Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Now, tell me everything."
Shui Su showed no signs of being the one who had been 'captured' here. He was unwilling to listen to the pale threats of his former colleagues, waving his hand to interrupt their useless chatter and finding an empty chair in the room to sit down, urging them to reveal all their motives.
Clearly, they were wary of him, falling silent and watching his every move intently. Even the simple act of searching for a stool seemed dangerous in their eyes.
The door faced east, and he could see light gradually appearing on the horizon. The cold air from outside slipped in with a gentle breeze, making the others visibly restless. He watched as they shivered, grabbing blankets or clothing from the backs of their chairs to cover their legs and wrap around their shoulders for warmth. Shui Su squinted his eyes, instantly understanding their urgency.
However, his own questions remained unanswered, and he was not inclined to speak again. He settled into a comfortable position, prepared to interrogate the five of them alone.
"You clearly know everything," one of them blurted out first, unable to contain himself. He seemed unaccustomed to properly using a human body, leaning forward with his hands gripping the armrests, stretching his neck while glaring at Shui Su with wide eyes and bared teeth. The upward curve of his lips made him look quite ridiculous.
"You know more than those fools below! Why do we have to explain?" His shout was loud, and after twenty-four hours without sleep, Shui Su found it grating. Rubbing his ears, he shot him a glare that suggested silence and had no intention of responding to such a foolish question.
Yet there was still a clever one among them, an older figure who restrained the loudmouth's antics and spoke slowly: "You've guessed it already; we were involved from the very beginning in bringing this family down."
Shui Su did not deny it but merely raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.
"Being a Ghost Messenger is too lonely," came a hoarse voice from within. It indeed sounded filled with pain. "You were already skilled in the Ghost Messenger role before you were allowed to become human—smart and clever. Despite your youth, you possessed wisdom that none of us could learn. The higher-ups favored you; even the messengers liked you, and the spirits you connected with respected you. Later, when you said you wanted to return to the human world, they opened a green channel for you—not only allowing you to continue reincarnating but also retaining your Ghost Messenger abilities so that you'd never have to worry about food or clothing across lifetimes."
"We wanted that too but were denied. Our applications were rejected countless times by the higher-ups for the same reason: we weren't suitable. But we were human before becoming Ghost Messengers—why is it so easy to come down but so difficult to go back...?"
Shui Su felt a headache coming on from their lamentations and interrupted once more, his tone sharp as he urged them to get to the point.
The woman who had chosen a female body wrapped herself tightly in a red blanket and laughed. Her meticulously applied makeup from earlier had now smudged and clung to her face, with the eyeliner resembling two dark circles under her eyes. She didn’t mind; instead, she extended her hand to admire her nails and continued the conversation from the previous speaker.
“Young people are just so impulsive. When the higher-ups disagree, we naturally have to find a way around it. Fortunately, there are those in the Gu Family who are willing to listen and are ready to give up their current lives for the chance to live forever. We reached an agreement with that second son: as long as they help us with the experiments, we will provide them with healthier, more satisfactory bodies as soon as we succeed. They secretly plotted the downfall of the Gu Family, using the so-called Mighty Falcon to dominate the market as an excuse, teaching a lesson to those in their family who opposed the soul-switching experiment.”
“For all these years, humanity still harms those around them for their own benefit. While we search for suitable bodies, we conduct experiments using methods that won’t be discovered. Capturing a willing soul or one that resonates with the experimental body allows us to transform the original soul into a Wandering Soul and release it. With so many people dying every day, and our usual carelessness, who really cares if the Wandering Soul we capture deserves to die?”
“However, I didn’t expect that the Gu Family would be so ambitious, extending their claws into several other families. They were discovered, condemned, and attacked, ultimately forced to hide the entire experiment and conduct it in secrecy. Luckily, he was clever enough to understand how to make you feel somewhat at ease—by sacrificing a batch of useless individuals and granting high-ranking titles to perfectly pin the blame.”
“And now, we have succeeded. Not only do we possess suitable bodies, but we also have our loyal team. Anyone trying to capture us now cannot act against those who still have names and identities in this world. Even if those families want to move against us, they cannot overpower members transformed into perfect humans. You must have noticed those in the room when you entered; each one is quite capable.”
The woman smiled brightly and then turned her gaze toward the sunlight streaming into the room behind him, her eyes shining as if she could already see the future. Not just her; several others shared similar expressions of joy, gazing longingly at the sunlight that felt so far away yet filled them with infinite affection.
Ghost Messengers rarely work during daylight; down below there is always darkness, even the flames burning are a ghostly green-blue hue, creating a scene of lifelessness. Most Ghost Messengers are souls who have died—disappointed with life while alive and given a chance to linger after death. They no longer remember their lives before becoming Ghost Messengers, but their thirst for sunlight has never faded. Over time spent in darkness, they develop a yearning for a world that changes daily.
The human body is heavy enough to bind the soul within it; even floating freely off the ground is impossible. Yet life is so light that regardless of how heavy or painful past wounds may be, countless people still yearn for a new life.
“You make us so envious,” someone said as they left their seat and walked barefoot toward the bright spot on the floor. Standing on the cold tiles, they greedily exposed themselves fully to the sunlight, their voice tinged with a hint of tears. “What else could there be? We’re just here, striving for ourselves. The world is truly wonderful—there’s sunlight, lakes, birds and beasts—so many things that we Ghost Messengers can never possess yet cannot enjoy. Shui Su, this world is so beautiful that I regret ever choosing to become a Ghost Messenger. It’s a pity you and other Ghost Messengers don’t understand us.”
“Why should I understand?” Shui Su replied, taken aback by this sudden outpouring of emotion. He twisted his stiff neck dismissively and snorted coldly. “There are so many ways to return to the living world; why do you insist on finding excuses for disrupting both earthly and underworld order with such foolish reasoning? Do you think telling me this will move me?”
“It won’t.” He stood up as well, stretching his limbs before pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. “It only makes me realize that you are indeed hopeless fools—self-righteously leaving, self-righteously conducting these foolish experiments while confidently bringing me here to threaten me. It seems this is why you haven’t participated in meetings for years; you must be completely unaware that Underworld already knows your intentions in great detail.”
Comment 0 Comment Count