The voice sounded startled, incredulous, and even a little pleased.
Fang Xiaoyu turned back in surprise to see a gate guard clad in armor, holding a long spear, staring intently at her.
"You are..."
Fang Xiaoyu felt the person looked familiar, but couldn't recall their name.
"You don't remember me?"
The guard gave a wry smile.
Fang Xiaoyu shook her head.
If not for the fact that the person could call out her name, and her current good mood, her personality would have prevented her from saying a single word.
"I'm Liu Ao."
Liu Ao?
Fang Xiaoyu thought for a moment, then suddenly realized,
"Oh, I remember now. You're from the Liu family, weren't you killed during the Ten Thousand Prodigies Ranking?"
She finally recalled. In truth, she only had a vague impression of the name; she had never paid Liu Ao any mind before.
Looking at Fang Xiaoyu's brilliant smile, Liu Ao felt a sense of disorientation.
He had admired Fang Xiaoyu for years, and had never seen her smile like this.
"Yes, it's me. Killed by Wan Lei. I never expected to encounter you in the ghost realm after more than a decade. How have you been lately?"
"I'm doing pretty well. I have food and drink, and even cotton candy. Hehe."
Fang Xiaoyu chuckled and took another bite of her cotton candy.
"Then... how did you die?"
"I died?"
Fang Xiaoyu was utterly shocked. How could she not know about something so significant?
"If you didn't die, why are you in the ghost realm?"
"Can't I come to the ghost realm if I'm not dead? Haven't you seen the robes of the Five Elements Hall disciples?"
Fang Xiaoyu pointed to the Five Elements Hall emblem on her chest.
Liu Ao looked down, then, wait, it had grown a bit larger. No, no, the Five Elements Hall...
The Five Elements Hall?
Liu Ao's eyes widened instantly.
"You're a disciple of the Five Elements Hall? I know of the Five Elements Hall; only the strongest prodigies can join, and only Immortals are admitted. Are you... are you at the Immortal realm now?"
"Taiheng Realm."
Fang Xiaoyu said calmly.
"Then... you're truly remarkable."
Liu Ao gave a wry smile. When he died, he was at the Core Formation stage. After arriving in the ghost realm and fortunately cultivating ghost realm techniques, he had only reached the Longevity Realm so far.
Those guarding the gates of the cities on Ghost Emperor Island had captains who were at the Immortal realm. His Longevity Realm cultivation was equivalent to the Mahayana stage in the Thunder Wind Realm, barely noteworthy.
He never imagined that Fang Xiaoyu was already a Taiheng Realm expert.
"Xiaoyu, who are you talking to?"
A voice suddenly called from a distance.
Fang Xiaoyu quickly waved her hand,
"Wan Lei, come quickly and see who this is."
Fang Xiaoyu's cheerful demeanor was like she was calling Wan Lei to look at a rare animal.
Wan Lei?!
Liu Ao's heart trembled. How could he forget that name? That was the person who had killed him. Over a decade had passed, and every time he thought of that name, he felt an unforgettable hatred.
He turned his head to look in disbelief and saw a handsome young man in the sky-blue robes of a Five Elements Hall disciple walking over.
At this moment, Liu Ao's eyes turned red.
He had etched this person's appearance deeply into his memory, constantly thinking that one day, when he met this person, he would kill him to exact his revenge.
But now that he saw him, the gap in their strength was so vast.
The other was a high and mighty disciple of the Five Elements Hall, while he was merely a gatekeeper who didn't even have a physical body.
"Is that Liu Ao?"
Wan Lei exclaimed with surprise.
Unlike Fang Xiaoyu, who hadn't paid him much attention back then, Wan Lei remembered Liu Ao as one of his formidable opponents during his weaker years. He was deeply impressed.
Good heavens, people meet old acquaintances in foreign lands; he was meeting an old enemy.
"Wan Lei."
Liu Ao nodded in greeting, his earlier joy at meeting Fang Xiaoyu completely gone from his face.
"I never imagined I'd run into you here. Why are you working as a gatekeeper?"
Wan Lei carried a frame of candied hawthorns on his shoulder and was eating a string of them.
"Are you two... together?"
Liu Ao asked with bitterness.
"What do you mean 'together'? We've been married for years."
Wan Lei casually placed his hand holding the candied hawthorns on Fang Xiaoyu's shoulder, smiling brilliantly.
He had encountered a romantic rival from the past, so naturally, he wanted to show off.
Seeing his radiant smile, Fang Xiaoyu knew exactly what he was thinking and rolled her eyes.
Liu Ao smiled bitterly. He hadn't expected that in just over a decade, the world would change so much. His former goddess was now a married woman.
"By the way."
Wan Lei suddenly remembered something.
"Come with me, I want to introduce you to someone."
Liu Ao shook his head and said,
"Wan Lei, after all, we are enemies. Since we've met today and I'm no match for you, I have nothing to say. Whether you want to kill or flay me, I will obey. There's no need to take me elsewhere to do it."
Wan Lei looked at Liu Ao in surprise, then burst into laughter.
"It's you who has enmity with me, not me with you. Our grievances were settled back then. I'm not here to kill you, but to take you to see an old acquaintance."
Wan Lei kept who he was referring to a secret, creating suspense.
"Liu Ao, who are these people? Where are they taking you?"
At this moment, several other gate guards approached, staring menacingly at Wan Lei.
"Kid, Liu Ao is one of us. You can't just take him away. This is Ghost Emperor Island. Even if you're a disciple of the Five Elements Hall, you can't act with impunity."
Wan Lei scoffed at their threat and ignored them. He looked directly at Liu Ao and said,
"Are you coming with me or not? The choice is yours. Trust me, if you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life, and you'll miss a great opportunity to change your destiny."
Hearing this, Liu Ao finally nodded. He turned to his companions and said,
"I stand by my actions. Some things must eventually be settled. Please help me ask the captain for leave. I'll be back shortly."
"Let's go."
Wan Lei, carrying the candied hawthorns and holding Fang Xiaoyu's hand, led Liu Ao towards the Ghost Emperor Palace.
"Where are we going?"
"Can't you tell? To the Ghost Emperor Palace."
Liu Ao hesitated.
"I'm just a gatekeeper, I'm not qualified to enter the Ghost Emperor Palace."
"What are you afraid of? Don't you have me?"
Then, Liu Ao found that he was indeed able to enter the Ghost Emperor Palace without any obstruction. He was astonished. What was Wan Lei's current status to be able to bring people in and out of the Ghost Emperor Palace so freely?
Ordinary disciples of the Five Elements Hall couldn't do this.
Following Wan Lei, they arrived at a side hall.
Wan Lei stood in the courtyard and shouted towards a room,
"Liu Yuxin, come out! See what I've brought you."
Liu Ao was immediately dumbfounded, standing frozen as if struck by lightning.
Xin'er?
My sister?
She's here?
The room door creaked open, and Liu Yuxin impatiently called out,
"What are you shouting for? What have you brought your auntie?"
Then, she saw the people standing outside the door.
"Candied hawthorns?"