"May the loyal and brave warriors rest in the Eternal Pure Land."
"May the spirits of repose guide you home."
"May your next life be free of pain and suffering."
Hu Tao chanted while waving the exorcising ritual implement in her hand.
Countless tiny golden lights radiated from her fingertips. She truly carried a bit of the aura of a shrine maiden.
Arataki Itto and the others wore various outfits and knelt on the ground in a daze.
Mainly because he did not understand any incantations. It was better to keep his mouth shut. That way, the soldiers would assume he was silently reciting prayers.
In any case, listening to Kuki Shinobu was never wrong.
The ritual lasted for half an hour.
Only then did Hu Tao stand up and raise two fingers toward the distant corpses.
"Fire, come."
Boom.
Blazing flames ignited.
Countless corpses were purified within the fire.
From this day on, they no longer needed to grieve, nor would they suffer any more pain.
Only after they were burned to ashes did everything come to an end.
While handling the aftermath, Arataki Itto was still somewhat worried. He was afraid something might suddenly float up into the air.
But in reality, nothing happened.
The soldiers in the distance watched this scene, and the tension in their expressions eased considerably. They were not afraid of dying in battle. What they feared was being unable to have their souls return home after death.
Now that the shrine maiden was here, they would surely be able to rest in the Eternal Pure Land.
The ritual ended.
An officer approached Hu Tao with a large sum of Mora.
"Lady Shrine Maiden, this is 1 million Mora. Please accept it. There is also this token. In the future, you and your subordinates may come from time to time. As long as you present the token, we will grant passage immediately."
"No problem. Tomorrow we will send these remains back."
"Many thanks."
The transaction was completed.
The soldiers returned as well.
In short, the rest of the matters were left entirely to the shrine maidens. They had completely let go of it.
Hu Tao looked at the heavy pouch and could not help but smile.
She had been worried during the day.
After all, 50,000 Mora per person was not a small amount.
Now she was completely at ease. As long as they worked steadily from here on, earning 10 million Mora in a month would be effortless.
This was business.
...
Night fell.
The familiar dream struck once more.
But this time, the location had changed. It was no longer a cold vortex, but beneath a bleak and lonely moon.
He lay on the shore.
Motionless.
His body felt as if it had been slashed by a thousand blades, in unbearable agony.
The icy seawater continuously washed over him.
His consciousness was hazy.
Each time he opened his eyes, he saw only that desolate yet beautiful moonlight.
But the seawater grew higher and higher. It was about to submerge his entire body. Once completely swallowed, there would be only death.
Su Han was anxious.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
Until the water reached his neck.
Only then did he hear footsteps.
This time they were very clear, unlike the intermittent sounds from before.
"Hm? Why is someone lying here? Are you injured?"
The voice was very pleasant. It was a woman.
Su Han wanted to look at her, but his injuries were too severe. He could not open his eyes at all.
His body left the seawater.
It seemed he had been lifted up by her.
Such great strength.
"As expected, you are injured, and not lightly either. Meeting me means you are lucky."
He did not know how much time passed.
Su Han regained consciousness, but something seemed to be pressing against his face, preventing him from opening his eyes.
It felt heavy.
And somewhat warm.
There even seemed to be a faint fragrance.
How strange.
Just as Su Han struggled to open his eyes, he suddenly woke up.
Looking at the bright and clear room,
he finally realized that it was morning.
"Another dream?"
This time Su Han clearly felt it was not an accident. Something must truly have happened to him.
But yesterday Cloud Retainer had already examined his body. Logically, there should not have been any problem. If not, he could only ask the old man.
He dressed and headed straight to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
After hearing Su Han's reason for coming, Zhongli invited him to sit.
"Recurring dreams? May I ask, Brother Su, have you encountered anything unusual before?"
"No. Other than being slashed once by the Abyss Prince, nothing strange happened afterward."
Su Han swore he had been well-behaved lately.
Aside from daily cultivation and discussing administrative matters with two beauties, he had done nothing else.
He had not even done the lottery draw from Under One Person.
Zhongli nodded lightly upon hearing this, then placed his hand on Su Han's head.
A glimmer of light flashed through his eyes.
Everything within Su Han's body was instantly perceived with complete clarity.
"Well?"
"There is nothing unusual. Aside from the flame within your dantian, which in my estimation should be a power you awakened yourself. Other than that, no abnormalities were found."
"Ah? No abnormalities?"
Now it was Su Han's turn to be puzzled.
Everyone said there was nothing wrong. Then where did his recurring dreams come from?
Seeing his confused expression, Zhongli pondered for a moment and made a conjecture.
"Brother Su, have you ever considered the matter of reincarnation? Given your current situation, it seems only a plot like the one in Fox Spirit Matchmaker would correspond. What I mean is, have you considered that you might be a reincarnated person?"
"Uh…"
Su Han was startled by this bold speculation.
Reincarnation?
Did transmigration count as reincarnation?
The problem was that he truly had not reincarnated. At most, he had traveled from Earth to here.
Yet what Zhongli said did make some sense. Everything within those dreams felt incredibly real, as if he had personally experienced them.
Could it be that he truly had reincarnated?
Su Han frowned deeply. This was the first time he had encountered something he could not understand.
Seeing him fall into deep thought, Zhongli did not disturb him.
Instead, he calmly sipped his tea.
Only after a long while did Su Han let out a long breath.
"No. I still have no clue. Unless there are more dreams to support it, I have no idea what is happening. But Zhongli, in my current state, nothing bad should happen, right?"
"Brother Su, please rest assured. I have just examined you. In terms of the resilience of your soul alone, you already far surpass the adepti. Naturally, there will be no mishap."
Hearing the old man say this, Su Han immediately felt relieved.
As long as there was nothing wrong with his soul, that was enough.
As for the dreams, he would simply let them develop as they would.
Surely, one day, the truth would come to light.
For now, the matter came to a temporary pause. Su Han asked, "Shall we go to Wanmin Restaurant for a bite?"
"You are paying?"
"Of course."
"Then let us go."
Since someone was treating, Zhongli naturally would not decline.
While they were enjoying their feast,
the merchant ship carrying Xingqiu finally arrived at Port Ormos.
Looking at the completely different scenery from Liyue, the young master's face was filled with curiosity.
"So this is Sumeru?"
"Yes, young master. But please be careful. I have heard that the desert folk here are all bandits."
Before coming, the steward had gathered considerable intelligence.
Among it was the distinction between the desert people and the rainforest people.
When doing business here, one must first remember a proverb.
"When doing business at Port Ormos, guard your purse well, or the scorpions of the desert will carry it away."
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