Sitting cross-legged in front of the girl's mummy, Liu Xing felt as if the frog was trying to enact revenge for her. Thinking this, Liu Xing sighed. He could speculate all he wanted, but in the end, none of it mattered. The girl had died hundreds of years ago, and that frog and its army were long gone. The story of this girl and this frog was already over.
Liu Xing focused his eyes on the necklace the mummy was wearing. It was a delicate piece, glinting softly in the dim light. There was an engraving of two wings, and Liu Xing suspected that this necklace was the Red Wings of Stability.
For a moment, Liu Xing hesitated to take it. After all, this room was also a tomb, and he would be desecrating it by stealing the necklace. But Liu Xing couldn't ignore the necklace, so with a heart full of resolution, he decided to take the necklace. Still, he felt he should at least pay his respects before he took it.
After bowing his head in a brief moment of silence, Liu Xing reached out to touch the necklace. As his fingers brushed the cool metal, the world suddenly became white, as if Liu Xing had been transported inside his own consciousness.
But instead of a ball of lightning tied with a silver chain, what he saw was a girl and a frog, sitting atop a lotus, singing.
"It's a memory," Liu Xing muttered.
He had heard that an item could hold memories, but this was the first time he had experienced it. Usually, memories were a method to teach a technique, and usually the items that held memories were jade slips, but it seems that memories can also be imbued into a necklace.
As he sat cross-legged and enjoyed the song from the girl and the frog, Liu Xing could see happiness radiating from them, as if they were the happiest beings in the world.
Suddenly, someone materialized beside him. This being was transparent, but he could see her cute face, little nose, and charming aura. She smiled as she seemed to enjoy the song, but Liu Xing could see deep sadness in her eyes, as if she was happy and sad at the same time.
She turned her face to Liu Xing, and when their eyes met, she pursed her lips as if she didn't know what to do with him. In the end, she only nodded at him, and suddenly she and this white world vanished.
As he blinked several times, Liu Xing realized that the necklace he had touched was suddenly gone, but a moment later, he noticed it was already around his neck, as if that ghost had helped him wear it.
The necklace is warm, like a coin that had absorbed heat from a bonfire, and felt like it could ward off the cold air. As he felt the warmth of the necklace under his fingers, he wondered what exactly had happened. The image of the girl and the frog singing was a memory, but the transparent girl that suddenly appeared beside him was not. Was that a ghost? Liu Xing had heard there were demonic cultivators who used ghosts as fuel to cultivate, but he had never dreamed he would meet a ghost or spirit someday.
As Liu Xing tried to digest what had just happened, he suddenly heard a loud pop. The bubble that had kept this cozy room dry for probably hundreds of years suddenly vanished, and water rushed in. The paintings and many little trinkets were suddenly carried away by the current. Seeing this, Liu Xing hugged the mummy in his arms. While he still hadn't fully processed what had just happened, Liu Xing understood that this girl had given him her necklace, and to repay her, he would make sure her mummy was buried properly.
As the water started drowning everything around him, Liu Xing decided to snatch a painting of her and her frog before it was carried away by the current.
After resurfacing, Liu Xing summoned his shield to jump from the water into the air, and then used the shield again to jump, making him soar while hugging the mummy and a painting. Not long after, Liu Xing landed on the side of the lake and glanced back at the water. There was a little swirl on the surface of the lake before it vanished as if nothing had ever happened.
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Glancing at the mummy in his arms, Liu Xing decided he needed to find the most fitting place to bury her. Not far from the lake, there was a tree with lush leaves, creating a nice shade below it. Its leaves were a vibrant green, swaying gently as if dancing in the breeze. Liu Xing walked unhurriedly to this not-so-large tree, put the mummy in a sitting position, placed the painting in her lap, and started digging.
As he dug, Liu Xing tried to piece together the story of the girl and the frog. While he didn't know the full story, Liu Xing knew that this girl had either been imprisoned in that bubble or had lived in it for the rest of her life. The only one who had accompanied her was the frog in the painting, which was probably the frog he had killed.
Liu Xing remembered the transparent girl before the memory shattered. While she had pursed her lips, she had also nodded. This gesture made Liu Xing think that the girl wasn't too happy about him killing the frog, but she also approved of it. Liu Xing could imagine why. That frog was a strong spirit beast; it could use techniques, and it wanted to create an army. But why? Liu Xing wasn't sure, but there was a high probability that the frog wanted revenge, and the girl didn't want the frog to take revenge.
After digging a deep hole, Liu Xing tried to create a simple coffin for the mummy. It was challenging since he wasn't a carpenter, but with his lightning blade, he could make do. After about half a day, the mummy was laying in a coffin. Liu Xing then put the coffin in the grave, buried it, and placed an unmarked tombstone atop the mound. He then leaned the painting of the girl and the frog against the tombstone.
As he nodded, Liu Xing actually wondered if burying her inside the coffin was the right thing to do culturally. On Earth, he didn't know how people in China buried their loved ones, and surprisingly, as Liu Xing, he had never seen a proper burial ceremony in this world either.
Still, this was the best he could do, and hopefully, it was enough.
Liu Xing then paid his respects to the deceased and hoped that she could lead a good life in her next incarnation.
After he finished praying, Liu Xing looked up and saw that the sky had already turned orange, the setting sun painting the clouds in vibrant hues. He could go to retrieve the next treasure now, but as he leaned against the tree with its nice shade, a gentle breeze caressing his cheek and making his black hair sway, Liu Xing felt really tired. He needed to rest. Moreover, Liu Xing needed to test the new necklace he was now wearing. There was a high chance that it was the Red Wings of Stability, but he needed to use it to make sure.
But for now, Liu Xing decided to shut his eyes and sleep for a while. As his consciousness started drifting, he wondered when the last time he had slept was, before he fell fully asleep. A light snore could be heard, accompanying the sound of the breeze and rustling leaves. And if someone had sharp enough hearing, they might catch a faint sound as if there was a girl singing, accompanied by the croaking of a happy frog.
***
Liu Xing woke up when the moon was already high in the sky. It shone brightly, illuminating the entire area around the serene lake with a silvery glow. Liu Xing got up and stretched his body, feeling his mind and body fully refreshed, his qi fully regenerated. Liu Xing felt that he could retrieve the Diamond Pill, the next treasure he needed to find, this very night, but before he did that, he needed to check the necklace that he had received from the ghost girl.
Glancing at the tomb with the painting still leaning against the tombstone, Liu Xing paid his respects and bowed slightly. After all, this necklace was something that had been given to him, and Liu Xing needed to be grateful for it.
After that, Liu Xing started to walk away from the lake. He wanted to check this necklace's capabilities, but doing that near the tomb didn't feel proper.
After walking for a while, Liu Xing felt as if he was crossing some kind of barrier. The space and wind around him rippled, and as he turned around, instead of a lake reflecting the moon, what he saw was a small shallow pond with colorful fish swimming inside it. Seeing this, Liu Xing took a step toward the pond, thinking that he could enter that space where the lake was again, but there was no ripple around him, and instead, he got a step closer to the pond.
"Seems like I need to retrace my steps if I want to go inside," he muttered.
The condition to enter that space was to walk from the inverted triangle. Liu Xing could probably enter again if he retraced his steps, but since that inverted triangle was now already gone, there was a high chance that the lake would never be visited again, nor would the tomb. Thinking about this, Liu Xing wondered who the girl was. Did she have a family? A lover? Would someone close to her visit her tomb if they knew where he had buried her?