Three-Day Promise

Zhang Chen slowly pushed open the gates of Sanxue Temple and followed the source of the voice to the Great Hero Hall of old. Inside, Master Pu Hu sat on a cushion before the great Buddha statue, quietly awaiting Zhang Chen's arrival.

"Zhang Chen, sit." Puhu smiled and pointed to a cushion directly opposite him.

Zhang Chen nodded respectfully, bent down, and sat cross-legged.

"I called you here today to tell you four things—things you very much wish to know," Puhu said.

"You already know a little about the first matter. You and I belong to the same kind, and there are many others like us. First, I must explain the basic structure of our world."

"At the beginning of Earth's birth, there was much chaotic spiritual energy between heaven and earth. As time passed, part of that spiritual energy gradually fused with the various living creatures on Earth, allowing individual beings to slowly develop consciousness. That was the birth of souls."

"When living beings died, the souls within them turned back into spiritual energy and merged with Earth's spiritual energy. This continued until the birth of humanity, when the phenomenon was broken. In a parallel space to Earth, a place called the Prison Realm gradually emerged. It became responsible for managing the rebirth of human souls and rewarding or punishing those with great merit or great sin."

"Returning to the human world is what people call reincarnation. Before reincarnation, the enforcers of the Prison Realm would sever the memories of one's previous life. It was exactly like the underworld imagined by humans. Some people retained fragments of memory after returning to the world, with images of the Prison Realm occasionally flashing through their minds. That was how the idea of the underworld gradually came about."

"Human nature is an unknown thing. Over long periods of development, it gradually became capable of influencing, even assimilating, the soul within the body. When the dead died with negative emotions such as resentment, unwillingness, and sorrow, the souls within them would mutate. They could neither be drawn into the parallel world where the Prison Realm existed nor merge with heaven and earth. Instead, they existed independently in this human world."

"At first, these mutated souls that had broken free of ** possessed no consciousness. They merely imitated the actions and movements they had made before death, repeating them endlessly. We call them wandering ghosts."

"But as time passed, the negative emotions in their hearts gradually intensified, taking control of the entire soul and awakening consciousness. This gave birth to the evil spirits, vengeful spirits, and the like that you have seen. The existence of these soul entities posed a massive threat to the human world. They even gradually evolved a third parallel world on Earth, after the human world and the Prison Realm. We call it the Ling Realm."

"However, this old monk knows very little about the Ling Realm. I only know that the beings inside are incomparably powerful. Any minor lackey there is a hundred times stronger than the Nail Man you defeated last time. Even if this old monk entered it, I fear I would not last more than a few minutes."

After hearing all this, Zhang Chen's worldview rapidly changed. Though some of it was difficult to comprehend, he had basically grasped it.

"Next, I will tell you about our origins. The mutated souls lingering in the human world constantly harmed humanity, and some could even assimilate normal souls. If this continued for too long, the balance of the entire human world would be broken."

"The Prison Realm would not permit such a thing to happen, so it began setting many trials. It granted power to certain dead who passed those trials and sent them back to the human world to quell these aberrations. That is our identity—Prison Envoys."

"Master Pu Hu, do you mean we are all people who have died once? But I have never been to that place called the Prison Realm, nor have I passed any trials," Zhang Chen said.

"Indeed, you are an exception. After people like us emerge from there, we all bear severe trials. The power obtained from the Prison Realm comes from a black stone—the one located where your heart is. It is called the Soul Stone. Each Soul Stone seals a powerful soul within it, and we must soothe and assimilate it."

As he said this, sorrow appeared in Puhu's eyes.

"Back then, I did not believe I had come back from the dead. I only thought I had dreamed it all. On the night I returned to the temple, I was unable to suppress the savagery of the main soul within me. It seized control of my consciousness, and I killed many of my fellow disciples."

"Everyone like me bore the same fate. At first, we struggled to suppress the main soul, causing those around us to be killed by our own hands."

"But you are different. The Soul Stone was forcibly implanted into you without you dying, and the owner of this Soul Stone had already sealed the main soul inside it. Otherwise, how could you have resisted the main soul's consciousness so easily?"

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

"His name is Kong Jun. He and this old monk were friends who would die for one another. But Benefactor Kong could never erase the inner demon in his heart. On the day he returned to the human world and went home, he ate his own wife in a single night. He had originally turned that grief into resolve, but several years later, during a battle against a very powerful ghostly being, he swallowed his own daughter along with that ghost. This old monk has never seen him since."

"Until one night, Benefactor Kong came before me, though he was already a spirit body. He told me about implanting his power into you and asked that this tragedy not happen to you. Although Kong Jun used all his strength to seal this Soul Stone, it was only a superficial measure. It would erupt again sooner or later. That is why I have often remained by your side. Once the mutation occurred, I would intervene and stop it."

Zhang Chen felt immensely grateful after hearing this. To receive another's help for no reason at all—anyone would be grateful.

"The second matter: do you remember the red gate you opened in the basement?"

"Yes. That Ghosts called Yang Zi was pulled straight inside by a little black hand that reached out from the gate."

"That gate is called the Prison Gate. It is a passage leading to the Prison Realm, but such gates rarely open, because anyone capable of drawing out a Prison Gate is a person burdened with immense sin. Once dragged into the Prison Gate, one can never be reincarnated for all eternity. On the other side of the Prison Gate is the Blood Prison of the Prison Realm. Souls that fall into it can never leave and will suffer countless torments and endless misery within."

"Anyone capable of drawing out a Prison Gate must carry something on them. Take out the crystal in your pocket."

Zhang Chen was startled. Master Pu Hu actually knew about it. But since Master Pu Hu had not mentioned it that day, he presumably had no intention of taking it now.

So Zhang Chen took the red crystal resembling calcite from his right pocket.

"A mid-level evil ghost actually produced a Ghost Crystal. Zhang Chen, your luck is truly good. Back then, who knew how many Prison Envoys slaughtered one another over this thing? But I no longer need it."

Zhang Chen understood how rare the item was. As the saying went, "A common man is innocent, but he becomes guilty by possessing jade." Zhang Chen decided that he would never let a second person know about it.

"You will naturally learn its specific use when the time comes. You will probably need it soon. Take out the bag I gave you," Puhu instructed.

Zhang Chen nodded, removed the bag from his waist, and placed it before him.

"This bag is called a Cosmic Bag. As the name implies, it contains its own world. Open it, and you can divide it into five small spaces. The Blood Beetle egg already occupies one. Put this Ghost Crystal into another. This old monk only has two such bags, and I created them only after exhausting great effort. I had intended to give one to Benefactor Kong. Giving it to you now can be considered the fulfillment of a wish."

Following Puhu's instructions, Zhang Chen opened the Cosmic Bag and placed the Ghost Crystal inside. Sure enough, after the Ghost Crystal fell into the bag, it was clearly separated from the Blood Beetle egg beside it, with a faint membrane between them.

"Zhang Chen, after the Prison Gate opened, did a red light shine upon you?" Puhu asked.

"Yes." Zhang Chen naturally remembered it vividly.

"Take off your shirt."

Without hesitation, Zhang Chen removed his black T-shirt. The character "Pawn" above his right chest was extremely conspicuous.

"Whenever we Prison Envoys destroy a wandering aberrant spirit in the human world, the Prison Realm records it. After you killed the utterly wicked Yang Zi, the Prison Realm granted you a reward—the character 'Pawn' on your chest."

"This is a pass to the Prison Realm. It can also strengthen your physical power and suppress your main soul. As your merits in the human world increase, this character will gradually change. As far as I know, Prison Envoys are divided into the ranks of Jailer Pawn, Prison Watcher, Prison Officer, Prison Guard, and Jailer Marshal. The higher the rank, the stronger the ability."

After saying that, Master Pu Hu also removed his monk's robe. A character meaning "Watcher" was prominently imprinted on his right chest.

"The strongest I have seen was at the rank of 'Officer.' I have only heard of the two ranks above it. Though we Prison Envoys belong to the same camp, there are selfish and self-serving villains among us. You must be careful in the future."

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

"So you have already met him. Though Ding Jian appears fierce, vicious, arrogant, and conceited, his character is actually quite good. He is the sort who repays grudges and returns kindness. You need not worry," Puhu said.

"He asked me to tell you that the debt from back then has been repaid," Zhang Chen said with a nod.

Puhu smiled but said nothing.

"The third matter is that aberrant spirits in this world are generally divided into four types: evil ghosts, vengeful ghosts, Fierce Ghosts, and Corpse Ghosts. Evil ghosts are like Yang Zi. They were evil people in life, and after death, unwilling to accept it, they still sought to continue killing. So they remained in the human world and slaughtered endlessly. Such Ghosts pose the greatest threat to humanity."

"Vengeful ghosts are formed entirely because the resentment at the moment of death is too intense, instantly changing the soul. They remain where they died and mindlessly kill every ordinary person who comes there."

"Fierce Ghosts are also born from resentment, but their souls change due to long-term resentment. Not long after death, they regain the memories from when they were alive. They only wish to wait until the resentment in their hearts is resolved, after which they will leave on their own."

"Corpse Ghosts are actually also called raised ghosts. Evil people use certain methods to keep the souls of those who have recently died within **. Over time, the souls cannot disperse and gradually mutate, once more developing a connection with the dead flesh. However, such Corpse Ghosts have no consciousness at all. They are simply machines made to kill."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen could not help recalling Wen Juan at Grandma Yu's home half a year ago. She had actually used her own mother as food to repair her body.

"Of course, there are many unusual Ghosts in the human world that do not fall into these four categories. If you encounter them, you must be careful. The abilities of these unusual Ghosts vary greatly, and they are by no means comparable to ordinary Ghosts."

"Alright, the final matter is something you must understand. In this human world, besides us, there are quite a few people of Daoism and Buddhism who can eliminate those aberrant spirits. Such people often remain hidden from the world, and their abilities are no weaker than ours. Most importantly, they call us—the dead. After all, we have all died once, and we still carry the aura of death. If both sides meet, a fierce battle will be unavoidable."

"However, you are different. You have not died, so you do not carry the aura of death. But if you encounter them in the future, you must still be cautious. Do not reveal your power lightly, or you may bring about your own death."

After saying that, Puhu rose and walked toward the entrance of the hall. Then he slowly said, "Zhang Chen, you must live well and grow well. Do not disappoint Benefactor Kong's heartfelt intentions."

Zhang Chen said nothing, but he had long since found his answer in his heart.

The moment Puhu left the Great Hero Hall, the entire scene slowly faded away. Zhang Chen found himself once again at the gates of Sanxue Temple. The two monks guarding the entrance smiled at him again, as if time had rewound.

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