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墨書 Inktalez
Yama's Wedding
"Xue, where are we heading next?"
Yao Guang and Xue were resting in a tea house, having left Xiao Yao Villa over half a month ago. A fortnight prior, as they departed from Xiao Yao Villa, Xue had sensed the presence of some treasure to the north using his magical abilities. Thus, for the past half month, Xue and Yao Guang had been making their way northward, stopping occasionally along the journey.
Xue set down his teacup and said to Yao Guang, "Let's cross through this forest and reach the town before dark to find an inn."
"Are you two travelers heading to the next town?" A nearby man overheard Xue and approached them.
"Yes. What's the matter?" Yao Guang noticed that the man seemed to have something to say.
"I advise you both not to go through that forest. It's haunted." The man said, nervously patting his chest as if recalling a frightening experience.
Yao Guang's interest piqued at once. He grabbed the man's arm and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
The man waved his hands dismissively, clearly reluctant to elaborate. "I only heard it from others; I don't know the specifics. But looking at you two, it's better not to venture into that forest."
"Just tell us what you've heard," Yao Guang pressed on.
"Sir, I truly don't know much; I'm just trying to warn you out of kindness."
After pondering for a moment, Yao Guang pulled out a silver coin from his pocket and placed it on the table. "How about this?"
Xue frowned slightly, unsure about Yao Guang's approach.
The man's eyes lit up at the sight of the silver coin. "You two really want to know such terrifying things? Especially you, miss; I fear it might frighten you."
Yao Guang shrugged off his concern. "That's not your worry. Just tell us what you know."
The man at the table pocketed the silver and said knowingly, "Since you wish to know, I will certainly tell you everything."
"What was all that about ghosts earlier?" Xue asked. Yao Guang initially thought Xue wasn't interested in the matter, but it seemed that Xue was simply more patient than he was.
"Ah, the ghostly matters!" the man replied. "Since you’ve brought it up, let me share. There’s a group of ghosts in this forest. I’ve heard that a band of robbers once died here, and they were eliminated by the government. All forty-eight of those robbers were burned to death inside; it was a gruesome sight, and their wails could be heard for half a mile. After that, tales of ghosts began to circulate, and everyone believed it was those robbers returning for revenge."
Robbers? Although Xue didn’t know much about worldly affairs, he thought that the government’s extermination of those robbers was a good deed for the common people. How could they have turned into ghosts?
"Shouldn't those robbers have been executed? In that case, the government did something good," Xue remarked.
"What good deed? Bah!" The man scoffed at Xue's comment.
"What kind of expression is that? Isn’t it true?" Yao Guang asked in confusion. Seeing the man's reaction made Xue feel puzzled as well.
"Those robbers were still robbers, but they were not much different from ordinary folks. At least from our perspective, they were far better than those from the government," he explained.
"How so?" Xue continued to inquire.
The man seemed to gain momentum and didn’t wait for further prompting from Xue. "You see, in these chaotic times, there are all kinds of people. We ordinary folks are often bullied by others. In the past, there were some robbers living in that forest. Although they were robbers, they never targeted us common people; instead, they often robbed the rich to help the poor. In this area, no poor person has gone without their aid. We lived in peace with them for a long time." At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to Xue and Yao Guang, "Gentlemen, you must not share this with anyone else; it could cost me my head."
"Rest assured, we won’t tell anyone. It’s your secret; please continue," Yao Guang quickly assured him upon seeing his nervousness.
With Yao Guang's promise, the man felt more at ease and continued, "The government always wanted to eliminate them. Everyone knew who the real robbers were and who truly cared for us; we didn’t care whether they were officials or robbers—those who treated us well were our benefactors. So when those soldiers came several times without success, eventually the government had no choice but to send a prefect out of nowhere. I don’t know what methods he used, but he had all those people burned alive in the forest—forty-eight of them! Not a single person escaped from that bandit hideout; it was tragic." The man sighed at this point.
"You seem quite sympathetic towards them; your words suggest something else," Yao Guang teased him.
"Oh dear! Gentlemen, I didn’t mean it like that! Please don’t misunderstand!" The man turned pale at Yao Guang's words and hurriedly denied it.
"Yao Guang, don't scare others." "What? It's not scary at all; that's just boring."
"What about the haunting?" Xue asked, noticing that Er was quite frightened and quickly changing the subject.
"Ever since that forest was burned down, people have reported hearing lively voices coming from within. When they went in to check, they found the Burned Down Stronghold brightly lit, with people dining inside—faces of those who used to be there. If that's not a haunting, then what is it?" Er wiped the sweat off his brow from being scared by Yao Guang, still feeling uneasy as he cautiously glanced at her.
Upon hearing Er's words, Xue fell into deep thought. Yao Guang noticed that Er had no more questions and quickly sent him away.
Er had been eager to leave; as soon as Yao Guang told him to go, he hurried down. Earning this silver really wasn't easy. If he got scared by this girl a few more times, he might end up dead from fright instead of by a ghost.
"Xue, what do you think about this..." Once Er had left, Yao Guang asked.
"Whether it's a haunting or not, we need to take a look inside. I can sense something unusual about this forest; it seems to have the aura of a Soul Gathering Lantern."
"What is a Soul Gathering Lantern?" Yao Guang inquired.
"It's a lamp that was stolen from my Underworld a thousand years ago. It can gather souls. If it really is that lamp, it would be greatly beneficial for your soul."
Yao Guang was surprised to learn that even the Underworld could be robbed. She realized that there were indeed people who would venture into the Underworld to steal.
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