Chapter 117
The air stilled for a moment before Lin Yu rose to open the door.
When the door swung open, she found a familiar face—Di Ting.
“You left Heaven’s Mandate Tower?” He produced a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Yu. “I heard you were dead—you nearly scared me to death.”
He said irritably, “You ran off without a word, and I’ve been searching for you half the day.”
Lin Yu was speechless. “Do you Ghost Realm people have some knack for finding others?”
How were they all showing up at her door one after another? That was an ominous sign.
Di Ting replied, “Finding people is simple. How else do you think we track down those wandering, homeless spirits?”
Seeing Lin Yu’s frown, he recalled that she had fled Heaven’s Mandate Tower, and added, “Don’t worry—no one else can find you. Your trail is well hidden; it took me a whole day just to pick it up.”
“Next time you come looking, don’t show up in the dead of night like a ghost—it’s terrifying.” Lin Yu relaxed a little, took the scroll, and stepped aside to let Di Ting in.
The scroll was the Book of Fate, its pages made of black-gold silk, so light they felt weightless.
Di Ting entered, unaware that a Judge had visited just before, and quipped, “A clear conscience doesn’t fear a knock at midnight.”
Lin Yu: “...Fine.”
Inside, Di Ting saw a yawning man in white and a sharp-eyed woman in red—faces he didn’t recognize. “What are you all doing gathered here in the dead of night?”
Lin Yu closed the door and laid the scroll flat on the table. “What else? Getting ready to run for our lives.”
The pale yellow silk unrolled, its characters flickering in the candlelight. They rippled like water, leaping and shifting across the fabric. Zhang Yulin leaned in. “What is this?”
“The Book of Fate,” Lin Yu said coolly.
Di Ting sat down across from the Snow God, unable to resist asking, “What’s going on at Heaven’s Mandate Tower that you had to set fire to a mountain to get away?”
It was a long story, and with Di Ting’s wits, he might not understand even if she told him—then she’d have to explain it all over again. So Lin Yu simply ignored him.
The Snow God propped his chin on his hand, watching the shifting text on the Book of Fate, and said softly, “It wasn’t her fire.”
“The divine mountain is heavily enchanted—ordinary flames wouldn’t catch there.” The Snow God chuckled. “If she were capable of burning half the Sacred Mountain right under Heaven’s Mandate Tower’s noses, she’d have already gone to the Nine Heavens to grab the Book of Fate herself, not sent you to steal it.”
Lin Yu glanced up, and when she looked his way, the Snow God quickly shut his mouth, offering an apologetic smile. “I was just praising your courage and wit...”
Di Ting bristled. “What do you mean ‘steal’? I took it fair and square!”
“Pfft,” the Snow God scoffed. “Did that old man Si Ming not stop you? He guards that book like a hawk—he won’t show it to anyone, always spouting nonsense about mortal karma and gods not meddling. Such a stick-in-the-mud.”
This was also the first time the Snow God had seen the Book of Fate’s contents. “Back when Immortal Lord He wanted to see it, he pestered Si Ming for half a year before giving up.”
At that, the Snow God grew more puzzled. “How did you get the book? Don’t tell me... you killed Si Ming?”
Di Ting blinked. “Who’s Si Ming?”
Di Ting: “Never seen him. Is that book his?”
At that, everyone turned to look at Di Ting. Zhang Yulin spoke up. “You don’t even know that Immortal Si Ming guards the Book of Fate, and you still managed to get your hands on it?”
Lin Yu hadn’t introduced him, but from his comments at the door, Zhang Yulin knew he was from the Ghost Realm.
Everyone knew how important the Book of Fate was, and he treated it so casually?
A Ghost Realm native who could sneak into the Celestial Realm and stroll through the Nine Heavens without waking Si Ming, and then walk off with the book—Zhang Yulin couldn’t help but regard Di Ting with newfound respect. Whoever he was, his power must be terrifying.
Lin Yu frowned, equally puzzled. Under their questioning gazes, Di Ting scratched his head. After thinking hard, he really couldn’t recall anyone named Si Ming.
Lin Yu: “Where exactly did you get the book? Si Ming’s Hall?”
At that, Di Ting finally remembered that the golden hall overhead had indeed been inscribed with three large characters—“Si Ming’s Hall”—though he hadn’t paid attention at the time.
“It was Si Ming’s Hall,” Di Ting recalled. “But I didn’t see any Immortal Si Ming or whatever. When I got there, the place was empty—no one inside, dust on the floor. Looked like it hadn’t been visited in ages. This book was just sitting in the center.”
“Just like you suspected, that white-haired Xianzun did ask the Moon God to see the Book of Fate. The Moon God refused at first, but when he heard he wanted to see your fate, he agreed.”
The Snow God laughed and looked at Lin Yu. “You’ve really made enemies. How many people have you pissed off? Even Xiao Wen wants to see your fate.”
“I broke his Feixian Ling. He wants to see how I’ll eventually die—that’s only natural.” Lin Yu shrugged, unconcerned.
Setting aside Lin Jiyue’s identity, there were plenty who wanted to know her end. And given Lin Yu’s recent exploits, she’d made quite a few enemies over the past few months, all of whom would relish seeing their foe’s miserable fate.
Too bad they were disappointed—her destiny had already slipped beyond the Book of Fate’s reach. In its pages, Lin Jiyue was dead, and Lin Yu didn’t exist at all.
The Snow God was stunned. “You broke the Feixian Ling too?”
That was from before even the God of Glory incident, so the Snow God didn’t know. Lin Yu didn’t answer, her eyes fixed on the names scrolling through the Book of Fate.
The Snow God: “Do you have any idea that Feixian Ling was his most treasured possession before his ascension? It was a military talisman! You broke it, and he hasn’t killed you yet?”
“You’re certainly lucky...” he marveled.
Zhang Yulin scoffed. “A fake talisman—just melt it and make another.”
In the Feixian Ling’s illusion, Zhang Yulin had seen at least three talismans, all crude fakes. They were a dime a dozen, yet the Moon God treated one like a treasure.
“What? Fake?” The Snow God whipped his head around in disbelief. “You’re saying the Feixian Ling was a fake?”
“That’s right. Before his ascension, the Moon God used that fake to command the armies, taking Jincheng and seizing the throne.” Lin Yu cut in.
Now it was the Snow God’s turn to be speechless. “He became a god with a fake talisman? How?”
Lin Yu finally looked up from the Book of Fate. “Yes, how...”
A traitor who rebelled, burdened with the souls of two hundred thousand people—how could he ascend to godhood?
Silence fell. Di Ting continued. “The Moon God agreed to show him the book. But when they read it, they found something off.”
“They searched for you for ages and couldn’t find you. They flipped through several namesakes, but none were you. Whatever they discussed, afterward Xianzun hurried away.”
That explained the night’s earlier events. Xianzun hadn’t found her in the Book of Fate, realized her name was false, saw that she’d been hiding something from him, and so returned early to Heaven’s Mandate Tower to wait.
Di Ting: “I couldn’t follow him, so I left a bit later. By the time I returned, I heard Heaven’s Mandate Tower had burned down, and Xianzun and the Divine Maiden had perished together.”
Lin Yu gave a soft “Mm.” “I know.”
“Wait,” Zhang Yulin slapped the table, the conversation having drifted far from their original point. “What about Si Ming?”
The others exchanged glances—no one knew why Si Ming had vanished. If someone else had gone to the Nine Heavens for the Book of Fate, they might have spotted clues, but it was Di Ting, who was a bit dense, so asking him was useless.
Lin Yu sighed and thought for a moment. “You,” she said to the Snow God, “go back to the Nine Heavens and investigate. If you find anything, come straight to us in the Cang region.”
The Snow God pointed at himself. “Me again?”
Lin Yu: “You’re a god after all—just treat it as a visit home. Go.”
The Snow God was speechless. He hated the Nine Heavens, didn’t want to go back, and didn’t want to see any other deities.
Despite his protests, he moved. Under their watchful eyes, he shuffled toward the window, took his sweet time opening it, glanced out at the night, and just before Lin Yu’s patience ran out, dissolved into mist and soared into the sky.
Once he was gone, Lin Yu turned to Di Ting. “How many Judges are in your Ghost Realm?”
“You mean in the Yama Hall?” Di Ting said. “Twelve Yama Kings, thirty-six Judges.”
“Can Judges leave the Underworld freely?” Lin Yu pondered. That Judge had appeared under suspicious circumstances.
“Of course not.” Di Ting raised his voice. “If they all ran off, the Underworld would be in chaos. Except for that ferryman in Mengchuan, only soul-collecting demons are allowed to leave—everyone else is forbidden.”
Lin Yu mused, “What if someone insisted on leaving?”
“They’d need the Ghost King’s permission.” Di Ting was confused. He was the Ghost King now, and he didn’t know of anyone planning to leave. “Has a Ghost Realm person shown up in the human world without notice?”
Lin Yu said casually, “A Judge.”
She rolled up the Book of Fate. “Have you been back to the Ghost Realm?”
“No. I just found you—this book is a celestial artifact, and I don’t want to touch it. I can’t exactly bring it back to the Ghost Realm. I wouldn’t feel safe until it’s in your hands.”
Lin Yu lowered her gaze. “Go back, then. We need to leave too.”
Di Ting nodded. He handed the Book of Fate to Lin Yu and prepared to return to rule the Ghost Realm. “Where are you headed?”
“North.”
Di Ting didn’t ask for details. He just nodded. “If anything urgent comes up later, grab any soul demon and tell them to relay the message to me.”
Lin Yu smiled softly. It was still uncertain whether Di Ting could even control the Ghost Realm, yet here he was planning for the future. Still, she replied, “Alright.”
...
The sun dipped toward the horizon, and the sky darkened. Lin Yu and Zhang Yulin had been racing the clock, passing through several large cities in a single day. Now, just shy of the Cang region, they stood on a tower overlooking the city gate not far ahead.
Although the Cang region was remote, it was well populated. People came and went through the gates, and the guards were meticulously inspecting every cart and bundle of those entering.
“Why the thorough checks today?” Zhang Yulin asked, leaning on the railing. “Usually they only check cargo carts, not travelers.”
Lin Yu narrowed her eyes. “Trouble always brews in strange times. Let’s go take a look.”