Chapter 48: The Person Carrying the Burden Forward

The little girl stood just like that behind Huang Damao; her complexion was pale, her wide-open eyes showed only the whites, and her entire body was soaked through, still dripping with water.

Huang Daniu looked as if someone had grabbed him by the throat; his eyes were wide open, and his mouth was agape.

He stood stunned for a moment, then his whole body began to tremble, and after opening his mouth several times, he finally shouted loudly: "Ghost!"

At this, even his wife, Huang Li Shi, was woken up.

Huang Li Shi hurriedly got up to look, but she saw no ghost, while Huang Daniu was there screaming like a madman.

She hurriedly asked: "Father of my children, what is wrong with you!"

Huang Daniu turned his head to see his wife, rolled his eyes back, and fainted dead away.

Because he saw a girl clinging to his wife's back.

Huang Damao then said: "Mother, there is a girl clinging to your back; I asked her a question, but she ignored me."

Hearing her son's words, along with her husband's bizarre behavior just moments ago, Huang Li Shi felt a chill shoot straight to the top of her head.

She froze in place, her eyeballs straining to look to the side, only to see a small, rotting hand resting on her shoulder.

Huang Li Shi was already pregnant; how could she withstand such a shock? She fainted dead away on the spot.

At this, Huang Damao and Huang Xiaomao were also terrified and couldn't help but burst into tears, while the little girl vanished.

It was not just Huang Daniu's household where the little girl appeared; she appeared in other homes as well—some were young girls, some were young women, others were elderly, and even more extreme, there were baby girls crawling on the ground.

That night, the village was in chaos, with screams echoing one after another.

Meanwhile, Zhang Cheng was still on the mountain behind the village searching for the cause.

But what he did not know was that his actions had broken the seal on this pond!

Why did the drowning of infants not cause a major incident? It was because these people would hire others to suppress that resentment.

Zhang Cheng had only become this strong by relying on the System; many things he knew were only half-understood, and since this matter was disgraceful, very few people mentioned it.

Therefore, Zhang Cheng was completely unaware of this, which led to the situation that night.

He did not find the cause, and seeing that it was getting late and dawn was approaching, he hurriedly rushed back to the village.

But as soon as he reached the village entrance, he discovered something was wrong: there were ghosts in the village.

He could tell such things just by the smell.

He immediately took out his Patchwork Robe to put on, brought out the Soul-Capturing Banner, and activated his Heavenly Eyes.

His eyes glowing with golden light, he walked into the village. He looked carefully and felt a bit surprised: how could there be ghosts in every household?

Zhang Cheng immediately rushed into the nearest house and saw two resentful ghosts clinging to the backs of the adults, sucking away their Yang energy.

He said in great surprise: "How could it be like this?"

Although he did not understand what had happened, he immediately collected all these resentful ghosts.

These people had committed a great sin by drowning infants, but they could not die; if all the adults in a village died, the remaining elderly and children would also have no way to survive.

Having no other choice, Zhang Cheng could only take action and collect all the resentful ghosts into the Soul-Capturing Banner.

Looking at the Soul-Capturing Banner in his hand, Zhang Cheng struggled for a moment, then finally said: "Living is a torment for them, and after death, they will also atone for their sins in the Underworld."

Having said that, he stamped his foot and summoned the Ghost Messengers.

The one who came this time was still Liu Yongquan; he took the ghosts of over a hundred drowned infants from Zhang Cheng's hand and said: "Daoist Zhang truly has boundless merit. If the souls of these little ghosts were not sent to be reincarnated in time, I fear they would become a scourge in the future."

Zhang Cheng shook his head slightly and said: "Actually, I really did not want to collect them; they are very pitiful."

Liu Yongquan said: "Such is the way of the world in the mortal realm; every year, the Underworld receives at least two hundred such drowned infants, if not more."

Zhang Cheng was lost in thought for a moment and said: "In this kind of world, I find it hard to distinguish between the mortal realm and the Underworld; perhaps this mortal realm is a living hell."

Liu Yongquan hurriedly advised: "If Daoist Zhang were to see the true Underworld,

you would know that the mortal realm is still quite good."

The two chatted for a few moments, and then Liu Yongquan took the ghost infants down to the Underworld.

"One hundred and twenty-five ghost infants resolved; obtained 12,500 points of merit."

The ghost infants departed, and the village returned to normal, but those who had their Yang energy sucked away would have to suffer for a while.

The village elder looked at Zhang Cheng, who was dressed in his Dharma robes, and hurriedly bowed, saying: "This old man was blind and did not recognize the Daoist; I beg the Daoist to forgive me."

Zhang Cheng looked at these villagers, naturally without a pleasant expression, and said: "I know the full story of what happened. You have sown these seeds of evil yourselves, so you must naturally bear the bitter fruit.

Today, I took action to save you, not because I pity you, but because I pity the children who are still alive.

Your lives are a torment, and after you die, you will go to the Underworld to atone for your sins. This is your own karmic obstacle."

The crowd was instantly thrown into a panic; some knelt on the ground begging Zhang Cheng to put in a good word for them, while others wailed and cried, regretting their past actions.

Some also shouted loudly: "We had no choice; what use is a girl? She's just a money-losing burden."

"There are so many people in the family, how could we afford to raise them? The older generation all did this, we just followed suit."

"Daoist, you must be reasonable about this; hurry and speak to the King of Hell for us, we did nothing wrong!"

Watching this display of human nature, Zhang Cheng suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

Ignorance!

Yes, it was ignorance!

Everyone felt they were not wrong because every generation had done it this way; where was the fault?

The family was poor and could not afford to eat; boys grew up to be strong laborers and could carry on the family line.

If a family had many sons, there was strength in numbers, and no one would dare to bully them.

This was the way of the world right now.

What seemed incomprehensible from the perspective of later generations was considered a matter of course here.

Looking at these ignorant people, whether they were the ones wanting Zhang Cheng to put in a good word or the ones wailing, they might have felt guilty, but they would never believe they were wrong.

Ignorant people always persist in the rules of their ancestors.

Zhang Cheng did not want to say anything more; ignorant people are beyond saving.

He put away the Soul-Absorbing Banner, then flicked his sleeve and cast the Wind-Riding Spell.

A gust of wild wind blew, causing everyone to cover their eyes; by the time they opened them again, Zhang Cheng had already vanished without a trace.

He would no longer concern himself with this matter, nor could he manage it; let them fend for themselves.

Walking along the road, Zhang Cheng could not help but feel somewhat dejected; what was the use of having this magic power?

At this moment, he suddenly understood what Lu Xun had said: I flipped through history to check, and this history had no dates; on every crooked page were written the words "Benevolence, Righteousness, and Morality."

I could not sleep at all, so I examined it carefully for half the night, and only then did I see words between the lines; the whole book was filled with two words: "Eat people."

This is truly an era of man-eating.

Zhang Cheng let out a long sigh and sprinted rapidly along the road; he wanted to vent his frustration through this act of exertion and forget the gloom in his heart.

For a fleeting moment, he felt some regret, thinking he should have stayed at the Corpse Collection Hall, so he would not have to see the sordid schemes of this world.

But his conscience told him that at this time, he could not shirk his responsibility.

Because he had already become the person who carries the burden and moves forward.