I took the Yin token my martial uncle had given me before from around my neck.
Then I put the Yin gathering token, wrapped in ordinary wood on the outside, around my neck.
"Do you still want this Yin token?" I asked my martial uncle.
"No. It's yours now. Just because it's an ordinary Yin token doesn't mean you can toss it away whenever you please.
"Though this Yin token can't compare to the one your grandfather made, it's still a rare treasure on the open market.
"I wouldn't go so far as to call it one of a kind, but it truly isn't something you see often.
"You've been with me for so long. Think of it as a little keepsake from me." My martial uncle replied.
I nodded. With a thought, I put the ordinary Yin token into my small space.
Early the next morning, we got up and prepared a lavish table of dishes.
My martial uncle said, "Eat. Once we finish this meal, we'll head to the back mountain and settle everything. Then we'll part ways."
Hearing that, I felt a little sad. The food was plentiful, but it tasted like chewing wax in my mouth.
I wasn't in high spirits either. My martial uncle glanced at me, and reluctance surfaced in his eyes as well.
Perhaps it was because we were about to part. There was always some sadness at a farewell; after all, people were social creatures.
It was only natural to feel reluctant. That was how I comforted myself.
After breakfast, our group headed for the back mountain. Passing through the village, I saw that it had become even more dilapidated than before.
A trace of sorrow flashed through my eyes, and Qianqian wore a grief-stricken expression as well.
Perhaps it was because I was about to leave my martial uncle, and because I had seen the place that had raised me since childhood reduced to such ruin.
Only Qianqian and I remained alive in the entire village, and Qianqian was only a soul.
Then, thinking of the uncertain road ahead, of life and death unknown and a future shrouded in fog, I shamefully began to cry. So did Qianqian.
My martial uncle sighed, stroking Qianqian's and my heads. "Oh, you two silly children. What are you crying for? We'll meet again in the future."
Nangong Yiyi also comforted us with a sorrowful face. "Don't be afraid. Big Sister will be with you from now on. I'll protect you both."
I stopped crying, sniffed, and nodded.
Once Qianqian and I felt a little better, we continued toward the back mountain.
Sigh... I was only seventeen, yet so many things had happened all at once. My emotions had snapped, and that was why I suddenly cried.
I really wasn't being melodramatic. Anyone else in my place wouldn't have handled it any better, right? I thought.
Before long, we reached the back mountain. Familiar with the route, we entered and opened the Eight Trigrams Array.
At the very bottom, Nangong Yiyi made another stone coffin on the spot.
She struck the cave wall with her palm, and several huge rocks two or three meters long rolled down to the ground. Then, gathering her cultivation, she clawed at the stones.
The massive rocks split neatly into stone slabs. Her hands flew up and down, and before long, a stone coffin appeared before us.
I was dumbstruck. Cultivation can be used like this? I wondered.
"Alright, put this girl's body inside. Be careful and don't damage it, or it'll cause trouble later," Nangong Yiyi said.
I stepped forward and carefully placed Qianqian's body inside. After arranging her features, I stepped back.
Nangong Yiyi then flicked her sleeve. The stone coffin lid rose from the ground and settled over the coffin, while the coffin itself slowly sank into the earth.
After all that was done, I looked at the jar and asked my martial uncle, "What should we do with this?"
For a moment, neither my martial uncle nor Nangong Yiyi could think of the best place to put it.
"Why don't you let me out? That thing around this kid's neck is pretty nice. I want to live in there," a voice came from inside the jar.
"You're dreaming," I immediately replied.
Then I froze. "How did you know that the thing around my neck can house ghosts?" I asked.
My martial uncle and Nangong Yiyi both looked shocked. At first, even my martial uncle had not realized there was more to this Yin token than met the eye.
If Nangong Yiyi had not been so observant, she would not have noticed either, because it looked like nothing more than an ordinary Yin token.
Before I sensed the inside of the Yin token, neither my martial uncle nor Nangong Yiyi had thought much of it.
They had merely found it a little strange. Only after my consciousness entered and took a look did they understand.
This was a treasure. To ghosts, it was an even greater treasure.
It was the kind of thing that would make people fight until their heads bled if they encountered it. Perhaps there was only one in the entire world.
Because my grandfather's life and death were unknown, and he was the only one who could make such a thing.
I had asked my martial uncle about it before. He said that in all his decades of life, he had only ever seen this one.
"What exactly are you? Why is your cultivation so mediocre, yet you know things that someone at your level shouldn't know?" Nangong Yiyi asked, frowning her beautiful brows.
My martial uncle also stared grimly at the jar. A voice came from within it.
"I don't know! I don't know where I came from.
"I don't know where I'm going, either. I don't even know what my own name is.
"If I knew, I would have come out long ago. This jar is powerful, but it can't trap me.
"It would only take some effort, that's all. I just thought that after getting out, I wouldn't know where to go or what to do.
"So I might as well stay here, sleep, and stare into space.
"Then I thought that if I slept inside that token of yours...
"It should be much more comfortable than this jar, so I wanted you to let me out."
Then it continued, "Kid, how about letting me live in there?
"If you need me in the future, I can help you out, as long as it's within my abilities.
"Consider it rent. Do you want to think about it?"
My first instinct was to refuse. Was this a joke? To ghosts, that place was a paradise hidden within a cave.
You were some thing of unknown origin. How could I dare let you in?
Before I could speak, Nangong Yiyi waved a hand at me, then looked at my martial uncle and said:
"Why don't we let this thing out and see what it really is?
"With your cultivation and my strength as a Ghost King, it's only a little Ghost Spirit. I doubt it can stir up any waves."
After speaking, Nangong Yiyi looked at my martial uncle, seeking his opinion.
My martial uncle hesitated, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes, then nodded.
He raised a hand, and the red seal over the jar's mouth fell to one side.
In an instant, a mass of black mist burst from the mouth of the jar. My martial uncle and Nangong Yiyi assumed fighting stances, ready to attack.
I also retreated several steps, pulled Qianqian behind me, and stared solemnly at the jar.
Four pairs of eyes watched the black mist tensely. As it gradually dispersed and revealed a figure, I froze where I stood.
It was a man. There was only one word for him: handsome. Too handsome—sword-like brows, starry eyes, thin lips.
His features were exquisitely balanced; one fraction more would not do, one fraction less would not do. In any case, he was exceptionally pleasing to the eye.
His lazy expression carried a refined smile, his hands clasped behind his back.
He floated there in midair, looking at us. For a moment, neither side spoke first.
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