Chapter 101: Oh No!

The fierce ghost was exorcised by Ling Qiu, its soul power absorbed into him. Behind him, everything returned to normal; the restless spirits had all dissipated.

Liu Donghai and his cowardly cronies had yet to recover from the sheer terror they had just witnessed. They knelt on the ground, clutching their heads, their trousers soaked through with urine. As for Wang Ba, who had been possessed, he lay on the ground in a dead faint.

Possession by a fierce ghost is no child's play. The only reason Cheng Youyou had remained unscathed after her possession was because Ling Qiu had taken such good care of her. Wang Ba, however, had no one to look after him, and he had even taken a lash from the whip intended for the ghost. Even if he were to wake up, his entire state of being would suffer a drastic decline—he might even end up mentally disabled.

Ling Qiu felt no pity for such a person. Looking at the camouflage uniform he wore, Ling Qiu understood the instinct of a soldier to protect his own, but before acting, one must first discern the truth and distinguish right from wrong. Protecting someone purely out of selfish bias made a person unworthy of sympathy. Such a man was not fit to wear that green uniform—he didn't even deserve the camouflage.

This was not a lack of respect for the military on Ling Qiu's part; it was precisely because he held soldiers in high regard that he could not tolerate a black sheep like Wang Ba.

Ling Qiu took a deep breath and turned to leave. He left Liu Donghai and the others where they lay, his hands in his pockets as he walked straight back to the dormitory.

...

The dormitory was quiet. Night had fallen, and the sound of Zhao Dezhu’s snoring was as spectacular as ever. As Ling Qiu sat on his bed, he caught a faint, delicate fragrance. His memory was excellent, including his olfactory memory; he recognized this scent as the light, natural fragrance of Cheng Youyou. It seemed she had stayed on his bed until evening, waking up and sneaking out of the boys' dormitory only after everyone else had left for night study.

He opened his phone and saw the WeChat message she had left before departing: "Damn you, Ling Qiu. Thanks for the bed!" It was followed by an emoji expressing disdain.

Ling Qiu chuckled and set his phone aside. With a flick of his Yama Ring, he entered the Yama Realm. There, he silently called out to Ksitigarbha.

Before long, accompanied by a golden light, an avatar of Ksitigarbha appeared before him.

"Ling Qiu, it has been a while." Ksitigarbha’s voice hummed like the chanting of sutras, radiating a sense of Buddhist serenity.

"Not that long," Ling Qiu replied casually.

"I can see your confusion."

Ling Qiu was torn between laughter and frustration. "I can see it too! Tell me, what is going on? I served as King Yama for so long—how did I not know that there were ghost officials operating in the world of the living?"

Ksitigarbha replied, "In all of the Underworld, I alone know of this matter."

"Explain it to me, then. What is the situation?"

Ksitigarbha smiled faintly. "Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own."

Ling Qiu blinked. "What does that mean?"

"Thus, wherever there are ghosts, there must naturally be ghost officials." Ksitigarbha smiled. "Although the world of the living differs from the Underworld, countless wandering spirits still drift through it. Where there are ghosts, they must be managed. Therefore, ghost officials exist in the world of the living as well. However, they are not spirits themselves; they are living human beings."

With a wave of his hand, a golden map-like image appeared before Ling Qiu. He stared at it intently. It was a map of the world, but as he looked closer, he realized it was more than that. Surrounding the globe were other territories labeled with names like "East Purvavideha" and "West Godaniya"—this was the Immortal Realm.

Ling Qiu narrowed his eyes. He realized then that the world of the living was not limited to Earth; it encompassed countless planes and universes. The vast Underworld was responsible for not just Earth, but for the living realms across the entire infinite cosmos.

But that was not the point. The point was that Ling Qiu was currently on Earth, and that was all he needed to concern himself with for now. He observed the map for a while and discovered it was divided into many regions. China alone was split into five distinct areas, each overseen by a City God.

Seeing this, everything clicked for Ling Qiu like a sudden flash of enlightenment.

It meant that on this very land of China, there were five City Gods—and they were all living people. It meant that in this world, there were at least five experts at the Ghost Spirit level.

A surge of excitement and anticipation rose within Ling Qiu. Ksitigarbha clearly sensed his thoughts and smiled. "Ling Qiu, I hope you will not be too aggressive in your dealings with these mortal ghost officials. I tell you this because I trust you, and I hope you will not betray that trust."

Ling Qiu smiled. "If you trusted me, you should have told me sooner."

"Am I not telling you now?" Ksitigarbha smiled, his expression unchanged. "You did not know before because the timing was not right. Now that the time has come, you naturally know."

There it was again. Ksitigarbha, that old fellow, loved talking in Zen riddles, always going on about "timing" and "fate."

Ling Qiu waved his hand. "Fine, fine, I understand. I once served in the Underworld; I know that these rules exist to be established and maintained, not broken. I understand that. But as for that 'Captain Xing' the evil ghost mentioned—I am sorry, but even you cannot save him. I must deal with such a person."

"Amitabha. I support you."

Ling Qiu almost laughed out loud. "Aren't you worried that I'll disrupt the rules and order?"

Ksitigarbha smiled. "Ling Qiu, let me ask you: when I helped you return to the world of the living and be reborn, do you think I was doing it solely to help you, or did I have other intentions?"

The question caught Ling Qiu off guard. He had never really considered that. In fact, he had found it strange at the time that Ksitigarbha had agreed so readily. Ksitigarbha was a being who viewed rules and regulations as absolute. He had emotions, but he would never let them override those principles.

Seeing Ling Qiu’s expression, Ksitigarbha smiled. "Actually, when I allowed you to be reborn into the world of the living, it was not entirely to help you. It was also because... I wanted you to help me."

"Help you?" Ling Qiu asked, surprised.

Ksitigarbha nodded slightly. "Precisely."

Ling Qiu narrowed his eyes, thinking deeply. "Help you with what?"

Ksitigarbha smiled. "You already have the answer in your heart. I have said all that needs to be said. Take care, Brother Ling."

Without another word, a flash of golden light flickered, and Ksitigarbha’s avatar vanished into thin air.