“Amitabha. Humans have the human path, heaven has the heavenly path, ghosts have the ghost path. These paths do not connect. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear those words. Rise.”

“Master.”

Xie Zhifei didn’t rise. His voice pressed through his throat: “What if I insist on going in?”

The old monk: “Then you can only remain inside.”

“But I just went in and came out again, didn’t I?”

“Fool! Absolute fool!”

The old monk was so angry he wanted to curse. Remembering he was an enlightened monk, his face immediately turned cold and indifferent.

“Disciple, let’s return to our room.”

His legs couldn’t move—Xie Zhifei held them tightly.

This time, even the good-tempered Xu Yun couldn’t stand to watch.

“You could come out just now because of my master’s drop of blood. My master is old. He doesn’t have many drops of blood to waste.”

Xie Zhifei remained completely unmoved: “I’m willing to exchange everything I have for Master’s one drop of blood. I beg Master to help me enter once more.”

“Xie Zhifei, do you know the price for the living entering the netherworld?”

Xie Zhifei was startled.

Xu Yun: “One day in the mountains equals a thousand years in the world.”

Young Master Pei’s voice emerged from the side: “What does that mean?”

“It means…”

Xu Yun: “For every hour Xie Zhifei spends in the netherworld, he loses one year of life. Twelve hours means losing twelve years of life.”

Xie Zhifei: “Master Xu Yun, Zhu Yuanmo also went in. He…”

Xu Yun: “His time was short, but he may not have avoided loss.”

Ah?

Pei Xiao quickly rushed before Xie Zhifei and crouched down.

“Xie Wushi, let’s listen to the Master. Don’t go in. I’ll resolve Yan Sanhe’s heart demon. If I can’t, I’ll chop off my head for you to kick like a ball.”

“Mingting, I…”

“What ‘I’? Listening to me is absolutely right.”

Pei Xiao tried to help him up while raising his head to shoo away the master and disciple: “It’s late. Everyone go back to your rooms to rest. Go on, go on!”

“Master, don’t leave.”

Xie Zhifei forcefully pushed Pei Xiao away, his expression exceptionally resolute: “I’m willing to exchange ten years of life for ten hours in the netherworld.”

Mad!

This person has gone mad!

Pei Xiao lunged over, forcefully shaking Xie Zhifei’s shoulders and roaring: “You’re already short-lived! How many decades do you have? Speak! How many decades do you have?”

Zhu Qing: “Master, you cannot go in.”

Ding Yi: “I won’t let you go in.”

Huang Qi: “Third Master, absolutely cannot be impulsive.”

Li Buyan crouched over: “Third Master, let me make a decision for Yan Sanhe. You truly cannot go in. We can definitely resolve this heart demon.”

Voice after voice drilled into his ears. Xie Zhifei heard nothing. Repeatedly appearing in the depths of his mind was the scene he saw in the netherworld.

It was in Haitang Courtyard.

Dawn was breaking.

The little boy set down his great sword on the weapon rack: “Father, I’m going to wake little sister.”

“Don’t disturb your sister. Let her sleep more.”

“Today is different.”

The boy ran toward the room, colliding head-on with the young woman coming out.

The boy wiped the sweat from his forehead, cupped his fists toward the woman, and said in one breath:

“The luxuriant artemisia, not artemisia but southernwood. Alas for our parents, who labored to give me birth. The luxuriant artemisia, not artemisia but wormwood. Alas for our parents, who labored to exhaust themselves for me. Your son thanks Mother for the grace of birth and raising.”

The woman’s expression changed slightly.

The boy grinned at the woman, running while turning back to shout:

“I’m going to wake sister. Mother, remember to poach an egg in the longevity noodles—one for me and one for sister.”

Alas for our parents, who labored to give me birth.

Alas for our parents, who labored to exhaust themselves for me.

This was a phrase he had to respectfully recite to his parents every birthday. He could never remember it and always stumbled over the words.

But on his eighth birthday, he said it exceptionally smoothly because the night before, Huaiyou had explained the meaning of every word in this phrase to him.

That day was his and Huaiyou’s birthday.

Eight years old was the eighth year of Yonghe.

He accidentally got sucked into the netherworld. In the netherworld was Haitang Courtyard. Haitang Courtyard was staging the final day of their family of four.

So would it stage the moment when Huaiyou was killed?

He guessed it would!

Xie Zhifei ignored the people surrounding him, directing his gaze solely at Master Chanyue.

“Master, I still want to go in.”

“Child!”

The old monk let out an almost inaudible sigh: “Why won’t you listen to advice?”

It’s not unwillingness to listen to advice—this matter won’t pass.

Xie Zhifei: “Master lent her ten years of life, seeking great freedom and great perfection. But I… seek only an answer.”

“This answer…”

The old monk’s gaze grew heavy: “…in seven days, you may not fail to find it.”

“But an answer is just an answer. Which is right, which is wrong, which is cause, which is effect, who owes a debt, who is justified… I want to understand clearly, and I must understand clearly.”

Xie Zhifei smiled miserably, the corners of his eyes moistening.

“Otherwise, even if I live to a hundred, when I die my coffin won’t close. This is my heart demon too, Master.”

“Foolish child, foolish child!”

The old monk’s hand rapidly worked the prayer beads, saying with disappointment: “This life of yours…”

“This life of mine truly came with difficulty. By rights I should cherish it. Yet by coincidence, I went in. Buddhism speaks of opportunity—perhaps this is my opportunity to resolve her heart demon.”

Xie Zhifei paused for quite a while.

“Shen Duruo used a lifetime of healing and saving lives to exchange for my rebirth. I’m resolving the heart demon of the person she couldn’t let go of, couldn’t put down. Buddhism speaks of cause and effect—perhaps this is my cause and effect.”

He took a deep breath, forcing the trace of tears back from the corners of his eyes, then deeply prostrated.

“Master, I beg you to fulfill this!”

“Amitabha!”

The darkness in the old monk’s eyes scattered completely. His clear, bright gaze looked kindly at Xie Zhifei. After looking for a long while, his gaze lifted, glancing at Xu Yun beside him.

Xu Yun said nothing, gazing deeply back at the old monk.

Master and disciple looked at each other for a long while. Finally, Xu Yun shifted his gaze away: “Miss Li, please fetch incense and the incense burner.”

Li Buyan didn’t know whether to agree or not. While hesitating, Xie Zhifei extended his hand and tugged her sleeve: “Go get it.”

Li Buyan glanced at Pei Xiao standing dazed beside them, finally gritted her teeth, turned and walked into the side room.

In mere moments, incense and incense burner were brought over.

Xu Yun took the incense, pinched the old monk’s fingertip, squeezed out a drop of blood. The incense tip absorbed the blood. He dotted it on Xie Zhifei’s brow center, then lit it over candlelight until sparks appeared, finally inserting it into the incense burner.

“Ten hours. When the incense burns out, you’ll emerge.”

Xu Yun pressed his palms together: “Amitabha. Go!”

Xie Zhifei’s eyes heated. He kowtowed three times to the old monk, then three more to Xu Yun. Climbing up, his large palm patted Pei Xiao’s shoulder.

Pei Xiao stared at him dumbly, his mind still full of Xie Zhifei’s earlier words.

What about Shen Duruo’s merit?

What about his rebirth?

How, how can this young master not understand a single word?

“Mingting.”

Xie Zhifei smiled apologetically at him: “There’s something I’ve always kept from you.”

“Speak! What have you been hiding from me?”

“Wait for me to come out. I’ll tell you everything, won’t leave out a single word.”

Xie Zhifei squeezed his neck: “Ancestor, wait obediently for me!”

With that, he walked to the coffin’s edge, bent down, extended his hand…

As white light flashed, he heard Pei Mingting’s roaring curse:

“Xie Wushi, you turtle bastard! Either tell me now, or wait for this young master to sever our friendship!”

—

There’s a bug. Huaizuo, Huaiyou, and Third Master Xie’s birthday is July 14th. I mistakenly remembered it as July 15th and confused it with the Zheng family massacre. After the novel is complete, I’ll come back to fix it. My apologies.