Chapter 22

There's no way to bluntly ask other ghosts how they died. Hongyu, like an innocent little girl, was naive and spoke without reserve.

Xingke was stunned, seeing a mysterious light in her bright eyes, and couldn't bear to refuse or get angry.

"I don't even know how I died," Xingke sighed, saying helplessly, then smiled, "But I can tell you some interesting stories from my life."

"Really?" Hongyu's eyes lit up, as if a ray of brilliant sunlight had suddenly shone into a deep pool.

Xingke nodded heavily, recalling for a moment, and began to tell Hongyu some interesting stories from his life, avoiding the cruelty and darkness of society.

The Lamborghini roared down the road, like a wild bull with red eyes. Along the way, Xingke spoke softly, and Hongyu laughed so hard her little belly hurt, her eyes sparkling with tears, almost causing the car to crash into a tree.

"Really? There are such bizarre people?" Hongyu blinked her big eyes, looking at Xingke with a bright gaze.

"Uh-huh," Xingke nodded quickly, his heart racing as he drove, his head drenched in sweat.

Grandma, can you look ahead instead of at me! He shouted in his heart, seeing the Lamborghini about to crash into the city wall of Fengdu. Compared to the mountain-like wall, the Lamborghini hitting it would be like an egg hitting a rock.

Screeeech!

Hongyu screamed, suddenly turning the steering wheel, and the Lamborghini skidded sideways. But with a bang, the side mirror scraped against the wall and was completely destroyed.

"It's okay, it's okay," Hongyu patted her ample chest, her breasts trembling. When she looked at Xingke, she saw that he was almost foaming at the mouth.

"Hands! Hands! Don't take your hands off the steering wheel!" Xingke regained his composure, his face turning pale again.

Later, Xingke learned that in the Underworld, there were no driving schools, traffic rules, or traffic police. Someone like Hongyu, who hadn't systematically learned to drive, could still drive as long as they bought a car.

"Life-threatening!" Xingke rolled his eyes and strongly demanded to switch seats, insisting that he drive.

Hongyu pouted, unwillingly switching seats with Xingke, muttering, "Even if the Lamborghini is scrapped, we can still drive a Ferrari."

Xingke, drenched in sweat, didn't know how many luxury cars Hongyu's family had. In the Underworld, cars were cheap, and perhaps her family had so many that they could host a car show.

"Fasten your seatbelt!" Xingke emphasized, recalling how he would have flown out of the Lamborghini if he hadn't been wearing one, and would have been as broken as the side mirror.

"Tsk, you sound like a nagging old woman," Hongyu pouted, her mature aura completely gone.

"Ah~" Xingke shook his head, gently pressing the gas pedal, driving steadily.

"Not bad, the feeling is still there," Xingke said with a smile after driving for a while, "Hongyu, let me show you how a real expert drives—it's like playing!"

Saying this, Xingke floored the gas, the speed quickly reaching 120 km/h and still rising.

After all, the Lamborghini had now entered the bustling city of Fengdu, where driving at high speeds was much more difficult than in the empty, ghost-free suburbs.

A red blur sped down the streets of Fengdu, the red Lamborghini darting through traffic with incredible skill, almost making Hongyu scream.

"Huh?" Xingke suddenly stopped the car.

"What's wrong?" Hongyu asked curiously.

Xingke laughed lightly, extremely happy, "Nothing, just saw some acquaintances."

He looked around, memorizing the surroundings, planning to visit these "acquaintances" when he had time.

...

After the freight truck delivered the materials and drove away, the materials piled up like a small mountain at the entrance of the dilapidated courtyard. Next to it were a red Lamborghini and a Bugatti Veyron.

Xingke had found the Bugatti Veyron while shopping for materials in Fengdu and bought it on the spot, as it wasn't expensive.

"I wonder which loving ghost had connections to 'send' a Bugatti Veyron from the human world," Xingke laughed heartily, his teeth almost falling out from joy. He couldn't stop touching the car with its perfect curves.

The original owner had refused to sell, but Hongyu's intervention made it happen.

"Thanks to you," Xingke said gratefully. He wasn't a car enthusiast, but seeing such a luxurious sports car, he couldn't help but be moved.

"No problem, no problem. You're such a good driver, you deserve it. Anyway, leaving it to that pig would have been a waste," Hongyu waved her hand generously, exuding a boss-like demeanor.

"Ha ha ha..." Xingke laughed happily, starting to move the mountain of materials into the courtyard. What had taken a few burly ghosts several trips to move, he did in just a few.

"Such a small frame, how can you have such terrifying strength?" Hongyu asked, puzzled. She stared at Xingke, almost seeing through his robe, but couldn't figure it out.

Xingke's nine force chakras kept spinning, and the more he moved, the more strength he felt, as if it was endlessly surging from the depths of his soul.

"Freak," Hongyu muttered, glancing at Xingke's slender figure.

Soon, the materials were moved, and Xingke rolled up his sleeves to start working. Having been a gardener and carpenter in life, renovating the courtyard was a piece of cake.

First, he cleared the overgrown weeds, looking at the chaotic growth with a strange light in his eyes.

Plants in the three realms are a special kind of life. As long as they don't become spirits, they grow naturally in the Underworld without needing to cross the Three Paths River.

This creates a peculiar phenomenon: when plants wither in the human world or the Heavenly Realm, they flourish in the Underworld.

"Legend has it that the only plant truly native to the Underworld is the red spider lily, which blooms on the banks of the River of Forgetfulness, unique to the three realms," Hongyu said softly, walking over.

"Plant souls are different from other living beings, even animals. Only human spirits have three souls and seven essences, the most complete in the universe, making them the foundation of immortals, Buddhas, demons, and ghosts, the leaders of all beings!" Xingke said to himself, dazed.

"Human spirits..." Hongyu muttered softly, her voice so low that Xingke didn't hear.

"Alright! Let's get to work!" Xingke shouted, bending down to pull weeds.

"I'll help too," Hongyu smiled, also bending down to pull weeds. The two ghosts chatted and laughed, and time passed quickly.

The renovation plan proceeded smoothly. Xingke handled the heavy work, and Hongyu assisted. The dilapidated courtyard was quickly transformed, and the old, decrepit house was to be demolished and rebuilt.

When they came to the dead branches and old trees, Xingke and Hongyu stopped, looking up in unison.

The old tree's branches were yellow and leafless. At the junction of the branches, there was a yellow, dried bird's nest with a fledgling inside, chirping pitifully, its yellow beak wide open, like a cuckoo's cry, even more sorrowful under the gloomy sky.

"Where are its parents?" Hongyu's face showed pity.

"This is the Underworld; where would parents come from?" Xingke said, though he felt sorry, it was a harsh reality.

Hongyu looked at the fledgling on the dead branch, suddenly speechless, her eyes helpless.

"It might have been pushed out of the nest by its siblings and died from the fall. After being brought to the Underworld by the Three Paths River, it struggled to get here without entering the cycle of rebirth," Xingke explained the harsh reality. As a ghost, it couldn't starve, but it was hard to imagine how the fledgling had made it here, enduring so much hardship.

But nature is inherently cruel, with the survival of the fittest. Many young animals die before they grow up, and the fledgling on the dead branch was just one of many such cases.

In the nest, if there are too many fledglings and not enough food, the stronger ones will push the weaker ones out, leading to their death from the fall.

Similarly, sea turtles and other animals leave their eggs and the young must face harsh environments, lack of food, and predators, with only a few surviving.

This cruel reality is the law of nature!

Xingke knew that even humans, the most intelligent beings, were no exception! Being an orphan from a young age made him see the darkness and cruelty of society more clearly, hardening his heart like iron.

Xingke reminded himself: if he couldn't be a good person, he wouldn't be a bad one! He couldn't cause more misfortune to others because of his own misfortune!

"I will train it to be strong and live well in the Underworld!" Xingke said firmly, making a promise as strong as steel to himself, to Hongyu, and even to the fledgling on the dead branch.

"Uh-huh," Hongyu's eyes suddenly welled with tears, wanting to say something but stopping, "Actually, I..."

Xingke looked at her deeply but didn't press for more, bypassing the old tree and continuing to renovate the courtyard. This time, they worked in silence, heads down, working hard.

A few hours later, the sound of a car engine roared at the gate. Hongyu drove the Lamborghini away, as she had work at the Yin Tian Pavilion and couldn't continue helping.

After Hongyu left, Xingke sighed, working faster alone. He entered the old, decrepit house to move important items before demolishing it.

The old house was small, and Xingke didn't find anything valuable on the roof beams. In the main hall, he saw a statue covered in thick dust.

"Looks like it's just you. Don't disappoint me," Xingke said, wiping the dust off with a cloth. He felt like a gray rat, his treasure-hunting spirit gradually cooling.

"Whoosh... cough, cough, cough..."

Xingke blew off the dust on the statue and began to wipe it carefully.

The statue was as tall as three or four Xingkes, standing in a human pose with two thick arms spread wide. Behind it was a large halo filled with cone-shaped objects. Due to the thick dust, only the general shape was visible.

If the old house's roof hadn't been high enough, it wouldn't have fit. The statue was probably left behind because the original owner left in a hurry.

"Hehe, I must have found a treasure," Xingke chuckled, having already wiped the statue's feet clean, revealing golden, shiny feet!

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The story continues on the next page.