"The soul has returned."
A cold wind blew by, accompanied by the whispers of the tall ghost. The young man lying on the ground got up from the ground, opened his eyes wide, and felt as if he was in another world.
"Father, sister, why are you here? Am I not already dead? Or are you also..."
The young man muttered to himself after regaining consciousness, his lifeless eyes filled with sorrow. "Yes, I watched my father die with my own eyes. Now that I've met him again, I think he's no longer with us."
The young man gritted his teeth, tears welling in his eyes. "I would have died, but I never thought that even you, my sister, couldn't escape the thieves' murderous clutches..."
"Lin'er, what nonsense are you talking about!" Xia Xianshou couldn't bear to listen any longer and shook the boy's shoulders vigorously. "Your sister is still alive and well. Not only that, the ghost messenger said that she is the reincarnation of an immortal. That is the blessing she earned in her previous life. She doesn't have to suffer anymore!"
Following the old man's words, Xia Lin also saw the tall ghost standing not far away, and subconsciously shuddered.
Ye Jie took advantage of the situation and stepped forward, holding up the scrap of paper in his hand and reading aloud:
"Xia Lin, your life has come to an end. The following is a record of your merits and demerits."
"In the spring of the sixth year of Wude, he was born into a poor family. He was abandoned for some reason and then adopted."
"In the summer of the fifth year of the Zhenguan reign, I robbed a bird's nest, smashed five eggs, and discarded them. Twenty Yin De were deducted from my merit."
"In the autumn of the ninth year of the Zhenguan reign, I argued with my father and was deducted thirty points of merit."
"In the winter of the twelfth year of the Zhenguan reign, in revenge for his father, he killed five people in anger and was deducted 2,500 Yin De."
"In the winter of the twelfth year of the Zhenguan reign, he was struck by the heart-wrenching clutches of the Hengshan bandit. He died of exhaustion while fleeing at the age of fifteen."
"In my life, I have always treated people in accordance with the Way of Heaven. I have earned three hundred Yin De from trivial things. The remaining Yin De from my previous life is zero."
"A total of 2,250 negative karmas."
There was a piece of blood-red ink at the bottom of the torn page, but Ye Jie did not read it out loud. It read:
"Those who read this message will quickly escort the evil spirit to the Soul Devouring Abyss to be judged by the Demon Palace!"
Xia Lin lowered his head slightly and listened to the ghost messenger Jie telling his life story with an indifferent expression.
When it was time to leave, Xia Wei stepped forward, patted her chest, and said, "Father, brother, rest assured and follow Master into reincarnation. Xia Wei will avenge you. One day or another, Xia Wei will comfort your souls in heaven with the head of the Hengshan bandit!"
The old man wiped his tears with his hand. Thinking that this might be the last time he saw his children, his heart became more bitter. But then he heard Ye Jie remind him:
"Xia Xianshou, you can reincarnate smoothly, but your son Xia Lin cannot. Because of his heavy sins of killing, he has been identified as a heinous criminal by the underworld. He must be escorted by ghosts to the Soul Devouring Abyss to face the judgment of the Demon Palace."
The old man asked in a trembling voice, "What will happen to my son... my son?"
Ye Jie shook his head. "Except for the Asuras of the Demon Palace, no one knows what lies beneath the Soul Devouring Abyss. I only know that I've never seen any of the evil spirits that were escorted there. It's said there are mountains of knives and cauldrons of oil, tongues pulled out and hearts gouged out, stones crushing beasts, and thousands of cuts and shreds of flesh. It's designed specifically for the souls of evildoers."
"How could this happen..." The old man beat his chest and stamped his feet, feeling extremely regretful.
Xia Wei also felt a little guilty: "Brother killed those villains to save me from the pursuers... I must have left a lot of good karma in my previous life, right? Can I share my good karma with my brother? As long as he has enough good karma, then he won't have to enter the Soul Devouring Abyss?"
Ye Jie shook his head: "The so-called Yin De refers to the benefits left behind that can only be confirmed through the Book of Life and Death after death. Even if you were a true immortal in your previous life, I can't see it now, let alone increase or decrease your Yin De."
Ye Jie glanced at Xia Lin and said, "Besides, even if you can give him Yin De, the sins of killing he committed with his own hands cannot be compensated by the amount of Yin De. This is the rule of the underworld, and there is nothing I can do."
Unlike the others who looked sorrowful, Xia Lin appeared quite calm. "Father, sister, don't worry about me. I've already killed five villains, and that's enough. Even if I were to be cut into pieces in the underworld, I wouldn't even frown."
Xia Wei felt something and reached out to pat Xia Lin on the shoulder, but her hand passed directly through his body like passing through a wisp of mist.
Xia Wei was stunned. Ye Jie was not surprised by this, but Xia Lin continued, "But you, sister! I once saw from afar the Hengshan bandit kill a tiger with one palm strike. Can you really avenge us? Why not forget the past and start a new life..."
Facing Xia Lin's persuasion, Xia Wei just shook her head, with a blazing fire of hatred burning in her eyes: "I will not be a human being if I don't avenge this!"
After bidding farewell to everyone, Xia Wei headed south alone. Thinking that she would never see her father and brother again, tears already filled her face. However, she never looked back once. She just raised her white jade hand and said her final goodbye to everyone with the back of her hand.
In her other hand, she was holding a dark and ancient token with the word "Jie" engraved on the surface of the token. As long as she activated the token, she could sense Ye Jie no matter where he was.
Ye Jie, who stayed where he was, watched Xia Wei go away, and he had no idea what kind of path his cheap apprentice could make in this dark world.
Aside, Xia Xianshou was still complaining about his son's fate: "My son clearly killed a villain. He should be rewarded and have his merits increased. Why did he have so much merit deducted?"
Ye Jie said slowly, "God is merciful and kind. According to the rules of the underworld, anyone who commits the sin of killing, regardless of the reason, will have 500 Yin De deducted and will be punished in the Soul Devouring Abyss after death."
Shaking his head, Ye Jie continued, "In the past, if you were dissatisfied with the deduction of Yin De, you could go to Yama Palace and appeal to the judge of the same dynasty. Now the dynasty has changed. If you don't pay 100,000 Yin De, I'm afraid you won't even see the judge. I am just following orders."
Xia Xianshou was stunned by what Ye Jie said. He couldn't find any words to refute for a long time. In the end, he could only sigh with a sad face, "Forget it. At least my daughter is safe and sound. What else can I ask for? Master Ghost Messenger, send my daughter to the Soul Devouring Abyss."
Ye Jie took out the Shrinking Stone and the Green Nether Branch and brought the two people beside him to the Soul-Devouring Abyss.
Arriving at the summit of the towering Black Mountain, a chilling wind swept through, dark clouds filled the sky, vengeful spirits roared, ghosts wailed, and wolves howled. Ye Jie led Xia Lin to the cliff, handed him a ghost messenger's order, and raised his chin, saying, "Jump down! You'll be fine with the protection of the Netherworld Gale."
Xia Lin had no doubts and rushed down the cliff in one step, his figure disappearing under the layers of dark fog.
At the same time, Ye Jie felt a violent vibration in his arms.
He reached into his bosom and pulled out the torn page of paper, only to see ink flying and new words beginning to appear on the torn page.
【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 was escorted to the Soul Devouring Abyss.
【A second-level ghost messenger receives a 10% reward.】
【Ghost Messenger Jie gained 225 Yin De.】
Next to the pitch-black text, painted in scarlet blood was Xia Lin's hideous face, baring his teeth in anger, like a demon.
Ye Jie sighed, put the torn page in his arms, and then set off again to send the old man to the Naihe Bridge.
Along the way, ghost messengers came and went constantly. One, dressed in red, wielded a long, barbed black whip, herded a horde of wandering souls onto the Naihe Bridge like cattle, paying no heed to the wandering souls' pleas. Anyone who cried out loudly received a severe lashing. A ten-foot-tall crimson demon, bound over fifty people in a ball with black ropes, dragged the wandering souls forward with brute force. Another ghost messenger summoned a magical flying boat, driving boatloads of people out like dumplings.
Once the wandering souls are driven onto the bridge by the ghost catcher, they can never go back. Countless wandering souls retreated crying, but there was an invisible barrier that blocked their retreat. They could only move forward on the bridge, not backward. No matter how much they shouted and cried, there was nothing they could do.
Seeing all these strange sights, Xia Xianshou finally became frightened. He shrank behind Ye Jie and did not dare to move forward for a long time.
Arriving at the bridge, Xia Xianshou couldn't help but grab Ye Jie's sleeve and said with emotion:
"Master Ghost Messenger, I finally understand how lucky I am to have met you. If I hadn't met you, I would have been driven onto the Naihe Bridge like an animal, and there would be no way I could reunite with my children..."
After saying this, the old man was about to bow deeply to Ye Jie, but Ye Jie held him up with his hand and said, "No need to do that. I only help kind people. Now that your past is over, you can reincarnate."
Before leaving, Ye Jie also stuffed a ghost messenger order into the old man's hand and asked the last question in his mind: "Regarding Xia Wei... Logically speaking, a first-grade reincarnation should be born into an imperial family. When you adopted her, did you see any strange visions?"
"A strange vision?" The old man was slightly startled, his memory seeming to return to the past. "It's strange, but when I found Lin'er, he was wrapped in a tattered swaddling cloth, and Xiaowei was lying on a lotus leaf in the river, with a dreamy, rosy cloud faintly visible around them. At the time, I thought I was just blind, but now I think it was truly extraordinary."
Ye Jie understood the situation clearly: "So, Xia Wei was born by the creation of heaven and earth."
Hearing this, the old man was dumbfounded: "Is there really someone in this world who has no father or mother, born by the heaven and earth?"
Ye Jie simply said, "Such situations sometimes occur in the reincarnations of the upper three ranks. Legend has it that the Monkey King even emerged from a crack in a rock, so Xia Wei's situation is no surprise."
After the two said goodbye, the old man slowly stepped onto the bridge, his figure gradually disappearing in the lavender mist on the bridge. Ye Jie's arms shook again.
【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.】
【A second-level ghost messenger charges a one percent guide fee.】
【Ghost Messenger Jie gained a hidden virtue.】
Along with the words, a cinnabar head portrait of an old man with a look of loss and wrinkles appeared.
"A hidden virtue...?"
After seeing the two off, Ye Jie couldn't help but calculate the gains and losses of his income.
"I used the Earth-Shrinking Stone six times, consuming 150 Yin De. I used the Azure Nether Branch twice, consuming 200 Yin De. I didn't use the two Yellow Spring Waters. They lose their effectiveness after a day and can't be retained, so I probably won't be able to use them, so I lost 600 Yin De. I used the Soul-Protecting Talisman once, consuming 300 Yin De. In total, I spent 1,250 Yin De and earned 226 Yin De, for a net loss of 1,024 Yin De, not even counting the cost of treating the Ghost Messenger Mei to a meal later... If it weren't for my short-lived grandson giving me 1,000 Yin De, I would have almost run out of Yin De."
Ye Jie sighed.
He had conducted such loss-making business countless times in the past sixty years. He fulfilled the last wishes of wandering souls one after another, and sometimes even had to pay for their good deeds by sending them to the Naihe Bridge, where they lived a life of a ghost messenger that was not enough to make ends meet.
But this time, things seemed different. Thinking of the disciple who was the reincarnation of an immortal, Ye Jie couldn't help but smile slightly. He wondered what kind of changes that cheap disciple could bring to his life as a ghost messenger in the future?