister Gu…”
Luo Hongyu stood up, supporting herself with her sword, her eyes filled with uncontrollable confusion and bewilderment.
“Just how much is there that I don’t know?”
During this time, with each passing day, she felt the red jade at her waist grow heavier.
Now, she could barely recognize the original appearance of this piece of red jade.
“…”
But Gu Jing could not provide her with answers either.
The Luo He she knew—always silent, always unmoved—had also developed a crack.
But at this point, did that even matter?
No, for Gu Jing, who had nearly given up… it actually didn’t matter.
All she could do was witness everything.
Witness one person’s death, and another person’s rebirth.
After that, she would do as she planned.
Set aside her sword, and her lifelong pride.
To pursue a ghost from the past, and rejoin the tide of mortal affairs.
Gu Jing smiled faintly, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
“After the Ascension Ceremony, Young Mistress will understand all of this.”
“…”
At that moment, the red jade floated up again, drifting in a certain direction, as if once more guiding their way.
Luo Hongyu immediately understood where they were headed this time.
It must be the location of the instigator, Huoxin.
…
“I’m pretty sure I mentioned before that you’re clever, little one.”
Chen Ping, or rather Huoxin, was now thoughtfully examining Luo He who had found his way to her.
He still wore his black robe and fox mask as usual, but this time… Huoxin sensed a hint of danger emanating from him.
Understandably so—without some kind of advantage, how could he possibly appear before her like this?
Hiding in plain sight was Huoxin’s preferred method of disguise.
Few would have guessed that after Shen Huai’s identity among the eleven fighters that day was exposed, Huoxin’s other identity for this operation still remained hidden among those eleven.
In fact, it was the very first one.
For Huoxin, this was rare—someone understanding and anticipating her moves so well.
It made her feel both unfamiliar and excited.
“Since we parted that day, it’s been just seven days. I didn’t find you, yet you discovered both my identity and whereabouts.”
“Mmm… that little girl from Crescent Moon Sect was indeed a significant risk. Unfortunately, with you causing so much trouble, I never had time to deal with her.”
“Seeing how confident you look, I assume you’ve found the interesting parts in the Ghost Language… hehe, well done.”
“Now, I’m actually quite tempted to have you join me as a ghost cultivator.”
Huoxin gave a seductive laugh, and instantly several layers of barriers were set up in the Nine Symbols Sect’s meditation courtyard, sealing the place completely.
Her signature “No Return Ferry” appeared once more. Sitting atop the soul boat, Huoxin rested her chin on her palm and asked curiously:
“But I’m still wondering how you helped your Young Mistress Luo… that place isn’t somewhere ordinary people can reach.”
“In my plan, the ideal scenario would have been for her to die there. At worst, she would be trapped until after the Ascension Ceremony. I didn’t expect them to escape so quickly.”
“Even without the gatekeeper present, finding the way inside should have been… ah…”
Huoxin suddenly remembered what she had seen the night Shen Huai died.
“I see, it was that red jade… hehe, I miscalculated.”
Huoxin covered her mouth and laughed softly, waving her sleeve as melodious flute music gradually rose.
“But you were also careless… Your soul-guiding technique may be rare, but don’t forget, I am a ghost cultivator.”
“When you guided that red jade toward your location, I could sense it.”
“The connection you just severed—I helped reconnect it. Your Young Mistress is probably heading our way right now.”
Hearing this, Luo He knew he could delay no longer. Regardless of what tricks Huoxin might have up her sleeve, he immediately rushed forward with his iron sword.
“Want to guess if I have any more tricks to deal with her?”
Huoxin dodged Luo He’s attack, laughing ghostly.
…