“Rest assured, as long as the three of you can resolve this eerie incident, the bounty on the notice will definitely be given to you in full. However, if you cannot resolve it and encounter misfortune due to the eeriness, then I, Yu Qianjing, will be powerless. These things must be made clear to the three of you,” Yu Qianjing continued.
The meaning in his words was clear: since you have accepted the notice, regardless of the outcome, life and death are your own choices, unrelated to others.
“That is natural. Since we are here, our lives and deaths are left to fate, relying on our own abilities. Regardless of life or death, it is unrelated to others,” Yun Qinghe nodded and said, “However, the notice did not say what the eeriness is about, its origin, or its characteristics. We know nothing. Before taking action, the town chief should at least inform us of the information regarding the eeriness. Otherwise, I, Yun, dare not make any guarantees.”
Before taking action, specific intelligence information is clearly essential to understand.
“Hmm, even if you didn’t mention it, I, Yu, would have informed the three of you,” Yu Qianjing said, nodding, “Speaking of which, this is a secret of Leaving Immortal Town.”
“We would like to hear the details.”
Zhuang Buzhou also spoke up.
“Alas, speaking of it, it’s all karma,” Town Chief Yu sighed, then began, “Actually, it’s not a very secret matter. This incident has always been an uncirculated secret history in Leaving Immortal Town. For many years, it has only been passed down among us older generations in the town. And we old folks hoped that this matter could end with our generation. Unfortunately, the cycle of Dao continues, and retribution is swift. She still returned. Alas!”
After a sigh, a secret slowly emerged from Yu Qianjing’s mouth.
Many years ago, when Yu Qianjing was three years old, there was a scholar family in the town named Tian. They were a prominent family in the town, known for their scholarly pursuits and literary heritage. But strangely, the Tian family had been a single-son lineage for three generations.
At that time, the Tian family still had a single son, named Tian Jidi. His parents gave him this name, hoping he would achieve the highest scholar rank. And at that time, Tian Jidi was indeed a talented young man, famous in the vicinity of Leaving Immortal Town.
He had also earned the title of a xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examination).
But after Tian Jidi earned the xiucai title, everything began to change. He became arrogant, conceited, and complacent. Later, he even picked up a series of bad habits, spending his days with friends and frequenting various establishments. His parents repeatedly tried to dissuade him but eventually died of grief, passing away early.
After his parents passed away, Tian Jidi not only did not repent but became even worse. His vast family fortune was squandered completely in a short period. He eventually sought help from his former drinking buddies, but no one offered assistance. Only then did he realize his mistakes. He wanted to try for official positions again and revive the family business, but it was already too late. His family’s wealth was completely gone, not a single cent left. He couldn’t even support himself, let alone attempt to gain official positions.
Just as he was seeking help everywhere and feeling disheartened, his childhood sweetheart, his cousin, who was deeply in love with him, heard of his repentance. She disregarded her parents’ objections and resolutely came with her saved private money to help him, funding him to retake the imperial examinations.
Afterward, Tian Jidi, moved, made a promise that he would definitely turn over a new leaf, achieve official positions, and marry no one but his cousin in this life.
And his cousin also placed all her affection on Tian Jidi.
She willingly humbled herself, selling tofu on the street every day to support his studies. At that time, it was truly admirable to others.
Later, Tian Jidi indeed studied diligently, and in the second year, he actually passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar.
His cousin, upon hearing the news, waited with full expectation for Tian Jidi to come and marry her.
But what she never expected was that in the end, she received news of Tian Jidi marrying the daughter of a court minister.
At that time, she was stunned, unable to bear the blow. She fainted on the spot.
After waking up, his cousin immediately rushed to the capital. After countless hardships, she finally met the heartless man and asked him why he had changed his mind. Unexpectedly, Tian Jidi was so cruel as to have his servants drive her away with sticks.
Finally, his cousin, unable to bear it, committed suicide by jumping into a river. She left a dying message:
Flowers bloom, flowers fall, flowers are not flowers; people before, people after, people among people.
Love begins, love ends, love is not love; hate self, hate others, hate heart hate.
In these four lines, the last character of the third line, “Affection” (qíng), is pronounced “qīng” (clear). The last character of the fourth line, “hatred” (hèn), is pronounced “hěn” (ruthless).
These four lines also expressed her true feelings.
Afterward, Tian Jidi died the next day, his heart dug out. Before his death, his eyes were wide open, full of fear. He left four lines of poetry by his bed, the same verses his cousin had left when she died.
On the third day, a still-beating heart hung at the gate of Leaving Immortal Town. Beside it were still those four lines of poetry.
It was initially thought that the matter would end with Tian Jidi’s death, but unexpectedly, in the third year, a heartless man suddenly died. The signs before his death were exactly the same as Tian Jidi’s: his heart was dug out and hung at the town gate. The four lines of poetry again appeared. For a time, Leaving Immortal Town was in a panic, unable to live peacefully.
But strangely, after this incident, everything quieted down. His cousin’s ghost did not appear again.
The next year, on the same day, another heartless person had his heart dug out and died tragically in his home.
The third year, it was the same.
For five years, every year, a heartless person would inevitably die with their heart dug out.
It was not until this incident attracted a Spirit Master, who, after investigation, learned that his cousin had transformed into an Incarnation. Finally, he used a spiritual painting to Seal and suppress it. No one knew exactly where it was suppressed. But afterward, it truly never appeared again.
This matter, though settled, left behind the legend of the “Heart-Hooking Vengeful Ghost” in Leaving Immortal Town. Regardless, the number of heartless people here significantly decreased.
After the story was told, there was a moment of silence in the hall.
“Hmph, indeed, such a cold-hearted and ungrateful person deserves to be killed, deserves to die,” Yun Qinghe snorted, speaking with disdain.
In his opinion, Tian Jidi deserved his fate and was not worthy of sympathy.
“The righteous are often butchers, and the heartless are often scholars.” Zhuang Buzhou also sighed with emotion. Such matters were truly beyond control, occurring too frequently. He then looked at Yu Qianjing and asked, “Town Chief Yu, you told us such a story. Presumably, the Incarnation in this town should be related to it. Did she break the Seal and reappear?”
This was the only possibility.
Incarnations, by ordinary means, cannot be killed; they can only be Sealed or confined by various methods.
But any Seal or confinement will change, or even break, over time and due to various accidents.
The reawakening of a Sealed Incarnation is a common occurrence.
It happens frequently.
“Tsk tsk, good wine.”
Xia Sangong leaned back in his chair, picked up his wine gourd, and leisurely drank, seemingly having no intention of interrupting.
“That’s right, she has appeared again.”
A hint of fear and sorrow appeared in Yu Qianjing’s eyes as he said, “Three people have already died. Do the three of you know that during this period, someone dies every three days? This is much worse than before, when it was one death per year.”
“Moreover, some old people have seen a white figure at night. According to them, that figure is exactly like Bai Qianqian, the cousin in the legend. It’s not just one person who saw it; several people saw it. So, Bai Qianqian must have broken the Seal. The method of heart-digging is exactly the same as before. There’s no mistake; she must have returned.”
Yun Qinghe frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, “From what Town Chief you said, this matter should be from about forty years ago. Killing people and digging out hearts is indeed a bit cruel. Generally, for a ghost, it is when the resentment in the heart does not dissipate at the time of death, preventing them from entering Reincarnation, and they become a ghost.”
“Ghosts are also divided into many types. Hungry ghosts, hanged ghosts, bloody ghosts, falling corpse ghosts, drowned ghosts, headless ghosts, whistling ghosts, indebted ghosts, grateful ghosts, returning soul ghosts, shadow ghosts, resentful ghosts, dead infants, dream ghosts, dispirited ghosts, unlucky ghosts, joyful ghosts, etc. All these ghosts are broadly divided into two types: good ghosts and vengeful ghosts.”
“And then there are those who, due to a persistent obsession in their hearts, transform into an Incarnation. As long as the obsession does not disappear, she will not die. She is no longer just Bai Qianqian. Her obsession should be to kill all the heartless people in the world. This hatred and obsession have completely transferred to all heartless people in the world. As long as there is a heartless person, she will appear.”
Yun Qinghe, evidently, understood Incarnations quite well.
Demons, monsters, ghosts, and strange beings—any of them can transform into an Incarnation.
An Incarnation is, in fact, a cause, an undying obsession.
This kind of obsession is almost indestructible.
Even if you slay her current body, she will soon Rebirth under the obsession.
Killing is almost useless.
Sealing is also a temporary measure.
There is no reasoning with an Incarnation; they are themselves an extraordinary existence.
If you try to reason or apply rules, you will lose.
“Then what does this have to do with the Bai family? Why would the Bai family offer a bounty, even taking out a spiritual painting?” Zhuang Buzhou asked with interest.
Logically, this bounty shouldn’t have fallen to the Bai family to offer.
“This…” Yu Qianjing’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this, as if he had something difficult to say, but then he sighed, “Bai Qianqian was a member of the Bai family in her lifetime.”
“A member of the Bai family?” Zhuang Buzhou looked at Yu Qianjing meaningfully and said, “I’m afraid it’s more than that.”
Yun Qinghe also looked at Yu Qianjing.
When facing an Incarnation, any piece of information could change the outcome.
“The one who Sealed Bai Qianqian back then was also a Spirit Master from the Bai family,” Yu Qianjing took a deep breath, hesitated, and then said.
“Anything else?” Zhuang Buzhou stared into his eyes and continued to ask.
“This generation of the Bai family has a heartless person,” Yu Qianjing sighed.
“Who is it?” Yun Qinghe asked.
“It is the Bai family’s eldest legitimate son, Bai Yutang.” Yu Qianjing no longer concealed the truth at this point.
Zhuang Buzhou and Yun Qinghe exchanged glances, both feeling a sense of speechlessness.