Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 114: Memory

“Why did you help me?” Wu Sheng asked the Starving Ghost.

“Do I need a reason?” The Starving Ghost countered.

Wu Sheng nodded. “Yes, you do.”

His eyes conveyed both confusion and wariness.

Xu Wang understood.

Finding out Wu Sheng wasn’t a ghost, the Starving Ghost’s silence was already abnormal, and his help was even more puzzling.

The Starving Ghost fell silent, seemingly struggling to explain. His reluctance wasn’t out of opposition or disgust, but more like not knowing how to articulate his feelings.

Xu Wang and Wu Sheng waited patiently. After a long pause, the Starving Ghost finally looked up and spoke softly, his voice filled with emotion. “Actually, I’ve guided many ghosts, but you two are the first who were willing to take me out of the Underworld and all the way to the Heavenly Realm…”

“It doesn’t matter to me whether you are ghosts or not. All I know is that you are my friends.”

His gaze was intense, contradicting his usually timid nature, making Xu Wang and Wu Sheng uncomfortable to look at directly.

“Xiao Hungry…” Xu Wang felt uneasy but didn’t know what to say.

The Starving Ghost snapped out of his reverie at this call, immediately embarrassed as if the heartfelt confession wasn’t his. He quickly said, “I’ll go outside and find the direction of the Ghost Spring!” and hurried away.

In an instant, the Starving Ghost vanished. Xu Wang looked at Wu Sheng, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Wu Sheng sighed. “If you want to say something, just say it.”

“Do you blame me?” Xu Wang asked.

Wu Sheng was baffled. “Blame you for what?”

Xu Wang said, “For unnecessarily persuading the Starving Ghost to leave the Eastern Courtyard.”

Wu Sheng shrugged. “Yeah, if you hadn’t, we wouldn’t have gotten into all that mess.”

Xu Wang fell silent.

Uncovering how Xiao Hungry helped Wu Sheng cheat, revealing their true natures, eliciting his sad story, and realizing he considered them friends—this persuasion indeed was a mess.

Seeing Xu Wang’s dejected look, Wu Sheng patted his head and sighed, then changed the subject. “But if you hadn’t, I would have.”

Xu Wang looked up blankly. “Really?”

Wu Sheng affirmed, “Of course.”

“You would have struggled too?” Xu Wang was surprised. “I thought you’d lecture me, saying the mission comes first.”

“Being rational doesn’t mean I lack humanity,” Wu Sheng replied irritably, pinching Xu Wang’s cheek hard. “If I didn’t struggle in such a situation, I’d be a monster…”

Xu Wang accepted the pinch without complaint, finding some comfort in knowing Wu Sheng shared his feelings.

“Hey?” Wu Sheng suddenly seemed to remember something, asking Xu Wang, “Did he say he guided many ghosts?”

“Ah? Yeah… I guess…” Xu Wang struggled to recall.

Wu Sheng was already racing down the thought lane. “Who are these ‘many ghosts’? Are they challengers like us? If so, does he remember them?”

Xu Wang’s eyes widened, finally catching Wu Sheng’s point.

Since their failure in 8/23, they had repeatedly passed several levels in order to get badges. Naturally, they had also met some NPCs repeatedly, but none of these NPCs remembered them.

The NPC in 1/23 were bears, which could be ignored; in 2/23, the red-eye flight had minor adjustments with some new and old faces among the passengers, but 90% of them were the same acquaintances, available for conversation again, still engaging in the pattern of exchanging names and polite small talk like strangers; in 3/23, they didn’t encounter Xiao Ding again, but they met Yuan Zai and even a familiar-looking mall security guard, both of whom had no memory of them; in 4/23, they avoided Hei Momo but ran into Xiao Huang and Xiao Bai again, who, similarly, treated them as if it was their first meeting, with no difference even in Xiao Huang’s dialogue.

Through this journey, they have come to accept as an unspoken rule that “NPCs reset” in the world of the Owl. It’s easy to understand when you think about it. If NPCs had memories, wouldn’t the Owl become chaotic? This is much more impactful than the small cards Wu Sheng issued.

As they were pondering, the Starving Ghost returned.

He carefully closed the door and whispered, “The Ghost Spring is in the northeast corner of the Heavenly Realm.”

Xu Wang and Wu Sheng remained silent.

Thinking they didn’t believe him, the Starving Ghost hurriedly added, “I smelled the ghost energy. It’s strongest in the northeast direction. I’m sure.”

“The Ghost Spring can wait.” Xu Wang pulled the Starving Ghost to a chair. “I have another question first.”

Exploring the Owl’s nature took precedence over badges and levels.

“Sure, ask.” The Starving Ghost complied willingly.

“You said you guided many ghosts. Who are these ‘many ghosts’?” Xu Wang got straight to the point.

The Starving Ghost furrowed his brows, seeming puzzled. “Who? Do you mean their names or appearances? Actually, I’m not sure if they were all ghosts. Some seemed to have no ghost energy…”

“Names and appearances, anything!” Xu Wang urged impatiently.

“Okay.” The Starving Ghost nodded, his gaze drifting as he tried to remember.

Xu Wang’s heart raced with anticipation. Wu Sheng’s lips pressed together.

Suddenly, the Starving Ghost knocked on his head in frustration. “Strange, why can’t I remember? I definitely guided those ghosts…”

“Don’t rush. Take your time,” Xu Wang tried to calm him.

The Starving Ghost looked at them helplessly, his expression becoming chaotic and pained. “I really can’t remember. I remember guiding them, but why can’t I recall a single name or face…” As he spoke, he became more anxious, his eyes reddening.

“Try to…” Xu Wang started but was stopped by Wu Sheng gripping his wrist.

The rest of the words were swallowed.

Instead, Wu Sheng asked the Starving Ghost. “You don’t remember their names or faces, but you must remember what they did, right?”

The Starving Ghost looked lost as he turned to Wu Sheng, eyes blank.

“You just said it,” Wu Sheng reminded. “None of them were willing to take you out of the Underworld.”

After a long stare, the Starving Ghost finally spoke weakly. “If I say I don’t remember anything except that none of them wanted to take me out, will you be upset?”

Wu Sheng shook his head decisively. “Remembering that alone is already impressive.”

“Impressive?” The Starving Ghost didn’t understand.

Wu Sheng glanced at Xu Wang.

Xu Wang got the hint—Advisor Wu’s class was in session.

But unlike before, they weren’t facing a reset NPC. This time, it was an NPC who “might remember certain things”. Wu Sheng’s lesson plan was likely to be revolutionary.

Wu Sheng: “We don’t belong to this world.”

Xu Wang: “……” That’s a bit too direct!

“Don’t belong?” The Starving Ghost was either slow or open-minded, still able to ask.

Wu Sheng nodded affirmingly. “Yes, we don’t belong here. We’re from another world.”

The Starving Ghost’s eyes glazed over in confusion.

Xu Wang held his forehead.

“You don’t need to understand. Just try to remember,” Wu Sheng emphasized again. “We’re not from here, and those like us aren’t either. We only appear here between midnight and five in the morning every day. It might not align with your time, but it’s definitely a fixed period…”

The Starving Ghost, with an expression close to tears, said, “Why should I remember these things…”

“Do you want to be free?”

“Huh?”

“Your life might not be under your control. Everything you do now is manipulated by a force. Don’t you want to break free from it?”

“I have no life.”

“It’s the same for a ghost.”

“If what you say is true, and I remember these strange words, can I break free?”

“First remember, then think. With thought comes doubt, and with doubt, there’s a chance to break the chains.”

Xiao Hungry looked at Xu Wang for help, or rather, for rescue.

Xu Wang held his forehead and felt a bit of pity for him. “Be good. Remember it first. Whether you break through or not, let it happen naturally.”

Xiao Hungry was obedient. Afterward, no matter what Wu Sheng said, he would silently repeat it with his lips, taking it very seriously.

Finally, when Wu Sheng finished, he asked, “Since you don’t belong here, why did you come here?”

“Just like you, we are also controlled by this force,” Wu Sheng said. “It controls us to enter and controls you to cooperate.”

The Starving Ghost blinked, trying to digest what he could understand. As he digested, he suddenly got stuck. “Aren’t you looking for the Ghost Spring? What do those things you just said have to do with the Ghost Spring?”

Wu Sheng was caught off guard.

Xu Wang was also stunned.

Yes, what does all this have to do with the Ghost Spring?

They talked about the universe and life but forgot their original mission. It was Xiao Hungry who firmly remembered it for them.

But how should they answer?

The previous Starving Ghost was just a kind-hearted ghost leading the way. They felt guilty for lying to him, but now that the Starving Ghost had become their friend, that guilt had turned into a sense of sin!

“It’s okay. If you don’t want to say, I won’t ask,” the Starving Ghost said calmly. “Since I promised to help you find it, I will not let you down.”

With that, he closed his eyes, slightly spread his arms, and tilted his head back, his expression slowly becoming solemn, as if exerting effort in secret.

After a while, Xu Wang and Wu Sheng suddenly felt the ground under their feet become soft, as if the stone had turned into mud!

In the next instant, the surroundings changed, and the three of them somehow arrived in a courtyard with no trees and only a spring in the center. The spring water was gushing out—not clear, almost black in color.

The Ghost Spring!

Wu Sheng’s heart trembled, while Xu Wang looked incredulously at the Starving Ghost beside him. “Did you teleport us?!”

The Starving Ghost scratched his head, smiling sheepishly with a bit of embarrassment, still looking timid. “It’s just a small ghost trick, not worth mentioning.”

The wind stopped.

Suddenly, the courtyard was very quiet, with only the sound of the spring bubbling, dull and heavy, making one’s heart feel heavy.

“What now? We’ve found the Ghost Spring. What do we need to do next?” The Starving Ghost looked at Xu Wang and Wu Sheng, suppressing his curiosity, and said with difficulty, “If it’s inconvenient, I can leave.”

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