Chapter 463 - 362: Here Comes the Title_2
Under the cover of night, Uncle Zhang moved as if with a clear purpose, heading straight for his destination.
Aunt Zhang had walked this road countless times. Seeing they were on it again, she couldn’t help but say to Wen Ying, "Your Uncle Zhang... he always takes this route. There’s a much shorter way to get there, a better road, too, but he insists on coming this way. I have no idea why."
As he walked, Uncle Zhang suddenly stopped in front of a small, dilapidated courtyard.
The brick walls had collapsed, and to one side lay a pile of chopped wood, which appeared to be rotting away.
Uncle Zhang just stood there before the gate. Aunt Zhang watched in confusion, but then she saw Wen Ying quickly walk up to his side. "Are you homesick?"
Uncle Zhang nodded.
"Then why don’t you go inside and take a look?"
Uncle Zhang shook his head. "No one lives here anymore. What good would going in do?"
"That’s true. So, do you pass by here every day on your way to the cemetery to see your parents?"
Uncle Zhang froze, then turned to look at Wen Ying. "How did you know?"
"I know you’re not Uncle Zhang. You didn’t do this on purpose, did you?"
"You’re not my husband? Then who are you? Why are you in my husband’s body! Get out right now!"
Uncle Zhang took a step back, looking at Wen Ying and Aunt Zhang.
He had a complicated expression.
"Little Ying, please save your Uncle Zhang! Drive out this person who’s taken over his body, please..."
’Why was something like this happening? Aunt Zhang couldn’t understand. The person she’d been with all this time wasn’t her husband? But their family had never done anything wrong. Why was Heaven treating her this way?’
"I... I’m not a bad person..."
His words came out haltingly, as if even he felt they lacked conviction.
His expression was also incredibly conflicted.
Wen Ying looked at him, her gaze steady. "Mr. Zhang sent you, didn’t he?"
The man in Uncle Zhang’s body looked at Wen Ying in shock, unable to understand how this young woman could possibly know.
"I can contact Mr. Zhang," Wen Ying said, and at this, the man grew frightened.
"I-I... I didn’t mean to... I was just so homesick."
As he spoke, he suddenly broke down crying, squatting and burying his face in his hands.
"Mr. Zhang?" Aunt Zhang was completely lost.
’How had Mr. Zhang managed this? And why would he do such a thing? She hadn’t dreamed of him at all lately—was that also intentional? What was he planning? Did he want to drag his own son down to the underworld to inherit his domain?’
"I don’t care what your goal is. You’ve been occupying my uncle’s body for a week and have done considerable damage to it. If Mr. Zhang finds out, do you think you’ll meet a pleasant end?"
"And if you intend to take over my uncle’s body for good, I’ll see to it that your very soul is obliterated."
Wen Ying said, looking at the man.
The man in Uncle Zhang’s body looked up. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean it. I-I... I don’t know why, but after Zhang Shuai sent me up here, I just got so terribly homesick. I was sickly as a child, and my parents exhausted all their resources trying to save me. They even... gave my younger sister away because of my illness. But I still died before I became an adult. I failed my parents and my sister in this life... That’s why I just wanted to see my parents and my sister..."
"But I don’t know where they are now. This is where I lived when I was little, so I could only wait here. I never intended to take over the body of Zhang Shuai’s son for good, I swear. I just... I just..."
The man didn’t know how to explain himself.
In any case, upon returning to the world of the living, his selfish desires had somehow gotten the better of him. He’d wanted to use this body to see his childhood home and find his family.
He honestly never intended to stay. But for some reason, whenever he came here each day, whenever he went to the cemetery to visit his parents’ graves, the longing would become impossible to control.
"What did Mr. Zhang send you to do?"
Wen Ying interrupted the man’s guilt-ridden confession and asked directly.
The man in Uncle Zhang’s body froze.
’That’s right. Zhang Shuai gave me a mission. How could I have forgotten?’
’It was true. After death, people should stay in the world they belong to, not greedily cross over into one they don’t, lest they gradually lose themselves.’
"Zhang Shuai had me bring something."
He suddenly pulled a jade key from his pocket and handed it to Aunt Zhang.
"Zhang Shuai said that he has learned some of the truth about the mist. Some chaotic things have escaped from the underworld. With this key, you can enter the mist at any time. It represents both danger and opportunity. Zhang Shuai also said that perhaps, if fate allows, you would be able to meet Doctor Xiao Wen."
He suddenly stood up straight. "My task is complete. I have to leave now. I don’t belong here, so I can’t stay any longer."
With those words, Uncle Zhang’s body went limp. He nearly collapsed, but Aunt Zhang managed to catch him.
Aunt Zhang watched with her own eyes as a shadowy figure drifted out of her husband’s body.
The shadow receded into the distance, vanishing before their eyes.
Aunt Zhang clutched the jade key in her hand and looked at Wen Ying. "Little Ying, was this key really from Mr. Zhang? Why didn’t he just give it to me in a dream?"
Wen Ying took the key, rubbing it gently between her fingers. She could feel an aura flowing from it.
This aura was similar to that of the soul body that had just left.
But there were also some differences.
"It should be from Mr. Zhang. Perhaps we’ll be seeing him soon."
"Auntie, Uncle Zhang will be fine. He just needs to rest for a few days to recover his strength. I’ll leave you some peace charms. There’s no need for Exorcism Talismans. If that soul hadn’t been carrying a trace of Mr. Zhang’s aura, he would never have been able to enter Uncle Zhang’s body. An ordinary soul body couldn’t possibly possess either of you."
[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a key item: Key of Mist]
"This isn’t mine..."
[Time until activation—]