Chapter Fifty-Four: The Mandate Sealed

My mother was silent for a long while. She raised her head to gaze at the sky, her eyes filling with a deeper, more complex loneliness. At last, she let out a heavy sigh and said, "This all began more than twenty years ago..."

I didn’t interrupt her. I crouched at her side, holding her hand, listening quietly.

"I was the closest of friends with Lord Wang Jiu. When he was traveling abroad, I met him. Later, I came with him to Wangjia Pass, and only then did I meet your father and marry him. Lord Wang Jiu never left Wangjia Pass again, but stayed, and I moved to Baihu Village."

"The reason Lord Wang Jiu never left was that he had a mission—to guard certain things."

"As for why I couldn’t leave, it was because of your father. Not long after, I became pregnant."

At this point, a faint smile appeared on my mother’s face, as if recalling happier times brought her a sense of contentment.

But I felt uneasy inside, for my father was never a responsible man. Even after taking in Hui Aunt, he never once went to pay respects at my mother’s grave.

"Back then, your father would rest his ear against my belly every day, listening for your movements. The name Xie Yuan was chosen by me—Yuan means 'beginning,' and I hoped your whole life would be peaceful."

"In the end, all of this is my fault," my mother’s tone began to change.

"When I was pregnant with you, I carried the innate aura of a newborn, which wandering spirits and ghosts are drawn to. But they could not approach me, and my powers grew much stronger during that time. I subdued many evil spirits in the village, though I kept this hidden from the villagers—they never knew."

"Your father happened to see it once and was scared half to death. He thought I was a monster."

My mother bowed her head. "I tried to explain to him many times. He seemed to calm down, but I still sensed a rift between us. It was then that trouble broke out in Wangjia Pass."

"There was a witch who raised spirits and ghosts, and many people died because of her."

"Lord Wang Jiu was no match for her—she was too powerful, and even awakened something dreadful beneath Wangjia Pass."

"He came to me for help. I could not refuse, so Granny Li came to bring me to Wangjia Pass."

"They called her the Ghost Witch. After I cleansed the evil spirits she had unleashed, I went with Lord Wang Jiu and Granny Li straight to her manor, hoping to capture her in one fell swoop."

"But we fell into her trap. The Ghost Witch was far more powerful than we ever imagined. I was gravely wounded; Lord Wang Jiu was seriously injured as well. The Ghost Witch ignored Granny Li, didn’t even harm her, though Granny Li’s powers were useless against her."

"I regretted coming, because I still carried you within me."

"Lord Wang Jiu was also filled with remorse. In that desperate moment, he revealed something to me."

My mother caressed my face and spoke softly, "He had spent all those years in Wangjia Pass protecting someone. He was waiting for that person to reincarnate—he was that person’s servant."

"And there was a woman by that person’s side, always guarding him in secret. Lord Wang Jiu suggested that the soul he protected could try to reincarnate through me. After all, I was only a little pregnant then—my child had not yet formed a soul."

"If that person was reincarnated, I would gain some respite—enough to escape, and there would be someone to help as well."

My mother smiled softly. "I knew then that you were in my belly. I didn’t want you to die, and I wanted to save Lord Wang Jiu, so I agreed to let his charge reincarnate through me."

"The pen I showed you was the vessel for that soul before reincarnation."

"Once his soul entered my body, my wounds healed swiftly. The Ghost Witch sensed something amiss, and as she pressed her attack, suddenly, a woman appeared."

"She was so beautiful, her presence made me feel plain and unworthy—like a celestial maiden descended from the heavens."

My mother’s eyes grew distant, as if lost in memory. I was confused—was this woman she spoke of Chan Shu?

After a pause, my mother continued, "That woman was injured, and the Ghost Witch seemed to know her weakness. The woman was forced to retreat, but she managed to seriously wound the Ghost Witch, though in turn, the Ghost Witch nailed her to the wall with seven ghostly spikes."

"I nearly despaired, for if I was hurt again, I wouldn’t be able to protect you."

"So I used a forbidden spell, burning away ninety percent of my remaining lifespan in exchange for explosive power, and forced the Ghost Witch’s soul from her body."

"That was when I discovered the Ghost Witch had two souls. The one I expelled was ordinary, like a common old woman’s."

"But her powers were anything but ordinary. She didn’t seem interested in harming me and vanished into the manor’s depths."

"I couldn’t expel her remaining soul, so I used the Three Bodies Soul-Sealing Array to trap both her body and soul in the manor."

"After burning my lifespan, my powers were even greater, so I placed a formation on you—a formation that would slowly absorb ghostly spirits."

"The soul Lord Wang Jiu had placed in my womb was weak. With the formation there, it couldn’t devour you or take over your body. Instead, you slowly absorbed it."

My eyes widened as everything finally became clear—why my mother had said those things! Why she felt she owed everyone but me, her son! I also understood now why she said Lord Wang Jiu and Chan Shu had both mistaken their person.

My body trembled, overwhelmed by a bitter emotion I couldn’t name.

Chan Shu—so she wasn’t protecting me...

I had felt her affection, but now I understood that affection was because my soul had consumed the one she was meant to guard.

All these years, Chan Shu’s spirit had been searching Wangjia Pass, never giving up.

If she found out that the one she sought no longer existed, what would become of her?

My mother gently stroked my head and pulled me into her arms.

"I never told Lord Wang Jiu what happened. I just said I didn’t want him to follow me, nor did I want him to disturb us in the future, no matter whose soul I was carrying. I only wanted my child to be born in peace."

"Lord Wang Jiu agreed."

"When I left, I used the last of my power from burning my lifespan to loosen one of the ghostly spikes from that woman. That spike pinned a particular aspect of her soul."

"I couldn’t protect you for a lifetime. If she could escape with that part of her soul, perhaps she could take my place and watch over you."

I clenched my fists, shut my eyes, and tears fell.

Warm tears streamed down my cheeks. My breath grew ragged, my chest heaving and choked with sobs.

My mother stroked my head and smiled. "The power I gained from burning my lifespan faded, but my body was not weak. After I gave birth to you, I was certain you hadn’t been devoured by that soul, but had gradually assimilated it. You have a soul far stronger than ordinary people—something almost unheard of."

"Humans cannot consume ghosts."

"Ghosts devouring ghosts can strengthen themselves, but it’s forbidden in the underworld. And a ghost who has swallowed too many spirits carries an aura that drives all others away."

"Your changes are related to the formation I left on you. I’ve sealed its power with a talisman for now, so you’re no different from ordinary people. Otherwise, you’d instinctively seek out ghosts."

I grew pale.

My mother sighed, her gaze now full of longing, with unshed tears and deep reluctance.

"I watched you grow year by year. The loss of my lifespan made me feel death drawing closer every day."

"I can’t bear to leave you or your father, but I will never have the chance to watch you grow up."

"Everyone whose fate has been altered faces calamity after their twentieth year. Only by surviving it can they go on living."

"You were meant to be possessed and consumed. By changing your fate, I’ve given you a great tribulation—you will face a catastrophe. I never truly dared to die."

My mother’s tears fell upon my face, icy cold.

"I inscribed a soul-nourishing talisman on my own corpse and began severing my soul before I died."

"I summoned Lord Wang Jiu and warned him that Baihu Village would face disaster."

"He understood what it meant to alter fate. He believed it was his master’s tribulation and trusted everything I said."

"As I was dying, I realized the laws of heaven are beyond mortal control, yet the bonds between souls create chains of fate and karma."

"That woman named Chan Shu will surely escape with that part of her soul. Your tribulation will involve everyone."

"I closed my eyes unwillingly, and from then on, I was accompanied only by endless darkness and solitude."

My heart trembled even more, and I could not stop my tears from falling.

I hugged my mother tightly, my voice shaking, "Mother, don’t worry—we’ll never be apart again."

"Silly child, I’ve waited too long. I am so tired."

"There is one last thing I must do. Let me go, I need to remove something from you."

Through my tears, I let go, but her words filled me with dread and unease.

She raised her hand and pressed it against my brow. Her fingers seemed to sink into my forehead.

I felt as though my entire body was being pulled taut, unable to move.

In the next moment, I saw a ghostly shadow being drawn out.

My soul! My heart quaked with terror.

My mother gazed at me deeply and whispered, "Sealing the Heavenly Soul—karma ends. Sealing the Earthly Soul—no calamities. Sealing the Human Soul—life and death at peace."

Her own soul grew faint, as if speaking those words was enough to shatter her.

In panic and despair, I cried out, "Mother! Don’t!"

But it was too late.