Chapter 52

Chapter 51: The Origin of the Jade

Sunday. They temporarily handed the inn over to Zuo Sanqiu for management. Shi Zong and He Zhen went to Yulong Mountain.

By the time they arrived, it was already late, and the two checked into a hot spring hotel.

The hot spring hotel was arranged by Zhou Lü’s secretary. As expected, the secretary was as meticulous and thoughtful as Zhou Lü, selecting a place with a very poetic atmosphere.

Yulong Mountain’s terrain is high and cold, and there was already snow in the mountains.

The hot spring hotel was built halfway up the mountain by a lakeside. Snow covered the shore, and the moon reflected on the lake. The moonlight and snow together were stunningly beautiful.

Their dining spot happened to be by the window, offering a perfect view of the scenery.

The food here was on the spicy side. When the waiter explained the special dishes, Shi Zong smiled and nodded, indicating he wanted to try a bit of everything, politely burdening her with the task.

He looked extremely gentlemanly, and the girl left blushing.

He Zhen frowned as he watched her leave, then turned to Shi Zong. “You have no sense of taste. Why order so many dishes? Eating lots of chili without tasting it could upset your stomach.”

Sitting across from him, Shi Zong casually sipped his tea. “That’s why you’re here, you can taste for me. You’re growing, eat more.”

He Zhen: “…………”

After that, He Zhen didn’t speak again, only turning his head to look out the window, seemingly admiring the view.

In fact, he had spoken very little throughout the trip, and his face had returned to that cold, attractive expression. When silent, he usually wore a stern expression, with a hint of arrogance between his brows—a proud, aloof look.

That demeanor inevitably made Shi Zong think of the emperor in his dream who had whipped him.

This made Shi Zong slightly displeased, and he somewhat nostalgically remembered the briefly unrestrained He Zhen from a few days ago. He teased him on the spot: “Do you want to go to the outdoor hot springs tonight?”

Perhaps sensing the flirtation in his tone, He Zhen frowned tightly. “You…”

Shi Zong was unconcerned. “What about me?”

He Zhen’s frown deepened, his face stiffening further. “I’m not what you think I am.”

“What exactly?” Shi Zong asked.

He Zhen spoke seriously: “You don’t need to test me. I’m not that kind of person… That day I was drunk, and there was medicine in the alcohol. I’m not someone who only thinks about that.

“I didn’t covet you, nor did I intend to offend you again. We cleared the air that day. From now on, I will keep my distance. You don’t need to say that to test me again.”

Hmm. This appearance really is more appealing.

Shi Zong smiled lightly and said to him, “You misunderstood. I meant the public bath, the one with lots of people. Where did your mind go?”

He Zhen quietly watched him without replying. After a long while, he stood up and went straight out of the restaurant.

“Where are you going?” Shi Zong asked.

—Could he not be angry?

He Zhen stopped, his voice flat and emotionless.

“I’m going to check whether our room includes a private bath. If not, I’ll upgrade to a suite. If you want to soak in a hot spring, you can do it in the room.”

After a pause, He Zhen added, “I just think public baths aren’t clean.”

The next morning at 7 a.m.

The two got up early, first taking the cable car up the mountain, then walking along a mountain path away from the tourist area. After about an hour, they finally arrived at Qingquan Temple.

Zhou Lü truly had a wide network. Before Shi Zong arrived, he had already sent someone to notify the temple.

After entering the temple, Shi Zong and He Zhen stated their purpose and were immediately guided to a private room at the back of the temple.

Many temples nowadays have very good facilities. The private room had air conditioning and even a small heater.

Shi Zong, feeling drained and unwell, immediately reached out to warm his hands.

He Zhen saw the droplets on Shi Zong’s hair—snow from the tree branches along the mountain path had melted and fallen onto his head.

The droplets ran down Shi Zong’s forehead and face, making his already pale face even paler from the cold.

Taking out a tissue, He Zhen reached out. Just as he was about to touch Shi Zong’s face, he changed course and instead stuffed the tissue into Shi Zong’s hand.

“Thank you.” Shi Zong took the tissue and casually wiped his hair, then looked at the monk in the room. “Sorry to trouble you.”

“You’re welcome. I heard you’re here to investigate a package?”

The monk asked, “Was it sent in my name?”

“Yes.” Shi Zong took out the small box he had received from his backpack and handed it over. “Do you recognize it?”

“Yes. I packed it myself. I remember there was a piece of jade inside, right?” the monk asked.

“Yes,” Shi Zong said. “Do you know its origin? And why did you send it to me?”

“This was sent at the request of a guest,” the monk said. “His name is Xing Zhi. He’s quite familiar with our temple and stays for about a month every year.”

“Can you give me his information?” Shi Zong asked.

“Well… I only know his age and name. I don’t know anything else. Besides, this involves the guest’s privacy. We really can’t reveal too much,” the monk said, looking troubled.

Shi Zong asked again, “Which room did he stay in? Can you show us?”

The monk said, “Right next door. I’ll take you there.”

They walked into the courtyard and then into the neighboring room. Inside were simple beds and tables, a few meditation cushions, and a wooden fish, but no Buddha statues.

Shi Zong’s gaze rested on a security camera in the corner, and he asked the monk, “When was the last time he came?”

“Two months ago,” the monk said.

Shi Zong asked, “Is the footage still saved?”

“The footage is saved, but…” the monk frowned.

Shi Zong looked at him. “Can I review it?”

“Sorry… I really can’t,” the monk said. “This concerns the guest’s privacy. I’m very sorry.”

Shi Zong, of course, had guessed the monk wouldn’t agree.

But he asked anyway—first to confirm if the footage still existed, and second to set up his next question.

The monk, looking honest and simple, had already refused Shi Zong several times, clearly uncomfortable and not skilled at saying no.

So Shi Zong deliberately asked a more “excessive” question first. After that, it would be harder for the monk to refuse the following questions.

Shi Zong and He Zhen returned to the earlier private room, placing their hands over the heater again. Shi Zong said to the monk: “To be honest, I’m not trying to pry into Xing Zhi’s privacy. But this piece of jade is so ominous that ever since I received it, I haven’t slept well, and my health has been deteriorating.

“I’m not asking who this guest is, just some basic information. Does he have any strange traits? Since I don’t know him, why would he send me this jade?”

After a slight pause, Shi Zong stared at the honest monk and sighed lightly. “You say we shouldn’t invade others’ privacy, but if this jade really brings misfortune, and you helped him pass it to me, isn’t that harming me?

“Monk, shouldn’t you at least ask before randomly giving someone something like this?

“You gave me this jade, so you have to take responsibility.”

Shi Zong spoke gently, his eyes soft, rubbing his hands that were red from cold or heat. Each sentence approached step by step, leaving no room to back down.

The monk’s face turned red with panic. He could only stammer, face flushed: “Patron, I absolutely didn’t mean to harm you. I just… that guest looked kind, often donated to our temple, and I didn’t expect him to mean any harm. I truly didn’t think…”

“Then just tell me what you know about him.”

Shi Zong said, “If it involves his personal privacy, you don’t have to. I really just want to know things related to this piece of jade.”

The monk finally came up with a compromise. “Regarding the jade, I don’t know much. I only know that he’s very prone to seeing ghosts. Later, for peace of mind, he believed in Buddhism.

“Here’s the thing—I have his phone number. I can call him, see what he thinks. If he agrees, I can press the speaker button, and then you can ask him anything directly.”

Shi Zong nodded, finding it feasible.

So the monk dialed Xing Zhi’s number.

After the monk roughly explained the situation, Xing Zhi hesitated briefly, then simply recounted the story—

He had been sickly and weak since childhood, often seeing ghosts. About three years ago, after praying for safety at the temple, he nearly tripped right outside the temple. Soon after, on a mountain path, he found this piece of jade.

The jade was beautiful, and since Xing Zhi picked it up after praying, he naturally felt it was fate that connected him to the jade, so he kept it with him.

Not long ago, he dreamt the jade transformed into a human figure, instructing him to send it to the Misconcealed Inn in Jinning City for someone named Shi Zong to receive.

He felt it was a divine arrangement, so he did as instructed.

After finishing the story, without waiting for Shi Zong and He Zhen to ask more, Xing Zhi said he had something to do and hastily hung up.

A simple story, yet Shi Zong noticed many inconsistencies.

The excuse that the jade appeared in a dream telling him to send it seemed unreliable.

Moreover, even if the dream were real, he could have sent the jade directly. Why involve the temple to send it?

For now, Shi Zong didn’t press further. He took down Xing Zhi’s number, thanked the monk, and went down the mountain with He Zhen to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, Shi Zong didn’t waste time. He wrote a program to hack into Qingquan Temple’s computer and found the security footage from three months ago when Xing Zhi stayed at the temple.

Going through the footage night by night, Shi Zong saw something very strange—

Around 10 p.m., Xing Zhi returned to his room and seemed to suddenly see something, jumping in fright, looking panicked.

Then he went to the table, suddenly knelt down, and repeatedly bowed toward it.

There was no Buddha statue on the table. What was he bowing to?

Zooming in, Shi Zong realized he was bowing to the jade.

After bowing, Xing Zhi bit his index finger, then used the blood to draw a talisman on the jade.

Then he spoke to the space above the jade, as if a spirit floated there. But this spirit was clearly only visible to Xing Zhi. Shi Zong, watching through the monitor, could see nothing further.

Throughout the process, Xing Zhi remained extremely cautious, as if he were summoning a terrifying ghost from the jade.

After watching the footage, Shi Zong immediately called Zhou Lü to help track Xing Zhi’s whereabouts.

Zhou Lü also invested in a well-known e-commerce platform. If Xing Zhi had bought anything there, entering his phone number in the system backend could reveal his delivery address, which was likely his residence.

While Zhou Lü’s people checked the address, Shi Zong sat by the hotel window and asked He Zhen beside him, “What do you think? How did you get your jade? Were the dreams you had related to it?”

“I got it when I was very young,”

He Zhen said. “It gave me some dreams and memories, though not too many.”

He Zhen’s words were, of course, guarded.

He didn’t directly tell Shi Zong that through the so-called “dreams,” he had recalled that he really was the Song Emperor, and gradually started to truly identify as him.

Nor did he say that he felt the purpose of the “jade” was to help restore the part of his memory from before he became human.

The reason He Zhen didn’t tell the whole truth was that he could sense Shi Zong’s deep hatred for the Song Emperor. But he didn’t want their relationship to immediately reach an impasse.

“Since you were very young?”

Hearing this, Shi Zong couldn’t help but be a little surprised. “But I just received this jade. And I don’t have any memory from eight months ago…”

Shi Zong couldn’t help but think of what two people had told him before.

First was Li Rongjing. He said he couldn’t find any records of Shi Zong prior to this, as if Shi Zong had appeared out of nowhere in this world.

Second was Zhu Shuangqiao. He told Shi Zong that Shi Zong didn’t belong to this world. If the creator of this world discovered him, he would die.

At this point, Shi Zong sharply realized that his situation was completely different from He Zhen’s.

He Zhen was born into the He family, with a clear background and lineage. He found the jade when he was very young.

This meant that even before encountering the game, he had gradually recovered what could be called “past life” memories.

But Shi Zong had no memory from eight months ago, nor did he have any relatives, friends, or acquaintances.

He realized that he might indeed have only come to this world eight months ago.

Shi Zong had originally thought that the jade, past life, and the game were closely linked.

Perhaps Zuo Sanqiu, Zhou Lü, and the others would also receive such jade soon, and then recall some “past life” memories. This could be part of the game.

But now he realized the truth was not like that.

The jade was closely connected to his “past life” memories, but probably had nothing to do with the game.

He and He Zhen were likely just coincidentally involved in the game, and coincidentally met because of it.

But that piece of jade had nothing to do with the game; it was not a “tool” given by the system.

Shi Zong couldn’t help but follow the words of “Bright Moon” from his dream.

If he really was a heinous criminal from hell… could it be possible that he escaped?

He escaped from hell, came to this world, and somehow reconstructed his body, obtaining the name Shi Zong.

Then the Song Emperor was probably pursuing him, which is why he reincarnated as a human. His purpose was to come to the human world to find Shi Zong, the criminal, and kill him, taking him back to hell.

In this process, the two entered the game purely by coincidence.

But Shi Zong immediately overturned this idea—

If the Song Emperor only wanted to capture him, why would he reincarnate? Why would he lose his memory?

Given the power of beings in hell, he should have been able to capture someone and take them back at will.

In that case, the Song Emperor would have no need to choose such a roundabout way to capture a criminal, or rather, he shouldn’t need to personally intervene at all.

From another perspective, the Song Emperor… came to the human world to undergo tribulations?

Bright Moon escaped, came to this world, lost part of her soul, and lost some memories. She obtained a physical body through some method, became Shi Zong, and became a person who didn’t belong to this world.

At the same time, the Song Emperor also came to this world to undergo tribulations.

Because of this game, the two people whose identities had been swapped completed a special reunion in the human world.

At present, this idea seemed the most reasonable.

The only unresolved issue was the origin of the jade.

Could it be that someone deliberately sent the two pieces of jade to them at different times?

Was this person hoping that through the jade, they would each recall their memories from hell?

What was this person’s ultimate goal in doing all this?

But no matter what, Shi Zong once again realized that He Zhen was a threat to him.

Perhaps the Song Emperor was simply here in the human world to undergo tribulations and experience life, but after fully recovering his memories, he might “incidentally” send Shi Zong back to hell.

Snow began falling outside the window again.

The wind came, and the cold immediately entered the room.

He Zhen stood up to close the window, then brought a small blanket over for Shi Zong.

Seeing Shi Zong staring at the computer screen without moving, He Zhen asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing much.”

Shi Zong’s phone rang; it was the investigation result sent by Zhou Lü.

Seeing this, he stood up and said to He Zhen, “I’m going out for a bit.”

He Zhen keenly understood his meaning. “You want to meet Xing Zhi, but don’t want me to come?”

“He lives in the town at the foot of the mountain. I’ll be back soon.” Shi Zong pointed toward the terrace hot spring. “You can go take a bath.”

“Shi Zong—”

“Listen, don’t follow.”

Forty minutes later, Shi Zong arrived at the apartment building where Xing Zhi lived.

It was a company-owned property; Xing Zhi lived in a one-bedroom apartment.

Shi Zong called Xing Zhi. “Sorry to bother you. I’m the person who spoke with you at Qingquan Temple before.”

“Hello. What do you need?” Xing Zhi asked.

“You’re home, right?” Shi Zong stared at the lit window of his apartment.

“Yes, I’m home. Why?” Xing Zhi sounded a little nervous.

“Open the door for two minutes. I’m delivering something from Monk Huizhen.”

After hanging up, Shi Zong went upstairs.

Two minutes later, Shi Zong reached Xing Zhi’s door. Of course, he didn’t actually have anything in his hands.

The door opened on time, and Xing Zhi’s face appeared.

Shi Zong didn’t expect that the moment Xing Zhi saw him, he was so frightened that he immediately fell to his knees, his face pale, eyes wide in disbelief.

He was so scared he almost couldn’t react, taking a long moment before he remembered to speak.

But he couldn’t form complete sentences, only stammering repeatedly: “I…I…you…you…”

To avoid drawing attention, Shi Zong quickly pushed Xing Zhi inside and closed the door.

Then, he was quite surprised to see Xing Zhi kneel before him, hands clasped together. “Lord White Impermanence, please spare me. I’ve done everything you asked… Why are you coming to me again? I beg you, spare me!”

At that moment, Shi Zong suddenly understood.

—The one who instructed Xing Zhi to send that crescent-shaped jade to the Misconcealed Inn was none other than himself. Or rather, it was himself from the time of Bright Moon.

But what did Xing Zhi call him?

White Impermanence?

Could it be that back in hell, I wasn’t constantly being punished?

Did I even become a civil servant in hell?

Shi Zong raised an eyebrow indifferently, adopting a cold attitude, and looked at Xing Zhi. “I can spare you. But I want to test your memory, see if you completed everything I instructed you to do.

“Tell me again immediately how you met me, and what tasks I told you to carry out.”

Xing Zhi wanted to cry but had no tears; he could only obey.

According to him, he seemed to be born with the ability to see spirits, and his fate was light, making him prone to encountering ghosts.

He had indeed seen the jade after leaving the temple. Feeling its special nature, he looked at it several times.

But he sensed the jade was unusual and might bring trouble if touched. So he didn’t pick it up, not even once.

Unexpectedly, after walking fifty meters down the mountain, he saw the jade again.

This time he ran as fast as he could, almost falling down the mountain in his haste.

But when he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw the jade a third time.

Xing Zhi panicked, realizing he was being haunted.

It seemed the jade would follow him relentlessly. He could only take it home.

One of his uncles studied feng shui and had many ancient books and secret techniques at home.

He always felt that the jade had something to tell him, so following a method in one of the ancient texts, he drew a talisman with blood and tried to communicate with the spirit within the jade.

He guessed that the jade belonged to a deceased person. This person must have had some attachment, preventing the soul from entering reincarnation, instead binding it to the jade.

Xing Zhi thought that if he could communicate with the spirit attached to the jade and help it fulfill its unfulfilled wishes, it would release its attachment.

In this way, the restless spirit and the jade would no longer haunt him.

After completing the talisman as instructed, Xing Zhi indeed saw someone.

It was a man, wearing a white robe, with an extremely handsome face, floating in front of him in a semi-transparent form.

Xing Zhi was terrified.

But after many experiences seeing ghosts, and seeing that the man’s face was so beautiful, he didn’t immediately run. Instead, he mustered courage and asked, “Y-you… how long have you been dead? Did you have any attachments while alive? I-I… I can help you. Just please spare me.”

The man said, “Let me introduce myself. By your human standards, you can regard me as White Impermanence of hell. In reality, I am very far from the space you occupy, and our time flows differently. The reason you can see me is quantum tunneling.”

Xing Zhi didn’t understand at all. He only heard him continue: “I have no attachments, but I do have something I need you to do. You must obey me, or I will not spare your entire family.

“This task is not difficult. You must, at the appointed time, deliver this jade to a certain person through a secret method.”

“I… you… no, I…”

Xing Zhi really didn’t understand, and then heard White Impermanence say, “It’s about to rain there.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than lightning flashed and thunder roared. Sure enough, rain began falling outside.

Xing Zhi immediately looked in surprise at the figure floating above the jade.

White Impermanence continued, “You’ve been waiting for the results of the written exam, haven’t you? You went to Qingquan Temple to pray to Buddha for success.

“But Buddha cannot bless you; I can.

“Let me tell you, you ranked third. The position you wanted only had three openings.”

“So I can start the job smoothly?”

Unconsciously, Xing Zhi was carried along by his rhythm and became excited.

White Impermanence shook his head. “No. The person who ranked fourth used connections. He will take the spot. But if you go to Director Wang, he can help you solve the problem. I can teach you the specific method…”

Halfway up Yulong Mountain.

The light snow gradually turned into heavy snow.

He Zhen didn’t go to the hot spring, nor did he leave Shi Zong’s room.

He sat by the window, facing the moonlight and snow, and took out his jade pendant.

As if guided by fate, after watching the surveillance footage of Xing Zhi drawing the talisman again—even though he didn’t see the exact movements clearly—He Zhen seemed to have already learned it. He bit his own index finger and drew a talisman on the jade.

Shortly after, a familiar yet strange semi-transparent figure appeared above the jade.

He Zhen recognized him.

The figure immediately lowered his head, as if afraid to look directly at He Zhen’s face.

In a solemn tone, he said, “Greetings, Third Hall. I have finally waited for you.”

Author’s note:

Xing was tricked by Bright Moon into…