Chapter 1972: Let’s Get Married When We Grow Up

The young man in the white coat floated over to stand beside the Ghost Enforcer Uncle, his gaze falling on Little Taotie and Hua Jinyan. His eyes were calm, devoid of the fear and unease of one who had just become a Ghost, instead bearing the weathered look of someone who had been through life’s ups and downs.

The Ghost Enforcer Uncle squinted his eyes: "You’ve remembered?"

The young man in the white coat nodded: "Nine lifetimes of reincarnation, and in not one did things end well with her. I never got to marry her."

Ghost Enforcer Uncle: "This lifetime, you can say you’ve gained something. You got her, and she bore you a child."

The young man in the white coat shook his head: "It doesn’t count. I recorded her under someone else’s name."

The Ghost Enforcer Uncle seemed thoughtful: "I see. Is the tenth lifetime the last?"

The young man in the white coat gave a bitter, weathered smile: "If once again we have fate but not destiny, then she and I... will never meet again, for all eternity."

Little Taotie listened to the conversation between the Ghost Enforcer Uncle and the young man in the white coat, looking utterly confused, and tugged on Hua Jinyan’s sleeve: "What are they talking about? I can’t make heads or tails of it."

"This person, in his nine lifetimes, has been one of great merit. He could have left the Reincarnation Path long ago. He insisted on lingering within reincarnation, perhaps just to have a good ending with that person. Now in this ninth lifetime, he has become a Ghost, with a certain level of cultivation. He’s not quite a Ghost Cultivator but close enough, which is why he remembers the memories from his previous eight lifetimes."

"Oh, I see. Then what does he mean by saying the tenth lifetime is the last?"

Hua Jinyan patted Little Taotie’s head: "When Master was teaching, you definitely weren’t listening properly."

Little Taotie blinked innocently: "I was listening carefully, but there were many things I didn’t understand. I didn’t know many words back then, not like you who knew so many. Now I also know a lot of words, but Master... is no longer here."

Hua Jinyan’s hand that was patting her head turned into a gentle stroke, and he sighed: "Fate between people usually lasts only ten lifetimes. Debts owed and repaid should all be cleared within those ten lifetimes."

"Why?"

"That’s just the rule of reincarnation. Nobody knows why, but it has always been like this. After ten lifetimes, if one can’t leave the cycle of reincarnation, they enter another cycle and sever ties with those they were fated to be with."

"Another cycle? Does that mean another time-space?"

"I’m not sure. I wish I knew, but Master didn’t say."

Little Taotie stomped her little foot: "Master didn’t finish teaching you. How could he just leave like that!"

Hua Jinyan was amused by her and gently held her hand: "But there’s also a possibility of meeting again."

"Really?"

"Becoming husband and wife—by making a vow to enter the next cycle together after ten reincarnations—they could meet in the eleventh."

"But don’t they have a child?"

"In ancient times, heaven and earth witnessed it. Nowadays, it’s a marriage certificate..."

"So complicated." Little Taotie tilted her head, "Does it mean you can only be together forever if you get married?"

Hua Jinyan nodded.

Little Taotie’s soft voice echoed: "Then when we grow up, let’s get married?"

Hua Jinyan: "..."

Though the Ghost Enforcer Uncle was talking to the young man in the white coat, his ears were perked up all along. As soon as he heard Little Taotie’s words, he rushed over immediately, blocking Little Taotie, much like a protective tiger, glaring angrily at Hua Jinyan: "You punk, she’s only a few years old, and you’re already tricking her into marrying you when she grows up. Dream on, I won’t agree!"

Little Taotie tilted her head in confusion: "You’re not my brother. Why don’t you agree?"