Of Weddings and Wakes | Chapter 67 | Descent Into the Abyss | Novela.app

Mu Gesheng understood in an instant how Chai Shuxin had become the Luocha-zi. The Yin-Yang Ladder was swarming with vengeful spirits, its bone-corroding malice thick enough to choke. Chai Shuxin had essentially offered himself as a ritual sacrifice, carving a path of blood with his own life. Forty-nine days later, the Yin-Yang Ladder had opened once more, and the Luocha-zi had descended upon the world, his fate forever altered. It was a gamble of absolute, utter madness. Mu Gesheng was stunned. The Yin-Yang Ladder was filled with the most auspiciously malevolent entities; even the Ten Kings of Hell were helpless against them. How could a dying man enter that place and expect to come out? Chai Shuxin’s fate should have had nothing to do with the Luocha-zi. Mu Gesheng had heard him explain it before—that he had died once and was reborn as the Luocha-zi, effectively throwing away his life to force a change in his destiny. But now, as he watched the man leap into the Yin-Yang Ladder, he couldn't fathom how one could be reborn after such a death. Nothing grew within the Yin-Yang Ladder. Even with god-tier medical skills, where would he find the herbs to treat himself? *To hell with it. Stop thinking.* Mu Gesheng cast his chaotic thoughts aside and took the plunge, leaping in after him. Though Mu Gesheng had experienced the Ghost Soldier riot, he had never personally witnessed the sheer chaos of a vengeful spirit uprising. When the ancient city had been in peril, he had primarily been on the walls leading the defense; he hadn't experienced the carnage within the city itself. Later, when the Mountain Ghost Seal loosened, he had personally suppressed a batch of Ghost Soldiers on West Street, but that was after Wu Biyou had finished the General’s Nuo Dance. The malice had already weakened significantly, and with Lin Juansheng’s help, it hadn't been overly grueling. The current situation was the exact opposite. The scene within the Yin-Yang Ladder was nothing like Mu Gesheng remembered. The original color of the green stone steps was invisible, buried under a slurry of mud and blood that splashed with every step. A violent, metallic stench assaulted his senses, and everywhere he looked was a blur of coarse green and turbid red. Beneath the forest of souls, there was no sky and no sun. In truth, real Ghost Soldiers had no flesh and blood; when they dissipated, they left behind only a handful of green ash, not the gore that currently flooded the Ladder. Mu Gesheng realized the reason for this overwhelming carnage: these Ghost Soldiers were incomplete. The ones from the West Pass were the true Ghost Soldiers, and those had already been slain by Song Wentong and the others. The entities before him now were the vengeful, malevolent souls of those who had died on the day the city fell. "Where did the Heaven Counter think the soldiers and civilians who died in that battle went?" "Ghost Soldiers inherently possess the ability to assimilate resentment. Those souls who should have moved on to reincarnation were all sucked into the Yin-Yang Ladder." "They have become malevolent entities, beyond salvation." Unlike the disciplined, martial slaughter of the true Ghost Soldiers, the Yin-Yang Ladder was filled with hideous wailing and the sound of tearing flesh as ten thousand ghosts cannibalized one another. Large ghosts were often followed by many smaller ones, scavenging the remains left behind—though sometimes the large ghosts would eat the small ones too. When a large ghost ate too much, it would explode like an overfilled balloon, and the small ghosts would swarm forward to finish the feast. The strongest of the small ghosts would then become the new large ghost, a never-ending cycle. This place had become a second Avici Hell, where fierce ghosts were born and slaughtered one another without end. Yet, this was still far from becoming true Ghost Soldiers. Ghost Soldiers were entities of supreme malice, formed only after consuming countless amounts of resentment. It would likely take many more years for true Ghost Soldiers to be born from this Ladder. The long staircase seemed endless. Mu Gesheng walked for a long time, surrounded by the shrieking of ten thousand ghosts. He couldn't find Chai Shuxin. Eventually, he decided to simply roll down the stairs—he couldn't die anyway, and it was faster. Before he had rolled far, he slammed into something. Looking up, he saw a ghost with its mouth agape, swallowing an arm. Drenched in gore, the ghost stared at him, and blood splattered across Mu Gesheng’s face. Mu Gesheng froze—this was an illusion. Why could he touch this ghost? Then it clicked. According to the rules of the illusion, he could interact with everything—except living things. And the myriad vengeful spirits in the Yin-Yang Ladder were all dead. Man and ghost stared at each other. Mu Gesheng suddenly lunged upward, kicking the ghost square in the face. Caught off guard, the creature went tumbling down the stairs. *Holy shit! It actually works!* Mu Gesheng’s first instinct was to bolt. He had, after all, lived into the 21st century and seen plenty of sci-fi movies; he knew about time travel and quantum mechanics. If he messed something up here, the entire future timeline might be affected. The butterfly effect was no joke; better to run while he could. But reality had other plans. The stray ghost was enraged and let out a piercing shriek. A horde of ghosts gathered and began to pursue him. As he ran, Mu Gesheng cursed the little novice monk in his head. *Dammit, I knew the Heaven Counter lineage was nothing but a bunch of traps!* An old man’s legs weren't what they used to be. Mu Gesheng hadn't run far before he twisted his ankle and tumbled down the stairs. After a dizzying fall, he slammed into something else. Mu Gesheng braced himself for another ghost, but as he scrambled up, he realized he hadn't hit a ghost, but a mountain of corpses. Mangled flesh was piled high, and atop the mound sat a massive ghost. Its green pupils were as large as copper bells, staring fixedly at him. The smaller ghosts chasing him suddenly skidded to a halt and began to retreat. Mu Gesheng knew he had run into the "Big Boss." The good news was that the underlings were cowards; the bad news was he didn't know how tough the boss was. This pile of corpses was likely the boss's food stores. Messing with a man’s meal was as bad as kicking him in the groin; this wasn't going to end peacefully. He was in a hurry to find Chai Shuxin and didn't want to fight. Just as he was looking for a way to escape, he spotted something glinting silver within the pile of corpses. There was no sun or moon in the Yin-Yang Ladder. This was the first time Mu Gesheng had seen such a piercing glint. He squinted, and then he realized what it was. It was a military emblem. Mu Gesheng felt a loud *buzz* in his brain. It was as if all his blood rushed to his head at once. Ignoring the ghost atop the mound, he lunged forward, digging through the flesh. He grabbed the emblem and pulled out an entire garment—though it was shredded and filthy, Mu Gesheng recognized it instantly. It was a military uniform. He remembered the style. This was the uniform of his own troops. There was no doubt. Within this mountain of corpses and sea of blood lay countless men who had once served under him. The ghost boss was thoroughly enraged and roared as it charged down. Mu Gesheng slowly stood up, draping the uniform over his shoulders. He pulled a blade from the corpse pile and threw it with a backhand flick. The blade buried itself deep in the ghost’s eye. Because he had Chai Shuxin by his side, Mu Gesheng hadn't resorted to violence in years. It had been a long time since he had exerted himself like this. Everything felt like a subconscious reflex. His heart was a churning storm, and blood sprayed before his eyes. By the time he truly came to his senses, the ghost boss was a mangled mess beneath his blade. His hands and face were covered in blood, and an incoherent roar tore from his throat. After an unknown amount of time, Mu Gesheng tilted his head back. Blood dripped from his hair, and his vision was stained crimson. He knew this was just a momentary venting of frustration, ultimately futile. Even if his subordinates were buried in the pile beneath his feet, who knew what the ghost boss had been in life? Before these souls were sucked into the Yin-Yang Ladder, they might have been ordinary citizens of the city—perhaps people he had even known. For years, Mu Gesheng had avoided facing this truth. It wasn't until a century later, when the Mountain Ghost Seal loosened and he helped Wu Biyou suppress the Ghost Soldiers, that he felt a faint sense of relief, as if a long-avoided escape had finally found an exit. After a century of slaughter, the vengeful malice in the Yin-Yang Ladder finally transformed into Ghost Soldiers. The biggest difference between an ordinary wandering ghost and a Ghost Soldier was this: a wandering ghost relied on resentment to maintain its form; once killed, it would dissipate completely, never to enter the cycle of reincarnation. But because Ghost Soldiers possessed such heavy malice, they could condense a sliver of their essence. Even if they were destroyed, there was still a chance for rebirth. Back then, he had felt a sense of liberation. A century of accumulated resentment had vanished; dust to dust, earth to earth. The souls could finally walk the path of reincarnation. But now, the illusion had torn away the hidden past, spreading the shocking truth before his eyes. A century of slaughter, a century of resentment—the bloody reality of the Yin-Yang Ladder slammed into his heart. He had to face it eventually. The Heaven Counter lineage was mostly greedy for money, but they never dodged a debt. What was owed had to be repaid. He thought hazily: *Even if these souls will one day become Ghost Soldiers and find a path to rebirth, is devouring thousands upon thousands of their own kind really what they want?* If it were him, if he had to eat everyone around him just to gain a slim chance at reincarnation, he would rather his soul scatter then and there. Nothing was more cruel than fratricide. To linger on for a century in misery, or to die with human dignity? Since this was an illusion, perhaps there could be another ending. To hell with the butterfly effect. To hell with quantum mechanics. Mu Gesheng wiped the blood from his face, gripped his blade, and jumped off the corpse pile, walking toward the countless shrieking ghosts nearby. *** Ten days later, Song Wentong and Wu Zixu arrived at Kunlun’s Chengque Terrace. Their arrival seemed to be expected by the Zhu family. Zhu Yinxiao had been guarding the base of the mountain for three or four days, chewing on a piece of foxtail grass. When he finally saw them, he pounced on them like a madman, leaving all three of them covered in feathers. He was no longer the little brat who hadn't even grown his teeth. The youth’s frame had filled out; he was nearly as tall as Song Wentong now. His smile was bright, and even his eyelids seemed to radiate brilliance. "Lao Er! Lao San! I missed you guys so much!" "You've grown." Wu Zixu smiled and patted his shoulder. "I can't carry you anymore, can I, Lao Er?" Song Wentong looked him up and down and shook his head. "Even the biggest pot couldn't fit you now." "It’s fine, it’s fine!" Zhu Yinxiao shifted his form, turning into a three-foot-tall Zhuque. He wagged his tail and shook his head. "I can still fit like this! Lao Er, I’ve missed your cooking so much!" "If you miss my cooking, why are you transforming?" Song Wentong looked at him like he was an idiot. "Do you want me to throw you in the pot and boil you?" Zhu Yinxiao ruffled his feathers and fluttered onto Song Wentong’s head, huddling into a ball like a nesting hen. "That’s not what I meant. I just missed you guys." Wu Zixu burst out laughing, looking at Song Wentong. "That’s quite a distinctive hat you’ve got there." This was a trick Zhu Yinxiao had loved to play back at the Ginkgo Study. He didn't have Mu Gesheng’s guts to cause trouble while Song Wentong was cooking, so he would just squat obediently on the man’s head, waiting expectantly for the food to be ready. "You’re too damn heavy," Song Wentong said. "Get down." "Alright, alright! Follow me up the mountain." Zhu Yinxiao fluttered toward the peak. "Great-Grandfather said you were coming days ago..." Song Wentong watched his back and clicked his tongue. "A few years apart, and I think this unlucky brat has gotten even stupider." "Ignorance is bliss. Being a bit slow isn't a bad thing." Wu Zixu said softly, "It proves the Zhu family has protected him well." *** After an unknown amount of time, Mu Gesheng finally finished clearing the green steps. As far as the eye could see, not a single small ghost remained. He let out a long sigh and crouched down where he stood. Of course, it was impossible for him to clear all the vengeful spirits in the Yin-Yang Ladder in one go; not even the King of Heaven had that kind of power. Not far ahead of him, the Yin-Yang Ladder broke off. The steps vanished, leaving only an endless darkness stretching into the depths. He was still draped in the tattered military uniform, covered in blood and filth. He fumbled through the pockets and actually found a pack of cigarettes. Unfortunately, he had no light, so he just chewed on one dryly. The blood clots on the filter melted, tasting of bitter musk and rust. With him as the boundary, the green steps behind him were silent as the grave, while the darkness below hummed with blurred noise. Mu Gesheng leaned over to examine the break in the stairs. It didn't look like a natural fracture; it looked as if it had been cleaved apart by brute force. He felt the edge for a moment, suddenly remembering the strange spears held by the Ghost Soldiers. Could there be Ghost Soldiers already existing within the Yin-Yang Ladder? It wasn't impossible. When the Ghost Soldiers had rioted and poured out, the entrance to the Ladder was limited in size. Wu孽 and the others had suppressed most of them, but some might have slipped through the cracks. Mu Gesheng spat out the cigarette butt and roared into the darkness below: "Sanjiutian!" No one answered. Only a hollow echo returned. Mu Gesheng stood up, his legs a bit numb. He pulled the collar of the military uniform tight, looked up at the long staircase above him, and snapped to attention. With his fingers pressed together, he gave a crisp military salute. Then he turned and leaped into the depths of the darkness. *** | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 阴阳梯 | Yin-Yang Ladder | A supernatural dimension/staircase connecting the realms of the living and dead. | | 罗刹子 | Luocha-zi | Literally "Son of Rakshasa." A title/state Chai Shuxin attains, associated with fierce power. | | 乘雀台 | Chengque Terrace | "Sparrow-Mounting Terrace," a location in the Kunlun Mountains associated with the Zhu family. | | 朱雀 | Zhuque | The Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Symbols of Chinese constellations; Zhu Yinxiao's true form. | | 将军傩舞 | General’s Nuo Dance | A ritualistic exorcism dance mentioned as a past event. | | 煞气 | Malice / Malevolent Energy | A harmful, dark spiritual energy often found in vengeful spirits. | | 怨魂 | Vengeful Spirits | Souls filled with resentment that have not moved on to reincarnation. | | 阿鼻之地 | Avici Hell | The lowest level of Naraka (hell) in Buddhism, reserved for the worst sinners. | | 己身为祭 | Self as Sacrifice | To offer one's own body or life as a ritual offering. |