With virtue

Zhao Yunshu planted the soul-summoning banner in the ground, straightened his old, tattered Taoist robe, and stepped forward to knock on the gate of the City God Temple.

The door knocker was knocked three times, and soon there was movement inside.

A sound of dragging chains could be heard as they approached. Two heavy doors creaked open from the inside, and a chilly breeze rushed out.

Two underworld officials stood at the entrance, both dressed in black robes, with iron plaques hanging from their waists and iron chains in their hands. Their faces were pale, their eyes were sunken, and their pupils glowed green.

He looks like he's been working a regular job. Even if he's a ghost messenger, he looks like he's been worked to death.

The underworld official looked Zhao Yunshu up and down, then peered at the vast procession of souls behind him. His pale face showed a hint of surprise, which quickly turned into understanding.

"Master Taoist," the underworld official said, bowing, "you've brought so many souls here in the dead of night, are you to send them to the temple?"

Zhao Yunshu bowed in return, picked up the soul-summoning banner, paused, and said, "Indeed, I passed through a deserted village and wiped out a nest of vengeful ghosts that had harmed people. I released all the innocent souls they had killed. On the way here, many more wandering souls were drawn here by the soul-summoning banner, so I brought them along as well. I would be grateful if you two officers could lead the way and take them to the temple to await their fate."

Upon hearing this, the underworld official showed admiration on his face. He glanced back at his companion, then turned back, bowed deeply, and said, "Daoist Master, you are truly compassionate. To be honest, in this world, there are fewer and fewer people like you who are willing to care about the souls of the dead."

He straightened up and sighed: "In peaceful years, during the Ghost Festival and Qingming Festival, the government would summon eminent monks and Taoist priests to set up altars and conduct grand water and land rituals to deliver the souls of the wandering ghosts. The City God Temple would also have sacrifices presided over by the imperial court, with abundant offerings and continuous incense burning. But now..."

He shook his head: "Taoist Master, you see, the incense in this temple has been cut off for almost half a year. The imperial court is too busy to take care of itself, and the government has no spare money to deal with these wandering ghosts. Even we officials are not having an easy time. Moreover, the more chaotic the world becomes, the more people die. We are so busy that we can't even keep up. Even if we had three heads and six arms, we couldn't manage to guide them all."

Another underworld official sighed, "Today, the Taoist priest alone has attracted more than a hundred souls, saving us a lot of trouble. The Taoist priest's actions are of immeasurable merit. We thank the Taoist priest on behalf of these souls."

After speaking, the two underworld messengers clasped their hands and bowed deeply to Zhao Yunshu.

Zhao Yunshu quickly dodged to the side, waving his hand and saying, "I dare not accept such praise. I was just doing it along the way; it was nothing more than a small favor."

He turned to look at the dark mass of souls behind him. The souls seemed to know that they were about to find their final resting place, and their originally numb and dull faces showed a hint of hope.

The leading underworld official flicked the soul-reaping rope in his hand to the ground, and the chain unfurled with a clatter, emitting a ghostly green light.

He raised his voice and shouted, "You dead souls, heed my command! Line up in order and follow me into the temple. Once you enter this gate, you will be in the underworld. Those with grievances, plead your cases; those with sins, atone for your sins. Accept your fate, and do not make a fuss or cause any disturbance!"

After saying this, he shook the Soul-Hooking Lock, and the iron chain stretched out in the night sky as if it were alive, turning into two green light bands that slowly gathered more than a hundred dead souls into them.

The souls of the dead awoke as if from a dream!

It turns out that as soon as they stepped into the underworld, even just at the border, it was as if they had unloaded a thousand-pound burden.

The spirits of the dead suffer from the wind's cutting force and the sun's scorching heat. Wandering in the wilderness, these lonely ghosts endure endless torment. If they encounter thunderstorms and are struck by thunder, they suffer even more, helpless and confused, unable to even remember their own names.

Now that they had entered the underworld, the yin energy nourished their souls, and with the protection of the City God's spiritual light, their originally blurry faces gradually became clear.

They looked down at their hands, which had become firm again; some were bewildered, some were sorrowful, and some wept uncontrollably.

Just now, in the mortal realm, they couldn't even cry, but now they could finally have a good cry. For a moment, the sound of sobbing and weeping rose and fell in front of the temple.

Many more wild ghosts knelt down and kowtowed to Zhao Yunshu.

More than a hundred ghosts bowed down together, a chilling wind blew, and ghostly shadows flickered, creating a spectacular scene.

Zhao Yun stood in front of the temple, watching this scene. He looked down at the straw figure at his waist, where Jiu Yan's soul was sealed. She was quiet and still, and it was hard to tell whether she was asleep or pretending to be dead.

He patted the straw effigy and whispered, "You've seen it too. Go in obediently and atone for your sins."

The two underworld officials remained silent, only shaking open the soul-hooking lock, which transformed into two long ribbons of light that gathered the souls of the dead into them. They urged in a low voice, "Go, go. Once you enter this gate, you will be in the City God's territory. Those with grievances can plead their cases, those with grievances can complain. After the judge records your names, those who are meant to be reincarnated will be reincarnated, and those whose grievances are to be redressed will have their grievances redressed. It's better than being a lonely ghost outside."

Upon hearing this, the spirits bowed three times in the direction of Zhao Yunshu before filing in and disappearing behind the dark gate of the City God Temple.

Zhao Yunshu stood at the bottom of the steps, watching the departing souls disappear into the doorway, before finally letting out a long breath.

He pulled the tattered soul-summoning banner from the ground, rolled it up casually, and stuffed it into his bundle. He then took off the straw figure sealed with the Nine Beauties from his waist and handed it to the underworld messenger in front of him.

The underworld messenger accepted the item and carefully put it away. He then cupped his hands in a salute to Zhao Yunshu and said, "We will certainly report this righteous act of yours to the City God. You have accumulated merit."

The once noisy area in front of the temple gradually quieted down. More than a hundred souls, guided by the underworld officials, filed in and entered through the main gate one by one.

However, Zhao Yunshu noticed that there were still about a dozen dead souls rotting outside the door. They stood blankly at the bottom of the steps, not knowing whether to go in or go back. The little bit of hope that had just appeared on their faces gradually faded away.

Zhao Yunshu frowned, stepped forward, and bowed to the leading underworld official, asking, "May I ask, sir, why are these souls unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation?"

The underworld official glanced back, sighed, and lowered his voice, saying, "Taoist priest, you may not know this, but it's not that we're unwilling to take these souls in; their bodies have been suppressed by someone."

"Stunned?" Zhao Yunshu was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

The underworld official hung the soul-catching lock on his waist, shook his head, and said with a helpless tone, "Taoist priest, after a person dies, their soul leaves the body and should be found by the underworld officials according to the Book of Life and Death. If it is a wandering ghost, it can be reincarnated if it is brought here by someone. However, if the body is suppressed by someone with evil magic, the soul is locked to the body. Even if it arrives at the entrance of the City God Temple, it cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation. This is the case with these dead souls. Although the person is dead, the soul is brought here by the soul-summoning banner, but the body is still suppressed by someone. Even if we want to take it in, we cannot."

"Such a thing is true?" Zhao Yunshu frowned even more deeply. "Do you know who did this?"

The underworld official smiled bitterly and said, "If only you knew, Daoist Master, these strange things have been happening more and more often lately. In the past, I would only encounter one or two cases every few months. Most of them were caused by sorcerers who used a curse to prevent people from being reincarnated."

"But nowadays, large groups of people come every few days, and most of them are refugees who have fled from war. This is truly a matter of the living world, and we can't control it, so there's nothing we can do."

He sighed again and continued, "The number of refugees is increasing, and the number of dead is increasing. Unfortunately, these souls cannot be reincarnated and are trapped between the realms of Yin and Yang. Day after day, their resentment grows stronger and stronger. Some originally harmless ghosts are gradually transformed into vengeful spirits by being enveloped by their resentment. In the past few months, the number of ghost stories has increased several times over. Alas, if this continues, I'm afraid something terrible will happen."