Chapter 258: Lin Qing’er Returns

After Shui Miao gave names to the ghostly enforcers, Ghost Horse and Ghost Mule, they each went to fulfill their duties.

Their mission was to protect Shui Miao, obey her commands, and maintain the balance of yin and yang in their territory.

They had undergone sixteen years of training and clearly understood what they should and shouldn’t do.

However, Shui Miao was unaware that the spirits of ‘Shui’ and ‘Zhuiyue’ had been infused with the Yuan Shen of ‘Wu Ai’ (Loveless).

Wu Qing (Heartless) and Wu Ai were two of the most powerful enforcers in the ranks of the Fengdu Bureau.

The Fengdu Bureau was a division under the jurisdiction of the War God of the Northern Netherworld, and Wu Qing and Wu Ai were indeed disciples of this War God.

The most formidable beings in the Underworld were, in order, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Benevolent Emperor of Heaven, the Northern Emperor of Fengdu, and then the Five Direction Ghost Emperors. The Yama Court was only a small part of the entire Underworld, which was vast beyond imagination. The Ten Halls of King Yama were merely ten deities of the Yama Court, and beneath them were high-ranking officials like Judge Cui, Zhong Kui, the Black and White Impermanents, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Meng Po, among other ghostly deities.

The ghost enforcers were essentially the army of the Underworld. Although ghost enforcers could be found everywhere, the headquarters that commanded and dispatched them was the Fengdu Bureau.

The Bureau had thirty-six elite Enforcer Kings, and Wu Qing and Wu Ai were only two among them.

However, unlike many other Enforcer Kings, Wu Qing and Wu Ai had been born from the Yin Holy Spirit. They had always remained within the Bureau, never leaving Fengdu, and thus had no understanding of human emotions.

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Dawn broke.

Inside the Chen Corporation building, Shui Miao, Chen Meiling, and Chenxiang were still chatting.

They discussed recent events, and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Of course, Shui Miao kept many things to herself to avoid worrying the others.

To help everyone begin their cultivation, Shui Miao specially invited Bai Feng to teach them the basics of spiritual training. Bai Feng would also infuse Yin Holy Spirits into Shui Miao’s relatives and friends, strengthening their souls and accelerating their progress in cultivation.

At around eight thirty, Jiang Zhihao and the others arrived.

After checking in, Shui Miao learned that the Black Mountain Old Mother had recently taken on her appearance and had simply placed some talismans into statues and pushed for the project’s progress, without doing anything particularly unusual. Thus, Shui Miao accompanied Jiang Zhihao to a nearby newly built temple. With her spiritual senses, she discovered a strange and previously unseen talisman hidden inside the statue.

On the surface, the talisman looked ordinary.

But upon closer inspection, she realized it secretly contained a birth date and time—the Ba Zi!

Could this be how the White Snake Goddess in the Immortal Realm received offerings?

Shui Miao had a sudden idea and decided to try it out. She copied the talisman and wrote her own birth details onto it, then arranged for Jin Chanzi to guard the temple.

To avoid alerting the White Snake Goddess in the Immortal Realm, Shui Miao did not rush to interfere with other temples and monasteries spread across more than a dozen provinces and cities. After handling this matter, she had the fox spirit Qi Mei take over dealing with Jiang Zhihao and the others. They still had some use, and Qi Mei was more than capable of handling them.

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Jingshui Village

Xiao Tudou, Wang Xiaomi, Xiao Shuang, and Xiao Tangjie had all been summoned by Chen Meiling to the Chen Corporation headquarters. Ostensibly for a meeting, in reality, Bai Feng was going to teach them how to cultivate their Qi.

Shui Miao’s mother and Auntie Yang were also there.

Chenxiang had also invited Chen Bing and Lin Haiyang.

Only Li Lan remained behind, still on duty.

Appreciating Li Lan’s dedication, Shui Miao personally came to her, gave her a Yin Holy Spirit, and taught her the cultivation techniques.

Then Shui Miao hurried off to the Linhai Hotel.

Now, the general manager of Linhai Hotel was Da Shuang, who had been busily assisting Lin Qing’er in managing the business.

Inside the office, Da Shuang was buried in work, and due to constant overtime, she had severe dark circles under her eyes.

Shui Miao gently knocked on the door and called out, “Da Shuang jie.”

Hearing Shui Miao’s voice, Da Shuang immediately dropped the documents and rushed to open the door.

“Haha! Shui Miao, you’re finally back!”

Excited, Da Shuang grabbed Shui Miao’s hand and pulled her inside, seating her on the sofa, then quickly called for someone to bring two cups of coffee.

Feeling that their relationship wasn’t that close, Shui Miao felt a bit awkward at Da Shuang’s enthusiasm.

After hanging up the phone, Da Shuang hurriedly sat beside Shui Miao, happily slapping her thigh and saying, “I’ve got great news for you—Qing’er will arrive in Zhonghai this afternoon! She called me half an hour ago. I had just hung up when you showed up. Seems like you two really share a psychic connection!”

That Lin Qing’er was returning did surprise Shui Miao.

Actually, Shui Miao had come here for two reasons: one was to give Da Shuang, who had been too busy to leave her post, a Holy Yuan Spirit to cleanse and strengthen her body; the other was to inquire about Lin Qing’er’s condition. She hadn’t expected her to return so soon.

“…”

Shui Miao’s heart was mixed, at a loss for words.

“What? Too excited?” Da Shuang covered her mouth with a smile.

Shui Miao frowned slightly. “Is Qing’er still using the same phone number?”

Shui Miao also called Lin Qing’er “Qing’er jie,” which gave Da Shuang a sudden jolt inside.

Da Shuang paused briefly, then shook her head. “No, she changed her number. I’ll give it to you.”

“Okay!”

Shui Miao lowered her head, took out her phone, and felt a strange heaviness in her heart.

Da Shuang seemed to sense something—perhaps Shui Miao no longer loved Lin Qing’er. She had intended to tease him a little, but seeing his expression, she decided to reveal the truth. “Actually, it’s because Old Master Lin has cancer and is coming to Zhonghai for surgery. Otherwise, Lin Qing’er wouldn’t have come out. Also, I recently heard from Huang that Qing’er is considering becoming a nun…”

Da Shuang looked directly into Shui Miao’s eyes, trying to see if he still loved Lin Qing’er.

“What! Become a nun!”

Startled, Shui Miao’s heart skipped a beat and she looked up sharply at Da Shuang.

Seeing that Shui Miao still cared about Lin Qing’er, Da Shuang felt relieved. “Actually, Lin Qing’er has a wish—to meet you one last time. I think, if you still love her, she might not go through with becoming a nun.”

Da Shuang’s meaning was clear—she hoped Shui Miao wouldn’t act like a heartless person.

“I understand…”

Shui Miao exhaled deeply. “Give me the number. I’ll go to the airport to pick her and her father up.”

“There’s still about an hour before the plane lands. How about this—we’ll have our coffee first, then I’ll go with you to the airport to meet her.” Da Shuang wrote down Lin Qing’er’s new phone number on a piece of paper and slid it toward Shui Miao. “Shui Miao, I asked Wang Xiaomi about your situation with Lin Qing’er. I know you’re a good person.”

“I know…”

Shui Miao nodded, picked up the paper, and memorized the number.

But Da Shuang shook her head. “Actually, there’s something you don’t know, and we didn’t know either until recently. A few days ago, I heard from Huang that Lin Qing’er has a strange illness too. People with this condition can’t get married—you know what I mean, right?”

In other words, this was a relationship destined not to have a perfect ending.