Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
âIâm not sure what is going on. But I have been attracting more of these things recently,â Xie Jiling said.
The soul reaper was speechless.
Some people attract cats. You attract ghosts?
Xie Jiling said to the vengeful ghost, âThe officials of the underworld are here. You should explain everything right now while you can so that things will be better for you in the underworld. Itâs better if you can get a lighter sentence. Your vengeful aura is not very strong, which means you havenât harmed many people.â
âIf you can explain yourself right now, the two big brothers here will explain to the judge. It will save you a lot of trouble.â Xie Jiling said.
The vengeful spirit helplessly knelt on the ground. âThe little girl you saw earlier was me when I was seven years old.â
âWhen I turned seven years old, my parents got a divorce. Life was happy until I turned seven. Therefore, I usually show up as a seven-year-old.â
âAfter my parents got divorced, I followed my mother. Soon, my mom remarried and I had a step-father and little brother. Upon having his own blood-related child, my stepfather started disliking me. He was really cold to me. To continue living with him, my mom chose to be silent about it.â
âShe knew that my stepfather was bad to me, but she did nothing. She refused to say anything.â
âI felt so much hate. I started becoming more rebellious. When I turned 15, I hung out with a group of teenage delinquents. One day, we went camping in the mountains, but I never expected them to do⦠that to me.â
She started crying. âBecause they were scared of their crimes being exposed, they killed me and tossed me in the deepest areas of the forest. Since then, I have been missing. The police could not find my body and my stepfather stopped looking for me as well.â
âIn his opinion, itâs better without me. Both he, my mom, and my little brother are one family. I am just an outsider. Without me, they would be able to live more comfortably. And so, they stopped looking for me. It has been so many years and my body is still in the mountains and I am still a missing person in the police database system.â
âNo one buried me. I could only be a wandering soul. I couldnât even reincarnate.â
âMy vengeance started growing. I went to look for the people who hurt me and I killed all of them. But I was still angry. So, I intended to never let any men seeking thrills in the mountains go.â
âHowever, there were stories going around saying that the place I died was haunted. So, no one went there anymore.â She then pointed at He Yuliang, âBut this guy went. And soâ¦â
âAnd so, you wanted to kill him?â Xie Jiling asked coldly.
She shook her head and said, âI didnât think it through.â
âThis means that you still have a sense of judgment. You are not entirely controlled by your vengeful aura.â Xie Jiling said.
This was why she was willing to give the vengeful spirit a chance.
âGo with them. I will notify the police about your body and they will bury you so you can have peace.â Xie Jiling said.
âIf possible⦠I hope that I wonât be a girl in my next life,â the vengeful spirit said.
âYou have killed people, but you did it because they killed you first. There is a cause-and-effect relationship between you and them. And so, this will cancel a lot of the punishment. I can guarantee that you will be a human in your next life, but you will probably not be a rich and noble person.â
âI know. I expected it,â the vengeful spirit responded.
Xie Jiling then said to the two soul reapers, âBig Brothers, can you help me pass a message to the judge?â
âAgain?â Before they came here, they had a chat with the other two soul reapers.
They knew that Xie Jiling had asked to pass a message to the judge.
However, they didnât expect her to have more things to say.
Xie Jiling ignored their astonishment and said, âAsk the judge to find a loving family for her if the conditions allow it. The family doesnât have to be rich. It can be poor. I am sure she doesnât mind. Just make sure that itâs a happy family filled with love.â
âYes! Yes! I donât mind!â the vengeful spirit hurriedly said, âAs long as the family is together, I donât care if I am poor or if I have to suffer.â
âAlright. We will pass on the message.â The two soul reapers nodded and said.
âThank you! Thank you!â The soul reaper immediately knelt down and did three kowtows toward Xie Jiling.
âAnd now, can you tell me who taught you how to hide your vengeful aura?â Xie Jiling asked.
The vengeful spirit appeared to be deep in thought as she said, âAt that time, I had just killed someone and had just turned into a vengeful ghost. In the beginning, when I had just turned into a vengeful ghost, I could not control my vengeful aura. My vengeful aura was spreading far and wide and was even stronger than the vengeful aura emanated by older vengeful ghosts.â
âSo, this attracted an exorcist,â the vengeful spirit recalled and said, âHe looked like an ordinary middle-aged man. Thereâs nothing special about him. He has a very forgettable face.â
âWhile we are talking about this, I realized I actually forgot what he looked like.â The vengeful ghost pondered and looked confused.
âHe was supposed to seize me, but he pitied me after he heard about my story. He said that there was nothing wrong with me. Even if I killed them, it is not my fault. He said that he wouldnât seize me if I promise not to hurt any innocent living beings.â
âIn addition, he taught me the method to hide my vengeful aura so that my presence would be hidden from the other exorcists and I would be safe. As long as I donât hurt anyone, my vengeful aura will not increase.â
âHe left after he taught me the method,â the vengeful spirit said.
Xie Jiling frowned and said, âDonât you think thatâs really weird? He is an exorcist. How could he think that you were innocent after you had killed someone? And you trusted him because he taught you a method?â
âArenât you scared that he had given you a fake method and that method would instead cause you harm?â Xie Jiling couldnât believe that a vengeful ghost could be so gullible.
Upon hearing the reminder from Xie Jiling, the vengeful ghost thought it was weird, too.
The vengeful ghost looked confused as she said, âI donât know, but I believed him back then. Back then, I believed every word he said. He sounded very convincing and I didnât doubt him at all.â
The vengeful ghost felt puzzled. Why had she done that?
Thankfully, that method actually worked. It hid her vengeful aura and kept her safe.
But now that she thought about it, she felt scared.
Of course, even with the effect of that method, she still couldnât hide her presence from Xie Jiling.
âTherefore, you donât know his name and you forgot his looks?â Xie Jiling said.
The vengeful ghost nodded puzzledly.
âAlthough you will be going to the underworld soon, I have to tell you clearly. I canât let you leave confused,â Xie Jiling said.
âThat person had told you the way to hide the vengeful aura. It seemed like he had helped you and kept you hidden from the other exorcists,â Xie Jiling said.
âBut he said that he would teach you the method if you promise not to hurt anyone. However, he left after he taught you the method. He didnât supervise you. As such, he would have no idea whether youâre going to hurt anyone or not.â