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Moonlight dimly illuminated the room before the bed. Yao Yin found it hard to imagine that she was lying in the main hall of Nightfall Palace. The Dawn Radiance Hall was only established when Heavenly Monarch Haoyue ascended the throne, while Nightfall Palace had existed since the very beginning of the world’s chaos. From ancient times, good and evil were incompatible; it coexisted with the Azure Sea, mutually generating and conquering. This was a place scorned by many immortals, and it would be no exaggeration to say it had been at the forefront of controversy for millions of years.
The agarwood bed was hard and cold. Yao Yin tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night. In her mind, Zi Chen’s resolute figure lingered, yet then, it was replaced by him intimately entangled with another woman.
Most of her physical injuries had healed, but her heart ached terribly.
The warmth of Hua Jun Yan’s hand still lingered in her palm, gentle yet devoid of any emotion. Yun Yan’s awkward concern overlapped with Hua Jun Yan’s coldness. Which was real and which was fake? His kindness and unkindness towards her were truly like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water, elusive and hard to grasp.
A novel palpitation, a slight tremor at her heart’s core, made Yao Yin lose her composure.
“This Ghost Realm is truly evil. It’s better to leave this problematic place as soon as possible.”
________________________________________
The next morning, Yao Yin finished washing up and was about to leave when she suddenly heard a commotion outside. A sharp, piercing female voice shattered the silence of the courtyard.
“Lord Li Luo, the Master has ordered that no one is to be disturbed, you...”
“How many times have I told you to call me Madam? You still keep calling me ‘Lord,’ ‘Lord.’ Don’t lump me in with those martial brutes, you blind fools!”
“Yes, please calm your anger, Madam.”
“Where’s that little slut?”
“The Master said no one is to be disturbed.”
“I am the mistress of Nightfall Palace. I can go wherever I please. Do you dare to stop me?”
Yao Yin pushed open the door and saw Hua Li Luo in the courtyard, hands on her hips, pointing at a guard’s nose and cursing. Hua Li Luo’s hair was disheveled, and her clothes were tattered.
“It’s you?” Hua Li Luo turned her head, paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and sneered coldly, “Washed clean, you certainly do look like a vixen.”
Yao Yin looked around and, finding no one else, realized that the vixen she referred to was herself.
“Speak! What did you two do last night?” Hua Li Luo walked over, standing face to face with Yao Yin.
Yao Yin was surprised, truly not understanding why she would ask such a question. She replied blankly, “...At night, one naturally rests.”
“Rest? You and him... You, you are truly shameless!” Hua Li Luo instantly flew into a rage, raising her right hand high, the slap poised to fall, but it stopped less than an arm’s length from Yao Yin. Her wrist was gently held by someone, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.
“Such a big temper so early in the morning, did you eat garlic?” The newcomer was a slender woman in green, with green wisteria entwined on her shoulder blades. She smiled as she released Hua Li Luo’s hand, but several deep red marks were already on Li Luo’s wrist.
“What business is it of yours? She seduced the Master, I have the right to punish her!” Hua Li Luo persisted.
“Oh? Then tell me, what right do you have to punish her?”
Hua Li Luo choked with rage and retorted, “By being the mistress of Nightfall Palace!”
“Is that so? I’ve been in Nightfall Palace for millions of years, but I’ve never heard of the Master taking a wife. You... at most, are one of his many concubines.”
“You!” Hua Li Luo’s face flushed red. After a long pause, she finally managed to say, “You, you... you just wait! I’ll surely have the Master punish you two!”
“Oh dear, this servant is so scared! If you dare to see the Master looking like that, then I won’t say anything more.” With that, Shi Yan took out a small rattan mirror and placed it in front of her.
Seeing her disheveled self in the mirror, Hua Li Luo’s expression instantly changed. A piercing scream echoed through Nightfall Palace, “Ah—my face! How could this happen—” Her scream still reverberated in everyone’s ears, but she had already vanished from their sight. She scurried away in a flash.
“Now my ears are finally quiet.” Shi Yan smiled contentedly, put away the rattan mirror, and turned to Yao Yin, saying, “The news that a woman has appeared in the main hall of Nightfall Palace has spread throughout the Ghost Tribe. You must be careful from now on.”
“Thank you, Ghost Lord Shi Yan.” Yao Yin nodded and bowed, truly unsure of the consequences of this matter. She had no interaction with Hua Jun Yan, so she believed that a righteous person had nothing to fear from gossip.
“I’ve long since abdicated. There’s no Ghost Lord here,” Shi Yan smiled indifferently.
Yao Yin hummed, “Then I’ll call you Mother Yun.”
Shi Yan froze, looking at Yao Yin for a long moment, then suddenly turned around and laughed with boundless intoxication towards the sky, “The weather today is truly beautiful...”
“Indeed, cloudless,” Yao Yin chuckled casually.
“...”
Shi Yan turned her head and looked at her.
Yao Yin met her gaze with a smile.
“In the entire Ghost Tribe, only Bright Night City and Nightfall Palace can glimpse the sun, moon, and stars, blue skies and white clouds. Do you know why?”
“Why?” Yao Yin shook her head. She, too, often wondered. Nightfall Palace felt like the mortal realm to her. She had originally thought that perhaps it had always been this way.
“For millions of years, the Master has been dedicated to transforming the Ghost Tribe to be like the Heavenly Realm. He likes the Heavenly Palace only because he misses a woman from there. Although this goddess has been dead for many years, the Master has been waiting.”
“So?” Yao Yin thought for a moment, then smiled, “Don’t tell me, I am that goddess.”
“That day in the Six Desires Heaven, when I saw you in the water mirror, or more accurately, your previous life, I made you look like the person in the mirror. As expected, the Palace Master was very interested in you. Somewhere along the way, I don’t know what went wrong. Not only did the Palace Master not bring you back, but he himself was severely injured and lost all his power. The Heavenly Clan must have also suffered heavy losses, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent so many pursuers. Hua Li Luo led people to clean up, and to cover our tracks and protect the Palace Master, I turned him into a child’s appearance.”
“...” Yao Yin’s heart suddenly understood, but her face remained calm.
“There’s a forbidden area in the backyard of the Lotus Palace. In that forbidden area hangs a portrait of the goddess. I’ve only seen it once in all these years, because I trespassed into the forbidden area and was punished to be confined there for a thousand years. During that millennium, I diligently cultivated, and after I came out, I won the top prize in the Blood Sacrifice, naturally becoming the Ghost Lord.” Shi Yan said solemnly, “The portrait is of you in your previous life.”
“Is that so? How long do you plan to keep lying to me? I am the fruit of the Wutong tree. I was born without a previous life.” Yao Yin suppressed the doubt in her heart, firmly telling herself she was an immortal fruit. Just a fruit with no past life.
“As for the truth of this matter, the Master himself isn’t clear, so I don’t dare to make any rash judgments. But I think if there’s a fated connection, everything will naturally fall into place. If there’s fate but no destiny, then one can only sigh that heaven’s will is hard to defy.”
“What exactly do you mean?” Yao Yin grew increasingly confused.
“Shi Yan, is this a place you’re allowed to be?” Before Yao Yin could finish speaking, a sharp roar suddenly echoed in everyone’s minds. The voice was bone-chilling and devoid of emotion.
“Jiu Qing?” Shi Yan clutched her head, crying out loudly, “Wasn’t I just missing you all? I know I was wrong, I won’t bully the Master anymore. Please forgive me, I truly won’t dare again.”
“Then why aren’t you getting lost quickly?” Jiu Qing’s voice was grim, sending shivers down their spines.
“You’re so annoying! I was just having fun, do you have to be so angry?” Shi Yan’s voice was full of tears, looking pitiful, saying, “Big sister, please put in a good word for me. How long will the Master punish me for? Don’t actually make me kill all the Blood Sacrifice participants, that would be too glorious...” Shi Yan’s tone was tragic and indignant, but secretly she stuck out her tongue at Yao Yin, giving a playful smile.
“That depends on the Master’s mood. You should leave quickly,” she said, and the roaring in everyone’s minds disappeared.
Shi Yan straightened up, let out a long breath, and grumbled, “Good thing Jiu Qing used the Soul Demon Sound. If I were really here, who knows what kind of trouble would break out.”
“You’re the Ghost Lord, and you’re still afraid of her?”
“Jiu Qing is different from others. She’s much older than me in terms of experience, and she was the one who handed the Ghost Lord position to me,” Shi Yan said, then pouted, “Enough of these past matters. I still need to clean the front courtyard. I’m leaving now.”
With that, she swayed her waist, giving Yao Yin an infinitely charming departing view. Finally, as if from the heavens, she added, “Oh, and this is for you. Try to capture the Master’s heart; he’s a truly wonderful man...”
Yao Yin looked at the small mirror that had appeared out of nowhere in her hand, feeling a twitch at the corner of her mouth... This Ghost Lord was truly different from the legends!
Yao Yin returned to the room, leaving a letter on the table. The gist was that she couldn’t bear the gracious hospitality and that no matter how luxurious, her own home was best. In short, she was going home.
After writing the letter, she also left the mirror in the room and walked out of the courtyard alone.
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