Chapter Fifty-Five: A Guilty Heart
After death, they become ghosts. If they don't have overwhelming hatred in their hearts and unresolved obsessions, who would be willing to give up the chance of reincarnation and stay in this mortal world that is gradually rejecting them, enduring loneliness and the pain of gradual dissipation?
Tears of blood streamed down Zhang's face as she began to recount their tragic fate in a mournful and plaintive voice. She was originally the daughter of a merchant in Linzi City. Her parents, seeking protection from officials and seeking to curry favor with the powerful, gave her to Minister Luo, then serving as his concubine. She was beautiful, somewhat literate, and gentle in nature, and quickly won Minister Luo's favor.
At that time, Madam Luo was, in Zhang's eyes, a kind and benevolent mistress who treated her concubines with generosity and kindness, often bestowing upon them soup, snacks, clothing, and jewelry. Young and naive, Zhang repeatedly felt grateful to Heaven, believing herself fortunate to have met such a virtuous and generous mistress. Until the moment she succumbed to poison and her soul left her body, she never imagined that Madam Luo, who always wore a smile and spoke gently, was actually a hypocrite with a heart of stone, and an extremely ruthless and cruel character.
Even after death, her spirit lingered in the Luo mansion, where she gradually came to understand the truth. Madam Luo was indeed "generous," but she couldn't tolerate the concubines who truly enjoyed her husband's favor. For example, there was Zhang, and then there was Tao, who entered the mansion after her and was equally charming. Zhang died from "accidentally" eating soup laced with poison, her death shrouded in mystery; while Tao, through Madam Luo's machinations, was unjustly accused of adultery and, to uphold the Luo mansion's false reputation, was beaten to death in the courtyard. At that time, Tao was three months pregnant, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child.
After Zhang and Tao finished recounting their ordeals, sobbing uncontrollably, the four younger female maids, also unable to contain themselves, revealed intense resentment on their faces, vying to recount their own grievances. All four were maids in the quarters of Luo Qi and his young mistress, Yue Niang. Unlike Madam Luo's cunning and manipulative nature, Yue Niang's ruthlessness was out in the open.
Yue Niang was beautiful and came from a prominent family, but she was extremely arrogant and jealous. Her powerful maternal family background further fueled her arrogance. With such a domineering wife, Luo Qi dared not openly take a concubine, but being a lecherous man at heart, he dared not go to brothels, so he turned his filthy thoughts to the maidservants serving him.
As servants who had signed life-or-death contracts and were firmly in their masters' hands, how could they dare to resist the young master's lewd power? It was common for Luo Qi to touch them inappropriately and to wantonly harass them, but what was even more terrifying was being discovered by the young mistress, Yue Niang.
If Yue Niang couldn't even tolerate taking a concubine, how could she tolerate her husband having an affair with a lowly maid right under her nose? What's most outrageous is that, in order to "make an example of someone" and deter other maids in the mansion, innocent girls like Xue Mei and Qiu Ju, who were simply taken advantage of by Luo Qi and were actually trembling with fear, were falsely accused by Yue Niang of "seducing their master" and "bewitching their master," and were beaten to death by private torture.
Afterwards, to cover up their crimes, their bodies were hastily buried under the flowers and trees of the West Garden, treated like garbage. They were not free in life, nor could they find peace in death; even a simple coffin and a grave were luxuries for them.
"My lord, everything we just said is true, not a single word is false! If we have lied, we are willing to suffer divine retribution and soul punishment!" Zhang cried out, her heart breaking, her ghostly aura fluctuating violently due to her intense emotions.
After listening to the tearful accusations of the female ghosts, Jiu Ya was already furious, her eyebrows furrowed and her teeth clenched: "They are such scoundrels! I knew that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had such mean faces and were definitely not kind people! They really are a family of snakes and scorpions! Ladies, you are so pitiful!" Her sympathy instantly overflowed, and she wished she could rush back and beat Luo Qi and Yue Niang up again.
Rong Jiang remained silent for a moment, a layer of frost covering her exquisite face. She did not doubt the truthfulness of the female ghosts' words—their resentment and the fluctuations of their souls as they spoke could not be faked. However, she keenly sensed something else. "I know of your grievances. But...where are the souls of those enemies who died at your hands?"
She could see that Zhang and the other ghosts had already taken lives, their hands stained with malevolence and bloodlust. Strangely, however, the souls of those they had killed in their revenge did not linger here, nor were there any signs of underworld officials coming to lock their souls away.
Zhang and Tao died relatively early, a time when the underworld was in chaos, with various kings vying for power and internal strife. Their management of the souls of the dead was lax and negligent, making it understandable that many ghosts lingered in the mortal realm. Xuemei, Qiuju, and the other two maids died within the last two or three years. At that time, Rong Jiang was dedicated to unifying the underworld and restoring order. Although the ghost messengers had begun to fulfill their duties, the situation was still in disarray, and oversights were inevitable. Therefore, it was still reasonable for these female ghosts to remain in the mortal realm.
But what about the souls of those they killed in their revenge? If they were discovered and taken away by passing ghost messengers, then Zhang and her companions, as the murderers, should also be taken back to the underworld for trial according to the law. Why are they still here?
"This—" Upon hearing this, Zhang's body trembled violently, and the ghostly aura on her face seemed to fade, turning even paler. Her eyes flickered, and she stammered, not daring to answer immediately. She stole glances at Rong Jiang's cold, icy expression, her heart pounding with anxiety and fear—could she reveal this horrifying truth? If she did, would this seemingly just adult immediately consider them irredeemable, cruel, and violent demons, and have them beaten to a pulp?
Seeing the female ghosts exchanging bewildered glances and their panicked expressions, Rong Jiang understood. Her voice suddenly turned cold, "Should we merely kill them, or... devour them?"
While vengeful spirits seeking revenge and harming others may violate the laws of the underworld, their actions are often justified and will be considered during the judgment of the underworld. However, "devouring ghosts" is entirely different. This is one of the most taboo behaviors among ghosts, equivalent to "cannibalism" in the human world, or even more serious, and it completely violates the laws of the underworld! Humans who kill are judged jointly by human laws and the underworld; but ghosts killing ghosts, especially devouring ghosts, fall entirely under the jurisdiction of the underworld, and are punished even more severely.
This is like committing a crime, and not only that, you did it right under the emperor's nose, making it an extremely heinous act.
"What do you mean?" Jiu Ya, listening from the side, stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief. "No way? Swallow...swallow? It doesn't mean what I think, does it?" She could understand killing, revenge, after all. But the word "swallow" evoked an extremely unpleasant association, and her stomach felt slightly nauseous. Living in modern society, when had she ever seen or even imagined a scene of "devouring" one's own kind? Aren't ghosts incorporeal? How could they "swallow"?
Rong Jiang ignored Jiu Ya's surprise and doubt, her cold gaze fixed on Zhang Shi as if it were a physical object, carrying a tremendous sense of oppression: "Aren't you going to give me an explanation?"
Zhang is the most powerful and the most calm and rational among these female ghosts; she is clearly their leader. It would be most appropriate to question her.
Just then, the female ghost in green named Xue Mei suddenly floated forward, blocking Zhang's path. Though young, her resentment after death was immense; her face was now filled with stubbornness and protectiveness: "My lord, you needn't make things difficult for Aunt Zhang. Yes, we did harm people, but we killed our enemies who killed us back then. That old vile woman, Madam Luo! And that jealous woman, Yue Niang! Their hands are stained with our blood; it's only right that we pay with our lives!"
When Xue Mei saw Rong Jiang repeatedly pressing her about the "ghost-swallowing" matter in a stern tone, she immediately assumed that Rong Jiang was just like those Taoist priests who wanted to "exterminate demons and protect the righteous path" without distinguishing right from wrong. She thought that Rong Jiang would not care about their grievances at all, but would only judge them as evil ghosts because they had harmed people and would want to harm them. A strong sense of vigilance and resentment instantly overwhelmed her.
As she spoke, the other female ghosts seemed to be ignited with rage, their eyes turning fierce and violent. The resentment and malevolent energy that had been somewhat restrained around them suddenly erupted, and their sharp fingernails grew rapidly at a visible speed. The temperature in the air plummeted, and a cold wind howled, swirling up withered branches and fallen leaves—this was the true ferocious appearance of a vengeful ghost.
Seeing their imminent attack, Jiu Ya frowned and shouted sharply, "What do you want?!" Although she sympathized with the female ghosts' plight, her and Rong Jiang's original intention in coming here was to find out the truth and perhaps even help them. Why were they attacking without any explanation? Before seeing the ghosts, Jiu Ya might have felt a little nervous about the unknown, but she was a true Demon Lord with countless ferocious demons under her command. How could she be afraid of these few vengeful spirits gathered from resentment?
Just as the female ghosts shrieked, brandishing their claws, and lunged at Rong Jiang and Jiu Ya—
"Buzz!"
With a flick of her wrist, Jiu Ya unsheathed the Kunwu Blade that had been hidden at her waist, unleashing a terrifying demonic aura.
The female ghosts at the forefront, including Xue Mei and Qiu Ju, seemed to have crashed into an invisible yet burning wall. The moment their souls came into contact with the crimson blade's light, they let out shrill screams, and wisps of blue smoke rose from their bodies. Their souls were sent flying back at an even greater speed, crashing heavily to the ground. Their souls became somewhat transparent, clearly indicating that they had suffered severe injuries.
The Kunwu Blade has drunk the blood of countless high-level demons. The domineering demonic energy and killing intent contained within it are a natural nemesis to these ghosts that rely on resentment to exist, and its power far exceeds that of ordinary exorcism artifacts.
The crimson glow, illuminated by Jiu Ya's fair and delicate hands, appeared even more eerie and intense. Jiu Ya casually twirled her sword, the Kunwu Blade humming merrily at her fingertips. Looking at the female ghosts writhing in agony on the ground, a faint smile played on her lips: "After being a ghost for so long, don't you even understand the concepts of 'judging the situation' and 'knowing your own limitations'? Before even figuring out whether the other party is friend or foe, or the depth of their strength, you rashly brandish your claws..."
She paused, her voice turning cold: "But it could cause your soul to be scattered."
To casually brandish weapons at an entity far superior to oneself is not only a blatant provocation, but also a recipe for self-destruction.
"You!" Xue Mei, enduring the excruciating pain of her soul being burned by demonic energy, struggled to raise her head and glared at Jiu Ya. "You didn't come to help us at all! You're the evil Taoists Luo Qi and his group hired! Aren't you?! You deliberately tried to trick us into revealing our weaknesses so you could wipe us out in one fell swoop?! Don't even think about it! Even if our souls are scattered, we won't let you succeed!"
Initially, Rong Jiang gave them a sense of unfathomable depth yet also a strange fairness, which gave them hope. But when Rong Jiang began to question them about how to deal with their enemy's soul, especially mentioning the word "devour," their guilty consciences and panic instantly overwhelmed their reason—murder for revenge could be justified, but devouring one's own kind was an extreme heinous act unacceptable anywhere. They thought Rong Jiang wanted to settle this score, so they decided to strike first.
Moreover, Jiu Ya and Rong Jiang had perfectly concealed their presence; to the female ghosts, they appeared to be "living people." What genuine goodwill could humans possibly have towards ghosts? Those not of our kind are bound to have different hearts! The slightest disturbance would trigger their worst associations and fiercest resistance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
