I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

He hadn't appeared for two months, and she could only think of two possibilities: either the monk had died, or he had left with regrets.

The former is the most likely, while the latter is almost impossible.

"Don't people have ghosts after they die, just like Li Zhou?"

Upon hearing the name Li Zhou, Bai Qingyu recalled some memories.

This Li Zhou was a scholar who seduced Zhen Tian. In order to win Zhen Tian's heart and body, he did not hesitate to hire hunters to hunt down Zhen Tian and spread the news of Zhen Tian's golden feather.

This person had two plans. If Zhen Tian was captured, he would play the hero and save her. If she wasn't captured, Zhen Tian, ​​who had been hunted for many years and was exhausted, would have no choice but to surrender to him. In either case, Zhen Tian would fall into his hands.

As for the outcome, Bai Qingyu thought he might have already been reincarnated.

"You mean Zhang Yan, right? Li Zhou doesn't have any ghosts."

"Yes, that's her. Her ghost has always been there, so maybe we can find this monk's ghost and take him to Kiyohime to confess everything."

Zhen Tian said softly, "Didn't my sister also say that he loved Kiyohime very deeply? On the day before he died, he made an appointment with Kiyohime to go to the temple fair. Maybe it was to confess everything. And he suffered misfortune. With such an obsession, there must be a ghost in the world."

Upon hearing this, Bai Qingyu's eyes lit up; this analysis made a lot of sense.

She sat up abruptly, the blanket slipping off Bai Qingyu. She turned around and, while Zhen Tian was still confused, planted a kiss on his cheek. "Then it's decided. We'll go find this monk's ghost tomorrow morning."

Her cheeks were wet, and Zhen Tian's face turned visibly red with embarrassment, so embarrassed that she didn't dare to look up.

"elder sister!"

Zhen Tian's tone was slightly reproachful, but mostly shy.

"Don't be angry, little sister. Otherwise, you can kiss me too."

Bai Qingyu didn't care at all, and even had a mischievous smile.

Kiyohime's situation made her realize something.

Face your feelings directly. No matter the outcome, at least you won't have any regrets. Life is short, why waste your own time and other people's time?

After a while of playful banter, the laughter in the room stopped, and the lights were turned off as everyone prepared to rest.

The next morning, after preparing breakfast for the children, Bai Qingyu instructed Zhen and Tamamo-no-Mae to look after the house, and then took Zhen Tian and flew quickly towards the direction of Xianta Prefecture.

Upon arriving at Shannan Village, Bai Qingyu set off along the mountain road leading into the village.

If the monk really died, the most likely reason is that he died in the mountains.

The mountains are full of dangers. Leaving aside poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, the rugged terrain is also dangerous for ordinary people. One wrong step could lead to a fall off a cliff and death.

Besides this, Bai Qingyu couldn't think of a second possibility.

After the battle with Tamamo-no-Mae, the demon race in this Immortal Tower Prefecture was almost completely wiped out. There would be no demons coming down the mountain to attack the village, and there would be no bandits or anything like that. If a ferocious beast came down the mountain to eat people, there would be some commotion in the village.

Bai Qingyu used her demonic power to sweep through the mountains and forests, searching carefully. In less than ten minutes, she actually saw something.

"Has your sister noticed?"

"We've found it! We were right. The kid didn't keep his appointment; he fell to his death off the cliff."

Bai Qingyu descended towards the cliff where the monk's corpse was.

Flying in mid-air, a highly decomposed corpse could be seen hanging from a tree branch in the distance. Judging from the corpse's clothing, it was clearly the young monk. He had a small basket on his back and a broken vine tied around his waist. It was clear that he had tried to risk picking a herb on the cliff, but the vine broke and he fell off the cliff.

“It’s him. I had suspected he might be dead, but I never came looking for him,” Bai Qingyu said.

Zhen Tian didn't speak, but sighed as he looked at the corpse from afar.

This monk is quite pitiful.

He died on a cliff before he could express his love. If his sister hadn't come, Kiyohime might never have known about his feelings.

Bai Qingyu did not lament the monk's death, but instead carefully sensed her surroundings.

I saw the body, but I didn't see the ghost.

"He must have been born as a ghost and lingered around here for more than a day before being taken away by someone."

Bai Qingyu frowned slightly.

Besides the ghost's eerie aura, she also sensed another aura, which should be that of a cultivator.

The aura emanating from this creature felt strange to her; she couldn't yet determine whether it belonged to a cultivator, a demon, or something else entirely.

"Let's look around here."

Bai Qingyu did not give up and flew back into the air to explore the surroundings.

She wanted to find the monk's ghost and bring him before Kiyohime so that he would confess everything he had done.

·

At the same time, beneath the mountains and rivers.

Two figures walked unhurriedly across the field. The one in front was tall and wore a long robe of blue and white, a straw hat, and held a Zen staff in one hand. He held his other hand in front of his chest and silently recited Buddhist scriptures.

Despite being dressed as a monk, this person had long beige hair, which was probably the biggest difference between him and ordinary monks.

Behind him followed a shorter, younger figure, the very young monk Bai Qingyu was looking for, named An Zhen.

"Master, where are we going now?"

As they walked, An Zhen suddenly spoke up.

The tall figure ahead continued his march, "To end your obsession."

"..."

Upon hearing this, An Zhen stopped and refused to leave.

He's already a ghost, what face does he have to see her?

"I do not want to go."

The tall figure wearing a straw hat did not answer, but looked up at the sky. He saw two beautiful figures flying towards them at great speed, arriving in front of them in the blink of an eye. The surging demonic power swept over them, and he couldn't help but protect An Zhen behind him.

Bai Qingyu stepped down, holding Zhen Tian's hand as if walking on transparent steps.

"I am Bai Qingyu from Tongzhou. I wonder if you could hand over the ghost behind you to me? I will bring it back to you in a day. If not, we can exchange treasures."

Bai Qingyu landed in front of the two, and the surging demonic power disappeared, as if everything just now was just an illusion.

"May I ask how you are addressed?"

"The poor monk Qingbozhu."

Beneath his straw hat, Aobozu's expression remained unchanged; he simply gripped his staff tightly.

He was 100% certain that the woman in front of him was a demon, and a powerful demon with terrifying strength.

Bai Qingyu was unaware of Qingfangzhu's nervousness, and she was also wondering about it herself.

Actually, those two sentences she just said were just casual politeness. The moment she saw this person's figure, the three words "Master Qingfang" appeared in her mind.

Unexpectedly, the monk turned out to be a demon. If she hadn't sensed something, she would never have doubted the identity of the abbot, because his aura was completely unrelated to demonic power. He was as sacred as the Buddha's light, showing compassion for the world.

"Since you've accepted this ghost, Master, you must have realized that his obsession runs too deep, even the ferry on the River Styx can't carry him. I won't keep you in suspense any longer. His obsession is actually related to a friend of mine. I need to take him back to settle some things and also put an end to his obsession."

Bai Qingyu spoke frankly, saying that since Qingfangzhu had accepted that guy instead of sending him to the afterlife, it must be because of the obsession he carried.

After saying that, Bai Qingyu looked at An Zhen and said, "Hey, you little monk, how do you plan to resolve Qingji's matter?"

Upon hearing Kiyohime's name, Anzhen, who was hiding behind Aobozu, narrowed his eyes. He remained silent for a moment, then stepped out from behind Aobozu with his head down.

Seeing this, Qingfangzhu closed his eyes, which was considered as tacitly agreeing with Bai Qingyu's words.

"Amitabha."

"Little monk, what's your name?"

"My name is An Zhen."

"How did you die?"

"It was Kiyohime's father who contracted a strange illness and needed several rare medicinal herbs, which is why I ventured deep into the mountains. Unfortunately, I lost my footing and fell off a cliff to my death."

An Zhen answered honestly.

"Those kites and letters that Kiyohime received, were they written by you?"

“I… am.”

"Since you've written it, why won't you face it? How can you have it all? Since you can't give up your Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, why bother others? You know you can't give her a future, but you still chose to give her some hope that's as fleeting as a bubble."

Bai Qingyu wished she could go over and kick him a couple of times.

Taking a deep breath, Bai Qingyu didn't wait for his reply, "You're dead now. That's your own sin, go and deal with it yourself."

After saying that, Bai Qingyu raised his hand and swept An Zhen into his demonic power.

Bai Qingyu didn't care whether Qingfangzhu could fly or not, and left with Zhentian and Anzhen.

When she arrived, Bai Qingyu told herself to calm down, but she just couldn't, especially when she saw An Zhen.

She was mainly angry at Anzhen for being so indecisive and unwilling to make a choice, which ultimately dragged Kiyohime into the abyss as well.

Besides that, there's not much else to say.

Tell me your story with her.

Halfway there, Bai Qingyu spoke up.

Hesitantly, An Zhen slowly began to tell the story of him and Qing Ji. The general content was not much different from what Bai Qingyu knew. It was about his one-sided crush on Qing Ji. He fell in love with Qing Ji at first sight, but he was shy. Also, considering the separation between monks and laypeople, he folded recent interesting stories and his thoughts into paper kites and placed them under Qing Ji's door. The next day, he would secretly watch her happy and shy appearance.

During this process, Kiyohime mistakenly believed that it was left by a boy from the neighboring village. At first, Kiyohime didn't have any particular thoughts and was just happy. Gradually, she was moved, especially after half a year.

An Zhen understood all of this, and although he was heartbroken, he didn't explain and continued making the same mistakes.

According to An Zhen, Bai Qingyu also learned that Qingji had confessed her feelings to the boy from the neighboring village a few days ago, but was rejected. She learned that he was already engaged and would be getting married soon.

Kiyohime felt deceived, and the death of her father caused her immense grief, leading her to contemplate suicide.

These things were told to him by Aobozu, and today he also planned to go to Yamanami Village to help Kiyohime resolve her inner conflict.

How Aoandon learned of this news remains unknown.

Bai Qingyu was quite surprised by this news. She had removed the recording stone a few days ago, but she didn't expect this to happen.

"If only I had known then what I know now."

At the entrance to Kiyohime's gate, Bai Qingyu abandoned An Zhen.