“Hee hee hee hee... Living people wishing to walk the Yin Yang Road must leave toll money!”
“With money, one can make even a ghost turn a millstone; with money, one can walk the Yellow Springs road. Hee hee, giggle giggle...”
“The gates of the Yin Yang Road and the Yellow Springs open to the west. If you have a life but no money, do not enter. Heh heh heh heh...”
Those fragmented voices sounded sometimes distant and sometimes near, sharp and piercing, as if someone were deliberately pinching their throat to speak.
Nan Zhi focused her gaze and saw that the once bare walls were now pitted and uneven, as if smeared with yellow mud, with countless hideous ghost faces emerging from them.
There were men and women, old and young, expressing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, greed, hatred, obsession, and resentment. It was as if all the myriad faces of the mortal world were condensed onto this single wall of yellow earth.
“The Ghost Festival is approaching. Are the gates of the Ghost Buddha Temple open yet? Send a few clever little ghosts to take us on a trip down the Yin Yang Road.”
Xu Zi familiarly pulled out a handful of paper money and burned it at the base of the wall. Although there was no wind, a sudden chill of yin energy appeared out of nowhere, swirling the paper ashes high into the air.
“With money, everything is easy! With money, everything is easy!”
The wall began to change again. Hundreds and thousands of ghost faces vanished into the wall with snickers. Several figures suddenly protruded from the shadows on the ground, struggling as they landed, turning into over a dozen life-like paper figures.
The paper figures were exquisitely crafted. There were males and females; the males wore red jackets, and the females wore green robes. On their deathly white faces were two perfectly round spots of red paper.
Their vivid red lips were tightly shut, with only two dots of red marked on the upper and lower lips.
It was clearly a ridiculous and comical look, yet when applied to the faces of paper figures, it carried an indescribable sense of eerie horror.
“Are these... spirits attached to the paper figures?”
Nan Zhi squinted, noticing that each of these paper figures was possessed by one or two little ghosts, all of whom were sharp-chinned and monkey-cheeked, with mean and scrawny appearances.
“Hee hee hee, a newcomer! One look at this lady’s face and I can tell she possesses great wealth and status, with excellent luck!”
One paper figure leaned in close. Hearing her question, it waved its arms made of bamboo strips and replied in a high-pitched voice:
“We are all wandering spirits from the Underworld. We have no family to offer sacrifices, and no temples or monasteries to take us in. During festivals like Qingming or the Ghost Festival, we cannot compare to those family ghosts who have incense and candles to enjoy.
“Therefore, every year during the Ghost Festival and the Qingming Festival, we wait here on the Yin Yang Road to provide convenience for passersby and earn some incense and paper money for ourselves.”
As it spoke, the paper figure’s face remained entirely expressionless. Were it not for the occasional blinking of its eyes, one would have thought it was a lifeless object.
Wandering spirits escaped from the Underworld?
Nan Zhi was slightly taken aback, but she soon understood.
Living people have a lifespan, and ghosts have a Yin life.
When a living person dies, their soul must return to the Underworld to be judged by the Underworld Judge and Yama. Aside from those who must serve sentences in hell, ordinary souls must wait for their Yin life to end before they can be reincarnated.
While in the Underworld, ghosts also need to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves. Thus, there isn't much difference between the Underworld and the mortal realm; both require expenses.
After death, aside from the protection of the Yin merit accumulated during life, one must rely on the paper money burned by relatives and descendants to get by.
“Then if someone burns a lot of paper money for themselves while they are alive, won't they become a wealthy man once their soul returns to the Underworld?”
Nan Zhi knew very little about the affairs of the Underworld, so she asked a few more questions. The paper figure shook its head repeatedly and said disdainfully:
“You don’t know the tricks of the trade! If one committed many evils and acted dishonestly during their life, then no matter how much paper money and paper ingots their descendants burn, they cannot hold the money and cannot spend it.
“But for those families who accumulated merit through good deeds while alive, a single piece of paper money burned for them is worth a hundred or a thousand times more than that of an ordinary family!”
“I used to hear people say that the wandering spirits in the Underworld are the most pitiful. They don’t have enough to eat or wear, they have no one to offer sacrifices, and they even get bullied by greater ghosts.”
Xu Zi leaned in from the side and let out a long sigh.
“That’s why they often carry sedans for people on the Yin Yang Road and allow themselves to be driven. If they are summoned to do something wicked, their end is naturally miserable!
“The Ghost Market is located in a place that cannot be found in the mortal realm. If you want to go, you can only take this Yin Yang Road.
“But the Yin Yang Road is filled with many ghosts and spirits. If you aren't careful, you’ll be caught in a ghostly shroud and trapped there forever. That’s why you need paper figures to lead the way, so you don't lose your direction.”
Nan Zhi listened intently, but she suddenly remembered the hundreds of paper ingots she had been hoarding in her bag.
—Although she had never found a use for them, how could a game player with a hoarding habit ever throw away system items?
【Paper Ingots × 235: Folded from gold paper imbued with dharma power.】
“I wonder if this money can be used in the Ghost Market?”
Nan Zhi took out a paper ingot and waved it in front of the paper figures. She saw the heads of the dozen or so paper figures turn a full one hundred and eighty degrees in unison, and a light like that of a hungry wolf emerged from their hollow black eyes.
The paper figures began to scream loudly. It was as if a series of yin winds had picked up in the alley, and hundreds of spirits made a chattering noise:
“Such a large ingot! It works, it works! With such a bright gold ingot, it would work even in the Yama Palace, let alone the Ghost Market!”
“Heavens! A glittering gold ingot!”
“This lady is truly generous! A prestigious guest, a prestigious guest indeed!”
“A prestigious guest has arrived! A prestigious guest has arrived! Hee hee hee hee!”
“Lady, lady! Choose me! Choose me! I’m strong! I’ll carry the sedan steadily!”
One paper figure snatched the head off its companion and, riding the headless body, screamed:
“Choose me! Choose me! I run fast, and I can even take off my head to tell the lady jokes!”
The paper figure whose head had been snatched was not to be outdone. It picked up its head from the ground, reattached it, and turned its back to the other, cursing:
“Bullshit! You’re a drowned ghost! You’re soaking wet, leaving a trail with every step. How could you possibly carry a noble’s sedan!”
“That’s still better than you, who choked to death on a chicken bone because you didn’t spit it out!”
The drowned ghost gave it a slap, but ended up breaking its own arm, which hung limply in front of its chest, looking incredibly comical.
“I’ve disliked you for a long time! To dare to steal my business today, see if I don’t tear off that troublesome mouth of yours and stick it on your ass to eat shit!”
A group of paper figures began to punch and kick their companions. For a moment, the air was filled with paper scraps and bamboo frames, showing just how tempting the paper ingots were.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Nan Zhi’s head throbbed from the noise. Seeing that even more ghosts on the wall were starting to stir, wanting to join the fray, she immediately pointed at several paper figures and shouted:
“You lot, stay and carry our sedan. But this journey must be grand. Play music and make it as lively and prestigious as possible.
“When we reach the Ghost Market, I want everyone to know that two wealthy, easy targets have arrived. Understood?”
As she spoke, she exchanged a glance with Xu Zi, who immediately showed a look of realization.
—Since they wanted others to treat them as fat sheep, they naturally had to put on a grand show.
The paper figures were overjoyed, and the leader repeatedly patted its chest in guarantee:
“That’s easy! Some of us were part of an opera troupe. We’ll play music the whole way. I guarantee no one else’s style will outshine yours, lady!”
Before he could even finish speaking, several more paper figures burrowed into the ground, and when they emerged, they were already carrying a large sedan on their shoulders.
Rate on N.U.
