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墨書 Inktalez
Generally, after a person takes their last breath, the soul will separate from the body. Following this, a Soul Reaper from the Underworld, also known as the Wuchang Ghost, will come to guide the deceased's soul to the Underworld. It is important to note that this does not mean they are going directly to hell. Upon entering the Underworld, a Judge will open the Death Register to determine whether the soul will continue with reincarnation or needs to enter hell for punishment. Only those who have committed serious sins or those who have generated merit and radiate golden light are qualified to see Yama. Ordinary Judges do not dare to make judgments on these two types of individuals, which is why Yama's presence is necessary.
Of course, there are exceptions where souls cannot be guided by the Soul Reaper or Wuchang Ghost after death, such as Accidental Death Ghosts—those who die outside the recorded time in the Death Register. There are many reasons for becoming an Accidental Death Ghost, including suicide or car accidents. As the saying goes, when a person dies, their soul wanders in the world without entering the Underworld; such souls are referred to as ghosts. This means that if a soul does not reach the Underworld within seven days after death, it is considered a ghost.
Souls of Accidental Death Ghosts generally will not be guided; souls that are not guided become ghosts. However, ghosts cannot survive solely on their own in the human world. Therefore, these lingering ghosts either absorb Resentment and transform into Wraiths or attach themselves to certain objects, becoming Lonely Spirits.
Ghosts can cultivate in the Underworld, and upon reaching a high level of cultivation, they can transform into Demon Gods. Notable Demon Gods include Ox-Head and Horse-Face. However, ghosts in the human realm can only grow stronger by feeding on Resentment. Once Resentment surpasses what a ghost can control, it drives them to act out their most unfulfilled desires before death, such as committing murder. At that point, the ghost becomes an existence devoid of self-awareness, manifesting as an entity that continuously performs its most unfulfilled actions before death—like the Hungry Ghost that once tormented Lin Miaomiao.
However, just as humans possess both good and evil qualities, so do ghosts. There are also ghosts that choose to inhabit certain objects and only appear during dark nights with strong winds; they generally do not harm people. Such ghosts remain invisible to me unless they leave the objects they inhabit.
The old man lived day and night in this villa without any incidents occurring. This suggests either there is a ghost inhabiting here or there simply isn’t one at all.
After resting on the sand on the second floor of the villa for a while, it gradually began to darken. The old man had a habit of sleeping at nine o'clock, but I waited until around midnight before preparing to take action.
However, Zhao Boss was quite bold himself; having lived half his life without ever seeing a ghost, he insisted on accompanying me when I went ghost hunting.
I had no objections since he already believed in this sort of thing. Moreover, family scandals should not be aired publicly—especially for someone in business—because if he were known to have encountered a ghost himself, no one would dare collaborate with him again. So under the condition that I didn’t worry about this matter being publicized, I agreed.
I woke Zhao Boss and took off my Octagonal Taiji pendant from around my neck and handed it to him. The Octagonal Taiji features a Taiji Diagram along with eight original symbols; ordinary ghosts should not dare approach him while wearing it. I then donned my Azure Flower Robe and took out my Peach Wood Sword.
As the saying goes: "A person relies on their attire just as a Buddha relies on gold adornments." Once I put on my Daoist Robe and wielded my wooden sword, I truly resembled a deity performing rituals.
Sneaking downstairs with Zhao Boss (who had seen a ghost in the bathroom downstairs), I activated my Spiritual Sight on the stairs and helped Zhao Boss activate his as well.
“Zhao Boss, this is going to cost extra,” I said to him.
“No problem,” Zhao Boss replied boldly. “As long as you help me catch this ghost, money is no issue.”
Generally speaking, possessing ghosts also need to eat; however, they cannot go out at midnight to steal vegetables! Therefore, possessing ghosts usually come out late at night to absorb Yin Qi in order to maintain their state.
As soon as I arrived downstairs, I seemed to faintly hear some voices. I raised my hand to signal Zhao Boss not to come any closer, as there was still a door blocking the stairs and the hall of his house. So, I pressed my ear against the door.
It sounded like two people were having a conversation outside. Could it be that a gang was involved?
No matter what, whether it was good or bad, one cannot avoid facing it. I pushed open the door, holding a piece of Exorcism paper. (Why did I only use Exorcism? Because I could only draw primitive symbols, and among those, the one for exorcism was specifically aimed at evil spirits and monsters.)
“Hey, where are you running off to, Evil Spirit?”
Before I could react, Zhao Boss jumped out beside me. Seriously? Are you kidding me?
It's not the fierce opponent I'm afraid of; it's the teammate who's as foolish as a pig.
There was no choice but for me to step out from the stairwell.
As soon as I came out, I was stunned. I saw an old man living on the first floor standing alone in the living room, facing a portrait of his late wife, while a Young Woman's figure floated in front of him.
“Old Man, what are you doing?” I asked in surprise. If you want to have a twilight romance, there's no need to imitate Ning Caichen; it's quite harmful to your health! Besides, Ning Caichen had Yan Chixia as his unbeatable support; you can't compare to that.
The old man stood there with an awkward expression.
“Dad, what are you doing?” Zhao Boss said angrily and anxiously, cursing repeatedly.
“Alas.” The old man shook his head, placing his hands behind his back and looking at me: “You must be the one my son hired.”
I awkwardly nodded. This situation was just too bizarre.
“Come here.” The old man waved at me.
I held my Peach Wood Sword behind me and walked up to the old man.
"Are you going to capture her?" The old man pointed at the Young Woman floating in front of him, saying, "Isn't that right?"
The old man, having been a soldier, had a gaze that carried an endless authority.
"Old man, this is inappropriate. You keeping her here is actually harming her," I pointed at the Young Woman. "There are rules between the human world and the Underworld. You're breaking those rules."
Wasn't the old man a soldier? Soldiers are supposed to adhere to discipline.
"You don't need to lecture me," the old man waved his hand at Zhao Boss: "Brat, come over here."
Although Zhao Boss was nearly forty, he still acted like a child in front of the Old Man.
Zhao Boss obediently walked to the Old Man's side. The Old Man raised his hand and pulled Zhao Boss in front of the Young Woman: "Do you still recognize her?"
In that moment, I suddenly noticed that the old man's back had noticeably hunched over, and his voice lacked its previous authority, sounding somewhat desolate. With a trembling voice, he slowly said, "This is your mother!"
Zhao Boss staggered back two steps as if struck hard: "No, it can't be. My mom has been dead for many years!"
"Alas." The old man shook his head and pulled two chairs over for me and Zhao Boss, indicating for us to sit down.
"I've known Mother of the Child for how many years? I can't remember exactly, but it must be at least five years. Back then, I was just a new recruit, and she was a nurse at the health clinic."
Why does this story sound so familiar? Are you sure there isn't a country that made a TV drama about this?
"I think I got injured back then; it was quite serious. Oh right, I fell off the horizontal bar and broke two ribs. I lay in bed for three months, and it was your mother who took care of me all along. Gradually, I started to like that nurse."
"But you know what times we were in? Soldiers absolutely couldn't date back then, so I didn't pursue anything. Later on, when I recovered and she came to bring me my last dinner, I finally...," the old man paused here and looked affectionately at the Young Woman, who slightly lowered her head as if shy.
Wow, I really underestimated this old man; it turns out he was quite the ladies' man.
"Your mother (this isn't an insult, just a term of address) didn't agree with me, but instead ran away with a flushed face. At that moment, I thought, that's it, if she reports this, I'll be called out by the unit. But she neither answered nor reported it. Until that year's great Flood."
"That year's Flood was massive; even a building could be swept away. My unit received strict orders to hold the last dam at all costs. Each of us wrote a will before getting on the truck. Just before I got on, your mother suddenly ran over and handed me a note."
As the old man spoke, his face turned noticeably rosy, and his eyes squinted into slits, while the woman across from him quietly watched.
"The Flood was too great; soon the dam collapsed, and we were ordered to fill sandbags. Before long, some Comrades fell into the water and were never found again. While I was moving sandbags, my foot slipped, and I fell into the water. In an instant, I was swept away. But I couldn't die; your mother was waiting for me. Miraculously, I got caught by a large tree. I was young then and desperately clung to the tree until I managed to climb up. It wasn't until the next night that someone found me."
"Unexpectedly, while I was recovering, she came to take care of me. After that incident, I was awarded Third-Class Merit, and later on, I stayed in the army. When I finally became Squad Leader, I had the qualifications to submit a marriage application."
"Thus, your mother and I finally became a couple." The old man's voice carried a sense of nostalgia and satisfaction.
"In fact, my family opposed it; her family were Intellectuals while mine were just farmers from the countryside. Fortunately, I was still a Squad Leader, so the organization approved it, and her family had no objections. The following year, we had a child—this Brat."
The old man pointed at Zhao Boss, who looked quite embarrassed.
"But then came unforeseen circumstances. That year, this Brat wanted to go to the city for fun, and his mother took him along." The old man suddenly began to sob.
"But a Truck lost control and headed straight for them. His mother pushed this Brat away but was run over by the Truck."
At this point, the old man was already in tears.
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