Minglong

Chapter 298 Past and Present
Splash~ Splash...

A damp, salty sea breeze blew in from the window, and the afternoon sun shone on my face, making me unconsciously frown.

Xie Jinhuan awoke from the chaos and tried to shield his eyes from the sunlight, but found it had no effect. He then looked around in confusion.

However, he found himself in a small hut filled with all sorts of clutter. On the wall hung a portrait of a woman in a red dress standing atop a mountain peak. Although he couldn't see her face, his superb painting skills and his ability to identify people by their buttocks made him immediately realize that the portrait depicted a ghost.

What kind of place is this...?

How did I end up here...?

They just captured Yang Qing to sacrifice to the Blood God, and then that was it...

Xie Jinhuan was completely bewildered. He tried to get up, but found that his body had become semi-transparent, just like a ghost.

Oh my god, am I dead?
Could it be that Wei Wuyi ambushed them?

That old bastard...

Xie Jinhuan was slightly startled and tried to escape this situation, but to no avail. So he tried to leave the room, and as a result, he drifted out of the window at will.

Huhu~

Outside the window are yellow sand beaches and an endless blue ocean. There are many equipment on the beach, including plum blossom stakes, wooden figures and other martial arts equipment, as well as a huge bird's nest with a row of small dried fish hanging outside.

Behind the building are black mountains that stretch across the sky, and to the side is a stone cliff.

From the cliff, you can see the eaves of a Taoist temple. A woman in a red dress stands on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the vast sea. Her dress flutters in the wind. Even though we are very familiar with her, she still looks stunning.

"A ghost wife?!"

Upon seeing this, Xie Jinhuan hurriedly tried to float over to inquire about the current situation, but found that he could not make a sound, and the people on the cliff seemed to be unable to hear him either.

As he approached the rocky cliff, a voice echoed from inside the cave, where words like "Wind Spirit Valley, when will this end, just... just..." were carved.
"Hahaha! The filth of the past is nothing to boast about, today I indulge in boundless debauchery, and when the spring breeze blows, I must enjoy it to the fullest, hey..."

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle!"

"Oh right, riding the spring breeze, one can see all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day!"

……

His and Coal Ball's voices were filled with obvious joy.

?

Upon hearing his own voice, Xie Jinhuan abruptly stopped and looked down at the dark entrance to the mountain wall.

Then I saw him run out of there carrying a big box, with a gold chain and jade agate around his neck, and several weapons stuck in his waist. They looked very valuable, like a bandit who had just returned from robbing and looting.

The smaller coal ball, with a string of Buddhist beads around its neck and clutching a small package in its paws, excitedly crawled out of the hole, dropped the package at the foot of the cliff, and looked up at the woman in red, seemingly asking for a reward.

Xie Jinhuan's memories were sealed, and he did not remember what happened after the shipwreck in the South China Sea, but the current scene was extremely familiar, which should be the part of his missing memories. Therefore, he stopped and looked around in confusion.

"Fairy Sister, this ticket is worth at least 30,000 taels of silver. Could you give me a divine weapon or a cultivation technique this time? Starting with just a bird and having to steal all the equipment is so frustrating. Last time, that little bastard Ye Ci, I fought him over a thousand times..."

The red-clad figure on the cliff face, with the sun high in the sky behind her, still couldn't see her face clearly, but she was obviously looking down.
“The path of cultivation is always a solitary journey. You won’t always have the right weapon and the right techniques to counter your opponent’s. If you don’t endure some hardship now, what will you have to compete with all the cultivators in the world when you leave the mountain?”

The voice was exactly the same, but it was cold and ethereal, keeping people at arm's length, making it a completely different person from the ghost.

?

Upon hearing that voice, Xie Jinhuan felt a sense of being out of his league, but the man at the foot of the cliff was clearly used to it, patting his chest assuring him:

"Don't worry, with how well the fairy sister treats me, I'll definitely get you out. If you can't bring anything, then don't. At worst, I'll just go bankrupt on the spot..."

"Gooji!"

Coal Ball was clearly terrified of the word 'bankruptcy,' and quickly covered his mouth, obviously feeling it was unlucky.

The woman in red on the cliff face, after a moment of silence, asked again:
"Where did you learn all these nonsensical poems and songs?"

"Well... I started reading books extensively when I was three years old, and these are all things I learned from obscure and miscellaneous books..."

“What you’re reciting doesn’t sound like some obscure, lowly work. There’s no way I haven’t heard of it.”

"Ah, the sea of ​​books is boundless, even a fairy godmother might not know everything."

"Heh..."

The woman in red disappeared on the cliff face, leaving behind the words:
"Come up here and tell me everything that I don't know."

"is it?"

He had clearly been curious for a long time, so he quickly went back to his room to tidy himself up, and with a fan in his hand, he ran happily to the foot of the cliff and climbed up the rock wall.

The small Taoist temple above the cliff was very simple, with only three rooms. In the central hall, there was a statue of a deity, but it was not the founder of Taoism. Instead, it was a beautiful fairy. Although she was very serious and had an ethereal air, Xie Jinhuan recognized her as the White-haired Fairy at a glance.

The Taoist temple faces the endless sea. There is a reclining chair in the courtyard, and next to it is a coconut with a straw inserted.

The aloof and stunningly beautiful ghost wife leaned back in her recliner, without even a seat prepared.

Meanwhile, he and Coal Ball could only stand dumbfounded in the courtyard and begin to perform their talents, reciting various poems and composing verses, and even talking about their origins and stories. In order to please her, Coal Ball performed acrobatics such as stepping on tea jars and balancing large bowls on its head. The two of them almost did everything they could to arouse the interest of the beauty in red.

Xie Jinhuan watched for a moment and realized that he was really shameless, and that his ghost wife was really aloof.

However, the ghost bride was clearly not heartless. After listening for a long time, she became interested and asked all sorts of questions. He, in turn, was quite professional, displaying the skills of a male model and gigolo, maintaining perfect tact and keeping the conversation lively from beginning to end, as if he had an inexhaustible supply of new information. Xie Jinhuan knew that this was what happened after he fell into the sea. Because there were too many things in his daily life, he couldn't remember every second, so time was jumping around. The small Taoist temple had visibly changed; a swing, a tea table, and even colorful lights had appeared on the cliffside.

He used to offer incense to his senior sister every day, but upon hearing that she was still alive, he gazed thoughtfully at her exquisitely beautiful appearance...

One day, he was dancing the tango with a coal ball, and his ghost wife was also intrigued. She got up and joined him in dancing. Because he was too tall, he only reached her chest, and his eye control failed him. He was even thrown off a cliff and into the sea...

Day after day, all that could be seen were heartwarming scenes, but something troubled Xie Jinhuan, as well as his past self.

wow~
wow~
Every time the sun rises and sets, and day turns into night, he would hear the sound of chains rattling, which greatly annoyed him, but he didn't know why.

Xie Jinhuan recalled the initial "fishing out" and couldn't help but worry that the ghost wife's true form was chained up. So he floated down the cliff to the entrance of the cave and floated inside.

The cave was bottomless, and as you went deeper, all light disappeared, as if you were walking in a black abyss. After an unknown amount of time, you finally saw something ahead.

The object was a black stone tablet, just like the one Wanyi had seen in her dream, but it was so large that it seemed like a mountain suspended in the void. Five chains were connected to the stone tablet, and the other end of the chains disappeared into a black abyss, its destination unknown.

Xie Jinhuan frowned slightly, searching left and right, but saw nothing outside the stone tablet in the black abyss, nor any trace of the ghost. Just as he was wondering, he heard:
"Xie Jinhuan? Xie Jinhuan?"

The voice of the white-haired fairy...

Xie Jinhuan looked up, and the dream collapsed. Then, a slow, agonizing pain surged through his body, and his consciousness returned to his mind...

……

Boom——

Crackling...

A rumble of thunder came from the sky, and raindrops the size of soybeans pounded on the umbrella, their crisp sound drowning out all other sounds in the world.

In a mountain hollow not far from Snow Eagle Ridge, a white-haired Taoist nun dressed in golden armor, carrying a red umbrella, squatted on the ground and forcefully slapped the man's cheek:
"Xie Jinhuan? Hello, hello, hello?"

The coal ball squatted nearby, flapping its wings in an attempt to wake it up.

clap clap clap...

"call……"

After a moment, Xie Jinhuan finally let out a breath, a look of pain showing on his handsome face. He felt as if he had been tortured by ten giant carts for seven days and seven nights. His original vigorous energy was completely gone, and he was in pain from head to toe. After a long while, he opened his eyes and saw the white-haired fairy's radiant face and the coal ball's big head.

"Are you awake?"

"Goojigji?"

"Senior Qixia..."

Xie Jinhuan was a little confused. He struggled to sit up, intending to ask a question, but what he saw next was that he was lying naked on the rock, covered only by a banana leaf from the waist down. He quickly covered himself with his hands, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"Senior Qixia, what did you do to me?"

thump~
Master Qixia was taken aback, then raised his hand and flicked her forehead:

"I am a hermit, what can I do to you? You have been practicing demonic techniques indiscriminately and without any restraint. You went mad just now, but luckily I arrived in time to suppress it and even stripped away some of your blood evil. Quickly thank me."

go Ape……

Xie Jinhuan had been somewhat erratic on the way here, but he never expected that casually giving Yang Qing a ride would cause him to lose control. After carefully recalling his experience and finding no fault in it, he checked himself over and concluded that the banana leaf must have been covered by the white-haired fairy. He was certain that he had been thoroughly examined, and the feeling on his body...

"Senior Xie Qixia, um...you didn't beat me up, did you? I feel like I've been brutally beaten up..."

Master Qixia blinked his big eyes and stood up:
"It's alright as long as you're not seriously injured. Don't worry about the details. In the future, when you're alone, you mustn't use your demonic powers recklessly. If I hadn't been here today, you would have been imprisoned in the Demon Tomb for more than ten years."

Xie Jinhuan was a little confused. After a few moments, he looked around.
"Where are Sect Leader Lu and the others? And Wei Wuyi..."

"Don't worry, I've taken care of everything. You need to rest for a while and don't run around. I'll go and get you some clothes..."

As Master Qixia spoke, he prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan covered himself with a banana leaf and got up:
"Hey. Senior Qixia, um... I just had a dream. I dreamt that you were my senior sister, and that we had a Taoist temple in the South China Sea..."

?

Master Qixia blinked, then turned to look at the naked Xie Jinhuan:

"You remembered?"

"Uh...yeah, there are just some things I don't understand..."

"No need to understand. What's past is past. Just start anew. A prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold."

"Huh? I've never killed or committed arson before...wait?"

Xie Jinhuan was about to ask another question when he noticed the white-haired fairy raise her finger and touch his brow.

"I see you haven't fully recovered yet, you should sleep a little longer."

Xie Jinhuan was filled with questions and couldn't sleep, but how could he stop the White-Haired Fairy from doing what she wanted? He had just taken half a step back when everything went black.

Thump~
He fell straight down onto the rock, and banana leaves flew everywhere...

(End of this chapter)