Chapter 29.3: Ye Jingzhi: I look this ugly……

Chapter 29 Part 3

Ye Jingzhi flipped his hand, taking out the Mt. Lian contract. His two eyes were stern as he stared at the bloody handprint in the lower left of the contract with a burning gaze. With two fingers gathered together, Master Ye pressed down on the blood colored handprint. In the next moment, golden light erupted. Brilliant golden light flowed out from Ye Jingzhi’s fingertips, slowly following the ridges of the handprint, dyeing it gold.

Once the gold color completely covered the original blood-red color, Ye Jingzhi suddenly slapped his palm on the golden handprint before lifting it.

Xi Jia saw a golden ray of light adhere between Ye Jingzhi’s palm and the handprint on the contract. It was as if Ye Jingzhi was pulling something out from this piece of paper. His gaze concentrated as he stared at the thin contract and recited a spell.

“Summer comes and goes, with Gen as the beginning; The mountains extend forever, thus called Mt. Lian.”¹

“Regard this as the Mt. Lian contract, rise!”

On the contract, the gold colored imprint of his index and middle fingers were suddenly torn off. Only the other three fingers stayed firmly in place on the paper.

“Ling Xiao above, to determine the law; Yellow Springs as the other shore, surpasses the dried lake.”

“Numerous ghosts cannot pass beyond the dried lake, rise!”

Ye Jingzhi suddenly pulled back his hand and tugged. The other three fingerprints on the paper were pulled by him and completely floated out of the paper. The remaining palm print was still being firmly captured by the contract, seemly refusing to let go.

Ye Jingzhi stomped his left foot on the floor, and a bronze die floated out from his pocket. It slammed into the golden light connecting the palm and the paper with a loud bang.

Bang!

The golden light was abruptly smashed into pieces. The gold handprint was completely pulled out from the contract by Ye Jingzhi, and it returned to its original blood color. Now, the blood colored handprint was hovering above Ye Jingzhi’s left palm. The Mt. Lian contract lost its radiance. The four rows of words on it disappeared at a rate visible to the naked eye, leaving Ye Jingzhi’s unfinished signature of “Ye” and a “丿” stroke.

Ye Jingzhi reached his hand out to pull Xi Jia, subconsciously putting him behind himself. He just moved when he suddenly recalled in his mind the scene that he saw of Xi Jia tearing the ghost. Master Ye’s movement paused, but in a flash, he dutifully pulled Xi Jia behind him without a second thought, carefully protecting him.

Wu Xiang Qing Li took the opportunity to fly to Xi Jia and hyperly flutter in front of him. Then, it rubbed against his cheek before hopping into Xi Jia’s pocket.

Ye Jingzhi didn’t bother with it. He faced the bloody handprint floating in the air and recited a spell. His deep voice echoed in the broken temple. After reciting the last verse, he suddenly lifted his eyes, looking at the entrance to the broken temple. He grabbed the air as if he had grabbed something and pulled back.

“Soul Return……”

Ye Jingzhi made motions of tugging something, and the floating bloody handprint actually moved together with him. Five fingers gathered together to grab something and pull.

“Soul Return!”

In an instant, a gust of fierce wind erupted.

The broken temple was located in a spacious field. In the middle of the night, a gust of wind suddenly blew. The ears of wheat in the field were being blown and bent in the direction of the broken temple. The things inside the broken temple were even more disorderly, being blown by this gust of wind. Ye Jingzhi took a step to the side and stood in front of Xi Jia. Just like this, Xi Jia couldn’t help but reach out to grab onto Ye Jingzhi’s clothes in order to not get blown away.

After sensing his own clothes being grabbed onto, the corners of Master Ye’s lips were raised even though he was in the middle of catching a ghost.

The wind became stronger and stronger. Until later, Xi Jia had no choice but to reach out from behind and hold onto Ye Jingzhi’s waist. Ye Jingzhi’s entire body became stiff. Very quickly, he returned to normal, but the curve of his lips was getting bigger and bigger.

A minute later, when the gust of wind had nearly overturned the broken temple, Ye Jingzhi’s eyes became cold, the hand that had grabbed onto something clenched firmly into a fist and smashed towards the floor.

The next moment, Xi Jia saw a ghost caught in the gale and was thrown into the broken temple, landing exactly in the place where Ye Jingzhi had just hit the ground.

The split second this old ghost appeared, the gust of wind that had appeared somewhat mysteriously had disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Xi Jia loosened the hand holding onto Ye Jingzhi. Master Ye was stunned, feeling wronged for a moment, before immersing himself with proper business.

The magic that Ye Jingzhi just used was very unusual. Although Xi Jia didn’t understand it, he thought and also knew that if it was himself that was being swept by such a strong twister, he would definitely become dizzy and confused. Therefore, this old ghost laid on the floor with a poor expression. The ghost was entirely in a stupefied state and simply didn’t know what had happened.

As soon as Old Ghost was a bit more clear-headed and raised his head, he suddenly jumped up and retreated a few steps back, “It’s you!”

Ye Jingzhi said in a cold voice, “I said before that if you hurt a person, your soul would definitely scatter.”

Old Ghost slowly opened his mouth wide. After a long time, he let down his guard and lowered his head, “Fine, Old Ghost did kill someone, you should just kill Old Ghost. Being able to have the soul be scattered under Hell King Ye’s hands is Old Ghost’s ability.”

Xi Jia asked in shock, “You know who he is?”

Old Ghost said it as if it was a matter of course, “Who doesn’t know about the name of Hell King Ye, Ye Jingzhi? Before signing the Mt. Lian contract, Old Ghost didn’t know that this youngster’s Hell King Ye. Before he left, he said his name, saying that he, Ye Jingzhi, would send my, Old Ghost’s, soul flying and scattering. Could it be that Old Ghost is so stupid, to the extent that he is still unable to figure out that this is the rumored Hell King Ye?”

Xi Jia didn’t expect Ye Jingzhi’s fame to be this big. Never mind about being impressively famous in the Xuanxue world, he had a lot of fame even in the world of ghosts.

Hearing Old Ghost’s words, Ye Jingzhi face darkened in anger. He flipped his hand to summon Wu Xiang Qing Li from Xi Jia’s pocket and coldly said, “Stop speaking this nonsense!”

His voice fell as he sent Wu Xiang Qing Li over. Wu Xiang Qing Li floated above Old Ghost’s head, using a layer of golden light to prevent Old Ghost from escaping. After completing everything, Master Ye then turned around and said to Xi Jia in a serious tone, “Don’t listen to his nonsense, My……my reputation isn’t that bad, a lot of ghost don’t know who I am.”

Xi Jia, “……” Meow meow meow? What was this situation? Why did he need to explain this to him?

Ye Jingzhi saw Xi Jia looking at him in puzzlement with a somewhat worse expression, and his complexion became somewhat worse. He couldn’t make things difficult for his family’s wife, how could he not make things difficult for other ghosts? Ye Jingzhi turned his head to look at the old ghost being trapped by Wu Xiang Qing Li. He stepped before Old Ghost and said, “When a ghost kills someone, the end for the majority of them will be with their souls scattering.”

Old Ghost was hardly afraid, “Then, kill Old Ghost. Old Ghost has already been dead for more than 300 years and has already lived enough!”

“Alright.”

Ye Jingzhi lifted his hand to call Wu Xiang Qing Li back. It seemed like he was truly ready to kill the old ghost. Xi Jia hurriedly stepped in front to block and said, “Wait, didn’t we agree to first ask about the situation clearly, then give this old ghost a chance, and have Ling Xiao decide if he stays or goes?”

Master Ye, who was angry to the point of a heart attack, quickly stopped his hand in the nick of time, “……Right.”

Xi Jia went to the old ghost and carefully looked over him.

This old ghost really didn’t look like a ghost. He didn’t lack arms or legs. His body wasn’t covered in blood either. He looked like an ordinary old grandpa. No wonder Wang Ru treated him like a person and played with him.

Xi Jia thought for a bit and then said, “I know Wang Ru.”

Old Ghost’s body shook.

Xi Jia continued to say, “Wang Ru was my classmate. Today, I went to find her, and she told me everything. This……Old Ghost, although I know that you want to save Wang Ru. Listening to Wang Ru, at that time, she and Li Xiao were in a pretty big fight. He was holding a knife and wanted to cut her. You couldn’t hold it anymore and attacked, killing him. But have you ever thought that once you kill a person, you’ll die early? The one who needs to pay with their life isn’t you but Wang Ru?”

Old Ghost stiffly turned to look at Xi Jia.

Xi Jia let out a long sigh, “Anyhow, it was you who was reckless this time. You not only harmed yourself but also Wang Ru.”

“Old Ghost doesn’t think so,” a rough voice softly sounded.

Xi Jia looked at Old Ghost in surprise, only to hear him say, “Young man, do you know what kind of days she had to go through? Do you know how that man hit her? Do you know that she only eats one bowl of rice each day, and after she comes back from buying groceries, she would even get whipped with a belt by him?!”

Xi Jia widened his eyes, unable to speak.

Old Ghost loudly laughed twice, laughing without restraint. There was no trace of a smile in his eyes, only grief and sorrow.

“Married such a great wife, but why didn’t he know how to cherish? When she just got married, she would still dress up and put on makeup, but do you know what that man said about her? He said that she’s attracting bees and butterflies. He said that she was dressed like this and went out because she wanted to seduce men. If you saw her, you should’ve seen the scar on her face right?”

Xi Jia stiffly nodded his head.

Old Ghost wretchedly smiled, “Half a year ago, that knife was about to land on her eye. Why? Because when they had gone to attend a so-called school reunion, someone mentioned that she used to liked a guy. Such a good girl, but once they go returned home, he pulled out his belt and whipped her the moment the door closed. Said that she’s a loose woman, said that she’s longing for a man named ‘West Plus.’”²

Xi Jia, “……”

Of course, Old Ghost didn’t know that the young man in front of him was precisely the person mentioned. He smiled, but in the end, old tears fell unhindered. He wiped his tears and sighed, “How many girls are born to be pearls in their parents’ palms? Old Ghost watched her start helping around the house when she was 10, and she never dared to buy a single new clothing. When that knife was about to slash down, if it wasn’t for the Old Ghost who couldn’t help himself and help block the knife, the knife would have stabbed her eye, and it wouldn’t be merely a wound on her forehead where the bone could be seen.”

“Once he was sober, that man would apologize in every way possible, kneeling down to admit his mistakes and guaranteeing that he wouldn’t beat her anymore. But everyday, he would drink. Once he drank, he would beat and yell. Half a month ago, Old Ghost personally saw that he was really about to hack open her head. How could Old Ghost endure it? How!”

Xi Jia was speechless.

Old Ghost had been wandering the world for 300 years, and even he was unable to endure, showing how cruel of a situation it was at the time.

“Do you know that even if things were like this, after Old Ghost killed that man, she even held that man’s corpse, crying and wanting to save him. She wanted to save him, not because the one who died was her husband, but because she doesn’t have the heart to see a person’s life die in front of her. This kind of good lady, ruined like this for a lifetime, is it worth it? She doesn’t have the qualifications to choose. Her parents and family wants her to pay a debt of gratitude, not letting her have a choice. In that case, Old Ghost will choose for her!”

“Kill him, live again anew!”

Xi Jia felt bad, but he had to tell Old Ghost, “With regard to Wang Ru’s situation, we will try our best to help her clean her criminal charge. But Old Ghost, what your ending is going to be, Ling Xiao will need to determine it.”

Old Ghost bitterly smiled, “When that man’s skull was thoroughly split into two, Old Ghost already knew that the ending could only be having the soul scattered. If Old Ghost didn’t use such a cruel method to kill that person, perhaps Old Ghost can still live. But……how could Old Ghost continue to endure!”

Yes, how could he continue to endure?

The girl you watched grow up was being harmed by someone and living in despair. Once a bright and beautiful spring flower, living a life where it would be better being dead. Merely killing this person was not enough!

Xi Jia looked at Ye Jingzhi, “Master Ye, sorry to trouble you.”

Master Ye slightly nodded. Facing the old ghost, he started to draw signs in the air to ask Ling Xiao to judge. However, right when he just drew the first rune, a purple butterfly quickly rushed into the broken temple and broke his rune.

Ye Jingzhi slightly knitted his brows and turned to look towards the entrance of the broken temple with an indifferent expression. Xi Jia watched the purple butterfly in surprise. The unusual and beautiful purple butterfly flapped its wings, slowly flying towards the entrance.

A low and soft laughter sounded in the distance, accompanied by the tinkling sounds of a little bell and a waft of a rich floral fragrance. The purple butterfly gently stopped.

Xi Jia watched the doorway, only to see a tall shadow leaning against the doorstep and the head against the door frame. The figure spoke in a teasing way, “Oh my god, Hell King Ye is unexpectedly snatching my points. If words gets out, who in the Xuanxue world would dare believe? You always eat meat, and we drink soup. Hell King Ye, can you leave this little one a mouthful of soup?”

The dark clouds gradually drifted away, and the bright moonlight poured down, illuminating the person leaning against the door frame.

Seeing the other’s face clearly, Xi Jia widened his eyes in astonishment. After looking for a long time, he turned to face Ye Jingzhi. He couldn’t help but ask, “Master Ye, a man or a woman……?”

Ye Jingzhi said in a low voice, “Seems like a man.”

Hu Die who was still standing at the entrance and acting cool, “……Fuck your ‘seems like a man!’ Laozi is distinguishably a man, especially a man with a rod!!!”

Translator’s Addition:
Food Ranking – Who eats meat and who drinks soup?
0. Song Song (C+ feeds all the good stuff to Song Song)
1. C+ (Wife is first!)
2. Mirror
3. Everyone else.

Translator’s Notes: Hu Die reminds me of Zhang He from the Dynasty Warriors series.
¹ 艮 Gen – one of the Eight Trigrams, it represents Mountain. Lian 连 in Mt. Lian means to connect. ↵
² West Plus (西加) and Xi Jia (奚嘉) both sound exactly the same (intonation and all), but have different characters and meaning. ↵