The first thing Yu Nian did after walking out of the cave was to blow up the eerie and malevolent maze. Then she left the factory and released all the demons from the Qiankun bag back into the mountains and forests.
The little demons bowed to Yu Nian gratefully again and again, then their figures flashed into the jungle and disappeared.
After all the demons had scattered, the fox demon still stayed where she was.
The fox demon hesitated for a while. There was an unmistakable look of admiration in her eyes.
She really wanted to stay by Yu Nian's side and become her family spirit. But as a fox demon, she could sense that there were two powerful family spirits following Yu Nian.
The cultivation methods of the weasel spirit and Liu Mo were far beyond hers. Her own cultivation level was too shallow. Staying by Yu Nian's side, she might not only be of no help, but also become a burden.
However, the fox demon was not discouraged. Instead, she regarded Liu Mo and Huang Shisi Niangzi as her goals to strive for.
Maybe when she also had a powerful cultivation level, she would have the courage to ask Yu Nian to become her family spirit.
Yu Nian didn't know that she had become the motivation for a little demon's cultivation. She only thought that the fox demon still had some unfinished wishes, so she asked, "What's wrong?"
Looking at the furry ears of the fox demon moving back and forth, Yu Nian couldn't help reaching out and touching them.
The fox demon's ears twitched sensitively, but she didn't dodge. She just complained in a low voice, "Hey, you can't just touch a fox's ears..."
Yu Nian raised her eyebrows slightly. "Why?"
The fox demon snorted. "We foxes are noble animals. Whoever touches our ears has to be responsible."
Yu Nian obediently said sorry, then immediately withdrew her hand at an incredibly fast speed.
Fox demon: ...
The fox demon stared at Yu Nian seriously for a moment, as if trying to firmly remember her appearance.
"I was right to trust you. We'll meet again. By then, I'll surely become the most powerful fox demon in the world."
After saying that, she carefully glanced at Yu Nian's expression and found that there was no trace of contempt on her face. Instead, Yu Nian nodded seriously.
"Okay, I'll be waiting for that day."
The fox demon's ears turned red again in a most unseemly way. She snorted and turned around, strutting into the forest.
Yu Nian thought for a while and then released the ghost who had died from a collision from another Qiankun bag.
The ghost had also heard about his master's fate. He looked a bit down at the moment.
Yu Nian looked at the ghost for a while and then asked, "Do you have any unfinished wishes?"
The ghost seemed surprised that Yu Nian would ask him. He widened his eyes in astonishment. "Are you asking me?"
Yu Nian nodded. "Although you did a lot of bad things for Jiang Li, you were also under his control. Your merits and demerits will be judged by the underworld. My task is to send you to line up for reincarnation. Before that, I need to know your wishes."
The ghost seriously thought for a moment. His eyes suddenly turned a bit red. "When I died, my wife and children at home were still waiting for me to have dinner. From the moment I was about to die, I've always wanted to go back home and take a look. But I became a bound spirit and was trapped at the place where I died. I couldn't move at all. It was not until Jiang Li saved me that I finally didn't have to stay on the road anymore. But I was still not free. Because I became a gun that could only obey my master's orders. I had to shoot wherever I was pointed and had no way to resist. So many years have passed in a flash. I actually never got a chance to go back home and take a look... Now that I'm finally free, I want to go back and take a look."
Yu Nian was silent for a moment, but still nodded. "I can take you there, but you have to be prepared."
The ghost was at least in his forties or fifties when he died. And now, a whole sixty years had passed since his death. The world had changed drastically. Maybe the people waiting for him were no longer there.
The ghost nodded. "I understand, but I still want to go back and take a look." He paused for a moment, then sighed with a faint smile. "I just can't let go."
Yu Nian didn't try to persuade him anymore. She just nodded.
She reached out and drew a talisman on the ghost's body, thus releasing the confinement that Jiang Li, as his master, had placed on him. Then she said to the ghost, "Come into the Qiankun bag. I'll take you back to the Qingxin Temple first."
...
When everyone returned to Jiang Li's house, the sky in the east was already turning pale.
As Yu Nian had expected, Jiang Sheng had quietly disappeared.
Everyone in the Qingxin Temple was a bit stunned when they saw Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan's appearance. They quickly asked what had happened.
After Yu Nian explained, she said, "Jiang Li may have fled to the Ghost Market. He won't appear in Putuo Village for a short time. We'll talk about the rest when we get back to the Qingxin Temple."
Pei Ying had been standing by the window in a daze. As soon as she heard that Yu Nian was about to leave, she quickly grabbed Yu Nian's arm and cried and fussed.
"Master, how can you just leave like this? What am I going to do then? I don't want to die!"
"Jiang Sheng's soul was taken away by Jiang Li. You were implicated just because you happened to be at the scene when the soul was taken."
After saying that, Yu Nian took out two protective talismans from her bosom and handed them to Pei Ying and Yuan Ao respectively. She instructed, "As long as you keep the talismans with you, ordinary ghosts won't be able to hurt you."
After hearing Yu Nian's words, Pei Ying felt a bit more at ease. She quickly took the talisman.
Yuan Ao took the talisman with a touched look. He looked at Yu Nian with teary eyes. "Big shot, I live in Putuo Town. Don't you forget about me. Promise me that no matter who you meet in the future, I'll always be your favorite little brother!"
Yu Nian was amused by his appearance. "It only takes an afternoon to fly from Putuo Town to the capital."
Yuan Ao immediately wiped away his tears and waved his hand with an embarrassed smile. "Goodbye, big shot. I'll definitely go to the Qingxin Temple to visit you!"
After saying goodbye to Yuan Ao and the others, everyone from the Qingxin Temple finally returned to Cuiwei Mountain.
As soon as they reached the temple gate, Yu Nian heard a lot of noise.
From afar, they saw an old man with gray and messy hair running around in the yard. There was a chicken bone in his mouth, and there was a red fish-tail mark on his left cheek. As he ran, he shouted, "Exciting!!"
Yu Nian: ...?
Sensing Yu Nian's confusion, Feng Chengyuan said with a suppressed smile, "This is the old man I told you about, the one I met on the way back."
Yu Nian raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He's quite..."
She wanted to find a proper word to describe the old man in front of her. After thinking for a while, the only word she could come up with was:
"He's quite lively."
The old man heard the noise from the courtyard gate. He quickly turned his head and waved at Yu Nian while still running. "Hi~"
Just as Yu Nian was about to say something, she found that there was another person following the old man.
Taking a closer look, it was the merman.
He had transformed into a human form. He was holding a broom in his left hand and chasing the old man like crazy.
This time, Yu Nian was really a bit surprised.
The merman was a lazy and well-mannered fish. Even though he could transform into a human form, most of the time he would just soak in the pond. He would never sit if he could lie down.
This old man was really capable of driving the good-tempered merman to such an extent.
So Yu Nian waved her hand and signaled everyone not to go in for the time being. "Let's wait and see what's going on first."