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Rape, mass murder, grievous injuries.
The spirit1To clarify: the author writes Wu Ruo’s name here, but where possible, I’m opting to use ‘the spirit’ instead to distinguish between current Wu Ruo who is having this dream and the Wu Ruo of the previous lifetime whose perspective he is spectating from. looked towards the entrance of the estate; Wu Bofang hurriedly rushed in with a few clan elders.
Wu Bofang looked at Wu Ruo, who had turned into a ghostly spirit, and couldn’t help but be stunned.
“Have mercy?” the spirit looked at Wu Bofang, both aggrieved and ridiculing: “When they destroyed my dad’s spiritual field, did they have any mercy? When they murdered my older brother, did they ever think of having mercy? And my younger sister, Wu Xi, when they instigated Ba Se to put a curse on her, did they consider having mercy?”
With eyes full of resentment and hatred, it2I’m using it/its pronouns for the spirit of Wu Ruo from the previous lifetime and will use he/him when referring to current Wu Ruo. If you spot any mistakes with the pronouns, please leave a comment and let me know! pointed at Wu Bofang and said severely: “And you, Wu Bofang, you are constantly surveilling the ongoings of every main estate. I don’t believe that you were really unaware of the plans to destroy my dad’s spiritual field and the deaths of my siblings. Hah, at that time, did you ever beg for mercy on behalf of us from Shuqing Garden? You probably didn’t, did you?”
Wu Bofang: “…”
“Wu Bofang, watch carefully and see how they die one after another in front of you. The Wu family that you’re most proud of will be destroyed in an instance tonight. Even those disciples that are out on experience trainings and those daughters that have married out of the family, I won’t let go of a single one.”
Wu Bofang was so stricken by its words that his body couldn’t help but sway a little.
The elder behind him said agitatedly: “Wu Ruo, go after the ones who have harmed your family, but you shouldn’t implicate innocent people!”
“Were my older brother, younger sister, dad and mum not also innocent? Which of you ever offered a helping hand? If any of you had done so, then the events of today wouldn’t have happened.” The spirit looked at the bodyguards and said, cold and furious: “Still not getting a move on it?”
The bodyguards immediately stripped the robes of Sang Dongyi and the others bare, and got right into assaulting them. The estate was full of the sounds of filth and brutal fighting.
Wu Qianli said in a fury: “Wu Ruo, you bastard!”
Wu Qianjing roared: “Wu Ruo, if we knew this was going to happen, we should have killed you a long time ago!”
Wu Qianbin also called out wrathfully: “Wu Ruo, you should die miserably!”
“Die miserably?” the spirit flew forth to its body, it pointed at its corpse and laughed coldly: “I’ve never done anything disappoint any of you, but did I manage to die peacefully? Hah, the ones who should die miserably should be all of you instead!”
Everyone: “…”
Hei Xuanyi walked forth and lowered himself, carefully scooping up Wu Ruo’s body, which had been burned beyond recognition as a human corpse. Under everyone’s gaze, he kissed the blackened forehead without paying the slightest bit of attention to them. With a hoarse and icy voice, he said: “Slaughter. Them. All.”
Those three words were clearly full of bloodthirst, but Wu Ruo could feel Hei Xuanyi’s internal agony.
The spirit watched dazedly as Hei Xuanyi carried its body out of the estate. It was as though all its viciousness had also been carried away from here. The other two Gui people carried Wu Qianqing and Guan Tong’s corpses and left.
The spirit couldn’t help but follow after them.
The Gui people had received their orders and hardened their resolves to kill3痛下杀手 (tong xia sha shou): the common idiom is 痛下决心 (tong xia jue xin) which means ‘to harden [one]’s resolve’ or ‘to make a painful decision’. In this case, the word jue xin, which can refer to one’s resolution or determination of a decision, has been replaced with sha shou, which we can understand as the act of killing. The Gui people are gearing up to kill..
As for Wu Qianli and the others, they would only be killed after they had witnessed their wives and children be sullied.
Wu Bofang was the last one to die after watching his entire clan dying tragically.
The spirit ignored the shrill shrieks behind it, and quietly followed after Hei Xuanyi.
After exiting the main gates of the Wu estate, Hei Xuanyi carried the corpse and boarded a floating palanquin. The Gui people carried him and flew back to Hei Manor. After that, they stopped at the main entrance of Hei Manor.
As he took a step over the threshold, Hei Xuanyi paused and said hoarsely: “Xiao-Ruo, we’re home.”
The spirit suddenly had the urge to sob loudly. After being married to this man for so many years, this was the first time that Hei Xuanyi was speaking to it so intimately4Just a brief reminder that the prefix xiao changes a name into its diminutive form, and in the past life, Hei Xuanyi probably would not have used this form of endearment when addressing Wu Ruo while they were both still alive..
It hummed in acknowledgement, extremely distressed.
Hei Xuanyi cradled its corpse tightly, and stepped forth into Hei Manor.
Hei Xin walked over, looking at the spirit in disbelief: “Furen, you…”
The spirit smiled wretchedly.
Hei Xuanyi commanded: “Hei Xin, set up the array.”
Hei Xin came back to his senses: “Which array, sir?”
“The grim reaper is on their way.”
The spirit was stunned. That’s right, it had been forcefully kept in this realm by Hei Xuanyi before turning into a vengeful spirit. If it didn’t leave, it would be captured by the grim reaper. Therefore, it was necessary to use special measures to hide from the grim reaper.
“This old servant understands.”
Hei Xin and a few bodyguards located the items required to set up the array and then returned to the main estate to quickly set it up.
Hei Xuanyi placed the spirit’s corpse onto the bed in the bedroom, then he took out a piece of equipment and told the spirit: “Hide inside here first.”
“But, you…”
As an Yin-Yang practitioner, the spirit was very clear how difficult a task it was to go up against the grim reaper with a human’s body. For those who got off lightly, they would suffer damage to their spiritual energy. For those who didn’t, it was very likely that they would have to pay with their lives. Of course, there were those who were lucky enough to successfully hide from the grim reaper but those were extremely few.
Hei Xuanyi closed his eyes: “Do you want to go with the grim reaper?”
The spirit hurriedly responded: “No.”
“Then come in here.”
The spirit hesitated for a moment, then hid into the piece of equipment. Inside, it was entirely black. On top of that, it was impossible to sense what was going on outside. Extremely helpless, the thick and dense emnity in its heart was gradually eroded a fair bit by a certain vast sense of unease.
Only after an unknown length of time was it released out of the equipment. What came into its vision was a house full of black cloths covering the windows, so that the sunlight from outside couldn’t fall within.
The spirit rapidly turned around and saw Hei Xuanyi sitting with his legs crossed5Just to clarify, he’s not sitting with one leg over the other knee, he’s sitting criss cross applesauce. on the bed: “The grim reaper?”
Hei Xuanyi didn’t respond to it, only gesturing for it to come closer.
The spirit obediently went over, stepping into an array that Hei Xuanyi had already set up earlier.
Using the array, Hei Xuanyi transferred some of his own spiritual energy to the spirit, allowing the spirit to form a corporeal body for a short period of time, so that it didn’t have to be afraid of sunlight6Ghostly spirits are believed to be made up of yin energy, whereas the sun is a natural and intense source of yang energy. If I recall, it’s not explicitly stated in the narrative, but it’s likely that being exposed to sunlight would immediately disintegrate the ghostly spirit of previous lifetime Wu Ruo. By transferring spiritual energy to the spirit and giving it a corporeal form, the spirit will not be destroyed by sunlight..
The spirit watched its own body materialize bit by bit, and pleasure flashed across its eyes.
Suddenly, with a ‘pu’ sound, Hei Xuanyi spat a mouthful of fresh blood, spraying across its body.
The spirit was stunned, then saw Hei Xuanyi collapsing onto the bed.
“Hei Xuanyi!” It hastily supported Hei Xuanyi’s body and took his pulse only to realize that his body was extremely weak, no different than a person who was about to die. In the next moment, it wanted to take a bottle of medicine out from its void space, but it was already dead and had no spiritual energy. There was simply no way to access its void space. On top of that, it was already dead and didn’t know if it still had those skills.
“Hei Xin, Hei Xin, come in quickly!”
Hei Xin rapidly pushed the door open and entered: “Furen, what happened?”
The spirit said, distressed: “It’s Hei Xuanyi, he’s dying!”
Hei Xin urgently fed Hei Xuanyi a medicine pill, and sighed with a frown: “Master, how could you be so careless with yourself? We only managed to hide from the grim reaper after you used up all your spiritual energy and damaged your spiritual field. Yet this morning, you still transferred spiritual energy to the furen. Even a body made of steel wouldn’t be able to endure it.”
Hearing this, the hands of the spirit that had been holding onto Hei Xuanyi unconsciously tightened. It cradled the person in its arms and didn’t speak.
Hei Xin reminded it: “Furen, you should let the master lie down and rest properly.”
The spirit thought of how Hei Xuanyi was still wounded, and hurriedly laid him down properly. It wrote a prescription for Hei Xin to prepare medicine for Hei Xuanyi’s consumption. After confirming that Hei Xuanyi had recovered a bit of spiritual energy, then only did it ask: “What about my dad and mum?”
Hei Xin said: “Qinjia Master and furen7Reminder: qinjia refers to in-laws. have already been coffined, and are at rest in the main hall.”
“Thank you.” The spirit clenched its fists, and walked out of the building towards the main hall to see his parents.
The main hall was already set up as a mourning hall. The spirit’s parents had been coffined together inside a large coffin. Wu Qianqing’s hand and head were already reattached to his body. Guan Tong had also been dressed in new robes. They looked extremely peaceful, as if they were sleeping.
“Dad, Mum, leave in peace. If you meet dage and xiaomei, then tell them I’ve already gotten revenge for them. As for Ruan Zhizheng and his master, I definitely won’t let them off.” The spirit said sorrowfully as it helped Wu Qianqing and Guan Tong to tidy their robes.
“Master!” A bodyguard by the door suddenly shouted.
The spirit lifted its head and saw Hei Xuanyi walking in, so it hurriedly went forth to support him: “Your body is so weak, why aren’t you resting in the bedroom?”
Hei Xuanyi glanced at the hand supporting his forearm: “Today is dad and mum’s funeral, how could I rest?”
The spirit was deeply moved, and firmly held onto Hei Xuanyi’s forearm without a word.
Hei Xuanyi’s expression turned hesitant. He lifted a hand and patted it on the shoulder, consoling it: “Don’t be sad.”
The spirit quickly hugged its man: “Hei Xuanyi, thankfully you’re still here.”
If it weren’t for this man, its revenge wouldn’t even have been taken.
Hei Xuanyi: “…”
It was the first time that this person was taking the intiative to hug him.
The hand that he’d placed on the spirit’s shoulder gradually slid down, and he embraced the person in his arms.
“Hei Xuanyi, help me find Ruan Zhizheng and his master. They were the ones who killed me and my parents.”
Hei Xuanyi thought of the person who had killed Wu Ruo, and his eyes flashed with a perverse ruthlessness: “I will.”
The spirit hugged him tightly without a word. Now, it was only left with this man. It was only left with just this man.
After five days, the funeral procession was held8Some cultural tidbits: I’m personally only familiar with the Buddhist funeral rites and process and from the description in text, it sounds like that’s what’s going on here. For Buddhist Chinese funerals, the body is typically embalmed and then placed in a coffin and then mourned over for a few days. There’s normally a Buddhist monk and some praying, as well as a vigil. In the past, the funeral would be conducted within the home of the deceased. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for this to be conducted at a funeral parlour or somewhere near but not inside of the home of the deceased. Afterward, the deceased would be buried on ancestral land and if the family has a memorial hall, a plaque would be placed within the hall for the deceased. These plaques are typically never removed and descendants for many generations would conduct ancestor worship. If you’d like more information, feel free to ask in the comments.. The spirit didn’t make use of the Wu family’s ancestral land but instead bought a brand new piece of land to bury his dad and mum. It also moved its older brother’s grave over. After that, it dragged all the Wu family members in front of his dad and mum’s graves, burning them there as sacrificial offerings9Sacrificial offerings to the deceased are usually burnt, in the belief that the burning will allow the material items to be transported to the afterlife for the deceased. In modern day funerals, items such as paper houses, clothes, vehicles, money, etc. will be burned to accompany the deceased so that they have these necessities even in the afterlife. Particularly, food and drink offerings are not burnt and only need to be placed on a table in front of the deceased’s plaque, then offered with prayers. to his dad and mum.
After the burial, the spirit burned down the entire Wu estate in a fire.
This massive fire burned for three days and three nights. None of the commoners in Gaoling City dared to go near; they only knew that the Wu family all died in the span of a single night. But no one knew the reason why.
After Hei Xuanyi was almost fully recovered, they embarked on the journey of finding Ruan Zhizheng and his master.
On this journey, they killed all of the disciples of the Wu family that were out for experience training, as well the daughters who had married into other families. Even their husbands’ families weren’t left intact.
In the short period of two months, over ten families were were brutally exterminated.
Afterwards, they received news that Ruan Zhizheng was hiding right in the capital city, so the spirit and Hei Xuanyi decided to take up residence in Huangdu City.
On the day that they moved in, Hei Yin brought the remains of Wu Xi that he had painstakingly recovered from Kambuja10Reminder: This is a Chinese fantasy setting story but the author chose to include Cambodia in it, as the country that Ba Se originates from, even though the story is set in the fictional country of Tianxing. I think it’s racist to make one of the villains in the story come from a Southeast Asian country, with China’s track record of portraying Southeast Asian countries as backward and barbaric. However, I’m also 100% sure that if I chose a fictional name for Ba Se’s country of origin, I wouldn’t be able to keep track of it over the course of my translation. I chose to use a historical name for Cambodia instead, which is not a lot better than just using its current name, but it’s the most doable compromise that I could come up with. If any Cambodians would like to chime in and correct me, please leave a comment. I’m really sorry about this. to the residence in Huangdu City and presented it to the spirit.
The spirit was both pleased and deeply moved. Ever since its dad and mum had been buried, it had thought of going to Kambuja to retrieve Wu Xi’s remains many times, so that she could be reunited with its dad and mum. However, it was also embarrassed to request this of Hei Xuanyi. Because in this period of time, Hei Xuanyi had already helped it a lot. Hei Xuanyi gave it anything that it wanted. Whoever it wanted to kill, they would have to die. So, it didn’t want to trouble Hei Xuanyi any further, so it left Wu Xi to rest in peace in Kambuja.
However, it never thought that, even though it had never mentioned this matter to Hei Xuanyi, yet Hei Xuanyi knew what it was thinking and even sent Hei Yin to bring Wu Xi’s remains back.
The spirit looked at the man who had been quietly accompanying it this entire time as it excitedly ran its hands over the urn containing the remains, and couldn’t help but ask: “Hei Xuanyi, why are you treating me so well?”
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