The man in white robes held a jade brush in his hand, poised to strike through the names listed on the scroll, when he suddenly sensed another presence appear beside him.
Turning around, he saw a youthful face filled with curiosity. The girl's almond-shaped eyes were locked onto the item in his hand, and her smile was bright, if a little silly.
The moment Yun Xi spotted the two figures, her eyes sparkled like stars. Legends spoke of the famed figures from the underworld—Black and White Impermanence. Now they stood right before her, one holding a jade brush meant for marking souls. Her curiosity ignited instantly. Without thinking, she activated Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind and in the blink of an eye, appeared next to the man in white.
The man in black was startled and immediately barked, "What do you think you're doing?"
Yun Xi let out a sheepish laugh. "I've long heard of the famed ghost messengers of the underworld. Today, seeing you in person fills me with great joy. So I boldly stepped closer for a better look, I hope you won't take offense!"
As she spoke, she even offered a respectful cupped-fist salute.
Liu Haotian and the other two standing nearby were barely able to hold back their laughter after hearing Yun Xi's cheerful explanation.
The man in black didn't know how to respond. To answer or not, both felt inappropriate. He ended up huffing coldly and casting out a black chain to start collecting souls.
The man in white, by contrast, remained composed. After striking the final name from the list and putting away the scroll and jade brush, he finally spoke: "Xiaoyou, may I ask, what has caused so many mortal souls to gather in this place?"
"Of course."
Yun Xi gave a concise account of what had happened. Then she reached into her sleeve pouch and pulled out a bronze mirror. "This is the mirror that caused the disturbance. It doesn't look like something from the mortal realm or the cultivation world. I was planning to bring it back to the sect, but I don't know if..."
Before Yun Xi could finish, the black-robed figure suddenly exclaimed, "The Soul-Gathering Mirror? How did it end up here?"
White Impermanence had no time to stop him from blurting it out.
Yun Xi quickly withdrew the hand that had been offering the mirror and smiled. "So this troublesome thing comes from the underworld."
Black Impermanence's grip on his soul-binding chain tightened instinctively, and his eyes glanced off to the side.
White Impermanence pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. Then he gave a polite explanation. "This Soul-Gathering Mirror is indeed a soul artifact used by ghost messengers of the underworld to collect souls. However, during missions, unexpected incidents can happen. This mirror must have been accidentally left behind in the mortal realm by one of us.
Only ghost messengers can properly control soul artifacts. Mortals don't have that ability. But from your description just now, the mirror's artifact spirit has been forcibly absorbing souls to repair its own injuries. That, we did not anticipate."
Yun Xi didn't press the matter further. After thinking it over, she replied, "As far as we know, the spirit within the mirror was likely corrupted or manipulated by an evil cultivator. That's why my spirit beast noticed a strange scent, not just the presence of an evil cultivator."
Her explanation made everything clear to Liu Haotian and the others. No wonder the mirror's behavior was indistinguishable from an evil cultivator's tactics. The Soul-Gathering Mirror devoured the souls offered in sacrifice by those making wishes, then granted those wishes, only to magnify their greed afterward.
To get more of what they wanted, mortals would sacrifice even more people. The mirror absorbed their souls to repair itself. The entire village of Taoyuan had sealed its own fate this way. The only one who survived, Yin Yong, managed to escape because he had realized how dangerous the mirror truly was.
Liu Haotian added, "The evil cultivator's motives were twofold. First, to shift the blame onto the underworld. Second, to fill this place with resentment, turning it into a hotbed of negative energy—a perfect cultivation ground for them. Don't underestimate mortal resentment."
Black Impermanence's eyes flared wide. He looked ready to explode. "Trying to pin this on us? What a joke!"
White Impermanence remained calm. He turned to Yun Xi and asked, "Daoyou, may I have the Soul-Gathering Mirror? I will return it to the underworld and ensure justice is done for the innocent souls lost here."
Yu Qingcheng raised a brow, her tone slightly cold. "And what about us? We spent no small amount of resources trying to save those people and nearly got trapped inside the mirror ourselves. If not for the protective treasure Wei Zhēnrén received from his master, we would've been added to that mirror's collection, and you probably wouldn't have even known the mirror was acting out."
Yun Xi nodded in agreement, clearly thinking Yu Qingcheng had a point.
The two ghost messengers exchanged a look. White Impermanence coughed lightly before replying, "This has indeed placed a heavy burden on the four of you. We would like to offer some compensation, but underworld items are not suitable for you."
Yun Xi stared at the two for a moment, then smiled with a glint of mischief. "Since you two are ghost cultivators, you probably don't use spirit stones for cultivation, right? You use soul stones instead?"
The pair froze for a second, then nodded. There was no use hiding it from fellow cultivators.
White Impermanence responded quickly, "Daoyou wants soul stones?"
"Mhm. I'm curious and would like to see them."
Yun Xi made no effort to deny it.
After another glance between the ghost messengers, Black Impermanence said, "Very well. We will compensate you with soul stones based on the standard reward for recovering a lost soul artifact."
Black Impermanence added pointedly, "But once the payment is made, we consider the matter closed."
"Deal!"
Yun Xi agreed without hesitation.
The other three had no objections. Yun Xi had been the key to their survival. If she found soul stones useful, none of them were about to argue.
By now, Black Impermanence had already gathered the lingering souls above Taoyuan Village. After discussing briefly with White Impermanence, he placed a pile of black crystal-like stones on the ground. "Here is your reward."
Yun Xi swept over them with her divine sense and said, "In the cultivation world, both spirit stones and demon stones come in high, middle, and low grades. I assume soul stones are no different? These look a bit... impure."
Black Impermanence sighed. "Daoyou certainly knows a lot. These are indeed low-grade soul stones. But they're suitable for your current level. The soul force in middle-grade stones is too powerful for you to absorb fully."
Yun Xi knew he was right, but still bargained, "In that case, how about we trade some low-grade stones for two middle-grade ones, just as a keepsake? We can divide the rest evenly."
White Impermanence realized there was no point in arguing further. They would still keep the bulk of the reward. He swiftly collected a small portion of the soul stones and exchanged them for two purer, middle-grade stones.
Yun Xi waved her hand and stored away the two middle-grade and ten low-grade soul stones. The rest she split among the other three, who tucked their shares into their storage bags. Only then did Yun Xi finally hand over the Soul-Gathering Mirror.
White Impermanence took it with a flick of his sleeve and was about to depart the way they came when Yun Xi flashed over again, appearing at their side with a bright smile. She held out two transmission talismans, handing one to each of them.
"Meeting you two is a rare fate. If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me. Let's be friends, so we can help each other in the future."
Black Impermanence felt like today had been a true eye-opener. He never thought a cultivator would be so eager to befriend ghost messengers. Still, he accepted the talisman.
White Impermanence remained calm as always and handed Yun Xi a small black box in return.
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I've just finished translating The Villainess Refuses to Repent up to the latest serialized chapter!
(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Right now, I have one free slot open. I'm thinking about picking another short novel this time — something with either short chapters or a smaller overall word count. It could be another xianxia or maybe a modern story.
I'll share my final choice later in a little blurb about the novel I pick. Stay tuned! (・ω<)