After Zhao Yangguang explained what will happen to them, they immediately fled back to the imperial palace.
The sect leader also emphasizes that Emperor Yin Wenyan's soul might be a little strange than he is when he's still alive. Some of these possibilities are losing his eyesight, being unable to talk, slowed comprehension, and the possibility that he still does not realize that he's already dead.
Nevertheless, they must convince his soul to store itself into the soul trapping pouch that the sect leader gave them, and bring him back to Wan Moli Hua Palace.
"Hana." Sect Elder Wang stands beside the sect leader. Zhao Yangguang is busy passing spiritual energy to Yin Wenyan's body. "You're doing that for a while now. Let me take over for at least a few hours."
The sect leader just gives him his signature smile, giving him assurance that he's doing just fine. "I can handle this for a little longer. I'll just call for your help when I feel exhausted, is that fine?"
Although he's still not convinced, Wang Junjie lets the other do whatever he wants. "Alright. Don't push yourself too hard."
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace, Yin Renshu, Princess Yin Xiulan, and Xu Zhengming went in different directions to find the soul of the emperor. Everywhere they look, they see the brunt remains of the structures. There are literally no buildings that are spared during the great fire. They even see corpses that are not completely reduced into ashes.
And that's not all of it. Since they're able to see the unseen, they are seeing countless ghosts. Those are most probably the souls of the victims during that fateful night. There are even some who approached them to ask for their help but unfortunately for those pitiful souls, they do not have much time to spare for them.
Yin Renshu went straight to the ruins of the halls where his brother usually spends his time.
Xu Zhengming went to the imperial garden where they first met.
And Princess Yin Xiulan... she's not so sure where she's heading. It's because she's having a creepy feeling that someone is following her. Sure, there are a lot of ghosts here who try to approach her but this feeling she has is a little more intense than all these ghosts' stares.
"Wenyan... where are you? Please don't make it hard for any of us. If you're here, show yourself at once please." She's getting more and more anxious. There really is someone following her but she's too afraid of looking back. She thought it might be the late Lieutenant General Song Li's resentful ghost that wants to have his revenge.
She took unnecessary turns and even made her pace faster but the feeling of someone following her isn't going away.
Then she stops. Come what may. What goes around, comes around. She holds her holy weapon tightly. With her usual fierce facial expression, the princess turns around to see if there's a ghost following her for a while now.
There really is a ghost following her! But it's not the Lieutenant-General that she humiliated before killing. It's actually the face she badly wants to see these past few days. It's Lieutenant General Liu Chen. Her most trusted subordinate, her confidant, her favorite person who she eventually lost.
The truth is, when Liu Chen regained some of his consciousness as a ghost, he's already following Princess Yin Xiulan around. He saw how she cried herself to sleep. How she acted all tough during the day and breaks down during the night. Just like what he's been doing when he's still alive, he follows her. But after the great chaos that happened in the imperial palace, he lost sight of her.
Shock is evident in her highness' face. Her valiant look disappeared only to get replaced by pure surprise. "Liu Chen... It's really you."
The ghost of Liu Chen seems surprised as well. He doesn't expect that the general actually sees him.
Princess Yin Xiulan extends her shaking hand, attempting to touch him but her hand only passes through him. That's when she remembered that Liu Chen is already dead. What she sees right now is just his ghost that's still wandering in the mortal world. Her eyes are starting to form tears again. She feels happy to see Liu Chen once again even though it's just his ghost. However, the fact that he's no longer human pains her.
Liu Chen panicked. He saw her cry so much these past few days but it still makes him anxious. He tried to wipe her tears but he can't touch her. This is the time she needs comfort the most. Unfortunately, he can't dry her tears. It's always been like this since he became a ghost.
Her highness' eyebrows knit despite the fact that his eyes are overflowing with warm liquid. "Liu Chen, you really are stupid. I hate you!"
His ghost backs off a little. Even as a ghost, he's still afraid of her. What upsets her now?!
"Didn't I tell you to stay in the Department of War and Defense? Why did you come along? You would not have died there."
It's true that he wouldn't have died back then if only he obeyed her orders. However, Lieutenant General Liu didn't regret his decision to disobey the general for the first time. Come to think of it, if Liu Chen didn't go with them with his unit, Princess Yin Xiulan and her brother wouldn't make it back in the imperial palace alive. Although he doesn't have any regrets about what he did, he still feels bad for making the princess sad.
Since he couldn't find his voice, he could only give him a cheerful smile. He actually has a lot of things he wants to tell her but those words won't find their way out to reach her. Maybe there are some things that are better left unsaid.
"Thank you. Thank you for being there for me always. Thank you for protecting me until the very end. Thank you for coming into my life. You've become an important piece of me." Her voice starts to crack. Despite her series of sobs, she still tries to tell him what she wanted him to know. "Liu Chen I... I've always wanted to... I've always wanted to be with you until we grow old."
Seeing how miserable Liu Chen's face has become, Princess Yin Xiulan wipes her tears with her arms and tries to regain her composure. She must help Liu Chen go into the other side with internal peace, not drag him down instead.
"But I'm fine now. At least I'll try to carry on. I won't let your death go to vain." She smiles weakly.
It's already rare for her to smile, smiling while crying is even rarer. But even if she's looking like a total mess right now, she still looked beautiful in Liu Chen's eyes.
"So... so you can rest easy now. You've done more than enough."
Princess Yin Xiulan is clearly letting him go now. At first, Liu Chen doesn't want to leave her. He doesn't mind following her until the end of the world. But then he realized, maybe it's better for both of them if he'll cross to the other side. He could only hope that in the next life, they will be a puzzle piece that's meant to make each other complete.
He nods. Princess Yin Xiulan would be lying if she says letting him go doesn't torment her deep inside but they both know that's it's for the best.
But before Liu Chen fades into the thin air, he bashfully made a heart shape with both hands. This made the princess chuckle and did the same.
Making the princess smile for the last time, and even getting his feelings reciprocated, Liu Chen achieved the fulfillment of his lifetime. He beams a smile to her before finally becoming one with the wind.
"Liu Chen... you'll be remembered."
Meanwhile, Yin Renshu doesn't have any news about their search. He already checked the area where the Emperor's Hall, and even the Lotus Hall used to stand tall. He thought, maybe his brother hates him so much that he doesn't want to show himself to him.
While walking around, he saw a familiar face in a distance. It's a woman that resembles him so much.
"Have you forgotten what shizun said? We should find Wenyan's soul as soon as possible or else he'll die of exhaustion."
Yin Renshu finds it strange that he didn't receive any response from his sister. Is she giving up already? They haven't even consumed an hour searching though. But she's closing her eyes, seeming to have a nap while sitting on a burned and tumbled wooden post.
When Yin Renshu got close enough, he noticed that this woman in front of him doesn't look exactly like Princess Yin Xiulan at all. She resembles the princess a lot but they don't share the same face.
For some reason, his heart beats faster. Now that he got a good look at this woman's face, she looks exactly like the woman in that painting that his sister is keeping.
"Mother?"
The woman slightly moved. She slowly opens her eyes but her eye sockets are empty. Blood flows from its void holes the moment she moved her eyelids.
"Are you calling for me? Are you perhaps one of my children? Is that you, my son?" Her voice is not too different from the princess'. The major difference is that her voice is soft and gentle.
Yin Renshu got it right. This couldn't be his sister. She's the late Mother Empress.
"Mother, this is me, Yin Renshu." He actually isn't sure if she'll be able to recognize him just by his voice.
"Renshu... I see." She smiles, looking pleased. If not because of her eyes, she wouldn't look creepy.
Little did he know, their mother is actually refusing to move to the Underworld. For almost thirty years, she remained in the imperial palace. The late empress waited patiently for their return and save themselves from their own grandmother. For almost three decades, her sons finally tried to talk to her. Yin Wenyan once spoke to her in front of her corpse. Meanwhile, Yin Renshu finally called and talked to her now. She would be a lot happier if she got the chance to talk to her only daughter as well.
"I'm glad you called for mother. Where are your siblings?"
"Wenyan..." He lowered his head. "Wenyan died." Her mother didn't say anything. Not even a change of facial expression. Thinking her mother is in a shocking state, he immediately gave her assurance. "But do not worry mother, Xiulan and I are searching for his soul. We're going to take him back to life."
The thing is, Yin Renshu is worrying over nothing. Her mother knows more or less about what happened. "Ah, yes. Wenyan is... My son, don't bother yourselves anymore. Let him come with me. I'll go meet your father in the afterlife now."
"But..." He paused. It took him some time before he finally constructed his reply. "But mother, we want to be with him until we die of old age!"
"..." His mother is silent for a while. These children of hers actually built an unbreakable relationship with each other. She smiles, "Silly child. Just as I decided to finally walk across the other side. How can I leave you like this?"
"There is no need for you to look after us mother. Please rest in peace now." He said and made sure his tone expresses his sincere feelings. Truth to be told, he's a little anxious. He hasn't talked to his own mother before. He isn't so sure if he's doing just fine.
But he didn't expect his mother's response. "How could I? I can feel that you're hurting."
Hurting... yes he is. He's hurt over the death of his brother while having a dispute with him.
However, the Mother Empress is talking about something else. She knows her child's heart very well after all. "If you insist on dragging your brother back to life, you will lose someone you value."
"..." Only by then did Yin Renshu realize what she meant by that. "I know, mother. I know." He smiles lazily. "But I don't think I can make him as happy as when he's with Wenyan."
"Renshu, my son. You're strong and brave, just like your father. I can never be more proud of you." She's happy and relieved at the same time. Seems they can carry on from here. There is indeed no need for her to worry. "Then, I won't wait for brother anymore. I'll be going now. Your father must be very lonely for a long time."
"I pray for peace for you and father." Yin Renshu gets down on his knees and kowtows in front of her three times.
When he looks up again, his mother is not there anymore.
He gets up and starts looking at random directions, looking for his brother once again. "Wenyan, come on. Show yourself. We need to hurry."
On the other side of the imperial palace, Xu Zhengming has stood under the old willow tree for more than half an hour now. Except for this place, he doesn't really know where to find his majesty's soul. This is the place where he died and so he assumed that he's here. Also, this is the place where they first met.
Unfortunately, there are no signs of Yin Wenyan's soul nearby. Is he really not here? Or maybe he really is here but doesn't want Xu Zhengming to see him?
"Your majesty, if you're here, at least give me a sign."
Still no response. Because of the dead silence, the cold breeze sounds so loud.
"Yin Wenyan... are you not showing yourself to me? Don't tell me I'll wait here for nothing again."
"You're waiting for someone?" A familiar gentle voice sounded behind him.
Hearing that voice, Xu Zhengming's heart raced. He can't be wrong. He heard the late Emperor Yin Wenyan's voice.
He slowly turns his head behind him only to see the face he's been searching for. "Your majesty..." It's Yin Wenyan's ghost.
Emperor Yin Wenyan gives him his signature smile. "I am waiting for someone too. But I made him wait here for too long. He already left this place. Even so, I am still hoping he'll come back one day."
Judging him as he is now, it looks like he doesn't realize that he's dead already. He is also dwelling in the wrong timeline of his life.
After hearing him, Xu Zhengming somehow has a clue of who this person is but he doesn't want to assume. And so, he asks for a confirmation. "Who are you waiting for?"
"Little eunuch, you sure are a nosy one." His majesty chuckled. "His name is Xu Zhengming. He's a scholar now, and there's only a small chance he'll come back to the imperial palace to study further. But if he does, I'll make him my study companion."
Yin Wenyan actually waited for him? Isn't he the one who waited for nothing and not his majesty? "Why did you stop seeing him?"
His gentle and kind face got stained with sadness. "For some complicated reasons, the grand empress dowager forbids me to go out even during nighttime. I thought if I finally become the emperor, I can see him as much I want. However, he graduated in the imperial academy even before I became the emperor."
"I see, that's why. I wronged you." If only Xu Zhengming knew this sooner, it must be not too late for both of them.
"Hmm?" The ghost seems confused.
With his unusual serious expression on his face, he starts to persuade him. "Your majesty... Yin Wenyan, please come with me."
"I cannot." Yin Wenyan is quick to refuse. "I still have a lot of palace duties to do. And besides, I do not know you."
"This is me, Xu Zhengming." Xu Zhengming doesn't have a clue what kind of face he's making right now but one thing is for sure, he's only doing this because he badly wants Yin Wenyan to get back to life. "I came for you."
"Really? Did you come to see me? I'm glad that you've returned." His majesty looks very pleased but it didn't last long. His happy face becomes gloomy.  "I'm sorry, you must have been lonely back then."
Xu Zhengming shakes his head and looks straight into the ghost's eyes. "It's alright now. Don't apologize, I understand. Come with me, okay? I promise I won't leave your side anymore."
And out of nowhere, Yin Wenyan being Yin Wenyan, he's overly cautious. "That's too good to be true. Are you sure you're Xu Zhengming?"
This put Xu Zhengming into confusion. He isn't sure if he's going to laugh at his statement or feel bad that his promise sounds fake to his majesty. "Yes. Yes, I am. Come back to us, please?"
After a moment of silence, Yin Wenyan smiles at him and said, "Alright. Just please remember your word."
"Mn. Of course, I will."