Chapter 9

Upon hearing this, Zhi Yan's entire body stiffened. Her lips were tightly sealed, and she did not dare to move a muscle

The little ghost glanced into the large mirror standing beside him and said: "So, Lu Zhaoyao, huh? Well, you had crimes of murder, slander, and fraud in your lifetime... Uh, there are too many charges, I won't read them all. Each charge deducts ten percent of your ghost money. Originally, there would be nothing left after the deductions, but since you also have virtues of redemption and good deeds, a few percentages have been added back. All things considered, after everything is calculated, if someone burns one thousand coins for you, you will receive one hundred coins in hand.

Zhi Yan immediately bit her lip after I said something to her, her face filled with grievance and regret

I was taken aback: "Why?"

I feel that there have been too many things recently that make me want to vomit blood, and for a moment, I even feel a bit dry in my throat, as if I have lost all my blood

I feel that my arithmetic skills seem to be somewhat lacking. Regardless of how absurd the rule of the underworld is, which allows only one person to burn one thousand coins for a ghost in a day, let us consider this one thousand coins. The other party receives one thousand, so why do I only receive one hundred coins? Before I could ask, the shop assistant had already pointed to a shop diagonally across and said: "If you have any questions, go to the Great Yin Underworld Money Shop yourself"

I thought it would be best to first go to the Ghost Market tonight. If the money that Zhi Yan burned for me has been credited to the underworld, I could take a Divine Travel Pill and float my way to the Library of Books, without needing to seek permission from Mo Qing, thus avoiding raising his suspicions.

Zhiyan slowly relaxed her body and whispered, "So from now on, do I have to find an excuse for everything I say or do? In case he sees it, I can explain it away.

At the moment when I thought she was wrong, and she also believed she was wrong, the usually cold-faced Mo Qing suddenly... seemed to... emit a faint laugh, without even parting her lips, more like a sound gently released from her nasal cavity.

I followed his finger and turned my head to see a small shop with six crookedly hung characters that read "Great Underworld Money Shop"

I believe that the world of ghosts is filled with discrimination and malice towards us, the tyrants who wreaked havoc in the world during our lifetime

I... I dreamed of Lu Zhaoyao again yesterday, she asked me to burn paper... I had no choice but to make do here... It was a stammering statement, but it conveyed the essence of the message.

I did not explain the reason to Zhi Yan, and Mo Qing also fell silent and said no more. Only Zhi Yan remained kneeling in the middle, fidgeting restlessly as if sitting on pins and needles

She certainly does not love to see me offering incense to her

Similar to the green-faced, tusked gatekeeper outside the last soul-retrieval shop, he took out a mirror and engaged in a conversation with the reflection within. Then, he stepped forward and blocked the entrance, stating: "Entry is not permitted"

I pondered for a moment while stroking my chin, then walked to the side and sat down, allowing my upper body to detach from Zhi Yan's form. At the very instant my soul departed from Zhi Yan's body, a bright light suddenly appeared before me. I found myself on the same road, flanked by a row of closely packed shops, with countless swaying vendors in front of them, creating a silent yet eerily vibrant scene.

This appearance... indeed bears some resemblance to what Zhi Yan told me that day... sorrow.

Is it that, in this body of Zhi Yan, she can only see this one ghost of mine

However, it is strange. Now, as far as my eyes can see, there is only a desolate and eerie forest of dead trees, and I do not see any ghostly vendors moving slowly along the sides of the road. I turned around and looked at the road, feeling that I should not have gone wrong.

I now have money, so I will first go and get a Shenxing Pill to pick myself up.

Mo Qing stared at her, his expression seemingly contemplative, but before I could grasp what he was pondering, he had already shifted his gaze to the side where a cart full of paper money was burning, with another cart still waiting to be set ablaze

A living person can only burn one thousand coins for a ghost in a day; any excess will not be recorded and will be confiscated. He lazily replied to me, "You only had one person burn for you today, right? A total of one hundred coins have been accounted for. In our shop, we only allow entries for accounts exceeding ten thousand coins."

I glanced back at Zhiyan's body and thought to myself, let it be here. If I come back and it is gone, then someone else must have worn it. If the body is still here, then only I can wear it. In any case, regardless of who wears it, Zhiyan will be able to return to her soul the next morning, so there is no fear of losing it

The best approach to engaging in supernatural antics is to maintain an air of mystery and ambiguity, leaving people perplexed and unable to grasp the full picture. When everything is clearly explained, it ironically diminishes the effect.

It seems that only when the sun rises will Zhi Yan's spirit return on its own. As I was pondering this, a female ghost suddenly floated by, swaying and drifting towards Zhi Yan's body.

He spoke quickly, and I heard it vaguely. In the end, I sorted it out myself and roughly understood it. In other words, the institution of the underworld evaluates merits and sins based on the different deeds performed by individuals during their lifetime

Then should I... continue to burn? Zhiyan seemed to muster all her courage to ask this question, not knowing whether she was inquiring of me or seeking Moqing's opinion.

I do not want him to burn

I saw Zhi Yan kneeling on the ground, her neck twisting slightly, as if she were desperately trying to suppress the urge to glance in my direction.

I was momentarily stunned, looking up at him, only to find him staring at the candle and the flames. The fire reflected in his dark pupils, and he seemed lost in thought for a while, but soon his expression dimmed again

I happily rushed into the ghost market, looking around, and finally found the shop selling the Shenxing Pill. At the entrance stood a shop assistant with a deathly pale face and drooping eyebrows, who stopped me and weakly asked, "What is your name?"

... ...

I rubbed my forehead to ease the tension

I am quite proud of myself. It turns out that one must be a person to truly make a name for oneself in a flamboyant manner

Well, hello there, there is an empty shell here, you should give it a try

On the dusty road of Chenji Mountain... I have lost my temper due to these ghosts, "Today, someone gave me two large carts of money, but I only received one hundred."

Upon reaching the forest, I performed a hand gesture, and in the blink of an eye, I arrived at the ghost market where I had floated for three days before.

Until I found Zhiyan's body still lying under the tree, I picked her up, stood up, and patted my backside, thinking: Now that there are no more Divine Movement Pills to consume, it seems I will have to meet Mo Qing later to request permission to enter the library.

You do not have enough money for the underworld

On the peak of Xiyue, there was a profound silence, yet there were still people coming and going outside. Cultivating demonic arts is not the same as cultivating immortality; some practices are best practiced at night. I took over Zhi Yan's body, leaving her inside the house while I stepped out.

So the question arises, how exactly should I please and entice him tonight...

Only after Zhiyan watched the last spark extinguish did she kneel and turn around, only to find no one behind her. It was then that she let out a sigh of relief, slumping to the ground and pounding her legs: "You two great demons... what sin have I committed..."

The paper money was burned, and Mo Qing left as suddenly as he had come, without even informing Zhi Yan.

I pondered again, could it be that I can only possess Zhiyan's body at night? Is it because of that stormy night a month ago when she crashed into my tombstone, injuring her head and causing it to bleed, that we formed this special connection?

Come, follow my words. I calmly said to Zhi Yan, "I dreamed of Lu Zhao Yao again yesterday. She still asked me to burn paper for her. I cannot go to the forbidden place, so I can only make do here."

I was astonished: "Not enough? Why? I had someone prepare so much for me today!"

Uh... there are also scented wax candles here, would you... would you like to burn some for her as well?" Zhi Yan looked at Mo Qing like this, and suddenly, with a trembling voice, said such a sentence

I floated to the entrance of the money shop and saw a thin little ghost sitting behind a narrow counter, his fingers resembling withered bamboo, busily clicking away on an abacus. He glanced up at me and asked, "What is your name, and what business do you have?"

Having understood this principle, I pondered for a while, considering the possibility of using my current soul and body to kill the King of Hell and overthrow the rule of the underworld, only to conclude that... it would be better to honestly return and find someone to burn money for me

I spoke this sentence almost simultaneously with Mo Qing

In the underworld, wealth is not the primary concern; rather, it is one's character and moral conduct that truly matter

If one commits a crime, and there are living people who burn money, then a penalty will be imposed. If one does good deeds, and there are living people who burn money, then a reward will be given. In essence, it all comes down to one meaning, which is—

I leaned back again and entered Zhi Yan's body. As expected, once I was in Zhi Yan's form and looked at the road ahead through her eyes, everything vanished.

Be more careful with your words in the future. I said, "Every time you burn paper money, he comes; who knows, he might occasionally use his clairvoyance to watch you."

It is late at night

To entice and please someone, it is best not to discuss conditions or demands at the outset. Focus solely on seduction and flattery, making the other person believe that you are entirely devoted to them. This is the ultimate approach to seduction.

The old lady glanced at me and, pursing her lips, asked, "Young lady, what is your birth date? My son has also passed away; shall we arrange a marriage in the afterlife?"

Consider the number of people who spend money for you, and consider the amount of good deeds you performed during your lifetime

Forget it, I shouldn't have talked to these ghosts

If you have given me your entire body, then there wouldn't be so many matters to deal with. I looked up at the sky, it is noon, the joss paper has also been burned, I will go back to rest and wait until evening to come to you again

Hello. I called out to a ghostly scholar beside me, and he turned his head to look at me with a faint expression: "Young... student... has... a... gift..."

Not good! ... What if she possessed Zhiyan's body ... . Before I could finish this thought in my mind, the female ghost passed through Zhiyan's body, then through the large tree behind her, and continued to float away.

It is her style

Even in death, he remains so bitter. I shot him a glance and then grabbed an old lady next to me who was leaning on a cane: "There is an empty shell here, why don't you try possessing it."

Zhiyan smiled awkwardly and said, "Hehe, it is indeed a bit much, but I can't help it, she insisted on having this many..."

Encountering people on the road, I neither avoided nor dodged them, allowing them to bow and scrape in an attempt to get close to me. I nodded in acknowledgment and mentioned that I was going out for a walk. They all smiled and watched me leave, and I could still hear them calling out to me to walk slowly from a distance. Compared to the situation that Zhiyan had previously described to me, this was truly a world apart.

As I drift back, I feel regretful about why I turned down Mo Qing's offer to spend money for me today. If he had spent it, I would at least have two hundred coins by now! Even a small mosquito is still meat; without accumulating the little, how can one achieve the much

The drooping eyelids conceal subtle thoughts, emotions restrained and unexpressed

Are you trying to deceive ghosts here

I once again extricated myself from her body, stood up, and turned to look. I saw her form slumped against the tree roots, and Zhi Yan's soul did not float over by itself either

Mo Qing took two steps back: "Burn it. " He gently leaned against the tree opposite me, facing me directly, yet unable to see me, only turning his head to gaze at the increasingly brilliant flames, watching the ashes dance in the sky, lost in thought about something.

Men and women have their differences, which should not be disregarded

It is indeed a ghost market

"Shut up, who allowed you to say so much!" I scolded her

The dust rises along the Jishan Road

I understand this now. The reason I am destitute and in such an embarrassing situation after becoming a ghost is that in my previous life, I lacked nothing but moral character and virtue.

However, do not be too afraid, the sect leader is busy with official matters. He just came by personally, and now he is probably too occupied to keep an eye on you. I speculate that for a demon cultivator like Li Chenlan, whose movements are as swift as the divine, where his heart desires, his body follows; going wherever he wishes is merely a matter of thought. Yesterday, we exchanged words for quite a while in that forbidden area, and he only arrived at the hour of the rat. It is likely that he happened to glance at the valley at that time, noticed you, and came over before his subordinates had reported. Today is probably similar. It was just a coincidence that he saw you; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken so long.