Xie Lian was awakened by surprise.

He was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, sat up suddenly and covered his face with his hands.

The reason for his awakening was a dream. In the dream, his father and mother hanged themselves. He saw it, but he felt neither happy nor sad, and had no tears to shed. He woodenly prepared a white silk for himself. As soon as he put his head in, he saw a man in white wearing a sad and happy mask sneering at him. He was startled, the rope tightened, and he felt suffocated, and then he woke up.

It was already dawn outside the window, and a voice came from outside: "Your Highness! Are you awake?"

Xie Lian said casually, “Awake!”

After panting for a while, he realized that he was not on a couch, but a straw mat on the ground. Although it was padded with a lot of straw and was very soft, it was still not very comfortable for him. He still couldn't get used to this simple bed. This was not an inn or palace, but a dilapidated prince's temple. The place where he was lying was the back hall that had been smashed and emptied.

The one who called him just now was Feng Xin, who had gone out early in the morning to bring back food and was still outside urging him to go out and eat. Xie Lian responded and got up.

The suffocation in the dream was too real, and his hand could not help but touch his neck. He wanted to confirm that there was no white silk or fatal strangulation marks, but he actually touched something.

Xie Lian was startled at first, and rushed to the mirror thrown on the ground not far away. He picked it up and saw a black collar around his fair neck. Only then did he finally calm down and remember everything.

Cursed shackle.

Xie Lian’s fingers tentatively touched the object.

Once he was demoted to a mortal, he would have no more privileges except that he would age more slowly than ordinary people. But when Jun Wu put the curse on him, he still showed mercy and opened the door to convenience.

Although this curse locked up his magic power, it also locked up his age and body, making him immortal. Moreover, Jun Wu told him that if you can ascend again, no matter how you write off your past, this thing will be taken away from you.

However, wearing this thing on the body is like being a criminal with words tattooed on the face, which is undoubtedly a deep shame. Thinking of this, Xie Lian reached out to the side, grabbed a white silk and put it on his head. When he raised his arm, he suddenly remembered the fear of his neck being slowly tightened in the dream. He hesitated for a moment, but finally wrapped it up, meticulously wrapped his neck and the lower half of his face, and then walked out.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing were already waiting for him outside. Feng Xin brought back some steaming hot buns, which Mu Qing was eating slowly. Feng Xin handed him two, but Xie Lian was not appetizing at the sight of the dry and crude food, so he shook his head and refused to take it. Feng Xin said, "Your Highness, you have to eat something in the morning. What we are going to do next is not something that can be dealt with by sitting still."

Without even raising his eyelids, Mu Qing said, "Yes, there is nothing else to eat if not this. If I faint again, I will have to eat this too."

Feng Xin glared at him: "How do you talk like that?"

Xie Lian had ascended to heaven for several years and had long forgotten the taste of food. A few days ago, he almost fainted and then he remembered that he had not eaten anything for three or four days. Mu Qing was talking about this. Xie Lian didn't want the two to fight again early in the morning, so he changed the subject in time and said, "Let's go. I don't know if we can find work today."

Originally, Xie Lian was a child of a rich family and a celestial being, so he didn't need to worry about his livelihood. But now, even though he is a prince, Xianle Country is gone, and even though he is a deity, he has long been demoted. He is basically no different from ordinary people, so he naturally has to worry about how to make a living. The main business of cultivators is of course to catch ghosts and perform rituals, but it's not every day that there are demons and ghosts for you to catch or rituals for you to perform, so most of the time, they still have to find some odd jobs, such as helping people unload goods and doing some legwork.

But even such odd jobs might not be snatched. Because nowadays, there are too many displaced poor people. These poor people see that there is work, no need to pay, and are willing to do it for a steamed bun and half a bowl of rice, so they rush over. How can the few people here snatch them? Even if they can snatch it, Xie Lian might think that others need the job more than them. Sure enough, after wandering around for a long time, they got nothing. Mu Qing said: "Can't we find a stable and decent job?"

Feng Xin said, "Nonsense. If he could have found it, he would have found it long ago. Doesn't a decent job depend on appearance? Who wouldn't recognize your Highness's face? How can you be sure that someone will recognize you?"

Mu Qing stopped talking. Xie Lian wrapped the white silk covering the lower half of his face even tighter. Indeed, if someone recognized him, they would either run away on their own or be beaten away by sticks. For example, who would trust a bodyguard with an unknown origin and who would not even show his face? They could not become black thugs who harmed others, so their options were very limited.

Gods would never worry about not having enough food. But people need to eat. Xie Lian didn’t have to think about this since he was a child. This was the first time in more than a decade that this problem really bothered him. And if God didn’t even know what it felt like to be hungry, then how could God know the feelings of hungry believers? How could God empathize with them? At this point, he could only regard this as a kind of experience.

At this time, there was a sound of gongs and drums not far away, and a large group of people gathered over. The three of them followed the crowd and looked over. Several warriors and clowns were shouting in the crowd. It turned out that there were warriors performing for money. Mu Qing suggested again: "If it really doesn't work, let's go and perform for money."

Xie Lian was also thinking about this. Before he could reply, Feng Xin looked at him and said, “What nonsense are you talking about? Your Highness is a daughter of a thousand gold coins. How could you do something like that?”

Mu Qing rolled his eyes and said, "The bricks have already been moved, what's the difference in performing arts?"

Feng Xin said, "Brick moving is to earn a living by one's own strength, but performing for fun is for people to laugh at, so of course they are different!" As he said that, the clown fell down, and everyone laughed. He got up again, bowed and nodded, and picked up a few tips on the ground. Seeing this, Xie Lian felt a sense of resistance, shook his head vigorously, and crossed out the path of "performing" from his mind. Seeing this, Mu Qing said, "Okay. Then be a thing."

Feng Xin said: "I have already pawned a lot of things, otherwise I wouldn't have made it this far, and I can't pawn the rest anymore."

Suddenly, there were cries of surprise from the back of the crowd, and someone shouted, "The soldiers are coming! The soldiers are coming!"

When they heard that the soldiers were coming, the crowd dispersed. Not long after, a line of soldiers holding weapons, shining new armor, and looking majestic, walked through the street. They arrested and interrogated anyone they saw suspicious. The three hid in the crowd and listened to the discussions of others:

"Who are you arresting?"

"Don't worry, they're not here to arrest us. I heard they're here to arrest the Xianle royal family that escaped."

"It is said that someone has seen a suspicious person in this area, so the city has been checking very strictly recently."

"Is it true? This is unbelievable! He actually escaped to our place!"

Hearing this, the three of them exchanged glances, and Xie Lian whispered, “Go and take a look.”

The other two nodded, and quietly left the crowd, walking for a while without attracting attention, before reuniting and running away.

When Xie Lian arrived at a remote forest on a hill, he saw a thick smoke rising from the forest from afar. He was horrified. Could it be that the soldiers from Yong'an had already found this place and set fire to it?

As he ran closer, he saw a dilapidated hut hidden in the woods. It was a house left behind by a hunter who had guarded the mountain in the past. The smoke was coming out of the hut. Xie Lian cried out in amazement, "Mother! What's going on? Are you there?"

After he called out, a woman came out and asked happily, "My dear, you are here?"

It was the queen. She was dressed in plain clothes and had lost a lot of weight, which was slightly different from the noble lady she used to be. Seeing that his mother was fine and had a happy face, Xie Lian was relieved and asked hurriedly, "What's the matter with the smoke?"

The queen said embarrassedly: "...It's nothing. I want to cook something for myself today..."

Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He said, “Farewell! What to cook? You can just eat what Feng Xin and Mu Qing sent you every day. This smoke is too eye-catching. Where there is smoke, there are people. It will attract the Yong’an soldiers. We have already encountered them in the city just now. This city will also be under martial law. We have to move to another place again.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing went into the house to put out the cigarettes. The queen did not dare to be careless and went to the back of the house to discuss with the king. Feng Xin came out and whispered, "Your Highness, don't you go to see His Majesty the King?"

Xie Lian shook his head and said, “No.”

They were father and son, one was the king of a fallen country, the other was a demoted god. It was hard to say who was more boring. Neither of them had face. If they had to sit down face to face, they would just stare at each other and would not have a good conversation. So it was better not to meet. Xie Lian said loudly, "Mother, pack up later. We will leave today. We will come to pick you up in the evening. We are leaving first."

The queen came out again and said, "My son, you are leaving now? You haven't been here for so many days, why are you leaving right after you come?"

Xie Lian said, “I still need to practice.”

In fact, they still had to find work to do, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get enough food for so many people. The queen asked, "Have you eaten this morning?"

Xie Lian shook his head. The three of them were now starving. The Queen said, "This is the worst thing for your health. Fortunately, I just cooked a pot of porridge. Come in and eat."

Xie Lian thought to himself, “How come there’s so much smoke when you cook a pot of porridge? It’s like a palace is burning down…”

The queen then said to Feng Xin and Mu Qing, "You two children, come and eat with us."

Feng Xin and Mu Qing had not expected to receive such a treatment, and they kept declining, but the queen insisted. The two had no choice but to sit down at the table cautiously, both feeling somewhat flattered. The word "surprise" meant surprise.

However, after the queen served the pot, their surprise turned into horror.

After returning to the city, Mu Qing's nausea had not yet subsided. He stumbled and said, "I thought... that porridge smelled like bran water, but I didn't expect it to taste like it, too!"

Feng Xin gritted his teeth and said, "Shut up! Stop forcing me to recall that pot! After all, the queen is... worth a fortune... and she never cooks... This is already very... disgusting!..."

Mu Qing snorted, "Am I wrong? If you don't think it tastes like bran water, you... go ask the queen to give you another bowl! Ugh!..."

The two of them vomited and vomited. Xie Lian grabbed them, patted their backs, and said, “Stop vomiting! Look, there seems to be work to do in front!”

Sure enough, the three stumbled forward and saw a few rather glamorous little leaders shouting on the street to recruit people to help. The reward was not bad, and there was no limit on the number of people. As many as came, they would be employed. The three quickly agreed and mixed in with a group of ragged and skinny poor people, and came to a muddy open space in groups. It seemed that someone was going to build a new house here, so they had to start repairing it and fill it up first. The three worked hard and were covered in mud. Feng Xin was moving the soil, while his face was livid, he covered his stomach and cursed: "...Fuck! I feel like the pot of bran water has become a spirit in my stomach!"

Xie Lian turned around with a basket of soil on his back and whispered, “Can you still hold on…why don’t you want to sit next to me for a while?”

Mu Qing said to Xie Lian, “You should just stay over there.”

Xie Lian said, “No need. I can still hold on.”

Mu Qing rolled her eyes and said, "Don't insist. I have to wash your dirty clothes for you. I'd rather do your job as well." Someone shouted from a distance, "Work hard and don't talk! Don't be lazy! Do you still want to get paid?"

Feng Xin was very tenacious and continued to insist, carrying twice as much soil as before. He said, "It's not a lot of money, is it worth it to make such a fuss and act like a tyrant?"

After struggling from the scorching sun to the sunset, they finally succeeded. Physically, the three of them were not exhausted, but they worked so hard just for a little bit of salary and food, so their hearts were more tired than their bodies. They finally got some time to lie down on a slightly cleaner piece of land to rest, and then another group of people came in noisily. Several men were carrying a stone statue and walking slowly towards them.

Xie Lian raised his head slightly and asked, “What is that statue?”

Mu Qing also took a look and said, "It must be the new statue that is stationed here."

Xie Lian remained silent.

If it were in the past, there would be no doubt that the first choice of deity in the town would be his prince statue, but now no one knows which deity it is. Most likely it is Jun Wu, or it could be a newly promoted priest.

After a pause, Xie Lian couldn't help but want to see who would replace him, so he reluctantly stood up and went to the crowd in front to take a look. The stone statue had its back to him, so he couldn't see its face clearly, but it seemed to be kneeling. This made him even more curious. Which priest's statue would be kneeling? He walked around in a big circle and turned a corner to take a look.

When he saw this, his mind went blank.

The face of the statue was actually himself!

The kneeling statue was placed on the ground. Someone nearby patted its head roughly and said, "Finally it's here. This grandson is quite heavy!"

"Why make such a statue? It's ugly. Can't you make a statue of the Great God? Isn't this that so-and-so..."

"Well, huh? Isn't it said that worshipping him will bring bad luck? How dare you worship him? And you even specially brought him here..."

"You don't understand this. Worshiping the God of Plague will indeed bring bad luck, but this stone statue is not for worship, it is for stepping on. If you step on the God of Plague, won't it bless you with everlasting good luck?"

Everyone suddenly realized it and said, "What a good implication, what a wonderful implication!"

Feng Xin and Mu Qing also noticed something was wrong, and when they came up to take a look, they were speechless. Feng Xin seemed to be about to explode, but Mu Qing grabbed him, gave him a warning look, and whispered, "The prince didn't even shout, what do you want to shout?"

Xie Lian did not say anything. Feng Xin was not sure if he had other considerations, so he did not want to act rashly. He swallowed it down reluctantly, but his eyes seemed to be spitting fire. Finally, someone muttered, "Isn't this... a little inappropriate? He is a god after all, and the Crown Prince."

"Hey, Xianle is dead, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still here."

Some people even said, "That's wrong. There's nothing wrong with us stepping on the Plague God. Instead, he should thank us."

Xie Lian suddenly asked, “Oh? Why should I thank you?”

The man said confidently, "Have you seen the threshold of a temple? Thousands of people step on it, but don't you see how many rich people rush to buy a temple threshold to use as a substitute for themselves? Because every time they step on the threshold, it redeems their sins, repays their debts, and accumulates good karma. The meaning of this kneeling statue is the same. Every time we step on its head or spit on it, aren't we also accumulating merit for the prince? Therefore, he should be grateful to us..."

Xie Lian couldn't bear to listen any longer.

When the man said the word "thank you", he raised his hand and punched him.

The crowd immediately exploded: "What are you doing!" "You are hitting someone!" "Who is causing trouble?!"

Feng Xin had been wanting to beat someone up for a long time, so he also shouted and joined the fight. Mu Qing didn't know whether he had joined in or was dragged into it. Anyway, the three of them started fighting. In the melee, Xie Lian almost had the white silk on his face torn off several times, but fortunately it didn't happen. The three of them were all very skilled, but the other side had more people and more power. In addition, Mu Qing later grabbed the two people and warned them if they wanted to beat a mortal to death to add to their crime. The fight was extremely frustrating. In the end, although it was a good fight, the three of them were also driven out.

After walking along the river for a while, the three of them slowed down. Mu Qing, with a purple face, angrily said, "We worked hard all day, and in the end we got into a fight and got nothing!"

Feng Xin wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "You're still asking for money at this time?"

Mu Qing said, "It is precisely because of this time that we have to ask for money! When is this time? When we are starving! It is useless to deny it. We just can't do without money! Can't you bear it?"

Xie Lian said nothing. Feng Xin said, “How can you bear it? You’ve been made to kneel down like someone is stepping on your face! It’s not you who’s being stepped on. You’re making it sound so easy.”

Mu Qing said: "Since the defeat, this is not the first time he has encountered such a thing, and he will definitely encounter more in the future. If he can't learn to get used to it as soon as possible, I'm afraid he won't have to live."

Feng Xin said with disgust: "Used to it? Used to what? Used to others' insults? Used to mortals stepping on his face? Why should he be used to this kind of thing?"

Xie Lian said irritably, “Alright! Stop arguing. Is such a small matter worth arguing about?”

The two men shut up in unison.

After a pause, Xie Lian sighed and said, “Let’s go. Find a car and go pick up Mother and the others. We have to leave this city tonight.”

Feng Xin said, "Okay."

The two walked side by side for a while, and suddenly realized that Mu Qing hadn’t caught up. Xie Lian turned around and asked in confusion, “Mu Qing?”

After a moment of silence, Mu Qing said, "Your Highness, I want to tell you something."

Xie Lian asked, “What’s the matter?” Feng Xin said impatiently, “What’s wrong with you? I already said I won’t argue with you anymore, what else do you want?”

Mu Qing said: "I want to leave."

“…”

Although Xie Lian had already had a bad feeling before he opened his mouth, he still held his breath when he actually said this.

Feng Xin suspected that he had heard it wrongly: "What? What did you say?"

Mu Qing straightened his back, his eyes like obsidian fixed, and he said calmly: "Please allow me to leave."

Feng Xin said, "Leave? What will happen to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince if you leave? What will happen to the King and Queen?"

Mu Qing opened his mouth, and finally said, "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

Feng Xin said: "No, please explain clearly what you mean by powerless."

Mu Qing said: "The King and Queen are the parents of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I also have my own mother who needs my care. I can't say that I will take care of others and their parents and ignore my own mother. So, please understand that I can no longer follow you."

Xie Lian felt a little dizzy and leaned against the wall. Feng Xin asked coldly, "Is this the real reason? Why haven't I heard you tell me this before?"

Mu Qing said: "This is just one of the reasons. Another reason is that I think we are both in trouble right now, and we have different ideas about how to get out of it. Excuse me, if we continue like this, we won't be able to get out of this predicament in ten thousand years. So, people with different ideals cannot work together."

Feng Xin laughed in anger, nodded, and said to Xie Lian, "Your Highness, did you hear that? Do you remember what I said at the beginning? If you were demoted, he would definitely be the first to run away. Was I right?"

Mu Qing seemed to be slightly irritated by him, and said calmly: "Please don't kidnap me. I'm just telling the truth. Everyone has his or her own heart, and no one is born destined to be the righteous path in the world or the center of the world. Maybe you like to revolve around another person, but others may not be the same as you."

Feng Xin said, "Why do you have so many evasive excuses? I don't want to listen. Can't you just say that I am ungrateful?"

"enough!"

Hearing Xie Lian's words, they both stopped. Xie Lian took his hand away from his forehead, turned to Mu Qing, stared at him for a while, and said, "I don't like to force others."

Mu Qing pursed her lips and still stood straight.

Xie Lian said, “Go ahead.”

Mu Qing looked at him without saying a word, bowed to him, and really turned and left.

Watching his back gradually disappear into the night, Feng Xin said in disbelief: "Your Highness, are you really going to let him go like this?"

Xie Lian sighed and said, "What else? I said I don't like to force things."

Feng Xin said, "No? This kid! What is he doing? He really left?! He ran away? Fuck you!"

Xie Lian squatted down by the river, rubbing his brows and said, “Forget it. Since his heart is no longer with us, what else can we do by staying here? Tie him up with a rope and make him wash my clothes?”

Feng Xin didn't know what to say, so they squatted down together. After a while, he said angrily, "Damn it, this guy can share wealth with you, but not adversity. He ran away when something happened. He doesn't remember your kindness at all!"

Xie Lian said, “I was the one who told him not to remember it, so you should also… stop talking about it.”

Feng Xin said, "He can't really forget it, right? I'm really screwed! But don't worry, Your Highness. I will definitely not leave."

Xie Lian forced a smile, unable to speak. Feng Xin stood up again and said, "Are we going to pick up the king and queen? I'll go find a car, you wait here first."

Xie Lian nodded and said, "Thank you for your help. Be careful."

Feng Xin agreed and left. Xie Lian also stood up and walked along the river for a while, still feeling a little dazed and unreal.

Mu Qing's departure really shocked him.

Firstly, he never thought that someone so close to him would leave just like that. Secondly, Xie Lian always believed in "forever", for example, friends are forever friends, they will not betray, cheat, or break up. There may be a time to part, but it should never be because of the reason of "life is too bad to go on".

This is like a story where a hero and a beauty are a match made in heaven and should stay together forever. Even if they can't, it must be because of a resolute and tragic death, not because the hero likes meat and the beauty likes fish, or because the hero dislikes the beauty's extravagant spending and the beauty dislikes the hero's bad habits.

Suddenly, I stepped on empty air and fell to the ground, only to find myself still in the human world. This was a terrible feeling.

After walking aimlessly for a while, he suddenly saw many bright golden stars floating in front of him. Xie Lian came to his senses and looked carefully. He found that they were lanterns floating on the water, slowly coming towards him along the river. There were also a few children playing happily by the river.

Xie Lian remembered: “Ah, today is the Ghost Festival.”

In the past, Huangji Temple would hold a grand ceremony on the Ghost Festival. I had been looking forward to it for a long time and it was impossible to forget it. But now I don't remember it at all. He shook his head and continued to move forward. At this time, a voice came from the roadside ahead: "Little kid, do you want to buy it?"

The voice was extremely old and had a ghostly aura. Xie Lian instinctively sensed something was wrong and looked up, only to see the two children holding the lights in their hands, stopped by the roadside, looking at something with curiosity and timidity.

Across from them, in the darkness, sat a man. He seemed to be an old man in a black robe, dirty and blending into the darkness. He held a lantern in his hand and said to the two children sinisterly, "The lanterns I have here are different from the ordinary lanterns you hold in your arms. These are rare treasures. Light them and make a wish. I guarantee it will work."

The two children were skeptical: "Really?"

The old man said, "Of course. Look."

The lamp in his hand was clearly not lit, but it suddenly emitted an ominous red light. The dozen or so lamps on the ground also flickered with a faint green light, which was extremely strange.

The two children looked at it in wonder, but Xie Lian could see it clearly. How could that be some rare treasure? It was clearly the phosphorescence of a dead person!

The lantern must contain the soul of a ghost, which is why it emits such an ominous light. And this old man must be a half-baked Taoist priest. Who knows where he caught such a group of unlucky ghosts and made them into lanterns. The two children didn't understand why, and clapped their hands in joy and wanted to buy it. Xie Lian hurriedly walked up and said, "Don't buy it. He is deceiving you."

The old man glared and said, "What are you talking about, kid!"

Xie Lian said bluntly, “That lamp is not a treasure, it’s a magical device. There’s a ghost inside it. If you take it back to play with it, you’ll definitely be haunted by the ghost.”

When the two children heard there was a ghost, they dared not stay any longer. They cried and ran away. The old man jumped up three feet high, furious: "How dare you ruin my business!"

Xie Lian said, “How can you buy and sell in a place like this? Not to mention an ignorant child, even if an adult bought your evil lantern, he would be in trouble. He might be haunted by an evil spirit, which would lead to a big mistake. Even if you really want to sell this kind of thing, you should sell it in a special place.”

The old man said, “It’s easy for you to say that. There is no place that sells these! Don’t people just set up stalls somewhere on the roadside?” He then picked up the pile of ugly lanterns and was about to leave angrily. Xie Lian hurriedly said, “Wait a minute!”

The old man asked, "Why? What for? Do you want to buy it?"

Xie Lian asked, “No way, are you really planning to continue selling them somewhere else? Where did the ghosts in your lamps come from?”

The old man said, "We caught them on the battlefield in the wilderness. They are everywhere."

Could it be the wandering souls of the dead soldiers?

Hearing this, Xie Lian couldn’t just ignore it, and said solemnly, “Don’t sell it. Today is the Ghost Festival, if something goes wrong, it won’t be fun. Besides, these are the souls of warriors, how can you sell them as if they were small toys?”

The old man said, "When a person dies, he becomes a wisp of smoke. Who cares whether he is a heroic spirit or not? Of course, my old bones are more important. Everyone has to make a living. If you don't let me sell myself, I will starve to death. You are so enthusiastic. Why don't you spend money to buy it?"

"you……"

Finally, Xie Lian gave in and said, “Okay, I’ll buy it.” He reached into his pocket, searched every corner, and took out a few small coins, saying, “Is this enough?”

The old man took a look and said, "Not enough! It's only this little, how can it be enough?"

Xie Lian didn’t really understand how much a dozen lanterns would cost. He never looked at the price before buying things, but in desperation, he learned to bargain without any instruction: “Your lanterns aren’t very pretty, and they’re unlucky. Let’s make them cheaper.”

The old man said, "You're still asking me to give you a bargain at this price? I've never seen anyone poorer than you. How shameful!"

Xie Lian felt a little embarrassed by what he said, and said, “I am the crown prince. No one has ever called me poor in my life.” As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a little regretful. However, the old man did not take his words seriously at all and said with a smile, “You are the crown prince, so I am the emperor!”

Xie Lian felt somewhat relieved, yet also somewhat embarrassed, so he simply gave up and said frankly, “Sell it or not? I don’t have any money.”

After some haggling, the two finally reached a deal. Xie Lian used his pitiful little money to buy a dozen ghost lanterns and carried them to the river. The old man threw the money and ran away. Xie Lian sat by the river and untied the red knots wrapped around the lanterns one by one, released the ghosts that were sealed by the talisman, and performed a simple ritual for them.

Dots of faint ghostly lights floated out of the lantern. These souls were all new ghosts who had just died. They were confused and had no consciousness of their own. They were still very weak, so they were caught by the old man. After they were released from the narrow lantern, they all gathered around Xie Lian, circling around him intimately, and rubbing against him from time to time. Xie Lian stood up and whispered, "Let's go, let's go."

After he gently lifted them up with his hands, the ghosts rose higher and higher, floated toward the sky, and gradually dispersed. This is what is called the return of the soul to heaven and earth.

Xie Lian stared at the starry night for a long time, and suddenly heard a small voice coming from behind him.

The voice said: "Your Highness..."

Xie Lian was startled, then he looked towards where the sound came from, only to find that there was actually a small ball of will-o’-the-wisp left, which had not risen into the sky, nor had it turned into sparks and dissipated.

It seems that this little ghost is stronger than the other little ghosts. Not only does it have its own consciousness, but it can also speak. He walked over and asked curiously: "Were you calling me just now? Do you... recognize me?"

He noticed the little will-o'-the-wisp, which seemed to be very excited, jumping up and down. Judging from the sound, it seemed to be a young boy. It said, "Of course I recognize you!"

Xie Lian thought of how he was now covered in mud and looked weird, and he felt even more embarrassed. He clenched his fists and put them in front of his mouth. He really wanted to deny it and just say that he was wrong. After a moment, he said seriously, "Why are you still here? Didn't I convert you just now? Did I miss a step?" Otherwise, how could there be one left after that ritual?

The unknown ghost floated in front of him, not too far away, and answered: "No. You did nothing wrong. It's just that I don't want to leave yet."

Xie Lian thought for a moment and said, “Do you have any unfulfilled wishes or obsessions?”

The unknown ghost said, "Yes."

Xie Lian said, “Well, tell me, what is it? If it’s not too difficult, I’ll do my best to help you.”

The unknown ghost, with three thousand floating lanterns behind him, said: "I have a beloved person who is still in this world."

After a moment of silence, Xie Lian said, “I see. Is she your wife?”

"No, your highness. We are not married."

"ah."

The unknown ghost said: "In fact, he may not even remember me. We haven't even exchanged a few words."

Xie Lian thought to himself, “We haven’t even spoken a few words. If that’s the case, how could she become the ‘beloved’ that has held your soul in the world? What a beauty she is.”

After a moment's silence, he said, "So, what is your wish?"

The unknown ghost replied: "I want to protect him."

Usually, the wishes of such ghosts would be "I want to tell her that I like her", "I want to be intimate with him", or something more terrifying: "I want her to come down and accompany me". "Protect" is really rare. Xie Lian was stunned and said, "But you no longer belong to this world."

The unknown ghost said, "So what."

Xie Lian said, “If you force yourself to stay, you won’t be able to rest in peace.”

The unknown ghost, however, did not care and said, "I wish to never rest in peace."

This lonely soul was surprisingly stubborn. Normally, such a stubborn ghost would be extremely dangerous, but for some reason, Xie Lian did not sense any murderous intent from it, so he was not worried. He said, "If your loved one knew that you could not rest in peace because of him, he would probably feel guilty and worried."

The unknown ghost hesitated for a moment and said, "Then I won't let him know why I'm not leaving."

Xie Lian said, “You’ll know it after seeing it more often.”

The unknown ghost said, "Then just don't let him find out that I'm protecting him."

Hearing this, Xie Lian’s heart couldn’t help but be slightly moved, thinking that this person’s “love” was not just talk.

These lanterns were all wandering ghosts that the old man had captured from the battlefield in the wilderness. The one in front of him must be a young warrior. He said slowly: "This war has made you leave your loved ones... I'm sorry. I didn't win."

The unknown ghost said, "It is my highest honor to die fighting for you."

Xie Lian was stunned for a moment.

"To die fighting for the prince is the highest honor of a Xianle soldier." This is a slogan used by a general of Xianle to teach his soldiers to inspire their morale, claiming that even if they die, they will die for a good cause and go to the fairyland after death. Of course, that was a lie. Unexpectedly, the young soldier has died, his soul is wandering in the world, but he still remembers this sentence. Moreover, he answered carefully and solemnly.

Suddenly, Xie Lian's eyes became hot and his vision blurred. He said, "Sorry, forget it."

The flames of the unknown ghost became brighter, and he said, "I will never forget. Your Highness, I will always be your most loyal believer."

Xie Lian suppressed his sobs and said, “…I no longer have any believers. Believing in me will not bring good things, and may even bring disaster. Do you know? Even my friends have left me.”

The unknown ghost swore, "I won't."

Xie Lian said, “You will.”

The ghost insisted, "Trust me, Your Highness."

Xie Lian said, “I don’t believe it.”

I don't trust others, and I don't trust myself anymore.