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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 9: All a Trick
Ji Zichen observed the situation coldly, thinking, "While I attack him, he uses the bronze mirror to block my path. This means the bronze mirror is his weapon. As long as I can disarm him, I have a chance of winning."
Seeing Judge hiding behind the bronze mirror, he mocked, "You may claim not to fear the Five Elements Pearl, but in reality, you're terrified, aren't you?"
Judge's face was stern, as if Ji Zichen's words struck a chord within him. He replied with a harsh tone, "Don't overestimate yourself; otherwise, you'll end up dead."
Chen San stared wide-eyed at Ox-Head and Horse-Face, his face paler than a corpse. "The mirror shows the Underworld Road. It seems we are truly going to die this time. I'm sorry for dragging you into this, miss."
Lin Chuyu ignored Chen San's words and thought to herself, "Maybe I should let Ox-Head and Horse-Face take me in. If I die, no one will fight over the Vermilion Bird Pearl because of me."
But as she gazed at Ji Zichen's poised back, ripples of emotion stirred within her. "No! I can't seek death. If I die, Brother Ji's eye condition won't be cured, and his master will be lost too. I can't give up. Yes, I can't give up. Brother Ji is very capable; he will definitely defeat this Yin Chai. I... I can't hold him back."
Though Ji Zichen did not turn around, he seemed to sense Lin Chuyu's emotional turmoil. He said, "Lin Chuyu, don't dawdle! Focus!"
Lin Chuyu perked up! "I... I'm not dawdling! Brother Ji, you don't need to worry about us; we can take care of ourselves."
Ji Zichen knew exactly how capable Lin Chuyu was, but he understood her intentions. He smiled slightly and said, "Stubborn."
Lin Chuyu smiled back. "Don't lose to him. I saved your life with the Three Cities Token; you still owe me for that."
Ji Zichen smiled without answering. Suddenly, he twitched his nose; he caught a whiff of burnt smell and thought in surprise, "Where is this burnt smell coming from?"
From behind the mirror, Judge could see Ji Zichen's every move clearly despite the mirror appearing to block his view. Seeing Ji Zichen's nose twitching made Judge's heart race as he thought, "This person isn't foolish; if this drags on any longer, he might figure something out."
Judge then shouted sternly, "You've talked too much; pull them all into the Underworld Passage!"
Ji Zichen stood at the head of the wooden bridge while Lin Chuyu and Chen San were at the tail end. Mirrors surrounded the wooden bridge on all sides. In an instant, chains were thrown from Ox-Head and Horse-Face in the mirrors surrounding them. The chain from the left mirror ensnared the wooden bridge while White Impermanence threw a chain that wrapped around Chen San's ankle. Terrified, Chen San screamed and tried to run away but stumbled as the iron chain caught his foot.
Seeing Chen San's ankle ensnared, Lin Chuyu rushed forward to help him but found her own ankle caught by a chain from Black Impermanence behind her. Meanwhile, Ji Zichen faced Horse Face in front of him as chains were thrown his way.
Ji Zichen reacted swiftly and leaped several times to evade them.
Horse Face could not hold onto the person and retracted the iron chain back into the mirror.
Judge chuckled ominously, "It seems I really can't hold onto you, monkey. That's fine; I'll let you watch as those two are dragged into the Underworld Passage!"
The iron chain was suddenly pulled back, and Chen San and Lin Chuyu were yanked to the ground, dragged several feet off the wooden bridge, screaming. The wooden bridge held by Ox-Head also shook violently, causing Ji Zichen to lose balance and fall onto the bridge. With a loud crack, the large wooden bridge split in two, revealing a gap in the middle.
Ji Zichen fell just outside the gap, and as soon as it appeared, the bridge stopped shaking. Seeing Chen San and Lin Chuyu about to be pulled into the mirror, Ji Zichen shouted, "Earthly Punishment!"
The light around Ji Zichen dimmed slightly. Noticing that Sand was sticking to the surface of the mirror, just like when Sand had clung to Rong Tree King's trunk before, he covered the mirror with Sand. As Chen San and Lin Chuyu crashed into the sandy surface, they were met with a soft impact that left them covered in dirt.
The four-sided copper mirror had become like four walls of sand, isolating the Underworld Passage with a layer of sand.
Judge exclaimed in surprise, "Hmm! You managed to cover the mirror with Sand, which is quite clever."
Ji Zichen slowly got up, a smile of high analytical insight on his face. "Not quite right."
The Judge was momentarily stunned. "Not quite right about what?"
Locking eyes with the Judge, Ji Zichen said, "My lightning has already shattered your mirror!"
A stiff smile appeared on the Judge's face. "What nonsense are you talking? My mirror is clearly undamaged."
With confidence, Ji Zichen replied, "If the mirror is undamaged, then where does that burnt smell come from?"
The Judge's face turned pale as he feigned ignorance. "What burnt smell?"
Calmly, Ji Zichen continued, "Earlier, I was intimidated by your identity as Yin Chai, almost fooled by you. But when I smelled that burnt smell, I asked myself a question."
"What did you ask yourself?" asked the Judge.
Continuing his explanation, Ji Zichen said, "You were entrusted by Yama to manage Underworld Town. For now, I'll assume that's true. Even if you have some connection with Yama, I believe he wouldn't dare violate the laws of life and death or take lives recklessly. If you abuse your power as Yin Chai Ling, I think even he wouldn't spare you. Despite how well you present everything, I asked myself another question."
"The problem is, why should you, a mere Yin Chai, command the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the Black and White Impermanence? You, Yin Chai Ling, can take a life at will, regardless of whether this person still has time left to live. If what you see in the mirror truly is the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the Black and White Impermanence, wouldn't they fear Yama's wrath?"
The Judge's breath quickened. "What do you want?"
Ji Zichen continued slowly, "What’s in the mirror is not the real Ox-Head and Horse-Face, nor the Black and White Impermanence. The mirror does not reflect the Underworld Passage; these are merely tricks of the Ghostly Veil. In simpler terms, it's just an illusion. You don’t understand anything; all you know is the illusion of the Ghostly Veil!"
The Judge's face trembled. "You... you can't possibly see through it so clearly in such a short time!"
Ji Zichen replied calmly, "Fake is fake; your flaw is that burnt smell!"
As soon as the words "burnt smell" left her lips, the sand clinging to the mirror surface fell away. The original reflection gradually faded, revealing four large banana leaves. The leaves before Ji Zichen were completely charred and wilted on the ground. She said, "The burnt smell comes from the scorched banana leaves! This is your illusion!"
The Judge's brow twitched.
Chen San had heard what Ji Zichen said. He and Lin Chuyu got up, covered in dirt, and found that their feet were no longer bound by chains. Chen San picked up a banana leaf and spat on it. "So it was just a banana leaf! Damn it, I almost got scared half to death by this leaf."
Ji Zichen raised her Demon-Slaying Sword. "Although killing Yin Chai will shorten my life, it's worth it!"
With a thrust of her Demon-Slaying Sword towards the Judge, just as it reached his chest without touching him yet, blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth. Ji Zichen was taken aback to see Goddess Luo behind the Judge with a knife plunged into his back.
The Judge's face turned pale as he knelt weakly on the ground. "Luo... why are you killing me?"
Luo wept bitterly as she shouted at him, "Why kill you? I should have killed you long ago! You beast!"
With a loud cough, the Judge spat out a mouthful of blood before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
With the Judge dead, the scene around Ji Zichen shifted to reveal the Town Guardian Pillar before her eyes.
Lin Chuyu saw that they were still mounted on their horses. Chen San suddenly shouted with wide eyes, "We haven't left Underworld Town yet! You guessed right after all!"
Hearing Luo's sobs, Ji Zichen turned to her right and saw the Judge's body lying on the ground while Luo sat beside him in despair. Behind her stood a crowd of townsfolk, all nervously staring at the Judge's corpse.
A villager trembled as he asked, "Is the Judge dead?"
Townsman B replied in disbelief, "The Judge is really dead!"
The townsfolk exchanged glances, and suddenly they raised their hands and cheered!
"That's great!"
"Awesome!"
"This Yin Chai is finally dead!"
"Ruo killed Yin Chai; she is a great benefactor of Underworld Town!"
The villagers cheered, leaving Lin Chuyu puzzled. She dismounted her horse and asked, "What's going on? Why are you all so happy?"
Two Gods excitedly pushed through the crowd and rushed to embrace Ruo tightly, both of them crying.
After a moment of tears, they gazed at Ruo with deep affection and said, "Qingju, it's all right now. We're safe."
Ignoring the onlookers, Qingju held onto the two tightly and said, "Brother Liang, we can finally be together."
Ji Zichen nearly fell off her horse in disgust. Ruo was as round as a meatball, while the two referred to her delicate Qingju. Their affectionate demeanor made Kiko exclaim, "You two are a couple!"
The two helped Qingju to her feet. Qingju explained, "Underworld Town is inhabited by ghosts, and every five years a new Yin Chai takes over. The previous Yin Chais were kind to us, but this one is completely different. Three days after he arrived in Underworld Town, he captured me to make me his daughter. I wasn't this fat before; he fed me greasy food three times a day until I became plump."
"There were times I didn't want to eat, and he threatened me that if I refused, he'd have Horseface Wuchang take Brother Liang and my parents away. I had no choice but to submit to his tyranny."
Qingju blushed and added, "Brother Liang and I are already married."
Lin Chuyu was astonished. "Since you two are married, why were you so harsh with him that night we entered the town?"
Qingju sighed, "I don't want it to be this way either, but Yin Chai insists that I must treat everyone in Town like this. He also wants me to keep Town spotless; if there's any dirt, he will whip me."
Tears welled up in the eyes of the second person. "Qingju, you've suffered all these years."
Chen San, however, reproached Qingju with displeasure. "I see you've gotten used to bullying people! If it weren't for the young hero who saved you back then, would you really have tried to kill me?"
Qingju panicked and knelt down, saying, "Uncle, I'm sorry. This... this was not my intention. How could I dare to kill someone?"
Ji Zichen stepped forward to help Qingju up and said to Chen San, "Uncle, you're wrong here. The people of Underworld Town were originally clean everywhere. Yet you locked yourself in a filthy cage and refused to bathe. If I were a Traitor Official, I wouldn't spare you either."
Chen San replied with grievance, "You are my benefactor; I won't argue with you."
The second person stepped forward and said, "The three of you should come back to the inn with me; let the townsfolk treat you well."
The townspeople immediately echoed in agreement.
Ji Zichen quickly shook his head. "No need for that. Today is July 14th; I wouldn't dare stay and eat, live, or sleep with the spirits."
Lin Chuyu chimed in, "Brother Ji, where are we going next?"
Ji Zichen mounted his horse and said, "Fangwen Mansion; let's go see the Vermilion Bird!"
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