Great Scholar Speaks of Ghosts

Great Scholar!

This was the highest rank of the Confucian school in the mortal world!

Above a Great Scholar was a Sage.

But in this era, the Confucian school had no Sage, the Daoist school had no Celestial Venerable, and the Buddhist school had no Buddha.

It could be said that a Great Scholar was among the very pinnacle of this world.

And someone like that wanted to see me by name? Why?

Chen Luo was utterly baffled.

But baffled or not, Chen Luo still followed Cai Tongchen's instructions, quickly tidying his appearance, and went with him to the county office.

The ragged, dying youth was naturally left in Xiao Huan's care.

"So you are Chen Luo?" When Cai Tongchen brought Chen Luo back to the county office, Wei Yan was writing. He set down his brush, helped Chen Luo, who was bowing in greeting, to stand, and looked him up and down before sighing. "What a pity. You are not a disciple of my Confucian school."

Chen Luo could only force a bitter smile. "This junior has a dull aptitude. I lack the Omniscient Reading Talent and cannot generate Righteous Qi."

"It doesn't matter..." Wei Yan gestured for Chen Luo to sit, speaking gently. "Righteous Qi is merely a path of cultivation. It's not needed for scholarship."

"I hear you have a Book Spirit that can devour ghosts and probe souls. Might I see it?"

Chen Luo was startled. This Great Scholar wanted to see Zhong Kui? He glanced at Cai Tongchen, who nodded, signaling Chen Luo to comply.

Chen Luo softly called out "Zhong Kui," and a mass of black mist appeared out of thin air. Zhong Kui emerged from the mist. He bowed to Cai Tongchen and Wei Yan, then stood at Chen Luo's side.

"Marvelous..." Wei Yan, as if he had seen a peerless beauty, stepped closer, his eyes almost turning emerald green as he scrutinized Zhong Kui from head to toe.

"A ghostly body, yet belonging to the spirit category, and bearing the power of the Heavenly Dao..." Wei Yan suddenly looked at Chen Luo. "He can devour ghosts?"

Chen Luo, looking at this somewhat eccentric Great Scholar, nodded slightly.

Wei Yan said "Wait a moment," then took a single step and vanished from the county office.

"Uncle..." Chen Luo looked at Cai Tongchen, whose expression was awkward. "What does Great Scholar Wei mean by this?"

Cai Tongchen shook his head. "I don't know either. Earlier, when I reported the full story of that Literary Heart to my teacher, he fell into deep thought upon hearing about your Book Spirit. Finally, he told me to bring you here..."

Before Cai Tongchen could finish, Wei Yan appeared before Chen Luo again. With a flick of his hand, two dark shadows were thrown from his sleeve—they were actually two Wandering Spirit-level lesser ghosts.

"These are wild ghosts from the mass grave outside the city. Let your Book Spirit eat these two for me to see..."

Chen Luo was stunned. Seeing Wei Yan's serious expression, which was completely unlike a joke, he turned his head and gave Zhong Kui a look.

Zhong Kui was also dumbfounded. Was this a signal that a meal was being provided?

But since Chen Luo had given the order, he didn't refuse. He strode up to the two Wandering Spirits, grabbed one in each hand, opened his mouth wide, and began to crunch crunch eat them.

The scene was extremely bloody!

Only after Zhong Kui had finished eating both Wandering Spirits, licked his lips, and let out a burp, did he return to stand beside Chen Luo.

"Wonderful... wonderful..." Wei Yan actually laughed heartily. Then, he suddenly bowed to Chen Luo, startling both Chen Luo and Cai Tongchen. Chen Luo sidestepped to avoid it, while Cai Tongchen hurried forward to support Wei Yan, asking, "Teacher, what are you doing! Luo'er is a junior; he cannot bear such a great courtesy from you!"

"Get away, get away!" Wei Yan waved his hand, shaking off Cai Tongchen. "You are skilled in scholarship but neglect the affairs of the world. This is a matter of great importance, and you were completely unaware!"

Cai Tongchen was also bewildered, not knowing what he had overlooked.

Wei Yan suddenly reached out and grabbed Chen Luo. "Young friend, come with me somewhere else to talk!"

Chen Luo only felt as if he had lost weight for an instant. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing high in the sky, beneath his feet an ancient carriage with Crimson Banners and a Black Canopy. The Great Scholar Wei Yan stood beside him, and Zhong Kui stood behind, subtly protective.

"Elder Wei, what is this..."

Wei Yan looked down, interrupting Chen Luo. "Young friend, do you know of the Three Calamities of the world?"

Chen Luo shook his head.

"The Barbarian Calamity, the Ghost Calamity, and the Demon Calamity!" Wei Yan's gaze suddenly became profound, looking towards the horizon. "There's no need to say much about the Barbarian and Demon Calamities. Since our human race established itself, we have fought the barbarians in the north and resisted the ten thousand demons in the south—everyone knows this."

"Only the Ghost Calamity—Zi Bu Yu speaks not of strange forces and spirits—is known by very few."

"Even those who know of it know the what, but not the why."

Wei Yan withdrew his gaze from the horizon and looked down again. "What do you see?"

Full of doubt, Chen Luo looked down. Below was Wan'an County, its lights just coming on. People who had been working outside were returning home; eateries and taverns were bustling with people.

"Lamplight in ten thousand homes, a nation at peace?"

Wei Yan chuckled softly. He flicked his sleeve, and a beam of green light shot into Chen Luo's body. A green light flashed in Chen Luo's eyes. "Look again!"

Chen Luo looked down once more, and his expression changed. Now, he saw within Wan'an County, drifting masses of black mist, and outside the city, countless more, in groups and clusters.

"These are... ghosts?"

Wei Yan sighed and nodded. "That's right, ghosts!"

"The ancient sages said that in an unseen place in this world, there is a River of Living Beings. When a living being dies, its intelligent light scatters, turning into a pure spirit body. It is then attracted by the River of Living Beings and cast into the river. Either it is carried elsewhere by the river, falling again to be reincarnated as another life, or it follows the river far away, entering the legendary Nether Land."

Hearing this, doubt arose in Chen Luo's heart. According to Wei Yan's explanation, did this world have no underworld, no Six Paths of Reincarnation?

Just then, Zhong Kui's voice transmission suddenly sounded in Chen Luo's mind: "Master, remember how I said before that this Nether Land is somewhat strange?"

"This Humble One attempted to enter the Nether Land, yet it was as if blocked by some force. It seems that Nether Land is not as This Humble One once knew it—capable of attracting yin soul beings."

"This Humble One also sensed no aura of reincarnation."

Chen Luo was startled inwardly, and looked toward Wei Yan. "Then how did these ghosts come to be? By all reason, shouldn't they have entered that River of Living Beings?"

Wei Yan shook his head. "Whether human, demon, or barbarian, every soul contains a spark of wisdom. Take humans for example: after death, the soul leaves the body, and the spark of wisdom should naturally dissipate. But there are always some who, whether driven by obsession or desire, stubbornly hold onto that last spark, resisting the pull of the River of Living Beings."

"As time passes, when that spark finally fades, and they are forgotten by the River of Living Beings, they turn into ghosts."

"Ghosts require the vital essence of living beings to endure, hence the saying that ghosts harm people."

"The base of living beings in this world is too vast. Even if only one percent, or even one thousandth, of souls turn into ghostly beings, over the years they accumulate into a vast tide of ghosts. Though the vast majority are the lowest grade of Wandering Spirits and petty ghosts, the harm they cause is still considerable. This—this is the Ghost Calamity!"

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