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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 116: The Ghost Gate
Biting the tip of my tongue and spitting out true Yang saliva essentially means overdrawing one's own true Yang energy. True Yang energy can be overdrawn temporarily, but once it is depleted, the Yang energy will be weaker than it was before the overdraw. This is why biting the tongue usually only happens in critical moments; no one bites their tongue at the first sign of a ghost.
As I forced the ghost back a bit, I had a moment to glance back at Cao Qilong. I saw him hurriedly take out a jade pendant from his body; this pendant was left by Master Ma, known as the Ghost Seal.
With the jade pendant in hand, he formed a spell gesture, muttering incantations, then shouted, "Paper soldiers and generals appear to kill ghosts, Urgent Order, command!"
As soon as the command was issued, the Ghost Seal in his hand flashed with golden light, and suddenly more than a dozen Paper Figurines appeared before us.
These Paper Figurines were different from those sold in paper shops for funerals. They were not painted with red and green colors but were all clad in armor, with wide-open eyes. They were also taller than ordinary Paper Figurines and wielded long swords and axes, exuding a fierce aura.
Seeing this, I was astonished; I never expected there were indeed such things as paper soldiers and generals. I also didn't anticipate that this Ghost Seal contained such wonders. Of course, I understood that this was undoubtedly a technique for controlling paper figures. However, this sudden scene truly opened my eyes and left me amazed.
Once the paper soldiers and generals emerged, they charged at the Evil Spirits like warriors on an ancient battlefield.
Immediately, the sounds of battle filled the air, and the situation turned around in an instant. The ghosts belonged to the Yin realm, and so did the paper soldiers and generals; thus, their fighting was not much different from human combat. Each strike elicited a reaction; when the swords and axes of the paper soldiers struck the bodies of the ghosts, there would be cries of shock, followed by the Evil Spirits dissipating into nothingness.
Taking advantage of a momentary pause, I approached Cao Qilong to ask how he had summoned these paper soldiers and generals. He explained that he had crafted them himself earlier; the Ghost Seal could seal spirits and hide them away, so he had stored them within it. Whenever he needed them, he just had to summon them.
Upon hearing this, I broke into a cold sweat, thinking to myself that in such a dangerous situation earlier, why didn’t he bring out these paper soldiers sooner? It made me worry for nothing; I even bit my tongue—what a scoundrel!
Although I mentally criticized him, I also thought that once this was over, I would definitely ask him to make me ten or twenty paper soldiers and generals to seal within my Ghost Seal. Then when encountering Evil Spirits in the future, I wouldn’t even need to lift a finger; I could just summon them as my henchmen. That would surely be quite impressive!
While I was lost in these thoughts, suddenly there was a change at the Living Sacrifice Altar. A thick fog of Yin energy spread out, and then on one side of the Mound, an old stone door unexpectedly opened.
The stone door was engraved with various depictions of Evil Spirits, while inside lay endless darkness. At that moment, all the Evil Spirits defeated by the paper soldiers rushed into the open stone door…
Cao Qilong did not let Paper Soldiers chase in, but instead pointed with his finger and shouted "Stop," and then the previously fierce Paper Figurine suddenly disappeared.
At this moment, Cao Qilong asked me, "What should we do now?"
The sudden change left us momentarily stunned. I looked at the stone door that had appeared out of nowhere and saw three large characters carved above it: Ghost Gate!
"Ghost Gate?" I exclaimed in shock.
The Ghost Gate is the threshold between the Yin and Yang realms. Passing through the Ghost Gate leads to the Underworld. It is said that there are ghost soldiers guarding the Ghost Gate, wielding swords and halberds to check for a "Pass." Any Wandering Soul that arrives here will be inspected to see if they have a pass. This pass is known as the "Pass." It serves as proof for a soul after death to report to the Underworld. Whenever a person dies, the local Land Temple issues a Pass, which the Wandering Soul takes to the Ghost Gate. After verification, they can enter. If a Wandering Soul cannot enter the Ghost Gate, they cannot reincarnate and will instead become a wandering ghost.
Beyond the Ghost Gate lies a road called Yellow Springs Road. There is an old saying that it is difficult to walk on Yellow Springs Road; when looking up, one cannot see the sun or stars; when looking down, one cannot see the dust of the earth; when looking ahead, one cannot see the main road; and when looking back, one cannot see friends or family. Yellow Springs Road leads directly to the Underworld, where souls await judgment from Yama. Those who lived good lives may be reborn, while those who did evil will be sent to Hell to suffer punishments such as skinning and dismemberment.
Souls waiting for reincarnation can return to the Yin Realm to visit their Relatives on the fifteenth day of Lunar July. At that time, the Main Entrance of the Ghost Gate will open, allowing souls to exit into the Yin Realm. However, once the Ghost Festival is over, souls must re-enter through the Ghost Gate and return to the Underworld to await their reincarnation.
In short, the Ghost Gate is a threshold between the Yin and Yang realms; once you pass through it, you enter the Underworld.
At this point, upon my exclamation, Cao Qilong also noticed that this door was indeed the Ghost Gate and exclaimed in surprise, "Ghost Gate? This is actually the Ghost Gate? Shidi, do you think this is real?"
To be honest, I was also puzzled. The Ghost Gate is supposed to be guarded by Yin Soldiers; it’s not a place where souls can just come and go freely. However, this Ghost Gate clearly had no Yin Soldiers guarding it since those Evil Spirits had just rushed in.
I voiced my thoughts, but Cao Qilong did not fully agree. He said, "This place should be where the Yin and Yang realms connect; there’s no doubt about it. So it’s not surprising that there’s a Ghost Gate here. As for why there are no guarding Yin Soldiers, perhaps it's because of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—the four spirits guarding the Hundred Grievances Soul Locking Formation."
Hearing Cao Qilong's words made me feel he had a point. The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise refer to the Tomb Mounds located in the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest of the village. However, those Tomb Mounds had all been relocated by me at villagers' request. This means that Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—the Four Spirits—had also left; naturally, no one would guard this Ghost Gate anymore.
Thinking about this made me finally understand why Black and White Impermanence had previously said I was intentionally helping Evil Spirits escape. If those four spirits were indeed meant to guard this Ghost Gate, then my relocation of them had unwittingly assisted Evil Spirits in exiting through the Ghost Gate.
I began to feel anxious and asked Cao Qilong, "Shixiong, if what you say is true, what should we do now? Black and White Impermanence also said we need to clean up this mess ourselves. It’s impossible for Underworld to send Yin Soldiers over to guard now; surely they can't expect just us two to guard it?"
Cao Qilong gave a bitter smile and said, "The two of us, mere mortals, how could we possibly guard this Gate of the Underworld? Ugh, this is really giving me a headache."The two of us were at a loss, staring at the wide-open Gate of the Underworld. Finally, I said, "Why don't we go in and take a look?""Go into the Gate of the Underworld! Junior Brother, don’t scare me like that. You want to go in and see Lin Xiaoqi, but I haven’t had enough of life yet. If you want to go, go by yourself, but don’t drag me into it." Cao Qilong was startled upon hearing this.I immediately rolled my eyes and said, "Entering the Gate of the Underworld doesn't necessarily mean certain death. Don't you know about crossing into the Yin World?""Crossing into the Yin World? You mean sealing our Yang energy and taking a trip to the underworld before coming back?" Cao Qilong finally understood what I meant.I nodded and said, "Yes, we're the ones who caused this mess. Now that no one's guarding the Gate of the Underworld, we can't just let things go, can we? So, I plan to head to the underworld, go straight to King Yama, and once he knows, he surely won’t just leave things be, right?"Cao Qilong nodded, clearly agreeing that although this wasn't the best plan, it was the only plan we had. However, he suddenly looked up at me and asked, "Junior Brother, have you ever crossed into the Yin World before?""No, never," I shook my head and chuckled.Cao Qilong was dumbfounded and said, "You've never done it before, and you're still willing to risk it? Looks like this time, my life is in serious danger!"I patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry. Just because we've never seen a pig run doesn't mean we haven't eaten pork. Though I haven't crossed into the Yin World, I know how to do it. There's a first time for everything, we just need to be careful."And just like that, the first time we ever crossed into the Yin World was casually decided. Without further delay, we got busy preparing for the journey, getting ready to cross into the Yin World and head to the underworld!
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