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墨書 Inktalez
Yama's Wedding
The villagers of Changle Village, although peaceful and uncontentious, were primarily shaped by their geographical location rather than their simple way of life. Nestled deep within the mountains, the village was incredibly isolated, resulting in very few people coming or going. This state of seclusion initially made it resemble a utopia. However, over time, some villagers began to yearn for the outside world. But what could be so appealing beyond their tranquil existence? Thus, the village split into two factions: one led by the village chief advocating for exploration, and the other, a conservative group led by Gao Jun, opposing any change. The two sides were stubborn and each had their own arguments.
Unexpectedly, the village chief secretly sent several young villagers outside during a time of war. These young people, naive and inexperienced, quickly fell victim to bullying from neighboring villages. Consequently, Changle Village was exposed to the outside world. The unfortunate truth was that due to its isolation, Changle Village had remained untouched by war and disaster, making it appear prosperous compared to surrounding villages. Once discovered, neighboring villagers seized the opportunity to raid Changle Village. Having lived in comfort for so long, the villagers were ill-prepared for combat and could only passively accept threats from outsiders.
As time passed, neighboring villages realized how easy it was to bully Changle Village. Initially, they stole food and supplies; later, they began abducting women. Even a cornered rabbit will bite when pushed too hard. Gao Jun organized the strong laborers in the village to resist. However, while they were secretly training for a counterattack, they were betrayed by the village chief. This fledgling resistance was swiftly captured by those marauders. To ensure their own safety under pressure from the village chief, those captured pointed fingers at Gao Jun as the instigator. For the invaders, all they needed was an example to intimidate others. Qiao Er would remember vividly how a group of men stormed into her home and took Gao Jun away, only to burn him alive in the village ancestral hall. The flames that day were so fierce that all she could see was red.
Yet this was not the end; killing Gao Jun was merely part of their plan. What followed would become a nightmare for them all.
At that time, Tiger had lost her head of household and the villagers viewed her family as a threat to be avoided at all costs. In this dire situation, the village chief brought in a man. From the moment he entered, Qiao Er recognized him as the son of the wealthiest village chief from a neighboring settlement—the very same who had vocally called for Gao Jun's death.
“Qiao Er,” he said with a smirk, “your head of household is gone now; I think Tiger needs a man around here!” The village chief's sycophantic words made Qiao Er feel nauseous.
“Get out! Leave my house!”
“Qiao Er, don’t refuse my kindness; I have my eyes on you now. Whether you like it or not, I’m claiming you.” The village chief's son had an oily demeanor and lecherous eyes that roamed over Qiao Er’s body incessantly, making her skin crawl.
“Get out!” Qiao Er screamed furiously as she hurled objects at them.
“Ow! You crazy woman! Just wait!” The two men scrambled out of Qiao Er’s house while cursing her from outside.
During those days, Qiao Er often wished she had gone with Gao Lang instead; yet every time she looked at Tiger, she felt an overwhelming sense of reluctance.
The village chief's son continued to pressure his father relentlessly. Qiao Er knew there would always be someone like him.
When she pushed open her door, she found herself face-to-face with familiar villagers who usually greeted her with smiles: Aunt Li with her cheerful demeanor, Brother Zhang with his warm welcome, and approachable Aunt Wang from next door.
“Qiao Er,” Aunt Li said kindly, “why don’t you just accept Young Master Wang? We’d all be grateful.”
“Qiao Er, that Young Master Wang treats you so well. Your husband is gone, and Tiger... you need to think about the two of you!” That was Sister Wang's voice, right?
“I think a woman and child don’t understand anything. We should just tie her up and take her,” Brother Zhang said, his usual boldness shining through. But the words he spoke were so repulsive.
Looking at their faces, their mouths spewing such disgusting words made her stomach churn.
“Hahaha!” Qiao Er laughed wildly. These people! It was these very people! Gao Jun had told himself more than once to protect the villagers well!
“Gao Jun, do you see this? Your bones are not even cold yet, and your wife is about to be sent to your enemies' bed by the very villagers you wanted to protect. Do you see this?”
“Shut up, you filthy woman! Someone, tie her up! I tell you, whether you want to or not, you will comply,” the village chief shouted in anger at Qiao Er’s defiance, hastily directing someone to gag her.
At this memory, Aunt Qiao pressed tightly against Gao Jun’s side, trembling uncontrollably.
After a long silence, Xue was not a foolish person. He could only remain silent.
“Sir, no, King of Hell. Do you know that there is also hell on earth?” Aunt Qiao suddenly chuckled lightly. “A hungry child and a defenseless woman facing a pack of wolves—what do you think they can do to survive?”
“Tiger, you don’t want him anymore, do you?” A child's cries echoed nearby. The village chief's hand was around Tiger's neck, as if he could end his life with a single move. Qiao Er gave up struggling.
That night the rain fell heavily, but Aunt Qiao still felt it wasn’t enough. Young Master Wang’s lewd laughter seemed to linger in her ears, along with the village chief’s sycophantic voice: “Young Master Wang, the person has been delivered; enjoy yourself.” How filthy—how could she be so dirty?
“You filthy woman! You refuse my toast and choose punishment instead. Let me tell you, you're just an old shoe I’m tired of playing with.” Young Master Wang adjusted his pants and spat on the ground. “Woman, I want to see you beneath me!”
Back home, Aunt Qiao was covered in wounds. Looking at Gao Jun’s memorial tablet, she couldn’t help but collapse over the coffin and weep bitterly.
“Qiao Er! Qiao Er!”
“Who? Who is it? Gao Jun? Is that you?” As she cried, Qiao Er suddenly heard Gao Jun’s voice.
“Qiao Er, it's me. Don't be afraid, it's me.”
Qiao Er wiped her tears and searched for the source of the voice. It was Gao Jun's voice; she was sure she hadn't misheard.
The corpse in the coffin silently sat up, its charred hand slowly rising. Qiao Er watched this scene unfold before her, feeling no fear at all. “Gao Jun, Gao Jun, is that you?” She rushed forward and embraced the body that had become like black charcoal.
“It’s me, it’s me,” the darkened corpse slowly uttered.
“What’s happening?” Facing this corpse, Qiao Er felt no fear in her heart; this was her Gao Jun, her husband.
“Today marks the seventh day since my death; it is my Night of Resurrection. Just now, I got a bit too excited and re-entered my body,” Gao Jun struggled to say a few words. “I saw everything; I’m sorry, Qiao Er.”
“Why didn’t you come back sooner? Why?” The greatest grievance in her heart was laid bare before her beloved. Qiao Er couldn’t help but feel wronged. Why? What had she done wrong?
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
That night, Gao Jun continuously comforted Qiao Er, and deep within their hearts, seeds of hatred were sown.
What followed unfolded smoothly. Qiao Er had heard from many elders that if a person dies and does not return to the Underworld during the Night of Resurrection, but instead remains in their body and uses the breath of a living person to cover the breath of the dead, they could deceive the Ghost Messenger. Thus, they succeeded; Gao Jun managed to stay in the human realm.
However, such a Killing Ghost could not survive in a world filled with yang energy without causing harm. Xue was curious about how they had managed to survive until now.
Qiao Er had always thought that as long as they could deceive the Ghost Messenger and let Gao Jun remain in the human realm, everything would be fine. But she hadn’t anticipated that good times wouldn’t last long; soon, Gao Jun’s soul grew weak and could no longer enter his own body. He would occasionally turn transparent. Qiao Er was terrified and sought out Taoists and monks everywhere for help, but none were effective.
“What happened next?” Xue asked.
“Later on… we encountered a female ghost—no, perhaps she wasn’t a ghost,” Qiao Er's gaze became confused.
Xue seized on one word: female ghost? “What did you encounter?”
It was one evening when she and Gao Jun were preparing to experiment with a new method. They saw the woman, dressed in a purple robe, her figure barely discernible in the night.
"You are dead, and you are alive!" The woman's voice was crisp and pleasant, yet it revealed Qiao Er's greatest secret, sending chills down both her and Gao Jun's spines.
"Who are you?" Gao Jun stepped in front of Qiao Er protectively.
"What you are doing will bring punishment. You, sneaking into the mortal realm, becoming a Killing Ghost, and you, a mere mortal, daring to change the path!" The woman casually pointed at Gao Jun, her tone indifferent. "Let me help you!"
Qiao Er looked at the woman in confusion. "Why do you want to help us?"
"Heh, for no reason other than my own amusement!" The woman's flippant remark was oddly convincing, as if it were simply her nature. "If he doesn't consume enough malevolent energy soon, he will vanish."
Seeing Gao Jun's already weakened soul, Qiao Er felt uncertain about trusting this woman. However, she agreed; after all, keeping Gao Jun alive in the mortal realm was paramount.
The woman tossed them a stone and taught them how to siphon the souls of villagers without causing their deaths, though it would leave them as mere shells of their former selves.
Their first target was Young Master Wang from the neighboring village.
Young Master Wang had died—specifically, he had been scared to death. His eyes were wide open, a bit of black cat fur clinging to his lips, and his body bore bruises as if he had been whipped. His stiff corpse lay in the street, drawing a crowd of onlookers while Qiao Er continued with her own affairs as if nothing had happened.
That scoundrel had wet himself out of fear last night. The memory of Young Master Wang's terrified expression made Qiao Er chuckle. Initially, they only intended to consume his soul, but perhaps due to his guilty conscience from past misdeeds, he had frightened himself to death upon seeing Gao Jun.
The authorities had come several times but found no evidence. Young Master Wang was the only son of the village chief, who went mad with grief over his loss. The once prosperous family fell into decline.
As they consumed more souls, Gao Jun's supply of malevolent energy dwindled, weakening his ability to maintain his existence in the mortal realm. He began to exhibit violent tendencies and lost control at times; Tiger's soul was inadvertently consumed during one such episode. The woman had only taught them how to absorb souls but never how to expel them.
To help Gao Jun absorb more souls, Qiao Er and Gao Jun manipulated the village chief into allowing some passing travelers to stay behind so they could harvest their souls.
Having become a being of malevolence, Gao Jun gained power from these souls and began to regain his human form. Until now.
Xue looked at the couple before him, explaining that the way of the Killing Ghost was not to consume souls.
"Killing Ghosts are weak spirits that usually maintain their presence in the human world by creating mischief. Since they are attached to their own corpses, they perform their mischief in the places they inhabited during their lives or scare people to gather negative energy."
"What?" Gao Jun stared incredulously at Xue, realizing what this meant.
"That's right. Consuming souls is not how Killing Ghosts gather negative energy. That woman seems to want to turn you into a vengeful spirit," Xue said calmly, gazing at Gao Jun. "You have been consuming human souls here for several years. Have you noticed how your body has shifted from being filled with power to now often being overwhelmed by a violent aura? It’s becoming harder for you to control yourself."
Qiao Er looked at Gao Jun, who nodded slowly. "Sir, please save him! Save him!" Qiao Er pleaded.
"Save him? How can I save him? Have you forgotten that the person before you is already dead?" Qiao Er remained stubbornly unconvinced. Xue sighed inwardly.
"No, no! He is alive! He has been alive for over ten years!" Qiao Er sat on the ground in disbelief.
Foolish child, Xue thought to himself.
"No! Why? Why?! They are all living well! Aren't you the King of Hell? Aren't you a deity? Don't deities uphold justice? What wrong have we done?" Qiao Er shouted. "We just want to live well!"
Who in this world doesn’t want to live well? But that does not excuse their actions; there are rules in the human realm, and everything follows those rules—no one can escape.
"Gao Jun, Qiao Er, do you recognize your mistakes?" Xue asked solemnly.
Gao Jun bowed his body and knocked his head several times in front of Xue.
"You are the King of Hell, controlling life and death in this world. You high beings do not understand the suffering of mortals. I am willing to go to the Underworld to admit my mistakes, but let it be known that one person should bear their own responsibility. I hope you can spare Qiao Er; all of this is my fault," Gao Jun pleaded desperately.
"Justice is clear; everything has its destined outcome. Qiao Er's lifespan is not yet over; her fate will be recorded in the Underworld based on her actions while alive. When her soul returns to the Underworld, everything will be accounted for. As for you, as a ghost who clings to the human realm and consumes souls, though your mistakes may not be grave, you must come with me," Xue said as he bound Gao Jun with a soul-binding rope.
All mistakes may stem from helplessness, but wrong is wrong; everyone should adhere to the righteous path of humanity.
"By the way, I still have that stone the woman gave me." Gao Jun took out a purple stone, about the size of half an adult's palm, emitting a faint purple glow. Xue took it in hand and began to rub it slowly. It seemed that this woman was certainly extraordinary.
The souls within the stone stirred restlessly; they were mostly the lost souls of villagers from the town. Although some were fragmented, most remained intact.
"Gao Jun, you may go!" Xue opened the gate to the Underworld and summoned his subordinate, the Ghost Messenger. "Take this person to the Rebirth Platform!"
Aunt Qiao stared blankly at Xue's series of actions, murmuring, "Gao Jun, Gao Jun..."
"Aunt Qiao, I ask you, did you see the woman's face clearly?" Now dressed in his kingly attire, Xue appeared imposing to Aunt Qiao, who dared not challenge him again.
"The woman taught us how to store the villagers' souls to sustain Gao Jun's actions, and then she disappeared. We did not see her face clearly; all that remains is this stone."
Xue stroked the stone. While it could store malevolent energy, it did not seem to be a demonic object. On the contrary, it subtly exuded a hint of celestial aura. But what deity would use such a heavenly item to assist these lovers? Moreover, that faint celestial aura felt somewhat familiar.
With this thought in mind, Xue tucked the stone away.
"Aunt Qiao, let all past matters dissipate like smoke; you should find peace."
Xue looked at Aunt Qiao, who was slumped on the ground.
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