Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

The newly born ghost followed Chu Xunfeng, and after a brief moment of thought, spoke, "Yuan'er?"

"Yuan'er?" Chu Xunfeng paused, turning back to look at the unremarkable man behind him, with a stubble beard and dressed in gray cloth, who must have been either a hunter or a farmer in life. "Are you sure that's your name?"

“Wang… Yuan’er.” The ghost clansman uttered in a dry voice, “That’s the only name I remember.”

"It's probably not your name. It's more likely your wife's or daughter's name. Your son is a possibility, but not very likely." Chu Xunfeng withdrew his gaze.

"I have a wife and a daughter?" The demon floated close to the ground, looking down at his hands.

His large, rough hands were covered in calluses and cracks. His mind seemed to be working again, and he could recall a few memories, but it was mostly instinctive reflexes. He had no evidence to support Chu Xunfeng's deduction.

"It should be. You don't seem to be from a wealthy family. You're probably just an ordinary person. People like you don't usually put any fancy things on the names of your children. Boys should be called names like Gousheng or Goudan, which are obviously boy names. Girls should be called names like Erya, Hua, or Shui."

"As for the character '鸢' (Yuan), it's probably a girl's name." Chu Xunfeng glanced back at the stunned ghost clan.

Since they were able to communicate properly with each other, this demon has become more and more like a human.

"I don't remember." The man lowered his hand, his tone somewhat dejected and disappointed.

Chu Xunfeng couldn't possibly miss this obvious change in emotion, and his reply to the ghost was also pointed: "It's a good thing you don't remember. If you don't remember, you won't have that thought. Stop thinking about human affairs and just be a ghost."

The newly born demons couldn't understand these things. They felt that what their benefactor said made sense, but they were unwilling to accept it. After thinking for a long time, they ultimately did not answer.

Chu Xunfeng didn't press further; he had been observing the ghost during his earlier silence.

Seeing the man's behavior, Chu Xunfeng understood.

The existence of the ghost race is a manifestation of the obsession in one's heart at the time of death. After observing the situation of the ghost race in the Ghost Forest, it was found that the clearer the will of these newly born ghost race members, the easier it is for them to regain their intelligence and persuade the man to let go. In essence, it is just a test of words.

If he could truly let go, this man wouldn't have become a demon after his death.

In other words, letting go means denying one's own existence, which, for the demon race... seems like suicide.

Of course, in Chu Xunfeng's view, there is another explanation for this situation.

May your attachments and thoughts dissipate, and may you be reborn in the Pure Land.

Chapter Three, The Red Candle Maiden

The demons who followed them seemed to have grown brains.

Chu Xunfeng quickened his pace slightly, and along the way he had some more conversations with the other party.

The man seemed to have regained a tiny bit of his remaining memories, and had some biological instincts mixed with the abilities of the demon race.

The so-called "speaking" of the Ghost Clan is different from ordinary people using organs to produce sound. The Ghost Clan communicates with other races by vibrating Yin Sha and simulating sound transmission. An overly dry and hoarse voice is entirely a matter of proficiency.

According to the man himself, he seemed to have farmed the land and hunted deep in the mountains. In his meager memories, there were no traces of other humans, and the remaining fragments of memory did not include the wife or daughter that Chu Xunfeng had deduced.

When asked how the man died, Chu Xunfeng didn't care much about the mentality of this newborn ghost, but he didn't need to provoke the other party by saying something he could see with his eyes and deduce with his mind.

Look at the half-exposed neck with an open wound, the lower leg hanging completely from the thigh, and the numerous cuts and tears on the cloth clothes. It seems that he accidentally fell off the cliff and died.

"Do you remember how you got to Ghost Forest?" Chu Xunfeng changed the subject.

For a long time after their rebirth, the Ghost Clan seemed to retain the appearance they had at the moment of their death. Chu Xunfeng saw many Ghost Clan members with completely different styles of clothing in the Ghost Forest, and even saw Yan Kingdom people wearing animal skins and sheepskin felt. It seemed that these people could not have died around the Ghost Forest.

"I don't remember, but something was attracting me..." the man surnamed Wang said haltingly.

"Speaking of what attracts you... how far are we from that place that attracted you earlier?" Chu Xunfeng felt it was better not to waste time with this man who knew nothing, so he changed the subject.

"It's not far ahead." The man pointed in a clear direction.

"Let's go." Chu Xunfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

The strange combination of the man and the ghost continued their journey in silence until one moment, Chu Xunfeng suddenly felt the stimulation from the wandering Yin energy in the surrounding environment become more intense. He knew then that he had left the Ghost Forest on the outer edge of the Black Forest and truly entered the territory of the Ghost Clan.

Just as Chu Xunfeng was pondering how to go deeper, the ghost clan member who had been following behind him took the initiative to bypass Chu Xunfeng and drifted into the depths of the Black Forest.

Chu Xunfeng frowned slightly, "Old Wang?"

The man didn't know his own name, and Chu Xunfeng had no interest in giving him one. He just called out to him casually, wanting to test what kind of situation this ghost clan was.

However, Chu Xunfeng's shouts had no effect. Without much hesitation, Chu Xunfeng followed. He observed Old Wang and saw that the man seemed to have lost his mind again, slowly drifting into the depths of the Black Forest.

After following Lao Wang deeper into the Black Forest for less than two miles, a road that had been clearly leveled by human hands suddenly appeared in the dense Black Forest.

The ground was paved with black stone slabs, and on the left and right sides were rough fences, or rather railings, made of branches that could be found everywhere in the black forest. White lanterns hung from the branches of the fences, making the whole stone path look hazy and indistinct, as if it were a broken road leading to some hellish underworld.

Yes, that's very much like the Oni race.

Even the composed Chu Xunfeng felt a little apprehensive as he followed Old Wang onto this stone path. However, given his cultivation, Chu Xunfeng wasn't afraid, but he did feel a sense of unease.

The road is short, but it's crooked and twisty.

Chu Xunfeng carefully followed Old Wang's movements, not wandering aimlessly along the path. It was best not to test anything that looked suspicious.

The rough stone slab road gradually transformed into regular-shaped rock slabs, and the fences made of branches along the way gradually became grid-like fences.

Ahead, unlike the pale light of the white lanterns, a scarlet light emerged from the darkness, making Chu Xunfeng wary.

[The user is a ghost cultivator at the third realm.]

Seeing the system notification and knowing that the other party was a member of the Ghost Clan and was weaker than him, Chu Xunfeng naturally relaxed.

As the red lantern drew nearer, a faint scent of incense filled Chu Xunfeng's nostrils.

The petite woman carrying a red lantern also saw the two beings on this ghostly path.

A newborn member of their race who had just regained some of their intelligence and escaped the Ghost Forest, and a human with a strange aura.

Old Wang quieted down within the range of the red lanterns, his head bowed, his body hunched, floating in place, quiet and still, as if he had become one of those mindless wandering souls in the ghost forest.

Chu Xunfeng bowed to the little girl in red standing in front of him and said, "I am Chu Xunfeng. May I ask, young lady, is this the Ghost Clan's Black Forest?"

"Young Master Chu, this place is called the Ghost Path, connecting the Ghost Forest and the Black Forest." The girl, holding a lantern, slightly squatted and bowed. "I am Hongzhu, and I am responsible for guiding new members of my clan here. May I ask how Young Master Chu came to the Black Forest?"

"Naturally, I was guided by a senior member of the Ghost Clan." Chu Xunfeng flipped his hand, revealing the Yin Sha Pearl entrusted to him by the Ghost Clan, and showed it to Hongzhu. "I wish to join the Ghost Clan. May I ask, young lady, are there any rules?"

"There are rules, of course." Hongzhu's attitude softened considerably when she saw the Yin Sha Pearl in Chu Xunfeng's hand. "Since you have a token to guide you through the Ghost Forest, I can certainly do you a favor. Please follow me."

Chu Xunfeng flipped his wrist to put away the Yin Sha Pearl and followed the Red Candle Girl carrying a large red lantern.

Old Wang remained motionless, following within the red light of the lantern.

Chu Xunfeng judged that the opponent must have some kind of magic weapon. He dared not speculate on its function, but it must have a similar ability to suppress souls and seals.

However, the light from the red lanterns had no effect on me, a living, breathing person.

Following the red candle for a hundred meters, the fences on both sides of the road gradually disappeared, and in their place, the stone slab road underfoot suddenly widened. Thatched huts began to appear on both sides, and occasionally some ghosts could be seen peeking out of the huts and looking at the red candle carrying a red lantern.

The human and the ghost followed the red candle and soon arrived at a small house. Hong Ji hung the lantern at the door, raised her hand and made a hand seal, sending a wisp of Yin energy into the red lantern. The light of the red lantern suddenly increased, enveloping the door of the small house and half of the street. The woman turned to the human youth who had stopped and said, "Young Master Chu, please come inside with me for a chat."

Chu Xunfeng raised an eyebrow and followed Hongzhu into the wooden house with a wary look.

His gaze swept over the sparsely furnished main room, and at the urging of the red candle, Chu Xunfeng sat down on the cold stone bench. "May I ask what instruction you have for me, young lady?"

"Is this your first time visiting the Ghost Clan, young master?"

"Yes."

"Then, young master, are you here to go to the market or to sightsee?" Hongzhu stared intently at Chu Xunfeng.

Faced with a question that sounded like coded language, Chu Xunfeng's mind raced. After a moment's thought, he countered, "May I ask, young lady, what's the difference between going to the market and sightseeing?"

Hongzhu paused for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Of course, then this young lady will explain it to you, sir."

Chapter Four: The Rules of the Demon Clan

"The so-called market is to step into the ghost market. Bartering is the most popular way of trading in the ghost market. Of course, many ghosts also have information and knowledge in their minds. They exchange goods for trust, and once the purchase is made, the transaction is final. These rules are guaranteed by the Ghost Council. Whether they are ghosts or foreign humans or demons, they must accept them. Otherwise, the ghosts do not welcome guests who do not follow the rules."

As a member of the Ghost Clan, Hongzhu used her Yin energy to summon a pot of iced tea while she was speaking. She poured a cup for Chu Xunfeng and a cup for herself, then lit a willow leaf on the cup.

"As for sightseeing... there are even more rules here. May I borrow the Yin Sha Pearl in your possession, young master, to take a look?" Hongzhu extended her hand to Chu Xunfeng.

Chu Xunfeng raised an eyebrow slightly, his mind racing, but his hand moved with a flick of his wrist, gently placing the Yin Sha Pearl on the wooden table.

Hongzhu Mingming reached out his hand, but Chu Xunfeng placed the Yin Sha Pearl on the wooden table.

The girl's smile froze, and she slowly raised her head to look at Chu Xunfeng.

Chu Xunfeng stared at the girl with a stiff smile, his expression indifferent, without saying a word.

"Young master, do you not believe me?" Hongzhu asked stiffly. Her once beautiful face was now covered in open wounds, as if a whip had been lashing her.

“Although I don’t understand the rules of the Ghost Clan, the item is right here, you can try it.” Chu Xunfeng squinted his eyes.

A faint breeze, mixed with a light mist, drifted under the table, even dispelling the lingering gloom in the room.

The faint sounds of wind and thunder, mixed with the roar of a dragon, gradually coalesced into a small azure dragon, which climbed onto Chu Xunfeng's shoulder and stared at Hongzhu, who was sitting across the table, with dragon eyes shaped by lightning.

Thunder represents the mighty power of heaven. Chu Xunfeng has always openly cultivated his wind magic and lightning power. He has never relaxed his cultivation, but he rarely displays it.

However, at this moment in the Ghost Clan's territory, the lightning technique of the Human Profound Realm came in handy. Although blood and qi and yin energy are considered to be in conflict and counteract each other, the power of blood and qi of body cultivators is obviously not as intimidating as the might of thunder.

Hongzhu's expression was cold. She was only at the third level of cultivation, and her combat strength was nothing to speak of. Faced with the Yin Sha Pearl in Chu Xunfeng's hand, which was like a treasure to her, she could only deceive him and dared not take it by force.

She also realized that Chu Xunfeng was unaware of the various rules of the Ghost Clan. Her original intention was to trick him into handing over the Yin Sha Pearl and secretly replace the Yin Sha mark inside the pearl. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't understand how Chu Xunfeng saw through her plan.

"How did you figure it out?" Hongzhu had already revealed a 'deathly appearance' similar to that of a ghost. At this moment, her emotions were so turbulent that she could no longer pretend to be innocent. Her sinister and deep female voice echoed in the small room.

"It's just speculation. You're at most a gatekeeper. Once you see the Yin Sha Pearl that the foreigner infused with you, you should open all doors for me. What you did was different from what I expected, so I'll test you." Chu Xunfeng answered frankly, "You're not cunning enough."

"Based on this kind of speculation?" Hongzhu was devastated.