The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Chapter 19: A Story for You

The young maiden was fair-skinned, with an oval face and large, round eyes that were particularly captivating. She wore a light pink robe, her hair coiled up, exuding the innocence of a newlywed as she rubbed her eyes in the darkness, looking around uncertainly.

”I... Where am I?”

Chu Wanning replied, ”You are within the Realm of True Return, which I have constructed.”

Startled, the maiden asked anxiously, ”Who are you? Why is it so dark here? I canʼt see you. Whoʼs speaking?”

Chu Wanning said, ”Have you forgotten?... Youʼre already dead.”

The maidenʼs eyes widened. ”Iʼm already... I...”

Gradually, memories came flooding back to her.

Lowering her head, she placed her hands over her chest, which didnʼt show any signs of life. She let out a soft sigh, muttering, ”I... Iʼm already dead...”

”Only souls can enter the Realm of True Return. Here, resentment is erased. Whether the deceased turn into vengeful spirits or ordinary ghosts, they retain their personalities and appearance from their mortal lives, hence the term ʼTrue Return.ʼ”

The girl was lost in thought for a moment, seemingly recalling past events. Suddenly, she lowered her face and began to weep silently.

Chu Wanning asked, ”Have... you been wronged?”

Through her sobs, the girl replied, ”Are you Yama, the King of Hell, or Bai Wuchang, the White Impermanence? Have you come to avenge my injustice?”

Chu Wanning rubbed his forehead and said, ”I am neither Yama nor Bai Wuchang.”

The girl continued to cry softly. Chu Wanning remained quiet for a while, allowing her to compose herself. When her crying subsided slightly, he spoke again, ”But I have indeed come to right your wrongs.”

The maiden, sobbing, lifted her eyes, a mix of sorrow and joy in her voice. ”Then you must be Lord Yanluo!”

”...” Chu Wanning decided not to pursue this topic further. Instead, he asked, ”Do you know what you did after your death?”

”I donʼt... Iʼm not very sure. I only remember feeling incredibly sad, so sad. I wanted to seek revenge... I wanted to find them... and I wanted to find him again...”

It was common for souls to forget many things when they first awakened, but it mattered not. Chu Wanning asked her patiently, ”Who did you want to find?”

The maiden whispered, ”My husband, Chen Bohuan.”

Chu Wanningʼs heart jolted. Chen Bohuan – wasnʼt that the name of the Chen familyʼs eldest son?

He inquired, ”What... is your name? Where are you from?”

With the power of Tianwen infused into this illusory boundary, the deceased who entered would generally honestly converse with Chu Wanning. The maiden replied, ”This one is Luo Xianxian, from Butterfly Town.”

”Iʼve reviewed the records of Butterfly Town before coming here. There are over five hundred households, but none bear the surname Luo. Who was your father?”

The maiden gradually recalled the details, and her grief deepened. ”My father was once a scholar in the village, a close friend and brother-in-law to my late husbandʼs father. A few years ago, he fell ill with consumption and passed away. After that, I was the only one left in our home.”

”Then why did you die?”

The maiden was taken aback, then she wept uncontrollably. ”I had no other choice but to die. They... they deceived my father for his secret recipe for perfumed powder, and they beat and threatened me, forcing me to leave Butterfly Town. I... I, a weak woman, had nowhere else to go. I have no relatives left in this world... With such a vast land, where could I go? Other than the Yellow Springs, where... where else could I, could I find shelter...”

Recalling her past life, she seemed overwhelmed with sorrow and yearned to pour out her heart to someone. Even without Chu Wanning asking further, she continued to speak softly on her own.