"The soul has returned."
Following the tall ghost's whisper, Qi Feng opened his eyes. The cold darkness brought by death gradually faded away, and the familiar cold wind blew on his face again.
He sat up, gasping for breath, like a drowning man struggling to swim out of the raging waves. He reached out a trembling hand and carefully felt the wounds on his chest and abdomen. The horrific memory of being cut in half by the shrimp-headed man still lingered in the deepest part of his memory, like a nightmare from which he could not wake up.
"I... I'm still alive?" Qi Feng showed an incredibly excited smile. Not only was his chest and abdomen fine, but even his right arm, which had been clamped by a scallop and finally cut off, had now recovered as before, as if everything he had experienced before was just a terrible dream. Once he woke up, he would be able to put all the painful memories behind him.
"You're already dead."
The whisper from the side made Qi Feng slightly stunned. He turned his head and saw a tall, dark, deathly ghost standing beside him.
Qi Feng was alert. After getting up from the ground, he raised his fists in front of him, ready to fight. "Who are you? When did a cultivator like you appear near Qingshi Town?"
"My name is Ye Jie, you can call me Ghost Messenger Jie." Ye Jie replied calmly, raising a skinny finger and pointing to the nearby Jing River. "Look at what that is?"
Qi Feng looked in the direction Ye Jie pointed with suspicion. The scene there frightened him so much that he sat down on the ground. Beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, his pupils shrank tightly, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably: "Is that... is that my body?"
In the river, a monster with a shrimp-like head and a human body stood there, holding something in both hands and biting it vigorously. From time to time, a slurping sound like slurping noodles could be heard. Looking closely, the object it was holding was the upper body of a body without its right hand.
The shrimp-headed man swallowed hard and took a bite at the soft neck. The head rolled down and was washed to the shore by the river. Looking closely, the head looked 80% similar to Qi Feng at this moment, except that the lips were stiff and the face was pale, as if it had died completely.
"So, I already..." After seeing his own corpse with his own eyes, Qi Feng knelt on the ground and remained silent for a long time.
Ye Jie sighed, took out a piece of torn paper from his arms, and recited:
"Qi Feng, your life has come to an end. The following is a record of your merits and demerits."
"Born in a poor family in the summer of the fifth year of Daye."
"In the autumn of the third year of Zhenguan, he patiently guided a lost traveler and was awarded a scroll of skills. He then embarked on the path of cultivation and gained ten Yin virtues."
"In the spring of the fifth year of Zhenguan, I rescued my companions while hunting monsters and gained thirty Yin De."
"In the winter of the eighth year of the Zhenguan reign, while hunting demons, a wave of demons arose. To protect his companions, he stayed behind alone to cover their retreat. He was seriously injured, but he narrowly escaped death and earned two hundred Yin De."
In the autumn of the ninth year of the Zhenguan reign, he visited the family of his fallen companion and left a sum of money for the orphans and widows. He later provided assistance and received one hundred merits.
"In the winter of the twelfth year of the Zhenguan reign, he was blinded by greed and fell into a trap set by a demon. He died for wealth at the age of twenty-nine."
"In my life, I have treated people and things in accordance with the Way of Heaven. I have earned 150 Yin De from trivial things. I have 50 Yin De left over from my previous life."
"A total of five hundred and forty Yin De."
After reading, Ye Jie put away the remaining pages and continued, "Your life span in this world has come to an end. Do you have any unfulfilled wishes? If not, then follow my soul into the underworld and begin your next reincarnation."
"A wish..." Qi Feng was stunned and spoke quickly, "My child is about to be born. Will I still have the chance to hold him in my arms?"
Ye Jie shook his head: "Your soul has not been cultivated, so it cannot touch the living. Even if your child is born, he will not be able to see you. As for your wife, if you are willing, I can let you meet in your dreams, but I must remind you that doing so will consume all your Yin De. Once you have no Yin De, you can only be reborn in an inferior way..."
Ye Jie told Qi Feng about the matters related to reincarnation. Qi Feng looked depressed: "My wife... No, I can't go to see her like this."
Ye Jie glanced at him and said, "Why? She must be very sad after hearing the news of your death, especially when the child is about to be born. You should comfort her in your dreams."
Qi Feng's shoulders slumped, and he looked listless. "I promised her I would return safely. I said I would bring back the best cultivation resources for our unborn child, and yet it turned out like this... Now, I've failed her expectations. I can't face seeing her again. Doing so would only cause her more pain. I just hope she can forget me, and all the pain I've caused her."
"Really..." Ye Jie stopped trying to persuade him and changed the subject, "So, you're ready for your next reincarnation."
Qi Feng suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly, "Sir Ghost Messenger, didn't you say that Yin De is precious? I have 540 Yin De here. What can I get for my children? Rather than going back to see my family, I would rather leave everything I have to them."
Ye Jie shook his head: "It can't be exchanged for anything. One low-grade spirit stone requires a thousand Yin De, and the price of the technique is even more expensive. You'd better save the Yin De for your next life. If something goes wrong in your next life, at least you can be reborn as a human again."
Qi Feng, however, thought otherwise. "I've accomplished nothing in my life. Those good deeds I've done are the last thing I can leave to my child. Even if they can only earn me half a low-grade spirit stone, they are proof of my hard work in this life. Mr. Ghost Messenger, can you please help me fulfill my last wish?"
"Of course." Ye Jie took out the torn page and put it in Qi Feng's palm. His good karma quickly decreased, and finally only one hundred was left.
The crisp sound of black stone hitting the ground echoed by the deserted riverbank. The shrimp-headed man, who was feasting, paused, glanced around, and seeing nothing unusual, he returned his attention to the delicious meal before him. The flesh and blood of cultivators, imbued with spiritual energy, held a deadly allure for demonic beasts.
At the Naihe Bridge, Ye Jie handed Qi Feng a ghost messenger's order and watched his body completely disappear on the bridge. Only then did the torn page in his arms vibrate.
【Book of Life and Death:】
【In the winter of the twelfth year of the Zhenguan reign, the soul holding the Ghost Messenger Jie's token successfully underwent the ninth level of reincarnation.】
【Ghost Messenger Jie gained a hidden virtue.】
At the bottom of the torn page, there was a cinnabar portrait of Qi Feng, filled with remorse and pain.
Putting the torn page into his arms, Ye Jie returned to the bank of the Jing River. The apparently empty beach seemed very lively in his eyes. Many ghost officials came after hearing the news to collect the bodies and guide the souls of the dead hunters.
Among the busy figures, Ye Jie saw a familiar face. The ghost messenger Mei in white clothes and white face was waving at him with a smile.
Ye Jie clasped his fists in return. Seeing that he was no longer needed here, he took out the Ghost Messenger Order from his pocket and sensed Xia Wei's whereabouts. Suddenly, his eyes froze. In his perception, Xia Wei seemed to have gone to a very dangerous place.