Chapter 57: If I’m Not Human, Am I a Ghost?
“However, there are still many missing pieces in my memory… I can’t recall many things. I generally understand what happened, but I can’t remember any of the details. There are many gaps, most of which are memories related to Lan and Li Nai.
Ruanruan’s goal must have been to make me forget about those two. It’s because only Li Nai and Lan didn’t join the harem she established.
“I think Little Bingbing probably just sealed or took your memories, Juncheng, not directly erased them. If they were erased, there would be many gaps in your memory, and your spirit would become unstable. Your spiritual body might even dissipate. She wouldn’t do something that would harm you.
Since Lan said so, it’s probably the case.
“It should be the latter. The memories that were taken are with Ruanruan… I’ve really gone through a period of muddle-headedness. I need to think about how to escape from here.”
Escaping from this grand mansion is no easy feat.
There are a total of three levels of difficulty. The first level is the harem Ruanruan specifically built for me… Since I’ve come to my senses, this first level is considered cleared.
Next is the second level of difficulty: the maids in the mansion.
Although these familiar maids no longer possess those peculiar abilities, they are still very troublesome. Especially Miss Yanyang and Miss Yaochun; their combat power is probably not weak, and on top of them is Miss Shirley.
Even if the Head Maid isn’t omniscient and omnipotent, she likely possesses superhuman combat power. For now, I’ll classify her as ‘one person is an army.’ Direct confrontation is absolutely out of the question; it’s an act of seeking death.
The final level of difficulty is Ruanruan herself… Judging by her colorful titles, it’s not hard to understand that Ruanruan’s emotions have changed.
There’s also her status…
In the status bar under her name, there’s a new entry: [Mental Contamination].
Ah… Mental Contamination. The moment I saw this phrase, I roughly understood why Ruanruan became like this.
Perhaps she was influenced by some Outer God that descended during the Xun’er incident, or perhaps that was just a catalyst. Ruanruan’s spirit had already become abnormal before that. It might have initially been because of my death that she became this way… In other words, it’s still because of me…
Regardless, with Ruanruan in this state, I can no longer guarantee that she’s still the gentle girl who would obediently listen to me.
In the worst-case scenario, if my escape plan is discovered, it might directly lead to the most terrifying all-out-annihilation ending…
Fortunately, I’m not fighting alone here; I still have Lan.
“By the way, Lan, why have you become like this? Why can’t others see you?”
“Hmm? Hehe, it’s because I’ve detached from my spiritual body.”
“Huh? Detached?!”
Spiritual bodies can actually detach?!
“Yes, I fused with another version of myself that was copied from this world, so I was able to obtain the memories and identity of myself in this world, appearing in a form that complies with the rules of the Spiritual World.”
“A spiritual body… is equivalent to a physical body in this Spiritual World?”
Thinking about it this way, Ruanruan is the same. She fused with the spiritual body of this world’s Lianbing and replaced her.
We outsiders need to obtain a ‘body’ from this world to manifest, just like possessing our own selves in this world.
But my other self is Zi’ai? Then shouldn’t I have become a female?
No, could it be… Zi’ai isn’t my spiritual body?
Then Zi’ai… Ugh… No, crucial information is missing. I can’t analyze anything with incomplete memories.
In short, it’s fine if I figure this out.
“And then you detached?”
This is possible?
I excitedly turned to press Lan’s shoulder, but my hand passed through her and entered her body.
Lan can touch me if she wants, but if I try to touch Lan, I can’t?
Lan smiled, reached out, and grabbed my wrist. Then, she closed her eyes as if performing some kind of magic. The next second, my hand emerged from Lan’s chest and landed on her soft breast.
I instinctively tried to pull away, but Lan pressed the back of my hand, forcing my hand to sink deeper.
“Mmm~ Actually, I was thinking of Zihua, so I tried it… I didn’t expect it to actually work, and I became a mere wandering spirit. In other words, I’m like ‘soul-out-of-body,’ like a ghost or a data ghost, so others can’t see me? Hehe.”
This cunning fox…
It somehow feels like being caught by Ruanruan with Lan isn’t much different.
I suppressed the wicked thoughts rising in my heart, withdrew my hand from the soft pudding, rolled my eyes, and asked.
“Then what about your spiritual body? Did it return to its original state?”
“No, I placed a new soul within that body, so that spiritual body is still under my control, only…”
“A new soul?! Wait, how did you do that!”
Creating souls! Is such a heaven-defying thing possible!
“This, I’m not too sure. I just discovered that I can use a sphere made of water to replace a soul. I call it ‘Water Soul Technique.’ However, this soul cannot give birth to a new spirit, it can only allow me to split my spirit and go to another place. It’s not just about manipulating spiritual bodies; it’s about anything else, even non-living things.”
“Isn’t this possession ability! So strong! Lan! With this ability, we have a way to escape!”
If I can just control one Head Maid, we can easily escape from here!
“I can probably guess what you’re thinking, Juncheng… But, no, I can only control my own spiritual body because it’s ‘mine.’ If it’s someone else’s, their self-will is too strong, and the success rate is very low. Small animals without common sense are okay, but controlling a person is almost impossible.”
“Ah, is that so…?”
As expected, there can’t be such a cheat ability.
Moreover, if Lan could really control anyone, she could even replace everyone around her with herself. Then perhaps at that time… the person imprisoning me would just be Lan instead of Ruanruan…
Good heavens, how terrifying. Fortunately, Lan can’t do that.
“Hehe~ I will continue to practice hard~ I hope to be able to control other people’s bodies in the future… hehe…”
Mom! Why are women so scary!
Hehe, I’m just kidding~ How could I do something like that~ Your expression is already stiffening, Juncheng, hehe…”
If you could, you definitely would! Your pupils are shining, and your face is flushed red. It doesn’t look like you’re joking at all!
Forget it. I’ll worry about the future later. The immediate priority is to figure out how to escape from here.
In any case, I need a helper. The best one would be Yu Hui.
At this time, she should be in the library on the third floor reading.
I’ll go see her first.
Along the way, I encountered Lin Bai, who doesn’t have much on his mind. After a brief chat, I pretended nothing was amiss and walked to the third floor, then opened the study door.
After entering, I closed the door and locked it. I don’t need to worry about Lan not being able to get in; she’s like a ghost now and can pass through anything.
Yu Hui is indeed here. When she noticed me enter, she took off her glasses and came to greet me.
“Lord Juncheng, what brings you here?”
This address, “Lord Juncheng,” felt like it transported me back to my original world… Unfortunately, the Yu Hui of today is not that Yu Hui…
“Lord Juncheng, today happens to be the most severe day of my period. Is oral okay?”
I didn’t expect Yu Hui to say something like that first, as if every time I visited her, it was just for a quick fling with her.
Lan, standing beside me, chuckled and said.
“Tsk tsk tsk, Juncheng, Juncheng, after being called scum, you might get another title: a perverted sadist?”
Shut up! Believe it or not, I’ll kill you!
However, being teased by Lan paradoxically relaxed my mood. I patted Yu Hui’s head and said.
“You don’t need to deliberately try to please me anymore. Just treat me normally.”
“Eh? Juncheng… you…?”
“It’s not just you; I think others are also deliberately trying to please me. Did Ruanruan order you to do this? If so, then stop it.”
“…You know already?”
“Ah, how should I put it… It would be strange if I didn’t feel it, because I know you all so well. So, this situation looks very strange from any perspective, doesn’t it?”
“…So, why are you looking for me?”
Actually, I’m not looking for you… Of course, I can’t say that. I just need to call her out directly.
“A’nong, come out for a bit. I need your help.”
A’nong once told me that she would help me as much as possible, and now is the time.
After I finished speaking, Yu Hui closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she had transformed into Nong Ji, Saitō Kibicho, one of the three wives of the Warring States period.
A’nong used a book to cover half of her face and looked at me with a light-hearted tone.
“It really took quite a long time… I thought you would never wake up.”
“Ah, to wake up, I had to give up something very important.”
“I knew you woke up from the dream-like harem… Did you give up your heart?”
…That originally belonged to her.
I promised her, so it’s hers.
Lan’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and she questioned me.
“Wait, what do you mean by giving up your heart!?”
The one who answered her was A’nong. She could actually see Lan in this state?
“It’s exactly as it sounds. Giving up the heart, Juncheng An gave up his selfish desires, or… gave it to Ji Lianbing.”
A’nong squinted her eyes and calmly stated the facts as she looked at me.
“A person who has given up their emotions will not fall in love with anyone, so they can unconditionally accept anyone. A person who has given up their heart doesn’t care about anyone, so they can treat everyone equally… Giving up emotions, giving up the body, and then giving up the heart…”
A’nong lowered the book that was covering half of her face. There was no trace of a smile on her face, and her eyes shot out sharp, sword-like gazes, filled with indignant emotion.
“The Four Calamities are all fulfilled. Juncheng An, do you know that you are deviating from the definition of ‘human’?”
However, I felt indifferent, thinking it was no big deal.
If I’m not human, am I a ghost?
