Ghost Messenger's Case - The Tale of a Soul Leaving the Body

Chapter 8

"Thanks for reminding me, I will."

"Alright, I'll tell you the first step: circulate your true energy throughout your body to protect your heart meridian; the second step: unify your mind and spirit, calm your mind and spirit; the third step: use your own spiritual power to silently recite the three incantations: 'Moonlight, illusory nebula, please open the gate to the demon realm for me.' After that, you can enter the demon realm."

"That's it, it's that simple."

"Yes, after entering the Demon Realm, there will be a man in red waiting at the edge of the Demon Realm. He will mistake you for me. Don't say anything, just ask him to take you to see the Spirit Void Mirror. If you understand everything, you can have that man in red escort you back to the human world from the Demon Realm."

"Okay, I'll try it now."

"Not now."

"What, why?"

"The gate to the demon realm can only be opened on moonlit nights."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You wasted my time."

Finally, night fell, and the bright moon hung in the sky. Following Cheng Lang's instructions, I recited the incantation, and suddenly I felt the bright moon in the sky emit thousands of rays of intense light, enveloping my body in them. Immediately, my body was submerged in the intense light.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a place shrouded in mist, surrounded by towering pine and cypress trees, their lush greenery creating a sense of eeriness amidst the tranquility. A cold wind blew by, and I couldn't help but shiver. I wondered to myself—was this the demon realm? How could it be so similar to the ghost realm?

Just then, a figure floated towards me. I tried hard to see the person clearly, but it wasn't a red-haired man at all. To my eyes, it was a ghost.

The figure floated in front of me. I looked closely and saw that its face was deathly pale, its eyes were vacant, and blood was flowing from the corners of its eyes. It was undoubtedly a ghost.

My doubts grew stronger, and I was about to ask him when, unexpectedly, he knelt down first.

"This humble servant greets Your Excellency the Ghost Messenger."

I was taken aback and asked, "You know me?"

He said, "I don't know you, Lord Ghost Messenger, but the Judge instructed me to welcome you here and now."

"What? The Demon Realm also has judges?"

"The Demon Realm?" he looked up at me, puzzled.

Knowing something was wrong, I asked first, "Stand up and speak. Isn't this the Demon Realm?"

“This is the realm of ghosts, sir,” he stood up and replied respectfully.

"What?" No wonder this place felt so familiar; it really is the Ghost Realm. But I clearly recited the incantation Cheng Lang taught me for the Demon Realm, and besides, I know the Ghost Realm incantation is completely different from the Demon Realm incantation. Why am I in the Ghost Realm?

"Please, sir?" He bowed slightly, extended his hand, and said.

"Where are you going?" I didn't understand what he meant for a moment.

"Go see the judge. The judge instructed me to lead the way."

"Oh, really? In that case, lead the way." I followed him, full of questions, wanting to see just who this judge was.

I followed him forward, and strangely enough, we seemed to have traveled to many places and seen many sights, but time flew by. Before long, we arrived in front of a magnificent palace, and he led me inside.

I couldn't help but ask, "Where is this place?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this is the Ghost King's Palace."

"No wonder it's so luxurious," I thought to myself.

Chapter Thirteen: The Judge and the Phantom Princess

There were many ghost soldiers guarding the palace, but they did not stop us when they saw us. I saw that the palace was a peaceful green, and the huge luminous pearls emitted a dazzling blue light. When we arrived at a side hall on the left side of the palace that was inlaid with jewels, the ghost stopped and said, "My lord, please come in."

"Aren't you coming in with me?"

“I am of lowly status and cannot enter. There are people waiting for you inside, sir.”

I nodded and entered the side hall. Sure enough, a richly dressed ghost greeted me, saying, "Greetings, Lord Ghost Messenger. The Judge has been waiting for quite some time."

I followed him into a long courtyard, where hundreds of flowers were in full bloom and birds were singing. It was hard to believe that this was a ghost realm.

Upon arriving at the door of a tall building, the ghost reported, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the Ghost Messenger has arrived."

A booming voice came from inside: "Quickly, invite him in."

Upon hearing this, the man opened the door and invited me in. As I stepped inside, I saw that one side of the room was filled with bookshelves, and the other side had several luxurious chairs. A large heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) was built against the wall, with a beautiful quilt and a small table on the kang where two people were playing Go.

One was a middle-aged man with a full beard, dressed in a bright red silk official robe, while the other was a radiant woman in an apricot-yellow dress. Seeing that their expressions were extremely solemn, I decided not to disturb them and waited for them to finish their game before asking questions. However, after a short while, the man threw down his chess piece and laughed loudly, "I concede defeat."

The woman smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind offer."

Then they both got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked at me. The man asked me, "Are you the ghost messenger Qu Ming?"

I looked at him and said, "Indeed, may I ask, are you the Judge?"

"Hahaha, it is indeed this old man."

“Qu Ming greets Your Excellency.” I wanted to kneel, but he grabbed me and said, “No, no, I dare not accept such an honor.”

I was puzzled by his words. The Judge of the Underworld was supposed to be one of the most important figures in the ghost realm, even above the Black and White Impermanence. I, a mere ghost messenger, should naturally kneel before him. Why then did he say he couldn't and dared not accept such a title?

At that moment, the woman laughed. I saw that her features were exquisite, her beauty as lovely as peach blossoms, and she unconsciously exuded a captivating charm that was mesmerizing. But clearly, she was not a ghost.

The judge said, "I was entrusted by Miss Mei to bring you to my judge's residence. Please don't take offense."

"You're too kind, sir. I wouldn't dare," I quickly replied.

"That's good, that's good. I'm sure you won't blame me when you return to your position."

"Return to your place?" I was completely baffled and could only smile wryly, "This humble servant truly does not understand what you mean, sir. Please enlighten me."

At this moment, the woman smiled and said, "You will understand these things in the future."

The judge said, "Yes, yes, I can't say it outright now. Alright, you and Miss Mei can talk it over here. I'll go out now." After saying that, he left without paying any attention to my dumbfounded state.

After he left, the girl with the eyebrows smiled at me and said, "Please sit down."

I forced myself to sit down and looked at her, saying, "I have never met you before, young lady. I wonder what brings you here?"

Upon hearing this, Gegede laughed, but remained silent.

I couldn't help but interrupt her laughter and asked, "What are you laughing at, young lady? Please speak plainly."

"You really don't recognize me, Senior Brother A-Ming?" Her voice suddenly sounded very familiar to me.

I almost jumped up in surprise, stammering, "You...you're A-Yu?"

She smiled and said, "You finally remembered me."

I looked at her. Her appearance was completely different from A Yu's, but she was just as beautiful and charming. Compared to A Yu's delicate and lovely face, she had a more alluring and captivating charm.

I asked her, "Why are you here? Is this your original appearance?"

Her gaze shifted as she said, "That's right, I'm asking you, am I prettier or is that Chu Luyu more charming?"

I chuckled and said, "Aren't you Chu Lüyu?"

She smiled faintly and said, "You still want to lie to me? Haven't you already seen my true form, and you already know my identity, don't you?"

I smiled and said, "In that case, I won't hide it from you anymore, but there are many things I don't understand, and I would like to ask you about them?"

She said, "Okay, go ahead and ask me whatever you want."

I nodded and said, "I heard before I came that you were the Demon Realm's Illusion Princess, but just now the Judge called you Miss Mei. I want to know who you really are?"

"The title 'Phantom Princess of the Demon Realm' is what outsiders call me. My name is Mei Shuixing. You can call me Phantom Princess or Miss Mei," she replied seriously, though her eyes and brows were full of smiles.

"Then... Miss Mei, may I ask if you did something to me? I was supposed to go to the Demon Realm, so how did I end up in the Ghost Realm?"

"You're a ghost messenger, why are you going to the demon realm instead of the ghost realm?"

"Miss Mei, please tell me the truth."

"Alright, then let me ask you, what are you going to the Demon Realm for?"

"I...I'm going to take care of something." I didn't know whether I should tell her or not, so I gave a vague answer.

“Go do something,” she sneered. “I think you’re going to your death.”

"What? Why do you say that, young lady?"

"The Demon Realm is currently controlled by the Night Demon, who is opening the gates wide, waiting for you to obediently walk into his trap."

"How could this be... and how did you know?"

She sneered, "I am the guardian of the demon realm, of course I know."

I gave a wry smile and said, "I don't quite understand, please explain."

She looked at me and said, "Has Cheng Lang already appeared inside your body? Did he send you to the Demon Realm? Did he send you to the Demon Realm to see the Spirit Void Mirror?" She asked me three questions in one breath, and every single one of them was absolutely accurate.

After hearing this, I could only stare at her blankly for a long time before finally uttering a question: "How...how did you know?"

"I was right, wasn't I? Luckily, I anticipated this, which is why I used my spiritual power to change the spell for you to go to the Demon Realm into a spell for you to come to the Ghost Realm."

"So it really was you who did it." I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Since you know all this, please tell me what exactly happened."

"You should go see the Spirit Mirror yourself."

"Isn't the Spirit Void Mirror in the Demon Realm? How do I see it?"

"Wait a minute, you'll see." She said, taking out a purple pill. "Take this pill first."

I stared at the pill in astonishment and asked, "What is this?"

She glared at me and said with a flirtatious smile, "What, are you afraid I'll harm you?"

To be honest, I was really nervous. After hesitating for a moment, I finally took the pill and said with a wry smile, "Okay, I can take it, but you have to answer a few questions for me first."

"You talk as if I've gotten such a great deal, you really don't know what's good for you... If you have any questions, just ask me."

"What kind of pill is this? I should at least know what I'm taking, right?"

"This is the Mind-Enhancing Pill. When you look at the Spirit Mirror later, it will firstly help you counteract the mirror's magic, and secondly, you will understand what happened and who you saw without needing anyone's guidance."

Chapter Fourteen: The Mirror of Spiritual Emptiness