With no natural disasters or wars, the court is peaceful and the people are living happily. The immortal realm protects from above, and the underworld maintains order from below. If it weren't for those with ill intentions, everything would be harmonious. However, if that were the case, it would be even harder for me to accumulate good deeds.
According to the little news from Yanwang (the King of Hell) I received, there have been many unjust deaths in Shexian County recently, all of them resulting in the loss of all their blood, a horrifying way to die. Besides demons and monsters, I couldn't think of any other reason. So, upon hearing this news, I hurriedly rushed over.
When I arrived in Shexian County, I coincidentally encountered a group of funeral processioners. The elderly couple with white hair wept uncontrollably, contrasting sharply with the noisy and chaotic funeral music, and paper money was scattered all over the ground. The pallbearers struggled to carry the brand-new coffin slowly forward. People were afraid to get close, and those who were a bit braver whispered behind the processioners, while those who were more timid closed their doors and refused to come out. The entire Shexian County was suffused with deathly stillness, and people were filled with fear.
Although people cannot see me, I still leaned to the side of the road, after all, the dead come first. Looking at the thick black mist above the coffin, this is resentment. Generally, those who die tragically will have resentment. If the resentment is not resolved, it will be difficult to enter the underworld or reincarnation and will float around in the human world. Eventually, they will become vengeful ghosts, who eat people and harm lives, transforming from the initial victims into the culprits.
If there is resentment, I cannot ignore it. I followed the funeral procession and left Shexian County, arriving at the outskirts. Just as everyone was about to fill in the grave after the new burial, a sudden gust of wind stirred up layers of dust, scaring everyone into screaming and rolling on the ground, shouting "The ghost is coming... the ghost is coming..."
Only the elderly couple sat on the ground, embracing each other. The elderly woman, with a heart full of sorrow, pounded her chest and cried out, "Xiaodie, my daughter, have you come back? Did mother not take care of you well enough?"
The black mist that was originally on the coffin flew to the top of the elderly couple's heads, continuously hovering, trying to get closer. And I heard her voice clearly, she kept recounting her own experience, her voice was mournful. She said she died so tragically, so unjustly, and she was so full of hatred. She reached out her hand, wanting the elderly couple to see her white bones, crying and saying, "Dad, Mom, it hurts so much, I just wanted to go see Brother Wang." But she was already a ghost, so even her closest parents could not hear her voice.
The ghost's voice was mournful, the wind howled, but gradually it calmed down. I looked up at the sky, fortunately, it was a sunny day today. After the wind stopped, the people who had been blown down gradually got up. They looked at each other with eyes that seemed to be planning to escape.
But they saw the father of the female ghost release his wife who was crying in his arms, tremblingly stood up, and knelt down in front of everyone with a hoarse voice, "Xiaodie has already died tragically. If we cannot even build a good grave for her, as her father, I really cannot face her. I implore all the villagers to have compassion and pity this poor girl." The old man's voice choked, he had only one daughter and no other children. He had not taken good care of her, and had not protected her well, causing her to die so tragically.
As the crowd of people who were originally planning to leave saw the scene before them, they looked at each other and remained silent. It wasn't until an older man stepped forward to help the elderly person up and patted his hand, saying, "Whatever Mr. Lin said, we will definitely build this grave for Xiaodie properly and let her rest in peace." Once someone had spoken up, the rest began to chime in, saying, "We will definitely build it properly." So the group of people worked together to fill the grave and erect a tombstone. This time, there were no more accidents, and they all worked nervously until noon.
After the people had left, I walked slowly to the grave and read the inscription on the tombstone, "Lin Die." If there was any resentment, it should be let go. However, when she mentioned Wang, I was afraid she had other wishes that I could not fulfill for her. I stood quietly in front of the grave until evening, waiting for her to appear, and time seemed to have lost its meaning for me lately.
It was a moonless night, and everything was pitch black except for the black mist that gradually emerged from the grave and transformed into the form of a woman standing above the grave. Since I didn't hide myself this time, Lin Die saw me and felt hostile towards me. I calmly said, "I can avenge you."
She was visibly startled by my words, but then spoke with a sinister tone, "Now I can too."
I smiled, not looking down on her. If she insisted on becoming a demon, she would naturally become more powerful. "But then you won't be able to reincarnate and will continue to wander in this world as a fierce ghost until the day you perish."
Her empty gaze stared straight at me for a while before she flew away from me in silence, heading towards Shexian. I looked helplessly at the departing figure, thinking that whether a person is alive or dead, they never listen to advice.
Although it was not yet late at night, every household in Shexian had already closed their doors, and even the lights were out, except for one family - the home of Lin Die. There, the lights were bright, guiding the way for those who were lost. However, it was clear that Lin Die was not going home, as she wandered around and eventually stopped in front of a house.
Although I was following her openly, she didn't seem to notice my presence. After a brief hesitation, she pushed open the tightly closed door without hesitation, and I followed her inside immediately. I could hear irregular breathing coming from the house, and it was clear that the person inside was not yet asleep.
This time, Lin Die did not immediately enter the house, but stood outside the door and nervously called out, "Brother Wang." In the quiet night, her sudden voice seemed particularly chilling, causing the person inside the house to startle and stand up from their chair. Their face turned pale as they looked around in disbelief. Just as they thought they had misheard, Lin Die spoke again, "Brother Wang, it's me, Xiao Die."
The person in the house did not doubt that they had misheard and instinctively took a step back, incredulously asking, "Xiao...Xiao Die?"
After hearing Brother Wang's trembling voice, Lin Die smiled happily, but her face was pale and her eyes were hollow, making her laughter particularly terrifying, especially when accompanied by her lifeless laughter.
The person in the house was frightened by her laughter and shouted, "A ghost...a ghost has come!" While yelling, they quickly ran to the bed and grabbed the blanket, huddling under it and not daring to make a sound.
Hearing the screams from inside the house, Lin Die nervously pushed open the door and saw the trembling figure on the bed. She approached and patted the blanket as if to comfort him, sadly saying, "Brother Wang, don't be afraid, it's me. Didn't we agree to meet under the old locust tree? Xiao Die couldn't make it, don't blame me. I came to find you, find you." As she spoke, she pulled the blanket off Brother Wang.
Brother Wang could feel something next to him this time and desperately tried to avoid Lin Die's hands. He fell to his knees, knocking his head and pleading, "Xiao Die, I was wrong to ask you to meet me. Please forgive me and spare me. Don't eat me." By the end of his plea, he was crying and sniffling, but he didn't dare look up at Lin Die.
Seeing his appearance, Lin Die grabbed him and forcefully held his chin, lifting his head up. She looked at Brother Wang with a pleading expression and said, "Brother Wang, it's me, Xiao Die. Look at me, I won't harm you..."