Celestial Master's Talisman

On our way out, we actually didn't encounter much difficulty. After all, with Xue Ru, the "native" of the Ten Dire Tombs, leading the way, it was smooth sailing. We were still traveling through the underground caverns, which I've mentioned before contain subterranean rivers and have excellent air circulation, definitely connecting to the outside world. Xue Ru also said that these caverns were indeed the only way out of the Ten Dire Tombs. Of course, we could have dug a tunnel from Hua Mulan's tomb, but that was not the best plan. Xue Ru mentioned that just the sealing soil of Hua Mulan's tomb was over ten meters thick, and there were traps within it, making it very easy to trigger them while tunneling. Unless absolutely necessary, tunneling was not an option. Fortunately, Xue Ru was very familiar with these caverns and led us through twists and turns, avoiding all the dangerous spots. After about four or five hours, we were out.

By that time, the moon was high in the sky. Seeing the lush forest outside, we all felt a sense of unreality. During the days we spent in the Ten Dire Tombs, we were constantly on thin ice, struggling on the brink of death. Now that we had finally come out, there was an almost surreal feeling. After checking our surroundings, we found ourselves at the base of the dragon's head of the Qinling Dragon Vein, which was actually a mountain over 2000 meters high. The mountain top was covered with strange rocks shaped like swords, which looked quite eerie. It was these rocks that "nailed down" the dragon vein of the Qinling Mountains, turning this place into a land of resentful dragons, nurturing one dire tomb after another, each more ferocious than the last.

"Let's do it here."

Qing Yi let out a breath and looked at Xue Ru and Princess Kinskaya, who had been following us, and said softly, "Hua Mulan was right about one thing; spirits and demons, reincarnation is ultimately your destination, as well as a new beginning. You no longer have responsibilities or attachments in this world. Let me send you on your way here."

At that moment, Hua Mulan's voice suddenly rang in my heart: "Xiao Tian, I have a favor to ask of you."

I was startled and asked silently, "What is it?"

"Qing Yi is now a minor celestial master capable of altering the fate of souls after reincarnation. Please ask him to arrange a good life for Xue Ru in her next life. She's your good friend, and if you ask, he will surely agree."

Hua Mulan sighed softly in my heart, "Xue Ru has been loyal to me for hundreds of years. I hope to help her one last time. She had a hard life before, and I wish she doesn't have to endure too much suffering in her next life."

Moved by this, I asked Hua Mulan about Xue Ru's past. Hua Mulan told me that she had encountered Xue Ru hundreds of years ago when she was out. At that time, Xue Ru had just become a joyous ghost, her resentment not dissipating, intent on harming human lives. Once a ghost harms a human, it's doomed. If it falls into the hands of the underworld enforcers and is taken back to the underworld, it will suffer terribly—being fried in oil, climbing mountains of knives, entering seas of fire... and that's considered light punishment. Hua Mulan pitied Xue Ru and didn't want her to reach that point, so she took her in as a servant.

Hearing about Xue Ru's past, I couldn't help but be moved. Xue Ru lived during the reign of Emperor Yesün Temür of the Yuan dynasty. As is well known, during the Mongol Yuan period, there was an infamous racial hierarchy. The first class was naturally the Mongols; the second class was the Semu people, referring to the various ethnic groups that were first conquered by the Mongols and helped them conquer the northwestern regions of China and beyond. The third class was the Han people, referring to the various ethnic groups north of the Huai River, originally under the rule of the Jin dynasty, and the earliest conquered regions of Sichuan and Yunnan. The fourth class was the Nan people, mainly the various ethnic groups in the south under the rule of the Southern Song dynasty.

In that era, central or local officials were Mongols in principal positions, with Han or Nan people only serving as deputies. A Mongol killing a Nan person only required a small compensation, but a Nan person killing a Mongol meant certain death, with the whole family suffering the consequences!

Unfortunately, Xue Ru was a typical Nan person at that time. In the fourth year of Emperor Yesün Temür's reign, there were floods in the south, and the people were destitute. It was then that Xue Ru was sold by her family to the north, to become a concubine to a Mongol man.

However, humans are beings with free thought and independent emotions. Xue Ru had no feelings for the Mongol man who only knew how to drink and hunt, so how could she be loyal? Later, after falling in love with a young merchant who traveled to the north for business, she resolutely eloped with him.

The two went south, and just as they were about to marry, the Mongol man caught up with them. The outcome was predictable; the merchant was killed by the Mongol, and Xue Ru's fate was even worse. After the Mongol man slashed her face with a curved knife, he strangled her to death. Since she and the merchant were both Nan people, the Mongol man only had to compensate with two sheep to get away with it.

Two lives were bought with just two sheep; that was the filthy and twisted era!

Thus, on the happiest day of her life, Xue Ru encountered the most tragic event and died with immense resentment, becoming a joyous ghost!

After hearing Xue Ru's story from Hua Mulan, I felt a pang of sorrow and agreed to her request. At that time, Qing Yi had already taken out some items from his backpack and was preparing to help Xue Ru and Princess Kinskaya pass on. I quickly interrupted Qing Yi and relayed Hua Mulan's request to him.

"Alter their fate after reincarnation?"

Qing Yi frowned after hearing this and took a long time before looking at Xue Ru and Princess Kinskaya and asking, "What kind of life do you hope for in your next life?"

"Just a peaceful and healthy one would be good."

Princess Kinskaya said, "In the next life, I don't want to be a princess anymore. I just don't want to suffer from war anymore. I wish for a complete family and a fulfilling love life. That would be enough for me."

"I feel the same way."

Xue Ru nodded and said solemnly, "If I could have such a life, I would be content."

After hearing their words, I suddenly felt an indescribable emotion. After experiencing the coldness of the world and the loneliness of suffering, their requests turned out to be so simple.

But, am I not the same now?

If possible, I wish my father had not been involved in this mess. Maintaining our small family and living a peaceful life would have been enough.

Unfortunately, these are sometimes just wishful thinking. I am now driven by hatred and responsibility onto a path of no return. Peace and health are becoming increasingly distant for me.

"If that's really all you wish for, then it's easy to handle!"

Qing Yi nodded and said, "If your requests were too high, the beings of the underworld might not give me face."

After saying that, Qing Yi took out a piece of yellow paper and scribbled a bunch of strange characters on it, then burned the paper. I was curious about what he was doing, so I asked Zhang Jinya. Zhang Jinya told me that Qing Yi was actually sending a message to the underworld. At the level of a celestial master, even the judges of the underworld have to give face. Otherwise, if they were caught by a celestial master while doing their business in the mortal realm, they would be punished. If they angered the celestial master, even soul dispersion was possible. So with Qing Yi's talisman burned, the judges below would have to seriously consider how to arrange the next lives for Xue Ru and Princess Kinskaya.

I was stunned and somewhat dumbfounded by these words—so powerful? This was literally using power to pressure... no, to pressure ghosts!

After Qing Yi sent the message to the underworld, he began the process of helping Xue Ru and Princess Kinskaya pass on again. This task was not difficult for Qing Yi, and since Xue Ru and Princess Kinskaya were not resistant, they soon turned to ash and disappeared without a trace.

"It's done. I think the underworld will take my celestial master's talisman into serious consideration."

Qing Yi sighed and then asked Fatty, "By the way, do you still have the explosives you were carrying?"

Fatty nodded and said, "Yes, I do. I originally prepared these detonators in case we were trapped in a tomb chamber with a solid structure and couldn't get out. We haven't needed to use them so far. What's up?"

Qing Yi looked up at the stone forest that pinned down the dragon vein and said slowly, "I want to blow it up. Although the Ten Dire Tombs have been dealt with, the land of the resentful dragon is still here. I'm afraid it might cause problems over time. I think we should blow it up!"