WLWM World 8: White Moonlight as White as Lotus the Eighth, Ch. 3

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Bai Lianhua appears dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

——Perhaps, it’s time to put his acting skills to the test once again.

He speaks dryly, “mm… I also thought I was dead, but then I found myself actually turned into a ghost instead.”

As he speaks, he also looks over himself with an expression of light detestation, quite fitting with his character setting in this world.

Li Wenge quietly looks at Bai Lianhua as he does so, and his wavering mind starts calming down.

Bai Lianhua changes to a sitting posture on the tree and tilts his head to ask Li Wenge, “I don’t actually understand what exactly happened… You’re able to move around now, so is your seal unlocked?”

——Since he did just come back he really doesn’t know anything else.

“Right. A silver lining in a sense too…” He explains to the baffled Bai Lianhua what happened then as he leans on the tree next to him, but tries to neutralise the language by not using any opinionated words reflecting his own emotions,” I’m not a usual ghost, so I do not dissipate that quickly. Even if I have already lost my ethereal form, there is still a consciousness there…”

“I was able to see them have you commit suicide… but I couldn’t find out where your soul has gone until now.”

Bai Lianhua feels slightly guilty. Of course Li Wenge couldn’t find him anywhere. He did disappear completely from the world, after all.

In fact, even his so-called suicide is actually just him going along with the flow… If the antagonist was gone then he also didn’t need to stay in the mission world any longer. He was feeling sad anyways from seeing Li Wenge gradually disappearing so he chose a way of detaching the world in death befitting his role as a white lotus.

He really didn’t expect that Li Wenge wasn’t yet completely gone and instead witnessed all of that with his own eyes.

Bai Lianhua can’t help but complain to the system, “didn’t you know that Li Wenge wasn’t dead? Why’d you not give me a warning?”

The system quietly tries to explain itself, “even if host you knew the antagonist wasn’t dead yet then, given you didn’t know about this return of white moonlight mission, you would still have chosen to detach the world then and there.”

“As the situation meant that that was the best solution even if you did know.”

Bai Lianhua “…” Shit. That is actually a reasonable excuse.

But, even if he is feeling guilty, he still has to keep the act up in front of the antagonist.

So Bai Lianhua asks with a hesitant tone, “have you been looking for me for a long time? I… felt like I had only just woken up.”

It is true that some newborn ghosts would require some time before regaining a consciousness from their muddled minds, so Li Wenge doesn’t suspect anything… He’s just unable to work out why he couldn’t sense Bai Lianhua at all even if he hasn’t regained his consciousness yet before.

Though, as Bai Lianhua seems to be nervous, Li Wenge doesn’t pursue the question further. He tries to soothe him with a calm voice, “it wasn’t long. Today happens to be exactly 1 month from that.”

Though it was certainly a month of emotional hell for him.

He is regretful. He is apologetic for allowing Bai Lianhua to approach him. He’s even remorseful that he fell for Bai Lianhua. Without either of those the situation would perhaps not have transpired so.

He does understand clearly himself though, that lamenting the past is useless, making him feel more bitter inside.

Though Bai Lianhua is instead in quite the good mood having extracted crucial information from Li Wenge’s answer. He asks the system, “wait, it’s only a month since I ‘died’? That must have been the shortest amount of time to date between my detachment and reentry.”

In all the other worlds this gap was always counted in years. He thought it would have been a similar amount of time this time too.

The system nods, “this world’s antagonist has a rather special circumstance… If we do let years pass, even if host you returned and jumped into the antagonist’s embrace of your own initiative it’ll probably still be impossible to save the world… Only ghosts know what heck of a disaster Li Wenge will manage to cook up.”

Bai Lianhua “???”

He can’t help but retort with the damned system, “excuse me, but as a ghost myself, I am living proof that ghosts wouldn’t know about that.”

The system chokes on its words for a second before continuing, “anyway, host, if you would please continue to take advantage of your identity as the only ray of white moonlight in the antagonist’s heart while maintaining your white lotus aspect to eliminate the potential risk the antagonist may bring to this world.”

Bai Lianhua sighs dejected, “yeah, yeah. You were already forcing me to do all these missions when I was yet human. Now I’ve turned into a ghost and you’re still not letting me go… I have no human rights as a human, fine. Now I’ve even lost my ghost rights.”

System “…”

Uhh, it isn’t that harsh a system, is it?

——Host, can you not use your white lotus ability to cause guilt onto this system? Thanks.

After shutting up the buzzing system, Bai Lianhua looks back at Li Wenge.

Though he doesn’t know what else to say… Which is why he was messing around with the system chatting——Li Wenge is currently the antagonist who he is least confident in interacting with after returning to so many worlds.

So, in the end, he can only lower his head and tell him, “apologies.”

——Though not only apologies for you having searched for me for one whole month.

Li Wenge shakes his head, and instead asks, “do you… hate me? For having turned you into this?”

Given Bai Lianhua’s preferences, it would be unlikely he would be happy with this.

Bai Lianhua gestures his hand to show he doesn’t mind, “no. I understand you don’t want me to just be gone like that.”

Plus, even if he really were a ghost now, it’s not Li Wenge’s fault. It’s the system’s fault anyway.

Bai Lianhua smiles, “I’ve taken a look before and I don’t look too bad, really. I don’t have blood or stains on me. Other than my feet not touching the ground, I’m barely a ghost… So that’s still fine.”

Li Wenge is softened. He approaches, probably trying to rub his head, but Bai Lianhua is surprised to discover that as he closes in he is unable to stop his own body from shaking unconsciously… He doesn’t want to at all, though?

It’s definitely not out of fright. So the only reason is probably that as he is a fresh new ghost, a great senior like Li Wenge would definitely have this imposing background aura he carries around with him that has some suppression effect. So if the safe distance is trespassed this effect is visible.

How awkward.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to let the antagonist have a little head-rub, but he can’t help it. As Li Wenge is almost able to touch him, he’s almost managed to subconsciously roll up into the foetal position… and he has started drifting a slight distance away.

Li Wenge also realises what’s going on and tries to retract his own imposing aura.

Even so, it shouldn’t have been such an intense reaction… He pulls back from his joy of reuniting with Bai Lianhua and closely examines him. Li Wenge furrows his brows as he discovers that Bai Lianhua might look completely normal but his soul integrity is not high. It’s weak, even, which is why he is more severely affected.

Li Wenge can’t help but attribute this to himself being too weak back then yet still tried to overdraw himself trying to retain Bai Lianhua’s soul.

Bai Lianhua who hears this though notices that it’s definitely not that case. It must have been the system… Even when he’s demoted to a ghost he must continue to be weak and frail as the white lotus? Is there actually some untold grudge that exist between them to make the system so resolute like that?

Bai Lianhua is sure of this because the usually talkative system is quiet on this, acting dead.

Meanwhile, Li Wenge feels that the way to deal with this is to first create a soul-strengthening spell circle at a good place to stabilise Bai Lianhua’s soul.

Where he happens to be staying now is a good location. There’s enough of both cultivable qi and ethereal qi there.

After heading off together with Li Wenge, Bai Lianhua realises he’s actually bad at being a ghost.

Back then when he was alone he thought he was floating around fast enough. And he thought he was dexterous being able to float in whatever posture he wanted, but, compared to Li Wenge, he can be called clumsy.

Also, even if he wasn’t as subconsciously repulsed to Li Wenge’s touch after he retracted his aura, he was still affected… Therefore he couldn’t have Li Wenge carry him either.

So all Bai Lianhua could do was slowly drift behind Li Wenge following his direction, while enjoying the benefits of being protected by the antagonist——Since he has given up on his cultivation and restarted, in just a month, Li Wenge has, despite just regaining 20% of his former power, become powerful enough to suppress the ghosts so that they wouldn’t obstruct their way.

Still, when he happens to see this bloody ghost from far away whose body was contorted into an odd shape, he still can’t help but shiver, and then smile in embarrassment at Li Wenge’s surprised face.

It can’t be helped. He might be a ghost now himself but, he’s still… afraid of ghosts. A bit.

What an embarrassment.

The system pops up again to mock him, “a poor little newborn ghost that’s afraid of ghosts and the future Ruler-to-be of Ghosts that reigns over the realm. What a combination between host you and the antagonist, I say. This sure looks like it belongs in a different story altogether looking at the other ghosts.”

“Besides, host, the moment the antagonist touches you you look like you’re about to cry, like a fair beauty forcibly taken to be some local mafia’s wife——The imposing elder ghost and his awkward little white lotus, a perfect CP material hehehe.”

Bai Lianhua “…”

Ho. How he missed this feeling of wanting to beat the shit out of the system.

——Did you really think I’m no longer the vicious white lotus that’d always want to knock the teeth out of you damned system after this slightly more gentle treatment you had for the previous few worlds?

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TL’s notes: I kinda miss the author’s notes with the woke theatrical acts.