After we sat down, Yvonne May poured tea for us. Lord Shenyan immediately spoke.
"Yvonne May, I am here on someone else's behalf, so..."
"Lord Shenyan, you don't need to explain. It must be because of John Chou. Why do you always obey him?"
Lord Shenyan lowered his head and stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"Sorry, Yvonne May. Since I promised John Chou that Ethan Zhang would leave the Forest of Desire unharmed, but now he has lost a leg..."
"Lord Shenyan, I know your character—you always keep your word. Since that's the case, I will show you some respect. However, I said earlier that Ethan Zhang must agree to one condition. If he does, I will heal Ethan Zhang and the monk."
"Thank you."
As Lord Shenyan finished speaking, I immediately asked.
"Tell me, Yvonne May, what exactly do you want me to do?"
"Sigh, Ethan Zhang, you've seen it yourself. Down below, every night, those ghosts wait for their favorite singer to appear. They're truly pitiful. All I ask is for you to bring their beloved star here and let her hold a concert. Once they hear her sing, they can finally move on and reincarnate."
"I understand. I promise you." I replied, my voice firm and unwavering.
Yvonne May nodded. Then she raised her hand, and Mr. Blackmask placed me on the ground. My leg, already turned to stone, floated over and hovered in front of Yvonne May.
"Lord Shenyan, you know what to do. I don't need to explain."
Lord Shenyan nodded and immediately stood up. Yvonne May gestured to me, and Mr. Blackmask quickly supported me, moving me to Yvonne May's side.
"Lay Ethan Zhang on the ground."
Mr. Blackmask placed me on the ground. Then, in Lord Shenyan's palm, black flames ignited—unlike Redmane's, these seemed to burn with a real intensity, while Redmane's flames had softer, rounder edges.
Lord Shenyan pressed his hand to my petrified right leg. With a series of creaks, my right leg began to crack, fissures spreading across the stone surface.
Black smoke slowly rose from the cracks, mingling with a foul stench. At first, I barely noticed, but as time passed, the reek grew stronger, forcing me to retch uncontrollably.
I screamed. My petrified right leg had completely dissolved, restored at last. But a thick, putrid smell wafted from the flesh.
My entire right leg was crawling with white maggots, utterly rotten, the bone exposed. Gasping for breath, I stared at my leg in horror.
"That's only natural, Ethan Zhang. Even though your right leg turned to stone, once it was severed, it would inevitably rot." Yvonne May said, beckoning, and Mr. Blackmask carried me over.
A chill ran through me as I stared at my right leg. Pus oozed continuously, and the white maggots writhed across my flesh.
Then, something strange happened. Yvonne May took my rotten right leg and reattached it to the severed stump. I watched as the white maggots slowly vanished.
My right leg began to regrow flesh—the places that had rotted away, leaking pus and exposing bone, were now slowly covered in new muscle and skin.
"Space?"
Swallow muttered to himself, then quickly corrected,
"No, it's time."
I didn't understand what Swallow meant, but my right leg had been reattached, and it was truly recovering bit by bit.
After a while, I reached out in disbelief and touched my right leg—it had completely healed.
"What is this?"
Just as I spoke, Yvonne May walked over to my cousin, her expression grave.
"This little monk's condition is much worse. It won't be easy to heal him quickly, Ethan Zhang. You'd better be prepared."
I tried to stand up at once, but stumbled and fell to the ground. My right leg could move, but I couldn't keep my balance.
"What's happening?"
Before I could finish, Swallow came over, took out a string of prayer beads, and wrapped them first around my left leg, then my right.
"They're different sizes, Ethan. Did you forget? In the Forest of Desire, for more than twenty days, you had no right leg and could only walk on your left. That's why..."
Suddenly, I understood what Swallow meant. For those twenty-odd days, I'd relied on my left leg to walk. The constant strain had made it thicker, and now, compared to my right, it was much larger.
I thought about it and didn't mind. But my cousin's injury was clearly worse—Yvonne May's somber expression told me as much.
"So what should we do?"
I asked, but Yvonne May only shook her head.
"This little monk's soul, body, and the Buddha Statue have completely fused together. Healing him is extremely difficult. His soul and body are constantly shifting between unity and separation. Even I can't restore him."
"Then what should we do?"
Yvonne May turned around and looked at me seriously.
"First, you need to find a piece of extremely pure corpse jade—it must be crimson gold. Corpse jade is used to separate the soul, the Buddha Statue, and the monk's body."
Suddenly, I remembered—after Rachel Lan poisoned Little Black, I found the Blind Granny and Old Man. They told me only that could neutralize the poison. I nodded, hope flickering in my chest.
"Even so, this little monk is basically dead. Reviving him is nearly impossible. The second thing you need is spirit water—it can cleanse all filth and reverse the gate of life and death."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the spirit water can awaken the monk's soul. Right now, he's like a vegetable in your world—unable to wake by his own will. That's why you need spirit water."
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Lord Shenyan immediately walked over.
"Yvonne May, there may be hope for the corpse jade, but what about the spirit water?"
Lord Shenyan asked anxiously, and Yvonne May's face grew troubled. I realized that finding this spirit water would be nearly impossible.
"It's true—I know very little about spirit water. Maybe only an Onmyoji would know. Go ask the girl with Redmane, Ethan Zhang."
After Yvonne May said this, I finally felt relieved. But Yvonne May stared at me, lost in thought.
"Even so, the last item is especially hard to obtain. It will depend on your fate."
Yvonne May spoke, clearly worried.
"Tell me, what is it?"
"Meng Po Soup. In the end, you must go to the Underworld, cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness, find Meng Po's dwelling, and obtain her soup."
I nodded at once, now knowing what three things I needed to save my cousin. I couldn't help but smile with relief.
"Sigh, Ethan, any one of these three things will be nearly impossible to obtain."
Swallow muttered under his breath.
"Why?"
"Crimson corpse jade comes from high-level zombies. With your current strength, it's almost impossible. And where would you even find such a powerful zombie?"
"It's fine. I should be able to find one." My mind raced—I wanted nothing more than to rush to Old Man and Blind Granny and ask where to find a horde of zombies.
"And as for spirit water, I don't really know. When you get back, ask the Old Freak. Supposedly, it's incredibly rare—maybe only appears once a century, or even less."
"But Meng Po is the key."
Yvonne May added.
I gasped. All I knew about Meng Po was the legend: she gives those about to reincarnate a bowl of Meng Po Soup, so they forget their past lives.
"What's wrong with Meng Po?"
"Ethan Zhang, for countless generations, since Meng Po Soup appeared, have you ever seen anyone reincarnate without drinking it?"
Lord Shenyan asked. I shook my head.
"If powerful ghosts like us could skip Meng Po Soup, wouldn't Meng Po let us reincarnate easily?"
As soon as Lord Shenyan finished, my mind buzzed. Thinking carefully, I'd never heard of any ghost resisting Meng Po or refusing her soup before reincarnation.
"Is she that powerful?"
I asked. Both Yvonne May and Lord Shenyan nodded.
"Though I've never met Meng Po myself, I've heard that no matter how strong a ghost is, if they try to reincarnate without drinking Meng Po Soup, Meng Po will always make them drink it."
My heart skipped a beat. Even as a child, I'd heard tales of Meng Po, but never of anyone defying her when it was time to reincarnate.
"Ethan Zhang, when you get back, have the three ghosts from Qiyin Mountain take you. They probably know more than we do—after all, Qiyin Mountain is close to the Bridge of Forgetfulness."
Lord Shenyan said, and I smiled, nodding.
"Still, Ethan Zhang, I hope you can fulfill your promise to me soon," Yvonne May said as I walked over.
"Why care so much about those ghosts? You could easily destroy them."
"I can't bear to see them suffer night after night, clinging to the same hope. I just want them to have their wish and leave this place happy."
I smiled and nodded, then turned away.
"Swallow, Mr. Blackmask, let's go. I need to find Jing Le. Yvonne May, can my cousin stay here with you?"
I asked. Yvonne May nodded, and I felt a wave of relief—leaving my cousin here was surely the safest choice for now.