The invincible female ghost is a bit love-struck.

Chapter 314 Old scores to be settled

"Because these hands once touched the entire score."

Shen Yanshan looked down at the white gloves.

"Han Shoumo deleted his name, while Shen Yanshan guarded the register. Two names, doing the same thing."

"I deleted people who shouldn't be in the master register, and then hid the names I deleted."

"Later I realized that hiding it or swallowing it made no difference."

"So I wanted to find a child without a name, so that she could be remembered by everyone."

Xu Erxiao retorted angrily, "She's only three years old!"

"She doesn't understand your nonsense!"

"It is precisely because she does not understand that she will not be swayed by her old name."

Lu Yuan stared at the red thread on the child's wrist.

"You want her to be someone without an old name, without a family, without prejudice."

"Let her bear the remaining names of Thirty-Six Villages, Beiling, and Qianming Zongtan."

"and then?"

Shen Yanshan did not answer.

Wang Chengan looked at the stone seal.

She can't handle it.

"6

"Once the well of total names is opened, all the remaining names will fall upon her."

"She will become a walking well."

Shen Yanshan said, "At least she won't forget."

"People are not born into this world to be remembered by others."

Song Qinghe held up the lantern and stepped forward.

She doesn't even have her own name.

"Why should she remember everyone first?"

The girl in Shen Yanshan's arms suddenly raised her head.

She looked at the dim lamp and whispered, "I have a name."

Shen Yanshan's fingers tightened slightly.

"You don't."

"have."

The girl said, "Someone called me that before."

"Who?"

"My mother."

What did she call you?

The girl shook her head.

"I don't remember."

Shen Yanshan said, "If you don't remember, it's the same as not remembering."

Lu Yuan looked at him.

"You're doing it again."

"Treat what you can't remember as if it doesn't exist, treat what you don't know as if it's nameless, and treat what you can return to the public if there's no one to testify."

"You talk about dismantling old rules, but you're still using them in your actions."

Shen Yanshan raised a white hand.

The snow on the old dragon's back suddenly rolled to both sides.

The black stone seal emitted a heavy hum, and all thirty-six red threads tightened simultaneously. The sound of water emanating from the thirty-six wells at the foot of the mountain sounded like countless people inhaling at the same time.

Xu Erxiao drew his sword and rushed up the pavilion steps.

"Give me the baby first!"

A red line sprang up from the ground, wrapped around his ankle, and dragged him down.

Lin Zhaoxuan's ink thread flew out and entangled with the red thread.

Zhou Heng struck three copper coins in a row, but only two of the red threads broke; the rest continued to coil around Xu Erxiao like a living snake.

"These lines are connected to the old registers of the thirty-six villages," Wang Cheng'an shouted. "We can't just cut them; if we cut one, the names of the entire village will be mixed up!"

Lu Yuan looked at the black stone seal.

"Shen Yanshan, by linking the child with the Thirty-Six Villages, you are making her the new general name."

"If she does not accept it, the old names of the Thirty-Six Villages will reappear in Zongjing."

"Then let them separate."

"Inseparable."

Why?

"Because people only want to remember the complete name."

Shen Yanshan looked down the mountain.

"No one is willing to put in the effort to look up people who have no surname, no registered residence, and no place to go."

"So I gathered them together."

"So that everyone who passes by the well can hear it."

"A person is not worth remembering because they are whole."

"Fragmented names, misidentified names, and names with nowhere to go should all be preserved."

"By bringing them together, you ostensibly make people remember, but in reality, you're making one child suffer for everyone else."

Shen Yanshan's gaze darkened.

"Easy for you to say."

"If you dismantle the altar today, you will face disputes over the thirty-six villages tomorrow."

"The people of Majiagou will ask who will compensate them for the land that was confiscated."

"Xiaoshitun will ask, who will recognize Xu Liushi's maiden name?"

"Bai Lang Gou will ask, which household do the twelve children belong to?"

"The Qingsong Temple will ask whether the lost disciples are still considered members of the Daoist sect."

Can you answer this?

"cannot."

"Then what right do you have to destroy the only thing I can maintain?"

Lu Yuan did not back down.

"Because the answer cannot be written by one person for everyone."

"You don't want them to fight because you're afraid they won't get anywhere."

"If you don't fight, the outcome will always be decided by you alone."

The girl in Shen Yanshan's arms suddenly coughed.

The red thread on her wrist dug into her skin, drawing a little blood.

Upon seeing this, Song Qinghe immediately took a lantern and went up the steps.

Shen Yanshan raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't come any closer."

"She is injured."

"The main well will open immediately."

"If you don't loosen the cord, she'll either become the head of the gang or die here."

Shen Yanshan looked down at the girl.

The girl's face was pale, but her fingers were still tightly gripping a piece of wood.

There was no name on the wooden piece, only an unfinished circle.

When Lu Yuan saw the circle, he suddenly remembered the missing doorplate left by Zi Shou.

"Did she carve that herself?"

Shen Yanshan did not answer.

The girl whispered, "I want to carve a door."

Why?

"Because Mr. Han said there were many people behind the door."

I want them to come out.

"Who do you want to bring out?"

"I have no idea."

"Then why open it?"

The girl looked at the thirty-six red threads.

"They're all shouting."

"What are you shouting for?"

"Call your own name."

Shen Yanshan's hands began to tremble.

Children do not bear all names.

She was simply forced to stand in the center of all the voices.

She heard it, but couldn't tell which one was herself.

Lu Yuandao: "Put her down."

Shen Yanshan did not move.

"You're afraid that once she's born, there will be no one to guard this well for you."

"I'm afraid that after she's born, no one will want her."

"The children of Bailanggou will want her."

As Xu Erxiao spoke, he cut the red thread on his foot and forced himself to get up from the ground.

"We have twelve kids in our area, one more wouldn't be a problem."

Shen Yanshan looked at him.

"You can't even secure your own place to go."

"Then let's look for it together."

"You don't have a registered residence."

"It can be done again."

"You don't have any land."

"We can start clearing land."

"You have no guarantor."

"Han Qiusheng can testify, and so can Brother Lu and the others."

Xu Erxiao gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't dare to raise her because I have these things."

"It's because she's a child."

"Children shouldn't ask themselves if they deserve to be wanted."

Han Qiusheng's voice came from below the mountain path: "He's right."

Everyone turned around.

Han Qiusheng led Amei and several other children to Laolongbei. Behind the children followed Quewanliu, who was carrying the "Incomplete Names" register and covered in snow.

Han Qiusheng stuck a wooden sign in the snow.

"Temporary Residence in Bailanggou" sign.

"The nameplate already has twelve children's names on it."

"Let's add one now."

Amei walked to the front of the mountain path and called out to the girl in the pavilion, "Come down."

The girl looked at her.

"I have no name."

"Then you can get it yourself."

"Did you take the wrong one?"

"We'll change it later."

"Will they prevent me from changing it?"

Amei thought for a moment and shook her head.

"If they dare not give way, I'll beat them up."

Xu Erxiao immediately retorted, "Who taught you that?"

"you."

Amei answered naturally.

The little girl looked down at the piece of wood in her hand.

"I want to be called — Xiao Yuan."

Ah Mei asked, "Why?"

"All I can draw is a circle."

"Then let's call her Xiaoyuan."

Shen Yanshan closed his eyes.

The thirty-six red threads suddenly tightened simultaneously.

Xiao Yuan bent over in pain.

"She can't choose her own name," Shen Yanshan said in a low voice. "The well doesn't recognize temporary names."

Lu Yuandao said, "Then let Jing learn to recognize it."

He handed the "I am the witness" book to Wang Chengan and walked up the pavilion steps.

Shen Yanshan raised his hand, the black stone seal in his palm facing him.

"If you take another step, the seal will extract your name as well."

"What happens after it's pulled out?"

"Your origins, your teachers, your pharmacies, your old paths—all will become the remnants of the name of the general well."

"Perfect."

Shen Yanshan was taken aback.

Lu Yuandao said, "There are many things about me that haven't been investigated."

"Master once participated in the main altar, and his pharmacy has saved people, but it may also have harmed them."

"My name shouldn't be tainted by these things."

"If you pull them all out together, it saves me the trouble of looking for them."

"But you will lose yourself."

"I will write it back myself."

Lu Yuan spread the blank paper on the stone slab of the stone pavilion.

"Lu Yuan."

"Pharmacy apprentice".

"Master Gu Changgeng."

"Unoccupied bunk inside the pass."

"Now I can move freely."

"The rest is pending investigation."

He pressed the paper against the black stone seal.

The black stone seal immediately emitted a beam of black light, which shot straight towards his brow.

Song Qinghe lit a lantern, and the blue flame protected Lu Yuan.

Lin Zhaoxuan, Zhou Heng, and Wang Chengan simultaneously placed their abacus beads at the four corners of the stone pavilion.

Xu Erxiao rushed in front of Shen Yanshan, his short sword positioned between him and Xiaoyuan.

"If you don't let go, I'll chop off your white gloves first."

Shen Yanshan looked at Lu Yuan's name on the paper.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid I might have misremembered."

"I'm afraid there are things I don't know about Master."

"I'm afraid I can't save Xiaoyuan, nor can I save the person at the bottom of the well."

"Being scary is not a reason for you to write my name."

The black stone seal trembled once more.

The character "陆" on Lu Yuan's paper was dragged towards the bottom of the seal by a force.

He reached out and pressed the corner of the paper, and blood immediately seeped from his palm.

"Wang Cheng'an!"

Wang Chengan pressed the abacus frame into the gap in the stone slab.

"exist!"

Report the current status of each of the thirty-six villages, but not the total number!

Wang Chengan understood and immediately adjusted the beads.

"Majia Gou, Yijing Supplementary Register, 32 names remaining, 11 to be verified!"

"White Wolf Gully, Thirteen-year-old orphan, temporarily residing at Thirteen!"

"Xiaoshitun, the old name of the marriage household was seven, two have been corrected, five are pending investigation!"

"Wangjiatun, one master ledger, one person refused to be listed as the head!"

For every location he reported, the corresponding red line at the foot of the mountain would loosen by an inch.

Lin Zhaoxuan then reported: "Of the Qingsong Temple's lost disciples, there are thirty-six old records, twenty-one with names still recorded, and fifteen whose whereabouts are yet to be determined!"

Zhou Heng reported: "Of the refugees fleeing from within the pass, seventeen have had their origins confirmed, nine have unclear physical evidence, and four have died!"

Song Qinghe, carrying a lantern, announced: "Seventy-two people have registered their names on the 'Fallen Lantern' list, and three hundred and sixteen have no nameplates; none of these can be combined into one person!"

Xu Erxiao shouted, "The children of Bailanggou are thirteen years old. They can choose their own names and places to go. They will not be registered under the main household or the public name!"

Finally, Lu Yuan pressed down on the black stone seal.

"Shen Yanshan, it's your turn."

Shen Yanshan looked up.

"Report yourself."

His face was pale.

"Shen Yanshan".

"Old name."

"Shen Yan".

"Altar name".

"Han Shoumo".

What mistakes have you made?

Shen Yanshan's lips moved slightly.

"Delete the name".

"Stand at the gate."

"Using the public name to make decisions."

"You used another identity?"

Shen Yanshan closed his eyes.

"A disciple of Gu Changgeng, responsible for copying texts."

Zhou Heng suddenly turned around.

"Are you the visiting Taoist priest from Qingsong Temple?"

"I am not a disciple of Qingsong Temple."

"It's just a pretext to avoid the snow."

"But you left your Taoist name in the old records."

That's not mine.

"Whose is it?"

Shen Yanshan looked at Lu Yuan.

"It was given to me by Gu Changgeng."

"He said at the time that if I didn't want to use Shen Yan, I could borrow a Taoist name first."

He said a name could be borrowed, but a road could not.

Lu Yuan's hand tightened.

Gu Changgeng knew Shen Yanshan.

They even tried to remove him from the parliamentary stage.

Shen Yanshan continued, "Later, when Gu Changgeng dismantled the main altar, I didn't go with him."

"I thought he was just running away."

"He thought I was just being old-fashioned."

Neither of us convinced the other.

"So he went his way, and I kept my door."

"Only today do we realize that we have all turned ourselves into doors."

The light on the black stone seal suddenly dimmed.

The thirty-six red threads are loosened one by one.

Xiao Yuan slipped out of Shen Yanshan's arms.

Xu Erxiao reached out and caught her.

Xiao Yuan didn't cry; she just held tightly to the wooden plaque that Amei handed her.

"My name is Xiaoyuan," she said to Shen Yanshan.

Shen Yanshan stood still, the five fingers of his white gloves slowly drooping down.

"it is good."

"You didn't give it to me."

"She chose it herself."

"it is good."

The black stone seal cracked in the center.

Three palm prints emerged from the crack.

The first technique is Han Shoumo's Four-Finger Palm.

The second move was Shen Yanshan's complete palm strike.

The third one has no fingers, only a hollow circle.

The hollow circle slowly expanded, eventually hollowing out the black stone seal from the middle.

Before the stone seal shattered, water jets gushed out from thirty-six wells at the foot of the mountain at the same time.

Large swaths of red paper flew out of the water column. The names on the paper no longer converged on the back of the old dragon, but instead flew off to different villages.

The paper from Majiagou returned to the Yijing well.

The paper from Xiaoshitun flew towards the cemetery in the west of the village.

The paper from Wangjiatun was left in front of the old accounting room.

The sheets of paper from Bailanggou fell into Han Qiusheng's hands one by one.

Han Qiusheng took a card; on the back was written: "Amei, take it yourself."

He caught another card: "Unnamed girl, temporarily named Xiaoyuan."

He placed the two cards side by side.

Xiao Yuan got down from Xu Erxiao's arms, walked to the wooden sign, and touched the words "Temporary Name".

"I don't want to wait."

Amei said, "Then let's cross it out temporarily."

Xiao Yuan took the short piece of wood and scribbled it twice on the sign.

"My name is Xiaoyuan."

Han Qiusheng re-engraved: "Xiao Yuan, take it yourself."

The black aura on the card dissipated.

The white lights on the mountaintop suddenly went out.

The black stone seal behind the stone pavilion has been broken into seven pieces.

The largest piece bears the inscription: "The General Well is closed."

But the strange voice at the bottom of the well did not disappear.

"The well can be closed."

"I won't settle old scores."

Lu Yuan looked in the direction of the sound.

On the snow slope behind the stone pavilion, a person wearing white gloves was standing there at some unknown time.

It's not Shen Yanshan.

The man wore a gray cloth robe, carried an oil lamp in his hand, and his face was covered by a white veil, revealing only a pair of extremely cold eyes.

There were no footprints behind him.

"Han Shoumo, you've finally admitted you were wrong."

2

Shen Yanshan slowly turned around.

"Who are you?"

The woman in white said, "The one who will clean up your mess."

"name."

"The name is not important."

Lu Yuan stepped down from the stone pavilion.

"It's not important to you, but it's important to us."

"If you're not going to report it, then stand back for now."

The woman in white looked at him, her gaze falling on the broken knife in his hand.

"Gu Changgeng did indeed leave the knife to you."

"You know my master?"

"I know all the things he refuses to admit."

"explain."

"He rescued 32 refugees inside the pass, and once split them into six groups to cross the pass."

"He took down a door and borrowed a seal of God."

"He let others go, and he also kept others."

"Are you going to settle accounts with him?"

Lu Yuandao: "Clearance."

"Then I am the one you are looking for."

The woman in white took off her gloves.

His left hand had all five fingers intact, and there was a diagonal knife scar on his palm.

It is the handprint on the last page of the score.

"My name is Gu Changgeng."

The wind and snow suddenly stopped.

Everyone looked at Lu Yuan.

The person lifted the white veil.

His face was different from the master Lu Yuan remembered, but there were some similarities in his brow bone. There was an old scar under his left eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, like someone who had just woken up from a long dream.

Lu Yuan's hand holding the knife did not move.

"You are not."

"Have you seen him?"

"I've seen it."

"Did you see it clearly?"

"There are calluses on the web of his right hand from the use of a pestle."

"You don't."

The woman in white looked at her right hand.

The area between the thumb and forefinger was indeed smooth.

People change.

"Shadow will not."

Lu Yuandao said, "You are not Gu Changgeng."

"Then who are you?"

"The person who stayed behind for him."

The woman in the white veil smiled.

"This is not a name."

"You don't even have your own name, so why should you expect others to give it?"

"I have."

"What's your name?"

"Gu Changgeng".

"You borrowed his face."

"You also borrowed his name."

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment.

"So I know what it feels like to have a borrowed name."

"Then you shouldn't have exposed me."

"It is precisely because we know this that we must demolish it."

The smile on the woman in white's face faded.

He raised his right hand.

The snow beneath the old dragon's back collapsed with a roar, revealing a black mine tunnel. Deep within the tunnel hung a bronze gong, its surface engraved with thirty-six wells, with a small character "顾" (Gu) in the center of each well.

"The real old scores aren't in the well."

"Behind the mine tunnel."

"The first ledger that Gu Changgeng personally left behind is buried there."

"If you want to know who he saved and who he harmed, come and get it."

Xu Erxiao said, "Don't try to fool people with Master Lu."

"So what if what you're saying is true?"

"Just because he says it's true doesn't mean he's the master," Song Qinghe said.

The person in white looked at her.

"Those who cultivate the lamp are the best at distinguishing between the real and the shadow."

"So, do you think I'm real or fake?"

Song Qinghe raised the lamp to illuminate the way.

The blue flames passed through the white-veiled figure's body, casting two shadows behind him.

A Taoist priest, dressed in an old robe, held a pestle.

One of them wore white gloves and held the seal of the name deletion.

The two shadows overlapped, but did not merge completely.

Song Qinghe said, "You are a shadow left behind by Gu Changgeng."

"And also the one who later swallowed his memories."

The woman in white's eyes turned cold.

"As long as the memories are real, what difference does it make who bears them?"

"Yes," Lu Yuandao said. "If the person who inherits the memories sees themselves as the original owner, they will continue to make decisions for the original owner."

"You inherited his account, but you didn't inherit his final idea of ​​letting people walk on their own."

The woman in white looked at Shen Yanshan.

"He also inherited Han Shoumo's mistakes."

Shen Yanshan said, "That's why I'm putting the child down today."

"Not enough."

The woman in white raised her hand, and the gong in the mine tunnel rang out once more.

In all thirty-six wells, the red paper that had just been spread out stopped at the same time.

A new seal appears on the back of the red paper.

"Old scores to be settled."

"You've simply dismantled the main well, which only scattered the names back into place."

"Scattered names will be picked up again."

"If you don't find the first ledger, Gu Changgeng's crimes will become legends, and Shen Yanshan's mistakes will be rewritten as saving people."

"You want us to find it?"

"I hope someone will take over his bill."

"It's the main tent again."

"No."

The woman in white looked at Wang Cheng'an.

"It is a witness book."

"Whoever sees it, records it."

Wang Chengan gripped the abacus frame tightly.

"You want all six of us to see this."

"Six people saw it, and each of them recorded it."

"But in the end, someone will combine the six accounts into one."

"Then let's see if you can hold onto the book."

Lu Yuan asked, "What's behind the mine tunnel?"

"The first ledger."

"Who else?"

"Gu Changgeng's true disciples."

Lin Zhaoxuan and Zhou Heng drew their weapons at the same time.

Zhou Heng asked, "Besides you, is there anyone else?"

The woman in white nodded.

"Seven people."

"Gu Changgeng had seven disciples in his lifetime."

"Which number are you?"

"seventh."

Lu Yuan's gaze darkened.

"I've never heard my master mention it."

"Because you are not his disciple."

After those words were spoken, the snow-covered ground fell into a deathly silence.

The woman in the white veil continued, "You were just the last child he took in."

"He taught you to recognize herbs and how to navigate, but he didn't teach you Taoist arts, nor did he enroll you in his sect."

"You always thought of yourself as his apprentice, but you were just someone he didn't want to abandon."

Lu Yuan looked at him.

He had never heard this secret from anyone before.

But he also knew long ago that he had no Taoist certificate, no formal lineage, and no initiation ceremony. Gu Changgeng never called him "disciple," only "Xiao Yuan."

The woman in white seemed to have caught his wavering.

"You don't have to go in his place."

"You have no debts to your master's sect."

"There is no Taoist sect name."

"We have no obligation to clean up his old messes."

Lu Yuan gripped the broken knife.

"I left in his place, not because of any debts owed to my sect."

"It's because he led me there."

Whether someone can be considered a master and apprentice when they guide another person through a certain period of time is not up to you to decide.

The woman in white said, "You will die in the mine."

"possible."

"You will see things you don't want to see."

"inevitable."

You'll find that Gu Changgeng isn't the person you remember.

"Then I'll memorize the new ones."

The woman in white stared at him for a long time before suddenly turning around and walking into the mine tunnel.

"Then let's go."

"But only six people can enter."

Xu Erxiao immediately said, "I'll go too."

The woman in white stopped.

"The six people are not the six of you."

"These are the six shadow positions designated by the general ledger."

Lu Yuan looked down at his feet.

The shadows of the six people were clearly visible.

But the seventh figure still stood outside the stone pavilion, holding an empty abacus in his hand.

The shadow raised its head and walked towards the mine tunnel.

The woman in white did not stop them.

"The seventh one has already been chosen for you."

Wang Chengan's face darkened.

"Who is it?"

The woman in white replied, "The first name that was deleted."

The seventh shadow crossed the threshold of the mine tunnel.

The abacus in its hand had no beads, only empty strings.

Each string has a tiny name attached to it.

Lu Yuan did not turn around to look at its face.

He led Wang Chengan, Xu Erxiao, Lin Zhaoxuan, Zhou Heng, and Song Qinghe into the black mine tunnel.

Han Qiusheng stayed outside the cave to look after the child and Quewanliu.

Shen Yanshan stood in the snow and did not follow.

After Lu Yuan took ten steps, Shen Yanshan's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Lu Yuan."

He stopped, but did not turn around.

"I will go to Xiaoshitun."

"Investigate Xu Liu's maiden name."

"I will also write both of my names in the supplementary register."

Lu Yuandao said, "Don't mistake her for someone else."

"I know."

"Don't confess on behalf of my master."

Shen Yanshan remained silent for a moment.

"I will only remember what I see."

Deep in the mine, the woman in white shawls once again struck the gong.

A booming sound came, and the six shadows were simultaneously stretched out.

The seventh shadow stopped on the mine wall.

Its hand rose and pressed down on a stone tablet covered in coal ash.

A line of text slowly appeared on the surface of the stone tablet: "The first person to delete names, Gu Changgeng."

Lu Yuan saw the words and finally stopped.

The woman in white stood further inside, her white gloves gleaming in the lamplight.

"Now, do you want to continue?"

Lu Yuan raised the broken knife and scraped off the word "First" from the stone tablet.

"Investigate first."

"Don't rush to arrange the order of the dead."

Behind the stone tablet, the sound of countless pages turning could be heard in the darkness.

The seventh shadow slowly turned around.

It has no face.

There are only a pair of empty eyes and a mouth that is writing on its own.

"Lu Yuan."

"The first account name."