Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Reincarnation?

Everyone was surprised, but Ma Er remained calm. Meeting the martial artists' gazes, he even had a question of his own: "Didn’t you all know we’re all dead? Why are you looking at us like that?"

The group fell silent.

Yes, yes, you’re dead, you can’t die again. But calling your two drinking buddies “blood gourds,” isn’t that still a bit…?

Ma Er continued, "Since we're dead, why should you still judge us by the standards of the living? You lose blood and die, but we just get weak and tired. If that woman surnamed Meng comes after us again, fine, we don’t have the strength to oppose you."

When he said “we,” it was clear he included himself in the "blood gourd" category.

The group was momentarily stunned, with mixed emotions. Ma Er saw their reaction and explained further, "Moreover, what we’re losing right now isn’t real ‘blood.’ Don’t be fooled by my current appearance— even if you cut off my head or pull out my heart, I won’t die again. The truth is, once we become ghosts, we all turn into these water bags.”

He took out the flask he had won in a previous gamble. Ma Er hadn’t touched the liquid inside; he had kept it, thinking it was precious and he might not be able to drink it again. Now, as he shook it, they could hear the liquid sloshing inside.

Ma Er gestured, "Releasing our ‘blood’ is like pouring out the wine inside this flask. For the living, a little bit spilled can lead to death. But for us, as long as the water bag isn’t emptied, nothing will happen."

"If you really can use this to deal with that female ghost, then we can go through reincarnation and be reborn. In that case, it would be a good thing for us."

At this point, the group finally understood. Jun Tao said, "Then let’s do as Ma Er says?"

Jun Yang, however, was still unsure: "You say there’s no real ‘blood’ in your body, so how can it still be effective for drawing talismans?"

Ma Er explained, "Of course, it works. You get used to being dead after a while—you know, why do you think your blood works? Because it contains the life force of the living. We don’t have that, but we do have the accumulated resentment and sorrow from being ghosts for so long. And then, things like your sword," he turned to Bai Zhengliu, "and that fat guy's thing that he always carries, also have different kinds of 'qi' in them."

"The best situation would be to place each 'qi' where it belongs, but that’s not always possible, is it? Also, ‘qi’ can transform into other kinds of ‘qi.’ Do you think that female ghost surnamed Meng always had that blood bracelet? No! At first, that bracelet was the same as what the fat guy carries—full of the vital energy of the world. Unfortunately, she was killed, her resentment grew too strong, and it turned the bracelet into something else."

The group felt dizzy from the explanations. Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment and summarized, "This 'qi' is actually similar to the internal energy of the Tianshan and Emei sects. Although the cultivation methods are different, the results share commonalities…"

Hearing this, the group felt a bit clearer in their minds. Ma Er, however, said, "I don’t understand your strange concepts, but it seems to follow the same logic."

Everyone nodded. Considering that Ma Er and the others had already noticed them, Meng Yuniang probably knew their location by now. They stopped talking to Ma Er and began carefully drawing new blood talismans.

After cutting their bodies to release "blood," Ma Er remained unflinching. His calmness finally removed the last bit of burden from everyone’s hearts. Jun Tao then asked Ma Er, "Is there really reincarnation? If Meng Yuniang is gone, can you all…?"

Ma Er glanced at him and said, "You’re asking about the couple with you, right?"

Jun Tao pursed his lips and nodded.Ma Er sighed, "That's natural."

Upon hearing this, the Jun brothers, who had been in a bad mood since receiving the water flask and dry rations, finally showed a faint smile.

As they learned to draw talismans from Bai and Mei, they whispered to each other. Jun Tao asked, "If Senior Sister is reincarnated, will she come back to Emei?"

Jun Yang replied, "She probably will."

Jun Tao rested his chin on his hand, "If that's the case, we'll have to become Senior Sister's senior brothers."

Jun Yang looked at him, "Master already said he won't take in any more disciples."

Jun Tao, "But that's Senior Sister! There should be exceptions." He paused and then chuckled, "Hey, do you think Senior Sister could bring Senior Brother Lu back to Emei with her?"

If they had always been Emei disciples, then even if Nie Qing'e and Lu Qing got married, they wouldn’t leave the Shu region.

Jun Yang said, "Hmm..." He had to admit, it was a pretty tempting thought.

Jun Tao, "But even if Master really doesn't take in new disciples, it wouldn't matter."

Jun Yang, "…?"

Jun Tao counted on his fingers, "If we really can defeat that female ghost, Senior Sister will reincarnate tomorrow. Then, in six or seven years, when we’re old enough to practice martial arts, we’ll have made quite a name for ourselves. By then, heh heh, we can take Senior Sister as our disciple!"

Jun Yang was speechless and said with a sigh, "You really have big ambitions."

Jun Tao, trying to lighten the mood, said, "In the past, it was Senior Sister who taught us martial arts. In the future, we’ll be the ones teaching Senior Sister. Oh, and also Senior Brother Lu."

Jun Yang thought to himself, even if that really happened, Senior Brother Lu would probably prefer to return to Wudang. However, the first part of what Tao said wasn’t bad. Since they were always cared for by Senior Sister, if they could truly find her reincarnation, they should take care of her in return.

The premise was, of course, that they could get out of here.

Jun Yang said, "If that day really comes, we can talk about it then. For now, let’s focus on drawing the talismans."

Jun Tao nodded, "True. If we can't get out of here, what's the point of talking about all that?"The group worked diligently. During the process, several other wandering spirits came over.

At first, they were also under the control of Meng Yuniang. However, unlike Ma Er and the others, who came over simply to look for someone and moved in a sluggish, numb manner, the new wandering spirits clearly had been given orders to attack. The group was caught off guard and almost got injured again.

Fortunately, they were vigilant enough to prevent this from happening. Afterward, they "woke up" the wandering spirits and explained their plan, and surprisingly, they were all willing to cooperate, just like Ma Er...

"Spending one more day in this ghostly place, I'm going to feel miserable."

"Originally, I thought dying sooner was better, and dispersing into nothingness would be good enough. But now that there's a chance for reincarnation, it's just too good."

"Brothers," an old man even spoke up, "I used to make a living by wielding a blade, how about I help you all with the bloodletting?"

The Jianghu guests looked at him, but before they could speak, a group of wandering spirits from the Tan family’s manor laughed.

"Yes, old He really did make a living with a blade."

"That's a good point."

"Haha, well then, thank you, Old He."

However, besides the laughter, some were also nervous.

"I won’t trouble Old He. If I really reincarnate, I still want to be a mighty man."

"Exactly, me too!"

The Jianghu guests were confused by this.

Ma Er noticed something and smiled, "This is something you all don’t know. Before Old He came to this ghostly place, he was actually a castrator."

The group: "…" Alright, now it seems like they understood something.

With this new information, the way the Jianghu guests looked at Old He changed a little.

The wandering spirits from the Tan family’s manor watched this and thought the young men might have been affected by Old He's profession. But what they didn’t know was that their real thoughts were: "So, no one ever escapes from this place."

At this point, Bai Zhengliu’s heart stirred.

On the other side, the wandering spirits who were willing to be cut by Old He and those who weren’t had already split into two lines. Feng Lao Liu belonged to the latter group. Even though the wandering spirits’ gazes toward him were filled with contempt and disdain, he still shamelessly walked over to join the group of Jianghu guests.

Considering the current situation, the wandering spirits swallowed their complaints that were stuck in their throats.However, there were more people who were "unwilling," and Old He acted even faster — no choice, the Jianghu guests still had to finish drawing the formation — in the end, Feng Lao Liu was still pushed in front of Old He.

Old He smiled and looked at him, the knife swiftly rising and falling...

Feng Lao Liu: "Ah!"

Others: "What are you shouting for?!"

Feng Lao Liu: "I... I... Why did Old He's knife flash just now? It didn't do that before!"

Others: "There was no flashing. You must have seen it wrong..."

While this caused a bit of chaos, on the other side, Bai Zhengliu took the opportunity to speak with Ma Er.

He said: "Ma brother, there’s still some time left. I was wondering, if you still remember the names of the wandering spirits here, could you tell us?"

Ma Er paused for a moment.

Bai Zhengliu continued: "I only just thought of this. If we truly get the chance to leave this place, though it may be difficult to speak fully of things related to Meng Yuniang, at least I could help you check on your families..."

At these words, all the wandering spirits who were causing a ruckus immediately quieted down. They looked deeply at Bai Zhengliu, and before anyone could say anything, they all bowed to him.

"Hero, with noble intentions."

...

...

It was an incredibly long night.

Having not rested for days and all being injured, the Jianghu guests were at their limits. Yet, they still held their breath, trying to hang on a little longer. At least, they didn’t want to drag their companions down when the female ghost arrived.

With the help of the wandering spirits, they quickly drew dozens of blood talismans. They had originally planned to do more preparations, but there wasn’t enough time.

A cold, eerie wind blew through the forest. After half the night passed, Meng Yuniang’s soft, drifting voice once again reached their ears.

"Dear heroes," the woman called out, "Why are you hiding? Come out quickly, let’s return and have a feast."Her voice fell, and the trees, which had been quiet for a long time, began to grow fiercely again, surging toward the Jianghu guests with a menacing force.

Qian Gui, who had been sitting on the tree and had his legs numb, was now directly thrown to the ground.

He scrambled to his feet, still in a daze. Looking up, he saw that the Jianghu guests had already surrounded Meng Yuniang in the middle, each holding a blood talisman, preparing to make their move!

Author’s Note:

The BOSS battle tomorrow...!

P.S. A summary of Ma Er's statement about "Qi": Wind can generate electricity, water can generate electricity, nuclear energy can generate electricity — all can produce usable power.