To Raise a Soul 39.2

Yin Yan had trapped the evil and powerful looking ghost before Yu Zhen could react. He eyed the ashes of the spinning wheel, walked up beside Yin Yan, and looked at the Taoist priest.

The priest was looking back at Yu Zhen and then, as if he had seen some treasure, a glint of greed emerged in his eyes. He started to struggle and tried to stand up, suddenly unafraid of any consequences.

The atmosphere around Yin Yan sank. His fingers moved, thickening and tightening the spiritual net so the priest could not even struggle.

Although Yu Zhen was no longer as afraid of ghosts, he was not used to the actions of a purely evil ghost.

He looked away from the trapped ghost’s form and turned to Yin Yan to ask, “Is he the hungry ghost?” He’s quite different from what I had imagined.

Yin Yan nodded and explained, “In his lifetime, he was a Taoist priest and had learned some skills. For some reason, he died on this rooftop and was trapped here. He bears sins within him so he was unable to enter rebirth at his death. To achieve rebirth, he must atone for his crimes. But it’s clear he didn’t want to do that. Instead, his heart became more crooked and he used the skills he had learned to make this array, allowing him to take the fates and luck of others. It was a futile attempt to obtain rebirth while avoiding heavenly law.”

He pointed at the ghost’s feet, which stuck out from the spiritual net, and added, “Unlike ordinary spirits, his figure is quite solid. It is likely that a few mortals have been harmed by him.”

Yu Zhen frowned and looked at the figure of the priest, noticing that he did almost look like a normal human. Yu Zhen then pulled out his phone and immersed himself in searching for something.

This is the age of information. If you put your heart into it, you’ll be able to find whatever you need.

In the search bar, he simply entered the keywords “B City”, “high-rise apartment” and “death”. Then a large number of news reports popped up along with a few forum threads.

Yu Zhen skimmed the information quickly, and his expression sank.

In a local forum, the high-rise apartment had a nickname — “singles killer”.

It was unclear which year the phenomenon started, but each year, young men and women would jump from the roof of the building to commit suicide. Once the information leaked out, there was some ruckus about it.

The prices of homes in that building were greatly affected by the torrid publicity and they were much cheaper than that of other buildings in the same area.

Superstitious people whispered that the building’s feng shui was not good, that the land that the building stood on used to be a cemetery, and that it was connected to the underworld. Non-superstitious people would analyze the situation and say that the pace of life in these modern times was very fast and expectations in life were harder to bear. There were many young people who lived in the building so the suicides were likely due to probability.

In short, there were constant discussions about the building, all of which were about the deaths.

Last year, for the first time, no resident committed suicide. There was excitement in the forums and it was speculated that with the economic boom in the past two years, everyone’s lives were more comfortable and the pressure had lessened. That then led to fewer suicides. 

But what the forum users didn’t know was that the walls around the rooftop had been raised, anything which could have been used as footings were removed from the vicinity, and the doors to the rooftop had been welded shut. That had put an end to any worn-out residents thinking about going up to the rooftop.

Instead, a single man suddenly died in his own apartment.

With the fast pace of life and the increasing premature deaths of young people, this death was not linked to the suicides from the previous years.

However, Yu Zhen found that the apartment where the man had died was the one on the 18th floor where Chi Nan lived.

“Too many people died tragically so the feng shui here has changed.” Yin Yan looked around and continued, “We must help the souls of the dead pass on. Otherwise, even if this priest is extinguished, the residents of this building will still continue to have frequent accidents.”

Yu Zhen put down his mobile phone and immediately began to attract souls. However, nothing was attracted to him.

“What’s going on?” He looked at his hand in confusion and tried to attract souls to him again, but he ended up attracting Xin Xiaoxiao.

“Do you have instructions, Master?” Xin Xiaoxiao asked.

Yu Zhen was speechless. After seeing her off, he looked at Yin Yan.

Understanding his confusion, Yin Yan explained, “All the victims died tragically after their fates and luck were stolen from them. Without their fates, they are only wisps of resentment floating around this building. It would be impossible for them to condense into spirit forms.” 

Yu Zhen frowned and asked, “So, what can be done now?”

“Kill the priest and make him spit out the fates that he had absorbed.” Yin Yan took a step back after he spoke. Then he added, “Come.”

Kill…

Yu Zhen looked at the priest who, once again, started struggling with all his might. He composed himself and stepped forward while summoning golden light.

When the golden light enveloped the priest, it didn’t produce a useful result. Instead, after touching the golden light, the priest seemed as if he had been bathed in holy rays. The energy in his body suddenly surged and he struggled to free himself even slightly from the net. He tried to throw himself at Yu Zhen as he shouted, “Give it to me! It’s all mine! Give it to me! I need more!”

Startled, Yu Zhen jerked back.

With another wave of Yin Yan’s hand, the spirit net again bound the Taoist priest tightly, even covering his mouth. After having his mouth blocked, the priest was only able to show half his face.

“In his life, he had some cultivation, but after death, he became stronger by absorbing other people’s fortunes. He counts as a ghost cultivator and ordinary ways of expelling ghosts will have no effect on him,” Yin Yan added. Reaching out, he held Yu Zhen’s shoulder and pushed him forward. “Yu Zhen, kill him. Use the skills you learned.”

Ghost cultivator. Skills. Kill him.

Yu Zhen looked at the Taoist priest’s face. It looked like that of a living person. His fingers trembled nervously, then he tightened them into a fist. He looked back at Yin Yan and said, “Yin Yan, I…”

Sending away ghosts only required him to release golden merits. It hadn’t needed him to directly make a move himself. On top of that, with the other ghosts he had sent away, not only were they evil spirits, but they were souls who would enter the reincarnation cycle to obtain a new life. 

But this priest was a different case. He looked too human-like. Yu Zhen knew he deserved death, and he wanted to erase the priest’s existence. But to kill… It’s fine to call me timid, cowardly, or weak. After more than twenty years of living by the law, to kill a ‘person’ is too difficult for me. 

“Stopping evil by using violence is also a part of cultivation. Yu Zhen, this is an unavoidable part.” Yin Yan walked behind him, held his shoulder, and motioned for him to look at the Taoist priest’s face. He held Yu Zhen’s hand and slowly opened up his clenched fingers. With his distinctive, calm voice, he added, “As a cultivator, you have to learn to not only help the innocents who are in need, but also to root out evil. Yu Zhen, is he innocent?”

Yu Zhen’s body leaned against a broad and warm chest, and his hesitant heart slowly settled down. Following Yin Yan’s instruction, he looked at the priest’s face and took in the fearful yet greedy expression there. Shaking his head, he replied, “No.”

Yin Yan inclined his head, moving it closer to Yu Zhen. When he spoke, his breath brushed along Yu Zhen’s face, as if giving him a kiss. He continued pressing, “Were the residents who died because of him innocent?”

Innocent, how could they not have been innocent? What did they do wrong?

“Do you want to save Chi Nan?”

Yes.

“Want to save the residents of this building?”

Of course.

“Then, kill him.”

The warm body and familiar energy retreated from Yu Zhen’s shivering form. Instinctively, he wanted to lean towards it, but rational thinking kept him in place. 

He looked at the priest’s face and then his gaze moved to the priest’s eyes. Seeing the greed which had remained present the whole time, he stepped forward. He had convinced himself internally, but his hands trembled and he couldn’t lift them.

I can’t. The obstacle in my heart is too high.

“Yu Zhen, maybe someday in the future, I will need your protection.”

As if a heavy hammer had landed a blow on his heart, all of his hesitation, fear, and feelings of wanting to run away were grounded to dust.

He suddenly straightened his back and slowly lifted his shaking fist.

That’s right.

He looked into the priest’s eyes and pressed his lips together tightly. With a tense expression, the resolution in his eyes became firm.

Yin Yan is also a damaged soul. His body isn’t even his own. Making his way in this world is more dangerous for him than me. I can’t always shrink back to his side and rely on his protection to grow like a flower in a greenhouse.

I want to become powerful. I also want to be good to him. I want to be by his side for a long time.

The next time we face a similar situation, I want to stand beside him, not hide behind him. I don’t want to wait for him to sort out everything only to enter the scene to reap the rewards of what I did not sow. 

[Xiao Zhen, the most important thing in life is kindness. I’m not asking you to blindly be kind, or not to fight back when you are bullied. But rather, I want you to respect life. Treat every life with kindness.]

[Of course, if you encounter a life that is truly hopeless, you can cease the kindness. After all, if you treat bad people well, it’s the good people who will suffer.]

[You can be a kind man, but you can’t be someone who tries to be nice to everyone. When you meet evil, you can even be a bad person.]

His grandfather’s words flashed in his mind. Yu Zhen’s clenched fist slowly loosened and he touched the pagoda tower hanging off his wrist. There was a sharpness in his eyes as he said, “Why is there a Taoist priest like you in this world?”

He slowly drew out a simple peach wood sword and turned his wrist over. Unexpectedly, even without a teacher’s guidance, he pulled out a beautiful sword.

“An evil practitioner like you is not fit to wear this outfit! Regardless of whether it is before or after your death!”

Boom!

The golden light of merits and the white light of spiritual energy burst from his hand, twisting together to form a silver light. It moved from his hand and melded onto the blade of the simple and unadorned peach wood sword, lighting it in a blazing glow.

As soon as the peach wood sword appeared, the greed in the priest’s eyes was replaced by fear. He struggled fiercely, showing an even more terrified expression than when he’d been trapped by Yin Yan. His eyes widened and they protruded from their sockets. He stubbornly broke his face through the spiritual net and let out a sound. 

“Qi-Qing-“

Pshhhhh.

When the peach wood sword entered his chest, his expression froze and the words from his mouth stopped abruptly. Fear and despair flashed across his eyes. His figure became warped for a brief moment before he expanded and exploded, turning into black smoke. With a screech filling the air, he disappeared from the realm of heaven and earth.

The light disappeared, returning the peach wood sword to its unremarkable form.

Yu Zhen moved away from the spot and sat on the ground. He clutched onto the peach wood sword with a faint tremble in his hands. Then he carefully stored the sword back into the pagoda tower. He turned to look at Yin Yan with an awkward smile. “D-did I succeed?”

“You did very well.”

Yin Yan stepped forward and gently rubbed his head. Then he moved his fingers slightly and dozens of confused, half translucent souls took shape in the air. They were clustered close together and when a gentle breeze blew past, they fell to the ground and then blankly stood up.

“The emissary is coming. Let’s go home.” Yin Yan stooped down and gently held Yu Zhen’s back, bringing Yu Zhen into his arms. In a flash, they disappeared.

After they left, the faint ring of a bell sounded from empty air. The sound drew nearer with each passing ring. Then, dozens of black chains broke through the clouds, seized the souls, and disappeared through the clouds.

At the foot of the building, a black sedan arrived at great speed and an elderly, grey-haired man exited the car.

The old man focused on the black clouds which couldn’t be seen by ordinary people and quickly made calculations using his fingers. After a long while, his serious expression finally lessened and he gave out a heavy sigh.

“Grandpa, why did you stop here? Are you going up?” A young man left the driver’s seat and also looked at the sky. Puzzled and unable to see anything, he asked, “Grandpa, what are you looking at?”

In a bad mood, the old man glared at him and angrily retorted, “I’m looking to find out why you can’t understand things! What good are your eyes? You’ve been cultivating for so many years, but you can’t even see ghosts! When you speak to people, don’t tell them that you’re the grandson of Feng Yuan! I’d lose face!”

“Grandpa, why are you suddenly angry? It’s not that I want to remain unenlightened…” the young man complained. Seeing several cars approach, he hurriedly changed the topic. “The cultivation uncles^[1] have arrived! I’m going to greet them!”  

The old man frowned and waved his hand. Thinking that what was out of sight would be out of mind, he entered the building.

A series of cultivators in B City arrived at the building’s rooftop one after another. Feng Yuan, the leader, inspected the rooftop carefully and stopped in front of a sword mark.

“It seems that someone was one step faster than us in solving the case of the ghost cultivator. Only, we don’t know which talented cultivator did this. They broke the array by themselves,” a middle-aged man commented with admiration. The man, who wore a tang suit, had a scholarly air about him as he stood in front of the pile of ashes close to the sword mark.

Feng Yuan frowned and looked over at his companions. “Come take a look at this.”

They followed his instruction and moved to look at the mark.

There was a deep white scratch on the wall. The younger cultivators saw it as a sword strike and found nothing interesting. However, the expression on the older generation of cultivators changed. Alarmed, they exclaimed, “This sword mark and energy – Qing Xu Zi?”