Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Returned Deity (4)
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Yuyeon had initially thought the matter would be far more troublesome.
Since the first Corpse Ghost she'd encountered had gone down so easily, she'd figured gathering information would be a hassle. Her plan had been to capture several more and bury them, or else lead all the villagers out and make it impossible for the tiger to stay put.
But thanks to this Corpse Ghost, she'd pinpointed the cave entrance where the tiger lay in wait—using her Divine Sense.
The entrance was a typical cave formed by natural weathering and erosion, but when Yuyeon's Divine Sense touched it, a thick darkness recoiled as if startled, adding to the ominous air.
Combining the Corpse Ghost's movements toward the cave, the ghostly aura emanating from within, and various other circumstantial clues, Yuyeon confirmed it as the tiger's den.
Things had gone far more smoothly than expected, leaving her a bit puzzled. There was something off about this whole Corpse Ghost affair.
Whatever the case, what needed doing still had to be done. It was the eerie hour ghosts favored most—no need to rush the finale now.
So she planned to grab one of the Corpse Ghosts that seemed like a mid-tier operator, drag it to the village outskirts for interrogation, and then grant it full release to the afterlife based on its answers and crimes.
The Corpse Ghost had no inkling that an eight-year-old ghost prodigy with murderous intent lurked just three steps behind it. If anything, it felt relieved.
Yuyeon had anticipated it might sense her Divine Sense the moment it touched the ghost, so she'd preemptively set up a kind of restriction zone around it, holding her Divine Sense in check.
Such precise control drained mental energy, but Yuyeon preferred a little extra effort over days of aimless mountain trekking to find the tiger's den or using the villagers as bait.
Before drawing closer to the cave, she decided to strike first. Her Divine Sense swept over the ghost in an instant. An empty space in her mind filled up, revealing the Corpse Ghost's form.
The previous Corpse Ghosts had all been common folk, dressed in rags. But this one—before death, clearly a young master who'd eaten well. His features were refined, and though his clothes were on the verge of shredding, the fabric screamed quality.
The Corpse Ghost halted as it sensed the unpleasant scan sweeping over it. Yuyeon, meanwhile, kept walking.
One step, two steps. Finally, after her third step, she brought her hand down from above like a blade. The young master's tattered hat disintegrated completely, and his head caved in.
Had it been a living person, that strike would've pulped the brain for instant death. But what looked like flesh was merely condensed ghost qi forming a false body. The Corpse Ghost merely writhed on the ground, gurgling.
Yuyeon had struck using only her Spiritual Body's power, careful not to break the Concealing Form Formation. Yet the effect exceeded expectations.
This was based on her prior experience thrashing the peddler—pure Spiritual Body strikes had worked fine even then.
If a mortal struck without channeling inner energy, the ghost qi would've deflected the hand into empty air, turning the tables. But her Spiritual Body, infused into muscle and bone, interfered with spiritual matter without any need for inner energy.
Yuyeon grabbed the mangled occiput and dragged him along.
Ghosts, by this world's standards, were spiritual beings who had embarked on the Ghost Dao path. This path fundamentally resisted the Underworld's pull.
There were countless ways to resist the Underworld, too many to list. The method Corpse Ghosts employed went like this.
The Underworld recognized and drew in the dead partly through their vital essence and spirit.
Simply possessing a body couldn't defy the Underworld's laws. Judgment of vital essence and spirit wasn't so superficial.
But crafting and donning a new false body proved helpful. Ghost qi formed a ghost body to wear—that's what low-level ghosts like Corpse Ghosts were.
Since this false body was artificial, as long as the soul remained intact, it could function even with a severed or shattered head—like an invincible slasher from a horror flick.
Yet animating the false body wasn't mere puppetry; the soul had to root into it thoroughly, like a living human's spirit embedding in flesh. Damage to the ghost body naturally harmed the soul too.
From that perspective, this young master ghost had endured a nightmare.
Completely off-guard, cave entrance in sight and relief washing over him—then sudden blackout. Vision gone, mind fogging, limbs unresponsive. The pain went without saying.
Something clamped onto his now-caved-in occiput, adhering tight. The vast power gap left his whole body numb, rebellion impossible.
Worried something might happen to the village in her absence, Yuyeon subdued him and planned to interrogate back there. Hence, only smashing the occiput.
She tossed him onto a stump at the village edge. Soon, ghost qi filled the void, restoring his head. But the soul damage lingered—pain and loss persisted.
"Feeling better?"
A gentle tone, childlike voice. No—a child's voice indeed.
A girl with eyes closed. Barely shy of ten, childish yet eerily serene and quiet, exuding mystery.
Only now did he have leisure to check himself. He looked like a prisoner laid out for beheading.
Limbs crumbled from whatever he'd done, body splayed limp, head alone perched on the stump. One chop from Yuyeon's hand blade, and it'd be a real decapitation.
"Little miss, you've gone too far with the pranks. If there's something you want from me, speak freely. The An family heir will see it done."
For starters, the young master's surname was An.
"First off, I'm not 'little miss.' Second, if I asked you to spill everything about what's in that cave, would you answer willingly?"
Yuyeon disliked how this Corpse Ghost, despite being one itself, commanded others. And the oily ingratiation the moment it regained wits rubbed her wrong. Clearly no proper young master in life.
So even if it invoked taboos, she'd pry the info out first.
"Sorry... miss. The second's tricky, but I..."
"I need nothing else."
Yuyeon's sharp retort raised her hand blade. The ghost felt it like real steel.
"That's all I want to hear. If you've got something to say, go one by one. If it doesn't please me, down it comes an inch at a time."
"First, I'm the eldest of the An family..."
Yuyeon's hand blade descended.
"Gahk...! Ahem, do you know anything about shamans?"
This ghost had the smarts to skirt taboos. A truly bound minion couldn't even broach indirectly, but these ghosts' master wasn't that sharp—stick to basics, dodge restrictions.
"Speak."
Yuyeon's hand blade rose half an inch.
"Shamans are usually con artists claiming to handle ghosts and spirits with sorcery. But rarely—very rarely—real mystical ones exist."
Yuyeon found no value here, tempted to lower that half-inch.
"One such master shaman lived in Yongning Province's capital. A true sorcerer."
Yuyeon held the half-inch in abeyance.
"Interesting. Go on."
"Truth is, I left my county seat because a relative knew that shaman in the capital..."
"Shorter, please. My hand's getting sore; it'll keep dropping."
"My relative invited the shaman for a grand ancestral rite—he was up for an official post soon."
Yuyeon dropped the hand blade mercilessly. Now it hovered two palms from his neck.
"Anyway, the shaman finished up and was heading home. I lived nearby, saw his skills, had something to request—so I joined his group, rode in my carriage together."
The rapid-fire tale boiled down to his connection with the shaman and hinting they traveled as companions. Yuyeon caught on.
"When did you become a Corpse Ghost? After parting with the shaman, or together?"
"After, but really just a day apart."
With that, Yuyeon grasped his intent.
Corpse Ghosts were extroverted spirits who invoked names of those knowing their location and foes to share tiger feasts.
If this young master had become one, someone knowing his whereabouts likely invoked him. And what he meant to convey: that shaman was now a Corpse Ghost.
Satisfied, Yuyeon withdrew her hand. Interrogation far from over.
"Good. Next question: why cling so desperately to life?"
Yuyeon adopted cultivator-speak.
"Haha... miss, what kind of question is that? Are there folks in this world who want to die?"
Yuyeon stared silently. The young master fretted—had his casual tone offended? Wrong words?
Then he realized the real issue in his own words.
He knew plenty who craved death. Corpse Ghosts drove even the living to it, yearning for soul-scattering release.
The prior Corpse Ghosts Yuyeon faced obeyed commands mechanically, lacking will or this young master's emotional depth.
"I can't speak freely on that. Please show mercy."
"The true mercy I can grant is severing your Ghost Dao, freeing your soul."
Yuyeon opened her palm seriously this time. A faint energy brushed his face, numbing it with terror.
"Miss—no, fairy lady. Hear me out once more, and I'll truly..."
"Shut it and just listen from now on."
Her prior stern demeanor returned; he clamped his mouth shut.
"I don't know how you parted from that shaman, but after, he unluckily met the tiger calamity."
Seemed spot-on.
"You became the next target, tiger fodder too. But here's the odd part. Corpse Ghosts ache for death—yet you actively play the role, eager to serve someone. Why?"
The Corpse Ghost trembled, pierced to the core.
"And stranger still: how can a mere Tiger Demon command so many Corpse Ghosts freely, terrorizing a whole village?"
Yuyeon's Divine Sense dissected his ghost qi, noting every tiny habitual tic like in life.
He looked utterly tormented. She didn't know the exact reason, but now sensed he craved death.
"My guess: these Corpse Ghosts are made by the tiger's supernatural power, but something else wields and directs them as true master. Right?"
The young master neither affirmed nor denied, opting silence—a confirmation to Yuyeon, who knew of taboos.
A stubborn knot unraveled; the case's flow crystallized in her grasp.
Yet awkwardness remained: why would that shaman-turned-Corpse Ghost so brazenly play master?
"Feels like I've learned all I can from you. Still want to live? Your aura says yes. Some promise or reward, maybe? Am I wrong? You may speak."
(Permission was cultivator-speak for command.)
Instead of yes or no, the young master rambled.
"The shaman said upon reunion: he's no mere shaman, but a true Dao practitioner. I couldn't ignore that. He claimed paths are many—even as a ghost, one can achieve immortality and return to life.
I desperately want rebirth. I refuse to live as a ghost, then get dragged to that soul-shredding dark realm.
I'm the An family's heir, head of Yeonsu Merchant Guild! Know how many servants come running at my call, how many draw blades on a word?
I'm to be their next master. How did I end up in this wretched state..."
Yuyeon let him vent, then raised her hand. No more needed. He wasn't the type to blab under taboo fearing release.
Her strike beheaded him. Ghost qi dissipated; the soul emerged.
Yuyeon hesitated. Before, she'd gladly spend spells for Heavenly Ascension on those two souls. No skimping. But this merchant heir? No such pull. Reason unclear.
If you think "don't want it? Skip it," congrats—you've got a fine cultivator's mindset.
Straddling mortal and Entrance Stage cultivator, Yuyeon pondered: who merits Heavenly Ascension? Whose sins weigh how much? Innocents vs. guilty? Criteria, reasons... Her Dao Heart quivered. Not the cultivator's way.
So she deferred choice. If troubled, make it not your trouble.
"If you wish, I'll petition heaven's mercy. But don't expect it. Doesn't guarantee blessings in your next life."
Her heart didn't move—that mattered most.
The soul, stripped of ghost qi, seemed to understand or not—just floated still. Stillness meant no Underworld resistance.
"If reborn, may paths of evil karma stay closed to you. May you find the Pure Land."
The soul lingered quietly, then faded before her, sinking into earth as Underworld laws took hold, fully scattering.