Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 018: The Examination of Ghosts (Part Two)
Next, it was Wu Shengxiu who recounted the story that unfolded between her and Ji Xiaoying.
Wu Shengxiu and Ji Xiaoying were close friends who had developed their bond from being middle school classmates.
Both of them stood out, admired by many men for their beauty. However, there was a difference: Wu Shengxiu lived in the countryside, while Ji Xiaoying resided in the city.
Wu Shengxiu's family was rooted in rural traditions, with customs and educational approaches that were entirely different. The experiences they encountered were also vastly dissimilar. In the countryside, girls typically got engaged by the age of twenty, so Wu Shengxiu became engaged at nineteen. Her fiancé was handsome and came from a good family, which made her feel very fortunate.
Ji Xiaoying's situation was the exact opposite of Wu Shengxiu's.
While she was indeed beautiful, during her middle school years, she had an early romantic relationship with a classmate and even experienced a forbidden encounter, resulting in an abortion at a private clinic.
This was something only her close friend Wu Shengxiu knew; no one else was aware of it.
Ji Xiaoying believed in free love, but none of her current boyfriends truly loved her; they were only interested in her body and spent her money.
Meanwhile, Wu Shengxiu was about to marry after three years of dating.
Upon hearing that Wu Shengxiu was getting married, Ji Xiaoying felt a profound sense of loss but also envied her friend's happiness.
Feeling dejected, she shared her troubles with Wu Shengxiu.
Listening to Ji Xiaoying's words brought tears to Wu Shengxiu's eyes. Then, she made a brave decision: to take Ji Xiaoying to her fiancé's home for a visit, sharing her joyful life with her friend in hopes of bringing her some happiness as well.
What Wu Shengxiu didn't expect was that after bringing Ji Xiaoying to her boyfriend's house, something completely unforeseen would happen.
Ji Xiaoying had shown no unusual behavior during her visit to Wu Shengxiu's boyfriend's home; he was warm and welcoming, likely out of respect for Wu Shengxiu.
However, what transpired later caught Wu Shengxiu off guard.
With the wedding approaching, she had many things to discuss with her boyfriend that needed to be settled before the big day. Due to rural customs, couples were not allowed to meet in the days leading up to their wedding, so she hadn’t called him but instead headed straight to his house.
When she arrived, the door was slightly ajar.
It seemed no one was home. With the door left open, could it be that a thief had entered?
In just a few days, she would be the mistress of this house; if a thief really had come in, she couldn’t just stand by and watch.
Without a second thought, Wu Shengxiu stepped inside and began to look around.
She checked the kitchen, the bathroom, and her future in-laws' bedroom.
Finding nothing amiss, she finally made her way to the couple's future home.
Just as she approached the door, she heard an unusual sound.
It was the unmistakable noise of a couple being intimate. Hearing that sound made Wu Shengxiu blush.
Because she had previously been intimate with her boyfriend here.
Moreover, she was very familiar with the sounds of intimacy; one was her boyfriend, Zhou Xiao, and the other was someone she never imagined—her best friend, Ji Xiaoying!
She had no idea when the two of them got together, completely focused on preparing for her wedding while a fire raged in the backyard.
Wu Shengxiu burst into the room.
Inside, a couple was entwined in passion, and they showed no surprise at her arrival. Instead, they greeted her calmly: "You're here."
"This is my home. Ji Xiaoying, who do you think you are?"
Wu Shengxiu angrily questioned her best friend.
At that moment, her boyfriend jumped off the bed and stood between her and Ji Xiaoying. "Who do you think you are?"
"You... you both..."
"Xiuxiu, congratulations! We're getting married soon."
What was supposed to be her wedding instantly turned into Ji Xiaoying's wedding. Wu Shengxiu stood there in shock before covering her head and rushing out of her boyfriend's house.
"It's not like that! He and I are in love with each other, drawn to one another. Xiuxiu isn't what he truly wants; his mother forced him into this. So we are the real love; what he has with her is just an arranged marriage."
Ji Xiaoying argued passionately with Wu Shengxiu about the facts.
I watched them bicker intensely and quickly intervened, "The story isn't over yet. Wu Shengxiu, how did you end up on this path?"
Wu Shengxiu lowered her head in sorrow, contemplating for a long time before slowly recounting the story of how she reached this dead end.
Witnessing her best friend entwined with her fiancé felt like being struck by lightning; she was left in utter despair, having lost all hope in life. For someone in her position, there seemed to be only one way out.
She didn't want to die so easily, nor could she let the pair who betrayed her off the hook so simply.
Thus, Wu Shengxiu chose a method of death that even my grandfather and I couldn't believe.
While fully aware of what she was doing, she dressed herself neatly and picked up a shovel to dig a grave.
What she unearthed was a fresh grave, with the body inside still not fully decomposed. To undertake such an act required unimaginable courage.
"Are you turning yourself into a ghost? Do you want to escape the Underworld's control and avoid reincarnation?"
"You know about this?"
What a joke! If I didn't know this, how could I be a Mortician?
I held back my question and pressed on with the matter at hand: "Who told you to do this?"
"I can't, I promise I can't." Wu Shengxiu refused to answer the question, and without her cooperation, I couldn't uncover the true identity of the person who had pushed her to the brink.
It’s important to note that after digging up a new grave, prying open a coffin requires immense courage and strength.
Although she had enough resentment to take that step, I doubted she could have done it alone without someone’s help.
Next, Wu Shengxiu recounted how she became a Shè Qīng Guǐ, or a vengeful spirit.
First, Wu Shengxiu lay beneath the corpse in the coffin. After enduring great sorrow and absorbing the decaying body’s Corpse Poison, she lost her vitality and gradually gathered resentment and Evil Energy, transforming into a Shè Qīng Guǐ. This type of ghost is not bound by earthly constraints, making it impossible for her to ascend.
Wu Shengxiu wagered her entire life—and even the next—to seek revenge on those who betrayed her. I was left speechless.
Ji Xiaoying trembled in fear upon hearing Wu Shengxiu's terrifying tale and collapsed to the ground with a cry.
"Wu Shengxiu, did killing Ji Xiaoying quell your resentment?"
"No, there's still him."
"Him? You mean Zhou Xiao?" I asked in confusion.
Wu Shengxiu gritted her teeth. "The handsome man from the legends, Chi Zhi Ping. Because he took the fall for someone else and lost contact with her, she felt lonely and cold, so she seduced my fiancé Zhou Xiao. When Chi Zhi Ping returned, she threw herself back into his arms and jumped into his bed."
I vaguely remembered Chi Zhi Ping; I think I had seen him somewhere—maybe in a newspaper or on television? I couldn’t recall clearly. The more I listened, the more confused I became. I remembered Wu Shengxiu talking about Zhou Xiao and Ji Xiaoying being together; now another name, Chi Zhi Ping, had surfaced.
"Wu Shengxiu" insisted stubbornly, "Chi Zhi Ping and Ji Xiaoying have been involved for a long time. The Chi Zhi Ping who took the fall for someone else is back, and she’s colluding with him, causing Zhou Xiao's death."
"How is that possible?" I glanced at the reckless Ji Xiaoying, truly unable to believe that in such a short time, she could treat her feelings as a game. The saying 'those who play with fire will get burned' was indeed true.
Ji Xiaoying struggled to stand up, looking as weak as a transparent shadow. I knew her ghost energy had been severely depleted; if I weren't here, Wu Shengxiu could easily drain her completely.
The terrifying aspect of a Feeding Ghost isn't just the resentment but the fact that once it gains enough power, it can absorb souls to increase its own energy.
Wu Shengxiu was still rational enough to explain this to me, indicating that she still had some conscience left.
As long as there’s even a hint of conscience, it’s a good thing. One must understand that once a Feeding Ghost reaches maturity, my current cultivation level would not be able to handle her.
What I needed to do now was to calm her down and quell her resentment.
Comment 0 Comment Count