"Do you know about The Unreal? Could it be that we..."
"When the day comes that you reach The Unreal, you will understand."
Heavenly Soul seemed unwilling to tell me more. I nodded, and he sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Finding Rachel Lan's instinct in this darkness is difficult. The influence of the dark power means it will take some time—it could be days, or even months. It all depends on your luck."
As Heavenly Soul spoke, he suddenly glanced at me. I felt some of the power within my body being drawn out. A streak of gray baleful energy flew toward Heavenly Soul, who grasped it in his hand and closed his eyes.
"You can go back now."
When I came to, my three companions looked at me with worried faces. After explaining things to them, I immediately closed Emperor Blaze's Domain.
"We can only return to Emperor Huang's Domain now. During this time, I have to think of a way to restrain these weapons that could go out of control at any moment."
After some discussion, we each went our separate ways. I headed straight back to the shop to wait for word from Heavenly Soul. The power in my body was slowly ebbing, but not quickly—the speed of my recovery was even faster.
Back at the shop, it was only 11 a.m. I got back to work, planning to stock up on some liquor. The street was bustling with people. I stopped by the gift shop to buy a few things, carrying bags of goods, and visited some regular customers to chat.
I've only recently come to realize this: in a place like this, the interactions between people can make an otherwise dull and oppressive life unexpectedly interesting.
Back when Rachel Lan and I lived in our old place, Rachel would chat with the neighbors every day. I was always busy working, so at first, they didn’t even know I was her husband.
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but smile.
"Boss Chang, what's on your mind? Did something make you happy?"
I shook my head. Across from me sat the owner of a shoe shop that's been here for three centuries. He looks about forty, gentle in manner, and every few days he brings his companions to my restaurant for food and drinks. We're well acquainted now, and today he brewed tea for me.
"Boss Chang, your flavors have been getting richer lately. I find myself missing them after just a few days."
"You're too kind."
The shoe shop owner smiled and sat down, gesturing for me to join him. I took a sip of tea. It was excellent.
"Your cooking has already surpassed the old Boss Lee."
"You used to visit Boss Lee's place all the time, didn't you?"
The shoe shop owner shook his head.
"Not exactly. He used to burn things all the time—it was frustrating. After a few visits, we stopped going. Later, he started paying attention to the heat and worked hard to improve, but still, not many people came. He was new to running a barbecue shop. Guess what happened next?"
I smiled, put down my teacup, and shook my head.
"During that time, his business was terrible. Some nights, he wouldn't have a single table. He got anxious, trying to pull in customers from outside, but word spread—his barbecue was known as the worst on the street. He put up a sign offering free tastings to the first table each night, but still, no one came. I remember it took about a year before things picked up—two or three tables a night. Business was still bad compared to others. That's when I started bringing friends, and slowly things improved. The taste wasn't great, but we kept going because Boss Lee's barbecue was different every day, getting better and better."
"Really! Sometimes, accepting something that seems bad can let you witness the day it gets better."
I left the shoe shop; it was nearly evening. Thinking back, I realized I've only ever seriously inherited Lee Ji's skills, never innovated or developed them—just made the flavors richer and the food smoother.
After entering the shop, I decided to adjust the flavors tonight.
"Boss Chang, the sauce tastes a bit different tonight. It's kind of strange."
It didn't take long for the customers to notice. Soon, everyone in the shop was talking about it. I smiled and asked them in detail what they felt, then started adjusting the recipe again.
"Sorry, everyone. I wanted to try something new."
I didn't charge a cent tonight, and many customers supported me.
After finishing up, I made myself something to eat. Tasting it, I found the flavor was much lighter—but it felt good, especially with a drink.
Suddenly, I felt the power in my body draining rapidly. My eyes widened. After a long moment, the loss finally stopped. Gasping, I slumped over the table. It took a while before my strength returned. I wanted to enter the Instinct Space and ask Heavenly Soul, but for now, I could only keep waiting.
After drinking, I went outside the city and entered the Ghost Domain to continue fighting alongside my ghost souls.
This went on for nearly half a month. Several times, my power drained rapidly, but Heavenly Soul still hadn't found Rachel Lan's instinct.
The long wait was tough, but lately my shop had three different flavors to suit various customers. I was busier than ever, but also happier than before.
Every day, I worked hard, trying to create new flavors and find ways to defeat my ghost souls using only a tenth of my own strength.
Life was getting more interesting. I enjoyed every day. After preparing food in the morning, I spent my afternoons walking through District 13, visiting customers and neighbors. At night, after closing the shop, I went outside the city to fight with my ghost souls.
A month passed. I still didn't know how much longer it would take to find Rachel Lan's instinct, but I was excited inside.
Heavenly Soul kept searching. During this time, my power would sometimes drop by a third in an instant, sometimes even more—down to just a fifth.
This chapter isn't finished yet~ Please click next page to continue reading the rest!
By now, the shop was busier than ever—almost full every night. I had an idea to expand the place, and when things got too hectic, to hire some help. I planned to select a few people and teach them the grilling skills I'd honed. After all, I couldn't spend my whole life in this shop. Lee Ji passed everything down to me, and now I had to pass it on.
One night, more than two months later, while drinking alone, Heavenly Soul's voice suddenly echoed in my mind. I set down my glass, instantly sobering up.
Quickly closing the shop, I entered the Instinct Space.
"Thank you."
Heavenly Soul nodded and reached out a hand.
"Come on, I'll take you to find Rachel Lan's instinct. I finally know exactly where it is."
As he spoke, a white road appeared beneath Heavenly Soul's feet, stretching quickly into the darkness ahead. I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me along as we ran down the path.
Heavenly Soul looked utterly exhausted.
"You've worked hard these past two months."
"It's nothing. This is the last time, anyway."
I grunted in response. We walked in silence, but the road was endlessly long. I had no idea how many hours had passed, and we still hadn't reached our destination.
"A few more hours, Zhang Qingyuan."
Heavenly Soul spoke, and I replied with a grunt.
"It's fine, as long as we find it."
I swallowed. There were things I'd wanted to say to Heavenly Soul for a long time, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. Now, I could only stare into the surrounding darkness, lost in thought.
At last, the road ended. Heavenly Soul pulled me off the path, and we landed steadily in the darkness. Before us was a bright white door—the rebirth of Rachel Lan's instinct.
"Go on. I'll stay here and watch. If anything goes wrong, focus on survival. This instinct isn't as weak as before—it's powerful now. You could be devoured by it."
I grunted in response.
"Remember, if there's any fighting, don't think of the instinct as Rachel Lan. Instinct is instinct; Rachel Lan is Rachel Lan. Don't hesitate or hold back—otherwise, you'll be the one who dies."
I stepped into the light before me, swallowing nervously and reaching out a hand.
"Instinct..."
With a boom, a tremendous force blasted me backward from the light. Heavenly Soul grabbed my back to steady me. My eyes widened—the force carried something that made my ghostly energy feel intensely uncomfortable.
"What should I do?"
Puzzled, I pondered my options. In my current state, there was no way I could enter. Then I realized I needed to use the human power within me—with Zhu Tang's help.
I focused my will, and a burst of flame shot from my body. I swallowed, suppressing the ghostly power within bit by bit.
After a while, I could no longer feel any ghostly power. I approached the bright light, and the sense of rejection disappeared. I smiled.
"Looks like I can go in now."
A stream of white energy attached itself to my back—it was Heavenly Soul. I glanced back at him.
"If anything goes wrong, don't hesitate—let me pull you out."
"There shouldn't be any problem."
With that, I stepped into the ball of light before me.
In an instant, I opened my eyes to find myself in what looked like a paradise. I stared in awe at everything around me—a humble farmhouse, a small bridge over flowing water, a quiet river, gentle wind, warm sunlight overhead, neat rows of trees, and blooming flowers everywhere. Life thrived in every corner.
Suddenly, I saw someone walk out of the farmhouse.
"Ruoxi..."
I immediately called out, drifting over with a smile—then stopped short.
"Are you the new birth?"