When Black Impermanence saw Lin Hai, he was also stunned.
“You’re the Second-Rank Yin Inspector who violated Article 31 of the Soul Reaping Ordinance?”
“Yeah, Brother Du Qian, you’re not here to arrest me, are you?” Lin Hai asked with his mouth wide open.
“Sorry, brother. Any ghost officer who violates the Soul Reaping Ordinance must be taken back to the Underworld and subjected to its torments.”
“Oh, come on, don’t do that, Brother Du.” Lin Hai put on a pitiful look.
“Sigh, there’s nothing I can do. The Soul Reaping Ordinance applies equally to all ghost officers.”
“Really no room for negotiation?”
“No.” Du Qian shook his head firmly.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely sure!”
“What the hell, you’re serious about this?” Lin Hai got annoyed.
“Fine, no negotiation, huh?” Lin Hai nodded and took out his phone.
He opened the WeChat Universe Bag and selected “Extract!”
Thud!
Lin Hai directly tossed Black and White Impermanence’s clothes and soul-reaping chains right in front of Du Qian.
“Screw this ghost officer job. Big Brother here quits. There, happy now?”
Du Qian shook his head.
“Don’t think you can escape punishment just by quitting. A ghost officer who leaves without permission will have no place to stand in the Underworld.”
“Whatever. Big Brother never planned on having a place in the damn Underworld anyway.” Lin Hai curled his lip and started to walk away.
“If that’s the case, don’t blame me for being rude.” As Du Qian spoke, the soul-locking chain clattered as he swung it toward Lin Hai’s neck.
“Whoa!” Lin Hai was startled.
Damn, this Du Qian has no sense of mercy. He starts fighting at the slightest disagreement!
Lin Hai tried to dodge but found that he absolutely couldn’t get out of the way.
“Princess Child! Help!” At the critical moment, Lin Hai yelled loudly.
“Hmm?” Just as the iron chain was about to wrap around Lin Hai’s neck, it passed straight through his body and fell to the ground instead.
Both Du Qian and Lin Hai were stunned.
“Haha.” Lin Hai quickly realized what happened. “Suck on that, will you? Big Brother isn’t even a soul. Your soul-locking chain doesn’t work on me.”
“This…” Du Qian had encountered this situation for the first time and didn’t know what to do next.
“Oh? Greetings, Princess!” Just then, Chu Liner floated out, and Du Qian hurriedly bowed.
“Rise.”
“Princess, this subordinate came here to—”
“Say no more.” Chu Liner cut Du Qian off.
“His situation is quite special. Don’t worry about it. I’ll speak to Father about him. You may go.”
“This… This subordinate obeys.” Du Qian turned to leave.
“Wait a moment.” Chu Liner called him back.
“Let Horse-Face take the punishment meant for him.”
Pfft!
At Chu Liner’s last words, Lin Hai was so overjoyed he nearly jumped over to kiss her twice.
Damn, you stupid Horse-Face. You were all cocky with Big Brother, huh? Look how things turned out for you!
Didn’t you see who’s got Big Brother’s back?
As soon as Du Qian left, Lin Hai looked touched and moved to hug Chu Liner.
“Ah, my dear Princess Child is the only one who truly cares for me. Come here, let me give you a hug.”
Chu Liner stood still, but the corner of her mouth curved into a smile.
Bam! Just as Lin Hai was about to hug her, Chu Liner disappeared completely. Lin Hai ended up hugging a coat rack, banging his face painfully.
“Ouch, damn it.” Lin Hai rubbed his nose and winced.
“Oh, that’s so embarrassing.” Ah Hua lay nearby, shaking her doggy head.
“Embarrass your sister! You stupid dog!” Lin Hai walked over and kicked her.
“Tsk, you’re only tough with me.” Ah Hua grumbled inwardly.
Chu Liner floated into the bedroom and took out her phone.
Chu Liner: Father, I’ve already sent Du Qian back. Will the other uncles blame you?
King Chu Jiang: Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Also, just stay close to him on your end. Don’t interfere in anything else.
Lin Hai changed clothes, got into his car, and drove straight to the hospital.
“Secretary Hou woke up yet?” Lin Hai asked Du Chun confidently.
“No, Master.” Du Chun looked confused.
“What?” Now it was Lin Hai’s turn to be shocked.
He hurried two quick steps to the hospital room and saw that Hou Xianpin was exactly the same as before.
Tao Tao was also by the bedside now, gazing at Hou Xianpin with deep affection, her eyes full of tenderness.
Unfortunately, no matter how deep the affection, they were already separated by life and death.
What was going on here?
Lin Hai quickly took out his phone and messaged Tie Guai Li.
Little Confused Immortal: The peach blossom anchor point is broken, so why hasn’t the person woken up yet?
Tie Guai Li: (A row of shocked emojis)
Alright, Lin Hai didn’t even want to say anything else at this point.
Little Confused Immortal: Where exactly is the problem?
Tie Guai Li: Does the immortal remember that I once said that to break the peach blossom curse, the emotional tie must be severed?
Lin Hai thought about it. That did ring a bell.
Just then, another message came in from Tie Guai Li.
Tie Guai Li: The only reason the cursed person hasn’t woken up is that the emotional tie is still intact!
The emotional tie is still intact? Lin Hai glanced again at Tao Tao’s affectionate expression, and suddenly understood.
Little Confused Immortal: The peach blossom curse master is already dead. Her soul is right in front of the cursed person’s bed, gazing at him with deep love.
Tie Guai Li: (A row of shocked emojis)
Sigh! Right now, Lin Hai really felt like hitting someone. He really, really did.
Tie Guai Li: I never expected the one who didn’t break the emotional tie to be the peach blossom curse master himself! This is a rare occurrence through the ages!
Little Confused Immortal: Get to the point. What should we do next?
Tie Guai Li: Next, this is rather difficult to handle.
Damn, difficult or not, we still have to handle it.
Little Confused Immortal: Just tell me straight. What’s the solution?
Tie Guai Li: The solution, of course, is to sever the emotional tie. But now that the two are separated by life and death, their emotions bridge two worlds. It’s truly hard to accomplish. Unless…
Little Confused Immortal: Don’t beat around the bush. Unless what?
Tie Guai Li: Unless we find a divine artifact that can cross the barrier between the two worlds and sever the emotional tie from the other side.
Little Confused Immortal: Who has such a divine artifact?
Tie Guai Li: I haven’t heard of anyone having one.
Pfft!
Lin Hai wanted to kick him twice. If no one has one, why the hell are you even mentioning it?
Little Confused Immortal: So that means there’s no hope, then?
Lin Hai was a bit disappointed. He had gone through all this trouble for nothing.
Tie Guai Li: There is one more method, but it’s almost as good as not having one.
Lin Hai saw this and thought there might still be a chance.
Little Confused Immortal: What other method? Tell me.
Tie Guai Li: Unless the peach blossom curse master is willing to transform into peach blossom petals, let her soul fade away between heaven and earth, enter the underworld to suffer a hundred lifetimes of torment, and use one lifetime’s worth of emotional attachment to wake the cursed person. Who would be willing to pay such a heavy price?
A hundred lifetimes of torment!
Lin Hai glanced at Tao Tao, and his eyebrows furrowed.
Such a huge price. Was she willing to pay it?
After thinking for a moment, Lin Hai took a deep breath.
“Tao Tao, if there were a way to save Hou Xianpin, but it required you to pay a tremendous price, would you be willing?” Lin Hai stared into Tao Tao’s eyes and said.
Tao Tao’s head shot up at his words.
“Are you saying you have a way to save Brother Hou? I’m willing! I’ll pay any price!” Tao Tao’s eyes blazed with intense light.
“To save him…”
Lin Hai explained the price Tao Tao would have to pay.
“The decision to save him or not is yours to make.”
Tao Tao was stunned. She had never imagined that saving Hou Xianpin would require such a devastating sacrifice.
Staring intently at Hou Xianpin’s sleeping face, Tao Tao’s heart waged a fierce battle within her.
Slowly, the memories of their time together—from the first meeting to their everyday moments, though short but sweet and deeply affectionate—came flooding back, scene by scene.
The conflicted, struggling look in Tao Tao’s eyes gradually softened into one of gentle tenderness.
“I’ve made up my mind…”
