“Alright, Brother Niu Qi, I’m a bit hungry. I’m going to the kitchen to find something to eat. Are you hungry?” Yan Xin Meng got up from the bed where she had spent almost a day. Niu Qi shook his head.
“Then I’ll go eat by myself.” She headed towards the door.
“Xin Meng, remember, we leave at dawn tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Yan Xin Meng thought, no matter when, filling her stomach was the priority.
After she left the room, Niu Qi quietly spoke, “Judge Wen, I didn’t remind her, she brought it up herself, so I gave her the Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Pill.”
A voice, seemingly from nowhere yet clear, responded, “I heard.”
“But is this okay? I’ve already made one mistake,” Niu Qi was still uneasy, feeling something would go wrong.
“There’s no good or bad, this is the only way to help her. Do you want Meng Po to fry your cow tongue and eat it as a snack?” Niu Qi shook his head like a drum.
“Or do you want her to remain a living dead person forever?”
“I’ve finally managed to get the approval from the North and South Dou Star Lords for her, how could I let her go back to being a living dead?” Niu Qi wouldn’t let his efforts go in vain.
“Then do you have any objections?” The voice asked emotionlessly.
After a moment of silence, Niu Qi sighed, “Ah -” he sighed, “It can only be this way.”
Yan Xin Meng, dragging her tired and hungry body, with a large plaster on her face to conceal her identity, walked alone on the dusty official road. The plaster, applied for too long, had caused her skin to become red, swollen, and itchy. She was too tired to scratch, speak, or even think, only hoping for food and a bed. But it seemed like fate was against her; there was no village or shop in sight, just the desolate, weed-covered official road, with no travelers except herself. Niu Qi, who had promised to help, was summoned by the judge to escort a newly deceased soul out of the city, leaving her to journey alone with a promise to catch up after his task.
“I can’t go on,” she said weakly, her vision blurred from exhaustion. “I might become a dried corpse on this road before reaching that ‘Black and White Gate.’ Oh, heavens! Please, grant me a tea pavilion or a well, just to quench my thirst. How else can I find that ghost mirror?”
“And this plaster on my face, can you do something about the itching? I can’t bear it anymore. If I keep scratching, the fake medicine will turn into real medicine.” Yan Xin Meng continued to scratch, looking rather undignified.
Then, as if the heavens had heard her plea, the sound of hooves reached her ears, “Clop, clop, clop…”
“Huh, what’s that sound?” Yan Xin Meng perked up her ears.
“Clop, clop, clop…”
“Horses! It’s horses! Where there are horses, there are people!” Yan Xin Meng’s eyes lit up with hope as she waved her arms vigorously, trying to get their attention. From afar, a group of three riders appeared, getting closer, their figures becoming clearer. Shang Bieye, Wu Yangfeng, and Bu Yuchen exchanged glances, recognizing the situation. They approached the figure on the road, who was frantically waving and jumping.
