Afraid the old lady would return, she quickly rushed over to untie him, whispering, “I’m here to take you away. Don’t make a sound.” Hearing the word “go,” Liao Zhong trembled and reflexively said, “I won’t go, I won’t go. Don’t hit me. I really won’t dare to leave again!” His timid appearance was far from the person Xie Hua remembered. A nameless anger rose in her heart, and she said, “Look carefully, it’s me! Weren’t you shouting about wanting to go home? I’ve come to take you back. If you don’t want to go, I’ll leave by myself!” Liao Zhong’s cry stopped, and he looked up to carefully examine Xie Hua. Realizing it was truly her, he was almost on the verge of tears and said, “I’ll go, I’ll go. Xiao Hua, thank you! I was wrong before. When we get out, I will definitely…” Xie Hua forcefully tore the tape from his body and whispered, “Stop talking nonsense. Let’s go quickly.”
After leaving the door, Liao Zhong anxiously said, “What should we do? How do we proceed? This place is particularly eerie, and it’s not easy to get out.”
A hint of unease flashed across Liao Zhong’s face: “You saw everything just now?”
Xie Hua softly responded with a “hmm”.
Liao Zhong gripped her hand tightly, seemingly reluctant to recall previous events, and said in a suppressed tone: “That old woman just knows how to torture me, she’s simply a devil. I can’t deal with her. Let’s go, quickly, if she comes back we’ll be completely done for!”
Liao Zhong was gripping too tightly. Although they were soul bodies, Xie Hua inexplicably felt a sticky sensation on her hand. If Luo Mingbai hadn’t repeatedly warned her not to let go, she would have wanted to wipe it off.
She said, “I heard everything earlier. Your wife has waited for you for so many years, and her difficult life making her irritable and aged is quite normal.”
Liao Zhong impatiently said, “Can I be blamed for that? It’s not like I deliberately made her wait! Besides, you’ve also waited for me for many years, and you haven’t said anything!”
Xie Hua stared at him in disbelief. Liao Zhong might have realized his tone was too harsh, cleared his throat, and softened his voice: “Anyway, I know you’re kind. I was wrong before, momentarily lost my mind. I’ll treat you well in the future. Don’t worry about past events. Let’s go quickly.”
Xie Hua took two deep breaths, telling herself to stay calm. At this moment, she heard a voice softly ask near her ear: “Is it okay?”
Though there was clearly no one else around, the voice was gentle and warm, as if right beside her – it was Luo Mingbai’s voice. Xie Hua’s mood immediately calmed, and she answered: “Okay.”
A red path suddenly reappeared before her, tilting straight to the sky. Luo Mingbai said, “Then quickly walk along the path, don’t look back, don’t pay attention to the sides. Come back first if anything happens.”
Hearing “come back first,” Xie Hua’s nose suddenly felt sour, and she responded with a choked “hmm,” grabbing Liao Zhong and running along the path.
Liao Zhong ran with her, and they soon understood why Luo Mingbai had told them not to look at the sides.
The Yin-Yang realm is a completely ethereal world, mainly supported by consciousness. Leaving the path is like shedding everything in this world and being reborn. Any hesitation would increase the weight of Liao Zhong’s soul and slow their steps.
Facing his past romantic history in front of the woman who came to rescue him, Liao Zhong was quite embarrassed. Xie Hua didn’t look back, and he didn’t know what she was thinking but could sense her coldness. So he whispered, “Xiao Hua, don’t take past events to heart. I love you.”
This entire path was forcibly created by Luo Mingbai’s magical power in an alternate space, which was extremely taxing.
If someone with lesser abilities tried, they might not last even half a minute. A single slip would doom both Xie Hua and Liao Zhong.
He had exhausted great effort. When he finally felt the weight lighten in his hand and knew the path was clear, he immediately let go and sat in a nearby chair, slowly catching his breath.
Liao De came to fan him and offer water, asking, “Master, what should we do next?”
Luo Mingbai said, “The person should be awake now.”
Liao De turned around to see Xie Hua suddenly sitting up from the bed, looking dazed. On the other side, Liao Zhong remained motionless. He rushed over, shaking his son’s body and calling, “A Zhong? A Zhong?”
Luo Mingbai asked Xie Hua, “What happened? Did you encounter danger on the way? Where is he?”
Xie Hua burst into tears, saying, “I’m sorry! It was my fault. We were running, and I accidentally let go. Uncle Liao, Master Luo, it’s all my fault…”
Luo Mingbai looked at her for a moment and said, “Enough. Stop crying. It was unavoidable.”
Since Liao Zhong wasn’t his son, and Xie Hua had tried so hard, no one could blame her. But Liao De was not so calm. His face changed color with anger, pointing at Xie Hua: “You, if you couldn’t do it, why did you insist on going!”
Xie Hua just kept apologizing, explaining nothing.
The young lady had waited for Liao Zhong for so long and voluntarily risked herself. After a few reproaches, Liao De couldn’t say more, and turned to Luo Mingbai: “Master, is there another way? I’ll go. Can I go?”
Luo Mingbai said, “You can go, but I can’t. I’m exhausted. I’ll need at least a week to recover.”
Luo Mingbai was frustrated. He was the one who had marked Liao Zhong, so only he could handle this. Even if Xia Yanning came, it would be useless.
Luo Mingbai hesitated. A week here would be decades for Liao Zhong. But telling Liao De would only deepen his resentment towards Xie Hua, so Luo Mingbai decided not to mention it.
Liao De, although anxious, could only nod and repeatedly implore, “Thank you, Master, for your hard work. Please come next Monday without fail. Whatever compensation you ask for, I’ll agree without hesitation.”
Luo Yingbai casually grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled a bunch of wild cursive characters, handing it to Liao De: “The previous amount was enough. If Mr. Liao is willing, you can donate to these nursing homes.”
Liao De hurriedly said, “Of course… So, Master Luo, shall I pick you up next week?”
Luo Yingbai said: “No need. When it’s time to come, I’ll naturally come.”
Shortly after leaving the Liao family, he suddenly received a strange friend request.
After accepting, a WeChat contact named “Deep Water Stillness” sent two consecutive messages:
“Hello, Master Luo, I am Cheng Yin.”
“I still hope to make friends with you. I inquired about your WeChat, hoping Master Luo won’t mind.”
Luo Yingbai was in a bad mood and didn’t expect someone to actively seek him out. He looked at these messages and typed “No, I mind” in the chat box.
After hesitating, Luo Yingbai deleted it and changed to “Sure, pleased to formally meet you, Mr. Cheng.”
Success!
After seeing Luo Yingbai’s reply, Cheng Yin couldn’t help but curl his lips in a smile, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. That little police officer thought Luo Yingbai wouldn’t have a way to contact him, but such thinking was truly underestimating him. He had many tricks up his sleeve.
He quickly sent Luo Yingbai a smiley face, then put down his phone and picked up the guitar beside him to practice singing. After strumming a few times and just getting into the groove, the practice room door was suddenly kicked open with a “bang”.
Cheng Yin didn’t need to look up to know who it was, saying casually: “This isn’t home; it’s a company. Can’t you be more considerate?”
Luo Yuanfan’s eyes were bloodshot, silent, reaching to grab the phone next to Cheng Yin. Cheng Yin was quick and stuffed his phone into his pocket, frowning: “What do you want?”
Luo Yuanfan glared at him: “What’s with your attitude?”
Cheng Yin said: “What attitude?
