The So-Called Spirit

The three clusters of light were white, yet black mist seeped from within them, growing steadily darker.

After landing on the ground, the three clusters of light transformed into Xiao Yue and the middle-aged couple.

"Sister Liu... are we... really dead?" Xiao Yue collapsed onto the ground, her eyes vacant.

The middle-aged couple was no better off. They clung tightly to each other, trembling violently.

"Xiao Yue, though this news is cruel, you truly are dead. You refused to believe in your own death, so you became spirits." A look of pity showed in Liu Xu's eyes. Her fingers clenched around the brush in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

Spirits were a very special kind of existence.

After a person died, if they carried overwhelming resentment or encountered certain other circumstances, they were very likely to become monstrosities.

Monstrosities had no reason. They knew only slaughter.

But there was one special case in between: spirits.

So-called spirits were people who, after dying, refused to believe that they were dead. They retained their thoughts from when they were alive and continued repeating the things they had done in life.

Such cases were exceedingly rare.

But that did not mean they were a good thing.

As spirits remained in this world, they would be corroded by it and gradually develop into monstrosities.

The process was very fast. Just like now, the centers of Xiao Yue's and the middle-aged couple's brows had already begun to darken.

Spirits were also difficult to detect, because they retained the appearance they had in life. They even looked no different from ordinary people.

They could be seen and touched, the only difference being that they had no warmth.

Only in the smallest details could one spot anything amiss.

Back when Liu Xu was in Sheng County, she had become very close with Xiao Yue. That was why she had noticed something unusual.

"Xiao Yue, you should slowly be recovering your memories. Once you remember the scene of your death, you'll become a monstrosity. By then, you'll have no reason left." Liu Xu endured the grief in her heart and added one more sentence.

"Sister Liu, Xiao Yue doesn't want to become something without reason." Xiao Yue struggled to lift her head. The black mist between her brows was steadily deepening.

At that moment, the middle-aged couple finally came to their senses as well. As the black mist thickened, they remembered many things.

The middle-aged woman hugged Xiao Yue from behind and gently stroked her head, pain written across her face.

The middle-aged man looked at Liu Xu and gave a bitter smile. "Miss Liu, you want to help us find release, don't you?"

Liu Xu nodded without avoiding the matter. "I'll do my best to lessen your suffering."

Before spirits became monstrosities, their thoughts were no different from those of ordinary people.

Erasing them before that happened was an exceedingly painful thing. All she could do was ease their pain.

As for whether she could leave them be, the answer was no.

If she ignored them, then once they became monstrosities, it would be even more dangerous.

She was a scholar, and she was also someone with the ability to act. At a time like this, she had to make the right choice.

—Even if it was a choice made through pain.

If only there were a Spirit Medium. They could leave without any pain at all. Liu Xu sighed inwardly.

Spirit Mediums threaded needles and led the line between yin and yang. One branch of their profession could grant spirits a painless release.

"Miss Liu, we're ready." After stroking Xiao Yue's head and comforting her for a while, the middle-aged woman raised her head.

Her decisiveness made Liu Xu freeze for a moment.

The middle-aged woman smiled. "We can't keep causing trouble for the neighbors even after we're dead."

"Miss Liu, there's no need to think about avenging us. It would only bring trouble. We're already satisfied if you can see us off." The middle-aged man returned to his wife's side, opened his arms, and held both the woman and Xiao Yue in his embrace.

Liu Xu fell silent, not knowing what to say.

Her hand around the brush clenched tightly.

This was the first time she had experienced such a feeling. From Xiao Yue, she could sense a helpless confusion, a lost despair with nowhere to turn.

"Not wanting to trouble the neighbors..." Liu Xu murmured.

At that moment, the black mist was spreading faster and faster, while Xiao Yue and the others were beginning to lose consciousness.

"Urgh... urgh..."

Beastlike growls emerged from their mouths, carrying a sinister, icy chill.

The awareness in the middle-aged couple's eyes was fading, and Xiao Yue was changing as well.

Xiao Yue's gaze was unfocused. Lowering her head, she looked at her slender palms. Her eyes shifted from dazed to savage.

She remembered that handsome big brother. It had been the first time a big brother had patted her head.

But what followed was endless coldness.

"So I really am going to die..."

Xiao Yue's voice was very soft, and Liu Xu did not hear her clearly.

By then, Liu Xu knew she had to act. Gritting her teeth, she swept her brush through the air, condensing the character "Suppress" in midair.

As soon as the character appeared, Xiao Yue and the middle-aged couple all let out muffled groans of agony.

The painful process was brief. In the blink of an eye, they turned into white light and vanished.

Only Liu Xu remained in the room once more. It was empty and desolate.

Holding her brush, Liu Xu's face turned pale as she staggered back several steps.

She retreated too quickly and nearly fell to the floor.

Turning to look out the window, a flicker of hesitation passed through her starlike eyes.

"Teacher, I wonder what answer you would give me..."

Liu Xu's soft murmur echoed through the boudoir fragrant with sandalwood.

Time gradually passed, and in the blink of an eye, two days went by.

Xu Bai had not been in a good state of mind these past two days.

Every day, aside from staring at that tree, he thought about Xiao Yue.

Especially whenever the image of the corpse hanging from the roof beam surfaced in his mind, followed by memories of Xiao Yue's usual innocence and sweetness, he could not help feeling terribly uncomfortable.

Today should have been the day Liu Xu and County Magistrate Zhang had agreed upon that night.

Carrying his Small Stool into the back courtyard, Xu Bai sat down and watched the progress bar on that locust tree continue to rise.

Just then, Liu Er's voice came from the front courtyard.

"Brother Xu, there are so many people outside. They're all heading toward the County Office."

None of the escort masters dared enter the back courtyard. After all, something bizarre had happened there before. Even when they came looking for Xu Bai, they would only call out to him from far away.

Xu Bai had been grinding away at the progress bar. Hearing Liu Er's voice, he came back to himself.

"The County Office?"

"There are a lot of people?"

Without hesitation, he set the Small Stool down in the back courtyard, rose to his feet, and headed out of the escort agency.

Once outside, Xu Bai saw countless people making their way toward the County Office. It was far livelier than usual.

After a moment's thought, he gripped the hilt of the Ghost-Head Saber and followed behind the crowd.

The stream of people surged onward, and before long, they arrived at the County Office.

The County Office gates stood open. Two yamen runners guarded the entrance and barred anyone from entering. A notice board stood nearby, with a sheet of paper posted on it.

The paper was densely covered in tiny writing, and many people had gathered around to read it.

As they read, noisy discussions rose from the crowd.

"So many people?" Xu Bai frowned. He was too far away to make out what they were saying.

Whenever the County Office announced something important, it would post a notice here. Xu Bai guessed that its contents probably had something to do with what he wanted to know.

After much effort, he finally squeezed through the crowd and reached the notice board.

Quite a few people had been shoved aside by him. They turned, ready to curse at him, but when they saw the vicious Ghost-Head Saber at Xu Bai's waist, they shut their mouths.

The writing on the notice was clear. Xu Bai read it from beginning to end, and his expression grew darker and darker.