Master
Maizi, nonchalantly pressing down on the child in the flowery clothes, spoke to Duan Xu, “You came from the south? The management down there isn’t up to par. You, being a newly formed ghost, don’t even know about the Thirty-Two Golden Wall Laws.”
As they walked down the street, Maizi explained to Duan Xu. He said the Thirty-Two Golden Wall Laws were agreed upon by the former Ghost King and the various Ghost Hall Masters, engraved on a golden wall in the royal palace of Yuzhou City. However, for some reason, these laws were not implemented at that time and were temporarily shelved.
When the current Ghost King ascended the throne, the first thing she did was vigorously implement the Golden Wall Laws. The Ghost King herself had the power to kill gods and buddhas during the suppression of rebellions. When she enforced the Golden Wall Laws, any Ghost Halls that disobeyed the laws were obliterated. It was only then that these laws were truly enforced.
Although these laws were somewhat restrictive, they had their benefits. For nearly a hundred years, legitimate cultivators seldom captured ghosts. They knew that the internal laws of the ghosts were strict, and any excessive actions had long been punished. Other ghosts would just find food normally, and it wasn’t good to press them too hard. For example, the orthodox Xingqing Palace would directly send captured ghosts to Yuzhou City for the Ghost King to deal with. It was quite good; everyone minded their own business.
“Counting, there are no less than eight Ghost Halls that have perished in the hands of the King. The King’s temper is truly bad. The way she enforced the Golden Wall Laws, killing all the evil ghosts, is something she would do.” Maizi sighed deeply and admonished, “If the King were to find out about your situation, the Master of the Hall to which you belong would be in trouble. You might even be obliterated.”
Under the black veil, Duan Xu’s eyes smiled as he held the sword with interest.
“In that case, since we’ve met by fate, I definitely won’t disclose your situation, and I can even teach you these laws in detail. Can I borrow your spiritual sword to play with for a few days?” Maizi tiptoed and patted Duan Xu’s arm, finally getting to the point.
Although Maizi said “borrow,” it was feared that once the spiritual sword was given away, it wouldn’t come back. However, Duan Xu still handed the sword to Maizi calmly and said, “Give it a try.”
Maizi’s eyes lit up as he reached for the sword handle. The moment he touched it, the handle lit up, and he exclaimed and withdrew his hand.
“This is a spiritual sword and it doesn’t recognize you as its master. A ghost like you shouldn’t touch it.”
Maizi thought to himself, “Then why can you touch it?”
He looked at Duan Xu discontentedly and noticed the sachet in Duan Xu’s hand. He felt that this newly formed ghost was even more peculiar. A ghost who couldn’t smell anything carried a sachet with him?
When Duan Xu saw Maizi’s gaze fall on the sachet on his wrist, he understood and said knowingly, “There’s a girl who likes this scent. She asked me to go to the spice shop to get her a sachet that looks exactly like this.”
Maizi understood immediately and teased with a grin, “Are you falling for a living girl?”
Before Duan Xu could respond, Maizi put on a worldly-wise expression and waved his hand, saying, “Newly formed ghosts always forget that they’re ghosts, so it’s normal to develop feelings for the living. But with time, it’ll pass. I advise you not to get too attached; it hurts both yourself and others.”
It was strange to hear such worldly advice from the mouth of a ten-year-old child. Maizi was evidently someone who couldn’t keep his mouth shut; once he found a topic, he’d start talking.
“How long can humans live? Right now, she may be youthful and beautiful, but in the blink of an eye, she’ll age, her back will bend, her hair will turn white, her teeth will fall out. Can you still love her then? Even if you remain faithful, she’ll turn to ashes in the blink of an eye. For us ghosts, a human’s life is just a fleeting moment, impossible to grasp.” Maizi shook his head solemnly, emphasizing his words.
The new ghost walking briskly beside him seemed to pause slightly at Maizi’s words. Maizi thought he had given him a significant piece of advice and became even more enthusiastic.
“And what about the girl you love? She’ll suffer. How will you meet her? Possess various people? Is your power strong enough to reveal your true form? You won’t be able to be with her openly; she’ll be gossiped about for the rest of her life. Young man, you need to think it through.”
Duan Xu burst into laughter and replied without hesitation, “Thinking too much makes life boring.”
“Tch, you’re already dead, so it doesn’t matter if life is boring or not for you.”
Maizi deeply felt that this newly formed ghost had serious problems with his thinking and would surely have a rough time in the ghost world. Out of a little compassion, he picked out a few important laws and explained them to Duan Xu.
As they walked and talked, they turned into a quiet alley with no one around. Suddenly, a female voice rang out, “Oh, you’ve become friendly with the ghosts so quickly?”
Maizi followed the direction of the voice and saw a beautiful woman wearing ancient, gorgeous attire, with small blue orchids adorning her hair, standing at the end of the alley. Her gaze swept over Duan Xu and Maizi, and she reached out her hand, saying, “Where’s my sachet?”
Duan Xu walked over and placed the sachet in her palm, saying, “Take a sniff and see if it’s right.”
The woman sniffed the sachet delicately in front of her nose and smiled, “Indeed, it’s the scent from you.”
Maizi watched this scene in astonishment, wondering how this woman could see them in broad daylight. Was she human or ghost? Could she be a cultivator?
This newly formed ghost not only likes a living person but also a cultivator? So, this tiger didn’t just recruit Wu Song as a henchman, he actually fell in love with Wu Song! Quite a peculiar taste indeed. Maizi thought only the former Ghost King would have such extraordinary preferences.
As Maizi watched Duan Xu wave goodbye, he awkwardly raised his hand and waved back, myriad thoughts flooding his mind, eventually condensing into a sentence: “Well, she’s such a beautiful girl, so it’s understandable.”
If he were to ever find out that the woman he saw today was not a cultivator but the revered Ghost King, he might celebrate this day as if it were a birthday or anniversary.
Through his black veil, Duan Xu looked at He Simu beside him, her hair adorned with small blue orchids swaying gently with her steps. Passers-by frequently glanced at her, making her seem like a walking incense burner.
She wasn’t afraid of attracting attention.
“The creature you just saw is a ‘Gui Gui,’ a child ghost, all of whom are children under ten who have passed away. Although they’ve been dead for hundreds of years and their minds are no longer those of children, they still appear as children.”
He Simu didn’t know where to go and was walking slowly, with Duan Xu walking beside her.
“Do children have attachments that turn them into evil spirits?”
“Yes, mostly they were victims of abuse. Did he ask you for something just now?”
“He wanted my Broken Illusion Sword.”
“That explains it. Gui Gui, having had little worldly experience before they died, desire everything in this world. They want everything, but once they have it, they lose interest instantly, forever pursuing the next desire.”
Pausing for a moment, He Simu chuckled softly, “So, they’re easily swayed, never considering the consequences, short-sighted, and easily manipulated into being someone else’s pawn.”
Duan Xu, sensing the implication in her words, asked, “So the ones who wanted to put you in a deadly situation in Shuozhou City were these kinds of ghosts?”
“The Duke of Gui Gui has a guy named Fang Chang. His lover wanted to eat Chenying, and I caught her and sentenced her to be wiped out. He held a grudge and has been secretly following me ever since. I sensed it, but I didn’t bother with him. Who knew he was friends with the Duke Gui Gui and, upon discovering my loss of power, went to persuade Duke Gui to kill me. That brainless guy was actually persuaded by him. He hastily set up a crude trap, afraid of me discovering it was him.”
He Simu sighed and stretched lazily with her fingers intertwined, “They’re all vying to become fertilizer for the gardens of my palace. The Duke Gui’s desire to eliminate me is probably due to some shady business he’s conducting behind my back.”
They were chatting as they walked and soon arrived at the entrance of a large household. They saw a long string of Huqi characters written on the plaque of the mansion, and two statues of Huqi mythical beasts, the Fire Ming beasts, standing tall at the wide doorway, looking very majestic.
Not far away, a carriage covered in golden silk approached. A man in his forties, wearing a fox fur cloak, stepped down from the carriage. He had a broad build and an affluent appearance. Despite not having a particularly good physique, he still exuded an air of nobility and dignity, walking straight towards the entrance without glancing around.
As He Simu and Duan Xu passed by this entrance, they heard the tinkling sound coming from the Huqi nobleman. Duan Xu turned to look and saw a string of antique bronze bells hanging from the waist of the nobleman, swaying strangely.
As he raised his eyes, they met the gaze of the Huqi aristocrat. The aristocrat’s eyes were piercing, thoughtful, and subtly joyful, as if trying to see through the veil to his true appearance.
Duan Xu remarked, “He can see me.”
He Simu didn’t turn back, responding lightly, “It seems so.”
Duan Xu remained silent for a moment, then suddenly lifted the black veil covering his face, nodded to the Huqi gentleman as a gesture of acknowledgment, and then, regardless of the gentleman’s surprised expression, he lowered the veil and turned to meet He Simu’s gaze.
“What are you doing?”
“Aren’t you trying to attract his attention?” Duan Xu blinked and smiled, “I saw on the plaque that this is the residence of the Earl of Yilier. Isn’t that gentleman just now the famous Earl of Yilier in the city?”
The Yilier family had some blood ties with the Danzhi royal court, although not very close. They hadn’t obtained the qualification to live in the capital, so they were sent to Fujian City. Originally, their family, on the fringe, didn’t have much wealth, but after arriving in Fujian City, they inexplicably had good luck. They bought a hill and discovered a gold mine, and wealth came pouring in. At the same time, the eldest and youngest sons of the Earl of Yilier were promoted to high officials in the capital, making their fortunes even better.
In summary, the Yilier family in Fujian City is currently synonymous with “prestige”. They even bask in the glory of their sons, borrowing the sacred artefacts of the Danzhi Cangyan Scripture back to Fujian City for worship. The place of worship is in a glass tower within the Yilier Mansion, shrouded in mystery. Outsiders can only bow outside the tower, but those who have worshipped the sacred artefacts will all experience good fortune afterwards. For a time, the gates of the Yilier Mansion were crowded with celebrities coming to pay their respects. Now, it is the hottest door in the entire Youzhou region.
Duan Xu chuckled, “You’re not here to worship the Huqi sacred artefacts, are you?”
He Simu lightly smiled with some disdain, saying, “Worship sacred artefacts? Why wouldn’t I worship myself? Since you enjoy guessing riddles, why not try to guess why he has such good luck?”
Duan Xu pondered for a moment, saying, “I’ve heard of people keeping little ghosts to exchange for fame and fortune. This Yilier… Could it be that he’s offering sacrifices to the Lord of Malevolent Spirits?”
He Simu glanced at him for a moment, then patted the back of his head with a smile, “I must collect your clever little skull in the future.” Duan Xu thought to himself, her way of expressing appreciation is quite unique.
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