Chapter Thirty-Eight Another Coffin

  "It's not visible, this material has exceeded my understanding, it can't be an extraterrestrial substance, right?" Hong Jun said to himself, thinking that if there are ghosts in this world, then of course there would be gods, immortals, demons and monsters. If so, the existence of aliens shouldn't be too surprising either.

  "Haha, this isn't an alien substance, your brain is really capable of wild thoughts." Third Uncle smiled for a moment, then his face turned serious, "You can't tell that the material is normal because this coffin wasn't made from any known materials, it was condensed from the souls of three ghostly envoys."

  "Ghost Messengers' Souls?" Thinking of the three Ghost Messengers' souls in his hand, Hong Jun trembled and hastily returned the small coffin to Third Uncle.

  Third Uncle took over the small coffin, gently stroking it, his face filled with sorrow: "It is the soul crystal of my three brothers, and I am also a ghost messenger from the underworld."

  Oni are real, this world really has oni, it has a hell, and things that I originally didn't believe in at all. These things undoubtedly truly exist.

  Third Uncle's words still made Hong Jun feel a little frightened, but he tried to control himself and didn't show any panic. Rui Xin stared at him and saw that he was calm and composed, so she also felt a sense of security in her heart. It seemed that as long as her boyfriend wasn't afraid, following him even to the execution ground would be a sweet experience.

  "We four are the ghost messengers guarding the Yin Mountains of the underworld, originally in charge of watching over the ghosts imprisoned in the back of the Yin Mountains, but one day, we were on duty and got drunk..."

  "Wait a minute, Third Uncle, ghosts drink too?" Hong Jun couldn't help but ask curiously.

  "Yes, the Yin realm is actually just a mirror of the Yang realm. What exists in the Yin realm may not exist in the Yang realm, but what exists in the Yang realm certainly exists in the Yin realm." Third Uncle smiled, "Ghosts also play cards and drink wine, and have seven emotions and six desires. So, it's very normal for us to drink together. However, this time we drank too much and got drunk for three days and three nights, resulting in a malevolent spirit that was being watched escaping. This evil spirit is the Demon Spirit. Its nature isn't bad, but because of an unrequited love affair in the Yang realm, it wants to return to the Yang realm by any means necessary. However, it only has three souls existing, and returning to the Yang realm would make it impossible for it to survive. It must absorb the souls of a thousand people to barely cultivate into human form; otherwise, its soul will scatter. Therefore, its resurrection in the Yang realm will inevitably bring about the deaths of a thousand people."

  We four saw it escape and cause great chaos, so we rushed to chase after it. Seeing that it was about to wreak havoc on people here, we decided to stop it at all costs. However, our magical powers are not high, and because of the haste in chasing after it, we didn't bring our respective talismans, so we can't directly use our magical powers in the mortal realm. We had no choice but to reincarnate and borrow external power to use our magic.

  So, the four of us were reborn as quadruplets through our mother's body. We happened to be born just in time for the demon spirit's resurrection in the mortal world and its plan to go on a killing spree. The four of us rushed to stop it, but the demon spirit was too powerful. In the end, my three brothers used their souls to transform into a magical coffin, which managed to trap the demon spirit."

  Third Uncle said, pointing to the small coffin in his hand: "It's this one. Although I didn't die, I was seriously injured and my seven spirits were scattered, leaving only three souls. I lost the ability to return to the underworld again. Moreover, I still have to continue suppressing the evil spirit, so I became half-dead and half-alive. Fortunately, I am a ghost messenger, otherwise, even if I were alive, lacking a soul would make me a walking corpse."

  "Third Uncle, aren't you supposed to be a coffin guard? Is it just for guarding this small coffin?"

  "No, what we're guarding isn't one small coffin, but two; this is just one of them."

  "Another coffin?" Hong Jun's head got a bit bigger, how come it's another coffin again.

  "Yes, it's another coffin. Inside that coffin is a drop of blood tear from an underworld messenger." Third Uncle said solemnly.

  "A drop of blood tears? Is it that important, to have four ghostly envoys guarding it?" Hong Jun's curiosity grew thicker.

  "Do you know what 'Hei Bai Wu Chang' is?" Third Uncle asked suddenly.

  "Black and white are unpredictable? The reputation is very loud." Hong Jun said.

  “Uh-huh,” San Shu nodded, “Ordinary people all know that the underworld has Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Hei Bai Wu Chang. Ox-Head is also called A Beng, A Fang. The 'Wu Ku Zhang Jing' says: 'The prison officer's name is A Beng, ox head human body, two feet cow hooves, strong and powerful, holding a steel rake.' According to the 'Tie Cheng Ni Li Jing', Ox-Head 'in the world as a person, unfilial to parents, after death becomes a ghostly officer, ox head human body'. Some Buddhist scriptures call Ox-Head 'Fang Lou Ren', meaning patrolling and capturing escaped prisoners. Horse-Face is also called Ma Tou Luo Cha. 'Luo Cha' refers to evil spirits, so Ma Tou Luo Cha is Horse-Head Ghost. Its image is a horse head human body, and it's an old partner with Ox-Head. Volume 8 of the 'Leng Yan Jing' says: 'The deceased's spirit sees the great iron city, fire snakes, fire dogs, tigers, wolves, lions, ox-headed prison officers, horse-faced Luo Cha, holding spears and driving them into the city, towards the Avici Hell.'”

  Here is the translation:

  Just as Third Uncle was about to continue, he suddenly started coughing violently. "You rest for a while, I'll tell them," Old Jia took over. "Legend has it that Bai Wuchang's real name is Xie Bizheng, and Hei Wuchang's real name is Fan Wujue, also known as 'Seventh Master' and 'Eighth Master'. It's said that the two of them had sworn brotherhood since childhood and were as close as hands and feet. One day, they walked together to the Nan Tai Bridge, where it was about to rain. Seventh Master asked Eighth Master to wait for a moment while he went back home to fetch an umbrella. Who would have thought that after Seventh Master left, a thunderstorm poured down, the river surged, and Eighth Master, not wanting to miss their appointment, ended up being drowned by the floodwaters due to his short stature? Not long after, Seventh Master rushed back with the umbrella, but Eighth Master had already disappeared. Seventh Master was overcome with grief and hanged himself from a bridge pillar. That's why many depictions of Bai Wuchang show him sticking out his long red tongue. The King of Hell praised their deep loyalty and ordered them to capture evil spirits in front of the City God. Some people say that Xie Bizheng means 'to thank the gods for peace', while Fan Wujue means 'those who break the law will have no escape'. Bai Wuchang always has a smile on his face, wearing a tall hat with the words 'Instant Wealth' on it; Hei Wuchang has a ferocious expression, with the words 'Peace Under Heaven' on his hat. Bai Wuchang mostly punishes those who are 'not worthy', while Hei Wuchang specializes in using chains and handcuffs to capture evil spirits.

  Lao Jie Tou stopped talking and stared at Hong Jun with a piercing gaze, making him feel like he had goosebumps. He rubbed his chin, unsure what Lao Jie Tou's gesture meant.

  Neither of them spoke, and time just passed by bit by bit, it was unclear whether three or five minutes had passed. Hong Jun felt extremely uncomfortable in the atmosphere, he clenched Rui Xin's hand and started sweating, trembling slightly. Rui Xin seemed to have been infected too, her breathing became louder and clearer.

  This old man, won't he harm me? Hong Jun thought to himself. Although he didn't believe his own uncle would harm him, this old man who had already reached the fifth rank was hard to say. People don't do things for nothing, he knew so many mysterious things, wouldn't there be some benefit entanglement inside? He shouldn't be an evil spirit, specializing in absorbing the blood of young boys and girls to cultivate magic powers, right? He himself was definitely a virgin, Rui Xin probably was too, they're done for. In today's society, where can you find such high-quality young boys and girls? As a result, the two of them had delivered themselves to his doorstep... Hong Jun's mind began to wander wildly.

  Just as Hong Jun's head was spinning and his eyes were dazed, thinking that Lao Diao Tou was about to bare its sharp white teeth and pounce on him, Lao Diao Tou instead smiled warmly: "Haha, I just remembered something. Little Jun, don't you remember anything?"

  "What's wrong?" Hong Jun let out a deep breath, silently scolding himself for being like this lately. Every time something was off, he would think wildly and always assume the worst. Had he really become so nervous due to encountering strange things?

  He found Lao Jiaotou's sudden and inexplicable question strange, and wanted to ask more, but Lao Jiaotou changed the subject: "Nothing. Nothing. I'll just continue."

  The ten great Yin marshals, including Hei Bai Wu Chang and Niu Tou Ma Mian, are all famous for being envoys of the underworld. However, apart from these ten great Yin marshals, there is another ghost king in the underworld called the Wheel of Rebirth Envoy. This envoy has a wide range of responsibilities, including birth, aging, illness, death, punishing evil and promoting good, as well as reincarnation and transmigration. According to legend, the Wheel of Rebirth Envoy is formless and invisible, even in the underworld it is difficult to see his face. However, he has three incarnations, and what people see are all his incarnations. Among these three incarnations, one incarnation appears in the mortal world through reincarnation and rebirth every 30 years. This incarnation possesses great power and specializes in resolving the tragic love between the yin and yang realms. At the same time, he can also use his body to substitute for others' disasters and calamities. His name is Hua Qing.