Debts Must Be Repaid; It Is the Law of Heaven and Earth

Debts Must Be Repaid; It Is the Law of Heaven and Earth

The next morning, the wind howled and the snow fell hard.

After seeing Old Mister Zhao off, Yu Chen got up, lit the stove, and cooked himself a meal to fill his belly.

Outside the window, wind and snow raged together; inside, waves of chill still seeped through.

But Yu Chen had already entered the Innate Realm. This bit of bitter cold meant nothing to him now. He no longer had to burrow into his blankets as he had in years past just to feel the faintest trace of warmth.

Yet everything had two sides, good and bad.

Though an Innate body brought boundless benefits, it also had certain drawbacks.

For example... appetite.

Looking at the yellowed porcelain bowls on the table, licked clean, Yu Chen wore a helpless expression.

Ever since entering the Innate Realm, his appetite had grown by the day.

In just two meals, he had eaten the rice that once lasted him three or four days. What was more, he needed meat to replenish his strength.

After doing the math, he realized the money that had once supported him for a month would now probably last only five or six days.

If this went on, the savings he had accumulated over the years would not hold out for long.

As he pondered, he looked toward the Scripture of Deliverance within his inner realm.

Could he think of some way to make money?

He did not need to become rich and noble, but at the very least, he needed enough to eat and drink his fill.

Just then, his extraordinarily keen hearing caught strains of mournful funeral music drifting from afar through the wind and snow.

Setting his thoughts aside, he pushed open the door and looked out.

There, amid the snowstorm, a funeral procession was making its way up the mountain.

It was no different from the funerals he had seen before.

A Daoist priest led the way, strong men carried the coffin, and the children and descendants followed in mourning clothes of hemp and white.

Only the young woman holding the portrait of the deceased made Yu Chen look twice.

He had some impression of her. She was the vendor at an old tofu shop in the market on North Youfang Street. Yu Chen had often patronized it in the past, and knowing of his miserable circumstances, she would frequently waive the small change. She was both beautiful and kind-hearted.

Yet at this moment, even when she saw the young gravekeeper, she had no heart to speak. She merely held the portrait, her face heavy with grief.

Those buried in Qingfeng Mausoleum were all poor commoners.

So, unsurprisingly, after a simple burial rite, the group descended the mountain through the wind and snow.

Only Yu Chen remained standing before his door, silent for a long while.

For that familiar ghostly glow was spreading over the grave mound.

With a crook of Yu Chen's finger, a phantom ghost emerged from the glow and slowly approached.

She wore burial clothes, her face like tree bark, thin to the bone, and she muttered without cease,

"Two taels... two taels..."

Though such a scene would have seemed eerie and terrifying to ordinary people, Yu Chen had long since grown accustomed to it. He shut the door and unfurled the Scripture of Deliverance.

A ray of golden light shot forth, instantly pulling the ghostly figure to the bank of the Yellow Springs River.

At the same time, smoke-gray words appeared once more at the beginning of the Scripture of Deliverance.

[Grade Nine Mortal Wish]

[Debts Must Be Repaid]

[Time Limit: None]

[Reward upon Completion]

Then, scenes like a revolving lantern unfolded before Yu Chen's eyes.

The deceased was surnamed Sun. She was over seventy, and unable to withstand the heavy snow and bitter cold, she passed away without illness or calamity. It could be counted as a fortunate funeral.

With several experiences behind him, Yu Chen also knew that the dead generally did not leave behind any final wishes.

Yet this Sun the Old Lady before him had died with her eyes unclosed, and the reason was connected to gold and silver.

Sun the Old Lady had lived a simple life. Since her youth, she had made her living selling tofu at the market around Hanging Bridge.

She had one son, who worked as a porter for the Zhengde Commerce Association at Skybridge.

Later, her son married a girl from next door, and the family lived in harmony and joy.

But good times did not last. Last spring, Sun the Old Lady's son was struck by a load that had not been tied down properly and died on the spot.

With that, Sun the Old Lady lost her son, while her daughter-in-law, Sun, lost her husband and became a widow.

That same year, grief overwhelmed Sun the Old Lady, and she became bedridden. Her daughter-in-law Sun took over the tofu shop.

Fortunately, the Zhengde Commerce Association still had a conscience and compensated the mother- and daughter-in-law with two taels of silver.

But at the beginning of this year, somehow, the news reached the ears of the butcher who tyrannized Youfang Street.

The butcher was surnamed Li. Broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a face full of flesh, his real name was unknown. But everyone in the market called him Li Er.

Li Er was no decent man to begin with. He often relied on his butcher's knife to swagger through the market, barking orders and throwing his weight around.

At the slightest disagreement, he would unleash a torrent of abuse.

But he was strong and robust, and after slaughtering pigs for decades, his body carried a heavy Killing Intent. Ordinary people did not dare provoke him lightly.

He was truly a rogue and a scoundrel.

After learning that Sun the Old Lady had received two taels of silver because her son had died, the man came to her door several times. Claiming he needed to repair his house, he half-forcibly borrowed the two taels away. Yet perhaps worried that Sun the Old Lady would report him to the authorities, he even put on a show and wrote an IOU.

That loan had lasted more than half a year, and the date on the IOU had long passed.

Then, during this period, business at the tofu shop had been poor, and her daughter-in-law Sun fell ill. Even after gathering all the money in the household, they were still short by some amount.

Sun the Old Lady and her daughter-in-law could only steel themselves and ask Li Er to return the money. Who could have known that the man would turn ferocious? Not only did he refuse to pay, he snatched away the IOU, tore it to pieces, and drove the two women from his home.

The mother- and daughter-in-law were weak and sickly. What could they do when facing a bully like Li Er? They could only resign themselves to their fate.

But that was not the end of it. To make matters worse, in this freezing weather, coupled with Sun the Old Lady's already frail body, she ultimately failed to survive the harsh winter. Her legs kicked once, and she was gone!

Yet before dying, she still could not stop thinking of those two taels of silver.

It was not that she valued money so highly. Her daughter-in-law Sun needed those two taels to buy medicine and see a doctor!

Thus, it became her final wish, leaving her unable to close her eyes in death.

A moment later, the scenes of the revolving lantern finished one by one.

Yu Chen opened his eyes, and everything was clear in his heart.

He could not help sighing at this world, where tyrants ran rampant and good people found no peace!

He then prepared to go out after nightfall and recover those two taels for Sun the Old Lady.

Had it been before, he would certainly have had no way to deal with a bully like Li Er.

But now, things were different.

The sun set, night fell, and the wind and snow continued.

The dim vault of heaven showed no trace of the moon.

On the deserted Qingfeng Mausoleum, a pitch-black figure descended the mountain.

North of Youfang Street in Weishui County, beside the market, stood a shopfront.

The heavy snow covered the dark-red ground, yet the stench of pig's blood still lingered faintly in the air.

Yu Chen stepped onto the empty street and looked at the oil-blackened signboard above the shop—Li Family Butcher Shop!

Right, this was the place. He had not come to the wrong door!

After thinking for a moment, Yu Chen, his face covered by Senluo and dressed in black, did not barge directly into the butcher shop. Instead, he took out the paper effigy of Sun the Old Lady that he had prepared during the day and knocked on the door.

Before long, a booming voice came from inside the shop.

"Who is it? Not sleeping in the middle of the night?"

Then the door opened, and Li Er emerged. He was broad and burly, with fierce brows and savage eyes, his face flushed red, reeking of liquor and steaming with heat.

But after opening the door, Li Er saw no one. He frowned and cursed, "Which bastard is playing tricks? If Grandpa Li catches you, I'll gut you with my butcher's knife!"

With that, he slammed the door shut with a bang.

Returning to the table in the middle of the shop, he resumed guzzling his drink.

"Li Er..."

Li Er downed a mouthful of strong liquor, then picked up two slices of pig ear dripping with oil. Just as he was about to put them in his mouth, he heard someone in the shop seemingly calling his name!

Li Er's expression changed. He rose to his feet, grabbed the heavy butcher's knife from the chopping board at the stall, and looked around.

"Li Er..."

Suddenly, the voice rang out again, plaintive and mournful, chilling to the bone!

Li Er turned his head to look!

Behind the two slabs of hanging pork, a hunched figure slowly emerged!

Its feet did not touch the ground. Its face was blue-white, its body clad in burial clothes, its eyes empty and lifeless. Without making any movement at all, it simply drifted toward him!

Li Er shuddered violently and gripped his butcher's knife tight!

Then the figure continued,

"Li Er... Li Er... Li Er..."

The ghastly chant seemed to rise from the Nine Nether Hells. Coupled with the wind and snow howling outside, it was all the more terrifying!

Even Li Er, who had slaughtered pigs and sheep year-round, felt his hands and feet turn icy, his entire body stiffening!