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墨書 Inktalez
Yama's Wedding
Changle Village had always been a tranquil and harmonious place. The villagers lived a life free from conflict, with families that had resided there for generations, fostering close-knit relationships among neighbors.
"Sir, has my Tiger caused you any trouble today?" A loud voice announced the arrival of Aunt Qiao before she even appeared in sight.
"Today, Tiger has been very well-behaved. You need not worry, Aunt Qiao." A smiling man led a boisterous child, who resembled a little tiger, from the desk to where Aunt Qiao stood.
Upon seeing his mother, Tiger made a silly face at her.
"You little rascal, just wait until we get home!" Aunt Qiao brandished a shuttle in her hand, pretending to strike at Tiger.
"Goodbye, Sir," Tiger said obediently as he bowed. "If you have the ability, come and catch me! You can't hit me!" With that, he darted past Aunt Qiao, wiggling his bottom as he ran.
"Sir, I must be going now," Aunt Qiao hurriedly bid farewell without waiting for a response from the man and turned to chase after her child. Their voices echoed in the distance: "Ouch! Ouch! Mother, be gentle! My ears! My ears!" "You little rascal, weren't you just fine a moment ago? Let’s see where you can run!" One could easily imagine Tiger grimacing as Aunt Qiao grabbed him by the ear.
The man watched them disappear into the distance and smiled faintly. His previously unremarkable face suddenly seemed to come alive like a forest clearing after fog had lifted. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than the transformed Revolving King Xue.
Xue had been in this village for over two months. Strangely enough, he had not noticed anything unusual. To avoid drawing attention to himself, he introduced himself as Shangjing, a scholar passing through on his way to take an exam, hoping to earn some silver coins. Fortunately, the villagers treated literate individuals with respect, allowing him to stay and observe. However, aside from an initial feeling of strangeness upon entering the village, that sensation had not returned since. Xue began to doubt whether his instincts had been mistaken.
"Sir, are you home?" A woman's voice called from outside.
Reluctantly opening the door revealed Xiu Zhu, the village chief's daughter. Her gaze was so direct that it left him feeling exposed; yet he could not outright reject her kindness since the village chief had treated him well.
"Xiu Zhu, I really don’t need these. I live alone and am quite fine without them."
Xiu Zhu looked at Xue with admiration; despite his ordinary looks and lack of charm, there was something about him that drew her in. Every time she saw him teaching the village children inside his home, she felt a warmth emanating from him. Thus, she often concocted various excuses just to see him.
"Sir, these are some fresh vegetables my father asked me to bring you. He thought you might like to try them." The smiling girl was hard to refuse as she presented her basket to him.
"Please thank the village chief for me and express my gratitude for his kindness."
"Sir, have you ever thought about living here?" Xiu Zhu's thoughts were completely transparent to Xue.
"There is an elderly mother at home who needs support; I do not wish to stray too far from home," Xue skillfully shifted the topic.
"Then, what if someone is willing to help you take care of your parents? Would you be willing?" Before she could finish her sentence, Xiu Zhu's face had already turned slightly red. She finally voiced her feelings; she liked this man in front of her. For someone she liked, she had to make an effort to pursue him. Nervously, Xiu Zhu fidgeted with the embroidered handkerchief in her hands, anxiously awaiting Xue's response.
Xue sighed inwardly. This girl was a good person. He always felt compassion for mortals; to him, they were like his own children, needing protection.
"Xiu Zhu, I understand your feelings, but I have a fiancée," he said. A current rejection was better than future heartbreak.
He actually had a fiancée! Xiu Zhu couldn't believe her ears. The first person she had ever liked already had someone else.
When Xiu Zhu left, she no longer wore the bright smile she had when she arrived. Seeing her dejected expression, Xue could only hope that she would come to terms with it soon.
Night enveloped the village, and under the cover of darkness, a figure moved stealthily through the streets.
Arriving at the forest on the back mountain, Xue surveyed the land. Every night he made a point to patrol this area. Nighttime could conceal many things; his experiences in the Underworld taught him that night was when all sorts of demons and monsters roamed freely. However, for the past two months, he had stayed awake every night without discovering any clues.
As the chill of the mountain air began to dissipate, Xue decided it was time to head back. His footsteps echoed eerily in the stillness of the night.
Something felt off! Suddenly realizing this wasn't right, he noted that even as autumn approached and it was nighttime, it was far too quiet here—almost as if everything were lifeless. Xue extended his senses and confirmed it: there was no life force present; not even the sound of wind!
Then he noticed a white figure darting through the darkness like an arrow shot from a bow.
Indeed, as he observed the villagers before him, their rising chests indicated they were still breathing. But upon closer inspection, there was no sound of breath! One house after another, all the families in the village appeared similar—breathing yet indistinguishable from being alive. It was as if they were living corpses. No matter how much noise he made, they remained unresponsive, lacking even a hint of struggle.
Stepping outside, Xue found the village eerily quiet at night; he realized he had been too careless. Given the current situation, it seemed that the greatest problem lay within the village itself. Scanning his surroundings, he was fortunate enough to spot a Big Head Ghost.
As its name suggests, the Big Head Ghost possessed an extraordinarily large head—three times that of an ordinary person. Folklore often mentioned encounters with "Big Head Ghosts." This ghost typically appeared along roadsides and moved slowly while supporting its large head with both hands. Generally mild-mannered and not prone to harming humans, most people would run away in fear upon seeing such a large head. The Underworld maintained a laissez-faire attitude towards these gentle spirits and did not force them to reincarnate; thus various ghosts continued to wander among mortals.
Waving at the Big Head Ghost, Xue noticed it even sported two little mustaches. Responding to his call, it swayed its head as it walked to maintain balance—a sight that brought a smile to his face. However, Xue had no time to admire this ghost now.
As he approached within arm's reach of the Big Head Ghost, it trembled slightly while supporting its large head. Though unsure who stood before it, instinctively it prepared to bow in respect.
"Rise," Xue commanded. As one of the kings in Ten Halls, these ghosts naturally held him in great reverence.
“How long have you been here?” Xue asked thoughtfully.
“I have lived here for over ten years,” the Big Head Ghost replied, its head bobbing continuously as it spoke. Its eyes kept darting towards Xue.
“Then let me ask you, do you know why the villagers here are acting so strangely?” It seemed that the Big Head Ghost was also a new spirit, with only a few decades of existence. In the world of ghosts, age was akin to that of humans; the longer they existed, the stronger their powers became. There were countless spirits in the world, and some were overlooked by the Underworld. Generally speaking, overlooked spirits, like this somewhat clumsy Big Head Ghost, posed no harm to humans. However, nothing was absolute. The situation in Changle Village suggested that something sinister was at play.
“What strangeness? I just feel that these villagers don’t want to move around at night anymore. There used to be some who would come out at night, and I could watch them, but now no one comes out. It feels so empty everywhere; I feel so lonely…” The Big Head Ghost chattered on, completely missing Xue’s question.
“Alright, you can go now.” Xue waved his hand, wanting to send this rather noisy ghost away.
“Oh right! I remembered! A few years ago, a Killing Ghost came here. Ever since then, the villagers have disliked coming out at night,” the Big Head Ghost said as it slowly swayed its large head and began to drift away.
A Killing Ghost? Also known as a Death Spirit, it was responsible for guiding souls home. When a person died, on the twenty-seventh day after their passing, their soul would return home—similar to how some souls are released from the Underworld during March Third. Whenever a soul returned, it would transform into a Killing Ghost. This Killing Ghost could take on various forms; sometimes it appeared as a cat or fluttered like a butterfly. However, typically after returning home, a Killing Ghost would return to the Underworld and be reincarnated.
Xue reflected on this for a moment. Since Killing Ghosts only formed on their return day, they had short lifespans and weak powers. By common logic, they should not pose much of a threat. However, what the Big Head Ghost had just said seemed illogical; it appeared he needed to investigate further.
After patrolling the village again, Xue saw some ghosts but did not find the Killing Ghost mentioned by the Big Head Ghost. It seemed there was definitely something wrong with this Killing Ghost, but where could it be hiding? He had checked every villager’s body and found no abnormalities.
As dawn began to break softly in the sky, Xue realized he would have to continue his investigation tomorrow. He felt a sudden urge and hurried back to his house before the villagers awoke.
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