Chapter 54 Zitaishui is the Key...

Zitaishui, that's the key...

Ignoring his Zhao family friend beside him, whose face was twisted and eyes were ablaze with anger at the drifting Chen Abao, Hu Ma simply held his wine cup and pondered.

He hadn't heard the name Zitaishui (Purple Tai Sui) when he first entered this path and wasn't very skilled.

In fact, he hadn't even heard of Jinsi Taisui (Golden Thread Tai Sui) back then. For most people, Xueshuisui (Blood Tai Sui) was already considered the ultimate treasure.

But now, as his abilities grew, he found it increasingly difficult to avoid the topic. However, Zitaishui was too mysterious and elusive, unlike other taisui that offered a sense of security.

"Miss Chen is just joking. Why must you get so angry, Old Brother?"

After a long silence, Hu Ma smiled, raised his cup, and tried to calm Zhao Sanyi, though he had countless questions in his heart.

"Her? Joking?"

Zhao Sanyi was instantly displeased, his face stern. "There's no one with a worse temperament than her. Where's even a trace of the manners expected of the Ten Great Clans?"

"Even among the Ten Clans, she's notorious. She wished the Undying Wang Clan's patriarch a long life on his birthday – 'May you live a hundred years!'"

"When attending a celebration at someone's house, she'd dangle a golden lock and make sure to tell everyone she dug it out of some grave and that they should be careful not to let the original owner see it..."

"..."

Hu Ma lowered his voice and said, "The fact that such a delicate darling can get along with Brother Zhao only proves how magnanimous you are, doesn't it?"

Zhao Sanyi's anger turned into delight. "That's right. Who else but me could tolerate her?"

Initially, he'd come to Hu Ma for a drink perhaps out of boredom or just an itch to show off to a stranger.

But now, after a few words with Hu Ma, he became excited and began to chat freely.

His wine pot didn't look big, but it seemed to have an endless supply of wine. Hu Ma drank with him cup after cup, asking about topics that interested him.

He had to admit that he was gaining knowledge.

The Yin realm was originally the domain of the deceased, only a wisp of their soul remained. It was naturally light and飘飘(piāopiāo) (drifting), but the flesh of the Taisui could give these souls more weight. This clicked with what he knew of the mortal world, he had a sense of sudden understanding. In the Yang world, ancestor worship often involved burning incense and paper, and offering sacrifices of livestock, but the families who really knew their stuff had long used Taisui flesh.

And indeed, Taisui flesh had the miraculous power of appeasing the dead, allowing these Yin souls to gain weight.

But white and green Taisui were less effective, while Xueshuisui worked very well.

As for the Zitaishui, it was an even rarer item. The establishment of living-people villages in the Yin realm, and other crucial processes, were all related to this substance.

Of course, Zhao Sanyi was also slippery. He seemed to have a forthright personality, telling all he knew, but in reality, he didn't say anything crucial.

After probing a few times, Hu Ma realized he couldn't ask any further.

Whenever he reached a critical point, Zhao Sanyi would start acting drunk, as if he'd had too much to drink.

But as soon as the topic changed, he would perk up again.

Frustrated with this slippery fellow, Hu Ma changed the subject. "Brother Zhao, have you heard of the Big-Bellied Ghost King?"

He'd heard this name when he first entered the Yin realm but hadn't had a chance to ask about it. Now, he seized this opportunity to inquire.

Zhao Sanyi, who seemed seven-tenths drunk, suddenly became three-tenths more sober upon hearing this name.

His eyes darted around as he stared at Hu Ma and asked, "Are you asking about that? Aren't you afraid the Yangming Zhou family will come looking for you?"

"Huh?"

Hu Ma was taken aback and said, "Why would they look for me?"

"Hehe, no wonder you're a ghost soldier in the Ghost Gate Dao. I guess you don't quite understand the rules of your Shou Sui (Year Watchers)!"

Zhao Sanyi laughed. "You Shou Sui are fierce when you're alive, and when you die and become ghosts, you're often very fierce too. Many dominate and rule in this Yin realm."

"But the Zhou family doesn't allow that. Once a Shou Sui enters the underworld, they only have two paths."

"Either they scatter their cultivation, returning their skills, and then peacefully enter their family's fire pit."

"Or they answer the Zhou family's summons and report to the Zhou family."

"Why?"

"Because the Yangming Zhou family is the ancestral home of the Shou Sui. Their methods are orthodox. The Shou Sui listen to them when they're alive, and the Ghost Kings obey their orders after death."

"..."

As he spoke, he shook his head, a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes. "Of course, I'm not one to talk behind people's backs..."

"But let's just say, while the Zhou family is recognized as the Shou Sui ancestral home now, that's only a matter of twenty or thirty years. Not everyone accepted them back then..."

"..."

After hearing him go around in circles, Hu Ma suddenly understood. "You're saying this Big-Bellied Ghost King..."

"That's right."

Zhao Sanyi hurriedly nodded and whispered, "The Big-Bellied Ghost King is what the ignorant souls in the Yin realm call him. They tell it as a ghost story to scare people, saying, 'The Big-Bellied Ghost King eats ghosts until his belly is full...' Of course, I know that his Dharma name was originally Dawei Shigong (Great Might Master). He was once one of the fiercest and most evil beings in this Yin realm, capable of overturning the heavens."

"It's said that when he became fierce, he could even swallow the Yin realm. People from the Zhou family, let alone order him around, had to go out of their way to avoid him..."

"..."

After explaining this in detail, he seemed satisfied and sighed. "Of course, there are many things like this, but I just don't like to talk about them."

"It's not just this Dawei Shigong. There was also someone who once suppressed the prestige of the Yangming Zhou family. The Guiren Zhang family is known as the original home of Harm, skilled in curse techniques, but the most powerful curse master in their history wasn't a Zhang... Not long ago, I even heard a joke that someone from the Witchcraft Dao wanted to cross a bridge, and the Zhu family tried to stop him, but they ended up getting a few people killed..."

His face was beaming as he shook his head and said, "If you like hearing these stories, I have plenty more, but I usually don't like to tell them. I'm not that kind of person..."

"..."

"There's so much excitement to see even within the Ten Clans?"

Hearing this, Hu Ma couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. He'd heard of the last one, but the first two were truly thrilling...

"Of course, just listen to these things and don't delve too deeply..."

At this moment, Zhao Sanyi suddenly lowered his voice. "Except for the last one, the first two happened twenty years ago, and they have one thing in common..."

"...They were all heretics!"

"..."

"Huh?"

Hearing this out of the blue, Hu Ma felt a jolt of instinctive wariness, as well as unexpected excitement...

"If not for a blabbermouth like you, who would even remember events from twenty years ago?"

But just as Hu Ma was pondering, a voice suddenly rang out, startling both Zhao Sanyi and Hu Ma.

Looking down, they saw Chen Abao...

...Or rather, just Chen Abao's small head, her long hair hanging down like a black robe, her large eyes coldly fixed on Zhao Sanyi across the desolate stone table.

She spoke with an icy wind, "What do you usually say about my Chen family behind our backs?"

"I didn't say anything!"

Zhao Sanyi was so frightened that his hair stood on end. "Do you have to do this? Take your head off to eavesdrop?"

"You don't say anything when I'm eavesdropping, so how would I know what you say when I'm not?"

Chen Abao glared at him and floated away, murmuring, "The Chen family's reputation for being living ghosts must have been spread by you."

Zhao Sanyi shouted after her, "The reputation for being living ghosts came about because you scare people like this every day!"

Dawei Shigong? Curse Masters?

At this moment, Hu Ma didn't care about their squabble. He felt a strange emotion in his heart: all this prestige was left behind by the previous generation of reborn?

For so many years, he had indeed grown accustomed to the cautiousness of this generation of reborn, but the overbearing authority that the previous generation of reborn had used to suppress the Ten Clans...

It was truly something to aspire to...

...

...

Meanwhile, as Hu Ma was trying his best to cram knowledge in preparation for infiltrating the City of Wrongful Deaths, Erguotou had returned to the Yang world. Under the cover of night, he entered his natal spirit shrine and contacted Miss Red Wine. Usually unserious, he now wore an unprecedentedly solemn expression. He said in a deep voice, "Brother Lao Baigan and I made a trip to the Yin realm and confirmed the matters regarding the Demon Mirror..."

"Most importantly, we unexpectedly found clues about Tieguanyin!"

"..."

He recounted the events involving Tieguanyin and the Guiren Zhang family in detail.

At the end, his voice was heavy with concern. "Brother Lao Baigan has already decided to infiltrate the City of Wrongful Deaths to investigate. If necessary, he will assassinate Tieguanyin!"

"What?"

Miss Red Wine was shocked upon hearing this. "He's going?"

Her voice suddenly turned somber, as if she was a bit angry, as she asked, "What about you?"

It seemed as if she was questioning why Erguotou wasn't going himself.

Erguotou didn't suspect anything. After all, Lao Baigan was his younger brother, and leaving him in the Yin realm already made him feel uneasy. Moreover, he had already made up his mind along the way. Hearing Miss Red Wine's words, he hardened his heart and said, "He's my little brother. I brought him out of the Old Yin Mountain. If he's willing to risk his life for the reborn, how can I stand idly by?"

"Don't worry, I've also made preparations to help him, and even... stir things up!"

"..."

"Hoo..."

Hearing him say this, Miss Red Wine was somewhat relieved and said in a low voice, "It's more than just you."

"Leave the other matters to me, and just pass a message to Lao Baigan. If you want to do something, do it boldly, but you don't need to carry everything on your own shoulders."

"He wants someone to investigate the Guiren Zhang family's background. I've already inquired about some things."

"He wants someone to investigate the source of the hunger ghost disaster in Guanzhou. People are already on their way."

"He wants to find some people who can kill..."

Here, she paused slightly, and her voice seemed to carry a hint of menace. "I've already found plenty for him..."

"If necessary, we'll really go to war with the Ten Clans. What's the worst that can happen?"

(End of Chapter)