Volume Six: Celadon Chapter Nine: The Peach Blossoms Flourish, Their Radiance Ablaze

“Phoenix, save me!” Director Zheng stumbled out of the house in a panic and hid behind Yaoguang.

“Director Zheng, this ghost is harmless. She’s Taoyao. Even Professor Zhou isn’t afraid, so what are you afraid of? Besides, all that resentment she carries was meant for Zhu Guangxuan. Now that Zhu Guangxuan is gone, her anger will dissipate as well. There’s nothing to fear.”

“Taoyao?” Director Zheng blinked in surprise and turned around, realizing that the ghostly woman looked exactly like the figure in Professor Zhou’s painting. What was going on?

Yaoguang walked back into the living room and gazed at Taoyao, who was trapped within the array.

“Master, why does this ghost seem different? Why is she pink? She doesn’t seem to have any resentment at all.” Jiang Yun looked curiously at the spirit before him. Was this even a ghost? She looked more like a fairy—her dress was pink, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, her appearance delicate and beautiful.

“She is indeed different,” Yaoguang replied, stepping closer to Taoyao. “Taoyao.”

“And who are you?” Taoyao asked curiously, her gaze fixed on Yaoguang.

“Let me show you someone.” Yaoguang brought Professor Zhou before her.

“Qinghan!” Joy lit up Taoyao’s face. “Qinghan, are you well?”

“He is not Qinghan. He is Zhou Junbo, but he is Qinghan’s reincarnation,” Yaoguang told her.

“You’re not Qinghan?” Taoyao exclaimed in surprise. “But you look so much like him.”

“Yes, I’m not Qinghan. I am Zhou Junbo. But you have appeared in my dreams,” Professor Zhou said as he produced the painting he had made. Then he took out the blue-and-white porcelain vase. “Your Qinghan has reincarnated and become me. Though I don’t remember the past, I’ve lived well in this life, so you need not worry.” Looking at the ghostly woman from his dreams, Professor Zhou felt not a trace of fear.

Taoyao let out a soft laugh. “This vase—Qinghan made it for me. He said he would take me back to his homeland, that he would marry me. But then Zhu Guangxuan killed him. Later, Zhu Guangxuan tormented me, and I hanged myself. My soul attached itself to this vase, and I fell into a long sleep. I don’t know how long I slept. When I awoke again, I saw you and thought you were Qinghan. But then I realized Zhu Guangxuan was here, trying to kill you, so I followed him. Then I saw another girl who looked exactly like me; she seemed to care deeply for you. Since I couldn’t do anything about Zhu Guangxuan, I left my double to watch over you. I truly thought you were Qinghan.” Tears began to roll down her face. “I never meant to harm anyone here. Zhu Guangxuan wanted to kill them, and I was powerless against him. All I could do was push people out of harm’s way. I’m sorry.”

“I understand. Thank you,” Professor Zhou said softly, a melancholy feeling welling up as he looked at the grieving ghost.

“And Zhu Guangxuan—has he truly perished? You must be careful!” Taoyao suddenly grew tense.

“Fear not. Zhu Guangxuan is gone,” Yaoguang reassured her. “Taoyao, it is safe here now. Your vengeance is complete. Are you willing to reincarnate?”

“He’s truly gone? Ha! At last! After all these years, this day has finally come.” Taoyao wept bitterly. “Reincarnation? I don’t wish for it anymore. My Qinghan is gone, and reincarnation holds no meaning for me now,” she said sorrowfully.

“If you don’t reincarnate, you will fade into nothingness,” Yaoguang cautioned.

“Then let me fade,” Taoyao replied. “I don’t know who you are, but you carry light with you. I trust that you can do it—please.” She bowed deeply to Yaoguang.

“As you wish.” Yaoguang withdrew the array.

Taoyao slowly walked toward the courtyard. “The stars are beautiful tonight. That night he gave me the porcelain, the sky was filled with stars as well. The vase is useless to me now—keep it, whether you are Qinghan or Zhou Junbo. I only wish for your safety and happiness.”

Yaoguang began reciting an incantation as she watched the pink figure. Taoyao danced in the open space, singing softly, “The peach blossoms are young and lush, dazzling in their beauty. The one I will marry will bring harmony to our home.” As Yaoguang chanted, Taoyao’s form grew fainter, and peach petals began to fall from the sky, drifting on the wind.

Professor Zhou stood lost in thought, clutching the painting and vase.

Yaoguang took the scroll from his hands, unfurled it, and infused it with spiritual power. The spirit within the painting emerged.

“You are a spiritual remnant born from this painting. Today, I will seal your spirit.” Yaoguang formed a hand seal, and a beam of white light shone on the painting, making the figure ever clearer. “By my divine power, I seal your spirit. Cultivate goodness and righteousness. By my divine name, I grant you a pure title. From this day forth, you shall be called Taoyao.” Yaoguang lowered her hand and looked at the figure suspended in the air.

“Thank you, Taoyao,” the figure replied before returning to the painting.

Yaoguang handed the scroll back to Professor Zhou. “Professor, keep this painting and the vase safe.”

“Thank you,” Professor Zhou said earnestly.

“It’s all over now. You can rest easy, Professor Zhou. We’ll be on our way,” said Yaoguang.

“Thank you again. I’ll send your payment another day,” Professor Zhou replied with a smile.

“No need. Serving the people is its own reward. Farewell. Director Zheng, you can enjoy your chess in peace now. We’re off.” With a wave, Yaoguang departed.

Later, Yaoguang led her companions back to her villa, where she healed their wounds and helped catalyze Huo Mingkun’s golden eyes after he had taken the ghost pill. She also passed the information about the grave robbers to the criminal investigation department.

When everything was settled, she took Biluo and Daoist Guishan back to Phoenix Spirit Mountain.

On Luoxian Terrace, the three of them drank merrily.

“Little one, Taoyao chose to vanish into nothingness, but you still left her a chance, didn’t you? A vengeful ghost who died in red, blood on brow and tongue, is rejected by both the heavens and the underworld—only the dispersal of her soul awaits. Yet you merged a part of her soul with the spirit in the painting,” Daoist Guishan remarked after a sip.

“She was pitiable. The spirit in the painting was drawn by Professor Zhou after the Taoyao in his dreams. Since Professor Zhou is Qinghan’s reincarnation, and he used his own blood to give life to the spirit, after all these twists and turns, aren’t the spirit and Taoyao one and the same? I see no harm in merging them,” Yaoguang replied.

“Of course not. Such a clever girl you are,” Daoist Guishan chuckled.

“It was all my fault,” Biluo sighed. “Next time we sell anything, we must check it carefully. The world is full of fools.”

“Hmph! You have the nerve to say that? I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet!” Yaoguang shot back.

“I admit it, I was wrong…”

“What good is admitting it with words? Three cups as punishment. No, three bowls.”

“Give me three bottles of peach blossom brew and I’ll gladly drink them.”

“You caused such a mess! I nearly wore myself out cleaning up after you, and you still want peach blossom brew? Dream on! Not only is the door closed, but the windows are shut too!”

“That’s not fair…”

“Enough, can you two stop arguing?”

“No!”

“No!”

“Hahahahaha! Ling Tong, bring the peach blossom brew! Tonight, we drink until we’re drunk!”

And so the later tales unfolded. Not long after Yaoguang’s return from Phoenix Spirit Mountain, Director Zheng and Professor Zhou came by to express their thanks. Professor Zhou even brought the promised payment. Yaoguang tried to decline; to her, as a guardian deity, it was her duty to protect the world. Besides, she was still a police officer—she had only done what she felt was right.

But Director Zheng insisted, saying the request had been a private matter and unrelated to her official duties. Unable to refuse, Yaoguang accepted the payment, then distributed it among her companions as a gesture of gratitude, knowing she couldn’t have accomplished everything alone.

At Professor Zhou’s repeated invitations, Yaoguang even became a special consultant to his club—much to her own bemusement. How had she ended up with such a title?