THIP Chapter 84

When Mu Liuyin woke up the next day, her voice was still a bit hoarse. She looked at the red-robed girl beside her and asked, “Xier, how did you figure it out?”

Lin Xi blinked her pretty, light-colored eyes and pretended not to understand. “Figure what out?”

Mu Liuyin lowered her gaze slightly. “About my… soul.”

“I don’t know why,” Lin Xi said innocently, her lips curving into a soft smile. “I just could. Ah Jue’s soul is so clear and pure. She’s a very beautiful girl.”

Hearing her describe herself that way, Mu Liuyin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She didn’t press the issue, but a suspicion she’d buried deep in her heart grew more certain.

When Mu Liuyin suddenly fell silent, Lin Xi thought she was upset about what had happened the night before. Feeling a bit wronged, she scooted closer and rubbed against her. “Ah Jue, I won’t make it hurt like that again next time.”

Next time???

Mu Liuyin was momentarily stunned. When she saw the wronged look in Lin Xi’s eyes, she finally realized what she meant by “next time.” A flush quickly spread across her pale cheeks. She glared at Lin Xi and was just about to say, There won’t be a next time, when soft lips pressed against hers.

After the kiss, Lin Xi whispered gently, “It really won’t hurt next time. If you don’t believe me, Ah Jue, we can try again now.”

Mu Liuyin: !!!

Who wants to try again with you, QAQ!

I don’t want to try again!

Because of what they did the previous night, Mu Liuyin’s body still ached and felt weak. Even if that hadn’t happened, she wouldn’t be able to resist Lin Xi physically anyway.

Lin Xi kissed her again, fingers grazing dangerously low. As her long, fair index finger approached a sensitive spot, Mu Liuyin’s eyes filled with tears.

“Ah Jue,” Lin Xi murmured, “don’t be afraid.”

Mu Liuyin shut her eyes tightly, her lashes trembling with fear.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly. The pain she was expecting never came. When she cautiously opened her eyes, Lin Xi was smiling at her. That thin layer of moisture in Mu Liuyin’s eyes finally spilled over, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Lin Xi froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected Mu Liuyin to be so scared. Heart aching, she gently wiped the tears away and coaxed her in a soft voice, “I’m sorry. Ah Jue, don’t cry.”

But Mu Liuyin just felt more aggrieved.

In Lin Xi’s memory, other than the first time she had done something like this to Mu Liuyin in her past life, this was the second time Mu Liuyin had cried so hard.

Lin Xi felt both guilty and heartbroken. She deeply regretted teasing her like that, knowing full well that Mu Liuyin had trauma about such things.

After a long while, Mu Liuyin finally stopped crying. She looked at the red-robed girl whose light-colored eyes were filled with guilt and confusion, and said in a soft, nasal voice, “Lin Xi…”

“Ah Jue,” Lin Xi replied gently.

Mu Liuyin whispered her name again, “Lin Xi…”

“Mm.” Lin Xi gently wiped the tear streaks from her face and placed a soft kiss on her slightly cool cheek.

Mu Liuyin bit Lin Xi’s warm, tender lips, then, feeling exhausted, slowly closed her eyes.

Watching her fall asleep, Lin Xi lovingly stroked her hair, her expression full of tenderness and pain.

Though Mu Liuyin was reluctant to do such things, she couldn’t deny that they did help her spiritual energy grow. When she woke up, her cultivation had improved compared to before.

Feeling the spiritual energy flowing through her, Mu Liuyin was silent. Lin Xi was a ghost—so how could this be happening?

Still, ever since that night when she cried, Lin Xi hadn’t dared to mess with her again.

So, after that one night, they never did it again.

Mu Liuyin continued her work guiding lost souls to peace, and Lin Xi openly stayed by her side.

Now it was late at night. Mu Liuyin softly chanted a sacred incantation to release a soul. As she murmured the final syllables, the spirit of a young man faded away before her eyes, headed for the underworld, and his next life.

“Ah Jue, you’ve been so devoted to helping spirits move on,” Lin Xi said, blinking at her. “Don’t tell me you plan to send me to reincarnate, too?”

The red-robed girl’s eyes sparkled like glass. In response, Mu Liuyin leaned in and kissed her softly, tenderly. It was probably the first time she had ever initiated a kiss.

Surprised, Lin Xi’s beautiful eyes widened, but the surprise quickly melted into joy and warmth.

Before Lin Xi could return the kiss, Mu Liuyin pulled away, gently stroking her dark hair. Her voice was soft. “No.”

I just want to be the one… to guide you myself, to send you into reincarnation and rebirth.

Lin Xi gave a faint smile.

They walked home together. But when they reached a certain place, Mu Liuyin paused.

Following her gaze, Lin Xi saw a temple. Three words were carved above the entrance: “Huguo Temple.”

“I still remember,” Mu Liuyin said with a smile, “when I came here with you to burn incense and pray, a little monk came and took you away. He said the abbot wanted to see you.”

Lin Xi’s lashes lowered slightly. She remembered the words the old abbot had said to her, though at the time, fresh from rebirth and consumed with vengeance, they had meant nothing.

“Yeah,” Lin Xi said quietly. “He said a lot. But back then, I couldn’t listen to any of it.”

Mu Liuyin gently rubbed her head and whispered, “Let’s go home.”

Lin Xi nodded.

Maybe because seeing the temple had stirred up old memories, Lin Xi seemed quieter than usual on the walk back.

The next morning, Lin Xi said to Mu Liuyin, “I want to visit the temple again.”

Mu Liuyin, still curled up in bed, mumbled a sleepy “Mm.”

Lin Xi looked at her, still tucked in and half-asleep, and smiled helplessly. She leaned in and kissed her lightly between the brows, whispering, “Ah Jue, wait for me to come back.”

What Lin Xi didn’t know was that as soon as she left, Mu Liuyin opened her eyes.

Her dark eyes were clear, showing not a trace of drowsiness.

She sat in bed for a while, as if lost in thought. Then, prompted by Xiao Jiu, she got dressed and climbed out of bed.

Because she often went out to guide lost souls, Mu Liuyin had long prepared all the items she needed for spiritual rituals.

Looking at the supplies, she ultimately chose to use her blood. Following an ancient formation she had memorized from Xiao Jiu’s secret manual, she began to set up an array.

This formation could guide spirits—but more importantly, it could trap them.

It used the entire house as its boundary. Once activated, it would become invisible. And according to Xiao Jiu, even Lin Xi wouldn’t be able to detect it.

Lin Xi didn’t stay out long. When she returned, just as Xiao Jiu had predicted, she noticed nothing unusual.

But she did pick up a faint scent of blood.

It was from when Mu Liuyin had cut herself to activate the formation.

Concerned, Lin Xi floated to Mu Liuyin’s side—and immediately spotted the gauze wrapped around her wrist.

Just as she reached for Mu Liuyin’s injured hand, Mu Liuyin stepped back.

Shock flickered through Lin Xi’s light-colored eyes, full of worry and confusion. She watched as Mu Liuyin, face expressionless, made a hand seal.

Her heart skipped a beat. A terrible premonition gripped her.

Before she could react, Mu Liuyin activated the formation.

Invisible spiritual energy surged from all directions. The soul-trapping array began to shrink inward, sealing Lin Xi in place.

And in that moment, she understood—Mu Liuyin was trying to send her on.

Her glassy eyes widened. As she watched Mu Liuyin’s next moves, her pale face turned ashen. A dense wave of ghostly energy filled the array, but it couldn’t break through.

“Ah Jue!” Lin Xi’s voice was hoarse. “Don’t do this… Ah Jue, didn’t you say you loved me?”

Tears slid from her beautiful eyes. Her mind felt like a bomb had gone off—confusion, pain, anger, sorrow, and disbelief surged through her all at once.

Mu Liuyin forced herself to stay firm. She shut her eyes, refusing to look at Lin Xi, refusing to answer.

This was just a mission world. She couldn’t allow it to fail and start over. That would cost Lin Xi her soul forever.

She continued chanting. Lin Xi’s ghostly energy grew weaker and weaker. Tears streamed from her eyes, and her voice—raw, pleading—called out.

Just days ago, you said you loved me. So why? Why are you doing this to me?

Desperately, Lin Xi unleashed all her spiritual power, cracking the array slightly. But it wasn’t enough to escape, and Mu Liuyin’s incantation was almost finished.

“Ah Jue… cousin…” Lin Xi whispered, despair tinting her voice.

But just as Mu Liuyin chanted the final syllable, Lin Xi’s mind, once filled with hopelessness, was suddenly flooded with a cascade of memories—of Chu Jiyu, Si Yibing, Ming Li… Xi Yan. Their entire lives replayed in her mind.

Or maybe—they had always been her memories.

As Mu Liuyin finished the chant, Lin Xi parted her lips to mouth something.

With her eyes still shut, Mu Liuyin didn’t see it.

What Lin Xi mouthed were two soft words:

“Yinyin.”