Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth] Chapter 59

Hearing this, Wei Huan rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the Yuzao Mirror on the table, about to storm off, but Yang Ling and Jing Yun quickly restrained him from both sides.

Yan Shanyue controlled Wei Huan’s fingers, forcing them open, and the Yuzao Mirror floated back to her waist. “Why are you so worked up?”

Boss Jue somehow conjured a bone comb, combing the exaggerated orange feathers on her clothes. “Exactly, getting this riled up must mean you’re hiding something.”

Wei Huan rolled his eyes dramatically and then gave up, plastering on a fake, world-class smile. “You’re absolutely right. I did do it with him. His body is amazing—broad shoulders, slim waist, long legs, perfect pecs, deep waistline, V-cuts, big, skilled, versatile, always accommodating, all for free!”

“Poetry on the spot! A true scholar!” Yang Ling clapped in amazement.

Jing Yun clapped along. “Ah, the power of love.”

“Love, my *ss.” Wei Huan fumed. “Auntie, stop dreaming your Mary Sue rainbow fantasies. If you can hook up with a Golden Crow, I’ll break my own legs on the spot.”

“You little brat…” Boss Jue was just about to slam the table when Yan Shanyue’s fox fire pinned her hand down, forcing her to only lightly tap the surface. Yan Shanyue rested her chin on her hand, her words meant to smooth things over, but her tone was icy cold. “Boss Jue, making money is what matters.”

Boss Jue snorted. “Humans these days are really not to be messed with.”

“Exactly. You should see who I’ve bonded with.” Wei Huan shot back with a grin.

Jing Yun gently patted Yang Ling’s shoulder across Wei Huan, muttering quietly, “Why does this scene feel so familiar to me?”

Yang Ling shook his head with practiced calm. “This is exactly how the fans of those popular demon realm actors fight online. My roommate’s one—spends every day cursing his idol’s girlfriend.”

Wei Huan drooped his eyes and stared at Yang Ling, choking on his own breath.

“I can’t be bothered to get mad at a little human chicken like you,” Boss Jue tapped the corner of her eye, touched her own face, and winked at Yan Shanyue, “Lend me your mirror for a sec.”

Yan Shanyue remained indifferent. “I’m afraid you’ll scare yourself.”

The three little ones burst out laughing. Boss Jue awkwardly forced a polite smile and conjured a palm-sized mirror herself. Finding it too small, she pulled and stretched it like she was kneading dough until it was about the size of her face, looked herself over from side to side, then slapped it onto the table.

“Go on,” Boss Jue crossed her hands, “What business do you have with this beauty?”

Just as Yan Shanyue was about to speak, Boss Jue suddenly raised her ‘Erkang hand’ again. “Wait.”

Wei Huan couldn’t take it anymore and summoned a blade of light with a snap. “Boss, let’s just chop her hand off.”

Boss Jue somehow whipped out a silk scarf and waved it around like an old madam. “What’s the rush, honestly.” As soon as she finished speaking, she knocked on the table. Everyone stared, but nothing seemed to happen. Boss Jue gave an awkward laugh. “It’s a little out of order, hold on.”

She knocked again, and this time, gray smoke rose from the peachwood tabletop. In the center of the smoke appeared a thumb-sized little boy with four ears. Upon seeing the guests, he bowed first, then called out “Boss” towards the other end of the table. Boss Jue nodded. “Good boy. Record everything these people say and store it in our shop’s archives.”

“You even have archives in this dump?” Wei Huan couldn’t help but roast her.

“Of course.” Boss Jue grabbed the little boy’s white shirt and pulled out a long, paper-like record like a roll of toilet paper, growing longer and longer as she yanked, spinning the little boy like a top.

“Every guest who comes in must be registered, whether little spirits or big monsters—none can escape.” She let go, and the long record vanished with a whoosh. The dizzy little boy plopped down on the tabletop, hugging his spinning head.

Wei Huan scoffed, “What age is this, and you’re still exploiting child labor with paper archives.”

“I’m willing.” Boss Jue pointed at Yan Shanyue and said to the little boy, “This one is the customer.”

The archive boy climbed up from the table and walked to the nine-tailed fox. “Please touch my head.”

Yan Shanyue extended her index finger and touched the little boy’s head. A faint white light glowed from the top of his head, and then he disappeared again.

“Thank you.” The little boy laid back down on the table, his four little ears twitching.

Boss Jue straightened her exaggerated feathered collar. “Alright, little fox, tell me, what do you need from me this time?”

Yan Shanyue waited a moment before speaking. “First, I want to ask you a question. Is there anyone left in the demon realm who can still perform soul-summoning?”

“Oh, I thought it was something big—turns out it’s just soul-summoning…”

Yan Shanyue added, “Specifically summoning demon souls.”

“D-Demon souls?!” Boss Jue pulled an extremely dramatic terrified expression, even covering her mouth with her hand. “Such a secret question, I—”

“My payment is enough to feed you for five years,” Yan Shanyue coldly interrupted.

Boss Jue: “Deal.”

Wei Huan looked at this unreliable female demon and shook his head inside. What kind of demon is this?

Yang Ling, who had been quietly sitting on the side, suddenly raised his hand. “What is soul-summoning?”

Boss Jue gave him a high-five. “Ah, you don’t know this one, huh? Come, let me tell you.” She waved her right hand, and mist rose before them, forming an illusion like a movie. In the scene, there was a human lying in bed, seemingly in a deep sleep or unconscious.

“Soul-summoning is a spell unique to the demon witches of the demon realm. It can summon the souls of the dead, but of course, only before they reincarnate. If someone’s already stepped into the path of reincarnation, no matter how much you call, you can’t bring them back.”

In the illusion, a demon in a red cloak appeared, casting a spell. The seven souls and six spirits of the dead human on the bed gradually returned to his body. When the last trace of life came back, the person finally opened his eyes.

Jing Yun was completely absorbed in watching and asked directly, “So, it’s demon witches summoning human souls?”

Boss Jue waved her hand. “You can put it that way. Of course, men can also be demon witches.” She then looked at Yan Shanyue. “But that’s just the soul-summoning for humans. You’re looking for someone who can summon demon souls.”

She waved her hand, and the mist dispersed. “I can tell you, but you must wager something precious to guarantee secrecy—that you will never reveal this place to others.”

“So you really used to be a demon witch,” Yan Shanyue said. “What do you want?”

Used to be a demon witch? Wei Huan was puzzled. But since Yan Shanyue came here for his sake, how could he let her risk her belongings? He quickly said, “Use mine instead.”

“You?” Boss Jue looked him up and down in disdain. “What can a mere human possibly have of value?”

Wei Huan patted himself all over but truly had nothing valuable. “How about this, I’ll owe you, and when the time—” Before he could finish, Boss Jue grabbed his wrist, her greedy eyes locking onto his bracelet. “This shiny gold thing looks valuable.”

“You sure you want to touch his bracelet?” Yan Shanyue raised an eyebrow.

Boss Jue glanced at her suspiciously but was reluctant to let go, still rubbing the bracelet. Suddenly, she was startled and quickly let go. “Forget it, forget it, take it away.”

Wei Huan was completely confused. “What’s your problem?!”

Boss Jue clutched her chest, looking distressed. “Yongzhou, really… how could he…” Before she could finish, Yan Shanyue interrupted, “I’ll wager this.” She took off the fox fur on her earlobe.

“Alright, alright, baby fur carries the strongest demon aura.”

Yang Ling immediately protested. “Sister Shanyue, how can you give your baby fur to this old hag!”

Yan Shanyue’s tone suddenly softened. “It’s alright. She’ll return it to me in a bit.” Then her face instantly turned cold again. “Now can you talk?”

“You all want to hear this? By rights, I should take four pledges. Oh, whatever, since you’re my loyal customer, I’ll let it slide this time. But you must keep these little brats in check.”

Boss Jue paused and continued, “Like I just said, soul-summoning was originally a method used by demon witches to summon human souls. Historically, quite a few humans used it to return to life by borrowing other bodies. But the price was always steep—some traded their life’s fortune, others life for life. It’s all unpredictable. Soul-summoning is a mystical art. It depends both on the witch’s skill and the sincerity of the one making the request.”

Jing Yun cautiously asked, “So summoning a demon soul also has a price?”

“Of course.” Boss Jue blinked. “Summoning demon souls is much harder than human souls. When a human dies, their souls generally remain intact for seven days, just wandering. But not demon souls. Once a demon’s heart stops beating, the soul instantly dissipates, returning to the world. To summon it back, you have to collect the scattered traces from the world bit by bit. You tell me—is that hard? Shouldn’t there be a price?”

Jing Yun dumbly nodded. “Hard.”

Wei Huan couldn’t help thinking of himself. If demon souls really have to be gathered bit by bit, maybe that explains why he has gaps in his memory.

“Because it’s so difficult, the number of demon witches who can summon demon souls is extremely small.” A cup of coffee suddenly appeared in front of Boss Jue. She took a sip and continued, “My master was one of them.”

Yang Ling got excited. “Your master! Then we can go find her right away! Sister Shanyue, take your fox fur earring back.”

“In your dreams.” Boss Jue slapped his hand away. “My master’s long dead.”

Wei Huan thought for a moment and asked, “Who was your master? Didn’t she pass the technique down?”

“My master…” Boss Jue paused and changed her answer. “Forget it, she kicked me out ages ago. I’m probably the only one who still shamelessly calls her my master. There are quite a few demon witches in the demon realm, but they’re divided into different factions. It’s like your human guilds in games—once you’re in a faction, you’re a core member, and each place has different rules. I was with the Dark Witches of Wuqi.”

Wuqi.

Wei Huan knew very well that Wuqi was an ancient city in the demon domain, but rather than calling it a city, it was more like an underground fortress. The surface of Wuqi was perpetually engulfed in raging flames that could not be extinguished. All the inhabitants could only live in underground caves. Rumor had it that the demons living in Wuqi had no descendants because they had no distinction between male and female. They fed on soil, and when their lifespan ended, they were buried in the earth.

“You all should know that the demon souls of Wuqi can last a hundred years without dispersing. After they die and are buried, their demon souls wait for a hundred years. After that, the soul returns to the body, and they can live again.”

Yang Ling shuddered, “That’s so creepy.”

“You’re a demon, and you’re still scared?” Boss Jue laughed. “But all that’s in the past now. Hundreds of years ago, during a war—a war among demons themselves—Wuqi’s underground city collapsed. Most demon bodies couldn’t be preserved. With nowhere to return, their souls eventually dissipated. Wuqi became an empty city.”

Yan Shanyue asked, “So your former master was a survivor of Wuqi?”

“No.” Boss Jue raised a finger and waved it, “The founder of the Dark Witch sect was a survivor of Wuqi, but those who came after, including the former master who kicked me out, were not. Whether it’s soul extraction or soul summoning, these techniques were created by the founder using the natural abilities of Wuqi demons. According to my master, even great demons eventually have a day when they must die. The founder had lived enough of an immortal life, so he instructed his disciple to destroy his demon body when his soul left it, fulfilling his wish to finally die.”

Boss Jue sighed, “Although he’s gone, his skills were passed down. But the Dark Witches of Wuqi have a rule—each generation can only take one disciple, only one successor.”

Jing Yun, who had been lying on the table completely absorbed in the story, suddenly sat upright, “So if your master died, wouldn’t the Wuqi Dark Witches be cut off?”

Boss Jue’s face immediately darkened as if she were still angry about it. She almost slammed her cup and said with a mocking tone, “Not at all! She found some wildflower from who-knows-where and passed the Dark Witch inheritance to her instead!”

Yan Shanyue frowned slightly, “Wildflower?”

Boss Jue sighed, “Back then, I really did mess up. Someone paid a huge sum for me to do something. My master disagreed, but that guy’s offer was too generous, so… I went. By the time I collected the soul and returned to Wuqi, she kicked me out.”

As she spoke, she stirred her coffee with a spoon. “It was just collecting a soul, not even a big deal. I thought she was just angry and would cool off. Who knew not long after she found some newcomer, and even taught her the soul summoning technique I hadn’t learned yet! I don’t know what she was thinking. That flower hadn’t even taken human form.”

She went on and on, but there was something Wei Huan couldn’t let go of. He couldn’t ask in front of everyone, so he had to hold it in for now, though his mind was consumed by it, his palms sweating, barely able to follow the rest of the conversation.

Yang Ling asked, “What do you mean, a flower that hasn’t even taken human form?”

At some point, Boss Jue pulled out a ballpoint pen, clicked it, and conjured a piece of white paper in her right hand. She scribbled a few lines, and the sketch leapt to life, turning into a flower emitting a red glow.

Yan Shanyue recognized it, “Manzhuhuasha.”

“Yes, that d*mned flower.” Boss Jue looked utterly disgusted. “This flower carries the stench of death, probably bloomed on some human’s grave. Who knows what kind of stubbornness it had to actually become a demon. When it first approached my master, it was on the brink of death. If not for the witch magic, it wouldn’t have even taken human form.”

A Manzhuhuasha that hadn’t yet taken human form arrived at the witch’s side just as the legitimate student was cast out, inherited the soul summoning technique, and became the sole remaining Wuqi Dark Witch. Wei Huan thought to himself, there must be countless untold stories in this—enough to last three days and nights.

“So, what you’re saying is…” Yan Shanyue’s fox eyes fixed on the bewitching red flower, “the only one in the entire demon domain who still knows soul summoning is this Manzhuhuasha?”

“That’s right,” Boss Jue leaned back in her chair, “but I’m afraid you won’t be able to find her. Dark Witches are much harder to track than I am.”

Wei Huan deliberately provoked her, “Of course, she’s a Dark Witch. You’re just an old woman who got kicked out. Maybe even you don’t know where she is.”

Boss Jue slammed the table in anger, “Who says I don’t know?!”

The four of them across the table stared at her.

Jing Yun gave an awkward smile, “Maybe your master didn’t kick you out because of anything else…”

Yang Ling chimed in, “But because you’re stupid.”

“You guys—!” Boss Jue was so furious that even the little demon who had been quietly writing on the floor stopped and looked up at her.

“Boss Jue, I can offer you something extra so you won’t need to do business for the next ten years,” Yan Shanyue once again tempted her with money.

Boss Jue instantly changed her tune, “Alright then, gorgeous, I’ll point you young fools in the right direction.” As she spoke, she crushed the red flower on the table. After a while, she opened her hand to reveal an orange glowing dot the size of a thumb.

“This is the key to Wuqi’s barrier.”

Impatient Yang Ling immediately reached out, but Boss Jue quickly pulled it back, “Hey, hey, hey, I’m only giving this to one of you.”

Yan Shanyue calmly said, “Give it to this human.”

“Thanks, big boss,” Wei Huan grinned and reached out. Although Boss Jue reluctantly handed over the key to Wuqi’s barrier, she still warned, “But don’t think you’ll definitely find her just because you get into Wuqi. She hasn’t appeared in a long time. I can’t guarantee you’ll find her there.”

“That’s fine, as long as we can get in.” Wei Huan watched as the orange light gradually disappeared in his palm, as if absorbed by his hand. A string of secret incantations immediately surfaced in his mind—the password to Wuqi’s barrier.

“Did you hear that?” Boss Jue poked the little record-keeping demon’s butt with her long, sharp fingernail. “Write it all down properly, so no one can come back and accuse me of cheating later.” With that, she crossed her arms and glanced over at them. “Alright, I’ve answered all Little Fox’s questions. Now it’s my turn to ask.”

“Which one of you was brought back by a soul summoning?”

The moment she asked, both Yang Ling and Jing Yun were completely confused. Wei Huan’s heart skipped a beat, but he pretended not to know anything. The nine-tailed fox just stared into her eyes and remained silent.

“None of you?” Boss Jue seemed a little surprised. “Or is it your friend who was summoned back? Not bad, you actually managed to get that wildflower to help you.” She said this, but casually picked up the mirror on the table that she had previously stretched and enlarged, turning it slowly by the handle and sneaking a glance at its surface. Yan Shanyue noticed this at once and pinned the mirror to the table with foxfire.

“Oh my, alright, alright, I won’t ask anymore,” Boss Jue adjusted her collar. “You’re not the first ones to come looking for me. I was just wondering, has soul summoning become a trend in recent years? Everyone comes to ask about it. Aren’t they afraid of shortening their own lifespan by dabbling in such sinister sorcery?”

Wei Huan’s heart suddenly pounded. “You said others have asked? Who? When?”

Boss Jue sneered, “I’m a professional. Do you think I’d just tell you because you asked? How would I keep doing business if I went around revealing my clients?” As she spoke, the table in front of them vanished into thin air, and she started shooing them out. “Off you go, the shop’s closed.”

Yang Ling scowled, “Give me back Sister Shanyue’s fox fur!”

“Here you go, here you go.” Boss Jue tossed the fox fur into Yang Ling’s arms, then smiled at Yan Shanyue, “Missy, my payment?”

Yan Shanyue opened ten mirror portals for Boss Jue to choose from. She was so delighted she couldn’t stop grinning as she clutched her new treasures tightly. “Alright, alright, I didn’t lose out on this deal. Take care, not seeing you out.”

With a wave of her hand, the four of them disappeared on the spot. Boss Jue was just about to leave when she suddenly felt someone grab her arm. She turned around in shock—it was a hand wearing a golden bracelet.

“D*mn, you scared me!” Boss Jue waved her hand again, and Wei Huan’s whole body reappeared. She glared at him, panting, “Why are you still here?”

Wei Huan didn’t know why Boss Jue’s magic couldn’t remove him—maybe it had something to do with his pact with a great demon like Yun Yongzhou.

Boss Jue just felt a headache coming on. “What, you still want to know who came to see me? Let me tell you, it wasn’t just one or two people. I’m not telling you.”

Wei Huan didn’t press the issue, but smiled calmly. “Do you know whose soul you extracted back then?”

“Me?” Boss Jue twirled her fingers in her hair. “How would I know who it was? Back then, just an ordinary demon came to see me.”

“An ordinary demon?” Wei Huan shook his head. “Was the soul you extracted from a female demon?”

Boss Jue’s expression changed. “How do you know?”

Wei Huan continued, “If you count the years, it should’ve been about twenty years ago? Maybe the request you got was to extract a demon’s soul, seal it in a container, and make sure it could never be released. Am I right?”

Hearing this, Boss Jue was too shocked to speak. “You…”

“Do you know whose soul you extracted?” Wei Huan said, clenching his fists, sadness welling up in his chest. “It was Yun Yongzhou’s.”

Boss Jue’s body swayed. “Yun Yongzhou’s?”

“You don’t want to tell me who else asked about soul summoning—that’s fine.” Wei Huan met her eyes, his gaze sincere. “But I want you to tell me—can his mother’s soul still be released? What do I have to do to set her free?”

In the darkness, both of them fell silent. Boss Jue clearly couldn’t accept that her own greed had led to such consequences. She lowered her head and thought for a while. “There is a way, but that soul is now in the hands of the customer from back then. If I can’t get it back, I can’t break the seal.”

Wei Huan said firmly, “That’s fine. I’ll definitely get it. I just need your promise.”

Boss Jue didn’t look at him, but nodded twice seriously. “I knew I’d have to repay this karmic debt sooner or later.” She frowned and looked up at him. “But I don’t understand. Logically, a soul that’s been extracted— even if you released it—wouldn’t last long, it would just fade away. Why are you going to all this trouble?”

“Someone like you, who has fled from fate without even realizing it,”

Wei Huan lowered his eyes, his smile soft and calm, completely different from his usual self.

“How could you ever understand how precious freedom is?”