That person had told her that Wang Ranxi had been secretly executed two days ago by imperial decree.
That meant, before she came to the netherworld, Wang Ranxi was still alive.
Li Ying’s vision darkened. If not for leaning against the reef, she would have collapsed. Her teeth were chattering.
Why?
Cui Xun, why?
Why did you lie to me?
Li Ying trembled with anger. Wang Tuan’er remained prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise her head. The ferryman beside them sighed deeply again and said to Li Ying, “I told you earlier, the person who sent you to the netherworld is not a good person.”
Li Ying bit her lip hard, and tears finally rolled down: “He deceived me, he deceived me!”
She looked at the Nai River. The river’s surface churned, fetid and unbearable. Li Ying suddenly wiped away her tears desperately: “I cannot stay here. I must go back! I must continue to uncover the truth! I must find out who killed me!”
She suddenly placed both hands on her chest, bent her knee, and deeply bowed to the ferryman: “Boatman, you can help me evade the ghost officials’ pursuit, so you must also be able to help me return to the human world. Please, help me go back.”
The ferryman sighed: “The void you came through is called the Path of Life and Death. On this path, it is easy to go from life to death, but difficult to go from death to life. Once you’ve come, you cannot go back.”
Li Ying was completely stunned: “Cannot go back? Does that mean I can only wander in the netherworld, waiting for ghost officials to catch me and take me back to the City of Wrongful Deaths, to be imprisoned forever without seeing daylight? Or must I force my way across the river, only to wait for the bo’er xiang to tear me apart and devour me, leaving no soul behind?”
The ferryman remained silent, but from his silence, Li Ying knew that these were her only two outcomes.
She was utterly desperate. At this moment, she finally understood the meaning of Cui Xun’s last words to her before she entered the netherworld: “Be careful on your journey.”
She laughed bitterly. She had been harmed by him to this extent; how could she be careful?
Cui Xun! Cui Xun! She had truly misjudged him!
Her fingers dug deeply into the reef, breaking her nails, blood flowing. Amid the intense pain, Li Ying suddenly awoke: “No, no, there must be a way! There must be a third path!”
She said to the ferryman: “Boatman, I don’t want to be locked in the City of Wrongful Deaths, nor do I want to be devoured by the bo’er xiang. I will return to the Path of Life and Death. You say it’s difficult to go from death to life, but as long as there’s even a slight possibility, I must try.”
Just as she had been trapped in the Lotus Pond for thirty years, finally escaping, a lonely ghost trying to uncover the truth—how difficult was that? But she still had to investigate. Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, it still represented the possibility of success, didn’t it?
The ferryman seemed somewhat moved. He said reluctantly, “No, no ghost has ever been able to walk back on the Path of Life and Death. You will be trapped in the void forever!”
“Even if I’m trapped in the void forever, at least I’ve tried. I’ll have no regrets.”
Li Ying knelt again and bowed to the ferryman: “Boatman, thank you. I’m leaving now.”
She then turned to look at Wang Tuan’er, who was prostrate on the ground: “Wang Tuan’er, you should also rise. You’ve suffered your punishment. Go to be reborn soon. In your next life, don’t be so blindly loyal. Life is your own; there’s no need to ruin it for others.”
Hearing this, Wang Tuan’er cried even more intensely: “Princess… Princess… Tuan’er has wronged you…”
Li Ying shook her head and smiled bitterly: “You’re luckier than I.”
At least she knew who had killed her.
Li Ying sighed softly and turned to head for the Path of Life and Death. Suddenly, a five-colored light flashed from her neck. This five-colored light was not dazzling but carried an indescribable serenity and gentleness. Even the fierce ghost beasts in the Nai River, which had been tearing and devouring souls, quieted down. The ferryman was startled: “A Buddhist relic? You have a Buddhist relic?”
Li Ying was slightly stunned. She pulled out a pearl necklace from her collar. At the bottom of the pearl necklace hung the Buddhist relic that Yu Fuwei had given her. The ferryman was overjoyed: “A Buddhist relic can illuminate the void. With this treasure in hand, you can return to the human world.”
Hearing this, Li Ying was also overjoyed. She held the Buddhist relic, murmuring: “I can go back… I can go back…”
“Go quickly,” the ferryman urged. “I must also help Wang Tuan’er cross the river.”
He went to help Wang Tuan’er up and assisted her onto the boat. As he was about to pole the boat, he suddenly turned and instructed Li Ying: “Little Princess, upon your return to the human world, be careful in all things. May our next meeting be when I ferry you across the river.”