A Three-Day Appointment

Zhang Chen slowly pushed open the gates of Sanxue Temple and followed the sound to the former Great Hall of Heroes. Inside the hall, Master Pu Hu was sitting on the meditation cushion before the grand Buddha statue, quietly awaiting Zhang Chen's arrival.

"Zhang Chen, sit," Pu Hu said with a smile, pointing to a cushion directly across from him.

Zhang Chen nodded respectfully, bowed, and sat down, tucking his legs in.

"I've called you here today to tell you four things, things you've been very eager to know," Pu Hu said.

"You already know a bit about the first thing. You and I are actually the same kind of person, and there are many beings similar to us. First, I need to tell you about the general composition of our world."

"In the early days of Earth's birth, there was a lot of chaotic spiritual energy between heaven and earth. As time passed, a portion of this spiritual energy gradually merged with the various creatures on Earth, causing individual beings to gradually gain consciousness. This is how souls came into being."

"When a living being died, the soul within would transform back into spiritual energy and merge into Earth's spiritual energy. This phenomenon was only broken with the emergence of humans. In a parallel space to Earth, a place called the Underworld gradually evolved. It began to be responsible for managing the reincarnation of human souls and for rewarding or punishing those with great merits or great sins."

"Reincarnation is called transmigration. Before transmigration, the souls would have their past-life memories severed by the executive officers of the Underworld. This is exactly like the underworld that humans imagine. It's also because some people, after reincarnating, still have fragments of their memories that haven't been extinguished, and images of the Underworld flash in their minds from time to time, thus giving rise to the concept of the underworld."

"Human nature is an unknown entity. Over a long period of development, human nature has gradually begun to influence and even assimilate the souls within the body. When the deceased die with negative emotions such as resentment, unwillingness, and sadness, the soul within will mutate, preventing it from being drawn into the parallel world where the Underworld is located. It also cannot merge with heaven and earth, but exists independently in the human world."

"In the beginning, these mutated souls that detached from the world had no consciousness. They would simply mimic their actions from before death, repeating them endlessly. We also call these lone souls and wandering ghosts."

"But as time went on, the negative emotions in their hearts would gradually amplify, taking control of the entire soul and awakening consciousness. This is how malevolent ghosts, vengeful ghosts, and the like were born. The existence of these soul bodies poses a great threat to the human world. They have even gradually evolved a third parallel world on Earth, after the human world and the Underworld, which we call the Zero Realm."

"However, my understanding of the Zero Realm is very limited. I only know that the beings within are immensely powerful. Even the weakest among them is a hundred times stronger than the Nail Man you defeated last time. If I were to enter it, I probably wouldn't last more than a few minutes."

After hearing all this, Zhang Chen's worldview was rapidly changing. Although it was difficult to comprehend, Zhang Chen had a basic grasp of it.

"Next, I will tell you about our origins. The mutated souls lingering in the human world continuously cause harm to humans, and some can even assimilate normal souls. If this continues, the balance of the entire human world will be broken."

"However, the Underworld does not allow such things to happen. It began to set up many trials and granted abilities to deceased individuals who passed their trials, sending them back to the human world to quell these anomalies. This is our identity – Jailers."

"Master Pu Hu, do you mean we've all died once? But I've never been to that place called the Underworld, nor have I passed any trials," Zhang Chen said.

"Indeed, you are special. Everyone who comes out from there bears a severe trial. The abilities we obtain from the Underworld come from a black stone, the one located where your heart is, called the Soul Stone. This Soul Stone seals a powerful soul that we must pacify and assimilate."

As he spoke, a hint of sadness flashed in Pu Hu's eyes.

"Back then, I didn't believe in my own resurrection. I thought it was just a dream. The night I returned to the temple, I couldn't suppress the ferocity of the soul within me. It took over my consciousness, and I killed many of my fellow disciples."

"Everyone like me bears the same fate. In the beginning, it was difficult to suppress this soul, leading to the deaths of those around me at my own hands."

"However, you are different. You were forcibly implanted with a Soul Stone without dying. Furthermore, the owner of this Soul Stone has sealed the soul within. Otherwise, how could you have resisted the soul's consciousness so easily?"

Zhang Chen suddenly remembered the man in black on Jinshui Bridge and said, "Master, do you know who that person is?"

"His name is Kong Jun. He was my sworn brother, but Master Kong always struggled to overcome his inner demons. That day, after returning to the human world, he went home and ate his wife overnight. Although he had transformed his grief into determination, after a few years, during a confrontation with a very powerful ghost, he actually swallowed his own daughter along with the ghost. From then on, I never saw him again."

"Until one night, Master Kong appeared before me, but he was already a spirit. He told me about implanting abilities into you and asked that such tragedies not happen to you. Although Kong Jun used all his might to seal this Soul Stone, it was only a superficial effort, and it would erupt sooner or later. That's why I'm always by your side. Once the mutation occurs, I will intervene."

Zhang Chen was very grateful upon hearing this. Receiving help from someone for no reason would make anyone grateful.

"The second matter, do you remember when you were in the basement and opened that red door?"

"Yes, at that time, that ghost named Yang Zi was directly pulled in by a small black hand that extended from the door."

"This door is called the Jailer, and it's a passage to the Underworld. However, these doors rarely open because anyone who can trigger the Jailer is not without great sins. Once pulled into the Jailer, one can never be reincarnated. The other side of the Jailer is the Blood Prison of the Underworld. Souls that fall into it can never come out, suffering all sorts of torment and hardship within."

"Anyone who can trigger the Jailer must be carrying something. Take out the crystal in your pants pocket."

Zhang Chen was startled. Master Pu Hu knew about this item, but Master Pu Hu hadn't mentioned it that day. He figured Master Pu Hu wouldn't have designs on it now.

So, Zhang Chen reached into his right pocket and pulled out a red crystal that resembled calcite.

"An intermediate malevolent ghost actually managed to spawn a 'Ghost Crystal.' Zhang Chen, your luck is truly remarkable. Back then, countless Jailers killed each other for this thing. However, I no longer need it."

Zhang Chen understood the rarity of this item. As the saying goes, "An innocent man is guilty when he possesses a treasure." Zhang Chen decided that he would never let a second person know about this item.

"You'll naturally know the specific use of this item when the time comes. You should be needing it in the near future. Take out the pouch I gave you," Pu Hu instructed.

Zhang Chen nodded and took the pouch from his waist, placing it before him.

"This pouch is called the Cosmic Bag. As the name suggests, it contains the universe. If you open the bag, you can divide it into five small spaces. The Blood Beetle's egg has already occupied one. Now, put this Ghost Crystal into it. I only have two of these bags in total, and I made them with great effort. I originally intended to give one to Master Kong, but now that I've given it to you, it fulfills a wish."

Zhang Chen followed Pu Hu's instructions, opened the pouch, and placed the Ghost Crystal inside. As expected, after the Ghost Crystal fell into the pouch, it was clearly separated from the Blood Beetle's egg beside it, with a faint membrane.

"Zhang Chen, when the Jailer opened, did a red light shoot towards you?" Pu Hu asked.

"Yes," Zhang Chen remembered vividly.

"Take off your shirt."

Zhang Chen didn't hesitate and took off the black t-shirt he was wearing. The character '卒' above his right chest was very clear.

"Every time we Jailers eliminate a stray spirit lingering in the human world, the Underworld makes a note of it. After you eliminated the wicked Yang Zi, the Underworld granted you a reward, which is the character '卒' on your chest."

"This is a pass to the Underworld. It can also enhance your physical strength and suppress your soul. As your merits in the human world increase, this character will gradually change. As far as I know, if we Jailers are classified by rank, there are a total of Jailer Pawn, Jailer Eye, Jailer Minister, Jailer Captain, and Jailer Marshal. The higher the rank, the stronger the ability."

After speaking, Master Pu Hu also removed his monk's robe, revealing the character 'Eye' clearly imprinted on his right chest.

"The highest I've seen is the 'Minister' rank. I've only heard about the two ranks above that. Although we Jailers are in the same faction, there are selfish and malicious individuals among us. You must be careful in the future."

"Master Pu Hu, what about that person Ding Jian?" Zhang Chen suddenly asked.

"So you've already met him. Although Ding Jian appears fierce, cruel, and arrogant, his nature is actually very good. He's the type to repay every grievance and every kindness. You don't need to worry," Pu Hu said.

"He asked me to tell you that the debt from back then has been repaid." Zhang Chen nodded.

Pu Hu smiled and said nothing.

"The third matter is that the anomalous spirits in this world are generally divided into four types: malevolent ghosts, vengeful ghosts, fierce specters, and corpse ghosts. Malevolent ghosts, like Yang Zi, were wicked people in life. After death, they are unwilling to accept their fate and still desire to kill, thus remaining in the human world to continuously take lives. This type of ghost poses the greatest threat to the human world."

"Vengeful ghosts are entirely born from extremely intense resentment at the moment of death, instantly altering the soul and keeping it bound to the place of death. They kill all mortals who come there without consciousness."

"Fierce specters, while also born from resentment, are caused by long-term grievances that alter the soul. After death, they soon regain memories of their past life and only wish to depart once their inner resentment is dispelled."

"Corpse ghosts, also known as 'raised ghosts,' are created when wicked individuals use certain methods to keep the souls of recently deceased people within their bodies. Over time, these souls cannot disperse, gradually mutate, and re-establish a connection with the deceased flesh. However, these corpse ghosts have no consciousness and are essentially machines solely for killing."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen couldn't help but recall 'Wen Juan' from Grandma Yu's house half a year ago, who had directly used her own mother as food to repair her body.

"Of course, there are many other types of anomalous spirits in the human world besides these four. If you encounter them, you must be careful. These alternative ghosts vary greatly in their abilities and are by no means comparable to ordinary ghosts."

"Alright, the last matter you must understand is that in this human world, besides us who can eliminate these anomalous spirits, there are also many people from Taoism and Buddhism who can do so. Moreover, these individuals often live in seclusion and their abilities are no less than ours. Most importantly, they refer to us as 'the dead,' as we have all died once and still carry the aura of death. If the two sides meet, a major battle is unavoidable."

"However, you are different. You have not died and do not carry the aura of death. But if you encounter them in the future, you must still be cautious. Do not easily reveal your strength, or you might invite a fatal disaster."

After speaking, Master Pu Hu rose and walked towards the outside of the treasure hall, then slowly said, "Zhang Chen, you must live well and grow well. Do not let down Master Kong's good intentions."

Zhang Chen remained silent, but his mind already had an answer.

As soon as Master Pu Hu exited the treasure hall, the entire scene slowly faded. Zhang Chen found himself back at the entrance of Sanxue Temple. The two monks guarding the gate smiled at Zhang Chen again, as if time had rewound.

This time, Zhang Chen did not respond. Instead, he directly bowed down and kowtowed to Sanxue Temple before heading down the mountain.

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