Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Yin-Yang Dao Four

On the night of the Zhongyuan Festival, 7:30 PM.

It was deep summer, with lush grass and trees, and the night slowly pressing down, the waves of the Yangtze River stretching to the horizon.

A distant, mournful whistle came from the deep of the river, and the lights of cargo ships and fishing boats glimmered in the dimming twilight.

There were also clusters of small flickering lights along the river, like stars in a sea of light, meandering along the water, gently shining. Groups of three or five people gathered around fires, burning paper money and offerings to send their thoughts to the deceased.

Low sobs could be heard, the living with red eyes, trembling hands, sending their longing to their relatives through the flames.

Many of the students from out of town were emotionally affected, wiping away tears.

The local interns from Yuzhou were unbothered, sighing as they helped their relatives release sky lanterns.

In Yuzhou, Ghost Slayers cast charms to create a line of blue light in the Yin-Yang sight behind the living people performing rituals along the river. The line extended like a long thread, standing out vividly—this marked the opening of the Yin-Yang Dao. The souls stepped into the human world, but were not allowed to approach their loved ones, forced to stand outside the line like visitors at a prison, observing from afar.

Listening to their loved ones’ voices.

Embracing the emptiness for a moment.

The mercy of the underworld only extended this far.

From then on, bridges remain bridges, roads remain roads, those who are meant to reincarnate shall reincarnate, and those who are meant to live, shall live.

Whether in the Yin or Yang realms, no one should linger too long because of death.

The Yin-Yang Dao branch of Fengdu was located about fifty kilometers from here, a half-hour ride by express train. Mingyue helped an old woman by the river visit the offerings, while calculating in her mind.

The old woman thanked her in the local dialect of Yuzhou.

Mingyue didn’t understand, so she smiled foolishly.

On the road, cars didn’t honk their horns, and the night lights on the light rail shone brightly.

Yuzhou has long attached great importance to the Zhongyuan Festival.

Among the interns by the river, Mingyue spotted several students from Spirit-Sealing Academy. After greeting the three girls from Room 405, they had just discussed the local funeral rituals of Yuzhou when they suddenly heard a dense piercing sound from behind, as though a sharp object had pierced the earth, reaching up to the heavens—

The students quickly turned around—

The locust flower rain hadn’t stopped, and a one-foot-wide barrier of Yang energy surged from the ground, shooting up into the night sky. It quickly moved horizontally, forming a wide and tall passageway, exuding grandeur. In an instant, the space between the worlds was separated, and preparations were made to guide the souls.The students: "......"

"Wow——!"

The kids were dumbfounded.

The active Ghost Slayer, having finished his work, clapped his hands and gestured the dimensions to the astonished students:

"Come, come, take a look."

"Three zhang and three, it meets the teaching demonstration requirements."

"If you don’t believe it, come over and measure it yourself."

Immediately, a few curious students stopped helping the old woman burn paper and excitedly ran over to measure the width of the line.

The Ghost Slayer just smiled, saying nothing.

Just as fast as the words left his mouth, an eerie howling sound came from deep within the Yin-Yang Dao, a sound like the wind was too strong, or perhaps like hurried footsteps. Yin energy surged down like a tide, the fog rising, wrapping around the living.

A few curious students: "......"

Everyone began yelling and scrambling to leap back.

Mingyue also yelled, following the crowd to rush back.

The Ghost Slayers opening the path nearly died laughing.

"The gates of Fengdu are open, releasing ten thousand evil spirits."

"Now they’re here, why don’t you look?" the brother who had just asked them to measure the width said maliciously.

"......"

The students lowered their heads, obediently returning to help the old woman burn paper.

The footsteps of the souls were light, thin, and dense, like tiny raindrops. At first, they didn’t sound that noticeable, but once you paid attention, they were already splashing down on your head.

Silently, the "blue line" poured out "gray fog," densely packed with ghosts. They stood shoulder to shoulder, skulls overlapping with skulls, sorrowfully gazing at their relatives who were burning paper for them.

The concentration of Yin energy sharply rose.The students: "......"

The students all shivered.

In the middle of summer, Mingyue was shivering from the Yin energy, rubbing her hands together, and asked: "Is it sacred? The fairies."

Her two roommates hesitated and shook their heads.

Mingyue: "Then, is it strange?"

Her two roommates hesitated again and nodded.

Mingyue exhaled white air, hissing as she drew in a sharp breath: "Yes, that’s right."

"They're not from the same world. How could it be sacred if they're just performing rituals together?"

"Not of my kind."

The flow of souls on the Ghost Festival was immense. After witnessing the first wave, the students' hands and feet froze, and they began setting up a small Yin-Yang Dao beside the "three zhang and three." Soon, dense orange-yellow "glass shards" began to rise up, lighting into sparks, clustering around the widest Yin-Yang paths, forming a protective formation, with a bridge spanning between the Yin and Yang.

More and more souls poured out from the depths of the Yin-Yang Dao, trailing behind them the mist of Yin energy. They stood by the riverbank, shedding tears, forming a wall of souls that stretched across the river, the cold Yin wind blowing on people's backs.

Chen Tong, a Ghost Slayer from Yuzhou, reviewed this year's intern students' work and felt it was pretty good, waving his hand to reinforce it.

Not bad.

This year's quality was better than last year; it seemed like some "new heads" had obtained the Ghost Slayer certification.

The brothers on the side were also chatting:

"Brother Tong, look, this batch of kids is pretty good."

"Right."

Chen Tong joked: "At least they're not like last year, using osmanthus flowers instead of locust blossoms."

"The whole place smelled so good, you’d think they were here to sweep the tombs."

The brother: "How about we grab a few and take them over to the bus?"

"Anyway, the Yin fog density by the river this year is average. Just watching the situation is enough."

"Probably another new replacement, the old ones died, and with no one to honor them, the Ghost Festival won't return."The words were said with a sense of sadness.

But it was indeed the truth.

If no one remembers the good souls, they wouldn't linger in the human realm.

Chen Tong sighed: "Yeah, I noticed there's been a lot of activity up top recently."

"Perhaps, the cycle of reincarnation has resumed."

"Those who should reincarnate, should reincarnate. What does it look like when they're squeezing year after year?"

"…Forget it, what does it have to do with us, the common folk."

The brother: "Yeah, I was hoping to get home half an hour earlier and burn some paper for my grandmother."

Chen Tong thought for a moment, and his brother's suggestion seemed reasonable. "Alright, I'll pull a few people out. You keep an eye on the rhythm here. If anything goes wrong, remember to immediately shout for help from the side of the river."

A colleague patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, we’re seasoned."

"Finish the work early, get home early."

Another Yin-Yang path rose up.

Now it could extend up to three meters.

Mingyue felt a sense of joy in her heart, wiping the sweat off her forehead. A cold wind blew from behind her, and the "sandwich cookie" experience of having heat in the front and cold in the back felt quite strange.

One by one, legless souls walked out, stepping on thirty million Ming coins. Some of them even nodded and bowed to Mingyue in gratitude. Mingyue waved her hand with a silly smile, indicating it was no problem.

"Students!"

A voice from behind, in the local dialect of Yuzhou, startled Mingyue, causing her to jump.

"Everyone did well. I’d like to give some praise!"

"Oh—"

The students clapped loudly.

Chen Tong continued: "For those present, raise your hand if you’ve earned the Ghost Slayer certification!"Students: "…"

A cool breeze blew across the river.

Embarrassment, awkward silence.

Chen Tong cleared his throat, cursing himself for being stupid. These were all first- and second-year students, how could they have a certificate?

"Well, is there anyone who passed the Ghost Slayer exam this year?"

Students: "…"

A few scattered hands slowly raised.

Under the spotlight!

Everyone looked around, their gazes converging on these few star students.

Chen Tong: "OK, come with me, time to work."

The Yin-Yang Path serves as a bridge, connecting the souls of the dead with their living relatives.

It is a channel.

However, creating a "welcoming guide" is not something that a handful of locust flowers and a few talismans can achieve.

What is needed are the personal items, cherished possessions, or residual essence of the deceased.

What the Ghost Slayer can do is provide a place, a long road, a guiding sign, and on this day of the Mid-Yuan Festival, offer a bit of guidance.

But they cannot truly light the eternal lantern in the endless chaos of Yin and Yang for them.

The "lamp" is the end, and it is also a guide.

This is a bond that can only be maintained and formed by those with close relationships.

In front of the bus stop sign, Mingyue fumbled through her parents' old clothes, and her brother's diaper pieces, feeling a bit down.

The road was empty, not a car in sight. The sky was black, the land was black, and the stars were dim.In front, Chen Tong spoke loudly to the students:

"…As we all know, the Yin-Yang Path doesn’t have too many restrictions. As long as the spirit isn’t a vengeful one, they can make a trip to the living world."

"…But not all souls have people waiting for them. The living can't endure the eternal nature of the underworld, and many souls haven't been reincarnated, but their loved ones have already passed before the Mid-Yuan Festival... those poor souls..."

"Without loved ones to remember them, no one will burn paper for them or light a lantern. Without a lantern, you won’t see a damn thing when you come back to the living world..."

"The places where these vengeful spirits descend will be entirely random. Perhaps, you were born in the Binjiang New District, but your soul might be dropped into Fengdu... It's hard to say whether it's fortunate or not, not being able to see your loved ones or your old place. Coming back to the living world… how miserable or not it is, really depends..."

"Hey, this behavior just serves as a reminder that you're completely dead, there's no use in resisting..."

"Every year, the Yin-Yang Path Ghost Slayers of Yuzhou arrange a special train for the dead souls. It runs at scheduled times, passing through the entire city, carrying poor souls without families, taking them back to their old places. At each stop, a new batch will get on."

At this point, Chen Tong pointed to the west road, which had been empty but now faintly showed the lights of a car.

"…"

The students all turned to look at it in unison.

"The Ghost Train!"

Bai Linlang pushed the dazed Mingyue, "Look, Mingyue, that car you were talking about before!"

"What car? Be more composed."

Mingyue gathered her thoughts, teasing, "Damn, it's not even dark yet, and the car is already running."

Bai Linlang: "= =."

Bai Linlang: "...Get lost."

Chen Tong continued:

"Today, our job is simple."

"Three cars, three people per car, plus me, nine in total."

"We'll make two rounds around the city. One round for the souls getting off, one round for the souls getting on. By dawn, we'll send the old customers off, and we're done."

"During this time, as long as we ensure that those getting off don't cause trouble, and those getting on aren’t too many, everything will be fine.""Alright, form your teams and get ready to board."

The students: "…"

A chill ran down their spines, shivering.

With a "whoosh" sound, three buses stopped in sequence. A dim yellowish-green lantern dangled from the top of the buses, glowing faintly. The light bounced on the road, illuminating the buses, but the interior was dark and disorganized. The doors opened with a "screech," and a rush of cold air hit them, like the cabin had been set to a constant 16°C.

Chen Tong waved his hand, and the nine living people grouped in threes and boarded, taking on the role of bodyguards.

The three girls from Room 405 formed one group and boarded the second bus.

Mingyue took the lead, like a big glowing sun, and stepped onto the ghost bus.

With a creaking sound, she stood inside the bus, locking eyes with the souls filling the seats.

There were headless ghosts holding their own severed heads, drowned ghosts bloated from water, burned ghosts charred all over, some barely clothed, others dressed in gold and silver… the assortment was vast. The few dozen seats on the bus could have filled a book on a hundred ghosts.

Mingyue: "…"

Big Brother Ming paused for three seconds, pulled out a bus card, and swiped it on the reader.

"Beep."

The whole bus of ghosts: "…"

Behind her, her two roommates: "…"

Bai Linlang was drenched in cold sweat: "Don’t mess around, Mingyue."

"This is a bus card from Jinling City, do you think I can't recognize the pattern of Ming Xiaoling on it?"

"Where did that beep come from?!"

Mingyue pouted her lips and pretended to be odd: "Beep—"

The regular passengers: "…"

In the darkness, countless eyes stared at Mingyue.

Bai Linlang and An Xueru: "… Damn you!"Behind her, Bai Shizhang couldn't take it anymore and kicked the "ghost-acting" Big Brother Ming into the bus. "Hurry up and get in!"

"The buses up ahead are already leaving!"

Mingyue stumbled into the bus, almost falling onto the driver's lap, quickly apologizing.

And so, the three of them boarded.

Three pairs of Yin-Yang eyes emitted different colored glows. In the pitch-black interior of the bus, even the flutter of an eyelash could be clearly seen.

This truly made one feel uneasy.

With a whoosh, the bus started moving again.

The streetlights flickered intermittently, their glowing orbs reflecting off the road, as the three ghost buses set off in formation.

Nine living people, three buses full of ghosts.

Everyone hoped it would all pass without incident.