Ksitigarbha

Grandma Cui took the yellow paper with Cui Cui's name and birthdate, placing it over the candlelight to ignite it.

Then, she performed the Rice Spirit Medium Technique once more.

"Third offering, bribe the Yellow Springs Guide Soldier..."

As the rice grains were scattered, she slumped back into the chair, her throat making gurgling, choking sounds as the life force rapidly drained from her body.

The candlelight flickered, unable to illuminate the gloom on her face, each wrinkle seemingly hiding a shadow.

About three breaths later, Grandma Cui's eyes snapped open, her body curled up and trembling.

"Master, please don't kill me, I didn't see anything..."

"No, don't come near me..."

"Grandpa, it hurts so much..."

An old woman over eighty years old was now speaking with a young girl's voice. This bizarre scene indicated that Cui Cui's soul had possessed her.

"Cui Cui--"

Just as Zhou Sheng was about to ask something, 'Grandma Cui's' gaze fell upon the head on the table. She trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.

"Madam, Madam, please don't kill me!"

"It was Master... Master told me to hide the head, I didn't harm you!"

'Grandma Cui' was so terrified by the head that she lost all composure, kneeling on the ground and repeatedly kowtowing until her forehead bled.

Zhou Sheng, worried that Grandma Cui's eighty-year-old body wouldn't withstand it, stepped forward to stop her and began to communicate.

But Cui Cui seemed truly mad. Even as a ghost, she was erratic and completely unable to calm down.

Just then, a theatrical chant rang out.

"The yin wind is but a foolish child calling for their mother, the karmic fire is a jealous wife's mirror light."

"If one knows the Avici Hell is not punishment for evil, keep a heart of ice—and wait for the spring breeze!!"

The singing was deep and resonant, ethereal and clear, like Buddhist chants echoing from all directions, possessing a strange power to soothe the heart and show compassion to the world.

Zhou Sheng recognized it as a scene from the Puxian opera Muppet to Save Mother, specifically the part where Ksitigarbha breaks through hell, based on the Buddhist scripture Ksitigarbha's Original Vows Sutra.

And what Master was singing now was the lyric of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha using his Monk's Spade to shatter the Ghost Gate Pass and save the spirits.

Without Face Paint, without a costume, not even performing any gestures, this simple line of singing immediately calmed the frenzied 'Grandma Cui'.

Zhou Sheng even felt that the normally gloomy Ghost Opera Hall had instantly become brighter.

It was as if those lines weren't lyrics, but the whispers of a Bodhisattva, the chanting of an Arhat.

Delivering all beings from suffering!

He felt his Master's frail figure instantly become more profound and unfathomable.

Ever since they first met and killed the Wolf Demon, Master had never made a move in front of him.

Now that his Dao cultivation had advanced and he had achieved some success in the art of Ghost Opera, he thought he might be able to gauge Master's depth. To his surprise, what he saw was an even higher mountain, a deeper mist.

"Heh heh, you really thought the lyrics I taught you were just for show?"

"Only when you open your Tongue Aperture can you truly unleash the power of those lyrics. Our Ghost Opera lineage's teachings are no less potent than Buddhism's Six-Syllable Mantra."

Yu Zhensheng transmitted his voice quietly, especially when mentioning Ghost Opera, his pride and arrogance almost radiating from his expression.

"You brat, you still have so much to learn."

Zhou Sheng shook his head and smiled. When it came to Ghost Opera, Master became like a playful old child.

Perhaps, like Uncle Xu, he always maintained a pure heart towards the art he had dedicated his life to.

"Cui Cui, you don't need to be afraid. Time is limited, before that incense stick burns out, please tell me everything you know!"

The calmed Cui Cui had now remembered everything and knew that she had long since died and become a ghost.

However, she didn't harbor much resentment. Instead, her first question was: "How is my Grandpa?"

Zhou Sheng fell silent, sighing, "He's dead. He was trying to get justice for you and was strangled to death by the constables sent by Magistrate Zhu."

Cui Cui trembled all over, tears streaming from her eyes.

"We are Ghost Opera performers. At your grandfather's request, we will perform a play for him and for you, to seek justice."

Upon hearing this, Cui Cui rose and knelt, her voice choked with sobs, "Thank you, brother. My life is cheap, and my death is insignificant, but my Grandpa was a good man. How could he... how could he..."

Zhou Sheng felt a pang in his heart.

Both Uncle Xu and Cui Cui were incredibly kind people. They didn't cry out for justice for their own deaths, but instead thought of the other person first.

"This head... is it the County Magistrate's wife's?"

Although he felt sympathy, seeing that the incense stick had already burned down by more than half, Zhou Sheng interrupted Cui Cui's crying and asked.

Cui Cui also suppressed her grief and nodded, "Yes, this head belongs to the Madam. Master... Magistrate Zhu told me to hide it."

She then explained the whole story.

It turned out that Magistrate Zhu, despite appearing upright, was actually lecherous at heart and had even harassed Cui Cui.

He had tried to take concubines multiple times, but his formidable wife had sternly refused each time, even slapping him once.

The two had a very strained relationship because of this.

"But just over a month ago, Magistrate Zhu suddenly apologized to his wife kindly and swore he would never think of taking concubines again."

"Madam was very happy that day, she personally cooked a good meal for Magistrate Zhu, and they drank some wine. She got quite tipsy."

"Madam was afraid of the dark and liked someone to guard the door when she slept at night. It was my turn to be on duty that day."

"That night, I was drowsy leaning against the pillar. Suddenly, I heard a scream. When I rushed in, I saw..."

At this point, Cui Cui's body trembled involuntarily. It was clear that the scene had left a terrifying impression on her.

"I saw Magistrate Zhu holding a bloody axe in one hand and... Madam's head in the other!"

"He told me to dispose of Madam's head and threatened that if I spoke a word, I would be next..."

Cui Cui glanced at the head on the table and shivered again.

"That night, I carried the head, intending to find a place to bury it. But I was afraid of being discovered, and the more I walked, the more scared I became. In the end, I simply threw it into the rarely used ancient well in the backyard."

"Originally, I thought such a big event couldn't be kept secret, but I never expected..."

Her voice was filled with confusion.

"The next day, a beautiful woman walked out of Madam's room. Master said she was Madam. Any servants who disagreed were beaten with sticks, so no one dared to mention it."

"Even stranger, that beautiful woman... seemed to really be Madam."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because that woman was very familiar with everything in the mansion, knew everyone's name, and her mannerisms were exactly the same as Madam's."

"Most importantly, I used to help Madam bathe and knew she had a plum blossom-shaped birthmark on her waist. Later, when I helped the new Madam bathe, I saw the exact same birthmark!"

"Even, she could accurately recall past interactions with me, many of them trivial matters that absolutely no one else would know..."

"Madam was no longer Madam, yet Madam... seemed to still be Madam..."

Cui Cui pointed at the head, her eyes filled with both fear and deep confusion.

"But Madam's head was clearly something I threw into the well with my own hands!"

"Every day, looking at the new Madam's face, I would feel a chill down my spine. At night, I would dream of a female ghost crawling out of the well to claim my life..."

"And so, I went mad."