Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 18: Henceforth Justice

Jia Xu seemed to grab onto a lifeline. He suddenly turned his head to look at Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu sighed. “Don’t get too excited. I’m just giving you a heads-up. You still have to go.”

Jia Xu was speechless.

A heads-up? As brothers tied to the same chain, Fang Xiu had seen everything Jia Xu had. It wasn’t like Jia Xu had ignored the clues, but they were completely contradictory.

For instance, Old Man Fu claimed he wanted to escape misfortune, offering food and drink, yet set up a ghost maze at the temple fair.

For instance, the information hinted at cooperation between humans and spirits, with the spirits seeming to follow some rules, but occasionally showing malicious intent.

……

“It’s actually quite simple,” Fang Xiu interrupted his thoughts. “First, they’re constantly imitating the villagers.”

Fourth Master raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Fang Xiu said sincerely, “When we arrived, they didn’t bother us directly. Instead, it was the village chief who approached the people outside and offered food and drink.”

“They held a temple fair, sent us invitations. The village chief brought us fresh meat, and the villagers kept stuffing gifts into our hands… Ever since the ritual began, they’ve been warmly hosting their guests.”

Everyone fell silent, and Bai Shuangying felt a bit of satisfaction.

Finally, these humans experienced that feeling of “it makes sense, but something’s off”.

“They killed Brother Scar. You clearly saw it…” Jia Xu struggled to say.

“That’s normal. A village this big is bound to have some impolite villagers. Besides, the taboo allows us to fight back.”

Fourth Master pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, what’s the second point?”

Fang Xiu’s smile faded a bit. “Weishan Village worships gods.”

Fourth Master: “Isn’t that obvious? The shrine is so bizarre, and they rebuilt it after it burned down.”

Fang Xiu continued calmly, “We encountered Old Man Fu twice, and the lyrics sung by the suona band were different each time.”

“The shrine’s couplets and the invitation’s couplets didn’t match. There were two lines about the ‘E’, likely added by the spirits.”

“Tonight, before we even arrived, the play was already being performed in front of the god’s shrine. When the four chairs faced the shrine, and when they faced us, the script was different.”

He paused. “Evil spirits are inherently evil, but since they’re trying to imitate the villagers, they wouldn’t lie to the gods.”

Jia Xu looked bewildered. He couldn’t remember so many details.

Understanding, Fang Xiu added, “Let’s not talk about the opera. Only two lines in the couplets can serve as clues.”

“The shrine’s couplet reads, ‘Do no evil, heaven’s blessings are far-reaching; Practice all virtue, and the rain that nurtures all things brings deep fellowship.’”

“The suona band sang in front of the shrine, ‘God descends from Weishan, and the guests arrive with bitter rain.'”

Jia Xu shuddered. “Are you saying, besides these two lines…?”

“Anything unrelated to the shrine can’t be trusted,” Fang Xiu said.

Upon hearing “Evil spirits are inherently evil”, Bai Shuangying glanced at Fang Xiu, but Fang Xiu avoided his gaze.

Bai Shuangying lowered his eyes to look at the flower on his chest. Under the bright light at the shrine’s entrance, the flower now looked rather fake.

Fourth Master pondered. “There’s a problem with what you’re saying. Just now, you mentioned that the spirits were warmly hosting us, and now you’re saying they’re collectively lying.”

Fang Xiu’s smile deepened again.

With his back to the shrine’s door, his lips curved upward, but his eyes under his bangs showed no light. In the candlelight, that smile was gentle yet eerie.

“Because there is no god here, only the E.”

He whispered, “The ‘E’ is a dead thing that only follows strict rules, as long as it seems reasonable on the surface.”

Fourth Master surely understood. If the “E” could distinguish intent, a madman wouldn’t have broken the taboo by being “forced to burn the shrine.”

As expected, Fourth Master let out a breath. “Right, ‘hospitality’ is an easy loophole, but ‘lying to God’ is harder to fake.”

“That’s it?” Jia Xu was drenched in sweat. “I know they’re pretending to be villagers, and I know they won’t lie to God, but then what?”

“Then, it’s up to your intelligence.” Fang Xiu patted his shoulder.

Jia Xu: “……”

Under Fourth Master’s stern gaze, Jia Xu grimaced and stepped into the shrine. He held his breath for a full ten seconds after crossing the threshold. Nothing happened. It was as if it were just an ordinary, empty room.

“Go sit in that chair,” Fourth Master continued to direct.

Jia Xu slowly sat on the rosewood armchair. The armrests felt smooth and polished, as if they had aged over time.

Seeing that the chair didn’t change, Jia Xu relaxed a bit, only to realize he couldn’t get up. He was stuck to the chair, which was firmly fixed to the ground.

At the same time, a line of spirits quickly formed in front of the shrine. Perhaps due to the lack of a deity statue, the first three directly stepped into the shrine.

Three spirits stood in front of Jia Xu, two short and one tall.

One had short limbs with no neck, covered in yellow mud; another had greenish skin and a twisted posture, as if stuffed into an invisible wine jar; and between them stood a zombie with purplish-blue skin.

Fang Xiu chuckled and turned to whisper to Bai Shuangying, “Look, it’s like a stir-fried trio of vegetables come to life.”

Bai Shuangying took a moment to recall what “three vegetable stir-fry” meant.

…He struggled to hold back his laughter, his lips twitching slightly.

The potato spirit and green pepper spirit spoke in unison. “Honored guest, pass judgment—this one has deceived us, staying and eating with both of us—”

“Honored guest, pass judgment—decide who shall take it home—”

“Either is fine,” Fang Xiu muttered. “Potato and eggplant, green pepper and eggplant—they’re both delicious.”

Bai Shuangying, staring intently, used all his ten years of cultivation to keep a straight face.

Jia Xu couldn’t hear Fang Xiu’s jokes. He was drenched in sweat.

He was supposed to deliver justice? How? He couldn’t even tell the gender of these creatures!

Fang Xiu sighed, just about to give a hint, when Jia Xu, full of terror, blurted out, “Silence!”

The voice was sharp and strange, clearly not Jia Xu’s own. It seemed no outside help was allowed, so Fang Xiu closed his mouth.

Jia Xu then stammered through a few questions, asking things like “Who got involved first?” and “Who lived together first?” The spirits stared at him intently, and both sides gave identical answers.

Jia Xu’s sweaty hands soaked the chair. “What do you want, exactly…?”

“Honored guest, pass judgment—punish the wicked, reward the good, and let the couple return home—”

The spirits chanted in unison.

“Honored guest, honored guest, honored guest—”

Seeing Jia Xu hesitate, the spirits’ voices grew sharper. Blondie and Fourth Master covered their ears.

Jia Xu’s seven orifices began to bleed. Unable to bear it any longer, he randomly pointed at the potato spirit. “You go with this one!”

In an instant, three ghostly faces turned; one smiled, and the other two cried.

“Unfair! Unfair!” screamed Green Pepper.

Jia Xu nearly passed out from the noise. Moments later, two spirits grabbed his arms. At some point, Old Man Fu’s suona band had arrived.

The faceless spirits lifted their heads. “The wicked guest has bent the law for personal gain. He shall be detained first. When the fair ends, he will be expelled from the village.”

Expulsion from the village was essentially a death sentence. Jia Xu froze.

Just like that? He had made a small mistake, and it was that simple…?

“I’ll reconsider. Let me ask again!” He struggled wildly. “I was just talking nonsense earlier!”

The faceless spirits didn’t listen. They dragged Jia Xu forcefully, heading toward the true god’s shrine.

“Help me. Save me…” Jia Xu clung to the threshold, tears streaming down his face.

His skin changed forms in vain, but no matter what Jia Xu transformed into, he couldn’t escape the restraints.

Watching the suona band approach, the others didn’t dare respond. Cheng Songyun turned her head in pity.

Fang Xiu clapped his hands expressionlessly. “Looks like when past ‘guests’ made mistakes, the village chief could punish them.”

Cheng Songyun stammered, “T-The taboo?”

Fang Xiu: “No, it’s just exploiting loopholes. They’re still mimicking the villagers… They want to ‘reasonably and legitimately’ kill us within the rules.”

“We can’t attack them, but they… they can do this?” Cheng Songyun’s eyes turned red.

“Every loophole they exploit gives us more information about the past. It’s not entirely a bad thing.”

Fang Xiu remained calm. “Don’t worry. Jia Xu said he’s only being detained. As long as we deal with ‘E’ before the fair ends, he might still be saved.”

The three spirits at the shrine continued to call out, “Next—”

Fang Xiu was about to act, but Blondie rushed forward first.

“All the wrong answers have been eliminated.” Blondie, full of confidence, glanced at Fourth Master, “Brother, I’ll take care of this!”

He pointed at Green Pepper. “You go with this one!”

Again, three ghostly faces turned; one smiled, and two cried.

“Unfair! Unfair!” This time it was Potato screaming.

Blondie: “?”

Blondie was dragged away by the suona band on the spot. The whole process took less than a minute.

This time, the group’s silence carried a deeper meaning.

“You go,” Fourth Master said to Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu decisively sat in the chair, placing the head he carried on his lap. Bai Shuangying stood behind him silently, his cold presence slowly seeping into Fang Xiu’s limbs.

“Come, let me show you something interesting.” Sensing the long hair falling over his shoulders, Fang Xiu tilted his head back with a smile.

On the stage, the three spirits focused their gaze on Fang Xiu.

“Who here is good at slaughtering pigs?” Fang Xiu asked.

Potato and Green Pepper tried the same trick, both answering in unison.

“You’re both good at it? That makes things easy.” Fang Xiu pointed at Fourth Master. “Borrow his peachwood sword and split the eggpla… this zombie down the middle, half for each of you.”

Three spirits: “?”

The remaining humans: “…?”

Fang Xiu: “It’s two-timing. Am I not punishing evil and promoting good?”

Spirits: “Yes.”

Fang Xiu: “Once you split it, will you both have a home to return to?”

Spirits: “…Yes.”

“Isn’t that great, then? Get to it,” Fang Xiu said kindly.

The two short spirits hesitated for a moment but then actually borrowed Fourth Master’s sword. With a stench wafting through the air, they split the zombie in half.

In the end, they each carried half of the zombie away, their expressions a bit dazed as they left.

As soon as the spirits departed, the chair released Fang Xiu. He simply stood up, straightened his clothes, and sat back down with dignity.

“Next,” he said.

This time, two giant spirits entered. They were broad-shouldered, rotting all over. Fang Xiu glanced at the lineup outside the door; the remaining spirits seemed to form six groups.

Eight humans, eight cases. It seemed like a reasonable workload.

“Honored guest, pass judgment—the fertile fields east of the village are my family’s property, but this guy took them!” one spirit bellowed.

“Honored guest, pass judgment—the fertile fields east of the village are my family’s property, but this guy took them!” the other spirit echoed.

Fang Xiu: “What do you want?”

Two spirits: “Honored guest, pass judgment—punish the wicked, reward the good, and fairly judge who owns the land—”

Fang Xiu exhaled. “A property dispute, huh? That’s easy.”

“Alright, let’s go through the proper procedure. You both need to swear before the god of Weishan that the land has always been yours.”

The two spirits fell silent, terrified.

Bai Shuangying couldn’t hold back any longer and let out a soft laugh.

“If you don’t swear, I can only assume you’re disturbing God’s shrine,” Fang Xiu said regretfully. “However…”

He touched the long hair on his shoulder and looked up at Bai Shuangying again, his eyes curving into a smile.

Bai Shuangying didn’t have time to hide his smile as their gazes lightly brushed against each other.

“However, we can’t close the case too hastily.”

After admiring Bai Shuangying’s smile, Fang Xiu looked down at the stage. “Since you’re both so insistent on knowing ‘who owns the land,’ I’ll sentence you to ask for yourselves.”

“You can find the former village chiefs of Weishan Village. If one can’t answer, ask the next. Someone must know whose land it is. Oh, and by the way, they should all be in the underworld.”

Fang Xiu pointed at Fourth Master. “Borrow his peachwood sword and give your necks a slash. You’ll be sent straight there.”

“You disturbed God’s shrine first. Am I not punishing evil and promoting good?”

“Once you’re in the underworld, won’t you know who owns the land?”

A few minutes later, standing by the corpses of the two spirits, Fang Xiu smiled brightly.

“Next,” he said.

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The author has something to say:

It’s all about playing with the rules. Ghosts can play with people, and people can play with ghosts √

Now, tell me, is this justice or not.jpg

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Bai Shuangying: This human is quite interesting. (Looks at the little red flower)

Bai Shuangying: This human is quite interesting… (Watches the evil spirits bleed)

Fang Xiu: Yay, my ghost smiled.

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