Chapter 10: Burial without seeing my wife, I miss her.
The prison cell was deep and silent in the dead of night.
There is no moonlight tonight, and layers of clouds separate the Imperial Street from the bustling city.
Two ghosts, dressed in the official robes of ghost messengers, swaggered into the government prison.
The guard at the prison gate was dozing off when he felt a gust of cold wind brush against the back of his neck. He shivered and became much more awake. He looked around but saw nothing, so he let himself close his eyes.
The guards in the prison are far too lax.
No wonder Judge Lu is always so busy.
Xie Bi'an scoffed at the guards and casually led Jiang Yuzhi into the prison.
There weren't many people in the prison. Those who were supposed to be released after a few days had already gone to sleep. The prisoners awaiting trial and those on death row were in deeper cells.
Xie Bi'an retrieved Zhou Quan's biography from the Book of Life and Death.
Until I passed a cell in the corner, and the old books covered with the marks of time trembled slightly.
Then you'll know this is the place.
In the pitch-black cell, a figure was huddled on the dry grass against the wall.
Jiang Yuzhi tried to approach and check without thinking, but Xie Bi'an grabbed her arm, glared at her fiercely, and pulled her behind him.
The two ghosts, one after the other, ignored the railing which was only three or four inches wide and strolled over to the human figure.
This person was also strange; his hands and feet were sparsely covered with half-dried bloodstains, and his coarse linen clothes had bloody marks from being whipped. If you got close, you could smell a faint stench.
"Why are you standing so close?" Xie Bi'an pulled Jiang Yuzhi away as she squatted down, her face getting closer and closer to the person.
"Brother Xie, he smells awful." Jiang Yuzhi sniffed; the smell was even stronger, making her feel a little nauseous.
"All prisoners smell like this... wait a minute."
On Zhou Quan's blood-stained hand, some marks seemed to be covered by the bloodstains.
Is it livor mortis?
The Book of Life and Death was turned once more.
Zhou Quan, male, from Zuohuai... still alive.
No, how could there be lividity on someone who isn't dead?
Xie Bi'an was very familiar with this thing and could not possibly be mistaken.
At this moment, the man who had been curled up and motionless suddenly raised his head, his scarlet eyes staring straight at Jiang Yuzhi, who was squatting in front of him.
He was clearly a man in his thirties, but his face was covered with the deep wrinkles that only a man in his sixties or seventies would have.
The claw-like hand viciously attacked Jiang Yuzhi's face.
"Hehehe, found you." A malicious laugh emanated from his mouth, which stretched almost to his ears.
But the hand didn't succeed, as Jiang Yuzhi grabbed the wrist instantly, and a "sizzle" sound rang out.
The skin on his wrist was charred black.
Hearing the noise, Xie Bi'an put away the Book of Life and Death, took out his mourning stick, and struck Zhou Quan on the head with it.
Seeing the man's head hit the ground, Jiang Yuzhi let go of his hand. Like a child who had done something wrong, she squatted down guiltily and moved herself away from Zhou Quan with small steps.
"I told you to stay away from him, and now look what happened! You almost hurt yourself. Get out of the way, let me take a look."
"Oh, Brother Xie, you're getting fiercer."
No one spoke up for the man whose wrists were almost burned to the bone.
The power of the Sheji Tu (a type of mythical map) transferred from Jiang Yuzhi's body to the Soul-Soothing Bell is part of the Sheji Tu's original power; it is a concentrated essence, and ordinary ghosts and monsters will be injured if they touch it.
Therefore, Zhou Quan is clearly no longer the person he was.
Xie Bi'an carefully examined the unconscious man; now it seemed the stench was that of a corpse.
He pried open Zhou Quan's eyelids; the whites of his eyes were grayish, and his limbs were slightly stiff. He must have been dead long ago.
While he was still able to move, Xie Bi'an shifted his attention to Zhou Quan's soul and was horrified to discover that there was a small crack on the face of Zhou Quan's soul, the crack was jagged, as if it had been bitten by something.
"Brother Xie, have you noticed that the upper and lower halves of his face look very mismatched?"
Jiang Yuzhi sidled up again, trying to make her own contribution.
“Zhou Quan’s own soul should have been mostly devoured, but he was still missing half of his face, which we interrupted.” Xie Bi’an quickly pieced together the reason.
The ghost that is swallowed will never have the chance to be reincarnated. It will become one with the devourer, which is no different from the soul being scattered.
The body now belongs not to Zhou Quan, but to an unknown vengeful ghost. No wonder the Book of Life and Death shows that he is still alive.
Xie Bi'an frowned, pondering how to resolve the situation. The vengeful ghost had to be brought back to the underworld.
"Do the lividity and deep furrows on his body mean that even the ghost that ate Zhou Quan couldn't hold on any longer? He just told me he found me... what does that mean?"
Jiang Yuzhi suddenly realized that the only thing worth coveting about her was the remnant power of the Sheji Map.
"The Map of the State and its People!"
"The Map of the State and its People!"
The two ghosts cried out in alarm at the same time, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.
“He’s not long for this world, there’s no way to save him. This vengeful ghost has not only devoured his soul, but is also draining his lifespan. Perhaps it wants to grow stronger after Zhou Quan dies so it can escape smoothly. I will deal with it personally and find someone else to protect you.”
Xie Bi'an made arrangements for himself and Jiang Yuzhi in just a few words.
"And another thing, you're not allowed to set your sights on mortals!" He warned her, reminding her to consider her own life.
For a long time, many foolish ghosts who insisted on being with mortals were struck by lightning and scattered. Xie Bi'an had seen it all, and he didn't want his sister, whom he had finally recognized, to suffer the same fate.
"Okay, okay, Brother Xie."
Seeing how worried he was, Jiang Yuzhi raised her right hand, extended three fingers, and made a promise to him.
With a cold snort, Xie Bi'an, who seemed to trust him, covered the person on the ground with a layer of ghostly power to prevent outsiders from discovering anything amiss. He then bound the soul to the body, so that as soon as Zhou Quan died, he could immediately come and collect the soul to take it back to the underworld for proper interrogation.
After a whole night of fussing, the brother and sister were finally able to return to the funeral clothing shop.
Having confirmed Zhou Quan's unusual condition, there's no need to go see the bodies of the husbands from the Zhang and Chen families.
Jiang Yuzhi had previously wondered if an ordinary adult male had such strength to use a not-so-sharp farm tool to cut off the thigh bone of a man who was also in his prime.
If it was made by a ghost, then there's nothing strange about it.
The Zhou family is truly a family that always breaks at the weakest point; how will Madam Zhou deal with this?
Jiang Yuzhi did not stop there. Zhou Quan was innocent and suffered an undeserved disaster. The ghost had caused the destruction of three families.
She still wanted to make a burial garment for Zhou Quan, to put her mind at ease and to comfort the truly innocent people.
This was the second order since the shop opened. Jiang Yuzhi opened the ledger to make a record, but saw that the unfinished page had flowing, sharp handwriting that was clearly not her own.
I don't know what Bai Yan is doing... Is it really a good idea to leave him there and come back with Brother Xie?
Jiang Yuzhi hesitated to put down her pen until she came to her senses. Then, as dawn broke outside the window, she finally wrote Zhou Quan's name in the ledger.
Since there was no way to measure the dimensions, the fabric could only be cut according to the usual dimensions.
She picked out suitable fabrics and sketched them out, and before she knew it, most of the time had passed.
Xie Bi'an left after reinforcing the shop's barrier last night, and no one bothered her, saying that other ghosts would be coming to take care of it soon.
Jiang Yuzhi would not refuse their good intentions to protect her. She knew her own strength; she was innocent, but possessing a treasure was a crime.
In reality, Jiang Yuzhi never knew her own abilities after becoming a ghost. Staying in the underworld, she was protected by several powerful ghosts, so she had nowhere to use them.
After coming to the mortal realm, she was protected by the Soul-Soothing Bell given to her by the Great Emperor, so she didn't need to exert any effort.
Even though she burned the ghost's wrist black, she thought it was the effect of the Soul-Soothing Bell, and Xie Bi'an selectively ignored its harmfulness.
The remnant power of the Map of the State had been in her soul for so long that it had become intertwined with her and almost merged into her; only a small part of it was transferred to the Soul-Soothing Bell.
The two were so deeply integrated that Jiang Yuzhi felt tired and powerless when Bai Yan was absorbing power from her.
The loud, mournful sound of the suona almost pierced the clouds; the Zhang and Chen families were holding a funeral.
The officials, with white linen tied around their waists, carried two coffins toward the cemetery outside the city.
The two women at the front, holding up white sails, walked forward blankly, without shedding a single tear.
The entire funeral procession was deathly silent.
Just like last night, Jiang Yuzhi concealed herself and followed behind the group.
The white paper was tossed up and then fell from the sky.
It was still early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the road.
A few individuals, upon seeing the funeral procession, sighed deeply and stepped aside.
Upon reaching the city gate, the brick houses of displaced people were the only way to pass.
The people here start their day much earlier than those in the city, as they rush to work to earn a living.
Several adults covered the children's mouths and retreated to a place far away from the group. Only after the children had gone far away did they breathe a sigh of relief and go about their own business.
Jiang Yuzhi turned around as if she sensed something, and met Zhou Yong's indifferent eyes as he stood in front of the brick house.
He stared at the two coffins, bowed deeply, and then turned and went back into the house.
The group was about to go far away, and Jiang Yuzhi didn't have time to think too much and hurried to catch up.
The coffin was carefully placed into the dug pit, and the hired helpers were filling it with soil.
Zhang Chen's two wives knelt before the grave, burning paper money one sheet at a time.
Jiang Yuzhi stood by the grave for a long time, wondering, "Where have my loved ones gone?"
The Black and White Impermanence thought she didn't remember, but after she inexplicably fainted last time, she remembered everything.
After her entire family was executed, she wandered back to the Jiang residence alone. The spirits of her parents and brother were nowhere to be found. After searching everywhere to no avail, she went mad and ransacked the Jiang residence.
When he was taken away by the Black and White Impermanence, he was already in a dazed state.
Even in that state, she didn't turn into a vengeful ghost.
After examining her, they discovered that she possessed the power of the Sheji Tu (a mythical map of the state), which preserved her consciousness.
When I woke up, I couldn't remember some of the details. Whenever I tried to find out where my family members' souls had gone, my mind would be shrouded in a thin fog that I couldn't clear away.
It's unclear whether it was her conscious self-protection or the deception of the Sheji Map.
After the burial was completed, only two officials remained to protect the two women who were still kneeling.
Jiang Yuzhi then drifted back to the shop on her own.
As the street gradually became more lively, she passed by a breakfast stall and suddenly realized that the two figures buying things in front of the stall looked very familiar.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one could see her, Jiang Yuzhi landed and moved directly in front of one of the two women, almost pressing herself against her.
The woman's expression stiffened for a moment, but she quickly resumed her conversation with the boss.
Isn't this the umbrella weaver from her family, Zhi Si?
Paper figures can now come out and buy things on their own?!
Jiang Yuzhi did not miss the fleeting little detail on Zhisan's face.
He sat leisurely on an empty stool to the side, waiting for the two to finish shopping.
After finishing her shopping, Zhisan glanced at Jiang Yuzhi discreetly before leaving.
The three non-human beings returned to the shop together.
The weaver behind the counter was much more lively than usual. Seeing them return, she greeted them with a smile, "Miss, you're back! The master is waiting for you inside."
Jiang Yuzhi nodded in confusion. Just as she stepped halfway into the courtyard, a beige figure rushed over.
It's fluffy and very thick.
"┗|｀O′|┛Aww~~, Kite Kite Kite, long time no see! I missed you so much! Woof!"
The wet tongue almost licked Jiang Yuzhi's face, so she quickly lifted the furry thing away and took a closer look.
"You are... Di Ting? How did you become like this?" she asked, unconsciously pulling the chubby puppy into her arms and gently stroking the fur on the back of its neck.
Di Ting almost purred contentedly. "Xie Bi'an said he'd find a ghost to protect you, so of course I'm duty-bound to do it! Don't I look adorable like this!"
It wasn't a chubby dog; it jumped out of Jiang Yuzhi's arms, proudly puffed out its chest, and spun around in place, displaying its magnificent body.
Just as he was about to pounce on Jiang Yuzhi again, he abruptly stopped, staring intently at the soothing bell hanging from Jiang Yuzhi's waist.
"Awoo! Awoo—Zhizhi! How could you hang this on!" A shrill bark rang out as Diting stretched out its paws like a mad dog to pull it off.
For dogs as tall as a person's thigh, it's quite easy to hook the ornament around their waist.
However, Jiang Yuzhi grabbed Di Ting's two front paws and forced it to stand up.
"What's wrong with the Soul-Soothing Bell given by the Great Emperor?" Before Di Ting could answer, Jiang Yuzhi noticed something different about its hind limbs.
Sensing the watchful gaze, it howled in shame and indignation, quickly covering itself with its tail, struggling to break free from Jiang Yuzhi's grasp, and retreating to a corner to shut itself off.
Jiang Yuzhi was even more puzzled. She walked over to Di Ting and poked its soft fur. "You...you were castrated..."
Before he could finish speaking, Di Ting launched himself forward and slapped Jiang Yuzhi's mouth shut.
"No! Don't! Say it!"
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