The Invincible Female Ghost Is A Bit Of A Hopeless Romantic Chapter 159: I’ll Handle These Six

The candle fla flickered.

The seven figures all trembled at once.

It wasn’t fear.

They’d been struck right at their most painful spot.

The Recumbent Ox Stone Lord’s stooped figure drifted forward half a foot, its sickly green eyes fixed on the ground, as if staring at an invisible field ridge.

After a long mont, it finally spoke.

“I... was originally a stone at the foot of the Taiyin Mountains.”

“It looked like a lying old ox. A plowing ox.”

“I don’t know which year it was, but the villagers started burning incense for .”

“They said they prayed for to protect their crops.”

“When it was dry, they prayed for rain.”

“When it flooded, they prayed for clear skies.”

“When pests ca, they prayed for to drive them away.”

“And I truly... protected them.”

It paused.

“For the first hundred years, there were only about twenty households in the village. Every harvest, they’d set a bowl of new rice for at the edge of the field.”

“Steaming hot.”

“At two hundred years, there were over sixty households.”

“They built a small shrine, made of mud. It couldn’t block the wind, but I could hear the sound of them kowtowing.”

“At three hundred years...”

Its voice suddenly dropped low.

“At three hundred years, a group of people ca to the village.”

“They weren’t bandits. They were... officials.”

“They said this land was going to have a railway built.”

“The entire field ridge was leveled flat.”

“My stone was blown apart.”

The sickly green light flickered violently.

“The stone was shattered, but I remained.”

“I thought, as long as the villagers were still here, I would still be here.”

“But they all moved to a new village thirty li away.”

“No one set that bowl of rice out anymore.”

The guest hall fell silent for a mont.

Lu Yuan didn’t respond.

He just nodded slightly.

A deity whose incense offerings had been severed by the march of ti.

This showed that the Recumbent Ox Stone Lord wasn’t the kind of lazy, deceitful deity who ignored its duties.

Of course, in truth, the vast majority of deities wouldn’t deliberately slack off or toy with their followers.

After all, only by helping their followers could they gain more incense.

Who would go against their own incense?

It was the Spring Mother’s turn.

Its dark yellow light flickered gently in the mist, silent for a long ti.

“I...”

“My spring... has dried up.”

Lu Yuan was stunned.

“Dried up?”

“Mm.”

Every word the Spring Mother uttered carried a dry, cracked bitterness.

“Five years ago, they started mining at the northern foot of the Taiyin Mountains.”

“The miners needed to drain the water, so they dug a ditch, diverting the water from my spring.”

“At first, it was just a little less. Then it got less and less.”

“In the spring before last, the last drop of water was gone.”

“I had guarded it for three hundred and seventy-seven years.”

“Watching it dry up, little by little.”

“And I couldn’t do anything.”

Its dark yellow light suddenly dimd a few shades.

“With the spring gone, I lost my roots.”

“For the past few years, I’ve been drifting everywhere, searching for water, for incense, for a place where I could survive.”

“But I couldn’t find any.”

“Without a spring, I’m no longer the Spring Mother.”

It lowered its head.

“What am I?”

That question wasn’t for Lu Yuan.

It was for itself.

“I don’t know.”

Then ca the Flower Maiden.

Hu Tutu had already told its story earlier.

When the Flower Maiden recounted it herself, it was exactly the sa.

It was also road construction. The entire flower thicket had been dug up.

But fortunately, wildflowers were still blooming on the hillside.

The root wasn’t completely severed.

The next to speak was a gray, dusty shadow.

It barely managed to condense into the form of an old man, hunched over, as if crushed by sothing its whole life without ever straightening up.

“I am the old willow tree by the river.”

“I guarded a ferry crossing for a hundred and fifty years.”

“Those crossing the river, waiting for boats, selling tea—all rested in my shade.”

“I gave them shade, sheltered them from the rain, watched them co and go.”

“Twenty years ago, a bridge was built upstream.”

“The ferry crossing was abandoned.”

“No one ca anymore.”

It paused here.

“I still stood there.”

“Thinking, at least soone passing by might see .”

“Five years ago, so timber buyers ca.”

“They said my tree was big enough to fetch a good price.”

“They sawed at for two days.”

“Before they felled .”

Its voice beca extrely faint.

“Now I’m just a wisp of mist.”

“I don’t even have a tree anymore.”

Beside it, an even fainter shadow didn’t wait to be asked and directly took over.

It could barely be made out as a woman’s silhouette, but its face was so blurry its features were indistinguishable.

“I was a clay statue in the Mountain God Temple.”

“I guarded that mountain path for two hundred years.”

“Woodcutters, herb gatherers, people visiting relatives—all who passed by would co in and bow.”

“Later, the road changed. No one went that way anymore.”

“The temple collapsed, and no one repaired it.”

“So I stayed in the ruins.”

It stopped there without continuing.

Lu Yuan waited for a mont.

“Then what?”

That shadow was silent for a long ti.

“Not a single person ca.”

“That heavy rain two years ago washed away the last half of my clay body.”

It looked down at its own mist, as if trying to recognize a self that no longer existed.

“Now I don’t even have clay.”

The next to speak was a gray-brown shadow.

It struggled to condense, but its form kept dispersing, unable to hold together.

“I was a stone roller at the village entrance.”

“Crushing grain, grinding flour—I did that for over a hundred years.”

It didn’t go into detail about its past like the others.

It just said one thing.

“Later, a machine mill ca.”

“Then later, the village was building a road.”

“They said I was in the way.”

“They took away to pave the roadbed.”

Its gray-brown light was so dim it was almost invisible.

“Now... I don’t even know what I am anymore.”

“A roller?”

“A stone?”

“A roadbed?”

It didn’t speak again.

The last shadow was a wisp of dark green mist.

Its light was the faintest of all.

So faint it looked like it could dissipate at any mont.

“I was moss by an ancient well.”

“I protected that well for over a hundred years.”

“The well water was sweet. People ca from dozens of li around to draw it.”

Its gray-green light flickered on and off.

“Thirty years ago, a woman jumped into the well.”

“When they fished her out, she was already gone.”

“The villagers said the well had beco tainted, stained by a human life, and couldn’t be used anymore.”

“They brought stones and filled the well in.”

“The well platform was dismantled, the mouth sealed, and earth was piled on top, compacted down.”

“I desperately crawled up the well wall, into the last crevice.”

“Just one crack, as thick as a thumb.”

“I stayed in there for thirty years.”

“That patch of moss had long since dried up.”

After it finished speaking, it said no more.

It didn’t say anything like “I can’t hold on much longer.”

But everyone could tell.

It couldn’t hold on much longer.

The guest hall was dead silent.

Candlelight reflected the seven flickering, tottering shadows.

Seven.

Each one lighter than the last.

Each one fainter than the last.

Lu Yuan was silent for a long ti.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The tea had long gone cold.

He set down the cup and looked at them.

“So you ca looking for the Deity of Beauty.”

“You thought she had incense, so you wanted to follow her and get a share.”

The Recumbent Ox Stone Lord nodded.

“Yes.”

“We... truly have no other choice.”

Lu Yuan glanced at it.

“But she doesn’t have any incense.”

“You saw that yourselves.”

The seven figures all dimd for a mont.

The Recumbent Ox Stone Lord’s sickly green light flickered slightly.

“We saw.”

“But we still wanted to thank you.”

It suddenly bent over, giving Lu Yuan a deep bow.

Its stooped figure curved like an old bow about to snap.

“Thank you... for setting up a shrine for us.”

“At least...”

“We have a ho now.”

The Spring Mother also bent over.

The Flower Maiden did too.

The old willow tree, the Mountain God Temple clay statue, the stone roller, the moss.

One by one.

Those seven tottering figures bowed deeply to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan didn’t dodge.

He just sat there, quietly watching them.

He watched for a long ti.

No one knew what he was thinking.

No one knew how long he thought.

When he ca back to himself, his gaze landed on the Flower Maiden.

“Your matter—Hu Tutu will handle it.”

“Your lamp will be relit tonight.”

The Flower Maiden’s blurry maiden figure trembled violently.

Its gray-white light suddenly blazed bright.

“Re... relight the lamp?”

It sounded like it didn’t understand.

Or like it didn’t dare to believe.

Hu Tutu jumped down from the stool and walked over to it.

The little girl looked up at the wisp of mist, her two little hair buns bobbing as she moved.

“That’s right. Relight the lamp.”

“You still have roots. They can be continued.”

“I’ll help you make that lamp burn a little brighter.”

The Flower Maiden’s light flickered wildly.

Bright then dim, bright then dim.

Whether it was crying or laughing, no one could tell.

The Recumbent Ox Stone Lord and the Spring Mother silently watched this scene.

No one spoke.

Those sickly green, dark yellow, and gray-white lights all beca extraordinarily quiet.

They didn’t say a word.

But Lu Yuan could tell.

They were envious.

The guest hall was quiet for a long ti.

Then the Flower Maiden’s voice softly rang out.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you both.”

Lu Yuan waved his hand.

“Don’t thank too soon.”

“Say that after the lamp is relit.”

He stood up and walked toward the door.

When he reached the entrance, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

Those seven figures were still floating in the middle of the guest hall.

The sickly green, dark yellow, gray-white, gray-brown, and dark green lights gently flickered in the darkness.

Like seven lamps about to go out.

One of them was about to be relit.

What about the other six?

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze.

He didn’t say anything.

He pushed open the door and walked into the night.

Behind him, Hu Tutu’s crisp voice rang out.

“Flower Maiden, stand still!”

“I’m starting!”

Lu Yuan didn’t go far.

After he stepped out, he casually closed the door behind him and leaned against the old locust tree outside the guest hall.

The guest hall’s door wasn’t thick, so Hu Tutu’s voice leaked through faintly—sothing like “stand still” and “don’t move,” nothing too clear.

Zhou Shouzuo stood at the bottom of the steps in front of the door, not coming close, just waiting with his hands at his sides.

The night wind swept over Qixia Mountain, and the locust leaves rustled for a while.

Zhou Shouzuo’s head was slightly tilted, his ear aid at the door, listening quite intently.

Lu Yuan noticed this, grinned, and leaned back against the trunk.

“Elder Zhou is interested?”

Zhou Shouzuo was startled. He turned his head and smiled too.

“Just curious.”

He paused, as if choosing his words carefully.

“This legendary Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp from beyond the Great Wall... why do they do this sort of thing?”

Lu Yuan blinked.

“This sort of thing?”

Zhou Shouzuo nodded seriously.

“What do you think they’re after?”

“Saving a human life—at least you get a ‘debt of gratitude’ out of it.”

“But extending a deity’s life? After it’s done, the deity just sits by the mountain path. It’d be lucky to get three or five sticks of incense in a whole year.”

“How do you repay that kind of favor?”

“You can’t exactly count on those fading deities to suddenly manifest and help them out one day, can you?”

Lu Yuan didn’t answer right away.

He held his teacup, long since cold, and rubbed his thumb slowly along the rim a couple of tis.

He’d actually been thinking about this all day.

Ever since Hu Tutu told him about the Flower Maiden this morning, and then listening to the origins of those seven deities in the guest hall just now—he’d been mulling it over.

After a long mont, he spoke.

“Maybe because...”

“They were ant to go out. But if they do, it won’t benefit anyone.”

Zhou Shouzuo was stunned.

ant to go out?

Won’t benefit anyone?

He ran those words through his mind, but couldn’t quite grasp the aning.

The images of those seven deities surfaced again—each one fainter and lighter than the last, like seven lamps about to die out.

Did their existence benefit anyone?

It didn’t seem so.

Then did their extinction harm anyone?

It didn’t seem like that either.

Zhou Shouzuo frowned and shook his head.

Lu Yuan glanced at him and suddenly asked an unrelated question.

“Elder Zhou, do you know why ordinary people don’t dare to go into those wild, untended mountains?”

Zhou Shouzuo was taken aback.

Lu Yuan didn’t wait for an answer.

“Because they’re afraid there might be sothing nasty inside.”

“So of those things are mountain spirits, so are wild ghosts, and so are...”

He paused for a beat.

“So are the ‘voids’ left behind by dissipated deities.”

Zhou Shouzuo looked up, utterly confused.

“What is a ‘void’?”

Lu Yuan spread his hands slightly, speaking in a very casual tone.

“It’s where sothing used to be, but suddenly isn’t anymore.”

“Like a room that used to have soone living in it. The person leaves, and the room becos empty.”

“An empty room—who cos to live in it?”

Lu Yuan didn’t elaborate further.

But Zhou Shouzuo understood.

An empty room—who cos to live in it?

Whoever wants to.

The “voids” left behind by dissipated deities would be filled by sothing else.

If the good things don’t co, the bad things will.

If the Recumbent Ox Stone Lord dissipated, would that “void” in its field ridge attract so evil spirit?

If the Spring Mother dissipated, would that “void” by its dried-up spring nurture sothing foul?

If the moss dissipated, that “void” at the bottom of the well sealed for thirty years...

Zhou Shouzuo didn’t think any further.

He suddenly understood what the Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp was doing.

It wasn’t about saving lives.

It was about nding the heavens.

The deities of this world were like a net spread between heaven and earth.

Each deity occupied a knot.

When a knot ca undone, a hole appeared in the net.

When there were few holes, the net could still hold.

When there were too many, the net would rot.

And when the net rotted, anything could slip through.

The Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp didn’t save everyone they saw.

They were simply looking at those knots about to snap, and if they could nd one, they’d stitch it up.

Zhou Shouzuo was silent for a long ti.

So long that the night wind blew several locust leaves onto his shoulders without him moving.

Then he looked up at Lu Yuan.

His expression was completely different from before.

“Senior Brother.”

His voice was a little hoarse.

“How do you know all this?”

Lu Yuan leaned against the trunk and flashed a carefree grin.

“I guessed!”

Zhou Shouzuo stared at him for several seconds.

Then this usually composed old Daoist priest suddenly took a step back.

He straightened his body formally and bowed deeply to Lu Yuan, bending very low.

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother!”

When he straightened up, he couldn’t help adding another sentence.

“Your insight is so profound, Shouzuo can hardly hope to catch up.”

Lu Yuan felt a bit awkward from that bow and was about to wave it off when the guest hall door suddenly pushed open from inside.

Hu Tutu bounced out.

Her two little hair buns bobbed up and down, her face full of pride.

“It’s done!”

Lu Yuan glanced behind her.

Inside the guest hall, the mist belonging to the Flower Maiden was noticeably brighter than before.

It no longer looked like it could dissipate at any mont.

That maiden-like figure floated in place, head down, looking at its own hands.

Then it looked up and bowed deeply to Hu Tutu at the door.

Hu Tutu waved her hand, acting like a little adult.

“Alright, alright, stop thanking .”

“That hillside where you are—I’ll check on it every spring from now on.”

“As long as the flowers are there, your roots are intact.”

“If the flowers start to dwindle, you’ll have to figure sothing out yourself.”

The Flower Maiden’s light gently flickered.

It seed like it was nodding.

And also like it was crying.

Lu Yuan stood outside the door, watching this scene, silent.

If they went out, it wouldn’t benefit anyone.

Not just “people”—but this entire land, these mountains and rivers!

The Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp didn’t just relight lamps.

They relit the righteous path of heaven and earth!

To be honest, Lu Yuan hadn’t had much goodwill toward these Ten Families beyond the Great Wall before.

Perhaps it was because of the Daoist principle of “guarding the common people.”

Lu Yuan believed that those who cultivated the Dao should, within their power, do sothing for the people.

And of course, Lu Yuan had always done so.

But as for these Ten Families beyond the Great Wall?

Based on those he’d encountered so far—

The Life-Severing Wang Family, the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family, the Punishing the Netherworld Tan Family...

Not counting the newly t Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp, just those first three...

Aside from the Punishing the Netherworld Tan Family, which of them even acted like decent human beings?!

And even the Punishing the Netherworld Tan Family, the only one that showed so semblance of humanity—what they did wasn’t for the common people beyond the Great Wall.

It was because of internal affairs among the Ten Families.

Especially since the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family had already done such terrible things, and Tan Jiji still refused to speak up—

That was practically complicity!

It could be said that before eting the Continuing the Lamp Family, the three Lu Yuan had encountered had nothing to do with the Daoist principle of “guarding the common people.”

There was a saying, wasn’t there?

Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together.

Because of this, even though Lu Yuan knew not all the Ten Families beyond the Great Wall were like the Life-Severing Wang Family or the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family, he still didn’t have a good impression of them in his heart.

But now...

He had finally seen the words “fellow traveler” in the Continuing the Lamp Family.

Of course, having traveled north and south for over a year, diving deep into markets and villages, and handling countless jobs, he had seen too many things that looked good on the surface but were rotten inside.

He had only known Hu Tutu of the Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp for less than a day.

There was still much he didn’t understand about them.

But at the very least, Lu Yuan really felt good about the Hu Family of Continuing the Lamp right now.

“All done?”

Lu Yuan looked at Hu Tutu, asking curiously.

Hu Tutu nodded, her face as cute as a porcelain doll, full of pride.

“Of course!”

“When the Continuing the Lamp Family acts, there’s never a mistake!”

Seeing Hu Tutu’s adorable look, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but grin.

“Well then—”

He suddenly paused mid-sentence.

His gaze passed over Hu Tutu and landed on the six shadows still floating inside the guest hall.

Sickly green, dark yellow, gray, gray-white, gray-brown, dark green.

Gently swaying in the darkness.

Like six unattended lamps.

Hu Tutu followed his gaze, and the pride on her little face slowly faded.

She turned her head and looked up at Lu Yuan.

“Those six...”

She didn’t finish.

Lu Yuan stretched lazily, then walked back inside.

“Those six—I’ll handle them.”