"What the hell did that bastard Lan Yin do?"
Old Moe cursed furiously, his face twisted with anger. The Clan Scroll was spread wide, and more than two hundred names belonging to the Lan family had already vanished from its surface—names were still disappearing at an unstoppable rate.
Helen Lane pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She listened for a long time, her expression growing darker by the minute. Seeing the confusion on my and Rachel Lan's faces, Old Moe explained:
"How should I put this... The Thirteen Fates of Hades are like the thirteen HR directors in the vast Hades Circle. Ten oversee the main families, while the other three manage the branch families under their authority. If a name disappears from the Clan Scroll, there's only one possibility: both body and soul have been utterly destroyed."
I swallowed hard. Helen Lane was still on the phone.
"Yes, I understand. I'll gather every member of the Lan family immediately."
Helen Lane hung up, her eyes filled with sorrow as she looked at Old Moe. She stood, suddenly raised a finger, and a golden light burst forth like fireworks in the pitch-black night. Streams of golden light exploded and shot out in every direction. I swallowed again, silently watching it all unfold.
After a while, the golden glow in the night sky faded. Helen Lane stood with a dim look in her eyes, her hand still raised. Old Moe was bandaging her wound, and his own hand was already wrapped up, blood still seeping through. He grinned painfully.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have used so much force just now."
The vanished names on the Clan Scroll finally stopped disappearing after Helen Lane performed her spell. But an entire page of the scroll was now blank. I found Rachel Lan's name—it had turned golden.
"Mom, what happened? Why are all these Lan family members disappearing from the genealogy...?"
Lan Ruoxi's face darkened instantly, and I could already guess—the only possibility was suicide. Mass suicide, on a terrifying scale.
Anyone finally freed from this numb state between life and death might choose the same fate.
Just then, someone started walking slowly down the steps above us. We all looked up.
"Amitabha. You four have come a long way; I can only receive you here. Forgive me for any lack of hospitality."
It was Master Mingde. He walked down alone. I looked around—he was unaccompanied. Master Mingde came over to us.
"Benefactors, let this humble monk do what little I can."
Under Master Mingde's spell, the bleeding from all three wounds stopped.
The mood was tense. Master Mingde sat cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes. Helen Lane's eyes glistened with tears; Uncle Mo comforted her. I stood beside Lan Ruoxi, who quietly gripped my hand.
"Amitabha. Why do you grieve so, benefactors? If you wish, you may share your sorrow with this humble monk."
Uncle Mo shook his head, then turned to Master Mingde.
"Master, we came today to ask you—where is Luoyin Temple?"
I nodded and looked at Mingde. He smiled gently and shook his head.
"It is a place of karmic fate in our Buddhist tradition. Only those destined may enter Luoyin Temple, so I do not know its location. In our Putian Temple, only two have ever been there—Master Liaochan and Master Liaoyuan."
"The Ghost Worm Monk?"
I muttered, but Master Mingde neither nodded nor shook his head.
"If you can, could you invite him out? The reincarnated spiritual child of Liaochan."
Uncle Mo asked, and Master Mingde nodded, then closed his eyes.
"Amitabha, all is well. He does not wish to see you. Please leave, benefactors."
Uncle Mo was already glaring angrily at Mingde. Master Mingde stood, bowed to us, then looked at me.
"Benefactor Zhang, the thing inside you is already reacting to the thing within the mountain gate. I hope you can leave as soon as possible."
I knew exactly what the Ghost Worm Monk meant—the Ghost Blood Jade that sealed the seven souls of the Ghost Ancestor.
"Master Mingde, I want to meet the Ghost Worm. Please let him know."
After a moment, Mingde sighed and nodded.
"Please wait here, all of you."
As he spoke, a golden light flashed and Mingde vanished before our eyes.
"These monks actually accepted Liaochan, who nearly destroyed Brahma Sound. Unbelievable. A leopard can't change its spots—he'll never truly devote himself to Buddhism."
Uncle Mo said, and I nodded. Suddenly, a childish laugh echoed from the steps. A golden light flashed. I looked over in shock—it was the Ghost Worm, riding on the back of a golden-haired Hou.
"Lan Qinmo, who are you talking about? Something big has happened in the Yellow Springs, hasn't it? Why aren't you hurrying back, instead of wasting time here with me?"
"Where is Luoyin Temple, Ghost Worm?"
I asked bluntly, clenching my fists. Immediately, the golden-haired Hou under Ghost Worm extended its claws, its mane bristling. The Hou glared at me as if it no longer recognized me, filled with hostility, ready to tear me apart.
"I have no connection with that old monk Fuyuan anymore, so I can't possibly know. I don't want to talk about the past—that was another life. Zhang Qingyuan, we mind our own business. If you insist on making trouble for me, you're making trouble for the Brahma Sound Sect. As compensation, I'll give you a hint: Zhang Hao might know."
After Ghost Worm finished speaking, the golden-haired Hou turned and carried him swiftly up to the temple. I stared in shock. Lan Chuhan was already airborne, the Vermilion Bird's flames transforming into a robe as she floated into the sky.
"I'm heading back to the Yellow Springs."
Before Uncle Mo could reply, Lan Chuhan had already turned into a mass of crimson light, shooting across the night sky like a meteor and vanishing quickly.
"Dad..."
This chapter isn't over ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
Lan Ruoxi called out, and Uncle Mo nodded.
"Don't worry about the Yellow Springs, Ruoxi. Go find Zhang Hao first. I'll take you there."
Uncle Mo lifted a piece of red silk, and Lan Ruoxi sat on it. I floated up as well.
"What exactly did Lan Yin do, Zhang Qingyuan? Can you tell me?"
Uncle Mo finally couldn't hold back and asked. I stared at him, dazed. The people of the Yellow Springs would never recover. Lan Yin may have succeeded, defeating the Yellow Springs, and its people lost their protection.
I chose silence. Lan Ruoxi lowered her head. Uncle Mo, visibly angry, controlled the red silk to rise.
"The Island of Oath—it's where Lan Yin went after gaining power in the world of light."
Uncle Mo suddenly turned, eyes wide, then fell into deep thought.
"Let's go."
We spoke little along the way. Uncle Mo was lost in thought, his face full of doubt, as he carried us to my cousin's doorstep.
It was already late—past 4 a.m. My cousin should have been asleep, but the situation was urgent, so I walked up and rang the doorbell.
"Ruoxi, Qingyuan, I need to return to the Yellow Springs. Be careful, you two."
I nodded. Uncle Mo quickly left. The light on the second floor came on, and I heard someone stumbling down the stairs. With a creak, the door swung open.
"Qingyuan."
My cousin greeted me with a smile, not wearing any clothes. Lan Ruoxi turned her face away, but my cousin quickly looked shocked, then chuckled and hid behind the door.
"Miss Lan, cousin, come in first. I'll go upstairs and get dressed."
My cousin ran upstairs, shouted with joy, and leapt up the steps, looking genuinely happy.
We sat in the living room. Lan Ruoxi looked grim, still thinking about the Yellow Springs.
Thump, thump, thump—my cousin came downstairs, wearing a T-shirt and big shorts, barefoot, looking at me excitedly.
"You did it, cousin. Miss Lan is really alive."
I responded, and Li Susu also came downstairs in pink pajamas, looking surprised to see me and Lan Ruoxi.
"Sorry, sister-in-law, for disturbing you so late."
"Zhang Hao, make some tea."
Li Susu called out, and my cousin rushed into the kitchen. Li Susu looked at Lan Ruoxi in disbelief, and Lan Ruoxi smiled back.
After a while, I told my cousin part of what had happened, including the matter of Luoyin Temple. My cousin stared at me, confused, then pointed to himself.
"Am I somehow connected to that old monk Fuyuan from Luoyin Temple?"
I nodded. That was indeed what the Ghost Worm Monk had said. My cousin scratched his head.
"Zhang Hao, think carefully. Have you ever seen that old monk before?"
I extended a ghost thread toward my cousin, recalling Fuyuan's appearance. My cousin closed his eyes, opened them soon after, and shook his head.
"I've never seen that old monk. Really, those monks—are they really unwilling to help you? Wait, let me check that book."
Soon, my cousin came down from upstairs, holding a book with a cracked, dusty bark cover and no title. He opened it—inside were many words. After flipping for a while, he pointed to an article.
"This must be it. This book records major events at Putian Temple. My master gave it to me, told me to read it carefully when I had time."
'A Fateful Encounter'—these four words opened the article, but its contents were written in Sanskrit. Neither my cousin nor I could understand it. I blinked at my cousin and asked:
"Your master told you to study this..."
"Yeah, but that old monk tricked me. I can't read Sanskrit."
With a smack, my cousin threw the book to the ground.
Suddenly, a dazzling golden light shone from the book. The Sanskrit characters in the article came alive, flying out one by one and entering my cousin's body. Instantly, he seemed to lose consciousness, frozen in place.