Tenth Chapter: Vengeful Ghost

Outside Kyoto, known as Heian Capital, on Honshu Island Fusang, a man and a woman strolled slowly towards the city.

The man had White Hair, a tall and handsome figure, and was holding an umbrella for the woman beside him. The woman under the umbrella looked slightly young, with a petite figure, but had a mature air about her.

The two changed into local Fusang clothes, one in black and one in white, and strolled along the road leading to Kyoto.

This season, when the Fusang cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the roads leading to Kyoto are lined with cherry trees that have been carefully cultivated and planted by the Nobility of Kyoto, creating a pink sea across the mountains and fields.

It was common to see young noblemen traveling in groups in the capital, accompanied by female companions or courtesans. While tensions were high among the various Daimyo on the Fusang Four Islands, Heian Capital remained peaceful and prosperous.

"This is Fusang, the capital of Kyoto."

Walking along the road, Jiang Lan softly explained to Bai Qiuran, "Because of High Plain of Heaven, although the Daimyo are constantly at war with each other, they nominally still respect the Emperor in Kyoto as their master. Therefore, this area has not been affected by the war. Only after the various Daimyo have temporarily decided their victories will they bring their troops to Kyoto for a [journey to Kyoto]."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "But I heard Yao'er say that there was an internal strife here several years ago. Various Daimyo brought their troops here and fought endlessly within the city for several months, leaving the city in chaos."

"You can't tell at all that this place ever suffered from war."

Bai Qiuran glanced at the radiant smiles on the faces of those young men.

"Those are all wealthy families in Kyoto."

After glancing at it, Jiang Lan replied, "In this era, ordinary people live a very hard life. There must be many farmers near the Kyoto who are starving."

"Sometimes, one has to admire the Human Race's capacity for extravagance and debauchery."

Bai Qiuran sighed.

"Do you want to step in and do something about it?"

Jiang Lan looked up at him and asked.

"Manage? It's not my place to manage."

Bai Qiuran shook her head.

"Aren't those Daimyo outside already preparing to muster their troops and start fighting? This matter should be handled by the victor among them."

The Heavenly Gods oppressed Human Race back then because it was invaded by other Human Race, but now it's a civil war Mortals Human Race, and Bai Qiuran has no right to interfere.

The power of cultivators is like that of gods to Mortals. Before them, no matter how large the mortal army is, it makes no difference. Thus, if Cultivators wants to do good, no evil person can stop him. But if Cultivators becomes corrupt and decadent, no one can stop him either.

Therefore, throughout the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou, the Righteous Path Alliance has always tried its best to avoid directly interfering in mortal affairs, and recently, under its influence, the Demonic Sect Alliance has also shown this trend.

Moreover, for Mortal World nations, this cycle can also be considered a form of change. When the upper echelons of a nation become corrupt and the lower echelons rise up to overthrow them, although it is inevitable that the nation will fall into the next cycle, in general, the overall situation is constantly progressing and spiraling upward.

Most importantly, Bai Qiuran himself has no desire to be an emperor, rule the country, and lead them forward. Therefore, it is best for him to stay out of it to avoid getting entangled in Karma.

"I understand."

Jiang Lan nodded and took his hand.

"Then please, Senior Bai, guide me through some trials. Although I have been sending disciples to the mortal realm for training for hundreds of thousands of years, I myself have never had a proper trip."

"Okay."

Bai Qiuran and said, "Let's go."

To avoid trouble, Jiang Lan cast a spell on the two of them, making their presence undetectable unless one was a cultivator.

Holding hands and an umbrella, the two walked into Fusang Kyoto, and began their tour.

Unlike other war-torn places, Kyoto remained largely unchanged due to Japan's "Fusang into Kyoto" policy. The streets and houses were orderly, and although the people living there did not look very healthy, they did not appear hungry either.

Those who are starving probably don't live inside Kyoto.

However, this tranquility was ultimately just an illusion. As they turned a street corner, Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan saw a group of people gathered in front of a mansion. Curious, they went over to take a look and found a row of straw mats laid out on the open ground in front of the mansion, on which lay dead bodies, men, women, and children. Their faces were all ashen and stiff, and they all had expressions of terror before they died.

Several men wearing top black hats and white hunting robes were inspecting the ground, while several samurai with swords at their waists stood near the mansion, preventing others from approaching.

Bai Qiuran glanced at them, then frowned and said, "These dead people have a negative aura about them."

"It's more than just a negative atmosphere."

Wisdom Immortal was pretending to be dead and hanging from his waist, suddenly said, "That's clearly Yin Qi."

"Yin Qi?"

Bai Qiuran asked, "Is this a unique ability of the demons in this country?"

"No, even in Fusang, the evil deeds committed by Yaoguai should leave behind Yaoguai Qi, just like the Book of Questions."

Jiang Lan replied, "Since it's Yin Qi, it means that what killed these people wasn't a demon, but Ghosts."

"Strange, Ghosts are alright..."

Bai Qiuran somewhat surprised.

As the creator of the Ghost Realm, and having fought Xue Ling for nearly two thousand years, Bai Qiuran knew very well that in this world, the saying "Humans and Ghosts Follow Separate Paths" was not just an empty phrase.

The work of the Underworld Emissaries is not only to capture the Souls of the dying and take them to the Ghost Realm for Judgment and Reincarnation, but also to capture Vengeful Ghost.

If a person suffers a great injustice before death and dies with resentment in their heart, they will indeed be transformed into Ghosts with a level of ferocity no different from the Yaoguai in this country. They usually take crazy revenge on those who killed them, but such behavior is not allowed in the Ghost Realm.

This is because after these Ghosts kill their enemies, they devour their Souls to strengthen themselves. Moreover, the rules of the Ghost Realm are not arbitrary; the dead cannot interfere with the living, and the sins of the living are naturally settled by judges after death. This is not only an ironclad rule of the Ghost Realm but also an important means of maintaining the balance of Heaven and Earth.

Therefore, when a person transforms into Vengeful Ghost, the Underworld Emissaries usually act swiftly to capture such a spirit.

The current manager in this area in this world is Xue Ling, but Bai Qiuran knows this guy very well. His level of responsibility towards his work can be described as pathological. Occasionally, one or two might slip through the net, but there would never be a vicious ghost like this who directly kills an entire family of men, women, and children in the capital of a country.

"Could it be because I trapped him earlier?"

Bai Qiuran muttered uncertainly.

At this moment, those who had been inspecting the scene seemed to have finished their work. They wrapped the corpses in straw mats, then loaded them onto a cart and left with the warriors. As they left, two of them turned their heads and seemed to glance in the direction of Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan.

"Those are People of the Yin-Yang Bureau)."

Jiang Lan explained, "They are considered cultivators in this country. They do not concern themselves with politics, but bear the responsibility of eradicating all non-human-caused disasters in this nation."

"How come their skill levels are all about the same as mine?"

Bai Qiuran asked, "Aren't there any Foundation Establishment Stage?"

"Those are all in High Plain of Heaven. Those Human Race cultivate to that level are called 'Living Gods'."

Jiang Lan explained, "There's no other way; the number of people in Fusang is simply too small."

Upon hearing Jiang Lan's words, Bai Qiuran understood. He had initially thought that Bai Li hadn't taken care of the Human Race on this island, but upon closer reflection, he realized it was because the population of Fusang was too small.

The combined area of these four large islands is still far smaller than that of any one of the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou, and their populations are pitifully small.

The reason why the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou were able to form an organized Cultivation World, and even had Immortal Dynasty, was because they had a huge population and geographical area as a foundation. Cultivation has never been an easy thing.

Where do we go now?

Jiang Lan held Bai Qiuran's hand and asked, "Should we investigate this matter?"

"Go for it."

Bai Qiuran and then answered.

If this matter truly arose because he trapped Xue Ling, then he must bear some responsibility.