Lan Ruo was montarily stunned as she stared at them.
Though she didn’t know exactly what they intended to do, she seed to grasp the underlying aning.
Miss Yan, whom she had invited, and the others appeared to have co prepared. They weren’t planning to intervene directly, but they had readied the tools and ritual implents needed for soone else to act.
anwhile, the expert the master had asked for help turned out to be the very friend Miss Yan had called upon for assistance.
The coincidence was almost unbelievable—everything had converged at once!
When Lan Ruo suddenly received the ssages and calls on her phone earlier, she had felt torn. If these two separate preparations clashed, it would be hard to avoid displeasing one side.
Yet, against all odds, the two parties had sohow arrived at the sa outco.
Ding Ling’s gaze flickered toward the backpacks Yan and Zhu Jue had set down. “You brought them with you today?”
“We knew you’d be coming to Ning City and that we’d et, so we brought them along. Figured you might need them,” Yan replied.
Since Lan Ruo and Xie Zhen were still present, she avoided ntioning the Ascension Assembly.
Hearing Yan’s answer, Ding Ling confird her own suspicions.
“Might need them”? No—everything had already been calculated to the last detail.
Had they really foreseen things to such an extent?
Her trip to the capital, Ning City, had been a last-minute decision. She had originally accompanied the special task force, uncertain of her plans until yesterday, when she had inford Yan of her arrival.
As for coming to the Xie residence to assist with their situation, that had only been arranged after her team leader received a request from a friend—after their tickets were booked.
Given the urgency, Ding Ling had left the group imdiately upon arriving by high-speed rail and followed the contact sent by the leader’s friend.
All of this seed to trace back to Ding Ling’s sudden impulse yesterday to co to Ning City for the excitent, setting off this chain of events.
Yesterday’s cause, today’s effect.
And though Yan and Zhu Jue appeared uninvolved, they had gently nudged this “effect” along, playing their part in the unfolding karma.
Ding Ling studied the couple before her, wondering who could have prompted Yan and Zhu Jue to intervene and summon her.
Just by stepping into this courtyard mansion, she could tell the family was extraordinarily wealthy.
Perhaps they had so connection to Yan’s family and had sought help through them?
A minor issue like soul displacent would hardly be a challenge for Yan.
Ding Ling guessed that this household must have reached out to Yan’s family through so channel. Since Yan and Zhu Jue were currently wandering the mortal world but restraining themselves from direct intervention, they had contacted her yesterday to “help.”
Yet, they had clearly anticipated that the “Heart-Questioning Bell” and “Soul-Bewitching Bell” would be more suitable for the situation and had brought them along.
Her thoughts raced, but she wasted no ti once she pieced it together.
“How long have the two of you been like this? It looks like over a month.”
Ding Ling observed the two clients—a male soul in a female body and a female soul in a male body. Such a soul-body mismatch was rare even among folk tales.
Common cases of “possession,” whether by drowned spirits or vengeful ghosts, still required so degree of compatibility between body and soul, often taking advantage of a person’s weakened vitality. Male souls would inhabit male bodies, female souls female bodies.
But this kind of gender-swapped possession was truly unusual.
Before arriving at this mansion and eting them in person, Ding Ling hadn’t known who had requested her assistance for this peculiar case.
Even now, she didn’t know their identities.
“A little over a month—exactly thirty-nine days,” Xie Zhen answered quickly.
“No wonder,” Ding Ling murmured, examining their displaced souls.
Lan Ruo caught the implication. “Master, is there a problem?”
Ding Ling humd and glanced at them.
“Nothing serious. Now’s the perfect ti to fix it.”
“I don’t know how you ended up in this state, but when male and female souls inhabit each other’s bodies for too long, dependency can develop.”
“Dependency?!” Xie Zhen nearly jumped.
“You an if this goes on, we might not be able to return to our own bodies?”
“Master—no, Great Master—when can we switch back?” he pressed urgently.
The thought horrified him. If this dependency deepened, he’d be stuck in Lan Ruo’s body indefinitely!
This was the first ti they’d t soone who not only recognized their predicant at a glance but also knew the specifics. Though Xie Zhen had initially doubted the young woman before him, now he was ready to call her a true master—an absolute expert!
“Her surna is Ding,” Yan interjected helpfully, amused that the Xie couple had invited Ding Ling without even knowing her na.
“Master Ding! Master Ding!” Xie Zhen, still in Lan Ruo’s body, clasped his hands in a salute that looked oddly out of place.
“Miss Ding,” Lan Ruo added calmly.
“It’s not complicated to fix, but you should both try to stay calm for now.”
Ding Ling eyed Xie Zhen’s agitated state.
“Emotions should be steady, not turbulent.” She checked her watch.
“Male and female souls each carry their own yin and yang energies. High noon isn’t the best ti for this.”
“Do you rember what ti it was when you swapped? Midnight?” Though phrased as a question, her tone was certain.
“Late at night, just past midnight,” Xie Zhen said.
He rembered it clearly—he’d co ho drunk after midnight, and Lan Ruo had been waiting on the couch. They’d argued again, and in his fury, he’d stord into the study to draft divorce papers.
Both of them had been furious, shoving each other until they collapsed onto the sofa. At the stroke of midnight, the study clock had chid—unusually loud, almost deafening.
“The clock in the study struck twelve,” Lan Ruo added.
She recalled that night vividly. “I don’t know if it was my imagination, but looking back, the chis made dizzy. Everything spun, and when I woke up, we’d switched bodies.”
When she opened her eyes and saw her own face staring back, she’d been utterly bewildered.
Their simultaneous screams had drawn the servants, but they’d covered it up with more arguing.
Ding Ling nodded. “If you’re both ready, we’ll do the reversal at midnight tonight.”
Xie Zhen couldn’t wait. “I’m ready.”
Lan Ruo glanced at him. “So am I.”
“Master—Master Ding—do we need to prepare anything? Ritual baths, incense, special tools? Or maybe sothing aligned with the five elents? We’ll gather whatever’s needed right away.” Xie Zhen’s rapid-fire questions betrayed his desperation.
“No need,” Ding Ling replied flatly.
"The only useful things are already here," she said, pointing to Yan and Zhu Jue's backpacks.
She glanced at the two of them. "Tonight, you two..."
Yan shook her head. "We can't stay with you tonight."
If it were sumr, staying out late wouldn’t be a problem—their parents wouldn’t mind. But now, in the middle of winter with temperatures well below freezing, if she and Jue didn’t return ho, their parents would likely co looking for them.
"Alright," Ding Ling nodded slightly.
With the Heart-Questioning Bell and the Soul-Bewitching Bell in hand, putting two ordinary souls into a temporary slumber for an exchange was child’s play. If she couldn’t handle such a trivial task, she had no business calling herself a Ghost King.
Yan and Zhu Jue staying away was also to avoid getting too entangled in this affair and inviting unnecessary karma. She understood completely.
"Go ho without worry. I’ll handle it," Ding Ling promised.
This was sothing she had agreed to take on, and it was also the favor Yan had originally asked of her. Yan rarely made requests, and even if it was just a small matter, Ding Ling wouldn’t let her down.
With Ding Ling’s assurance, Yan noticed the visible relief on Xie Zhen and Lan Ruo’s faces.
The icy, bitter tension between the couple seed to have thawed.
"Miss Yan and Zhu Jue, why not stay with Miss Ding a little longer? Since we’ve invited you here, it’s rare for you to visit. How about joining us for lunch? The scenery in this courtyard is quite lovely," Lan Ruo suggested.
She had invited them, after all—it wouldn’t do to let them leave without at least so hospitality. Once everything was settled, gifts and thanks would naturally follow.
Ding Ling checked the ti, then looked at Yan. "It’s my first day in Ning City, so I don’t have any plans. Do you two have anything scheduled for the afternoon?"
Yan shook her head. "We were just here to et you."
She shrugged—clearly, their afternoon was now free.
The sprawling four-courtyard compound currently housed only six people: Yan, Zhu Jue, the Xie couple, Ding Ling, and the liaison sent by the "team leader’s friend," the so-called "master."
"We haven’t visited this courtyard in a long ti either. Why don’t you all take a stroll this afternoon and enjoy Ning City’s winter scenery?" Lan Ruo extended the invitation again.
Yan glanced at Jue and Ding Ling. "Well... we wouldn’t want to refuse your kindness?"
They were, after all, invited guests. Now that safety was assured, staying an extra afternoon to broaden their horizons wasn’t a bad idea.
At noon, they dined in the courtyard’s glass-enclosed viewing restaurant, enjoying customized single-serving dishes from one of Ning City’s high-end restaurants while admiring the winter landscape outside.
Though Ding Ling had said no rituals like purification or incense were necessary, the couple still insisted she select the most auspicious spot in the courtyard for the evening’s ceremony. Even Xie Zhen followed Lan Ruo’s suggestion—after lunch, the two bathed and read sutras to calm their minds in preparation.
While the couple made their arrangents, Yan, with the hosts’ permission, took Zhu Jue and Ding Ling on a careful tour of the courtyard.
"Deep, deep, deep the courtyard extends"—this line perfectly captured the essence of the four-courtyard complex.
Passing through the first gate, then the second, they wandered along covered walkways, past renovated heated rooms, and through ticulously designed landscapes, with only the three of them as idle spectators.
Yan marveled at every turn. "This is what real wealth looks like. Everything’s been restored to its original state, just with internal upgrades."
Authentic restoration was infinitely more expensive than simply replacing everything with new materials.
Many historical sites these days were poorly maintained due to lack of funding, and local authorities, thinking the worn look unappealing, opted for cheap renovations—only to destroy cultural relics with modern paints and techniques. A true sha.
As they walked along the covered corridor, Ding Ling spoke up. "Yan, will you two attend this year’s Ascension Assembly?"
That Ascension Assembly again?
Yan perked up, blinking in confusion. Ding Ling seed convinced she was so kind of mystic, but Yan had no idea what any of this was about!
After a mont’s thought, she opted for honesty.
"That has nothing to do with us."
As ordinary people, this so-called Ascension Assembly had no connection to her or Jue whatsoever!
Ding Ling nodded. "True."
"Your ages might fit, but if you went, it’d just be unfair."
The Ascension Assembly was a grand gathering of the younger generation in the mystic arts, held every three years. This year’s event was set in the capital, Ning City.
But the excitent of the juniors clearly had nothing to do with the unfathomably powerful Yan and Zhu Jue.
Yet Yan hadn’t outright refused. Ding Ling guessed they might still make an appearance—perhaps as spectators, like herself, just to see the spectacle. And this year’s assembly, coinciding with the special Dragon Year rites, might draw them in.
If they did go, it would likely be in so undisclosed, high-status capacity.
The thought clicked in Ding Ling’s mind.
Yan, however, was baffled by the "unfair" comnt. Huh?
Her and Jue going would be unfair? What nonsense was Ding Ling imagining now?
Yan opened her mouth, wanting to explain but finding no words.
On this topic, silence was her only option.
She steered the conversation toward their friend Gu Jiasui’s work in Ning City and the kitten Pengpeng, successfully diverting Ding Ling’s attention.
Yan then casually brought up so local attractions. "How long are you staying in Ning City? The days before New Year’s are a good ti to visit—fewer tourists."
"If Chu Shen cos and Jiasui hasn’t left yet, we could all go with Brother Xiao," she added.
When friends visited the capital, locals inevitably played tour guide. Yan and Zhu Jue took their hosting duties seriously.
But first Gu Jiasui, now Ding Ling, and possibly Chu Shen—if their dormmates kept arriving at different tis, Yan could already imagine how many trips to the Forbidden City and hikes on the Great Wall she and Jue would endure this winter!
So Ning City attractions had annual passes for them.
And this was winter! The capital’s tourism never slowed—peak season lasted all year.
"I’ll stay until after New Year’s, but the exact timing isn’t set," Ding Ling said.
She’d heard Ning City’s New Year celebrations were especially vibrant, particularly given its status as the dragon vein’s heart. Her team leader had dragged her here for this year’s events, so she might have duties to fulfill.
After another al in the evening, with darkness already fallen, Yan and Zhu Jue politely declined the Xie family’s offer to send them ho and took their leave.
They’d arrived with full backpacks but left with them empty, opting for the convenience of the subway.
Once Yan and Zhu Jue were gone, the vast house—now prepped for the night’s soul-exchange ritual—held only Xie Zhen, Lan Ruo, and Ding Ling.
"Master Ding, are Miss Yan and Zhu Jue friends of yours?" Xie Zhen poured tea carefully as he asked.
Earlier, he’d learned that the young couple had known about his and Lan Ruo’s troubles all along but never stepped forward. Running into them again at the church had left him wondering if they’d been watching the whole thing as so kind of joke.
The young couple who had initially arrived with that feng shui master turned out to be far more capable, yet they remained silent and unassuming—even though they had already discerned the problem back then, they hadn’t revealed anything.
Ding Ling glanced at him now. She didn’t care for the scent of his soul—oily, with an indescribable undertone.
A spirit like his should return to its own body sooner rather than later, lest it taint the beauty of the borrowed vessel.
As for Lan Ruo’s aura, she neither liked nor disliked it—it was like a perfu shifting from floral to woody notes.
"Yes, and no," Ding Ling said.
Her tone was cold toward Xie Zhen, and she spoke to Lan Ruo with nothing more than detached neutrality.
"They are my friends, but... I owe them a great deal."
Owed the young couple a great deal?
Both Lan Ruo and Xie Zhen’s pupils constricted slightly.
"I don’t know your origins, but the fact that soone behind you went to them for such a trivial matter… That’s quite the favor," Ding Ling mused, her voice tinged with emotion.
"Trivial?" Xie Zhen’s lips parted. Soul and body swapping—was that considered insignificant in their eyes?
Ding Ling lifted her eyelids lazily. "I ca here only because they wanted to."
"They asked for my help, and at the sa ti, your people found . That’s all."
Her words were cryptic, yet both understood imdiately, their eyes flashing with shock.
"What about those two items?" Lan Ruo spoke up now.
"With those two things, it’s not just a matter of achieving twice the result with half the effort. Your soul exchange will leave no aftereffects, nor will it cause any pain. You’ll simply wake up as if from a nap. Without them, however, your souls have already grown sowhat dependent on your current bodies. Separating them would feel like being torn apart by fire, and there might even be damage to your spirits," Ding Ling explained.
This was an arrangent Yan and the others had deliberately left behind, but the two before her clearly didn’t grasp the magnitude of the favor. She had to make sure they understood.
"So, without those two items brought by Yan and the others, our souls could end up incomplete or damaged? But with them, the success rate is guaranteed, with zero side effects?" Lan Ruo pressed quickly.
Ding Ling nodded. "Yes."
"Such minor details… Most wouldn’t bother. But she does."
"Then this ti, we’re really…" Xie Zhen finally caught on—that unassuming young couple were actually masters in disguise!
"To have them personally intervene, even lending two top-tier artifacts just to stabilize your souls… You two have stumbled upon extraordinary luck."
Lan Ruo couldn’t help but ask, "Then why didn’t they handle it themselves?"
Ding Ling looked at her. "So people wield power too great. The mont they act, consequences follow."
The Xie couple stood frozen. "Just who are they?"
Ding Ling poured tea silently, her expression distant. "That’s not sothing you need to ask."
In her heart, she answered: They are transcendent beings, wanderers of the mortal world, ordinary in the eyes of others yet beyond the comprehension of most.
And in this world, those who know their true identities could be counted on one hand.
Fortunately, she was their friend—one of the few.
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