Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 300: Soul-binding Ghost

Ren Yuan was overwhelmed by the sight and thought that this ghost market was much more interesting than the street market on the ground. When he has a holiday, he can bring his sister here to have a good look and do some shopping.

However, the hostile or disgusted looks from the people around them showed that the monsters and demons here clearly did not welcome them.

Fortunately, the face of the Fifth Dimension is also quite famous in the ghost circle. It is good enough that he does not provoke them. Which little ghost dares to take the initiative to offend the Fifth Guardian?
Ren Yuan then heard the Fifth Dimension whisper, "What we are looking for are soul-binding ghosts. They have strange appearances, often go out in groups, and like to wear purple clothes. They can calculate the date of a person's death, and will arrive at the dying person's side in advance, call their name, and the dying person's soul will leave their body. Then they will use the soul-binding rope to tie up their soul and take them to the ghost country to receive a reward."

"I have seen them." Ren Yuan nodded. When he was a temple priest in his hometown, he had dealt with these "wild impermanence" who competed with the Black and White Impermanence for business. Of course, the difference in strength between the two sides was huge at that time, so he had to flatter them carefully.

"They also often use this to make a profit, such as revealing a person's death date in advance. If you give too much, it can even help you escape the death of the soul for a period of time." The fifth dimension continued.

"Is this possible?" Ren Yuan said softly, "Aren't you afraid that the people of the Ghost Country will settle accounts with them?"

"How many people die every day these days? How could the Ghost Country care about so many things? There are always loopholes to exploit. Maybe there are traitors who work together to reap the benefits." While the two were talking, Ren Yuan saw two guys in purple robes in front of him, standing out among a group of ghosts.

"Is it them?"

"That's right." The Fifth Dimension nodded and whispered, "Don't alarm them yet. We can't do anything here, otherwise they will never be able to come here again. Wait until they leave the Ghost Market before taking action."

"I understand." Ren Yuan nodded, and then he and Diwu Wei silently stared at the two soul-binding ghosts.

They were over nine feet tall but hunched like stick insects, with tattered robes wrapped around their bony joints like purple shrouds. Their facial features were like those of a skull, and in their eye sockets were two balls of swirling netherworld fire. A single glance from them could draw out the souls of ordinary people.

The two soul-binding ghosts had seven-foot soul-locking chains wrapped around their waists. The one on the left held a 'yin-yang scale' and shouted, "Hang high on the scale to measure sins, and the Yin-Yang Book will show you clearly. Weigh how much sin you have committed, and you will know where you will suffer after death."

The one on the right, holding a white bone abacus, also shouted: "The white bones are used as beads to count the years in Yama's account. Calculate the day of your death so that you can be prepared!"

Unfortunately, business was slow today. Ergui had been calling out for a long time but the shop still didn't open. So he bought some rare medicinal herbs and left Guihu in disappointment.

Ren Yuan and the other man followed from a distance and soon entered the pitch-black cave where one could not see one's hand in front of one's face.

The two soul-binding ghosts were walking in front when they suddenly found themselves in a ghost wall and began to circle around in circles. The two ghosts knew something was wrong, but they were both experienced people, so they walked a few more steps without making a sound, and suddenly disappeared into thin air.

"Where are you going?" Upon seeing this, Ren Yuan took out the Manifestation Treasure Mirror and waved it. He then saw two soul-binding ghosts floating to the top of the cave, muttering something, trying to hide in the underworld.

"If we catch them, we won't be able to go to the underworld." The fifth dimension said in a deep voice.

Before he finished speaking, Ren Yuan sent out two Purple Thunder Prison Talismans, which turned into purple lightning prison cages and enveloped the two ghosts.

Thunder magic can break all evil, and it directly invalidated the two ghosts' spells. Seeing that they couldn't escape, the two soul-binding ghosts roared at the same time, and the netherworld fire in their eyes flared up, and the cold white light instantly illuminated the cave.

Ren Yuan couldn't help but freeze in his eyes. He felt dizzy and saw how he would die in the future - he saw himself being grabbed by a giant god and crushed to pieces.

In the moment before his death, he clearly saw the face of the god, who looked exactly like Nangong, except that his eyebrows were sharper and his expression was more majestic and inviolable...

~~
The two soul-binding ghosts took the opportunity to escape from the cage. One used a soul-catching rope to hook Ren Yuan's soul, and the other swung a weight to hit the fifth dimension's head.

With a loud bang, the cave collapsed. The two ghosts did not want to fight anymore and fled immediately.

The one on the left was caught by the neck by a demon-binding rope that appeared out of nowhere, and he immediately lost his magical powers. The abacus and soul-hooking rope in his hands all fell to the ground and were easily put into the sleeve of the Fifth Dimension.

Ren Yuan and the Fifth Dimension both had magical powers of illusion, and their spiritual strength was beyond imagination. How could they be affected by their mental attacks? After a moment of trance, the two of them teleported behind the two soul-binding ghosts in time. Although Ren Yuan was not as fast as the Fifth Dimension, his flying sword was faster. With a flash of green light, the two arms of the ghost on the right, the soul-binding rope and the weight also fell to the ground.

The ghost rolled on the ground and screamed: "What are you doing? I didn't provoke you."

"Does the Gou Chen Si need a reason to catch ghosts?" The Fifth Dimension said with a smile, "Come with us."

After saying that, each of them picked up a ghost and prepared to go home.

"Please hold my two hands as well, I can connect them and continue using them." begged the armless soul-binding ghost.

Ren Yuan then waved his sleeves and took away all the broken limbs and magical instruments on the ground.

~~
After returning to the Gou Chen Si, Zuan started the trial directly.

"Do you know why I arrested you?"

"I don't know." The armless soul-binding ghost said with a bitter face, "I am a good citizen. If we didn't send the souls of the dead to the ghost kingdom every day, there would be more ghosts than people in Jiankang City."

"Don't give me that!" Zuan blew his beard and glared, "Let me ask you, did you pick flowers on the way?"

"I, we are soul-binding ghosts, not perverts, and we don't have any interest in that." The soul-binding ghost cried out for mercy, and then whispered, "Besides, I don't have that organ."

"It's not that flower picking." Zuan said unhappily, "It's the red spider lily by the river of Hades!"

The fire in the soul-binding ghost's eyes jumped visibly, but under Zuan's magical power, he still answered honestly:

"Yes. Someone hired us to pick red spider lilies. It's forbidden in the Ghost Country, but they paid too much..."

"What's that person's name?" Zuan asked in a deep voice.

"Who would ask the customer's name? We have to abide by business ethics." The Soul-Catching Ghost said as a matter of course.

"Draw me a picture of him." Zuan changed his request.

"I don't even have hands, how can I draw for you? Should I hold the pen in my mouth?" said the soul-catching ghost pitifully.

“Not impossible.” Zuan smiled and said, “I’ve even taught people to paint with their feet.”

“Forget it.” Ren Yuan stood up and reattached the Soul-Catching Ghost’s right arm, saying with a smile, “Perform well, and I’ll reattach the other one to you later.”

"Hey, but I can't draw?" The Soul-Catching Ghost said with a bitter face, "I've never read a book in my life, and I don't even know how to hold a pen."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you." Zu An cleared his throat and said, "Haven't you heard that 'first time is unfamiliar, second time is familiar'..."

With the encouragement of Master Zu, the one-armed soul-binding ghost gradually lost himself, and his painting skills improved rapidly from scratch. An hour later, another painter was born.

"You can go to the ghost market to sell paintings in the future. You will have no problem opening a business." Ren Yuan looked at the portrait of the Soul-Binding Ghost and praised it highly.

(End of this chapter)