The Naihe River, also known as the River of Forgetfulness, was the boundary river of the underworld in mythology.
Ming Dynasty scholar Gu Yanwu mentioned in “Shandong Archaeological Records” that “its water is on the left of Songli Mountain… it is said that souls cannot pass through, and it is called the Naihe River.”
The Naihe River flows southwest. In the underworld, countless souls without the qualification to cross the Bridge of Helplessness and be reincarnated drift along this river into infinity, with no end and no rebirth.
Luo Yingbai remembered when Peng Xuan first joined, he could barely read and asked about the classical text’s meaning. Luo Yingbai explained it, and Peng Xuan asked, “Are only evil people who did many bad things and killed many people thrown into the Naihe River?”
Luo Yingbai said, “Not necessarily. If some ghosts are accidentally pushed down and the underworld officials don’t notice in time, they can only accept their bad luck.”
Peng Xuan said, “That’s so unfair. Those poor ghosts.”
Luo Yingbai said, “There’s life within death. Who knows? If it were me, I wouldn’t want to die. I’d swim against the river’s flow towards the northeast. Maybe while swimming, I’d be reborn.”
He was casual during practice and dared to say such nonsensical things. Peng Xuan had never heard of anyone swimming after falling into the Naihe River and was dumbfounded. Luo Yingbai burst out laughing; “I’m just joking. I wouldn’t swim. That’d be too tiring.”
Neither of the senior and junior brothers imagined that Peng Xuan would one day actually fall into the Naihe River—after all, the river’s current was rapid, with knife-like winds, and densely packed with countless wandering souls and evil spirits. But an intense survival instinct actually made Peng Xuan achieve this.
Luo Yingbai felt his throat go dry, unsure if from anger or heartache: “You… really swam out of the Naihe River?”
“Yes,” Peng Xuan stared at him. “Do you know how I feel? This life didn’t come easily. Because I’ve died, I want to live even more! So I must change my previous life’s fate. Senior brother, I’ve always respected and appreciated you, treating you like my own brother. In my previous life, I died because of you…”
Xia Xianning finally couldn’t hold back and coldly snorted.
Peng Xuan’s voice paused, then continued after a moment: “People can’t keep their weaknesses, so I must kill you in advance and eliminate this hidden danger. If one doesn’t live for themselves, heaven will punish and earth will destroy. I living is better than others living, even if it means guilt or pain. Once dead, you feel nothing.”
He was indeed hateful, harming Jiang Yugai and severely injuring Luo Yingbai to save himself… but one undeniable fact was that Peng Xuan did not kill Luo Yingbai. He could have, but he showed mercy.
Right and wrong, good and evil were inseparable.
They couldn’t let Peng Xuan off for this reason, but at this moment, everyone’s heart felt uncomfortable.
Luo Yingbai remained silent for a long time. Peng Xuan had released all his pent-up words and sat there calming his emotions. The room fell into silence.
After a while, Xia Xianning spoke, asking Peng Xuan, “Are you trying to resurrect Lü Lu?”
Peng Xuan said, “Yes.”
Xia Xianning, expressionless: “Explain the reason.”
His tone was like questioning back in their sect days. Peng Xuan was silent for a moment before saying, “Senior brother has probably realized that after leaving the sect, I was wanted by the Changliu Sect and could only hide my identity. Abandoning my accumulated reputation, without something impressive, no place would shelter me.”
Luo Yingbai said, “You killed Lü Lu and then tried to research whether she could be resurrected?”
Peng Xuan said, “I didn’t kill her. I just discovered her body and, noticing her unique physique and birth chart, wanted to do an experiment.”
At this point, he certainly couldn’t lie. Luo Yingbai and Xia Xianning exchanged a glance.
What they needed to do next was handle Peng Xuan and return Lü Lu’s soul to the underworld to complete their mission—and then save Jiang Yugai.
Luo Yingbai briefly said, “Understood.”
Peng Xuan looked at him, perhaps expecting Luo Yingbai to say something else, but Luo Yingbai stood and walked out, quickly leaving the room.
Xia Xianning instructed others to guard Peng Xuan, then followed.
Now he wasn’t smiling, but Xia Xianning could smile for him.
Xia Xianning quickly caught up, walking shoulder to shoulder with Luo Yingbai, who wasn’t surprised and simply said, “Xianning.”
After a while, Xia Xianning said, “Senior brother…”
Luo Yingbai: “Hmm?”
Luo Yingbai: “…What?
Xia Xianning said seriously, “It said, meow.”
Luo Yingbai: “…”
Luo Yingbai: “Hahahahahaha!”
Xia Xianning saw him laughing and felt satisfied, laughing along: “It’s quite interesting, right?”
Luo Yingbai had almost finished laughing, but when Xia Xianning spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh again. The cold joke from Xia Xianning had an inexplicable humor that made people overlook the joke itself.
Xia Xianning saw Luo Yingbai laughing so hard he could barely stand, and went to support him. His fingers touched Luo Yingbai’s hand, and then Luo Yingbai held Xia Xianning’s hand.
He pulled Xia Xianning close and kissed his cheek, saying, “You’re wrong. The white cat should have said, I love you.”
Xia Xianning pressed his forehead against Luo Yingbai’s, his eyes like stars, full of laughter, and said, “That sounds so good. Can you say it again?”
Luo Yingbai laughed and said, “I love you.”
Xia Xianning kissed him on the lips and hugged Luo Yingbai before letting go.
They were on a rural path where villagers occasionally passed by, so they stopped being intimate and continued walking side by side.
Xia Xianning asked, “Why am I the black cat?”
Luo Yingbai laughed, “Because of Black Cat Detective.”
They both laughed, their previous unhappiness much improved. Luo Yingbai casually asked, “Did you catch the black shadow you were chasing when you left alone?”
As he suddenly brought this up, the smile on Xia Xianning’s face hadn’t completely faded when it suddenly froze.
Luo Yingbai noticed his expression was off and realized something, asking, “Who was it?”
Xia Xianning hesitated and said, “It was… Ge Panming.”
Luo Yingbai was initially surprised but then thought it made sense. Ge Panming was so extraordinary that he could almost be blamed for every mysterious case.
He immediately asked, “Are you hurt?”
Xia Xianning sighed, “No, he appeared in a transformed state. We didn’t directly confront each other, but we did exchange some words.”
They quickly arrived at Luo Yingbai’s room. He opened the door for Xia Xianning and asked, “What did you talk about?”
Xia Xianning said, “Senior brother, sit down first. I have a few questions to ask you.”
Luo Yingbai sat on the edge of the bed, and Xia Xianning was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “As they say, ‘Those who live are the dead, those who die are the beginning of life. Gathering is life, dispersing is death.’ I want to ask you, in your eyes, are all things one?”
Luo Yingbai raised an eyebrow and carefully looked at Xia Xianning. Xia Xianning allowed Luo Yingbai to scrutinize him without avoiding his gaze.
The quote was from Zhuangzi’s “Knowing Wandering North,” meaning life and death have no clear boundaries and can transform at any time.
We might be alive now, or dead, might be real or might be a dream.
They were Daoist believers who often discussed Laozi and Zhuang Zhou’s teachings before becoming master and disciple. Almost as soon as Xia Xianning spoke, Luo Yingbai understood his meaning.
Xia Xianning was actually asking whether they were alive or had already been separated by life and death, meeting now in a dream.
